IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATON TOYS.
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATON TOYS.".
LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATON TOYS."
-A communication from abroad by William Farr Goodwin, of
the City of New York, State of New York, United States of
America..
Sealed the 10th November. 1868, and dated the 3rd July 1868..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd July 1868..
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex,. Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATON Toys,""
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to construct a walking figure or toy
in which when drawn forward over the ground the legs and feet will.

page_text: move backwards and forwards in imitation of a man walking. This is
effected by means of a series of rods or bars which are jointed
together to form the legs, thighs, and hip joints, all of which will be
acted upon by a double crank mounted in a frame or block fixed to
the body of the figure. The upper ends of the thigh bars or rods,
of which there are two to each leg, are jointed to two of the angles
of a triangular shape piece or lever, which is jointed at the third
angle to the frame or block which carries the crank shaft. The cranks,
of which there is one for each leg, are connected by means of links
to the lowermost angle of the triangular levers to which the thigh
bars or rods are jointed. The lower ends of the thigh bars are jointed
separately to the upper part of the leg or lower limb and form the
kncc joint. The foot of the figure is jointed to the lower end of the
leg, and the ankle motion is obtained by means of a separate rod,
which is jointed at one end to the part of the leg near the knee joint
and by the lower end to the fore part of the ankle a little in advance
of the ankle joint. The figure is supported in a vertical position by
causing the hands to clasp a horizontal bar attached to a wheeled
carriage, such as a bath chair or perambulator, and the soles of the
feet are roughened or provided with spikes so that they may be pre-
vented from slipping when placed upon the ground. Upon drawing
forward the wheeled carriage the figure will advance, but one of the
feet will remain on the ground, and by means of the levers, and bars,
or rods, which form the framework of the legs and thighs, the crank
shaft will be rotated, and the other leg will then be advanced and so
on, the legs being lifted up and advanced alternately as in walking.
If desired, a strong spring or other actuating mechanism may be placed
in the body of the figure so as to give motion to the crank shaft; or
a clockwork movement may be placed in the carriage and made to
actuate the running wheels and thus move forward the whole toy,
when it will appear as if the figure were pushing or drawing forward
the carriage.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
usc, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATON Tors," being a communication to me from
William Farr Goodwin, of the City of New York, United States of
America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward 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 ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
The automaton toy which forms the subject of the present Invention
is shewn in the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 represents a

page_text: human figure or mechanical man driving a carriage before him, the legs
of the figure being uncovered to shew the mechanism by which the toy
is made to walk, also shewing the manner in which the toy may be
attached to the rear end of a carriage or waggon or other support;
Fig. 2 is a detached front view of the lower part of the figure, shewing
the cranks B and frame C and the bars A' attached to the cranks, also
shewing the frame C attached by means of screws to a block of wood
which serves for a body. The toy may be attached to the carriage
either in front or behind as may be desired.
A, A1, A2, A3, A', A°, represents the bars of the leg and foot; B, B, are
the cranks on the end of the cross shaft B' mounted in the frame C,
to which the legs are pivotted, and by which they are secured to the
body; D is a stud or pivot on which the leg is pivotted to the frame C.
"This Invention consists in constructing the legs of a toy with bars or
pieces of metal or other suitable material joined together by pivots or
hinges at the several points where the leg and foot are required to bend
in imitation of the human leg, and attaching them by cranks B, B, and
pins D to the frame C, which forms part of the body of the figure. The
legs are so arranged in relation to and attached to the body and to the
carriage (or other suitable support) that when the carriage is drawn or
moved over the ground or floor (the feet of the toy coming in contact
with the surface over which it is drawn) the toy will be made to walk
and run, and will bend at the hips, knees, and ankles in imitation of the
human legs.
The operation of the legs or movements are effected as follows:-The
cranks B are set at opposite directions from each other so that when one
is up the other is down, and being attached to the same shaft B*, the
turning of one of the cranks down serves to raise the other up, and
turning one backwards moves the other forwards. The top ends of the
bars A' of the thighs are pivotted to and are operated by the cranks B.
The hip joint is formed by short pieces A, pivotted at their upper ends
to the frame or stud D, which forms the pivot of the hip joint. The
lower ends of these pieces A to which the thigh bars A¹ are attached
swing forward and backward, and conform to the movements of the
cranks B, B.
Fig. 1 in the Drawing represents the legs in the act of stepping. The
left leg, having nearly finished its step or backward movement, has risen

