IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATON FIGURES OR TOYs
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Scott Cavell, of Gray's Inn Square, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATON FIGURES OR TOYs."
Sealed the 5th November 1867, and dated the 7th May 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Scott Cavell,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th May 1867.
I, JOHN SCOTT CAVELL, of Gray's Inn Square, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF AUTOMATON FIGURES OR TOYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of
automaton figures or toys representing human or animal figures, or other
articles capable of being moved or changed into various positions, or of per-
forming dances and other exercises. I propose to form the figures of paper,
pasteboard, wood, metal, india-rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable material
each limb being made separately, and united together by hinges or joints,
and when necessary by universal joints or ball sockets, according to the
motion required. The trunk and limbs of the figure are to be made hollow

page_text: for the purpose of containing a series of wires, cords, or strings, or elastic
bands, with guide pullies and rings or loops for connecting such wires, cords,
or strings to the various limbs, and for attachment thereto. At the back of
the figure an aperture it formed for the passage of these cords or wires and
the figure is supported by a hollow pivoted joint at the back through which
the cords or wires pass; this pivoted joint is set on a vertical tube behind the
figure, the tube being supported on a table, bench, or stage, and the operator
being concealed from view pulls the requisite cords or wires in order to effect
the desired motions of the figure. By these arrangements no cords or wires
are visible to the audience, and the figure therefore moves by unseen agency,
which is not the case with the dancing figures known as "marionettes."
By means of the pivot joint the figure may be turned head downwards or
may be revolved on its axis and perform the various movements of the limbs
at the same time; all the wires or cords being provided with swivels to
prevent them from twisting. The head of the figure may be formed with a
ball joint at the bottom of the neck, and a short arm being extended from
the neck joint within the figure, the head may be made to rock from side to
side or may revolve by means of a cord or wire attached to the lever or arm,
In order to permit of an advancing, retreating, or lateral motion of the
figure, I propose to channel or groove out the table or bench with series of
slots or curves so that the vertical tube may be passed along the grooves
carrying the figure in any direction required, while the motion of the limbs
is effected by the cords or wires; several figures may be operated at the same
time and on the same table.
I also propose to place one or a series of figures on pivoted joints on a
sliding bar, set on a screen or vertical plane, so as to move them from side to
side, or several sliding bars may be set in the screen, each holding a figure,
whereby they may be made to approach or recede from each other. The tube
or tubes being. rotated will carry the figure or figures round on an axis, the
legs and arms or other parts of the body of the figure being moved by the
cords or wires. The eyes or lips of the figure may be moved by means
similar to those used for moving the eyes of dolls. Springs may be applied
if desired inside the limbs, trunk, or head, in various places for the purpose
of rapidly bringing back the limbs to position when the cords or wires are
slackened; the position of the springs and arrangement of cords and wires
will depend upon the varieties of posture required in the figure. The figures
may be made of any size, and may either represent tightly garmented figures
or they may be dressed in various styles of costume. If the limbs are merely
painted, coloured, or stained, and not clothed, the joints must be made with

page_text: full rounded heads passing into their corresponding limbs, so that as the limbs
are bent no space or opening may be seen between the joints; but where the
figure is clothed there is no necessity for so forming the joints. One or more
figures may be attached to a horizontal hollow bar, suspended from two
vertical tubes through which the cords are passed to the figure or figures.
The borizontal bar is set in bearings on the vertical tubes and is provided
with a grooved pulley and endless band passing below the stage or table to
another pulley and handle, by turning which the horizontal bar and figure or
figures are made to revolve or turn over and over, backwards or forwards, the
strings or cords actuating the limbs at the same time. By the use of vertical
sliding bars or moveable pivots the figures may ascend and descend as well as
perform the various postures as described.
I propose to cut out apertures in various parts of the figure, for example,
on the under side of the thighs, for the reception of the calves of the legs
when contracted, and to cover the spaces with elastic fabric, so that when the
legs, limbs, and thighs are extended, or in their normal position, the elastic
fabric will fill out the limb, but when (for example) the leg is bent backwards
it will compress the elastic and enter the substance of the thigh, so as to
imitate the natural body, so also the junctions between the stomach and
waist should be united by elastic fabric or webbing. The joint of the neck
and shoulder should be concealed by elastic webbing, as well as the joints of
the shoulders, arms, thighs, legs, and feet, and some of these joints, especially
the knee joints, should have hemispherical caps attached to the leg at the
knee joint so as always to present a rounded appearance when the leg is bent.
The shoulder joint is a ball and socket, the arm a pivoted or hinged joint; so
also the thigh is a ball joint, and the knee a pivot or hinge. The foot is a
ball joint but limited in its action by stops in the form of lugs or projections.
Now, all these joints are to be covered with elastic webbing or other elastic
fabric, and afterwards the figure or the essential parts thereof are to be
covered with a yielding or elastic fabric of any desired colour to imitate a
stage dress as fitting the naked limbs, and the part of the figure to be draped
must, of course, be treated as required; in the acrobat figure the whole
would be encased in elastic fabric, but in the figure of an actor or dancer,
the figure would be partly draped and partly clothed with tight fitting elastic
fabric.
In order to restore the figures to their normal position or upright posture
springs. of various kinds are applied to all the moveable portions of the
figure, so that it is only by the motion of the cords or wires or other equiva-
lents that the body is placed in certain positions, and by the springs that: the

