Street Car Motor. (open access)

Street Car Motor.

Patent for a new and improved street-car motor. This design consists in "the shaft geared to an axle of the car, the friction-wheels free to slide on the said shaft and having the annular collars, the rods . . . connected to the said annular collars, and the lever connected to the said rods to move the friction-wheels toward or from each other" (lines 16-22).
Date: May 10, 1887
Creator: Sparks, John Parks
System: The Portal to Texas History
Safety Shaft Coupling. (open access)

Safety Shaft Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for thills. This design consists in "the combination of the side plates having recesses in their upper edges, the coupling-plates pivoted to the side plates and having recesses in their lower edges registering with the recesses in the side plates, the free ends of the coupling-plates forming detents, the thill having trunnions resting in the registered recesses, and the spring-actuated locking-bar engaging the detents of the coupling-plates" (lines 110-119).
Date: May 17, 1887
Creator: Spinks, Rudd C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press (open access)

Baling-Press

Patent for improvements in "the class of baling-presses in which the follower is forced upward in the press-box by a lever pivoted or fulcrumed upon the ends of toggle-arms, and having a rope or chain for drawing it into an upright position," (lines 26-31) with illustrations.
Date: May 24, 1887
Creator: Stopple, John Julius
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bath Tub. (open access)

Bath Tub.

Patent for a new and improved bath tub. This design consists in "a removable bottom provided with perforations or openings, and with supports to sustain it above the permanent bottom of the tub, a single opening in said tub below the level of the removable bottom for inlet and outlet purposes, a valve for closing said opening, and a rod within reach of the head of the tub for operating the valve and the cover" (lines 9-16).
Date: May 3, 1887
Creator: Watson, David R.
System: The Portal to Texas History