IMPROVEMENTS IN TOPS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to François Armand Blanchon, of Paris, France,
Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TOPS."
Sealed the 27th April 1869, and dated the 29th October 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said François Armand
Blanchon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 29th October 1868.
I, FRANÇOIS ARMAND BLANCHON, of Paris, France, Gentleman, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
Tops," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to the plaything known as children's tops,,
and more especially to that description made hollow and of thin sheet metal
or other similar light material. Hitherto the rotary motion was imparted.
to these tops either by a string or spring; my Invention consists in.
making use as a motor for driving the said tops by a current of air
obtained by mere insufflation with the human mouth or by suction, and
is caused to pass through the top and through suitable reacting or exit

page_text: openings provided in the periphery of this latter, the said current of air
imparting rotary motion to the top by its reacting effects, viz., in a
manner analogous to that of the steam in the apparatus called in natural
philosophy the colipyle. The current of air is provided by preference by
insufflating with the mouth into a tube situate or applied in the axial
part of the top, suitable openings provided in the periphery of this latter
allowing the exit of the insufflated air, which in reacting on the said exit
openings will impart rotary motion to the top. The tube for insufflating
air into the top may form either an adhering part of this latter or be a
separate part, and the same is adapted in an opening provided in the
centre of the upper part of the top. Musical or other suitable sounds
may be emitted by providing the top with suitable metal tongues or
other suitable sonorous parts, and allowing a portion of the insufllated air
to act on these sonorous parts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said François Armand Blanchon in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th April 1869..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANÇOIS
ARMAND BLANCHON, of Paris, France, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, 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 François Armand Blanchon, Her special
licence that I, the said François Armand Blanchon, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said François Armand
Blanchon, my executors, 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,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TOPS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said François Armand Blanchon, 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

page_text: 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 François Armand Blanchon, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
These improvements relate to that sort of plaything known as
children's tops, and more especially to that description of them made
hollow and of thin sheet metal or other appropriate light material.
Hitherto the rotary motion was imparted to these tops cither by a string
or by a spring; my Invention consists in making use as a motor for
driving tops of a current of air obtained by mere insufflation with the
human mouth or by suction, and which current is caused to pass
through the top and through suitable reacting or exit openings provided
in the periphery of this latter, the said current of air imparting rotary
motion to the top by its reacting effect, viz., in a manner analogous to
that of the steam in the apparatus called in natural philosophy the
colipyle. The current of air is produced by preference by insufflating
with the mouth into a tube situated in or applied to the axiál part
of the top; suitable openings provided in the periphery of this latter
allowing the exit of the insuflated air, which in reacting on the said
exit openings will impart rotary motion to the top. The tube for
insulating air into the top may form either an adhering part of this latter
or a separate part, and the same is adapted in an opening provided in
the centre of the upper part of the top. Musical or other suitable sounds
may be emitted by providing the top with suitable metal tongues or
vibrating reeds or other suitable sonorous parts, and allowing a portion
of the insufflated air to act on these sonorous parts.
+
In order to make the Invention at once fully understood I will now
proceed to describe various descriptions of my improved tops, to which I
give the name of Eolian tops, and thereby refer to the annexed Drawings
in the various Figures, of which the same letters show corresponding
parts.
Fig. 1 shows an outside or clevation view and Fie 2
vortical

