Improvements in Photographic Cameras and Apparatus.connected therewith.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 27th Nov., 1891--Accepted, 27th Feb., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Photographic Cameras and Apparatus.connected
therewith.
I, ALEXANDER MILLAR of Hollyhurst, Clapham Common, London S.W.
Carpet Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention is of two parts.
I. The application of a swing back to hand and other cameras in combination
with, and attached to a horizontal swing focussing screen on the top of the
camera.
II. The use of a mirror, fixed to or near the lens, and capable of being placed
at an angle in front of it, so that objects at either side of the camera or above it
can be photographed without its being pointed directly towards them.
1. To carry out the first part of my invention I make
(A) The back of the camera with a vertical swing movement, and connect it by
a system of levers, or otherwise, with a horizontal swing focussing screen on the
top of the camera, in such a way that the back and the screen always preserve
their relative positions at right angles to each other when the back is tilted.
Or (B) I effect the same object by making inside the back of the camera a case
to contain plates or roll holder, this case being made to swing vertically and being
connected with the horizontal screen in the same way as described above.
I apply either of the foregoing arrangements preferably to the type of hand
camera in which the image from the principal lens is, for focussing purposes
reflected from a mirror inside the camera to a screen at the top; but I propose
to apply it also to those which have a small separate focussing screen and
"finder lens. In either case I am able to tilt the camera, to see on the screen
the amount of distortion thereby caused, and to correct it by the swing back as in
an ordinary camera.
2. To carry out the second part of my invention, I fix a mirror to, or near the
lens, of any camera, so hinged or pivoted that it can be placed at an angle in
front of the lens, and thereby objects at the side of or above the camera are
reflected into it without pointing it directly towards them. In hand cameras 1 place
the mirror preferably in a front chamber enclosing the lens, with an opening at
each side of this chamber to allow light from objects at the side to fall upon
the mirror, which can be placed on either side of the lens.
Having described my invention I now state what I claim as novel, viz. :
1. The use in hand cameras of a vertical swing back or case, in combination
with, and attached to a horizontal swing focussing screen, substantially as described
above.
2. The use, in connexion with all cameras of a mirror placed at an angle in front
of the lens, for the purpose of photographing objects at the side of, or above the
camera.
Dated this 25th day of February 1891
ALEXANDER MILLAR.

page_text: .
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Photographic Cameras and Apparatus connected
therewith.
I, ALEXANDER MILLAR Manufacturer of Hollyhurst Clapham Common.
London S.W. 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 :-
My invention is of two parts, viz.
1. The application to hand cameras of a swing back, attached to and moving in
conjunction with a focussing screen on the top of the camera.
2. The use, in front of the lens of a hand camera, of a mirror placed vertically
at an angle, with openings in the side of the front chamber of the camera; the
whole being arranged so that objects at the side of the camera can be photographed
without pointing it directly towards them.
. I carry out the first part of my invention by arranging the parts of the camera
as in the accompanying diagram, which shows a side elevation of the arrangement.
The camera is preferably of the type in which the image formed by the
principal lens is reflected by a mirror placed at an angle of 45% on to a focussing
screen on the top of the camera; the mirror being afterwards raised to allow the
image to fall on the sensitive plate, as for example, in the Vanneck, Loman and
other similar cameras.
I arrange the back part of the camera to work on pivots. The part thus
pivotted may be either the back portion of the camera itself, or a separate casc or
frame within it, containing sensitive plates or a roll holder.
In the diagram Fig. 1. A. B. C D represents this moveable portion. It is
pivotted at G, a point exactly in a line with the centre of the side of the plate
or film, represented by the line E. F. A focussing screen K L is fixed on the top
of the camera, pivotted at its centre M. The line R. O represents the plane of the
mirror, and the points G and M are equidistant from any point on this line.
A rod NP is fixed in the same plane as the surface of the mirror, and is free to
move in the direction of its length, towards and from the point R. At the point N
two arms of equal length NH and NQ, are pivotted to this rod. At their other
ends they are pivotted to the moveable back and the screen respectively, at the
points Hand Q, the distance H G being the same as Q. M. When the rod N P
is moved towards R, the point H moves backwards and the point Q simultaneously
upwards to exactly the same extent as H, and when the rod is drawn towards P
the converse takes place. Thus the angles of divergence of the plate or film E_F,
and the screen K. L. from the plane of the mirror R. O. are always the same. By
this means the image formed on K L by reflection is an exact counterpart of that
which falls on E F when the mirror is raised; and the connections for which a swing
back is required can be made with greater ease than in an ordinary camera.
In the diagram the black lines represent the normal position of the various
. parts. The dotted lines represent their position when the rod N P. is moved
towards R. The rod may be moved by a knob or screw at P. or by other means.
Or.the whole arrangement may be reversed by causing the part A. B. CD to
move by a screw or other means applied above or below. In this case the rod NP,
would simply act as a guide.
While the method I have described is that which I prefer I claim the right to
connect the swing back and focussing screen by any means which will give them
the same reciprocal motion.
I apply the same method to the focussing screens of finders of the ordinary type,
the screens being pivotted as before described and the rod and arms so placed as
to give the required movement.
I carry out the second part of my invention by placing in a chamber in front-of

page_text: the lens a mirror fixed vertically at an angle of 45%, so that objects at the side
of the camera are reflected into the lens. In combination with this I make openings
at the side of the chamber, through which the image of objects falls on the mirror.
The chamber may either form part of the camera or be a separate attachment.
In the former case the mirror is removable, so that the camera can be used in
the ordinary way.
In both cases the mirror can. be adjusted to an opening on
either side.
To explain more clearly the second part of my invention, I append a diagram,
Fig. 2, in which A B C D is the front part of a hand camera, shown in
plan. E B F D is the front chamber. E F is a partition carrying the lens G.
H. K is a mirror fixed at an angle of 45% in front of the lens. N is an opening
in the side of the front chamber. The lines abc, d e f indicate the way in which
the image of objects in the direction N would be received on the mirror H. K
and thence reflected into the lens G. P is an opening corresponding to N on the
other side of the camera. When it is desired to use this, the mirror is placed in
the position L. M. O is the ordinary opening in front of the camera, for taking
pictures in the usual way. When it is desired to use this, the mirror H. K. can
be removed, and the openings N and P closed by shutters.
The mirror may be fixed by making grooves to receive it at H and K or by
any other convenient method.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1. In hand photographic cameras the combination of a swing back and focussing
screen connected together and having a reciprocal motion of the kind herein before
described, whether they be connected in the exact manner described or by any
other method producing the same reciprocal motion of swing back and focussing
screen.
2. In hand photographic cameras the use of a mirror placed at an angle in a
chamber in front of the lens, in combination with openings at the side of the
chamber for the purpose of taking photographs of objects at the side of the camera
without pointing it directly towards them.
In the case of both claims the methods to be employed are substantially as herein
before described.
Dated this 26th day of November 1891.
ALEXANDER MILLAR,
Manufacturer,
Hollyhurst, Clapham Common, London, S.W.