Improvements in Apparatus for Facilitating Walking, Running, and Jumping.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Oct., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by NICOLAS YAGN, of 25, Basseinaja, St. Petersburg,
Russia, Mechanical Engineer.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Facilitating Walking, Running,
and Jumping.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improved construction of apparatus for facilitating walking,
running, and jumping, in which the elastic force of air or other gases or of springs
are employed for this purpose.
I will proceed to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which
Figs. 1 and 2 shew respectively a side and back view of the apparatus as attached
to a man.
Fig. 3 shews another side view with the legs in a different position.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew an enlarged side view and cross section of the air receptacle, and
Fig. 6 shews a diagram plan of the elastic connections in the unstretched and
stretched positions.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 shew a side view and two plans of a modified construction in
which steel springs are used in place of compressed air.
The apparatus consists of two flexible bags or pockets a a placed beneath the feet
between two sole plates p p¹ of which p may consist of the ordinary sole of the boot,
made of sufficient strength and without a heel and slightly widened at the middle.
The other plate p¹ is connected to the upper one by means of the flexible sides b b¹
of material which is impermeable to air, gas, or water, these parts thus forming
the bag a which can be made to distend and collapse like a bellows.
Each of the bags is connected by a tube c to a flexible tube C which passes up
along the leg to the waist, where it terminates in a smaller tube closed by means
of a cock d or by other suitable means. The internal volume of the tube C filled
with air should be from 2 to 3 times as large as that of the bag a; the tube should
be as flexible and impermeable to air as the bags a a. These bags as also the
tubes C can be made of canvas or leather and be lined internally with caoutchouc,
or they may be made of caoutchouc covered externally with canvas or leather, or
other suitable flexible material.
The bags a and the tubes Care filled with air under pressure to such an extent
that the man standing on the bags is held in a raised position thereby, as by springs.
For filling the tubes and bags with air, a suitable portable air pump can be used,
such as a caoutchouc ball pump similar to those used for spraying apparatus.
It will be seen from the above construction that at every step taken the consequent
descent of the body upon the extended foot causes the air in the bag a to be
compressed, the air, by its elasticity, being made to diminish the shock, and to store
up the work done by the descent of the body, which work is, under ordinary
circumstances, not only lost, but is also mainly the cause of the person becoming
tired, as he is obliged to equalise or counteract this force of descent by a corre-
sponding tension of the muscles.
When the leg on which the body rests is caused, by the forward movement of the
body, to assume a backward position, the compressed air in the bag begins to expand
under the reduced external pressure, and thus tends to impart to the foot an upward
impulse, thereby facilitating the forward motion in throwing the body on the other
leg, which is now situated in advance.

page_text: When using this apparatus it is not necessary to bend the knees when walking
or running, so that the shocks resulting from each step or jump do not oblige the
person to counteract them by an effort of the muscles in bending the leg, such as
is necessary without the apparatus and consequently no fatigue is felt.
The apparatus above described suffices for preventing fatigue when the speed of
walking or running is within ordinary limits (about 7 kilometres per hour) but if
the speed has to be increased it is necessary to take into consideration another cause
of fatigue which results from such increase."
The legs of a person can, namely, oscillate freely like a pendulum without
appreciable effort of the muscles, up to a certain limit of speed, which must not
exceed about two oscillations per second. Consequently for allowing of the increase
of speed or number of oscillations per second, without requiring too great an effort
of the muscles, I connect the feet by means of elastic ties as shewn on the drawing.
These ties consist of caoutchouc bands, ff¹ connected to the heels and toes of the
feet and connected together at the middle. At the point of such connection is a
hook by means of which the tie is attached to an elastic band g which is connected
at its upper ends to bands or straps k k hanging down from the belt i.
When beginning to walk, the speed being still slight, these ties somewhat
inconvenience the movement of the feet; but as the speed is accelerated, a corre-
sponding acceleration of the oscillations of the legs up to 4 per second can be
effected without appreciable muscular effort.
It is evident that in place of the elastic force of compressed air and of caoutchouc
bands may be employed metal springs or other suitable elastic bodies.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 shew by way of example the use of spirally bent metal springs,
connected at one end to the front end of the one sole p and at the other end to the
other sole p¹.
There may be employed, in addition to the tubes C, special reservoirs for the
compressed air, which may be attached to the belt i or to the back like a
knapsack.
It will be evident that the above described apparatus can be otherwise variously
modified without departing from the essential feature of my invention, whereby
elastic bodies are acted upon by the weight of a person so as to facilitate his walking
running or jumping.
Dated this 7th day of January 1880
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Facilitating Walking, Running,
and Jumping.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in
the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, 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 improved construction of apparatus for facilitating walking,
running, and jumping in which the elastic force of air or other gases or of springs is
employed for this purpose.
I will proceed to describe the invention with reference to the drawings accom-
panying my Provisional Specification in which
Figs. 1 and 2 shew respectively a side and back view of the apparatus as attached
to a man.
Fig. 3 shews another side view with the legs in a different position.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew an enlarged side view and cross section of the air receptacle, and
Fig. 6 shews a diagram plan of the elastic, connections in the unstretched and
stretched positions.