page_text: figure is returned to its original posture; but in some instances it may be
found advisable to use springs for throwing out a limb suddenly into an
attitude, and to return that limb by the cords or wires to its original position.
I propose to apply springs of a curvilinear form, but of flat steel, the curve
suiting the outline of the limb in which the spring is placed, the object being
that the spring shall always be in antagonism to the cords or wires; helical
springs may be used where an elongation or stretching motion is required, but
for elevation or depression the flat curvilinear spring will be found most
suitable. The eyes may be of glass and moved by cords or wires; the lips
may be made of elastic substance, or they may be separate from the face and
made to open and close by similar mechanism. I also propose to employ
electricity and magnetism to actuate these figures, either in conjunction or not
with cords, wires, or rods, or other equivalents.
In order to effect this object, I form a battery and connecting wires, in
several series, that is to say, to the various limbs or moving parts of the body;
in the interior of the figure I place near the articulations or joints, armatures
and electro-magnets, so that as the wires to any particular limb or limbs are
brought in connection with the electric current of the battery, those limbs
are moved accordingly by the attraction of the armature in the moveable
Jimb to the electro-magnet in the parent limb or trunk, when the current is
cut off, as it is by means of keys or handles and commutators, either similar
to the keys of a stringed instrument, or like the handles which actuate a
telegraph dial, the springs bring back the limbs to their normal position.
By means of a circular form of armature, such as is used in electro-magnetic
engines, only on a very small scale, and by means of electro-magnets, a
circular motion may be easily maintained for any desired length of time, in
order to effect rotary motions of the limbs where required, especially in
gymnasts or acrobats.
These various movements will be more fully described in my Final Specifica-
tion. I also make the figures walk, or advance, or retreat on a stage or
latform by means of magnetism applied by a metallic plate or plates on the
stage, and by electro-magnets on the feet of the figures, or the arrangement of
magnets and armatures may be reversed, the principle of the Invention being the
same. In making figures advance or retreat across a platform or stage by
means of electricity, the application of the cords, wires, or rods must be used
as well as the electric method, because the attraction of the feet of the figures
will hold them to the ground by one foot firmly while the other foot would be
advancing by the cord or other equivalent, the body being bent forwards also
by the cords or wires, when the foot touching the ground becomes firmly held

page_text: by the magnets the body would be released by the cords and the springs
would bring it back to an upright posture in order that the next step could
be properly taken. The electric wires would be so thin as almost to be
invisible; they could be, conveyed from a powerful Daniel or Bunsen battery,
and would effect any amount of power required, which, however, would not
be much in figures constructed of light material, such as paper, or papier
maché, where the leverage would be reduced to a minimum. To deaden
sound when the feet touch the ground, I propose to apply to the sole of the
feet a soft substance, such as cork, felt, or flannel, but all necessary details
will be given in my Final Specification.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Scott Cavell in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SCOTT CAVELL, of Gray's Inn Square, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, 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 'John
Scott Cavell, Her special licence that I, the said John Scott Cavell, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Scott Cavell, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION
OF AUTOMATON FIGURES OR TOYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Scott Cavell, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in wbat
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 John Scott Cavell, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of
automaton figures or toys, representing human or animal figures or other
subjects capable of being moved or changed into various positions, or of per-
forming dances and other exercises. I propose to form the figures of some
suitable light material; each limb being made separately and united together
by hinges or joints, and when requisite by universal joints or ball sockets,
according to the motion required. The trunk and limbs of the figure are to
be made hollow for the purpose of containing a series of wires, cords, or
strings, or elastic bands with guide pullies and rings or loops for conducting
such wires, cords, or strings to the various limbs and for attachment thereto.
At the back of the figure an aperture is formed for the passage of these cords
or wires, and the figure is supported by a hollow tube and pivoted joint at the
back, through which the cords or wires pass; this pivoted joint is set on a
horizontal tube behind the figure; the tube being supported on a table,
bench, partition, or stage, and the operator being concealed from view pulls
the requisite cords or wires in order to effect the desired motions of the figure.
By these arrangements no cords or wires are visible to the audience, and the
figure therefore moves by unseen agency, which is not the case with dancing
figures known as "marionettes." By means of the pivot joint the figure may
be turned head downwards or may be revolved on its axis, and perform the
various movements of the limbs at the same time, all the wires or cords being
provided (if necessary) with swivels to prevent them from twisting. The head
of the figure may be formed with a ball joint or other joint at the bottom of
the neck, and a short arm being extended from the neck joint within the
figure the head may be made to rock from side to side, or may revolve by
means of a cord or wire attached to the lever or arm. In order to permit of
an advancing, retreating, or lateral motion of the figure I propose to channel
or groove out the table or bench with a series of slots or curves, so that the
vertical tube may be passed along the grooves carrying the figure in any
direction required, while the motion of the limbs is effected by the cords or
wires; several figures may be operated at the same time and on the same
table.
I also propose to place one or a series of figures on pivoted joints on a
sliding bar set on a screen or vertical plane, so as to move them from side to
side, or several sliding bars may be set in the screen each holding 8 figure,
whereby they may be made to approach to or recede from each other. The
tube or tubes being rotated will carry the figure or figures round on an axis

page_text: the legs and arms or other parts of the body of the figure being moved by the
cords or wires. The eyes or lips of the figure may be moved by means
similar to those used for moving the eyes of dolls. Springs may be applied (if
desired) inside the limbs, trunk, or head in various places for the purpose of
rapidly bringing back the limbs to position when the cords or wires are
slackened. The position of the springs and arrangement of cords and wires
will depend upon the varieties of posture required in the figure. The figures
may be made of any size and may either represent tightly garmented figures,
or they may be dressed in various styles of costume. If the limbs are merely
painted, colored, or stained, and not clothed, the joints must be made with
full rounded limbs passing into their corresponding limbs, so that as the limbs
are bent no space or opening may be seen between the joints, but where the
figure is clothed there is no necessity for so forming the joints. One or more
figures may be attached to a horizontal hollow bar suspended from two
vertical tubes, through which the cords are passed to the figure or figures.
The horizontal bar is set in bearings on the vertical tubes and is provided with
a grooved pulley and endless band, or pullies and bands passing below the
stage or table to another pulley and handle, by turning which the horizontal
bar and figure or figures are made to revolve or turn over and over, back-
wards or forwards, the strings or cords actuating the limbs at the same time.
By the use of vertical sliding bars or moveable pivots the figures may ascend
and descend, as well as perform the various postures as described.
I propose
to cut out apertures in various parts of the figure, for example, on the
under side of the thighs for the reception of the calves of the legs, when
contracted, and to cover the spaces with elastic fabric, so that when the
legs, limbs, and thighs are extended or in their normal position, the elastic
fabric will fill out the limb, but when (for example) the. leg is bent back-
'wards, it will compress the elastic and enter the substance of the thigh so as
to imitate the natural body. So also the junctions between the stomach and
waist should be united by elastic fabric or webbing, in order to permit of the
figure resuming its upright posture after it has been subjected to any
gymnastic attitude. The joint of the neck and shoulder should be concealed
by elastic webbing as well as the joints of the shoulders, arms, thighs, legs,
and feet, and some of these joints, especially the knee joints, should have
hemispherical caps attached to the leg at the knee joint, so as always to
present a rounded appearance when the leg is bent. The shoulder joint
may be a ball and socket, the arm a pivoted or binged joint, so also the thigh
may be a ball joint and the knee a pivot or hinge. The foot may be a ball
joint, but limited in its action by stops in the form of lugs or projections, or

