Combined Pessary and Womb-Battery. (open access)

Combined Pessary and Womb-Battery.

Patent for a combined pessary and womb-battery. It is inserted into a woman's vagina and is used to deliver medication "and to stimulate the genitals to a healthy and normal action both mechanically and electrically" (lines 11-13). The device is worn without discomfort and can be worn while pregnant.
Date: July 7, 1896
Creator: Keller, Martha Ellen
System: The Portal to Texas History
Strap Binder or Lock and Record-Check. (open access)

Strap Binder or Lock and Record-Check.

Patent for an improved strap-binder or lock and record-check that is "simple, effective, and comparatively inexpensive" to manufacture (lines 8-11).
Date: July 7, 1921
Creator: Glisson, Amos A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Letter-Box. (open access)

Letter-Box.

Patent for improvements in mail-boxes, where a movable partition is place inside of a mail-box “which is raised by the cover or lid so as to receive the mail and then drop it into the box as soon as the lid is closed, to attach to the lid an apron which rises in the box so as to make connection with the inner edge of the partition when the lid is raised to deposit mail-matter, and thus prevent any possibility of the content of the box from being abstracted when the cover is raised.” (Lines 18-27)Illustration is included.
Date: July 7, 1891
Creator: Wesson, Miley B.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Vending-Machine. (open access)

Vending-Machine.

Patent for device to improve price display, movement of goods, and correct coin measurement of coin-controlled vending machines.
Date: July 7, 1903
Creator: Scheble, Eugene Stiles
System: The Portal to Texas History
Speed-Indicator. (open access)

Speed-Indicator.

Patent for a speed-indicator to be used on trolly-cars and other vehicles that informs anyone looking behind the trolly-car if that car is speeding or not. An alarm goes off when the car goes above a predetermined speed, which is activated by a governor that is controlled from the wheels. A device keeps the signal normal.
Date: July 7, 1896
Creator: Bateman, Talbot Owens
System: The Portal to Texas History
Farm Gate. (open access)

Farm Gate.

Patent for a new and improved farm gate. This design consists "[i]n a swinging-gate, the combination of a plate provided with notches upon its upper outer end and connected to the upper end of the inner gate-post, a lever pivoted to the plate and connected with the upper pintle of the gate, a latch pivoted to the lever and extending down through a slot therein to engage with the notches in the plate, and suitable cords and pulleys for operating the latch and lever" (lines 17-26).
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Akin, Leonidas T.
System: The Portal to Texas History