Cultivator. (open access)

Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design "is to provide a cultivator adapted to receive a plow for breaking new land, a hopper for seeding purposes, and a leveler for breaking lumps and evening the furrows, a further object being to provide a light, durable, and economical cultivator for general farm use" (lines 16-22).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Lloyd, William D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combination Wrench. (open access)

Combination Wrench.

Patent for a new and improved multi-tool. This design consists in "[t]he bar having the nut-wrench and the hammer-head formed at one end, the pipe-wrench formed at the opposite end, and the slot made in one side, the spring located in the bottom of the slot or opening, and the blade pivoted in one end of the slot or opening and bearing on the free end of the spring, the said blade forming a screw-driver" (lines 52-59).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Wright, Augustus Washington
System: The Portal to Texas History
Blind Slat Adjuster. (open access)

Blind Slat Adjuster.

Patent for a new and improved blind adjuster. This design consists in "[a] shutter-stop consisting of a slotted bar linked to the end of the slat-actuating rod of a shutter, in combination with a plate having a spur on one side and a screw-threaded stud on the other, a washer, and a thumb-nut" (lines 93-97).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Lewis, Paulinus Aloysius
System: The Portal to Texas History
Billiard Table Leveler. (open access)

Billiard Table Leveler.

Patent for a new and improved billiard-table leveler. This design consists in "the vertical case having the closed bottom, the open upper end, and provided with the removable plate, the vertical guide-rods extending through openings in the plate, the follower in the upper end of the case and having openings to receive the guide-rods, and provided with an interiorly-threaded opening, the vertical shaft having its lower end stepped in the bottom of the case and journaled in the plate, the said shaft having the miter-pinion and the threaded upper end working in the threaded opening of the follower" (lines 58-70).
Date: May 11, 1886
Creator: Himes, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Boot Cleaner. (open access)

Boot Cleaner.

Patent for a new and improved boot cleaner. This design "affords facilities for readily and conveniently scraping all parts of the boot or shoe. The heel is scraped on [a] semicircular portion located at the top of the arch, the sides of the sole by the arms, the upper hollow of the foot by the projections, [and] the toe by the lower side of the arch or bow" (lines 38-45).
Date: May 25, 1886
Creator: Scovel, Purley A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Cotton Chopper and Cultivator (open access)

Combined Cotton Chopper and Cultivator

Patent for an improvement for the Combined Cotton Chopper and Cultivator by removing dirt, weeds, and grass from the sides of the row. Included with this are detailed illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1886
Creator: Flewellen, Anthony, Sr.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Magneto-Telephonic Apparatus (open access)

Magneto-Telephonic Apparatus

Patent for an invention to improve transmitting vocals and other sounds. It is a magneto telephonic system based on an magnetic field of high intensity.
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Brown, Fred. H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Two Wheeled Vehicle. (open access)

Two Wheeled Vehicle.

Patent for a new and improved vehicle. This design "is to provide a vehicle in which a person can ride over rough ground without serious inconvenience or discomfort incident to travel over such roads. . . . [and] to so construct a gig that a person can get into the same without serious inconvenience, and to this end it is made low, the rear of the shafts being extended in line with the axle and the step secured to the shaft and extending somewhat below it. . . . [and] to provide a gig with springs that will work in two directions—laterally and vertically" (lines 20-34).
Date: May 11, 1886
Creator: Buckel, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Washing Machine. (open access)

Washing Machine.

Patent for a new and improved washing machine. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the boiler having the transverse rollers, of the [other] roller having peripheral corrugations and the intermediate slots, the bail, and the counterweight whereby the roller may be balanced on the end wall of the boiler" (lines 85-90).
Date: May 18, 1886
Creator: Pinkerton, John Franklin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Wire Stretcher. (open access)

Wire Stretcher.

Patent for a new and improved wire stretcher. This design is "for stretching and repairing wire, the combination of a main bar having a longitudinal slot, and having an upwardly-facing shoulder provided with a groove, a guide-block in the lower end of the slot, a shaft journaled in the sides of the slot and having a pinion within the slot and a ratchet handle at its outer end for revolving it, a spring pawl engaging the pinion, a cam-lever pivoted upon the upper end of the main bar and engaging the grooved shoulder with its cam end, [and] a rack-bar sliding in the lower end of the slot upon the guide-block" (lines 43-55).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: La Bauve, Odelon Joseph
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hydraulic Motor. (open access)

Hydraulic Motor.

Patent for a hydraulic motor designed for water intake through top ring.
Date: May 11, 1886
Creator: Cooper, Benjamin F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Steam-Engine (open access)

Steam-Engine

Patent for improvements to be made upon steam engines, with description of parts and use and illustrations.
Date: May 25, 1886
Creator: Cross, David L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stamp Canceler. (open access)

Stamp Canceler.

