Improvements in Roundabouts or analogous Devices for Purposes of Amusement.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th May, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 12th July, 1899-Accepted 9th Sent
1800
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Roundabouts or analogous Devices for Purposes of
Amusement.
JAMES LEWIS, of 37, Clemen's Street, Leamington Spa, in the County of
Warwick, Mechanic, and GEORGE ROBERT DAVIES, also of 37, Clemen's Street,
Leamington Spa, in the County of Warwick, and 35, Chichester Place, Brighton,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates principally to roundabouts in which the vehicles for
riders are caused to run upon a circular track and is more especially intended
for use with roundabouts in which the vehicles represent horses. The arrange-
ments according to this invention give movements resembling horses racing with
each other and also changing places with each other and passing and repassing
one another but the vehicles may represent any other desired object. According
to this invention each horse or other vehicle is mounted on a circular platform or
frame which may be caused to rotate for which purpose the said platform or frame
may be centred to turn upon a shaft, which may be situated in a verticle line, and
carried by a bracket which may be secured to and carried by a framing or under
carriage running upon the wheels on the circular track.
The combined movements of the platform or frame carrying the horses and
the horses themselves may be imparted from a cross shaft carried by the under
frame or carriage, which shaft is rotated by any suitable gearing or by being
one of the axles of the running wheels. This cross shaft carries a bevel tooth
wheel which is geared to a corresponding bevel tooth wheel which
secured to the lower end of the shaft carrying the upper platform and horses, but
may be
this platform may be also made to rotate by means of any other suitable gearing.
The gearing above described will give a rotary motion to the upper platform
and horses but will not prevent the horses turning the reverse end forward.
To prevent the horses turning reverse end forward and also to cause the horses
or other vehicle to turn the head or leading end slightly to right or left according
to the direction in which they are travelling, the horses or other vehicles may
be carried on a vertical shaft running in a suitable bearing in the upper platform.
This vertical shaft is rotated in a backward manner by means of a tooth wheel,
fixed on the lower end of the vertical shaft carrying the horse or other vehicle.
The said tooth wheel is caused to rotate by means of a carrier wheel carried on
a pin fixed in the platform carrying the horses or other vehicles. Motion may
be given to the carrier wheel by the action of the said platform causing the carrier
wheel to rotate round a fixed tooth wheel, which fixed tooth wheel may be secured
on the aforesaid bracket, which is secured to the under carriage or frame run-
ing on wheels, on the circular or other track. These tooth wheels viz.: the
wheel on the vertical shaft carrying the horse, the carrier wheel, and the fixed
wheel on the bracket are each bored eccentrically to the centre giving to each
sheel a suitable amount of throw, to cause the horse or other vehicle to turn to
he right or left. The gearing above described causes each horse in turn to

page_text: change place with another horse in the following manner, the horse having the
outside position on the large circular platform will first get in advance of the
horse directly opposite to itself and will then turn itself in an inward direction,
and travel to the inside, when it will again turn so as to be in a position facing
directly forward, the horse will then recede and take the back position, turn itself
towards the outside position again and proceed to its original position on the
outside. Should the upper platform only be rotated, the horse when receding,
would move directly backward, but as the lower platform moves in a forward
direction at a faster rate than the horse is receeding on the upper platform, the
combined motion of the two platforms will cause the horse or other vehicle to
proceed in a forward direction continually but at variable speeds.
The horse may also have a galloping motion given to it by means of a bracket
which may be fastened to any part of the body of the horse or other vehicle,
motion being given to the bracket, from an eccentric, fixed on the bearing, through
which the shaft or spindle carrying the horse, passes; the bracket & eccentric
may be connected by a suitable connecting rod and eccentric clips or the bracket
may be made to come in direct contact with the eccentric. The above specifica-
tion describes the invention as running in a circular track, and as being carried
on a platform, but the invention may be worked from overhead, in which case,
the same gearing may be used, but will be turned upside down, the horses or
other vehicles being hung on the lower end of down rods, and being driven by the
eccentric tooth wheels from above. The motion being imparted to these wheels
from a shaft which may be carried to the centre pole of the roundabouts, and be
connected to the engine by a pair of bevel tooth wheels, or any other suitable
gearing.
The invention may also be made to run on other than a circular track, for
instance, an ordinary roadway, and driven by any suitable kind of motor, in
which case, the motor may be fastened on the platform in any suitable position.
