IM- PROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS TO BE APPLIED TO AUTOMATON TOYS AND HOBBY HORSES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County,
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS TO BE APPLIED TO AUTOMATON TOYS
AND HOBBY HORSES."-A communication. from abroad by. William Farr
Goodwin, of the City of Washington, District of Columbia, and Henry'
Shotwell Cohu, of New York City, both in the United States of
America.
t
Sealed the 5th July: 1867, and dated the 7th February 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th February 1867. .
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,:
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS TO BE APPLIED TO AUTOMATON;
TOYS AND HOBBY HORSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in a novel method of applying mechanical
movements to automaton toys made in the image of various animals, whereby
the toys are caused to move the legs, head, and tail in the act of walking;

page_text: and trotting after the manner of the animal which the toy is made to
imitate.
The annexed Drawing represents a vertical longitudinal section of a toy or
hobby horse embodying the improvement, the section being taken through
the side and legs of the toy.
W represents the covering by which the toy is formed into proper shape,
which may be made of wood or other suitable material; E represents metal
plates or pieces of sheet brass or iron placed in each side of the body to
afford journal bearings for the moving apparatus; K is a drum which
contains the spring; O represents the key post on which the spring is wound
up; L represents a gear wheel attached to the box K, and turned by the
spring which is enclosed in the box; letters L' and L³ represent gear wheels
by means of which the motion is imparted to the shaft B and cranks B' the
rotation of which imparts motion to the legs; letters A, A1, A2, A3, A', and A
represent the bars of the leg and the foot.
any
This Invention can be applied to toys made in the image of a variety of
animals, either quadruped or biped. I have selected the horse as the animal
most appropriate by which to illustrate this Invention, supposing that it will
be most generally used in toy and hobby horses made for children to play
with. The body of the toy may be made of wood, or papier maché, or india-
rubber, or any other suitable material; the legs may be made of rubber,
cloth, or wood, hinged at the joints, or leather, or any flexible material, or
material, made flexible by making the leg in pieces and joining it together
by hinge joints. The plates E are shaped to adapt them to the shape of the
toy and to afford bearings and points of attachment for the several parts of
the apparatus attached to them. The drum K is placed between the
plates E, E, near the centre, and is held in position by the shaft O on which
it is mounted. The shaft O has journals on its ends which are fitted
into suitable holes in the plates E; one end of the shaft O projects
through the plate, and is squared to receive a key. The spring is attached
or locked to the shaft O and box K in the usual manner of attaching a clock
spring, and is wound up by a key and held by a ratchet, and the operation of
the spring is the same as the spring of a clock. The gear wheel L is mounted
on the box K and rotates with the same, and. imparts motion to the shaft B
by the intermediate gear wheels L' and L. The shafts B are provided with
cranks B¹, one on each end of each shaft. The cranks are placed on each
end of the shaft B in reversed positions to each other for the purpose of
giving to the legs the proper alternate movements. By the arrangement of
gear wheels of different diameters through which motion is imparted from

page_text: the wheel L to the shaft B the number of revolutions may be multiplied,
causing the shaft B and its cranks B₁ to make a greater or less number of
revolutions in the same time than is made by the wheel L, this arrangement
being necessary in order to make the toy operate as long as possible at each
winding of the spring. Similar arrangements of gear wheels and shafts are
employed to operate both the front and rear legs, and I have therefore used
the same letters to indicate similar parts in the front and rear apparatus, the
description of each being the same. The bars A, A1, A2, A3, and A* when
joined together by hinge joints form the frame of the leg; A³ represents the
foot, hinged to the lower extremities of the bars A and A'. The top end of
the short bar A¹ is pivoted to the stud S, which represents the shoulder and
stifle joints. The bar A is pivoted or journaled at its top end on the wrist.
of the crank B' and to the swinging end of the bar A¹ at a point near
two-fifths, of its length, measuring from the top, and at its elbow near its..
lower end to the projection on the end of the bar A³ at the knee joint on the
front leg and to the bend or elbow of the bar A³ at the knee joint in the rear
leg, and at its lower extremity to the top of the bar A in both front and rear
legs. The top end of the bar A2 is attached to the bar A¹ by a hinge joint,
and at its lower extremity to the bend or elbow at the top of the bar A³ in-
the front leg, and in the rear leg the lower end of the bar A is attached to
the top end of the bar A³. The lower ends of the bars A' and A' are pivoted:
or hinged to the foot A° which represents the pastern joint. The positions of
the front and rear legs are reversed to each other, the top end of the bar A
of the front leg being pivoted on the stud S. on the point of the shoulder in
front of its crank B', and the bar A¹ of the rear leg being pivoted to the:
stud 'S on the stifle in the rear of its crank B¹. The bars A and A³ of the
front and rear legs differ in form and manner of attachment at the knee.
joints. The bar A of the front leg is the rear bar of the leg, having its lower
end bent forward and attached at its bend to the end of the projection T on
the top of the bar A³. The bend of the bar A³ is attached to the lower end
of the bar A', which arrangement causes the knee to bend forward when the
bar A is operated by its crank B'₁, the rotating of which imparts to the leg its
reciprocating and vibrating motions. The bar A of the rear leg is the front
bar of the leg, having its lower end bent backward and attached at its bend
to the bend near the top of the bar A³. The top or projecting end of the.
bar As is attached to, the lower end of the bar A³, by which arrangement the
knee joint of the rear leg is caused to bend backward when operated by its.
crank B', the rotating of which imparts to the rear leg its reciprocating and.
vibrating movements. C is a bar bent to adapt itself to the curve of the