Patent for a new and improved stamp canceler. This design "is to provide a . . . stamp-canceler, which is so constructed that it punctures or perforates the stamp and inks it at the same time, but does not mutilate the letter or other contents of the envelope" (lines 7-12).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Luzenberg, Edward A. & Sachs, Edward
System: The Portal to Texas History
Medicine Case. (open access)

Medicine Case.

Patent for a new and improved medicine case. This design is "to provide a series of receptacles for the medicine to be taken or administered, said receptacles being of different colors, to avoid mistakes or errors in the distributions of the medicines; to provide means for accurately indicating the medicine to be taken; to indicate the time which said medicine shall be taken; to provide means for holding a spoon or other article within the cases for taking the medicine when in a liquid or powder form" (lines 15-25).
Date: May 11, 1886
Creator: Zanetti, Fortonato Clemente
System: The Portal to Texas History
Mechanical Dentistry. (open access)

Mechanical Dentistry.

Patent for new and improved mechanical dentistry. This design consists in "[a] dental plate provided with a series of holes or perforations and a continuous groove upon the upper surface of the plate communicating with the holes or perforations therein" (lines 62-65).
Date: May 18, 1886
Creator: Mayfield, William Dudley
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spark Arrester. (open access)

Spark Arrester.

Patent for a new and improved spark-arrester. This design consists in "[t]he combination of an inverted-U-shaped pipe joined to the smoke-stack of an engine, a suitable damper located at the junction, a water receptacle suspended from the free end of said pipe, and a water-pipe leading into said end from the boiler of the engine" (lines 85-90).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Ledbetter, William Hughes
System: The Portal to Texas History
Process of Obtaining a Lubricant From the Cactus- Plant (open access)

Process of Obtaining a Lubricant From the Cactus- Plant

Patent for as a new article of manufacture gelatinous material or product obtained from the cactus-plant suitable for use as a lubricant.
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Marshall, Edward, S. & Savage, Robert W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Smoke Generator. (open access)

Smoke Generator.

Patent for a new and improved smoke machine. This design "relates to certain new and useful improvements in devices for containing fuel, so that the same can be burned slowly, so as to produce a large amount of smoke, the device being intended for the purpose of protecting orchards, vineyards, &c., from frost; and my invention consists in a perforated cylinder having a removable top and a bottom with an opening which is covered with a sliding door" (lines 15-24).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Kizziar, James Williams
System: The Portal to Texas History
Ice-Machine. (open access)

Ice-Machine.

Patent for the improvements of ice machine gas compressors and its adjuncts.
Date: May 25, 1886
Creator: Schuehle, Jacob
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shingling Bracket. (open access)

Shingling Bracket.

Patent for a new and improved shingling-bracket. This design consists "[i]n a shingling-bracket, the combination of the frame having the beveled upper ends provided with the studs and the prongs at its lower ends, the frame having the prongs, the serrations or notches to receive the upper ends of the frame, the recesses in said notches for the studs, and the links connecting the frames . . . whereby the latter may be adjusted to any desired angle or folded together" (lines 78-87).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Specht, Frank
System: The Portal to Texas History
Feed Cutter. (open access)

Feed Cutter.

Patent for a new and improved feed-cutter. This design consists in "a body having bottom and sides provided at their forward ends with a metallic plate and supporting-leg, and frame having sill, uprights, and panels, in combination with frame sliding in grooves in the uprights and provided with knife, lever, swinging link having offset, and inclined trough having sides provided with detents" (lines 92-100).
Date: May 4, 1886
Creator: Wilson, John Calhoun
System: The Portal to Texas History
Garden Tile. (open access)

Garden Tile.

Patent for a new and improved garden tile. This design "is to provide a . . . garden-tile which can be used as a plant-protector or as a curbing for walks, &c. The invention consists in a tile having a semicircular or U-shaped cross-section and open at the bottom and provided on its top with one or more necks through which the plants can grow" (lines 7-15).
Date: May 25, 1886
Creator: Flatau, Louis S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety Valve Attachment for Lamps. (open access)

Safety Valve Attachment for Lamps.

Patent for a new and improved safety attachment for oil lamps. This design is "to permit of the escape of any gas which may be formed in the upper part of the oil-reservoir by the evaporation of its contents; and the object thereof is to provide a simple form of valve stamped from a single piece of sheet metal, with a shank adapted to be inserted through a slot in the lamp-collar and the valve afterward bent down over the valve-opening, thus presenting a valve that will be sensitive to the pressure of gas within the reservoir, and consequently insure its successful operation at all times" (lines 18-29).
Date: May 11, 1886
Creator: Ingle, Ezra William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Harness Saddle. (open access)

Harness Saddle.

Patent for a new and improved harness-saddle. This design is "to provide a harness-pad and saddle-tree in which the pads or saddle shall be self-adjustable to the backs of the animals to which they are applied, and this without the employment of inner plates to enable the tree to be used for folded-leather, slip, or stuffed pads, as may be desired" (lines 9-15).
Date: May 18, 1886
Creator: Kay, William V.
System: The Portal to Texas History