Button. (open access)

Button.

Patent for a button that can fit in any buttonhole. It is "a bar having a button or know affixed thereto and having key-hole-slots, of a button attached to an arm having a tongue and a contracted offset portion adjacent thereto and between the same and the button carried thereby, the said tongue being of a thickness substantially the same as the width of the slot" (lines 55-62).
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Burroughs, John J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Locking Joints for Railway-Rail Joints. (open access)

Locking Joints for Railway-Rail Joints.

Patent for a locking device for railway-rail joints. It improves how the meeting rail ends are fastened, and prevents accidental disconnection. It is "a locking fish-plate having keyhole bolt-slots, the narrow portion of the slots having inclined sides, the inclination diminishing gradually toward the end, and double-headed bolts, one of the heads being tapered, whereby the bolt is subjected to a double wedging action" (lines 56-61). A face-plate is perforated and receives the tapered heads and securing-rivets.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Anderson, Lee
System: The Portal to Texas History
Portable Furnace. (open access)

Portable Furnace.

Patent for a furnace adapted for camping and general outdoor use. Includes instructions and illustrations.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Underwood, William T. & Underwood, Leroy C.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horse-Check. (open access)

Horse-Check.

Patent for an automatic that prevents horses from starting off when left unattended. It detects when the vehicle begins moving and pulls back on the reins.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Lee, Charles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Gate. (open access)

Gate.

Patent for a rotary gate that has latch-posts and spring-latches at its ends. The spring-latches are designed to employ the latches. "Levers fulcrumed on the top of the gate and connected with each other, connecting-rods connecting said levers with the spring-latches, and vibratory braces rising from the sides of the gate and secured to said levers" (lines 33-37).
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Holder, Elisha G.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Saw Attachment. (open access)

Saw Attachment.

Patent for a handsaw attachment that gauges the depth to which one wishes to cut. It is a bar with an extended foot and clamping devices for attaching the device to the top and handle of the saw.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Gowdan, Richard H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Rocking-Chair Fan. (open access)

Rocking-Chair Fan.

Patent for a rocking chair fan that spins when the operator begins rocking in the chair. It easily adjusts to any model of rocking chair and is noiseless.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Martyr, Leonard W. & Martyr, Ernest E.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence-Stay. (open access)

Fence-Stay.

Patent for a simple and inexpensive fence-stay that "may be readily applied in a secure manner to horizontal fence-wires" (lines 12-13). The posts are sheets of metal, and metal T-shaped tongues hold the wires in place.
Date: July 21, 1896
Creator: Munger, Ennis
System: The Portal to Texas History