page_text: neck, and serves to support and operate the head and neck; the bar C is
pivoted or jointed to a point in front of the withers marked V, making the
joint of the neck. The lower end of the bar C is operated by pins q on, the
face of the wheel L, whereby the neck and head are caused to vibrate. Dis
a lever pivoted on the shaft or pin Y, having a hole in its outer end to receive
the tail, and a slot in its inner end to receive the end of the lever D¹ by which
it is operated. The lever D¹ is pivoted on the stud J, and is operated by the
projecting pins 9 on the wheel L, whereby the tail is caused to vibrate.
Having thus described the construction of the apparatus I will proceed to
describe the movements of the same :-When the spring is wound up the
wheel L rotates, and being in gear with the wheels Land L on the
shafts B, B, causes the latter to turn forward on their journals, the cranks B¹
being mounted on the ends of the shaft B are rotated by the shafts. The
rotation of the cranks B' serves to impart the vibrating and reciprocating
motion to the leg and foot.
.
I will now describe the movements of the front leg and foot with reference
to its different positions marked in the Figure by red, blue, and brown lines,.
and denominated respectively a, b, c. The top end of the bar A of the front
carried around
leg is pivoted or journaled on the wrist of the crank B', and
by the rotation of the crank, which causes the top end of the bar to move to
and from the pivot S, which latter is the centre of motion for the leg. In
the Figure the right leg is represented as in the act of stepping forward, the
knee being bent, having finished its forward movement, and the foot elevated
to its highest point, and the knee joints S and S* having reached their highest
and nearest point to the pivot S. When the wrist of the crank is moving
from a to c carrying the top of the bar downward and forward toward the
pivot S the bar A being hinged or pivoted to the swinging end of the bar A¹
by a pivot S¹ it swings on the said pivot S¹, pushing the swinging end of the
bar A away from the shaft B, which is the centre around which the top of
the bar A moves, causing the lower end of the bar A to move downward
from the pivot S, pushing the swinging end of the projection T, and the
bar A and projection from the foot pivot marked S8 down with it. The
bar A being pivoted on the stud S at one end and to the bar A at the other
end vibrates with the bar A and serves to hold the pivots S and S' always
at the same distance from the pivot S or centre of motion. The bar A being
pivoted to the bar A' at a point nearer the pivot S the pivot marked S* does
not move so fast or so far as the bar A, the lower end of the bar A' being
pivoted to the bend or elbow of the bar A³; the pivot marked S* serves to
The pivot or joint S* not moving so fast or so far from
hold up the bar A³.

