Improvements in 1оув.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Apr., 1899-Accepted, 27th May, 1899
Improvements in 1оув.
I, ERNST PAUL LEHMANN, of 6, Plauerstrasse, Brandenburg-on-the-Havel, in
the Empire of Germany, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 an improvement in toys, and the object of the invention
is, first, to create a squeaking, croaking or quacking sound or similar sounds to be
produced by the toy, as also to impart motion to the toy, or to parts of the same
through the medium of the same mechanical means, which actuate the sounding
mechanism.
The squeaking, croaking, quacking or other sounds of a similar kind are produced
by a suitable membrane or other elastic body of wood, metal or other material,
capable of producing sounds by its vibrating motions, and the said vibrations are
imparted to the said membrane or other elastic body by means of a rod or bar
reciprocated by any suitable means and having a rough or racked surface which,
coming into frictional contact with the edge or edges of the said membrane or
The same mechanical
sounding body, causes the vibrating motions of the same.
means which actuate the said rod or bar may equally be employed to impart
motion to certain parts of the toy, such as legs, arms of an animal or human figure
and by such moving parts the whole toy may be caused to move on.
In the accompanying drawings the improvements which constitute this invention
are represented as being incorporated in an animal toy-figure, such as a frog,
Figures 1 and 2 being sectional elevations of the toy in different positions of move-
ment and Figures 3 to 6 details. Within the body a, of said toy-figure, a drum,
The front
cylinder or suitable hollow body is secured by any suitable means.
area of said drum b is closed by a membrane c of parchment, skin, stiff paper, wood
or sheet-metal, tightened up to the front of the drum by any suitable means, such
as a hoop or ring d. The centre of said membrane c is pierced to allow of the
passage of a rod or bar e, the surface of which is rough or milled all round or
toothed at one or more portions of the circumference. The said rod or bar e is
arranged to receive a reciprocating motion in the direction of its length, and by
such to-and-fro-motion the rough or toothed surface is brought into frictional
contact with the edge or edges of the membrane, and the said membrane, thereby,
is caused to vibrate and sound. The central aperture of the membrane c may be
circular, as represented in Figure 3, the diameter of said aperture being slightly
inferior to that of the rod e, or it may be star-shaped, Figure 5, or conveniently
cut out of the membrane, always allowing a frictional contact between the rod or
bar e,
and the edge of the aperture. Or the said aperture may be provided by
simply cutting a cross into the centre of the membrane, such cross-cuts forming

page_text: flaps of the yielding membrane, and the said flaps are bent in one and the other
direction, as the rod or bar e, works to-and-fro. The same effect may be obtained
by causing the rod or bar e to traverse an eccentric aperture of the membrane or to
slide along an outer edge of the same, in a manner to vibrate the same by
frictional contact.
It will be easily understood, that the other end of the drum 6 may be closed by a
membrane of the same or similar kind, and the rear part of the rod or bar be
toothed or corrugated in the same manner, as the front part, Figure 6, to create a
double sound. Or the two membranes may be of different size or different material,
and they may be vibrated alternately, instead of simultaneously, to create different
sounds. The same effect may be obtained by placing two or more drums or
cylinders behind each other, each of them carrying a membrane or membranes
to be vibrated.
The reciprocating motion of the rack or rode is obtained by an elbow-lever f,
one arm of which is connected to the said rod or bar e, the other end of said rod or
bar e being secured to a spring g, or an elastic band, fastened to the body a
of the toy.
In the specimen illustrated by the drawings, the said elbow lever f is worked in
a known manner by a rubber-cushion inflated by a rubber-ball i and a tube k
connecting the said cushion to the ball. As shown in Figure 1, the cushion h, on
being inflated, will force the upper arm of lever f down, and the lower arm,
accordingly, will swing to the rear and draw the rod e, along. When the pressure
applied to the ball i is released, the cushion will collapse, as shown in Figure 2,
and the spring g will return the rod e.
But the said reciprocating motion of the rod e, might equally well be obtained by
any other means, such as a crank-shaft or the like.
The shaft m, which carries the elbow-lever f, may equally serve to impart motion
to the hind-legs of the figure, said legs being secured to the projecting ends of said
shaft. As the said shaft m is rocked, the hind-legs will be raised and lowered, and
the toy-figure thereby caused to move.
Other motions which are transmitted to various parts of a toy-figure of any kind
may be easily derived from the same shaft which serves to actuate the rod or bar e,
for producing sounds as before described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In a toy, mechanism for producing sounds, consisting of one or more
membranes held in tension to be vibrated and a rod or bar, or rods or bars,
reciprocated to vibrate said membrane or membranes by frictional contact with an
edge or edges of said membranes, substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In a toy, mechanism for producing sounds, consisting of one or more
membranes held in tension to be vibrated and a rod or bar traversing or sliding
along said membrane or membranes to vibrate the same by frictional contact,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In a toy, mechanism for producing sounds, consisting of a drum or drums,
one or more membranes secured to the said drum or drums and a rod or bar
having a rough or toothed surface and passing through or sliding along the said drums
or drums and membranes, substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. In a toy, mechanism for producing sounds, consisting of one Or more
membranes to be vibrated by a rod or rods, in combination with mechanism to
reciprocate said rod or rods, substantially as and for the purpose described.
more
5. In a toy, mechanism for producing sounds, consisting of one or
membranes vibrated by a rod or rods in combination with a rocking shaft reciprocat-
ing said rod or rods, and means to impart motion to said rocking-shaft, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
6. In a toy, mechanism for producing sounds, consisting of one or more

page_text: membranes vibrated by a rod or rods, in combination with a rocking shaft to
reciprocate said rod or rods, said rocking shaft being so connected to a movable
part or parts of the toy as to work the same, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
7. A toy, containing mechanism for producing sounds constructed and working
substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 21st day of April 1899.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.