Animal Power. (open access)

Animal Power.

Patent for a new and improved engine. This design has a "tread-wheel on which the animal is placed, and which is provided with a cog-wheel on its under side to mesh with a pinion placed on one end of the crank-shaft, a connecting-rod which is attached at one end to the crank and at the other to a pivoted lever . . . a second connecting-rod which is fastened to the upper end of the pivoted lever . . . a balance-wheel, and the main driving-shaft provided with a number of arms, each one of which carries a planet-wheel for the purpose of moving around a fixed wheel" (lines 15-29).
Date: July 7, 1885
Creator: Yarbrough, Ezekel James & Kyker, John Marshal
System: The Portal to Texas History
Apparatus for Forcing Beer from Kegs. (open access)

Apparatus for Forcing Beer from Kegs.

Patent for a new and improved apparatus for forcing beer from kegs. This design "relates to an improved method of keeping atmospheric pressure upon beer or other aerated liquid contained in a keg or similar receptacle, so as to prevent the same from becoming stale or flat from the evaporating of its dissolved gas. It consists in improvements in the apparatus by means of which the above-stated result is accomplished; and it further consists in the construction and novel arrangement of parts" (lines 16-25).
Date: September 14, 1886
Creator: Surratt, George & Heyman, Harry
System: The Portal to Texas History
Back Band Buckle. (open access)

Back Band Buckle.

Patent for a new and improved back band buckle. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the middle bar having an outwardly-projecting stud, the upper bar parallel to the middle bar and having an under offset recess, and a depending lug-hook and spring-snap" (lines 19-26).
Date: April 18, 1882
Creator: Lowe, Joseph Alfred
System: The Portal to Texas History
Baling Box. (open access)

Baling Box.

Patent for a new and improved baling box. This design consists "[i]n a baling-box, the bottom board having cleats and end board and fixed standards that reach above the end board in combination with the hinged side boards and end board hinged to [another] board, [those] boards being provided with cleats that reach beyond the edges of the boards to receive the loops" (lines 87-94).
Date: September 23, 1884
Creator: Bulkeley, Oliver
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bent for Suspension-Bridges. (open access)

Bent for Suspension-Bridges.

Patent for improvements in bents for suspension-bridges by securing the columns with wire braces, cross-bar and anchor-pins. Illustration is included.
Date: September 3, 1889
Creator: Runyon, Edwin Elijah
System: The Portal to Texas History
Boot Scraper. (open access)

Boot Scraper.

Patent for a new and improved boot scraper. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the inclined bow-shaped upper plate, having a transverse bar connecting the branches of the plate, the inner edges of which are inclined outward and upward from the upper edge of the transverse bar, and in providing, in connection with the bow-shaped plate, an under or subsidiary plate of forked form, having a rounded recess between the forks adapted to conform to the shape of the heel" (lines 18-30).
Date: October 23, 1883
Creator: Collins, Morris A.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Bottle Stopper. (open access)

Bottle Stopper.

Patent for a new and improved bottle stopper. This design "consists in the combination of the tubular body, having its lower end closed by means of a cork, and having its upper end formed into a measuring-chamber, which is adapted to be closed by means of a cork, so as to protect the measuring chamber from dust and dirt" (lines 13-19).
Date: July 15, 1884
Creator: Cotten, Jefferson Davis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Burglar Alarm. (open access)

Burglar Alarm.

Patent for a new and improved burglar alarm. This design "consists in the combination of the door provided with a rod for catching under the spring, a cylinder for receiving powder, a spring-actuated cover for the end of the cylinder, and a spring which explodes the cap . . . The object of [the] invention is to provide a burglar-alarm which will make a loud noise when the door is opened, and in which a spring-actuated cover is made to take the place of a wad or ball" (lines 13-24).
Date: August 10, 1886
Creator: Bray, Horace Bradford
System: The Portal to Texas History
Car Coupling. (open access)

Car Coupling.

Patent for a new and improved coupling for railroad cars. This design consists in "having [a] bell-mouthed draw-head, pin, plane-faced link, spring, and slide, having transverse plane face laterally secured in the draw-head by means of side guide-plates, [and] inlet into rabbets" (lines 85-90).
Date: November 7, 1882
Creator: Saxon, James W.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churn. (open access)

Churn.

Patent for a new and improved churn. This design consists "[i]n combination with the standard and bracket, the hinged arm having [a] bearing, oscillating driving-wheel, belt, belt-tightening wheels, dasher-wheel, and socket" (lines 94-98). It facilitates churning.
Date: December 1, 1885
Creator: White, Frank Lewis
System: The Portal to Texas History
Churning Device. (open access)

Churning Device.

Patent for a new and improved churn. This design consists "[i]n a churning device, the combination, with a base and a spring-bar held therein, of a cross-bar hinged to the said base and a churn-carrying bar secured to the said hinged and spring-bars" (lines 69-73).
Date: April 21, 1885
Creator: Wood, Sylvanus B.; Wood, Hervey & Wiley, Thomas Wilson
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Plow, Harrow, and Cultivator. (open access)

Combined Plow, Harrow, and Cultivator.

Patent for improvement in the construction of combined plows, harrows, and cultivators.
Date: May 2, 1882
Creator: Moss, John Carlton
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Railway-Rail Chair and Tie (open access)

Combined Railway-Rail Chair and Tie

Patent for an improved railway-rail chair and tie
Date: January 10, 1888
Creator: Marks, Nicholas Marie
System: The Portal to Texas History
Combined Torch and Gas Burner Key. (open access)

Combined Torch and Gas Burner Key.

Patent for a new and improved combined torch and gas-burner key. This design "relates to a device for lighting gas-burners and operating the cock of the gas-burner, and has for its object to provide a combined torch and key by means of which the gas may be lighted without the flame of the torch coming in contact with the globe surrounding the burner and the cock of the gas-burner readily taken hold of and operated" (lines 8-15).
Date: October 15, 1889
Creator: Lindsay, George Washington
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Chopper. (open access)

Cotton Chopper.

Patent for a new and improved cotton chopper. This design "consists, principally, in a cotton-chopper provided with a rolling support that is swiveled to the front end of the frame and trails behind such swiveled connection immediately in front of the cutting-blades . . . it consists, further, in the construction and combination of the various parts of the machine, whereby the same is enabled to operate across the row of cotton-plants" (lines 16-28).
Date: August 30, 1881
Creator: Wilder, Bert S.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton-Cultivating Machine (open access)

Cotton-Cultivating Machine

Patent to "provide an implement which, in passing once over the row of cotton, will chop, scrape, and cultivate said row" (lines 10-13).
Date: October 15, 1889
Creator: Runyon, Edwin Elijah
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Elevator. (open access)

Cotton Elevator.

Patent for a new and improved cotton elevator. This design "facilitate[s] the delivery of cotton to the gin, and at the same time . . . removes from the cotton the gravel and other foreign substances that may be in it, thereby preventing injury to the gin and causing it to deliver the cotton in a cleaner and better condition" (lines 7-13).
Date: June 14, 1881
Creator: Newton, William Frederick
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cultivator (open access)

Cultivator

Patent for "new and useful improvements in Plows and Cultivators" (lines 5-6), with illustrations.
Date: April 3, 1883
Creator: Nutting, James H.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device for Converting Motion. (open access)

Device for Converting Motion.

Patent for a new and improved motion converter. This design "has relation to mechanical movements for converting a reciprocating into a rotary motion so as to impart a steady and regular motion to such machinery as windmills and engines, churning and washing machines, as well as to all other motors to which it may be applied; and the novelty consists in the construction of the same" (lines 9-16).
Date: September 19, 1882
Creator: Brown, James F.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Device for Twisting Wire Cables of Suspension Bridges. (open access)

Device for Twisting Wire Cables of Suspension Bridges.

Patent for a new and improved cable twister. This design consists in "[t]he combination, with the casting having grooves and openings therein, of the semicircular disks . . . having grooves therein and openings extending through the same, the bolt for binding the several parts together, and the arms extending out from the disks" (lines 1-7).
Date: June 11, 1889
Creator: Runyon, Edwin Elijah
System: The Portal to Texas History
Double Foot Plow Stock. (open access)

Double Foot Plow Stock.

Patent for a new and improved double-foot plow-stock. This design consists "[i]n a double-footed plow, the combination of the beam provided with transverse holes, the cross-bar having slots, the pivot-bolt, and the adjustable braces independently pivoted to the cross-bar . . . [and] [t]he slotted standard having on its front face the notches and the plow-point, in combination with the clip, having a T-head whose lower face is V-shaped to fit in one of the notches of the standard" (lines 83-93).
Date: March 17, 1885
Creator: Page, Dyonisius Oliver
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence. (open access)

Fence.

Patent for a new and improved fence. This design "consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the bevel-end lap-joint top rails connected to and supported by the posts, the pendent panels consisting of series of horizontal rails interwoven in wire slings connected to the top rails, and links connecting the lower parts of the panels and the intermediate posts" (lines 20-27).
Date: May 8, 1883
Creator: Sevier, Moses Nimrod
System: The Portal to Texas History
Fence Post. (open access)

Fence Post.

Patent for a new and improved fence post. This design is for a "fence-post molded of a cement and sand or gravel, with a transverse vertical slot . . . a vertical opening in its top communicating with the vertical slot [designed] for the wire fastening . . . openings [found] in its sides or edges for the wires [as well as] a flange" (lines 51-56).
Date: October 10, 1882
Creator: McGee, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Flour Sieve. (open access)

Flour Sieve.

Patent for a new and improved flour sieve. This design has an "upwardly-flaring outer wall . . . and the inner more flattened conical guide-wall, provided with the wire-cloth stretched across its top and about its upper edge, said guide-wall being sprung into or secured to the crease of the outer wall, the latter extending downward to the level of the discharge" (lines 19-27). This results in "more accurately directed . . . deposit than if the opening were as large as that of the outer wall" (lines 59-61).
Date: August 29, 1882
Creator: Lowe, Joseph Alfred
System: The Portal to Texas History