Expansion-Plug. (open access)

Expansion-Plug.

Patent for "an expansion plug wherein a traveling nut cooperates with a screw to expand or contract a sectional plug" (lines 8-11) with illustration.
Date: May 21, 1918
Creator: Barlow, Walter S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Warehouse Truck (open access)

Warehouse Truck

Patent for improving hand truck, aiming to increase the carrying capacity of the truck.
Date: May 30, 1916
Creator: Dickson, Braxton B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Animal-Trap (open access)

Animal-Trap

Patent for an animal trap primarily intended for capturing rodents. Illustrations included.
Date: May 19, 1908
Creator: Pierce, William Z.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wagon (open access)

Wagon

Patent for a wagon. This invention provides new and improved running gear. Illustrations included.
Date: May 24, 1904
Creator: Emberger, Ferdinand
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car-Brake (open access)

Car-Brake

Patent for an invention that relates to innovations and improvements to railroad car-brakes.
Date: May 28, 1901
Creator: Boyers, Thomas Albert.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vehicle-Axle (open access)

Vehicle-Axle

Patent for vehicle-axle "with removable spindles which when they become worn may be easily and quickly removed and replaced by new ones." (lines 13-15); including illustration and instructions
Date: May 29, 1900
Creator: Andrews, William H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gymnastic Apparatus (open access)

Gymnastic Apparatus

Patent for "improvement in aerial revolving ladders for gymnastic purposes for use in theaters, circus-tents, etc." (lines 13-15) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 22, 1900
Creator: Delmore, George E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Heating Railway-Cars (open access)

Heating Railway-Cars

Patent for improvements in the construction and design of car heaters for locomotives.
Date: May 29, 1888
Creator: Townley, Carter Shepherd
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stalk-Cutter. (open access)

Stalk-Cutter.

Patent for "a new and valuable Improvement in Corn and Cotton Stalk Cutters" (lines 5-7). It includes a description and an illustration. The construction of this stalk cutter is "adapted to be driven across the field in the direction of the rows of corn, and the knives may be adjusted to operate on rows of different widths or at different depths, so as to leave only a small stubble in passing over the field" (lines 73-78).
Date: May 20, 1884
Creator: Brown, Azariah R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay Knife. (open access)

Hay Knife.

Patent for a new and improved hay knife. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the forked frame, the lever pivoted thereto, slotted at one end and carrying at the other end a cutting-blade working through bearings in the fork, the crank pivoted to the frame and engaging the slot of the lever, and the pressure-head or cross-bar connected to the outer end of the frame" (lines 18-26).
Date: May 29, 1883
Creator: Moss, John C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence. (open access)

Fence.

Patent for a new and improved fence. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the bevel-end lap-joint top rails connected to and supported by the posts, the pendent panels consisting of series of horizontal rails interwoven in wire slings connected to the top rails, and links connecting the lower parts of the panels and the intermediate posts" (lines 20-27).
Date: May 8, 1883
Creator: Sevier, Moses Nimrod
System: The Portal to Texas History
Provision Safe. (open access)

Provision Safe.

Patent for a new and improved safe. This design "provide[s] a household safe that will prevent rats and mice from gaining access thereto, and at the same time allow a ready handling of the articles contained in it; and the novelty consists in the construction of the same," utilizing jointed covers, spring-locks, metallic bottoms, caster-rollers, and a clasp (lines 11-15).
Date: May 23, 1882
Creator: Sykes, Robert R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Plow, Harrow, and Cultivator. (open access)

Combined Plow, Harrow, and Cultivator.

Patent for improvement in the construction of combined plows, harrows, and cultivators.
Date: May 2, 1882
Creator: Moss, John Carlton
System: The Portal to Texas History
Insect Trap. (open access)

Insect Trap.

Patent for a new and improved ant trap. This design calls for a box to be placed over the mouth of an anthill, whereupon one expects the ants to enter a hole, climb an incline, and slip down a pair of glass pieces that lower the ants into an inescapable chamber. This design is cheaper and easier to make than previous ant traps.
Date: May 24, 1881
Creator: Blackwood, Curtis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Improvement in Railroad-Gates (open access)

Improvement in Railroad-Gates

Patent for a new and improved Railroad-Fence Gate that prevents cattle from escaping from farm areas, including illustrations.
Date: May 13, 1879
Creator: Hahn, Henry & Gaston, Anderson Lewers
System: The Portal to Texas History