Year: 1885

page_text: We, WILLIAM REYNOLDS, Junior, of Coton, in the County of Cambridge,
Engineer, and CHARLES THOMAS KING, of Little Swaffham, in the County of
Cambridge, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to an improved construction of merry-go-rounds or
roundabouts having for its principal object to impart a galloping movement to
the horses from above, as they rotate in the usual manner round the central
support or pillar.
The principal advantages of our improved construction are:-1st. That greater
facility of putting the parts together or building up the machine and taking it
down again is secured, as the mechanism for imparting the galloping movement
always remains practically intact and consequently does not require to be fitted
together again when the machine has to be re-erected; 2nd. The weight of the
whole machine is but little increased. (These two features will be of great
advantage in the case of machines which require to be shifted from place to place,
and taken down and re-erected with as little delay as possible.) And, 3rd. That
the horses themselves while galloping and revolving are capable of inclining
towards the centre to an extent depending on the rate of speed at which they are
travelling, so that there will be no danger of their riders being thrown or slipping
off their horses outwards, under the centrifugal action due to the rotation.
Our improved machine consists in the ordinary central standard or support, near
the top of which any suitable number of horizontal radial arms are supported at
regular intervals, such arms being caused to revolve round the central standard by
any suitable means.
At the outer end of each arm vertical uprights are pivoted, their lower ends
being free so as to permit of these uprights swinging outwards. Near their lower
ends these uprights carry a horizontal shaft on which the horses are mounted, such
shaft being capable of rocking in its bearings, and its end towards the central
standard being provided with a crank, the throw of which is preferably adjustable
so as to regulate the amount of galloping movement to be given to the horse.
Along each horizontal arm a shaft is mounted to rotate in suitable bearings, the
inner end of such shaft being caused to rotate by friction or wheel gearing as the
arm rotates round the central standard or support, a suitable arrangement for such
'

page_text: purpose being to provide the end of the shaft with a roller keyed thereto, and
cause it to bear on a fixed friction wheel or ring on the central standard. So as to
ensure sufficient friction between the roller and ring or wheel to cause the shaft to
rotate, it is necessary that the weight of the arms and of the horses and riders
they carry should be borne as far as practical by the end of the shaft and the friction
ring on the central standard. The diameter of the friction roller must be such as
to give the required number of revolutions to the shaft during each revolution of
the arm round the central standard. The outer end of the last mentioned shaft is
cranked or preferably fitted with an eccentric surrounded by a strap formed on the
upper end of a rod, the lower end of which embraces the crank pin of the crank on
the inner end of the shaft on which the horses are mounted. It will thus be seen
that a rocking movement will be imparted to the horses as they are carried round
by the arms from which they are suspended.
Two, three, or more horses may be suspended abreast from each arm, and if
desired they may be made to rock or rise and fall to imitate galloping, at different
times, for which purpose the top shaft will be provided with as many cranks or
eccentrics as their are horses abreast, such cranks being set at an angle to each
other, and each connected by a separate rod to its own crank, from which one of
the horses derives its galloping movements.
In order to permit the horses to slant or cant inwards when rotating, they are
connected to their shaft by a flexible connection which will allow of their movement
in a plane at right angles to the axis of such shaft, but which at the same time will
still compel them to follow the rocking movement imparted to the shaft. The rod
connecting the two shafts must similarly be provided with a flexible connection
for this purpose. This employment of flexible connections for allowing the horses
to slant or cant inwards when rotating may be applied to horses to which
galloping movements are imparted in any other manner than that above described.
The shaft carrying the horse or horses is preferably arranged towards the back
part of the animal and sufficiently low down as to be out of the way of the rider's
legs, and not interfere with his comfort while riding, such arrangement further
having the advantage of imparting a greater rise or lift to the front of the horse
than will be given to the rear or hind part thereof.
It will be readily understood that boats instead of horses may be employed, and
the movement imparted thereto be modified so as to represent the pitching and
tossing of a boat at sea.
If desired a suitable arrangement of levers may be employed to impart move-
ments to the horses' legs to imitate the natural movement of a horse's legs when
galloping.
Dated this 15th day of Donamba 100x

