Automaton Toys and in the Manufacture of the same.
Year: 1885

page_text: Automaton Toys and in the Manufacture of the same.
I, GEORGE WILLIAM HERBERT, of 74 and 75, Dean Street, Birmingham,
Warwickshire, Manufacturer, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying drawing and to the letters and Figures marked thereon, that is
to say:
My Invention has reference to improvements in frictional driving discs or wheels
for automaton toys such as moving figures, toy road rollers, locomotives and other
toys in which continuous or intermittent rotary motion is required to be transmitted
from one revolving shaft to another.
Such driving discs or wheels as heretofore ordinarily made are grooved on the
face in which groove is placed an india-rubber band which constitutes the frictional
driving surface of the disc or wheel. Such india-rubber bands are expensive and
liable to come off.
I will describe my Invention by referring to the accompanying drawing on
which Fig. 1 is a front view and Fig. 2 a side view of a driving disc or wheel for
automaton toys constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 3 is a cross section
of the same; Figs. 4, 5, 5* and 6 represent parts of the same in detail as hereinafter
described; Fig. 7 is a front view and Fig. 8 a side view of a modified form of the
driving disc or wheel illustrated by the preceeding Figures and Figs. 9, 10, 10*
and 11 illustrate separate parts of the driving disc or wheel illustrated by Figs. 7
and 8; Fig. 12 represents in front elevation and section a further modification of
the driving disc or wheel illustrated by Figs. 7 and 8, and Figs. 13 and 14 shew
parts of the same separately. Fig. 15 represents another modification of my
Invention, two discs or wheels being shewn gearing together and having a large
frictional surface as hereinafter described; Fig. 16 represents two of my improved
discs or wheels gearing together their axes being parallel; Fig. 17 shews an
application of my Invention to a toy vehicle as hereinafter described; Fig. 18
represents two of my improved discs or wheels gearing together, their axes being
at right angles to one another and Fig. 19 shews in front and side elevation a
segmental wheel constructed according to my Invention.

page_text: I will first describe my Invention by referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 5 and 6 in which the same letters of reference indicate the same parts.
A is a disc of cloth, india-rubber, leather, wood or other suitable material having
a rough surface and B and B are two circular side plates of sheet metal or alloy or
other suitable stiff material of smaller diameter than the disc A. One of the side
plates B has lateral projections b formed with it (see Fig. 4) which are passed
through the disc A and through corresponding holes b¹ in the side plate B; the
points of the projections b are then turned down (see Fig. 3) thus fixing the disc A
and the side plates B and B¹ together and completing the disc or wheel of which
the periphery of the disc A forms the frictional driving surface, the side plates B
and B serving to maintain the disc A. in a rigid state and to attach it to a shaft or
spindle. The side plates B and B are preferably bulged out centrally at 6º so as
to give a long bearing on the shaft or spindle when attached thereto.
Instead of the disc A herein before described a ring of similar substance thereto
may be used and substituted therefor. An example of this modification of my
Invention is illustrated by Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 10* and 11 in which A¹ is a ring (shewn
separately by Figs. 10 and 10*) of similar substance to the disc A and supported
by the side plates B and B¹ (see Figs. 7 and 8) the said disc and side plates being
held together by the lateral projections 6 passing through the ring and side plate B
similarly as hereinbefore described with reference to Figa 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5* and 6.
Another example of this modification of my Invention is illustrated by Figs. 12, 13
and 14 the side plates B and B¹ being shaped so as to meet within the ring A¹.
b
Instead of attaching the side plates B and B and the disc or ring, or discs or
rings, together by means of lateral projections 6 as above described, eyelets may be
employed to pass through holes therein, for instance as illustrated by Fig. 12, or
rivets or other means may be employed.
My improved frictional driving discs or wheels are applicable for transmitting
rotary motion from the shafts or spindles of automaton toys whether such shafts
are parallel to each other or inclined at any angle. For instance in Fig. 16 two of
my improved driving discs or wheels are shewn gearing together to transmit rotary
motion from the shaft C to the shaft D which shafts are parallel to each other, and
in Fig. 17 the rotary motion of the fly wheel E and its axle e of the toy vehicle is
transmitted to the disc or wheels on the axle F by the frictional contact of
the axle e with the discs A. When it is required to transmit rotary motion from
one shaft or spindle to another which is not parallel thereto my improved driving
discs or wheels can be employed for instance as shewn in Fig. 18.
I sometimes employ two or more frictional discs or rings A in a wheel in order
to obtain a large frictional surface, for instance as illustrated by Fig. 15 in which
two of such wheels are shewn gearing together. The smaller discs or rings A³ are
preferably of similar substance to the discs or rings A¹ and are held together by
side projections on the side plates B and B¹ or by eyelets or rivets or other suitable
means similarly as hereinbefore described with reference to those discs or wheels in
which a single disc A or ring A¹ is used.
A segmental wheel or cam for transmitting intermittent rotary motion for
automaton toys may be constructed according to my Invention similarly as herein-
before described with reference to a complete disc or wheel. For instance the
segmental wheel or cam illustrated by Fig. 19 consists of a segment A³ of a disc of
which X is the centre of revolution of similar substance to the disc A and it is
supported by the two side plates B³, B³, of similar shape connected to each other
and to the disc by the eyelets h.
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. The improvements in the manufacture of frictional driving discs or wheels for
automaton toys hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing,
that is to say, constructing such discs or wheels each of a frictional ring or disc of

page_text: cloth, india-rubber, leather, wood or other suitable material having a rough surface
or of two or more such frictional rings or discs and supporting such ring or disc or
rings or discs by side plates the said ring or disc or rings or discs and the side
plates being connected together by lateral projections or by eyelets, rivets or other
suitable means as herein before described with reference to the accompanying .
drawing.
2. The improvements in frictional driving discs or wheels for automaton toys
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, that is to say,
a disc or wheel for the purposes described consisting essentially of one or more
discs A or one or more rings A¹ of cloth, india-rubber, leather, wood or other
suitable material having a rough surface supported at each side by side plates B, B¹,
the said disc or discs A or ring or rings A¹ and the side plates B and B¹ being
connected together by the lateral projections b or by rivets or other suitable means
as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
3. The improvements in frictional driving wheels for automaton toys herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, that is to say, a segmental
wheel for the purpose described consisting essentially of a segment of a disc A³ of
cloth, india-rubber, leather, wood or other suitable material supported at each
side by side plates B and B the said segment A³ and the side plates B and B*
being connected together by the eyelets h or by lateral projections or rivets or other
suitable means as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing.
4. The application and use in automaton toys of discs, wheels or segmental
wheels constructed as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing.