Axle Lubricator. (open access)

Axle Lubricator.

Patent for a new and improved axle lubricator. This design "consist[s] of a box provided with bearings in which the axle works, and with a cellar below the said bearings for the reception of the waste for containing the lubricant; [and] . . . of a frame in which the box fits, . . . being provided with screws for elevating or depressing the box, whereby it may be kept always in contact with the axle . . . The object is to produce an axle or journal lubricator . . . [that] will keep the bearings of an axle or journal shaft thoroughly lubricated at all times, thereby preventing the same becoming heated and swelling" (lines 14-35).
Date: May 21, 1889
Creator: Good, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Door. (open access)

Car Door.

Patent for a new and improved door for railroad cars. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the car having the door-opening with its upper and lower edges parallel and inclined upward and inward, and the bolt-keeper secured to the sill of the car, of the door having correspondingly-inclined upper and lower edges, the guide-staple and fulcrum-bracket secured to the door at proper points, the operating-lever pivoted to said bracket, the link-rods and bolt, the [other] link-rod pivoted at its lower end to the operating-lever" (lines 4-14).
Date: May 28, 1889
Creator: Charlton, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bed Clothes Clamp. (open access)

Bed Clothes Clamp.

Patent for a new and improved clamp. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a suitable clasp for holding the bed-clothes and its link, of the means for adjustably securing it to the bed-rail, consisting of a rod, having its lower end screw-threaded and provided with a nut and washer, and having on its upper end a hook-shaped projection that is adapted to pass over and around the upper edge of the bed-rail, and is provided with an eye . . . for connection with the clamp" (lines 65-74).
Date: May 26, 1885
Creator: Kiam, Benjamin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press (open access)

Baling-Press

Patent for a new press for baling cotton and hay that is "simple, durable, and convenient," including illustrations.
Date: May 1, 1883
Creator: McIver, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design "relates to double-mold-board plows, such as lister or middle-breaking plows. Its principle features are the depressed center bar, the removable point upon the center bar, and the removable shares" (lines 8-12).
Date: May 28, 1889
Creator: Tebbetts, Lewis B.; Pope, Charles H. & Stewart, John A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Heating Frame for Lamps. (open access)

Heating Frame for Lamps.

Patent for a new and improved heating frame for lamps. This design seeks to "simplify and improve the adjustable supports for the top plate upon which the vessel [to be heated] is supported; secondly, to improve the construction of said top plate . . . allowing the warm air to circulate both under and around the vessel . . . thirdly, to construct and combine the top plate and a base-ring with the supporting-rods in a firm, durable, and efficient manner" (lines 27-38).
Date: May 23, 1882
Creator: Melvin, Josiah W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Door Hanger. (open access)

Door Hanger.

Patent for a new and improved hanger for doors and gates. This design consists in "the brackets secured to a door or gate way at intervals apart and having the horizontal supporting arms, the track made of angle-iron and having the horizontal treadway secured to the arms of the brackets, and the upwardly-extending flange at the outer edge of the treadway, and the hangers secured to the door or gate and having their upper portions bent to form an inverted U-shaped yoke or frame, and rollers journaled between the sides of the frame" (lines 80-91).
Date: May 17, 1887
Creator: Charlton, James
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car-Coupling. (open access)

Car-Coupling.

Patent for an invention for train cars which "relates to car couplings, and especially to that class of the same which effect an automatic coupling by means of a gravity-hook," (lines 12-15) including instructions and illustrations.
Date: May 13, 1884
Creator: Washburn, Andrew Lynch & Journeay, Abram L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton or Hay Press. (open access)

Cotton or Hay Press.

Patent for a new and improved baling press. This design consists in "the combination, with the follower-screw, the worm and worm-shaft, the combined worm-gear and nut, and the base-plate having a peripheral ledge . . . of the plate having bearings for said worm shaft and an annular portion which encircles said base-plate, and the bolts which pass through both such annular portion and base-plate for securing them together and to the base-timbers of the press" (lines 73-82).
Date: May 3, 1887
Creator: McGowen, Allexander
System: The Portal to Texas History