Dated this Tenth day of May 1899
Improvements in Roundabouts or analogous Devices for Purposes of
Amusement.
We, JAMES LEWIS, of No. 37, Clemens Street, Leamington Spa, in the County
of Warwick, Mechanic, and GEORGE ROBERT DAVIES, also of No. 37 Clemens
Street, Leamington Spa, aforesaid, Manufacturer, 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 statement:--
The said invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in
roundabouts or analogous devices for purposes of amusement as hereinafter
explained and relates to roundabouts of the kind in which the seats or vehicles
for the persons or riders run upon a track preferably a circular track. The said
invention is applicable more especially to roundabouts the seats of which are
made to represent horses, and the said invention has for its object to impart such
movement to the horse like seats as to suggest the racing of horses, the horse like
seats passing and re-passing each other during each lap of the circular track.
In constructing say a circular roundabout according to the said invention, a
large circular platform is mounted on wheels capable of travelling on a circular
track or rails. The circular platform or frame is driven in the ordinary way of

page_text: oundabouts. The circular platform or frame carries a series of supple-
mentary circular platforms or tables, which are capable of rotating on their own
axes, each of the said supplementary platforms or tables being driven by gearing
on the underside of the said table from a bevel wheel or pinion on the axle or
shaft of the wheels by which the principal platform or frame is rotated or on a
countershaft driven from the axle in which case the speed can be regulated by
suitable gearing. The horse like seats are either fixed or made capable of rock-
ing on vertical supports which are carried by the supplementary platforms the
said vertical supports being rotated by a train of wheels in such a way that while
the supplementary platforms or tables rotate, the horse like seats preserve a
forward position or direction with respect to the motion or direction of rotation
of the principal platform.
By the combined motions of the principal and supplementary platforms the
horse like seats are made to change their positions with respect to the principal
platform, that is to say, the horse like seat of each supplementary platform
performs an epicycloidal motion so that the horse like seat occupying the outside
position with respect to the principal platform is on the rotation of the principal
platform made to pass gradually to the inside position and the horse like seat
which occupied the inside position is made to take the outside position.
It will be understood that by giving the supplementary platforms independent
rotation in the same direction as the principal platform the horse like seats
occupying for the time being the outside position travel at a relatively greater
velocity than the horse like seats occupying the inside or opposite position for
the horse like seat occupying the inside or opposite position is by the rotation of
the supplementary platform practically receding with respect to the horse like
seat occupying the outside position on the same supplementary platform.
We prefer to give to each horse like seat in addition to a compound rotary
or epicycloidal motion a rocking motion on a horizontal axis so as to resemble
the motion of a horse galloping. This is effected by means of a pair of depending
arms or brackets on the underside of the body of the horse like seat. The pair
of arms or brackets bear against an eccentric flange at the top of the standard
through which the vertical shaft or axis carrying the horse like seat passes and
in which the said axis turns.
Although we prefer to make the seats of the figure of horses yet we wish it
to be understood that the said seats may have other forms or figures given to
them.
And although we prefer to employ a circular track for the principal platform
we wish it to be understood that we do not limit ourselves thereto as the said
rincipal platform may be made to travel on a track other than circular such for
example as a straight track, the horse like seats in the latter case performing
cycloidal motor instead of an epicycloidal motion.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in plan the circular platform
nd series of supplementary platforms or tables of a roundabout made according
o the said invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of one section of the principal platform, the said section
arrying two supplementary platforms side by side.
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line x, x Figure 2 with two horse like seats
presented in position on one of the supplementary platforms.
Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line y, y Figure 2, the said Figure 4 also
howing two horse like seats.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are drawn to a larger scale than Figure 1.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures
the drawings.
The circular platform Figure 1 is made preferably of rectangular sections a, a
tween which are interposed triangular sections . Each of the rectangular
ctions a, a is mounted on a pair of wheels c, c and carries two supplementary
bles or platforms d, d. One of the wheels c, preferably the inside wheel, is fixed

page_text: to or keyed on the shaft or axle c¹ which shaft or axle c¹ carries two bevel
pinions c, cone near each end of the said shaft or axle, the said bevel pinions,
gearing with bevel wheels d², on the vertical axes or shafts of the supple-
mentary platforms d, d.