page_text: in all these cases other joints may be adopted. All these joints are to be
covered with elastic webbing or other elastic fabric, and afterwards the figure
or the essential parts thereof are to be covered with a yielding or elastic
fabric of any desired color to imitate a stage dress as fitting the naked limbs,
and the part of the figure to be dressed or draped must of course be treated
as required. In the acrobat figure, the whole would be encased. in elastic
fabric, but in the figure of an actor or dancer the figure would be partly
draped and partly clothed with tight fitting elastic fabric.
In order to restore the figures to their normal position or upright posture,
springs of various kinds may be applied to all the moveable portions of the
figure, so that it is only by the motion of the cords or wires or other equi-
valents that the body is placed in certain positions, and by the springs that
the figure is returned to its original posture. But in some instances it may
be found advisable to use springs' for throwing out a limb suddenly into an
attitude, and to return that limb by the cords or wires to its original position.
I propose to apply springs of a curvilinear form bnt of flat steel, the curve
suiting the outline of the limb in which the spring is placed, the object being
that the spring shall always be in antagonism to the cords or wires; helical
springs may be used where an elongation or stretching motion is required, but
for elevation or depression the flat curvilinear springs will be found most suitable.
The eyes may be of glass and moved by cords or wires, the lips may be made
of elastic substance, or they may be separate from the face and made to open
and close by similar mechanism. I also propose to employ electricity and
magnetism to actuate these figures, either in conjunction or not with cords,
wires, or rods, or other equivalents. In order to effect this object I form a
battery and connecting wires in several series, that is to say, to the various
limbs or moving parts of the body in the interior of the figure, I place near
the articulations or joints armatures and electro-magnets so that as the
wires to any particular limb or limbs are brought in connection with the
electric current of the battery those limbs are moved accordingly by the
attraction of the armature in the moveable limb to the electro-magnet in
the parent limb or trunk. When the current is cut off, as it is by means of
keys or handles and commutators, either similar to the keys of a stringed
instrument or like the handles which actuate a telegraph dial, the springs
bring back the limbs to their normal position. By means of a circular form
of armature, such as is used in electro-magnetic engines, only on a very small
scale, and means of electro-magnets, a circular motion may be easily main-
tained for any length of time in order to effect rotary motions of the limbs
where required, especially in gymnasts or acrobats. I also make the figures

page_text: walk, or advance, or retreat on a stage or platform by means of magnetism
applied by a metallic plate or plates on the stage, and by electro-magnets on
the feet of the figures; or the arrangement of magnets and armatures may
be reversed, the principle of the Invention being the same. In inaking
figures advance or retreat across a platform or stage by means of electricity,
the application of the cords, wires, or rods must be used, as well as the.electric
method, because the attraction of the feet of the figures will hold them to
the ground by one foot firmly, while the other foot would be advancing by
the cord or other equivalent, the body being bent forwards also by the cords
or wires. When the foot touching the ground becomes firmly held by the
magnets the body would be released by the cords and the springs would
bring it back to an upright posture, in order that the next step could be
properly taken. The electric wires would be so thin as almost to be invisible,
they could be conveyed from a powerful Daniels or Bunsen battery, and
would effect any amount of power required, which, however, would not be
much in figures constructed of light material, such as paper or papier maché,
where the leverage would be reduced to a minimum. To deaden sound when
the feet touch the ground I propose to apply to the sole of the feet a soft
substance such as cork, felt, or flannel..
The following is a description of one construction of figure from which all
other modifications will be understood. Fig. 1 of the annexed 'Drawings
represents a front view of the internal mechanism by means of which the
upper portion of the automaton is actuated, including the bust, head, arms,
and hands. a, a, shews a framework which is fixed to the interior of the
figure; b, shewing the position of the waist; c is a grooved pulley set on a
shaft d in the upright bearings d', d, the shaft being extended so as to carry
the pullies e and f, and two other pullies corresponding with the pullies 6. on
the other side of the pulley f; this latter is fixed to the central axis, but the
pullies e are loose, their object is to move the arm at the shoulder, the elbow,
and the band. The motion of the pulley c raises the entire limb backwards
or forwards; the pulley f raises it or lowers it in a direction from and towards
the body of the figure, the loose pulley e acts upon the pulley 9 and moves the
elbow joint g, being fixed on its axis, and the pulley on the other side moves
the hand by acting on the pulley h, which is a fixed pulley. All these motions
are effected by means of cords. which are introduced to the interior of the
figure by means of a horizontal tube fixed to the back in which an aperture is
'formed to receive the tube and cords; the tube also serves to support the
figure, as bereafter described. The cords z, z, are conductel: from the tube
throughout the interior of the figure by means of a series of small V-grooved

