Wind-up toy
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(October 2017) |
Awind-up toyis anautomatontoypowered by aclockwork motor.[1]
Background
[edit]Automata built for the sake of art, amusement, and simulation have been described since antiquity, in cases such asHeron of Alexandriadesigning clockwork birds during theHellenistic Period.[2]Leonardo da Vinciis frequently credited with constructing a mechanicallion,which he presented toKing Francois IinLyonin 1515. Although no record of the device's original designs remain, a recreation of this piece is housed at theChâteau du Clos Lucé.[3]
Some misinformation exists with regards toRegiomontanus's contribution, and his supposed construction of a flight-capable mechanicaleagleandfly,which are frequently credited as the first wind-up toys. This story of an eagle which flew fromNurembergto greetFriedrich III,alongside that of a fly which could circulate the room before returning to its inventor's hand, was spread byPetrus Ramusafter a visit to Nuremberg in 1571, and is apparently false.[4]Furthermore, various internet sites instead credit these inventions to a Karel Grod,[5]but little evidence suggests he exists.
René Descartesmay have attempted to build some automata. According to legend, a life-sized wind-up human girl was discovered in his luggage aboard a ship in which he was traveling to Sweden, and was thrown overboard by order of the ship's Captain.[1]
History
[edit]After the larger, elaborate wind-up machine art declined in interest, wind-up toys were created cheaply in large numbers by the 1800s. Wind-up machines became known as wind-up toys, and were designed in different forms to move around.[1]European toy makers created and mass-produced the first wind-uptin toysduring the late 1880s.[citation needed]Over the next 60 to 70 years, more manufacturers created more intricate designs. The trend stopped with the introduction of the small and inexpensiveAlkaline batteryin the 1960s, which allowed motors to run without a wind-up mechanism. Over the next 20 years, wind-up toys lost popularity.[citation needed]
Plastic wind-ups started in 1977 when the Japanese companyTomymade a walking Robot (Rascal Robot).[citation needed]Tomy's ability to build small precise plastic gears and parts allowed them to reduce the size of the gearbox (housing the spring drive).
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"Windup Toys and".accelerateu.org.Archived fromthe originalon 9 December 2012.Retrieved3 February2022.
- ^Brett, Gerard (July 1954). "The Automata in the Byzantine" Throne of Solomon "".Speculum.29(3). The University of Chicago Press: 477–487.doi:10.2307/2846790.JSTOR2846790.S2CID163031682.
- ^Shirbon, Estelle (August 14, 2009)."Da Vinci's lion prowls again after 500 years".Reuters.RetrievedApril 12,2019.
- ^Zinner, Ernst (1990).Regiomontanus: His Life and Work.Translated by Brown, Ezra. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishing Company Inc. p. 135.ISBN978-0444887924.
- ^Moyer, Richard H.; Everett, Susan A. (1 August 2016).More Everyday Engineering: Putting the E in STEM Teaching and Learning.NSTA Press.ISBN9781681402796.Retrieved25 October2017– via Google Books.