page_text: Figs. 7, 8 and 9 shew a side view and two plans of a modified construction in
which steel springs are used in place of compressed air.
The apparatus consists of two flexible bags or pockets a a placed beneath the feet
between two sole plates p p¹ of which p may consist of the ordinary sole of the boot,
made of sufficient strength and without a heel and slightly widened at the middle.
The other plate p¹ is connected to the upper one by means of the flexible sides bb1
of material which is impermeable to air gas or water, these parts thus forming the
bag a which can be made to distend and collapse like a bellows.
Each of the bags is connected by a tube c to a flexible tube C which passes up
along the leg to the waist, where it terminates in a smaller tube closed by means of
a cock d or by other suitable means. The internal volume of the tube filled with
air should be from 2 to 3 times as large as that of the bag a; the tube should be
as flexible and impermeable to air as the bags a a. These bags as also the tubes C
can be made of canvas or leather and be lined internally with caoutchouc, or they
may be made of caoutchouc covered externally with canvas or leather or other
suitable flexible material.
The bags a and the tubes C are filled with air under pressure to such an extent
that the man standing on the bags is held in a raised position thereby, as by springs.
For filling the tubes and bags with air, a suitable portable air pump can be used,
such as a caoutchouc ball-pump similar to those used for spraying apparatus.
It will be seen from the above construction that at every step taken the consequent
descent of the body upon the extended foot causes the air in the bag a to be
compressed, the air, by its elasticity, being made to diminish the shock, and to store
up the work done by the descent of the body, which work is under ordinary
circumstances, not only lost, but is also mainly the cause of the person becoming
tired as he is obliged to equalise or counteract this force of descent by a corresponding
tension of the muscles.
When the leg on which the body rests is caused by the forward movement of the
body, to assume a backward position, the compressed air in the bag begins to
expand under the reduced external pressure, and thus tends to impart to the foot an
upward impulse thereby facilitating the forward motion in throwing the body on
the other leg which is now situated in advance.
When using this apparatus it is not necessary to bend the knees when walking
or running, so that the shocks resulting from each step or jump do not oblige the
person to counteract them by an effort of the muscles in bending the leg, such as
is necessary without the apparatus and consequently no fatigue is felt.
The apparatus above described suffices for preventing fatigue when the speed of
walking or running is within ordinary limits (about 7 kilometres per hour) but if
the speed has to be increased it is necessary to take into consideration another cause
of fatigue which results from such increase.
The legs of a person can, namely, oscillate freely like a pendulum without
appreciable effort of the muscles, up to a certain limit of speed, which must not
exceed about two oscillations per second. Consequently for allowing of the increase
of speed or number of oscillations per second, without requiring too great an effort
of the muscles, I connect the feet by means of elastic ties as shewn on the
drawing.
These ties consist of caoutchouc bands, ff' connected to the heels and toes of the
feet and connected together at the middle. At the point of such connection is a
hook h by means of which the tie is attached to an elastic band which is connected
at its upper ends to bands or straps k k hanging down from the belt i.
When beginning to walk, the speed being still slight, these ties somewhat incon-
venience the movement of the feet; but as the speed is accelerated, a corresponding
acceleration of the oscillations of the legs up to 4 per second can be effected without
appreciable muscular effort.
It is evident that in place of the elastic force of compressed air and of caoutchouc
bands may be employed metal springs or other suitable elastic bodies.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 shew by way of example the use of spirally bent metal springs

page_text: connected at one end to the front end of the one sole p and at the other end to the
other sole p¹.
There may be employed in addition to the tubes C special reservoirs for the
compressed air, which may be attached to the belt i or to the back like a
knapsack.
It will be evident that the above described apparatus can be otherwise variously
modified without departing from the essential feature of this invention, whereby
elastic bodies are acted upon by the weight of a person so as to facilitate his walking,
running, or jumping.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The use, for facilitating walking, running and jumping, of flexible bags or
pockets placed beneath the sole of the foot, which bags are filled with air or other
gas and communicate with reservoirs of compressed air or gas attached to the body,
substantially as described.
2. The use in lieu of the flexible bags referred to in the preceding claim, of
metallic or other springs or elastic bodies, substantially as described.
3. The use for facilitating walking, running, and jumping, of an elastic band or
bands or cords connecting the two feet, and suspended from the person at an
intermediate point by an elastic suspension, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 2nd day of October 1890.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.