Improved Means for Displaying Posters and the like for Advertising and other Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 10th Sept., 1897-Accepted, 27th Nov., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Displaying Posters and the like for
Advertising and other Purposes.
I, GUY CAREY FRICKER, of 149 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Electrical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improved means for illuminating transparent, semi-
transparent or translucent posters or the like in sections in such a manner as to
arrest and sustain a persons attention until the whole of the sections have been
successively illuminated and presented to view after which the illuminating means
for the various sections are extinguished either simultaneously or successively.
In carrying out the invention the posters, which may be specially prepared on
thin paper are pasted or otherwise secured on a sheet of glass or semi-transparent
cloth, or they may be prepared direct on a sheet of linen or other semi-transparent
or translucent material. The sheet is then fixed or stretched over the front of a
frame which is divided into compartments which correspond to the sections of the
advertisement that are to be successively illuminated and which are each provided
with one or more electric lamps or other suitable illuminating devices, the arrangement
being such that the light of the lamp or lamps in each compartment will illuminate
the portion of the front sheet or facia covering such compartment but will be
excluded from adjacent and other compartments.
The lamps which in one arrangement are incendescent electric lamps, are ignited
and extinguished automatically by a suitably operated switch or commutator in such
a way as to produce a progressive illumination of the poster or the flashing of light
on and off of the same or any portions thereof in any desired manner.
Improved Means for Displaying Posters and the like for
Advertising and other Purposes.
I, GUY CAREY FRICKER, of 149, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Electrical
Engineer, 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 :-
clated to improved moans for illuminating somi-transparent or

page_text: translucent posters or the like in sections in such a manner as to arrest and sustain
a person's attention until the whole of the sections have been successively illuminated
and presented to view, after which the illuminating means for the various sections
are extinguished either simultaneously or successively.
In carrying out the invention the posters, which may be specially prepared on thin
paper, are pasted or otherwise secured on a sheet of glass or semi-transparent cloth,
or they may be prepared direct on a sheet of linen or other semi-transparent or
translucent material. The sheet is then fixed or stretched over the front of a frame,
which is divided into compartiments which correspond to the sections of the adver-
tisement that are to be successively illuminated and which are each provided with
one or more electric lamps or other suitable illuminating devices, the arrangement
being such that the light of the lamp or lamps in each compartment will illuminate
the portion of the front sheet or facia covering such compartiment but will be excluded.
from adjacent and other compartments. The lamps, when incandescent electric lamps,
are ignited and extinguished automatically by a suitably operated switch or
commutator in such a way as to produce a progressive illumination of the poster or
the flashing of light on and off of the same or any portions thereof in any desited
manner.
Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying drawings represent a displaying-apparatus
according to this invention in which incandescent electric lamps are employed,
Fig. 1 being an elevation,
Fig. 2 a diagrammatic view of the apparatus with the poster removed, and
Fig. 3 an end elevation of the commutator.
In the example shown, the poster consists partly of a series of translucent
representations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the faces of a number of people having
cigarettes in their mouths, and partly of two sections 8 and 9 containing translucent
letters on an opaque ground, whilst the remainder of the poster is opaque. The
poster is fixed on a sheet of glass secured to the front of a frame 10, which is divided
by opaque partitions 11 into compartments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9a
corresponding to the translucent sections of the poster-that is to say, to the faces
and the two sections of lettering. Each of these compartments contains one or more
electric lamps 12. The lamps are lit and extinguished by a commutator comprising
n base-plate 13 of suitable insulating material such as slate, on which is mounted to
rotate in bearings in standards 14 and 15 secured to the base-plate 13, a metal
cylinder 16, which has a portion cut away so as to form a series of
steps 1b, 26
9b (corresponding in number to the compartments 1,
2, .. 9) and a rectilinear edge 17 parallel to the axis of the cylinder.
To arms 14 projecting horizontally from the standards 14 and 15 is secured
bar 18 of suitable insulating material such as slate, which is provided
with a number of clamping-devices 1, 2... and 9 that secure a
number of spring contact-pieces 14, 24. and 9d arranged opposite to the
steps 1b, 2b ... and 9b and adapted to bear against the parts of the cylinder 16
corresponding thereto. 19 is another contact-spring, which bears continuously
against the cylinder 16 during the rotation of the latter. The lamps of the
compartments 1", 2". . . . and 9ª are connected by one terminal in each case, to the
clamping-devices 1º, 2º.
and 9 respectively. The other terminalsof the lamps
are connected by a common return A. to one pole of a source of electric supply B the
other pole of which is connected to the clamping-device 19" of the contact-spring 19.
The cylinder 16 may be rotated by clockwork or otherwise. In the example shown
its shaft 16 is driven by an electric motor 20 through worin-gear 21 and spur-
gear 22. If, as shown, the contact-springs 1d, 2d. . . . 9d be out of contact with the
cylinder 16, and the cylinder be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrows in
Fig.2, the contact-springs 14, 24....and 9 will come into contact with the cylinder 16
in the order named and will consequently switch into the circuit the lamps of the
compartments 1, 2 and 9 in succession; the lamps will remain switched in
until, in consequence of the further rotation of the cylinder 16, the straight edge 17
slides from under the contact-springs, whereupon the lamps of all the compartments

page_text: will be simultaneously put out. This will complete a cycle of operations, which may
be repeated indefinitely by continuing the rotation of the cylinder 16 and the supply
of current to the lamps. When it is desired to flash light off and on any portions of
the picture poster, to simulate movement of parts thereof, the rotary cylinder may
be formed with suitably arranged slots which upon coming below the corresponding
brushes will break the circuit of the lamps connected with such brushes which may
afterwards again come in contact with the cylinder so as to again flash light on the
sections of the picture from which the light was previously removed. In lieu of
electric lamps, it is obvious that gas-burners may be employed. Each of the burners
will then be placed on a separate branch-pipe leading to a main gas-pipe near which
will be provided a controlling-device that may be similar to the commutator shown
in Figs. 2 and 3, there being substituted for the contact-springs, levers mounted to
rotate about horizontal axes, and each arranged to bear at one end on the cylinder 16,
to open fully, when so bearing, a cock of the corresponding branch-pipe, to be acted
upon by a spring having a constant tendency to turn it into a position in which it
will almost close the cock of the branch-pipe, being prevented from completely closing
it by a suitably arranged stop. Such a device is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4,
where 23 represents the cylinder, 24 one of the levers, 25 its axis, 26 its spring, 27 a
bar to which the springs are fastened, and 28 the arm of the corresponding cock,
which has a pin-and-slot connection with the lever 24; 29 is a stop for the
lever 24,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
Means for displaying semi-transparent or translucent posters or the like in sections
constructed and operating substantially as hereinbefore described and shown.