page_text: the pivot S as the pivot S on the end of the projection T causes the bar A³
to swing on the pivot S, the end of the projection T being pushed down by
the bar A moves faster and further from the centre of motion than the bend
or pivot S, causing the lower end of the bar A³ to move forward, straightening
the leg and causing the foot to descend to the ground. The movements
of the rear or hind legs are similar to those of the fore legs, with the
exception of the position of the legs being reversed, the pivot S of the hind
leg being situated in the rear of the crank B', the gambrel or elbow joint
bends back instead of forward in imitation of the hind leg of a horse while
in the fore leg the knee joint bends forward imitating the fore leg of a horse.
The only difference in the form of the bars and manner of putting them
together between the front and hind leg being at the gambrel or elbow joint
the bars A and A3 of the hind leg cross each other and are pivoted or jointed
together, forming the gambrel joint, the bar A being pivoted to the top end
of the bar A' or projection T serves to hold the projecting end of the bar A³,
serving as a pivot for the same, the bar A being operated by the crank B
moves faster and further than the bar A³, which serves to bend and straighten
the legs, the bar A* being in the rear of the bar A³ the same as in the fore
leg and being attached to the projecting end of the bar A which crosses the
bar As projecting backward instead of forward, thus differing from the fore
leg, the lower end of the bar A* being attached to the foot in the same
manner as in the fore leg serves to turn the foot back and to hold it up.
in the act of stepping forward, operating it in the same manner as the fore.
foot. By these differences of arrangements in the fore and hind legs of the toy
it is made to walk with all four legs, imitating the movements of the legs of
the horse when the bars A are acted upon by the rotating of the cranks B',
as described and shown. The pins q projecting on the wheel L operating on
the end of the bar C cause the neck and head to vibrate up and down at
every step, and also operate the end of the lever D' and serve to vibrate the
tail, causing it to move up and down during the revolution of the box K.
In different sizes and kinds of toys various means will be employed to impart
the rotary movements to the cranks B¹. In hobby horses of large size the
spring or driving power will be mounted on the axle of a wagon or cart, and
the rotating motion imparted to the cranks B¹ by means of a chain or belt
passing over a pulley on the wagon and over a pulley on the shaft B in the
hobby borse. This means of operating the cranks may also be used in small
toys when wagons are attached to them, as it would be cheaper, there being
no machinery in the toy but the shaft B and cranks B' and the pulleys and:
connecting chain or rod by which the cranks are operated, and the means by:

page_text: which the head and tail are operated, all the driving apparatus used to impart
the rotary motion to the shafts B and cranks B' being mounted on the wagon,
the rotary motion being communicated to the pullies in the toy by means of
chains or belts as before described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Clark, 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
MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS TO BE APPLIED TO AUTOMATON TOYS AND HOBBY HORSES,"
a communication to me from abroad by William Farr Goodwin, of the
City of Washington, District of Columbia, and Henry Shotwell Cohu, of
New York City, both in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, 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 Clark, 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

page_text: statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
.:
This Invention consists in a novel method of applying mechanical move-
ments to automaton toys made in the image of various animals, whereby
the toys are caused to move the legs, bead, and tail in the act of walking
and trotting after the manner of the animal which the toy is made to
imitate.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawing represents a vertical longitudinal section
of a toy or hobby horse embodying the improvement, the section being taken
through the side and legs of the toy; Figure 2 is a horizontal longitudinal
section through the top of the body, the back being removed to show a top
view of the driving apparatus as arranged in the body of the toy, and by
which motion is imparted to the legs, head, and tail of the same.. Similar
letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
W represents the covering by which the toy is formed into proper shape,
which may be made of wood or other suitable material; E represents metàl
plates or pieces of sheet brass or iron placed in each side of the body to
afford journal bearings for the moving apparatus; K is a drum which contains
the spring; O represents the key post on which the spring is wound up';
L represents a gear wheel attached to the box K and turned by the spring
which is enclosed in the box; letters L' and L represent gear wheels, by
means of which the motion is imparted to the shaft B and cranks B', the
rotation of which imparts motion to the legs; letters A, A1, A2, A3, A', and
A³, represent the bars of the leg and the foot.
This Invention can be applied to toys made in the image of a variety of
animals, either quadruped or biped. I have selected the horse as the animal
most appropriate by wbich to illustrate this Invention, supposing that it will
be most generally used in toy and hobby horses made for children to play
with. The body of the toy may be made of wood or papier maché, or india-
rubber, or any other suitable material; the legs may be made of rubber,
cloth, or wood hinged at the joints, or leather or other flexible material, or
any material made flexible, by making the leg in pieces, and joining it
together by hinge joints. The plates E and E' are shaped to adapt them to
the shape of the toy, and to afford bearings and points of attachment for the
several parts of the apparatus attached to them. The drum K is placed
between the plates E, E¹, near the centre, and is held in position by the
shaft O on which it is mounted. The shaft O has journals on its ends which
are fitted into suitable holes in the plates E and E¹; one end. of the shaft O
projects through the plate, and is squared to receive a key. The spring is