page_text: wheels, and in their passage down the limbs are secured from slipping off the
pullies by small metal grooved rollers nearly meeting together, within which
the cords are passed, as shewn at h, h, in the Drawing. The opposite arm is
formed on precisely the same principle. The head of the figure is supported
on the stem i set on a bar and ring oscillating within a second oscillating ring
at right angles thereto, as shewn in Fig. 2, the whole being supported by the
diagonal shewn in connection with a vertical stem set in bearings and pro-
vided with the horizontal grooved pulley j, such pulley being also moved by a
cord. By these arrangements it is evident that the head of the automaton
can be moved round to the right or left, or it may be rocked or caused to
oscillate in any direction required by a suitable application of the cords. The
figure may be constructed with spaces cut out at those parts where necessary
to permit of the bending together of the limbs; such spaces are shewn in
Fig. 1 at K, K, K, and are to be covered or filled up with a yielding or
elastic fabric and provided with bands, as shewn, to check the limb from
unnatural movement. The same principles apply to the movements of the
lower portion of the trunk and the lower limbs. The trunk is to be made
in two or more sections or divisions with spaces cut out at those parts where
from the posture required the parts of the trunk are required to bend inwards
towards each other (as before stated). Fig: 3 represents an elevation of
these portions of the automaton; the orifice through which the cords enter is
shewn by the circular opening behind which the supporting tube is attached.
The guide wheels P, P, are shewn set obliquely in bearings in order that the
⚫cords 2.may be passed with certainty throughout the figure and through their
respective guides and pulleys. In this Figure a, a, represents another frame-
work attached within the trunk by any suitable means, and from which the
lower limbs derive their support and motions; b, b¹, represent two vertical
metal tubes secured by flanges to the frame; the lower portion of each tube
is extended by two arms c, c, shewing a front view of the right limb, and c¹ a
side view of the right leg motion; d, d', are two large pulleys fixed to the
spindle e, which are held by the arms c, c, and from which spindle the curved
metallic pendants f, f, descend, being fixed to the square heads of the spindle,
from which arrangement it is evident that if the pulley d be turned in either
direction the hip joint will also move because the outer limb is fastened to the
pendants by pins, screws, or other devices; f, f', are cross stays to strengthen
the pendants and their attachments; each tube is provided with a horizontal
pulley y actuated by cords so as to turn the limb outwards or inwards as
desired without in any way interfering with the other motions; the arm c¹ of the
.tube b' represents the position of the pulley d if the thigh were turned out-

page_text: wards or inwards; the other series shew their position when the leg is not
turned. A series of small guide or grooved wheels are shewn at h, h, for the
purpose of bringing the cords into their proper positions; i is the loose pulley
for actuating the knee by the pulley and cord or band z. The spindle is
formed, with square heads to which the pulleys j, j, act on the ankle by means
of the pulleys j. K represents the spindle of the ankle joint, and in
Fig. 4. I shew a plan view of the oscillating apparatus for permitting of the
motions of the ankle. "K is the spindle; 1, an outer ring oscillating thereon.;
m, an internal ring oscillating at right angles thereto, within which two cross-
bars n, n, are fixed, having four holes cut therein for the attachment of cords
passing over the doubly grooved pulleys j and j. Fig. 5 shews a metal arch-
formed support from the rings to the aukle, the same being attached within
the ankle of the figure, the foot being secured to the spindle by square heads
and nuts like the other limbs. By this arrangement the foot may be moved
as required independently of the other motions. Fig. 6 shews a plan view of
the tube, which is in duplicate, one tube within the other.. a represents the
outer tube with a segment of a flange b, which is fixed to the lower portion of
the figure, the inner tube being secured by the flange c to the upper portion
of the figure and capable of being turned by the flange d; the outer tube is
turned by a gripping lever a. By these means the figure may be moved from
side to side as required; the tube is also pivotted so as to cause the figure to
move in an arc of a circle, and the tube also works in horizontal and vertical
slots in the fixed partition or support, so that the figure may be moved in all
directions. is the socketed flange through which the tube is pushed forward
or withdrawn, such flange being fixed or pivoted in the partition or support.
Fig. 7 shews an end view of the tubes and flanges. 9, g, Fig. 6, represent
the wheels over which the cords are passed, and which are worked by the hand
levers h. It is not necessary to shew the various positions of the cords or
their bearings on the various guide pullies, since the arrangement of these
cords and pullies may vary according to circumstances; those shewn are
sufficient to shew the general principle of operating the various movements of
the figure.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be carried into practical effect, I would remark that I do
not restrict myself to the precise details or configuration of parts herein
expressed and shewn, as the same may be somewhat varied or modified with-
out in any degree departing from the principles on which the Invention is
based, but what I claim and desire to be secured to me by the herein in part
recited Letters Patent are, the general combination and arrangement of parts

page_text: constituting automaton figures, whereby such figures may be moved in any
required direction or placed in any variety of posture by unseen agency,
substantially as herein specified and illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Scott Cavell, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
ALEX. M. PRINCE,
Office for Patents,
4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross,
London.
JOHN SCOTT CAVELL. (L.S.)