page_text: section of the bouy
Fig. 2.
A represents the body of the top, which body is made of thin brass or
other suitable metal or material; the inside of this body is divided into
two separate compartments by a division plate C; a tube B, either fixed
or moveable, is situated axially in the centre of the upper part of the
body A, and serves for insufflating air into the top, and thereby procure
the rotation of this latter. A stem or pin P fixed in the division plate C
and in the lower end of the body A forms the axis of rotation of the
top through the lower end of the body, of which latter the point p of
the stem P protrudes for a short distance, and thus allows the top of
rotating on this point p. In the periphery of the top above the division
plate C are provided at regular distances apart a suitable number of
holes a for allowing the air insufflated through the tube B of taking its
exit; these holes are arranged in the manner as shown in a, Fig. 3, viz.,
a small part a¹ of the body is bent slightly inward in order that the air
insufllated by the tube B be obliged in taking its exit by the hales a to
press against the bent parts a', and by the reacting effect thus exerted
cause the rotation of the top, in consequence of which I call the
openings a the reacting holes. Other openings b, situated underneath
the plate C, serve as in common humming tops, for procuring the
humming of the top. In Fig. 3 the direction of the rotation is shown
by the arrow R.
Fig. 4 shows a vertical sectional view over the axis of a modification
of the above described arrangement; in this modification vibrating
reeds are applied against corresponding openings provided in the
division plate C, thus allowing to a portion of the insufflated air of
acting on these reeds, and thereby emit musical sounds; or such reeds
might be applied to openings provided for that purpose, either in other
parts of the body A or in the tube B; in the arrangement of Fig. 4
openings e provided in the body A underneath the plate C serve for the
exit of that portion of the insufflated air which has acted on the reeds q;
a shows one of the reacting holes for procuring the rotation of the top.
In order to prevent part of the insufflated air from escaping through the
small opening left between the tube B and that part of the body A in
which this tube is inserted I make use of the arrangement shown on an
enlarged scale in sectional view in Fig. 5; for this purpose a washer
applied moveable round the tube B is inserted between a fixed annular

page_text: plate m and the opening a* of the body A, in which the tube B glides
up and down; by this arrangement the washer n will allow the free
moving of the tube B, and constantly keep shut either the circular
opening m left between the tube B and the annular plate m or that a².
In the arrangement shown in vertical sectional view in Fig. 4, the
tube B is allowed to glide for a suitable distance up and down along the
axis or stem P, and be guided by a cross piece fixed in the inside of
the tube B, thus allowing this tube of being drawn up sufficiently far
for permitting of taking hold of it when air is to be insufflated in the
top by means of this tube B, whereas during the rotation of the top, viz.,
when rotating on the point p of the stem P the greater portion of the
tube falls down into the interior of the top.
Fig. 6 represents an outside or elevation view, and Fig. 7 a vertical
sectional view of another modification; in this latter arrangement the
lower end of the spindle or axis P is provided with a small knob E,
which allows of being taken hold of when the tube B is to be applied to
the mouth for insufflating air into the top. In this arrangement the
spindle P passes through corresponding circular openings provided in
the division plate C, and in the lower end of the body A of the top;
the knob E is screwed on the lower end of the spindle P, over the upper
portion of which a small tube d fixed by means of cross stays f in the
inside of the insufflating tube B glides freely up and down; the lower
portion of the tube B enters into the body A, and is provided with the
arrangement described in reference to the Figs. 4 & 5 for preventing
any undue escape of insufflated air; a washer or rim B¹ is fixed round
the outside of the tube B, and serves for preventing that in taking hold
of this tube the hand should come in contact with the body A of the
top and thereby interfere with the rotating of this latter; on the upper
part of the knob E is provided a small shoulder or step g in order to
offer but a very small frictional surface to the lower end of the body A
of the top. Reaction holes a and humming holes bare provided in the
body A respectively above and underneath the division plate-C.
The mode of operating my improved Eolian tops will now be easily
understood, for the arrangements described in reference to the Figures 1,
2, & 4, the tube B, and for that of the Figures 6 & 7, the knob E is
taken hold of, and the tube B applied to the mouth so as to allow of
blowing air into the top until a sufficient rotary motion is imparted to
the body A; the top is then set on the point p of the spindle P, when

page_text: the rotation of the body. A will at once drag along with it the said
spindle and the tube B. I finally, wish to observe that instead of causing
the rotation of the top to be procured by insufflating air into it, this
rotation might be obtained by a reverse operation, viz., by suction, that
is to say, by causing air to be drawn into the body A by the reaction
holes, and force it to take its exit by the tube B, which latter in this
case, serving as a,suction or exhausting instead of an insufllating tube;
I want to add, however, that the method of acting by insufflation is by far
preferable.
Having thus described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be put into
operation, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to limit myself
to the exact details of the above-described arrangements, as many varia-
tions may be made therein without departing from the main features of
the. Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original and con-
sequently claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is, imparting rotary motion to children's tops
either by insuflation or by suction, substantially as above described and
illustrated in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said François Armand Blanchon, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight. hundred and sixty-
nine.
-Witness,
A. G. BRADE.
F. BLANCHON. (L.S.)