page_text: Improvements in Merry-go-rounds or Roundabouts.
We, WILLIAM REYNOLDS, Junior, of Coton, in the County of Cambridge,
Engineer, and CHARLES THOMAS KING, of Little Swaffham, in the County of
Cambridge, Engineer, 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:—
Our invention relates to an improved construction of merry-go-rounds or round-
abouts having for its principal object to impart a galloping movement to the
horses from above, as they rotate in the usual manner round the central support or
pillar.
The principal advantages of our improved construction are:-1st. That greater
facility of putting the parts together or building up the machine and taking it
down again is secured, as the mechanism for imparting the galloping movement
always remains practically intact and consequently does not require to be fitted
together again when the machine has to be re-erected; 2nd. The weight of the
whole machine is but little increased. (These two features will be of great
advantage in the case of machines which require to be shifted from place to place,
and taken down and re-erected with as little delay as possible.) And, 3rd. That
the horses themselves while galloping and revolving are capable of inclining towards
the centre to an extent depending on the rate of speed at which they are travelling,
so that there will be no danger of their riders being thrown or slipping off their
horses outwards, under the centrifugal action due to the rotation.
A suitable method of carrying our invention into effect is illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of a
roundabout driven by steam power; Fig. 2 is an elevation drawn to an enlarged
scale, showing the method of imparting a galloping movement to the horses from
above while rotating round a central support; Fig. 3 is an end elevation, also
showing the method of imparting movements to the horses' legs as they gallop and
rotate, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of same.
A is the boiler of an engine, and is provided with a superstructure or frame B
to carry the weight of the revolving horses. It will be understood that the weight
of the horses may be carried by any suitable central support, when other than
steam power is employed to drive the apparatus. The chimney C of the engine
is continued upwards and forms the centre round which the horses revolve. The
frame B carries an internal geared wheel D capable of revolving on the frame, and
driven by a pinion E capable of being made to revolve with shaft F, by means of
a friction or other clutch G, the shaft F being actuated by the engine. The
frame B also carries a fixed toothed face wheel ✗, part of which also preferably
forms a friction wheel, with both of which a number of combined tooth and
friction pinions H gear, one of such pinions being fixed on a continuation of each
of the crank shafts I, provided for driving each set of horses. The crank shafts I
are arranged at equal distances apart round the central support, and their con-
tinuations are carried by the frame in which the pinions H are mounted, so as to
be capable of revolving in suitable bearings, each continuation being connected
to its proper crank shaft by means of a universal joint J, permitting the crank
shaft to move either in a horizontal or vertical plane without interfering with its

page_text: rotation. Each crank shaft extends radially outwards, and is supported to revolve
in bearings carried by beams or swifts K, the inner ends of which are pivotted to
the frame carrying pinions H, with which they revolve, while at the same time
they can turn in a vertical plane on their pivots. Tie rods L are attached to the
swifts K at different points, and extend upwards and inwards, their upper ends
being connected to a sleeve M surrounding the chimney C of the engine, round
which chimney it is free to revolve, antifriction wheels M being preferably
arranged between the sleeve and chimney. The tie rods L are each provided with
a screw connection to enable the length to be adjusted so as to distribute the
weight they carry equally between them. The sleeve M is mounted on the upper
ends of stays N, the lower ends of which are connected to the frame carrying the
pinions H, and as the sleeve M is free to slide vertically on the chimney C, the
whole weight carried by the swifts K will be transmitted to such pinions, and
ensure their perfect engagement with the combined face tooth and friction wheel X.
The bearings of the continuations of the crank shafts I, which carry the pinions H,
are preferably mounted on guides, and are acted upon by springs tending to force
such bearings downwards, thus further ensuring the perfect engagement of the
pinions H with the combined face tooth and friction wheel X.
Each crank shaft I is provided with as many cranks I, I, I, as there are horses
in a set, the cranks being preferably set at different angles, so that the horses in a
set rise and fall at different times. Each crank shaft I is supported in fixed
bearings at suitable points, such bearings being formed on cross beams 0¹, 0%,
.0³, 0, connecting the two swifts K provided for each set of horses. On the cross
beams O, O' and O³, brackets Q are suspended, so as to be able to swing thereon
towards or away from the centre of the machine, and their lower ends carry
bearings R¹, R, R³, to receive a second crank shaft S, and these bearings are
pivotted to the brackets Q, to allow the latter to swing outwards while still keeping
the lower crank shaft S in a horizontal position.
The cranks S1, S2, S3, of shaft S are similarly set to cranks I, I, I, of shaft I,
and the two sets of cranks are connected by rods T₁, T', T', which then extend
downwards and each carry one of the horses of the set. The connecting rods
T¹, T, T, are pivotted to the crank pin bearings of the shafts I and S, so as to
permit them to swing outwards and carry with them the lower crank shaft S,
without interfering with the rotation of the latter. It will thus be seen that the
rotary movement imparted to crank shaft I from the engine, through the gearing
hereinbefore described, will be transmitted to the lower crank shaft S by the
connecting rods T', T', T', and as the latter carry the horses at their lower ends,
it will follow that the horses will have a galloping movement imparted to them as
they revolve in their paths round the centre of the machine, while the capability
which the horses and the parts to which they are suspended have of swinging
outwards under the centrifugal action due to their rotation, will prevent the riders
being thrown from the horses.
The crank shafts of each set of horses preferably have their cranks set a little
in advance of those of the shafts of the next following set, for the purpose of
equalizing the pull on the engine round the complete circle, the amount of advance
naturally depending on the number of sets of horses employed.
The diameter of the pinions H must be such as to give the required number of
revolutions to the crank shafts I during each revolution round the centre of the
machine.
Instead of placing the lower crank shafts S above the horses, they might be
placed either under them or be caused to pass through same, but we prefer
to arrange them above as described. To the outer end of each swift, however, a
vertical upright may be pivotted, and carry the lower crank shafts S near their
lower ends, the horses being mounted on such shaft, which can rock in its
bearings, and the throw of the crank if desired may be made adjustable to
regulate the amount of galloping movement imparted to the horses,
- Instead of cranks.eccentrics might be used,

