Attachment for Harvesters and Mowing Machines. (open access)

Attachment for Harvesters and Mowing Machines.

Patent for a new and improved attachment for harvesters and mowers. This design is "to afford means whereby a mowing or reaping machine may be enabled easily to travel over soft or marshy ground; . . . the novelty consists in a shoe proper for each driving-wheel of the machine, each shoe made of a curved piece of metal . . . and provided with a long narrow slot running lengthwise of the shoe, . . . and so adapted that under each wheel one of the shoes shall be placed in such a manner that one of the shoes shall pass through the longitudinal slot in the shoe" (lines 19-32).
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: Jones, Jeremiah C. & Marshall, Sumner B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Car Uncoupler. (open access)

Automatic Car Uncoupler.

Patent for a new and improved car uncoupler. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with a coupling adapted to hold two cars together, of an uncoupler comprising a lever pivotally connected to the car, a weight supported on the car and connected to said lever, and a connection between the weight-operated lever and the coupling for operating it, to separate the cars upon the dropping of the weight" (lines 4-11).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Flett, John Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bale Tie. (open access)

Bale Tie.

Patent for a new and improved bale tie. This design consists in "[t]he buckle, having the side re-entering angles, the bars, and the slot the edges at the apices of the re-entering angles being expanded . . . with strengthening-fins formed therein" (lines 65-70). This novel construction and combination of parts allows for "the provision of a tie-buckle that can readily be applied without extraneous fastening devices either with the tie or the buckle itself, and one which can be repeatedly used, and one which can be manufactured at a minimum expense and with the least possible waste of material" (lines 10-16).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Copeland, Eliza A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling-Press. (open access)

Baling-Press.

Patent for a new improvement in baling presses that improves strength, durability and handling and is cheap to manufacture, including instructions and illustrations.
Date: June 14, 1887
Creator: Mansfield, James Edward.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Calf Weaner. (open access)

Calf Weaner.

Patent for a new and improved calf weaner. This design "consist[s] of the plate provided with an upper inclined portion in which is held a rod having pointed projections, a vertical fixed arm, and an opposing pivoted arm, the upper ends of the said arms being curved toward each other and provided with opposing aligning buttons, and means for locking the pivoted arm" (lines 72-79).
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: Rickman, Robert L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design has for its object "to provide a coupler which may be used in connection with an ordinary pin-and-link coupler, or with a novel form of draw-pin formed especially for use in connection with the coupler . . . the object of the invention being to so arrange the parts that cars may be automatically coupled and uncoupled without entering the spaces between the ends of the approaching cars" (lines 8-17).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Flett, John Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design is "for automatically coupling cars of various heights, and also to provide devices for uncoupling the cars without the necessity of going between them. [The] invention consists in a spring-pressed hook attached to or formed upon a rock-shaft extending to the top of the car, and provided with a hand-wheel, by which it may be turned. It also consists in the combination, with the hook, of a rod connected thereto and extending to the side of the car, for uncoupling the car from the ground" (lines 16-27).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: De May, Eugene A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for a new and improved churn. This design consists in "the staff-head having the slot . . . and opposite inside grooves, in combination with a dasher-stem head conforming to the recesses in the head and carrying a spring in an upper cavity thereof, a plunger having its toe resting upon said spring, and operative mechanism" (lines 77-83).
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: Catchings, Thomas Jefferson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Coin Operated Electrical Weighing Scale. (open access)

Coin Operated Electrical Weighing Scale.

Patent for a new and improved coin-operated electric weighing-scale. This design consists in "the combination of the chute-section adapted to receive a coin or similar metallic piece, and having insulated electrical conductors, a weighing machine having its indicator disconnected from the main portion of the weighing mechanism, a stop on said main portion to limit the movement of the indicator when released, a latch for securing said indicator at the zero-point, and electrical connections between said chute-section and latch" (lines 114-123).
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Smith, William R.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton and Cotton Seed Press. (open access)

Cotton and Cotton Seed Press.

Patent for a new and improved press. This design consists in "a suitable frame-work, the follower, two sets of toggle-arms which are operated by a screw, and two sets of toggle-arms which extend at right angles to the two sets which are operated by the screw, and which second set are operated by a rope and tackle . . . The object of [the] invention is to produce a very powerful press in which the follower is operated by four sets of toggle-joints, two of which are operated by a screw and the other two by a rope and tackle, so as to produce twice the amount of power usually exerted in toggle-joint presses" (lines 15-29).
Date: June 14, 1887
Creator: Drew, John Melvin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton chopper. This design consists "[i]n a cotton-chopper, the combination, with a bent axle, wheels on the same, a swiveled bearing on the said axle, a chopping-hoe having its standard fitted in said bearing, and a triangular frame secured to the axle, of a forked operating-lever pivoted to the triangular frame, a collar on the standard of the hoe, and links connecting the collar to the ends of the arms of the said operating-lever" (lines 15-23).
Date: June 14, 1887
Creator: Sacks, Heinrich Wilhelm
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Compressor (open access)

Cotton Compressor

Patent for Cotton Compressor. "This invention relates to apparatus for compressing bales of cotton and for similar purposes." (lines 11-13).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Taylor, George
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Cultivator. (open access)

Cotton Cultivator.

