Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 20th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 31st Dec., 1888
THOMAS PATON WOOD, Railway Clerk, Wood's Buildings, Walker Gate, near
Newcastle-on-Tyne and JOHN DICK, Wholesale Jeweller, 10, West Grainger Street,
Newcastle-on-Tyne, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The invention consists in actuating any automaton figure to imitate dancing and
other movements by forcing, by any suitable means, air upwards, or drawing air, by
any suitable means, downwards, through holes or apertures in a floor or platform
underneath the figure. The legs of the figure are balanced or weighted near to
where the hamstring muscles are in a live man so that the knee joints will bend in
a natural way and lighten the weight of the legs so that they can be easily moved
and controlled by the upward and downward draught; which is a current of air
similar to that of a blow-pipe.
THOMAS PATON WOOD.
JOHN DICK.

page_text: A Pneumatic Toy.
We THOMAS PATON WOOD, Railway Clerk, Woods Buildings, Walker Gate, near
Newcastle-on-Tyne and JOHN DICK, Wholesale Jeweller, 10 West Grainger Street,
Newcastle-on-Tyne do hereby declare the nature of our invention to be as
follows:-
لله
The invention consists in actuating any automaton figure to imitate dancing
and other movements by forcing air upwards or drawing air downwards through
holes or apertures in the floor or platform underneath the figure. The legs of the
figure are balanced or weighted near to where the ham-string muscles are in a
human being so that the knee joints will bend in a natural way and lighten the weight
of the legs so that they can be easily moved and controlled by the upward and down-
ward draught, which is a current of air similar to that of a blow-pipe.
In order to enable our invention to bo properly understood we will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a side and an end or front elevation of a form of
pneumatic toy constructed according to our invention, in which bellows are employed
to operate the dancing figure.
Fig. 3 is a plan of part of the same.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a toy constructed according to our invention, which is
provided with a flexible tube by means of which currents of air for operating the
dancing figure may be applied from the mouth.
Similar letters of reference in all the figures of drawing indicate similar parts.
With reference to figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, A indicates the
automaton or toy figure or doll which is supported on one end of the flexible spring B,
the opposite end of which as seen also at fig. 3 is rigidly secured in any convenient
manner to the vertical member C¹ of the platform C which is supported at one end by
the lower part of such meinber C and at the other end by the foot C. D indicates
bellows arranged beneath the platform C and provided with the lever handle D¹ pro-
jecting through the foot C2 which is recessed out for the purpose as shown at figure 2.
E, E shown in plan at Fig. 3, and by dotted lines at Figs. 1 and 4 indicate the
apertures through the platform C for conducting the currents of air to or from the
dancing figure the said apertures constituting both the inlet and outlet of the bellows D.
F indicates a spiral spring for drawing together the bellows after they have been
extended by hand. Any other suitable form of spring may however be used in
place of a spiral spring.
The legs of the dancing figure A are each formed in two parts a and a¹ jointed
together by a pin a³. The upper or thigh portion a of each such leg is jointed to the
body by a pin a³. It will be seen that the feet a, a, of the figure are of somewhat
large proportions, this is for the purpose of presenting to the currents of air large
surfaces to act upon, thus ensuring better results in the performance of the figure.
Each of the arms a³, as is jointed by a pin a to the body but upon these the currents
of air have no independent effect although the construction may be so modified that
they might have.

page_text: a', a', indicate balance-weights carried on wires a³, a³, secured in the thigh
portions a for causing the legs to move in a natural manner. G, G, indicate card-
board walls the front one of which is cut away to give clearance to the spring, and all
of which may be ornamented in any required manner so as, if desired, to represent a
scene at the back of the performing figure.
To cause the figure to perform all that is necessary is to intermittently depress the
bellows handle D the spring F effecting the return of the said handle to its normal
position after each such depression. The currents of air thus alternately forced out
and drawn in through the holes E will act on the feet a¹ and cause them to rise and
fall and thus impart motion to the whole figure.
1
In the arrangement shown at Fig. 4 the necessary currents of air for operating
the figure are imparted by the mouth. For this purpose a box H is secured imme-
diately below the holes E and a flexible tube H¹ provided with a mouth-piece H is
connected therewith. a indicates the balance weight applied directly to the thigh
portion a each such portion having such a weight applied.
We desire it to be understood that although we have herein described certain means
of carrying our invention into practice we do not confine ourselves to such means as
the same may be varied in many ways without departing from the essential features
of our invention, for example in place of employing hand operated bellows we may
employ clockwork or a small steam or other motor as the means for working the
bellows and we may employ a rotating fan or a small air pump for supplying the
necessary currents of air; again, instead of one dancing figure we may employ two or
more such figures or one or more otherwise performing figures.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:
First Actuating automaton or toy figures or dolls by forcing or drawing air
through holes in close proximity to and directing it against, or drawing it past portions
of such figures substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
Second: The weighting of legs of automaton or toy-figures or dolls for securing
more natural-like movements substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
Third: The pneumatic toy substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
either of the figures 1 or 4 of the accompanying drawings.
NEWNHAM BROWNE,
Agent for the Applicants.