Year: 1898

page_text: FREDERICK FITTS, 2, Macfarlane Place, Shepherd's Bush, W., Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
An elephant formed of tin or any other suitable material, for the purpose
of working the trunk, tail and ears, enabling the elephant to raise a
figure
(example) of a boy or small animal a few times from the ground and if desired,
to duck the said figure in a tank, in combination with mechanism; the motion
of the elephant's ears and tail changes its expression.
The mechanism is equally suitable for a one-sided impression of an elephant
or for a full model, with this difference that when a full model is intended, the
rod that moves the trunk and ears does not turn, but acts like a piston-rod and
crank axis; with the trunk hinged to rise longitudinally or to a parallel with
the body.
It follows that the mechanism on the one-sided model is enclosed in the full
The trunk is
model, but the combination is practically the same in either.
made to rise and lower once at each revolution of the 1st wheel coming in
contact with full driving-power on the rod (to which the trunk is attached)
thereby turning the rod and raising the trunk; except as described when a round
or full model elephant is intended, then this said rod takes its power from an
elbow or a crank axis of the first wheel. The 2nd wheel making more revolu-
tions is used to work the tail with a more rapid motion than the trunk and ears,
by means of pins or catches acting on a leverage of the tail.
D
09.1
& Mach 1908
FREDERICK FITTS.
I, FREDERICK FITTS, of No. 2, Macfarlane Place, Shepherd's Bush, London, W.,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
My invention relates to an improved mechanical toy and it consists in the
construction of an elephant formed of tin or any other suitable material in
combination with mechanism for working the trunk, tail and ears of the animal,
and, if desired, a human or other figure may be suspended in the grip of the
elephant's trunk, to he raised and lowered as the trunk is being raised and
lowered by the mechanism, and, in lowering the said trunk and figure, the latter

page_text: may become ducked into a tank, and lifted again, while the motion of the
elephant's ears and tail changes its expression and gives it the aspect of actual
life.
To make my said invention fully understood, I shall describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a front view of the toy,
Figure 2 an end view of the same and
Figure 3 represents the essential part of the working mechanism.
On a suitable base-plate a, the feet of the frame b of an elephant are mounted,
preferably in a convenient manner to be easily removed and re-adjusted for the
sake of conveniently packing and transmitting the toy. But the said base-
plate a, may be entirely omitted and the animal frame so constructed to roll on
wheels or to walk under the influence of suitable mechanism of any kind, such
for instance as described and shown in Adam's British Patent No. 6074 of 1895.
The frame of the elephant may be single-sided, as shown, with the working-
mechanism secured to its rear side between the said frame b and a plate b¹, to
which one fore-leg and one hind leg of the animal are formed or secured, but
the toy-animal may as well be completed by adding the other side of its body
and securing the same to the front frame, as usual in toy animals; the body,
in this case includes the mechanism and a hole is left open to introduce the key
for winding up the driving spring.
The frame 6 of the animal or other fixed parts of the same carry pivoted to
them as at n, a tail o and ears and y pivoted as at and y¹ respectively.
The elephant's trunk c is secured to a rod to which a rocking motion is imparted
as hereinafter described. The lower end of said trunk may carry a human or
any other figure d pivoted to it, and as the trunk is being raised and lowered
alternately by the rocking motion of the rod, the said figure d will alternately
be ducked into the tank e which may contain water, and subsequently lifted
from the said tank, swinging in the air round its pivot.
The
The driving mechanisin for working the tail, ears and trunk of the animal
consists of a shaft f, carrying at its rear end a handle f¹ for winding up the
spring secured to said shaft, or the handle may be replaced by a square portion
or other suitable means for engaging a key to wind the spring up.
mechanism for giving motion to the several parts from the spring driven shaft f
is materially the same as in other spring-driven toys, it consists of a ratchet
wheel h and a spring pawl i, engaging the same, the said ratchet wheel his fixed
on the shaft f, and the spring pawli, fixed to a wheel k which is loose on the
said shaft f, but carried along by the spring pawl. A set of toothed wheels and
pinions m p, q, rs and t completes the train of ordinary kind and a fan u
serves to control and retard motion. The animal's tail o pivoted as at n, project-
ing with its inner end into the path of motion of a pin or pins a secured to the
wheel m will be struck by said pin or pins and as soon as the inner end is struck,
the outer end of said tail is lifted and then falls again as the pin 21 slides off
the curved portion of the inner lever end. The toothed wheel carries on its
front side a flange 12 of semi-circular shape, which, during the rotation of said
wheel strikes a pin secured to the rod r and turns said rod as indicated by
the arrow in Figures 1 and 3, the said rod r, being arranged to turn in guides ww
secured to the frame b. As long as the flange r continues to force the said pin
down, the rod will not be permitted to return into its normal position. To the
front part of the said rod the trunk e of the elephant is secured, and the trunk
will be raised and remain in its raised position, until the said flange of the
wheel has passed the pin of rod whereupon the rod will be turned into
its normal position by the proper weight of the trunk, tending to fall from its
raised position. To the inner or rear end of said trunk c, threads or wires aª
and are secured as at, the said threads or wires being with their upper ends
secured to the inner ends of the animal's ears r and y pivoted as at 1 and y¹.
I will be easily understood that, as the trunk is being raised, the point will

page_text: be lowered and the threads or wires pull at the inner ends of the elephant's ears,
thus causing the ears to be raised, while as the trunk c again descends, as
described, the ears will equally tall into their normal position.
It will be seen that the rcd arranged in parallel plane to the animal's frame,
turns the trunk cat right angles to said plane. But it will be easily understood
that the said rod may as well be forced to move forward and backward in its
guideways w in the direction of its length, the said motion being derived from
a crank-axis, as usual, and the trunk, which, in this case is pivoted to the frame,
receives a swinging motion, rising and descending in the plane of the body.
The latter modification will be preferable, if the animal is constructed to walk
or move, instead of being mounted stationary. The animal's tail o may be
worked at a more rapid rate than the trunk and ears, by employing a driving
wheel m with a greater speed, obtained by applying gear-wheels of suitably
proportioned size.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A toy animal proceeding by the action of suitable driving mechanism,
comprising means, actuated by said driving mechanism, for working the tail,
the ear or ears, and the trunk of the animal figure, or either of said parts, sub-
stantially as described.
2. A toy elephant having a revolving shaft from which an alternately rising
and falling motion is imparted to the trunk and tail of the animal the ears of the
same being simultaneously caused to rise and fall according to the motions of
the trunk, substantially as described.
3. In a toy elephant substantially as described in Claim 1 the combination
with the mechanism for raising and lowering the animal's trunk of a human
or other figure swinging in the grip of the said trunk.
4. A toy elephant in combination with and worked by mechanism substantially
as described.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.