Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1898-Accepted, 5th Nov., 1898
A communication from CHARLES MILTON CAMPBELL, of Washington, District of
Columbia, U.S.A., Manufacturer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, Holborn Circus, in the County
of Middlesex, Chartered Patent Agent, 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 exhibitors for what are known as kinetoscope pictures,
and especially to that class of such devices in which the pictures are viewed
through a reflecting medium as a moving mirror. The object is to produce such
a device as will be compact, simple and efficient, and it consists in the combination
of novel features of the same as will be hereinafter particularly set forth.
In the accompanying drawings in which each reference numeral indicates the
same part in each of the views in which it occurs:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine embodying this invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation with one side removed.
Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are detail views.
of Figure 2, and
Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the box or casing in
which the parts are assembled and which may be of any desired construction and
design although that shown in the drawings has been found to be very desirable.
The top of the casing is provided with an opening or peep hole 2 through which
the pictures may be seen. One side 3 is removable for gaining access to the
interior, and the opposite or rear side is preferably provided with an opening 4
for the admission of light to illuminate the pictures. The removable or front
side is preferably formed as a frame in which are secured an upper and a lower
plate of glass, the upper one for admitting light to the pictures and the lower one
for viewing the belt in the lower portion of the casing. The central piece 5 of
the frame is provided with a hole or opening 6 through which the handle 7 of
the machine projects when in its operative position. The side may be secured in
place by ordinary dowel pins 8 in the bottom and a catch 9 at the top if desired.
Rigidly secured to the stationary side of the casing opposite the opening 6 in the
removable side, is a post 10 upon which the main or operating drum or roller 11
is journaled. The roller may be of any suitable size and construction, but it is
found that a thin blade or fin 12 projecting from the hub is sufficient to carry the
belt 13 forward and exhibit the pictures. The outer end of the hub may be pro-
vided with a plate 14 which rests against the outer end of the post for holding the
inner end of the hub far enough away from the rear wall to permit of its being
provided with the circularly arranged shoulder or pins 15. The plate is provided
with means for securing the handle 7 thereto, as by a hole 16 in which the end of
the handle fits, and a catch 17 upon the opposite side of the center from the hole,
and under or against which the handle engages as it is turned for rotating the
077

page_text: roller. The handle may be provided with an extra bend or off-set 18 for clearing
the front wall of the casing. Any other way of rotating the roller or securing
the handle thereto so as to permit of the removal of the side of the casing would
answer just as well.
Secured at some convenient point within the casing, preferably directly above
the roller, and in position to be seen through the peep hole 2, is a movable mirror
or reflector 19. The mirror may be held against a block or support 20 by means
of a clamp or holder 21 and screws 22. The block is pivotally secured to a pin or
post 23 projecting from the rear wall parallel with the post 10. The block is
provided with an arm 24 extending down into the path of the pins 15 on the end
of the hub of the roller 11, so that as the roller is rotated the mirror will be moved
or vibrated once for every time one of the pins passes the end of the arm. A
suitable spring 25 is arranged to return the mirror to its normal position after
having been moved out of it by the action of the pins on the roller 11. A
muffler or damper 26 is arranged to engage with the mirror and check its rapid
return movement to prevent noise. The damper may be adjusted in any desired
manner as by a screw 27 passing through it into a suitable base 28. If desired,
the rear wall of the casing may be recessed as shown at 29 within which the arm
of the mirror is located so as to permit of the full width of the casing being
utilized for the width of the belt. The lower end of the arm is slightly bent
toward the end of the hub of the roller so as to be in the path of the pins.
The belt is so arranged that a sufficient portion of it will pass in front of the
mirror in such a position that the reflections of the pictures may be observed by
looking at the mirror through the peep hole or opening 2 in the top of the casing.
