Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for a crank-armed, lever operated gate.
Date: April 24, 1888
Creator: Spencer, Hiram
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hammock or Swing. (open access)

Hammock or Swing.

Patent for a new and improved hammock. This design consists in "the combination of a suspended canopy, consisting of a hoop provided with screw-eyes and having a textile covering and a mosquito-netting secured thereto and depending therefrom, with a basket consisting of a hoop, a suitably-constructed bottom, a cushion, and a guard . . . and supporting-ropes secured at their lower portions to the basket and to the guard, and having snap-hooks at their upper ends adapted to engage the screw-eyes in the hoop of the canopy" (lines 5-15).
Date: April 24, 1888
Creator: Broderick, Martin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse Detacher. (open access)

Horse Detacher.

Patent for a new and improved horse detacher. This design "consists in two longitudinally-movable rods or bolts which are attached to the front axle and are adapted to engage the eyes of the thill-clips; the levers connected at their lower ends to the adjacent ends of the said rods or bolts; a ring embracing and adapted to slide on the upper arms of the said levers whereby they may be drawn together to disengage the outer ends of the rods or bolts from the thill-clips; the band or strap connected to the said ring, and means whereby the said strap may be drawn by the driver of the vehicle" (lines 13-25).
Date: April 24, 1888
Creator: McMorries, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vehicle Top. (open access)

Vehicle Top.

Patent for a new and improved vehicle top. This design consists in "the combination of the supporting-bows having grooves in their side, the upper ends of the grooves overlapping the curtain-supporting frames, comprising the flexible side-bars provided with lateral tongues fitting in the grooves of the supporting-bows, and the cross-bars secured to the side bars and having their ends fitted in said grooves, and the covering secured to said frame" (lines 82-91).
Date: April 24, 1888
Creator: McCurdy, Thomas B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Self-Registering Target (open access)

Self-Registering Target

Patent for "new and useful improvements in self-registering targets, whereby the shots are plainly indicated, the parts are readily returned to their normal position after the shot is fired, and the whole combining simplicity, cheapness, and durability" (lines 13-18).
Date: April 17, 1888
Creator: Wright, Walter K. & Brown, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Syringe. (open access)

Syringe.

Patent for a new and improved syringe. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with inlet and outlet tubes provided with end fittings . . . of the two concavo-convex disks arranged on the tubes with their concavities opposite to each other, [one] disk being made of soft rubber and adapted to be inserted within the vagina and the [other] disk adapted to be pressed against the vulva during the operation of syringing" (lines 73-81).
Date: April 17, 1888
Creator: Streetman, Willard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Throat Latch Fastener. (open access)

Throat Latch Fastener.

Patent for a new and improved throat-latch fastener. This design consists in a "connecting-plate for bridles, having the side and end bars, the intermediate transverse bars . . . and the central longitudinal bar, having a stud in one portion thereof" (lines 79-83).
Date: April 17, 1888
Creator: Hopson, Franklin Oliver
System: The Portal to Texas History
Yoke for Connecting Animals. (open access)

Yoke for Connecting Animals.

Patent for a new improvements in animal yoking. Patent for "a new and improved yoking or coupling for connecting two animals together when grazing which allows automatic disconnection in case either of the animals gets a foreleg over the coupling" (lines 8-12) including instructions and illustrations. Patent for a new animal yoking design, including illustrations.
Date: April 17, 1888
Creator: Carmichael, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Grain-Measuring Machine. (open access)

Automatic Grain-Measuring Machine.

Patent for automatic grain-measuring machine, with illustrations. The purpose of this automatic grain-measuring machine is to be an improvement to already existing machines.
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Grissom, Abram Jackson.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling Press (open access)

Baling Press

Patent for the "new and improved Baling-Press which is very simple and durable in construction, and is very easily operated by hand or other power" (lines 4-10) including instructions and illustrations. Patent for a new baling-press, including illustrations.
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Mattijetz, Andreas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cultivator. (open access)

Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a flat shovel and a shank, of the bead on said shovel having a transverse slot therethrough, a slotted wedge inserted between said shovel and shank, and a bolt passing through said bead, wedge, and shank" (lines 95-100).
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: East, Elias
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hand Propelling Device for Sewing Machines. (open access)

Hand Propelling Device for Sewing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved crank for sewing machines. This design "is to provide propelling device for sewing-machines and similar treadle-power machines which shall dispense with the treadle-action and injurious strain which its use imposes . . . It consists in a rod jointed to the fly-wheel after the manner of a pitman, but which, instead of connecting with a treadle, is fashioned into a handle, which extends obliquely upward toward the operator, and is combined with and held in place by a guide-frame made in the form of a pendent metal loop with flanged ends and screw-holes" (lines 8-21).
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Beaird, Kate Palmer
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut Lock. (open access)

Nut Lock.

Patent for a new improvements in the construction of the nut lock. Patent for "a new and improved version of the nut-lock and combination of latch or locking device in order to lock the nut to the bolt." (lines 8-27) including instructions and illustrations. Patent for a new nut-lock and latch, including illustrations.
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Brady, Peter Lewis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shutter Fastener. (open access)

Shutter Fastener.

Patent for a new and improved shutter fastener. This design "has for its object the production of a simple and efficient device, and one that can be conveniently operated from the inside of the blind, but not readily tampered with or opened from the outside without removing some of the slats of the blind. . . . one part—a bolt—is carried by the blind, and the other part—a catch—is secured to the windowsill and locks the bolt, so as to unfasten the blind both hands are required—one hand to operate the catch, the other hand to operate the bolt" (lines 16-30).
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Bachman, Joseph A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Swinging Gate. (open access)

Swinging Gate.

Patent for a new and improved swinging gate. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the main posts . . . [one] having the shallow recesses therein, of hinges, slotted batten, bell-crank lever connected with the upper hinge-bolt, and with a pin in the slot in the batten, spring, gravity-catch, gate, and roller" (lines 29-35).
Date: April 10, 1888
Creator: Sipe, Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press. (open access)

Baling-Press.

Patent for "certain new and useful improvements in baling-presses." (Lines 5-6) Illustrations are included.
Date: April 3, 1888
Creator: Archer, Roger W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Dynamo Electric Machine (open access)

Dynamo Electric Machine

Patent for Dynamo Electric Machine. "in our improved dynamo-electric machine we combine in the armature the advantages due to iron wire and to separated disks or flat rings, and then binding them together at equal intervals." (lines18-23)
Date: April 3, 1888
Creator: Crowdus, Walter A. & Sutton, Henry M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire Kindler. (open access)

Fire Kindler.

Patent for a new and improved fire starter. This design "has for its object to provide novel means for making comparatively inexpensive fire-kindlers; and to such end the invention consists, essentially, in a vessel having two chambers, one capable of being opened at the top and adapted to contain ashes, and the other closed, except as to a bottom passage in communication with the ash-chamber, and adapted to contain a combustible fluid—such as petroleum oil or other liquid hydro-carbon—which flows through the said bottom passage to saturate the ashes and prepare them for use" (lines 8-20).
Date: April 3, 1888
Creator: Streeter, George D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fire Kindler. (open access)

Fire Kindler.

Patent for a new and improved fire starter. This design "is to provide novel means for determining when the oil is exhausted from the oil vessel and to provide novel means for keeping the ashes from direct contact with the oil-supply openings . . . [for] ashes possess great capillary attraction and take up more hydro-carbon fluid than is requisite when the ashes are dry and not tightly packed, so that the ashes become soft and mushy" (lines 12-21).
Date: April 3, 1888
Creator: Streeter, George D.
System: The Portal to Texas History