page_text: attached or locked to the shaft O and box K, in the usual manner of attaching
a clock spring, and is wound up by a key and held by a ratchet, and the
operation of the spring is the same as the spring of a clock. The gear
wheel L is mounted on the box K, and rotates with the same, and imparts
motion to the shaft B by the intermediate gear wheels L and L². The
shafts B are provided with cranks B¹, one on each end of each shaft; the
cranks are placed on each end of the shaft B in reversed positions.to each
other, for the purpose of giving to the legs the proper alternate movements.
By the arrangement of gear wheels of different diameters through which
motion is imparted from the wheel L to the shaft B the number of revolutions
may be multiplied, causing the shaft B and its cranks B₁ to make a greater
or less number of revolutions in the same time than is made by the wheel L;
this arrangement being necessary in order to make the toy operate as long as
possible at each winding of the spring. Similar arrangements of gear wheels
and shafts are employed to operate both the front and rear legs, and I have
therefore used the same letters to indicate similar parts in the front and rear
apparatus, the description of each being the same. The bars A, A¹, A³, A³,
and A when joined together by hinge joints form the frame of the leg ;
A represents the foot hinged to the lower extremities of the bars A³ and A*.
The top end of the short bar A¹ is pivoted to the stud S, which represents the
shoulder and stifle joints. The bar A is pivoted or journaled at its top end
on the wrist of the crank B' and to the swinging end of the bar A¹, at a
point near two-fifths of its length measuring from the top, and at its elbow
near its lower end to the projection on the end of the bar A³ at the knee
joint on the front leg, and to the bend or elbow of the bar A³ at the knee
joint in the rear leg, and at its lower extremity to the top of the bar A* in
both front and rear legs. The top end of the bar A2 is attached to the bar A¹
by a hinge joint, and at its lower extremity to the bend or elbow at the top
of the bar A³ in the front leg, and in the rear leg the lower end of the bar A²
is attached to the top, end of the bar A³. The lower ends of the bars A³ and
A are pivoted or hinged to the foot A5 which represents the pastern joint.
The position of the front and rear legs are reversed to each other, the top end
of the bar A¹ of the front leg being pivoted on the stud S on the point of the
shoulder in front of its crank B', and the bar A¹ of the rear leg being pivotted
to the stud.S on the stifle in rear of its crank B. The bars A and A³ of
the front and rear legs differ in form and manner of attachment at the knee
joints; the bar A of the front leg is the rear bar of the leg, having its lower
end bent forward and attached at its bend to the end of the projection T on
the top of the bar A³; the bend of the bar A³ is attached to the lower end of

page_text: the bar A, which arrangement causes the knee to bend forward when the.
bar A is operated by its crank B', the rotating of which imparts to the leg
its reciprocating and vibrating motions. The bar A of the rear leg is the
front bar of the leg having its lower end bent backward, and attached at its
bend to the bend near the top of the bar A³; the top or projecting end of the
bar A is attached to the lower end of the bar A, by which arrangement tho
knee joint of the rear leg is caused to bend backward when operated by its.
crank B', the rotating of which imparts to the rear leg its reciprocating and
vibrating movements. C is a bar bent to adapt itself. to the curve of the.
neck, and serves to support and operate the head and neck; the bar C is
pivoted or jointed to a point in front of the withers marked V.making the
joint of the neck. The lower end of the bar C is operated by pins q on the
face of the wheel L, whereby the neck and head are caused to vibrate. D is
a lever pivoted on the shaft or pin Y, having a hole in its outer end to receive
the tail, and a slot in its inner end to receive the end of the lever D¹ by
which it is operated. The lever D¹ is pivoted on the stud J, and is operated
by the projecting pins q on the wheel L, whereby the tail is caused to
vibrate.
Having thus described the construction of the apparatus I will proceed to
describe the movements of the same. When the spring is wound up the
wheel L rotates, and being in gear with the wheels L' and L' on the shafts B,
B, causes the latter to turn forward on their journals, the cranks B¹ being
mounted on the ends of the shafts B are rotated by the shafts. The rotation
of the cranks B' serves to impart the vibrating and reciprocating motion to
the leg and foot.
.
I will now describe the movements of the front leg and foot with reference
to its different positions marked in Figure 1 by red, blue, and brown lines,
and denominated respectively a, b, c. The top end of the bar A of the
front leg is pivoted or journaled on the wrists of the crank B', and is carried.
around by the rotation of the crank, which causes the top end of the bar.
to move to and from the pivot S, which latter is the centre of motion for
the leg.
In Figure 1 the right leg is represented as in the act of stepping forward,
the knee being bent, having finished its forward movement and the foot
elevated to its highest point, and the knee joints S and S* having reached
their highest and nearest point to the pivot S. When the wrist of the crank:
is moving from a to c carrying the top of the bar downward and forward i
toward the pivot S, the bar A being hinged or pivoted to the swinging end of
the bar A' by a pivot S¹ it swings on the said pivot S', pushing the swinging

