Improved Apparatus for Assisting Babies to Walk.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 17th May, 1892-Accepted, 18th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Assisting Babies to Walk.
I BRYAN BARNETT 11 Calton Hill, Edinburgh Retired Inland Revenue Officer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
An upright frame the top bar of which constitutes the handle, from the centre of
that towards the front is placed another bar at an angle of some 45° reaching to
the floor the end of which is connected with the frame by a horizontal bar
extending about seven inches through the frame. It is then mounted on three
small wheels (one placed at each extremity) excepting the extension referred to
which through being wheelless acts as a brake and is self-acting.
The whole when erected is about 16 in. high 18 in. breadth and is intended for
the enabling of babies to walk.
1001
BRYAN BARNETT.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Assisting Babies to Walk.
I, BRYAN BARNETT formerly of 11 Calton Hill now of 56 Brunswick Street,
Edinburgh, in the County of Midlothian, North Britain, Retired Inland Revenue
Officer, 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 :--
This invention relates to an improved apparatus for assisting babies to walk as
soon as they can stand.
Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus; and
Figure 2 is a front view of the same, the child being behind the appliance in
that view.
It consists of a wooden framework carried on three wheels A. The top cross
bar B is for the child to grasp with its hands whereby the child moves along the
appliance in the direction of the arrow. The cross or handle bar is supported from
the frame C by two uprights D and held secure by the stays E and F. The
stay E connecting the handle bar B with the central frame bar G the stay F con-
necting the trail end G' of the said frame bar with about the centre of the length
of the stay E. So long as the child is walking steadily the trail end G' keeps
clear of the ground, but immediately the child tends to fall back or over-reach
itself, or the appliance tends to run away from the child the trail end G³ is auto-
matically depressed upon the floor or ground by the weight or pulling back by the
child and thus the appliance is instantly stopped or braked and the child also
supported.
The appliance may be made of wood or of any other suitable material and the
general construction of the framework and wheel portion may be varied in many
ways. For example instead of the brake being in the centre of the appliance,
may employ two brakes, one at each side of the appliance, so that the child's feet
are between them, and instead of the one central wheel in front of the appliance, I
might employ two wheels to correspond with the arrangement when two brakes are
employed.
any
As a further modification I may bring the brake behind the child in suitable
manner such as by the employment of a semi-circular shaped back or guard attached

page_text: horizontally to the middle of the uprights D, the brake being brought down towards
the ground from the centre of the said guard portion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1st. The general arrangement and construction of the appliance to teach or enable
babies to walk substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn in the accompanying
drawings.
2nd. The arrangement of the brake G¹ substantially as and for the purposes
herein before described and shewn in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 16th day of Mar 1892
JOHNSONS,
115, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Petitioner's Agents.