By the said gearing 2, the supplementary platforms d, d are rotated on
their axes on the rotation of the principal platform a, a. It will be seen by an
examination of the drawings that while the principal platform a rotates in the
direction of the arrow w in Figure 1 the supplementary platforms d, d on the
outside of the principal platform rotate in the same direction as indicated by the
arrows u, u in the said Figure 1, but the inner supplementary platforms rotate
in an opposite direction as indicated by the arrows v, v in Figure 1, consequently
the vertical spindles or supports on which the horse like scats are arranged per-
form an epicycloidal motion on the rotation of the principal platform.
Where desired both tables d, d may be made to rotate in the same direction
by arranging the bevel pinions, which drive the inner supplementary tables d
at the opposite side of the said supplementary tables to that represented in the
drawings.
Each supplementary table has two or more but preferably four standards e, e, e, e
in which the vertical spindles or supports f (see Figure 4) for the horse like
seats are arranged.
We have represented two horse like seats only in each of the Figures 3 and 4
and have omitted them altogether in Figures 1 and 2; it will however be under-
stood that each of the four vertical spindles of each supplementary table carries
a horse like or other seat. Spur wheels f at the bottom of the spindles f gear
through intermediate spur wheels h, h with a similar fixed spur wheel i on the
bearing or sleeve in which the axis or shaft of the supplementary platform or
table rotates so that while each table makes a complete rotation each horse like
seat also makes a complete rotation but in an opposite direction and thereby
preserves a forward direction with respect to the motion of the principal table.
In order to give a galloping like motion to the horse like seats g we pivot
each horse upon a horizontal pin or axis g at the top of the vertical spindles f
and we provide each standard c with an eccentric flange e² (see Figures 2, 3 and 4)
against which two depending arms g', g¹ from the body of the horse bear. It
will thus be understood that as the horse remains practically stationary and the
eccentric flange revolves the depending arms g', g¹, are moved backwards and
forwards and thereby give a rocking motion, somewhat resembling the galloping
of a real horse, to the horse like seat.
Or the rocking motion may be obtained by replacing the arms g¹, g¹ with an
eccentric rod connected to a bracket secured either to the body or legs of the
horse.
We prefer to give to the horse like seats a slight turning or angular motion
to the right or left as they pass from the inside position to the outside position and
the reverse. This motion may be obtained by making the holes in the small
wheels f², f eccentric instead of concentric.
The principal platform is driven from a central motive power in any convenient
manner.
Instead of arranging the horses on rotating supplementary tables or platforms
carried by a principal rotary platform the said horses may be carried by depending
rods as in ordinary roundabouts, the several motions of the horses being obtained
by arranging the gearing herein before described or other equivalent gearing,
overhead.
We have herein before described and represented two supplementary platforms
or tables on each rectangular section of the principal platform but we wish it
to be understood that one only or more than two supplementary platforms may
be arranged on each rectangular section of the principal platform.
Although we have only described and represented our invention in connection
with a horse roundabout yet we wish it to be understood that it is equally

page_text: applicable to other roundabouts such for example as cycle roundabouts as well
as to analogous devices for purposes of amusement, such as switchbacks and like
or similar machines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we
claim as the said invention; --
First: The improvements in roundabouts or analogous devices for purposes
of amusement herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying draw-
ings, the said improvements consisting in giving to the seats of the roundabout
an essentially cycloidal or epicycloidal motion substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated.
Secondly:The construction and arrangement of parts of roundabouts or the
like hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings the said
construction and arrangement of parts consisting in driving a series of supple-
mentary platforms or tables on which the seats are arranged, from the shafts or
axles of the principal platform by gearing substantially as described and
illustrated.
Thirdly: Imparting to the horse like seats of roundabouts a rocking notion
resembling the galloping motion of a horse either by providing each-horse like
seat with a depending arm or arms for bearing on an eccentric flange on the
standard in which the spindle of the horse turns the said horse being pivotted
to the top of the spindle, or by an eccentric rod connected to a bracket secured
either to the body or leg of the horse, and giving to the table carrying the horse
a rotary motion in addition to a curvilinear or rectilinear advancing motion sub-
stantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Fourthly: In a roundabout of the kind claimed in the first claim, giving to
the seats an angular motion in one or other direction so that as the said seats
pass from the inside position to the outside position and the reverse they may
be made to face the direction of motion substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated the Sixth day of July 1899.
JAMES LEWIS.
GEORGE ROBERT DAVIES.