Improvements in Spinning Tops.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th July, 1899-Accepted, 9th Sept., 1899
Improvements in Spinning Tops.
A communication from GEORGE 'REDERICK AISHTON, of 591, North St. Paul
Street, Rochester, Monroe County, New York, United States of America,
Salesman.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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:―
In the accompanying drawings representing the improved spinning top,—
Fig. 1 is an elevation;
Fig. 2 is a central vertical section;
Fig. 3, 4 and 5 are horizontal sections on the linear, Fig. 2.
In the accompanying drawings, A represents the body of the top, B the
hand-piece, C the stem and D the cap at the upper end of the stem. The body A
is made of suitable shape and dimensions, and it is provided at its lower
end with a stud or point I', on which it revolves when spinning. The stem C
is inserted firmly in the upper part of the body and extends up through the
hand-piece, being free to revolve therein, and is fastened in the cap, so that
the body, stem and cap all revolve together. The hand-piece is provided with
a recess E, which receives the cord El, which is fastened to and wound about
the stem. The hand-piece is somewhat shorter than the distance between the
body and the cap, as indicated in Fig. 1, so that it may adjust itself up or down
to accommodate itself to the position of the cord, which may be wound up
on the stem in either direction. The cap I may be provided with a point, I,
so that the top may be spun either end up. The cord H may be fastened to
the stem in any suitable way, and its outer end is doubled up and secured, to
form a loop J, which is less flexible than the cord itself.
In the operation of this improved top,-the cord being wound up on the
stem in either direction, the cord is drawn out quickly so as to cause the body
to revolve, and then the motion of the stem will wind up the cord in the oppo-
site direction, leaving the loop projecting from the recess ready for the next
spin, so that it is rarely or never necessary to turn the stem to wind up the
cord. This improved top is thus practically self-winding, and can be spun an
indefinite number of times without requiring that the cord be rewound by
hand, the only difference being that it spins in the opposite direction each
successive time. The hand-piece being held in one hand, the cord is drawn
out quickly by the other, and the cord released, when it is all drawn out, so
that the stem will wind it up again, after which the grasp on the hand-piece
is removed,, leaving the top to spin on any suitable surface as long as it retains
sufficient momentum, the hand-piece revolving with the body. As indicated
in Fig. 5, when the cord is drawn out the stem will rotate in the direction of
the arrow, and when it has all been drawn out and its end released, the stem
continuing to revolve will draw the string in and wind it up, as represented

page_text: in Fig. 3, until the loop is reached, when its greater stiffness will arrest the
winding, the hand-piece being now free to revolve, and the looped end will
project outward from the recess, as shown in Fig. 4, in position where its end
may be conveniently grasped, for a repetition of the spinning operation. When
the loop is drawn in so that it reaches the stem, the resistance increases so that
the hand-piece is carried around with the stem, and when the top has ceased
spinning, the loop will be found with its end projecting from the recess, ready
for another spin.
Having now particularly described and' ascertained the nature of the said
invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
-
A spinning top comprising a body, a cap, both body and cap being provided
with a spinning point, a shaft rigidly connecting the body and cap, a sleeve
loose on said shaft intermediate the cap and body and adapted for-limited
vertical movement, said sleeve being provided with a recess, and a cord secured
to the shaft within the recess of the sleeve, the outer end of the cord being
stiffened, as and for the purposes stated.
Dated in18 11th day of July 1899.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant..