Year: 1888

page_text: I WILLIAM MACDONALD SMITH, of 7 Rua Alfandega Velha, Oporto in tho
Kingdom of Portugal, Mining Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :-
My invention relates to apparatus for exercising and developing the muscles of the
arm whereby to enable pianists and others to acquire the necessary flexibility of the
wrist and power of rapid upward and downward or sidewise motions of the hand
and arm.
The invention consists in an apparatus whereby an audible indication is given
when the desired rapidity of motion of the hand has been obtained, the sounding of
the signal being therefore an object to be accomplished by the person using the
apparatus and so conducing to a continuance of the exercise until the desired
facility of motion has been attained.
The apparatus for exercising the muscles producing the up and down motions of
the hand differs only from that for producing the sidewise motions in the arrange-
ment of the parts and the same description will apply indifferently to both.
The apparatus depends for its action on the inertia of a certain part or parts and it
consists of a casing to be held in the hand and containing a bell or gong fixed
adjustably to enable the exercise to be progressively increased in difficulty as the
development of the muscles proceeds, and of one or two haminers carried by springs
so as to be free to strike the bell by their own inertia when the bell and casing are
suddenly moved or arrested as the case may be.
1511
March 1808
WM. MACDONALD SMITH.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Exercising and Developing the Muscles of
the Arm.
I WILLIAM MACDONALD SMITH of 7 Rua Alfandega Velha, Oporto, in the
Kingdom of Portugal, Mining Engineer do hereby declare the naturo 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:-
My invention relates to apparatus for exercising and developing the muscles of
the arm, whereby to enable nianists and others to acquire the necessary flexibility of
the wrist joint in particular and the power of rapid upward and downward or
sidewise motions of the hand and arm.
The invention consists in apparatus whereby an audible indication is given when
the desired rapidity of motion of the hand has been obtained, the sounding of the
signal being therefore an object to be accomplished by the person using the apparatus
and so conducing to a continuance of the exercise until the desired facility of motion
has been obtained.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this speci-
fication, wherein figure 1 is an external view, figuro 2 a longitudinal section (on
line 1-1 figure 3) figure 3 a cross section (on line 2-2 figure 2) and figure 4 a
longitudinal section (on line 3-3 figure 2) of one form of the exercising apparatus
for developing flexibility of the wrist in the up and down direction. Figures 5
and 6 are longitudinal sections of modifications thereof. Figure 7 shows the same
apparatus modified for the purpose of developing flexibility in the lateral direction of
the hand.
Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that the apparatus, as arranged for
developing the flexibility of the wrist joint in the up and down and in the lateral
directions, differs only in the arrangement of the parts and the same general
description will apply indifferently to both.
The apparatus for sounding the signal, depends for its action on the inertia of a
certain part or parts, and it is contained in a casing to be held in the hand, formed of
a hollow cylinder A of such a size as to fill the embrace of the fingers, and closed at
the ends. Within this casing is mounted a bell or gong B and a hammer C carried
by a spring so as to be free to strike the bell by its own inertia when the bell and
casing are suddenly moved or arrested as the case may be.
In figures 1 to 4 two hammers Care carried by springs e fixed to a base D, the
hammers being placed transversely with their heads in opposite directions, and so
situated with regard to the bell, that when the apparatus is suddenly moved in the
direction indicated by the arrow 1 or is suddenly checked whilst moving in the
direction of the arrow 2, one or other of them will strike the bell and thus indicate
that the exercise is being properly performed.
The bell B is carried by a spring bracket & fixed to the casing and capable of being
adjusted by a set screw b₁ so as to vary the distance of the bell from the hammers,
according as it is desired to increase the difficulty of the exercise as the muscles
increase in development and suppleness.

page_text: The apparatus shown in figures 1 to 4 is only operative when moved in certain
directions and the apparatus must therefore be held in a particular position in the
hand. That shown in figures 5 and 6 is designed to be operative by motion in any
diametrical direction indifferently. For this purpose the hammer is placed longi-
tudinally and centrally of the casing, to one end of which the hammer stem is fixed,
the hammer head being just within the bell which is fixed concentrically therewith to
the opposite end of the casing. In figure 5 the hammer stem is a wire spring and
its effective length is shortened to increase the difficulty of the exercise by a curb or
slider e embracing the stem c and carried by means of a screw rod E passing through
the end of the casing whereby the sliding curb is adjusted along the spring stem.
In figure 6 the arrangement is similar but the hammer head is a disc attached to a
spiral spring c fixed to the end of the casing, the effective length or elasticity of the
spring being regulated by a curb formed by a disc i within the spring carried by the
adjusting screw E screwing through the end of the casing as before.
The apparatus is held in the hand by embracing the cylindrical part with the
middle fingers and placing the thumb and little finger on the opposite ends.
The apparatus shown in figure 7 is similar to that shown in figure 2 but differently
arranged for the purpose of being moved to and fro end wise, the action being
however the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invon-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is-
The respective arrangements of exercising apparatus, having means whereby a
sudden, or a quickly arrested, up and down or lateral motion of the hand or arm is
caused to sound an audible signal, substantially as described and represented in the
drawings for the purpose specified.
W. M. SMITH.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Patent Agents.