page_text: end of the bar A¹ away from the shaft B, which is the centre around which
the top of the bar A noves, causing the lower end of the bar A to move
downward from the pivot S, pushing the swinging end of the projection T and
the bar A and projection from the foot pivot marked Ss down with it. The
bar A being pivoted on the stud S at one end and to the bar A at the other
end vibrates with the bar A and serves to hold the pivots S¹ and S always at
the same distance from the pivot S or centre of motion. The bar A² being
pivoted to the bar A¹ at a point nearer the pivot S, the pivot marked S³ does
not move so fast or so far as the bar A, the lower end of the bar A² being
pivoted to the bend or elbow of the bar A³ the pivot marked S' serves to hold
up the bar As. The pivot or joint S not moving so fast or so far from the
pivot S as the pivot S3 on the end of projection T causes the bar As to swing
on the pivot S', the end of the projection T being pushed down by the bar A
moves faster and further from the centre of motion than the bend or pivot S',.
causing the lower end of the bar A³ to move forward, straightening the leg
and causing the foot to descend to the ground. The movement of the rear or
bind legs are similar to those of the fore legs with this exception; the
position of the legs being reversed the pivot S of the hind leg being situated
in the rear of. its crank B', the gambrel or elbow joint bends back instead of
forward in imitation of the hind leg of a horse, while in the fore leg the knee
joint bends forward imitating the fore leg of a horse. The only difference in
the form of the bars and manner of putting them together between the front
and hind legs being at the gambrel or elbow joint, the bars A and A³ of the
Lind leg cross each other and are pivoted or jointed together, forming the gambrel
joint; the bar A³ being pivoted to the top end of the bar A³ or projection T
serves to hold the projecting end of the bar A³, serving as a pivot for the
same; the bar A being operated by the crank B' moves faster and further
than the bar A2 which serves to bend and straighten the legs, the bar A* being
in the rear of the bar As the same as in the fore leg and being attached to the
projecting end of the bar A which crosses the bar As, projecting backward
instead of forward, thus differing from the fore leg, the lower end of the
bar A being attached to the foot in the same manner as in the fore leg
serves to turn the foot back and to hold it up in the act of stepping forward,
operating it in the same manner as the fore foot. By these differences of
arrangements in the fore and hind legs of the toy it is made to walk with all
four of its legs, imitating the movements of the legs of the horse when the
bars A are acted upon by the rotating of the cranks B', as described and shown.
The pins q projecting on the wheel L, operating on the end of the bar C,
cause the neck and head to vibrate up and down at every step, and also

page_text: operate the end of the lever D¹ and serve to vibrate the tail, causing it to
move up and down during the revolution of the box K. In different sizes and
kinds of toys various means will be employed to impart the rotary movements.
to the cranks B¹. In hobby horses of large size the spring or driving power
will be mounted on the axle of a waggon or cart, and the rotating motion
imparted to the cranks B' by means of a chain or belt passing over a pulley
on the waggon, and over a pulley on the shaft B in the hobby horse. This
means of operating the cranks may also be used in small toys when waggons
are attached to them, as it would be cheaper, there being no machinery in the
toy, but the shaft B and cranks B', and the pulleys and connecting chain or
rod by which the cranks are operated, and the means by which the head and
tail are operated, all the driving apparatus used to impart the rotary motion
to the shafts B and cranks B' being mounted on the waggon, the rotary
motion being communicated to the pullies in the toy by means of chains or
belts as before described.
Ilaving described the nature of this Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, constructing the legs of toys or hobby horses with bars or pieces,
joining them together, making hinged or vibrating joints at the several points
where the legs are required to bend, so that when attached or pivotted on the
studs S or their equivalents on the shoulders and hips, and acted upon by the
rotating of the cranks B¹, the legs are made to move, bending all the joints,
raising and turning the foot, stepping, walking, and trotting with both the
fore and hind legs and feet in imitation of the movements of the horse or
animal which the toy is made to represent, in the manner and for the purpose
substantially as described.
Secondly, the cranks B¹, or their equivalents, operated in any manner or
by any means whereby they can be made to rotate, the rotating of which
imparts to the legs their vibrating and reciprocating motions arranged to
operate in the manner and for the purpose, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
W. CLARK. (L.S.)