Patent for a new and improved cultivator. This design consists in "the wheeled frame, the two laterally and vertically movable drag-bars jointed thereto, and each provided with shovels, the horizontal rotary-shaft lying between the drag-bars and provided with a blade arranged to revolve between the shovels of the respective beams, the transverse shaft mounted on the frame and connected by driving devices with the ground-wheel, and the intermediate shaft connected to the [other] shafts . . . by universal joints" (lines 17-27).
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Hutchins, Charles Nelson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gin-Saw-Sharpening Machine (open access)

Gin-Saw-Sharpening Machine

Patent for improvements of gin saw sharpening machines.
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: Behan, William & Friensehner, Paul
System: The Portal to Texas History
Hay Press. (open access)

Hay Press.

Patent for a new and improved hay-press. This design consists, "in combination with the plungers and their rack-stems, the cog, the brackets . . . curved as described, and having the flange, combined with the ways . . . and the anti-friction rolls, operating each on the rear of one of the rack-stems . . . [which are] combined with the brackets, detachably secured to the press, their forward ends constituting in connection with the rear plate of the press guide-ways for said stems" (lines 80-100).
Date: June 14, 1887
Creator: Cope, Mason L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nut Lock. (open access)

Nut Lock.

Patent for a new and improved nut-lock. This design consists in "[a] nut-lock key having a body or wedge portion and a head, and having such head provided at its inner edge with flanges or extensions, the inner edges of the flanges or extensions being separated from the body" (lines 70-74).
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: French, Stephen H. & Maltby, William J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Nutshell Cutting Machine. (open access)

Nutshell Cutting Machine.

Patent for a new and improved nutshell-cutting machine. This design consists in "the ring provided with slots, the apertured plate, the cutters inserted in the slots, the set-screws adapted to hold the cutters in the slots, and the follower . . . arranged to force the nut through between the cutters, and means for supporting the cutters in the position of use" (lines 72-80).
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Pecht, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Penman's Arm Rest. (open access)

Penman's Arm Rest.

Patent for a new and improved writer's armrest. This design "is to provide a sort of swivel-pivot to support the wrist in writing, whereby perfect freedom of movement is given to the hand, and the position of the hand may be changed instantaneously without effort in forming characters in writing. The invention consists of a flexible or pliable foundation-piece with an anti-friction or swivel roller or ball projecting from its surface and forming a pivot to support the wrist when writing, a strap or buckle, or other fastening, being used to attach the device to the wrist" (lines 11-22).
Date: June 14, 1887
Creator: Graham, Tilghman
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the axle having the landside-wheel and the larger inclined furrow-wheel, of the tongue, the vertical bars secured to the under side of the tongue, the lower ends of the bars being clipped to the axle and adjustable laterally thereon, the curved brace clipped at its ends to the axle and between its ends to the lower ends of the bars, and the plow and its operating lever" (lines 73-82).
Date: June 28, 1887
Creator: Locke, William J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Railway Signal. (open access)

Railway Signal.

Patent for a new and improved railroad signal. This design consists in "[a] continuous electric conductor extending beside a railroad, a contact-maker borne by a train, an electric galvanic battery, a stationary transmitter, and a train provided with transmitting and receiving instruments on two or more members of the train and connected with the electric circuit in multiple arc . . . whereby a message can be sent to each member simultaneously" (lines 8-17).
Date: June 7, 1887
Creator: Armstrong, James Henry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Reflector for Lamps. (open access)

Reflector for Lamps.

Patent for a new and improved reflector for oil lamps. This design consists in "a collar provided with a bead and having two holes through said bead, a looped wire the looped portion of which is curved and the ends of which are also curved and passed through the holes in said collar and rigidly secured within said bead, and a shell the upper end of which is provided with a hole and the lower with a bail for securing the same upon the curved portion of said loop" (lines 58-66).
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Williams, Robert E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Spark Arrester for Smoke Stacks. (open access)

Spark Arrester for Smoke Stacks.

Patent for a new and improved spark arrester. This design consists "a direct flue or smoke-stack . . . [which] projects and deflects the sparks or cinders through perforations in a vertical wall of a stack into a dead-air space that surrounds the draft-flue, there causing these sparks . . . to impinge against vertical ribs that subdivide the annular air-space that intervenes between an inner and outer cylindrical wall of the stack, gravity of the accumulating mass of cinders causing their discharge . . . through gates that are opened by the weight of the sparks above them and closed by their own gravity" (lines 15-30).
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Wilson, Martin M.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Stomach-Bitters. (open access)

Stomach-Bitters.

Patent for improved stomach-bitters that promote and strengthen the appetite and general system, which lists the ingredients and proportions.
Date: June 21, 1887
Creator: Cooper, Isaac.
System: The Portal to Texas History