page_text: Movement may be imparted to the legs of the horses so as to imitate the
action of galloping or trotting, in addition to the movement imparted to the body
of the horses from overhead as above described.
For this purpose we prefer to employ the following arrangement :-Each
connecting rod carrying one of the horses is made hollow below the lower crank
shaft S, and on each crank pin of the shaft S is fixed an eccentric U, the rod V of
which bears upon or is connected to a block W projecting through a slot in the
hollow connecting rod, so that as the crank shaft S revolves the block W will be
reciprocated, and as it is connected to the upper end of a rod Y arranged within
the connecting rod, the rod Y will also be reciprocated. The lower end of rod Y
bears upon or is connected to the arm a of a three armed lever Z, carried by a
shaft d arranged inside the horse. The arm 6 of lever Z is connected by rode to a
lever f fixed on a second shaft g within the horse, and which also carries quadrant
shaped pieces h, one of each of which is connected to one of the front legs of the
horse. The third arm c of lever Z, is similarly connected by a rod e¹ to a lever A,
fixed on a third shaft g, within the horse, and which latter also carries quadrant
shaped pieces h¹, one of each of which is connected to one of the hind legs of the
horse. By this arrangement the two front legs will be caused to move together,
and the two hind legs will also be caused to move together, as the arm a of lever Z
is forced downwards under the action of the reciprocating rod Y, and as the
latter ascends the legs will return to their previous position under the action of
spring i. The movement of the legs will thus imitate the action of a horse
galloping, but by suitably varying the arrangement of levers and connections, the
two front legs and also the two hind legs may have the proper movements
imparted to them for imitating the action of a horse when trotting.
When the bottom crank shaft S is placed below the horses, or passes through
same, the arrangement for actuating the horses' legs will have to be modified, and
can be effected either from the upper crank shaft I in the manner above described,
or from the bottom crank shaft by arranging a suitable connection between the
latter and the lever Z within the horse.
The flexible connections for allowing the horses to cant or slant or inwards
while rotating, may be applied to roundabouts in which the horses are caused to
gallop as well as rotate in any other manner than that above described.
As
By substituting chains for the tie rods L supporting the swifts K, and carrying
such chains round pulleys, the horses might be caused to leap obstacles placed in
their paths of rotation, by simply pulling the chains by any suitable means.
the swifts K are pivotted to the central frame carrying the pinions H, so as to be
capable of moving in a vertical plane, and the connection between the upper crank
shafts I and their continuations carrying the pinions H, permits of such crank
shafts also moving in a vertical plane, the whole can be moved upwards and carry
the horses with it, thus enabling the latter to clear the obstacles placed in their
paths of rotation.
Where steam power is not employed any suitable arrangement may be used for
rotating the swifts round the central support and at the same time revolve the
upper crank shafts in their bearings.
It will be readily understood that instead of horses, other animals or boats may
be employed, and the movement imparted thereto be modified so as to imitate the
movements of such animals, or to imitate the pitching and tossing of a boat at sea.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. Imparting movements to horses or other animals or to boats suspended from
arms or swifts caused to rotate round the central support of a merry-go-round or
roundabout, from above, substantially as described.
2. The mode of suspending horses, or other animals, or boats, from arms or swifts
caused to rotate round the central support of a merry-go-round or roundabout, in

page_text: which the horses or other animals have a galloping movement imparted to them,
or, in the case of boats, in which the latter have a pitching and tossing movement
imparted to them, so as to permit the same to swing outwards, as and for the
purpose specified.
3. Causing the weight of the horses or other animals or boats and the parts from
which they are suspended, to be transmitted to the pinions H by means of the tie
rods L connected to a sleeve M free to slide vertically on the central support and
supported by rods connected to the frame carrying the pinions H, all substantially
as described.
4. Imparting movements to the legs of horses or other animals suspended to
arms or swifts caused to rotate round the central support of roundabouts or merry-
go-rounds, substantially as described.
5. Supporting the swifts or arms from which the horses or other animals of
merry-go-rounds or roundabouts are suspended, by pivotting them at their inner
ends to the central support of such machine, while their outer ends are carried by
chains, by pulling which the swifts can be raised for the purpose of enabling the
animals to clear obstacles placed in their paths of rotation round the central
support, substantially as described.