Improvement in fences (open access)

Improvement in fences

Patent for improvement in fences. Inventor created removable, adjustable fences with wire loop hinges.
Date: May 22, 1879
Creator: Martin, George S.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper and Cultivator. (open access)

Cotton Chopper and Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cotton chopper and cultivator. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the chopper-handle, of the notched-roller, the mortised cross-beam, having the pivot across its mortise or hole, and the spring, attached to an upright, and the handle, whereby the chopper may be operated" (lines 73-78).
Date: May 15, 1883
Creator: Pettitt, Francis Alexander.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grain Conveyer for Harvesters and Binders. (open access)

Grain Conveyer for Harvesters and Binders.

Patent for a new and improved grain-conveyer. This design "relates to improvements in grain conveyers for grain binders and harvesters in which the grain receiving platform is provided with a reciprocating conveyer or arm or arms to deliver the grain to or off the stubble end of the platform; and the objects of [the] improvements are to provide a chain with one or more arms, preferably a pair arms, one on each side of the chains, and said arms are to fold to the chain on their rearward movement, so as to pass to the grain end of the platform beneath the grain and partly around . . . the shaft" (lines 9-21).
Date: May 10, 1892
Creator: Schubert, George
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Grain Conveyer for Binders, &c. (open access)

Grain Conveyer for Binders, &c.

Patent for a new and improved grain conveyer for binders. This design "relates to that class of grain-conveyers for binders and harvesters, &c., in which arms unfold when started from the outer end of its travel on its forward movement and in that position shift the grain in front of it, and thus shift the grain off the inner end of the platform and deliver such grain to suitable compressors . . . and such arms fold back at the beginning of its rearward movement and pass back underneath the grain on the platform" (lines 12-23).
Date: May 24, 1892
Creator: Schubert, George
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Feeding-Chamber and Door for Baling-Presses. (open access)

Feeding-Chamber and Door for Baling-Presses.

Patent for a feeding chamber and door for baling presses that vertically extends so that "the feed material need not be tucked down by hand or foot to a level of the baling chamber, as this is accomplished by the door being closed down, a lever and weight can be attached to the door to properly depress the material to allow the door to latch, and as the door prevents the material from bulging up the compressing can be accomplished direct in the feeding chamber, the plunger need not pass but a short distance beyond the feeding chamber thus requiring less movement of the plunger and thus gaining more power" (lines 23-35).
Date: May 9, 1893
Creator: Schubert, George
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press. (open access)

Baling-Press.

Patent for a baling press that has a rebounding plunger and is meant to have "an effective and substantial tripping and catching mechanism, simple in construction, low of production, and durable and easy to trip" (lines 22-25).
Date: May 23, 1893
Creator: Schubert, George
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse and Team Holder. (open access)

Horse and Team Holder.

Patent for "a device adapted to be applied to ordinary vehicles, and designed to be connected with the driving reins, and capable of automatically engaging the horse or team, and by preventing the same from advancing or turning to the right or left or backing, thereby obviating the necessity of tying a horse or team, of dropping the traces, or of leaving it stand with small weights that endanger life." (Lines 12-20) Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 21, 1895
Creator: Moore, Franklin Orville
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combination-Tool. (open access)

Combination-Tool.

Patent for a combination tool "specifically adapted for use as a pan or plate lifter or a stove-lid lifter and which may also be used for holding dishes while being washed" (lines 4-7), including illustrations.
Date: May 18, 1897
Creator: Swenson, Charles E. & Swenson, Olive C.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for improvements in plows in which the plow can be “converted into a middle-burster or single-stock, according to the nature of the land and the character of work to be performed.” (Lines 12-15) Illustration is included.
Date: May 24, 1904
Creator: Weldon, Johnathan L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fish-Hook. (open access)

Fish-Hook.

Patent for a fish hook for live bait.
Date: May 9, 1911
Creator: Randal, Napoleon B.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Lamp Adjusting Pedal Mechanism (open access)

Lamp Adjusting Pedal Mechanism

Patent for improvements for lamp operating pedals for automobiles.
Date: September 21, 1915
Creator: Kitching, David C.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automobile-Headlight-Lamp Mounting. (open access)

Automobile-Headlight-Lamp Mounting.

Patent for the improvement of automobile headlight lamp mountings. Improvement on lamp bracket described in Letters Patent Number 1,129,207, issued to the author on February 23, 1915.
Date: May 1, 1917
Creator: Kitching, David C.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety Device for Elevators. (open access)

Safety Device for Elevators.

Patent for an improved elevator safety device that engages the brakes should the cable break or engine become inoperable to bring the elevator to a gradual stop, with illustrations.
Date: May 15, 1917
Creator: Davis, John L.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Drag (open access)

Drag

Patent for a ground drag for "grading and removing refuse from the surface of the soil" (lines 10-12) that can be steered and that can gather and dispose of the dirt it levels off, including illustrations.
Date: May 11, 1920
Creator: Nelson, Charley E.
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Air and Gas Relief Valve for Oil-Distributing Systems. (open access)

Automatic Air and Gas Relief Valve for Oil-Distributing Systems.

Patent for an air and gas relief valve for oil piping systems that improves upon the need for pumps to get rid of the accumulation of air and gas before pumping oil, with illustrations.
Date: May 24, 1921
Creator: Mobley, Henry Grady
Object Type: Patent
System: The Portal to Texas History
Texas Attorney General Opinion: WW-436 (open access)

Texas Attorney General Opinion: WW-436

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Will Wilson, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a certain tract of land in Bosque County may be patented under Article 5421c, Section 5, V.C.S.
Date: May 21, 1958
Creator: Texas. Attorney-General's Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History