page_text: upon its toe, and the knee is commencing to bend forward, the right
foot is thrown forward, the right leg commencing to straighten, and the
right foot descending to the ground. The left foot is in contact with
the ground, and is held by traction (as of a waggon wheel) until its
pivot D has passed forward over it, the bar A' being pivotted near its
middle, or at a point about one-third its length measuring from the top
to the lower end of the piece A. The bar A¹ is also attached by its top
to the cranks B, and is pivotted by its lower end at the knee joint to the
top of the bar A³, which latter is pivotted by its lower end to the foot.
The foot is held by its traction while the body passes forward over it,
and acts upon the bars of the leg, causing the lower end of the bar A¹ to
move backward and swing upon its pivot on the end of the piece A.
This throws its top end forward and downward, which carries the crank B
with it. The crank B having reached its lowest point in line with the
crank shaft the pivot of the bar A¹ on the piece A moves towards the
pivot D. When the crank breaks past the central line of the crank, and
centre of crank shaft, and middle pivot of the bar A', the toe commences
to rise from the ground, the right leg straightens, and its foot descends
to the ground, the lower end of the bar A' moves forward bending the
knee, and carrying the leg and foot forward. The bar A² being pivotted
at its top to the elbow of the picce A at a point nearer the pivot D,
and in the rear of the bar A', and by its lower end to the bar A³ (at the
knee joint) at a point lower down, and in the rear of the bar A', does
not move so fast nor so far as the bar A', and thus holds on to the rear
side or pivot of the bar A³, and causes it to swing on its front pivot on
the end of the bar A³, thus causing the knee to bend and the foot to
risc. The end of the bar A³ projects below the point to which the bar A³
is pivotted, to which projecting end is pivotted the top end of the bar A*.
The lower end of this latter is attached to the foot at a point in front of
the pivot of the bar A³, which bar and arrangement serves to raise and
lower the toe, thus when the knee bends forward the pivot on the
projecting end of the bar A² moves away from the pivot which attaches
the bar A³ to the foot, drawing the bar A' with it. This latter being
pivotted to the foot in front of the pivot of bar A³ serves to draw up the
toc, and when the leg is straightening the pivot on the lower ends of
the bar As moves downward towards the pivot of the bar A³, causing the
foot to swing on the latter, thus pushing down the toe and forming the
ankle joint. The stud pins or corks in the heels are to prevent the foot

page_text: from slipping. When the right leg comes in contact with the ground
the leg will be drawn back, and throw its crank B forward and down-
ward, and will throw the other crank backward and upward, thus
throwing its leg forward. This motion is repeated alternately by both
the legs; thus the toy is made to walk without any other cause than
being drawn forward over the ground, and will make a beautiful step,
almost a perfect imitation of the human step. The toy may be moved
and operated by drawing it by hand or by means of a spring placed
either in the waggon or in the body of the toy, as may be desired, but
the cheapest and simplest method is that described and shewn. The toy
may be operated by means of a string or band passed over a pulley on
the crank shaft B', and over another pulley on the axle of the carriage,
which if desired may be propelled by a spring or clockwork. The
frame C is very simple, being a piece of sheet metal bent into the shape
represented in Figures 1 and 2, and screwed to the body. The covering
is of cloth or any other suitable material. The toy will walk cither in
front or in the rear of its carriage.
Having now described the construction and operation of the automaton
toy which forms the subject of the Invention communicated to me, I'
claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,--
First. In the construction of the leg of a toy adapted to imitate the
movements of the natural leg, the general arrangement and construction
of parts hercin set forth, particularly the attachment of the bar A* to
the lower end of the bar A and to the foot A5 at a point in advance of
the point of attachment of the bar A³ to the said foot, as and for the
purpose shewn and described.
Second. The frame C and hip plates A, A, to which the legs are
attached, and by means of which the legs are connected with the body
of the toy, as described.
Third. The construction of the legs and feet or moveable parts of the a
toy, as described, whereby when the toy is moved over the floor the parts
are caused to imitate the movements of the corresponding parts of the
natural limb which it is designed to represent.
Fourth. Constructing the legs of the toy of one or more picces con-
nected with cranks or the equivalent thereof, as set forth and operated, 3

page_text: or made to walk by contact of the feet or lower extremities with the
surface over which the toy is propelled or drawn.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, the Second day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-ninc.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lanc.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)