Cotton Blocker. (open access)

Cotton Blocker.

Patent for a new and improved cotton-blocker. This design "relates to cotton-blockers . . . to be applied to cultivators; and the object of the invention is to provide a blocker and mechanism for operating it which may be applied to cultivators of any construction, and with but little trouble, and to provide a hoe-blade which will clear itself of dirt and weeds and make a regular and steady stroke" (lines 11-18).
Date: October 4, 1887
Creator: Jordan, James Thomas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Compressor for Ice Machines. (open access)

Compressor for Ice Machines.

Patent for a new and improved ice-machine compressor. This design consists in "an ammonia-compressor, the piston-rod having transverse opening in combination with the valve, stem having slot and shoulder, key held therein by a wedge, and the spring and washer" (lines 90-94).
Date: October 4, 1887
Creator: Schuehle, Jacob
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Ventilator. (open access)

Car Ventilator.

Patent for a new and improved car-ventilator. This design consists in "an eduction pipe arranged lengthwise of the car" (lines 103-104). It further consists in a casing "at the end of the pipe, the fan-wheel mounted upon a shaft within said casing, [another] casing arranged adjacent to the [first] casing, a fan-wheel arranged within [a third] casing upon an extension of the shaft, and valves in the eduction pipe, to be opened and closed by the air" (lines 1-7).
Date: October 11, 1887
Creator: Tull, Francis Shalis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn-Planter. (open access)

Corn-Planter.

Patent for improvement of corn-planters, with illustrations. The purpose of this corn-planters patent was to improve existing corn-planters through, "peculiar construction and combination of devices, that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims" (lines 9-12).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Koepke, William. Wm. Koepke.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Cotton-Chopper, Harrow, and Cultivator (open access)

Combined Cotton-Chopper, Harrow, and Cultivator

Patent for an improved version of a machine which aids in the processing and maintenance of cotton plants. Includes description of parts and their use and illustrations.
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Robinson, John H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Corn Planting Attachment for Plows. (open access)

Corn Planting Attachment for Plows.

Patent for a new and improved corn-planting attachment for plows. This design "consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such an attachment, which may be secured to the rear end of the beam of a common breaking-plow, having a wheel running in the furrow operating the dropping mechanism" (lines 22-28).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Aten, Frank L.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton chopper. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the frame and the operating-gearing, of the vertical shaft, supported by the frame and acted on by the operating-gearing, the horizontal plate rigidly secured to the lower end of the shaft and provided with radial grooves, and slots in said grooves, the feet having their upper ends bent at right angles, fitted in said grooves and adjustably secured therein by bolts passing through the radial slots, the lower ends of the feet carrying choppers" (lines 39-49).
Date: October 25, 1887
Creator: Ballard, John J.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Brake for Vehicles (open access)

Brake for Vehicles

Patent for "a brake which shall be easy in operation, cheap in construction, and not liable to get out of order" (lines 13-17).
Date: October 25, 1887
Creator: Bacon, Edward Hamlin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Truss. (open access)

Truss.

Patent for a new and improved truss. This design consists in "the body-band consisting of a front piece adapted to fit around the abdomen, and a wire attached to each end of said front piece, shaped to conform to the body and spread apart to receive and rest upon the hip-bone, and straps secured to the opposite ends of said wires for fastening the band in place" (lines 43-50).
Date: October 25, 1887
Creator: Davis, Andrew P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Windmill (open access)

Windmill

Patent for an improvement of windmills.
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Vanmeter, James Wright
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Packer (open access)

Cotton-Packer

Patent for a new cotton-packer design involving a drum, pulleys, rope, and springs, with illustrations.
Date: October 4, 1887
Creator: Thompson, Robert K.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Measuring Vessel. (open access)

Measuring Vessel.

Patent for a new and improved measuring vessel. This design consists in "a measuring-vessel provided with a funnel projecting from right angles at the top of it, and a hinged lid wholly covering the opening to the funnel and to the vessel" (lines 54-58).
Date: October 11, 1887
Creator: Reeves, Virgil A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Shoe Upper Blank. (open access)

Shoe Upper Blank.

Patent for a new and improved shoe-upper blank. This design "relates to an improvement in blanks for the uppers of what are known as 'plow-shoes,' wherein a fly is folded over the instep and secured upon the side of the shoe by means of a tongue and buckle. The object of [the] invention is to provide a durable, inexpensive, and comfortable shoe which will be largely free from stitching and will have a neatly fitting and pleasing appearance" (lines 7-16).
Date: October 4, 1887
Creator: Skinner, John Leary
System: The Portal to Texas History
Show-Case (open access)

Show-Case

Patent for "improvements in show-cases for displaying ribbons and in devices for measuring the same; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices" (lines 10-13)
Date: October 19, 1887
Creator: McNeill, Alexander
System: The Portal to Texas History
Horseshoe. (open access)

Horseshoe.

Patent for a new and improved horseshoe. This design "has for its objects, first, to fasten a shoe to the hoof in such a manner that it will be firmly held in place, and in a great measure overcome the jar and concussion incident to traveling on hard roads; second, in so providing a fastening that the shoe can be secured to the hoof and removed at will without the aid of a skilled work[person] and without the use of nails" (lines 18-26).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Robertson, Alexander W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Plow. (open access)

Plow.

Patent for a new and improved plow. This design consists in a "hollow hub or sleeve in combination with the universal joint composed of a band fitting loosely within said sleeve, a gimbal-ring pivoted to said band, and a knuckle pivoted to said gimbal-ring, whereby motion may be transmitted from one rotary body to another when the planes of rotation are or are not parallel to each other" (lines 88-95).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Kirk, John P.
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 driving-wheel . . . the rotary mold-board, and the plow-beam, of the universal joint composed of the hollow portion of the hub of the driving-wheel, a ring pivoted thereto, a knuckle pivoted to said ring, and a band encircling the hollow portion of said hub and fixed to the said plow-beam" (lines 6-13).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Kirk, John P.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Pie Safe or Refrigerator. (open access)

Pie Safe or Refrigerator.

Patent for a new and improved refrigerator. This design consists in "[t]he improved portable pie-safe . . . comprising the body, the guide-rods arranged vertically in the said body, near the corners thereof, and extended through the top of the same to form the loops, the bail or handle secured to said loops, the cross-bars secured to said guide-rods, and the spring-actuated shelves mounted on the said cross-bars" (lines 78-86).
Date: October 4, 1887
Creator: Holt, Lucy Jane
System: The Portal to Texas History
Electric Call or Signal Apparatus. (open access)

Electric Call or Signal Apparatus.

Patent for a new and improved electric call or signal apparatus. This design consists in "a telegraph or telephone circuit, the combination, with a polarized electro-magnet and a short circuit around the same, which is closed when the magnet is transversed by a constant current of a given polarity, of a battery having the proper pole to line, a switch for connecting the line and battery circuits, and a telephone in the battery circuit, whereby the telegraph or telephone line may be tested" (lines 41-49).
Date: October 18, 1887
Creator: Foster, George W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Seed Dropper. (open access)

Cotton Seed Dropper.

Patent for a new and improved planter. This design consists in "the frame, the roller journaled in the rear side thereof and having the crank, the seed-spout, the supporting bars on opposite sides of the frame, the rigid shaft connecting the said bars, the seed-disk rigidly secured to the said shaft and having the curved fingers or teeth, the hopper journaled on the shaft and adapted to oscillate thereon, the said hopper having the discharge-opening in its lower side, through which the lower edge of the seed-disk connects, and the pitman connecting the crank with the hopper" (lines 26-37).
Date: October 25, 1887
Creator: Ballard, John J.
System: The Portal to Texas History