Improvements in Hobby Horses or other similar Apparatus.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 26th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 3rd May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hobby Horses or other similar Apparatus.
JOHN WHITEHEAD, of 51 Barker Street, Lozells, Birmingham, in the county of
Warwick, Engraver, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the construction and arrangement of
riding apparatus for the amusement and recreation of children, and consists
primarily in providing that the horse, chair, or other object upon or in which the
rider is carried, shall be secured to the outer end of a lever, while its fulcrum is
supported upon a pillar or other similar fixture, such lever being further acted upon
by a spring, either at its inner end, or at any desired point between the fulcrum and the
said hobby horse &c., whereby the rider and lever is alternately raised, or assisted in
being raised, during the rising and falling motion imparted to the said lever &c.; and
thus producing a similar effect to that of the well known amusement of boys swinging
up and down on the bough of a tree.
Such apparatus may be constructed to accommodate one of such horses &c., or it
may be made to accommodate two or more in a row, or radiating to a common
centre.
One form which will embrace this my invention may be described as follows:-
A strong pillar or fulcrum support is provided, having at a suitable height from the
ground a joint upon which is carried the one end of a long lever. At the other end
of this lever is secured the horse, or chair &c., upon which the rider is carried. At a
little distance from the fulcrum, along the lever, is provided an upright spiral spring,
which is suitably supported in connection with the base and the said lever, so that
upon a downward motion of the lever, the said spring is in compression, and thereby
tending to raise it again.
Its action would be somewhat thus:
A boy having mounted the horse, his weight would bring the lever down, until his
feet touch the ground, when he would impart an upward motion thereto by
springing from his feet, and assisted by the aforesaid spiral spring, and so the up and
down riding motion would be repeated.
Instead of the spring being so situated however, I may extend the lever beyond
the fulcrum, and at its inner end attach the spring, which shall then be in
tension.
Also, in some instances I provide adjustment to the said springs so that they may
accommodate a lighter or heavier weight at the outer end of the lever.
The aforesaid horse, or chair &c. may be either carried upon or suspended from
the end of the lever as may be desired; and may or may not be counterweighted,
and thereby have a pivoted pendulum action, so as to retain an upright position
during its rising and falling motion.
Dai thi. Ozıl 1
1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hobby Horses or other similar Apparatus.
1, JOHN WHITEHEAD, of 51 Barker Street, Lozells, Birmingham, in the county of
Warwick, Engraver, 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 improvements in the construction and arrangement of

page_text: riding apparatus, for amusement, and recreation, and consists primarily in providing
that the borse, chair, or other object upon, or in which the rider is carried, shall be
secured to the outer end of a lever, while its fulcrum is supported upon a pillar or
other similar fixture, such lever being further acted upon by a spring, either at its
inner end, or at any desired point between the fulcrum and the said hobby horse &c.,
whereby the rider and lever is alternately raised, or assisted in being raised,
during the rising and falling motion imparted to the said lever &c; and thus pro-
ducing a similar effect to that of the well known amusement of boys swinging up and
down on the bow of a tree.
Such apparatus may be constructed to accommodate one of such horses &c., or it
may be made to accommodate two or more in a row, or radiating to a common
centre.
I will now proceed to more particularly describe this my invention and how it is to
be performed, having reference to the accompanying illustrative sheet of drawings,
upon which are figures and letters of reference, similar letters referring throughout
the several views to the same thing or part, and in which
:-
Fig. 1, is a view of my invention constructed upon the principle of a lever of the
first order.
Fig. 2, is a view of my invention constructed upon the principle of a lever of the
third order.
Figs. 3, & 4, show its application in several forms to what is known as a round-
about.
In Fig. 1, a strong pillar or support a, is provided, having at its upper end a
joint, or its equivalent. Upon the lever c, is also provided a corresponding joint,
and these two joints are made to engage with each other by means of a joint pin
passing through them. At the outer end of the lever is carried the horse d, or
chair &c. At the other end of the lever, the upper end of a spiral spring e, is
secured, its lower end being connected to the floor or platform f.
In some cases. I may place the pillar a', and fulcrum joint 6', at the end of the
lever c', as seen in Fig. 2. At a little distance from the fulcrum along the lever, is
provided the upright spring e', which is in compression, the rod g, serving as a guide
for the said spring el. At the outer end of the lever is shown a chair h, which may
he substituted by a horse or other convenience for riding thereon.
Its action in either case would be somewhat thus:-
A boy having mounted the horse, his weight would bring the lever down, until his
feet touched the ground, when he would impart an upward motion thereto by
springing from his feet, and assisted by the aforesaid spiral spring e, or e¹, and so the
up and down riding motion would be repeated..
Also, in some instances, I provide adjustment to the said springs, so that they may
accommodate a lighter or heavier weight at the outer end of the lever. This may be
done in several ways, but in Fig. 1, I have shown a simple arrangement for effecting
this.
To the upper end of the spring e, a screw pin n, is secured, which passes
upwards through the end of the lever c, and is there controlled, and adjusted, by
means of the band wheel nut o. Thus for a light rider the spring would,,.he
lengthened out, while for a heavier rider it would be shortened by the said hand-
wheel nut o. Also in Fig. 2, I have shown a simple arrangement which may be
adopted. From the underside of the lever c', is carried the screw i, upon which
hangs a heavy weight j. At the outer end of this screw is a removable handle k, by
which the weight j, may be readily moved along the screw to any desirable point to
compensate for a heavy or a light rider.
In some instances, I may suspend the horse, chair &c., from or upon the end of the
lever. as seen for instance at 1, in Figs. 3 & 4.
Figs. & 4, also illustrate how any of these arrangements may be applied to a
roundabout, steam or otherwise, the whole of the levers radiating to a common
centre or post.
If desired the horse.&c. may be counter weighted by weight m, and thereby have a

page_text: pivoted pendulum action, so as to retain an upright position during its rising and
falling motion, as seen in Fig. 3.
In Fig. 4 I have further shown a modified method of carrying the horses &c.,
according to this my invention, in which, the spring e, may be employed without
the spring e, or vice versa; or they may be both employed. The three horses &c.
abreast may be carried from the same pole, or may be suspended from separate poles
lying side by side, the one horse being a trifle bebind the other. Motion may be
imparted to the entire number of poles &c. in any convenient manner, as for instance,
by means of the pinion p, taken into the wheel 9, the pinion p, being driven by hand
or steam.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
:―
1st. The combination with a fulcrumed lever, of a spiral spring and a riding horse,
chair &c., substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. 1 & 2.
2nd. The combination with a fulcrumed lever, spiral spring, horse, or chair &c. of
the screw compensating arrangement, substantially as described and illustrated in
Fig. 1.,
3rd. The combination with a fulcrumed lever, spiral spring, horse, or chair &c., of
the compensating weight, constructed and operating, substantially as described and
illustrated in Fig. 2.
4th. The combination with a fulcrumed lever and spiral spring, of the counter-
weighted horse or chair &c., substantially as described and illustrated in Fig. 3.
5th. The combination with a roundabout of a fulcrumed lever or lovers, with their
spiral springs, and a riding horse or chair &c., substantially as described and illustrated
in Fig. 3.
6th. The combination with a riding horse, chair &c., of a suspending spiral spring 1,
carried from a beam or similar support, substantially as described and illustrated in
Figs. 3 & 4.
Dated this 25th day of March 1890.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
12, Cherry Street, Birmingham, Applicant's Agent.