improvements in loys
Year: 1895

page_text: improvements in loys,
I, JOHN GEORGE AULSEBROOK KITCHEN of 28, Rose Grove Ardwick, Manchester
in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in toys especially such as represent animals,
reptiles and birds in which the bodies, limbs or other parts are made to move, and
consists in the improved construction of such representations or parts thereof, the
object being to obtain simplicity and effect, chiefly.
The invention is specially applicable in the cases of representations of snakes,
the trunks of elephants, the necks of birds and the tails and tentacles of reptiles
and crayfish, besides the limbs and other parts of insects.
The invention is carried out by making the bodies, limbs or other members of
bodies of representations of living creatures in such manner as to give a springy
longitudinal and flexible movement, and so arranging and attaching a cord or
equivalent that when pulled, the body or limb shall move, writhe or curl according
to the manner of construction and temper of the part or parts.
I form the parts required to move, preferably of tempered wire coiled helically or
otherwise so that after being expanded, contracted or flexed shall again resume the
original form when free.
For instance in the case of a snake which I form by winding the wire upon a
mandrel leaving some space between the coils, I attach one end of a cord to the tail
end and one end to the head passing the cord or cords along the body and in each
case out of the coils at one part. By pulling the cord or cords through the fingers
having the snake resting upon the hand, a somewhat life-like effect is produced, the
toy coiling and twisting about into various positions.
In a similar manner the limbs and moving parts of representations of other live
creatures may be formed and moved, the end or ends of a cord or cords being
attached and guided in such manner as to contract or bend the parts.
In some cases the toy or the coil is in each case covered by a flexible or elastic
envelope which does not affect the freedom of movement of the coil.
In place of using wire coils I may form the part as a tube of some elastic material
such as indiarubber having a corrugated surface and attach and arrange the cord or
cords in the manner hereinbefore described.
Dated thin 0th dox of Tan 1805
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.

page_text: I JOHN GEORGE AULSEBROOK KITCHEN of 28 Rose Grove Ardwick, Manchester
in the County of Lancaster, Manufacturer 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 improvements in toys especially such as represent
reptiles and consists in the improved construction of such representations or parts
thereof, the object being chiefly to obtain simplicity and effect.
The invention is specially applicable in the case of representations of snakes and
the tails and tentacles of reptiles and crayfish.
The invention is carried out by making the bodies, limbs or other members of
bodies of representations of living creatures in such a manner as to give a springy
longitudinal and flexible movement and so arranging and attaching a cord or cords or
their equivalent that when the cord or equivalent is pulled the body or limb shall
move, writhe or curl according to the manner of construction and temper of the
part or parts.
I form the parts required to move preferably of tempered wire coiled helically or
otherwise so that after being expanded, contracted or flexed shall again resume the
original form when free.
In the drawings attached hereunto is illustrated in Figure 1 a representation of a
snake formed according to my invention; in Figure 2 a modified manner of forming
the flexible part or parts of the toys and in Figure 3 a further modification.
As illustrated in Figure 1, the body a of the snake is formed of wire coiled
helically the coil tapering towards the tail end and it may also taper towards the
head. The wire is preferably of tempered steel. A head is formed of any suitable
material and secured to the body in any suitable manner.
A convenient manner of
attachment is by inserting the reduced part or neck into the coil and passing the end
of the wire through the neck or tightly round a groove formed in the neck. A cord
e is passed through the coils and secured one end to the tail and one end to the
neck or head. The cord is of sufficient length to pass out of the body through
a coil or coils and hang down in the manner illustrated in Figure 1 2 and 3 at c¹.
Figure 2 illustrates a serpentine winding of the wire and the manner of
threading the cord therethrough in order to produce a similar effect as in that
illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 3 illustrates a modified manner of forming the body of elastic or
flexible material such as indiarubber, and a body so formed is very elastic in a
longitudinal direction and laterally flexible. The cord in this case would be passed
through a hole a¹ suitably strengthened.
In some cases I may cover the coils of wire with a skin or covering of any
suitable material.
In the case of representations of other animals or reptiles having the parts
required to move made of flexible material and having longitudinal elasticity one end
of the cord would be attached to the end of one part desired to be moveable and the
other end to another part. A number of cords connected to the ends of the parts and
collected and secured together and passed out of a hole formed in a suitable part of
the toy may be arranged when more than two parts are required to move in unison.
The toys may be painted or coloured as desired.
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 :-
1. In toys formed with flexible bodies or parts having longitudinal elasticity the

page_text: manner of producing a coiling and writhing movement at two or more extremities
at the same time substantially as described herein before.
2. In toys the combination with a long body of a flexible and longitudinally
elastic nature, of a cord or cords having the ends connected to the extremities of
the said body, and the centre part of the cord or cords or a part attached
thereto passed through the body at one part, substantially as and for the purpose
hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.
3. The formation of toy snakes and similar animal toys and means for
manipulating them in the manner hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
drawings.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.