AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATIC DOLL
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF
AUTOMATIC DOLL."-A communication from abroad by The National
Toy Company (Incorporated), of the City and State of New York,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd November 1871.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION
OF AUTOMATIC DOLL," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel construction of mechanism whereby,
1st, a doll may be made to move along the ground in a crawling
attitude, the limbs taking the proper motions pertaining to the crawling
movement; 2ndly, a movement may be given to the head; and
3rdly, inarticulate sounds may be produced.

page_text: Supposing the doll to represent a baby the body of the doll is made
bollow to receive the motive-power mechanism, and the levers to which
the hands and feet are jointed. The feet are severally connected to the
end of a rock lever, the connection with which forms the knee joint, and
the fore arms are severally jointed, as at the elbow joint, to a pendent
lever.
A pinion on the main driving shaft (which is driven by a clockwork
spring) engages with a pinion on the axle of a pair of driving wheels
which run on the ground and impart the 'forward motion to the doll.
The shaft of these driving wheels is furnished with a pair of crank arms
at right angles, the one to the other; and these arms are connected by
link rods to the pendent levers, carrying the fore arms of the doll.
These link rods are severally connected by a link rod to the upper end
of one of the rock levers to which the feet of the doll are jointed, and
thus as the driving wheels. move a movement is given to the limbs of
the doll corresponding to the crawling action intended to be represented.
The fly wheel shaft is fitted with an elastic pulley, against which spur-
shaped teeth of the last of the train of gear wheels bear to drive the fly
wheel. This elastic gearing is intended to prevent back lash. The head
of the doll is mounted on a circular plate and secured by a central pivot
screw. This plate is furnished with concentric segment slots, in which
play pins projecting from the head. To one of these pins is connected
a spring secured to a fixed point, and the other pin is connected by a
wire to an arm at the rear end of the body of the doll. A stud wheel
on the first motion axle in its rotation acts upon this arm, and by its
connection with the doll's head causes the head to move on its pivot.
When the arm is released the spring will move the head in the contrary
direction. The second axle in the train is also furnished with a stud
wheel, which acts on the tail of a rock lever carrying at its forward end
a piece of stiff paper, cardboard, or other sonorous material. A spring
acting on this lever keeps the tail in contact with the stud wheel. As
however this wheel rotates the lever will be caused to dip and bring the
paper or cardboard within range of the teeth of the last wheel of the
train. These teeth striking on the paper or other material held by the
lever will produce inarticulate sounds somewhat resembling those
produced by a baby.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd May 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lanc, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, excrcise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATIC DOLL," being a
communication to me from abroad by The National Toy Company
(Incorporated), of the City and State of New York, United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
―
This Invention relates to a novel construction of mechanism whereby,

page_text: first, a doll may be made to move along the ground in a crawling
attitude; the limbs taking the proper motions pertaining to the crawling
movement; secondly, a movement may be given to the head; and
thirdly, inarticulate sounds may be produced.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the doll,
with the body part in section; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the same;
and Fig. 3 is an inverted plan of the parts that connect the head with
the body and with the actuating mechanism.
A represents the body of the doll, which is formed hollow to receive
the mechanism. The doll is intended so to be clothed as to expose to
view only portions of the arms and legs, as indicated by colour at Fig. 1.
The mechanism within the body consists of a train of wheels 1, 2, 3, 4.
The shaft of the main motor wheel 1 is provided with a main spring
ratchet wheel and the necessary appendages for winding-up the spring
as in the case of the well-known main wheel of a clock, that being the
motor, and hence not necessary to be described.
Motion is com-
municated by this train of cog wheels and their corresponding pinions
to the wheel No. 4, the teeth of which act against the periphery of a
roller on the shaft of a fly wheel No. 5. This roller j I prefer to
make of vulcanized india-rubber, but it may be made of other elastic
material, such as cork. The object of this mode of driving the fly wheel
is to avoid what may be termed the back lash on the cog wheels and
pinions, and thereby to avoid the noise which usually attends the
running of cog gearing. The cogs of the main or motor wheel No. 1
engage a pinion on the shaft of two driving wheels to, one on each side,
and so located (as represented) relatively to the legs and arms that their
peripherics, which move the whole structure forward, shall bear on the
floor or other surface, while the arms and legs appear to move in contact
with such surface. The arms (x, x,) are hinged at what may be termed
the elbow joints, each to the lower end of a lever F which is pivotted to
the body at the part corresponding with the shoulder; and the legs y arc
hinged cach to the lower end of a lever U corresponding with the knee
joint; and the levers U, one on each side, are pivotted to the body frame
at Z, about one-third of their length from the upper end. The arm
lever on each side is connected by a rod L with a crank pin N on the
driving wheels W, the two crank pins being at opposite sides of the
axis of motion, and the upper end of the leg lever U is connected by a

page_text: rod T with the connecting rod L a little back of the point of con-
nection of the said rod L with the arm lever F.
By reason of this arrangement the one arm and leg in their back and
forward motions on each side move in opposite directions, and as the
cranks N are at right angles the right leg and left arm will be moved
forward while the left leg and right arm are moving backward, and vice
versa, but it will be obvious by a increly formal change in the relations
of the parts the movements may be varied.
The arms between the wrist and elbow joints are provided each with
a roller i, which runs on the floor or other surface, so that by reason of
the vibratory motion of the arm levers F and the location of the rollers ;
relatively to the elbow joints and hands, as the arms are moved forward
the hands receive a motion towards and from the floor in imitation of the
natural movements.
A plate is secured to the body to form the base on which the neck
of the head B rests, and turns the central part of the neck, being con-
nected with the plate k by a pivot screw c. Two segment slots r, r, are
made in the plate k, one on each side, through which pins P and p
attached to the neck pass, and in which they can play freely. To the
pin p a rod E is attached, which rod is in turn attached to the upper end
of an arm G, pivotted at its lower end to the frame or body, and on the
face of the motor wheel No. 1 there are projecting tappets H, which act
on the arm G to vibrate it in one direction which causes the head B to
turn in one direction, and as one of the tappets passes from the arm G
the head is turned in the opposite direction by the tension of a spring D
attached to the other pin P. In this way a natural turning of the head
is given.
A lever a¹ is pivotted at b' to the frame or body, and to one end of
this lever a piece of stiff paper or paper board is attached in such position
(as represented) that when brought into contact with the teeth of the
spur wheel No. 4 a sound is produced very similar to the inarticulate
sounds of a baby. By means of a slight spring c¹, which presses the
lever a¹ upwards, the paper is lifted out of contact with the teeth of the
wheel 4, and from the face of the wheel No. 2 tappets project, which
operate the lever to force the paper in contact with the teeth of the
wheel at given intervals.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of an "Improved
Construction of Automatic Doll," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,-
First. The mechanism for operating the legs and arms of the automatic
creeping doll, substantially such as herein-above described.
Second. The spur wheel in the train of wheels for operating the
mechanism in combination with the toothless pinion made of elastic
material on the shaft of the fly wheel, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
Third. The head pivotted to the body in combination with the
mechanism for operating it, substantially as herein-above described.
Fourth. The lever with stiff paper or its equivalent in combination
with the spur wheel for imitating the sounds imperfectly articulated by
babies, substantially as hercin-above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Second day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.