A New or Improved Apparatus for Teaching Notation.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Feb., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 14th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 20th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Apparatus for Teaching Notation.
"
I, MARY LAUDER WILSON, of the Board Schools, Bowling Back Lane, Bradford
in the County of York, Schoolmistress, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a new or improved apparatus for teaching notation or
numeration and its object is to provide an arrangement clearly illustrating to the
unskilled or beginner the quantity or value of the different numbers or digits as well
as their local value or quantity they represent when placed in combination.
The said improvements consist of the arrangement hereinafter described in which
the several numbers may be displayed to the pupils as desired both separately and in
combination as well as the value or quantity they represent.
For this purpose I employ a suitable frame forming part of an easel or adapted to
be mounted on one and provided with one or more endless bands arranged side by side
and each bearing representations of the numbers, digits, units or figures from one to
nine as well as the character nought or cipher arranged in such a manner that each of
the numbers may be separately displayed to the pupils. Adjacent to each band and
preferably beneath the point where the numbers appear I provide nine receptacles,
hooks or the like and I provide a number of marbles, cubes or other bodies to be placed
therein or thereon to represent the value of the digit displayed above.
A convenient method is to form nine receptacles to contain marbles or other small
bodies beneath the band on the right hand and to employ nine hooks to support bags
beneath the bands to the left each to hold a number of marbles equal to those contained
in the receptacles and bags to the right. In this manner the individual and local value
of each number is illustrated.
•
The nought character may be represented upon the bands and ten receptacles or
hooks may be provided in combination with each band to illustrate the value of the
nought character when placed in combination with other figures.
I may employ revolving discs instead of bands and I may arrange them to auto-
matically display the number of small bodies beneath as the number representing them
is presented above in which case representations of such bodies may be used instead of
the bodies themselves.
In a similar manner the said endless bands may be arranged to automatically display
the number of small bodies or representations of small bodies as the number repre-
senting them is presented above.
The spaces to receive the above mentioned small bodies beneath each band or disc
are differently coloured to distinguish them. And the said bands or discs may also be
differently coloured.
Dated this 13th day of February 1890
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Apparatus for Teaching Notation.
I, MARY LAUDER WILSON, of the Board Schools, Usher Street, Wakefield Road,
Bradford, in the County of York, Schoolmistress, 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:
:-
This invention relates to a new or improved apparatus for teaching notation' or

page_text: ..
numeration, and its object is to provide an arrangement clearly illustrating to the
unskilled or beginner the quantity or value of the different numbers or digits as well
as their local value or quantity they represent when placed in combination.
The said improvements consist of: the arrangement hereinafter described in which
the several numbers may be displayed to the pupils as desired both separately and in
combination as well as the value or quantity they represent.
For this purpose I employ a suitable frame forming part of an easel or adapted to
be mounted on one and provided with one or more bands arranged side by side and
each bearing representations of numbers, digits, units or figures from one to nine as
well as the character nought or cipher arranged in such a manner, that each of the
*numbers may be separately displayed to the pupils. Adjacent to each band and
preferably beneath the point where the numbers appear I provide nine receptacles,
hooks or the like and I provide a number of marbles, cubes or other bodies to be placed
therein or thereon to represent the value of the digit displayed above. :
$
A convenient method is to form nine receptacles to contain marbles or other small
bodies beneath the band on the right hand and to employ nine books to support the
bags beneath the bands to the left each bag to hold ten marbles.
T
In order to fully describe my invention reference is made to the accompanying sheet
of drawings forming a part of this. Specification, in which similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in both figures.
Figure represents a front view of an easel provided with my improved apparatus
for teaching notation, and
Figure 2 is a side view of the same.
The bands A and a are each marked with the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, with
the addition of .0 (nought) at the end of A and a dot nought or blank space at the
beginning of a. They are threaded through the slits B, B and b, b as represented in
Figure 1, so that any figure on each band may be shown at the front of the easel.
The remainder of the bands hang down behind the easel concealed from the pupil/but
within reach of the tutor who draws the. bands through the slits to alter the number
appearing in front as the lesson proceeds. Nine recesses D are provided beneath the
figure to the right to receive and hold the marbles e shown in black. And nine books e¹
project beneath the left hand figure to hold the bags i..
The method of using the apparatus is as follows: The nought character, the dot or
a blank space in the band is shown where the left hand figure is represented and the
figures 1 to 9 are consecutively shown at the right hand. As each figure appears a
marble is placed in one of the recesses D until the nought character is reached then
the nine marbles are removed from the recesses a tenth is added in the presence of
the pupils and they are placed in one of the bags i and suspended from the top hook e¹
and the figure 1 is made to appear at the left hand. The lesson is continued in this
manner from 10 to 20 up to 99, an additional bag being placed beneath the left hand
figure to hold the marbles placed beneath the right hand figure each time the nought
character appears at the right hand. In figure 1 five marbles are represented in the
recesses beneath the figure 5 and three bags with ten marbles in each beneath the
figure 3 on the left hand which shows the apparatus at that stage of the lesson when
the number 35 is reached. Nine recesses and nine hooks only are preferably shown
so as to convey the fact that not more than nine can be expressed by one figure, nor
more than 99 by two figures. The recesses and bags are preferably grouped in threes
to enable the pupils to more readily grasp the relative value of the figures.
It is obvious that a third band to the left similarly numbered may be employed
with larger bags adapted to each hold the whole of the bags suspended from the
hooks e¹ and one bag more but I find the arrangement shown is sufficient to illustrate
the principle:
I may employ revolving discs instead of bands and I may arrange such discs_or
bands to automatically display the numbers of small bodies beneath as the number
representing them is presented above, in which case representations of such bodies
may be used instead of the bodies themselves but I find that a mechanical arrangement
does not convey such a clear and vivid impression to the pupil:

page_text: The recesses D are preferably coloured differently to distinguish them. And the
said bands or discs may also be differently coloured.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare, what I
claim is:
"
The apparatus herein described to facilitate teaching the principle of notation.
constructed to separately display the digits and numbers and having an arrangement.
for displaying their value adjacent, substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 12th day of November 1890.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.