For this purpose two pins or supports 30 or 31, are supported each of which is
preferably provided with anti-friction roller 32 and located in front of the mirror
so that the reflection of the portion of the belt passing from one to the other may
be seen upon the mirror. After leaving the lower support 31 the belt is passed
around the main roller 11 and under a friction roller 33 which is journaled at the
end of a spring arm 34 and presses the belt against the edge of the blade 12 with
sufficient force to cause it to move forward as the roller is rotated. The support 31
is located below the normal field of vision of the mirror so that it permits the belt
to pass to the upper position of the roller 11, directly underneath the mirror, with-
out being visible in the mirror. By locating the supports 30 and 31 adjacent to
the opening 4 the light which passes through the opening on one side and through
the glass front on the other side strikes the face of the belt and is reflected in the
mirror and from thence to the eye of the observer. If desired, a glass might be
inserted in the opening 4, but I show it without.
After passing between the two rollers 11 and 33 the belt, which is preferably
endless, leaves the roller 11, and is stored in the lower part of the casing in reverse
or free loop folds 35. As rapidly as the belt is being folded at the top of the pile,
it is being drawn out from underneath and carried to the upper support 30 to be
again passed in front of the mirror, and so on as long as the roller 11 is rotated.
As the belt is drawn out from under the pile and passed to the upper support 30
it is passed between a brake 36 and one end of the casing which will keep it taut
as it passes in front of the mirror and will also prevent its kinking or tangling.
The brake is preferably formed of a closely wound spiral secured to the rear
wall with the coils located substantially parallel with the line of movement of
the belt. This construction of the brake will prevent the possibility of the belt
catching and tearing on the brake, and will also permit of the top of the coil
being drawn away from the wall for the insertion or removal of the belt. .
When the belt is placed in the machine and the roller operated, the pile of belt
below the roller has a tendency to keep the oncoming portion in contact with the
periphery of the roller until it would be caught by the portion of the belt passing
from the lower support 31 and carried around the roller and eventually stop the
machine. To prevent this, and to cause the belt to leave the roller and to force
it to fold back and forth within the lower portion of the casing and thereby permit

page_text: of the storing of a very long belt in a small compass, a stop or guide 37 is located
between the support 31 and the roller 11. The stop may be formed of a piece of
wire, one end of which is secured to the rear wall of the casing above the brake
and the other end is passed behind the blade 12. Now as the roller is operated,
the belt passes forward in contact with the blade 12 after leaving the friction
roller 33 until it engages with the stop 37 when the onward movement of the belt
will force the portion of it between the roller 33 and the stop 37 to buckle out from
or leave the roller 11 and press down against the pile until it is forced backward
and strikes an obstruction or stop to one side of the friction roller 33, such as the
end of the casing, which will cause the belt to fold and permit a succeeding por.
tion to follow the blade 12 until it in turn strikes the stop 37 and makes a fold as
before. As the folds succeed each other their upper ends are forced along the
stop or guide 37 until finally they are passed to the bottom of the pile from which
they are drawn out by the onward movement of the belt.
In operation, when it is desired to introduce a belt, the front of the casing is
removed and some portion of the belt is passed over the operating mechanism and
the remaining portion is folded and stored in the lower portion of the casing. The
side is then replaced and the handle is rotated, which will cause the belt to move
forward, the mirror to oscillate and an observer standing in proper relation to the
peep hole may see the reflection of the pictures as they are rapidly passed in front
of the mirror.
li may be remarked in conclusion that by reason of the mounting of the mirror
which renders it readily detachable the plain mirror illustrated may be replaced
at will by a mirror of any form, as for instance, concave, convex, etc. to produce
distortional effects of the object or objects exhibited.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the
same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a kinetoscope, the combination with a support and exhibition mechanism,
of means for forcing an exhibition belt into loop-folds, substantially as set forth.
2. In a kinetoscope, the combination with a casing of exhibiting mechanism in
one portion thereof, and stops adjacent to the exhibiting mechanism for causing
a portion of an exhibition belt to be folded in loop-folds in another portion of the
casing, substantially as set forth.
3. In a kinetoscope, the combination with a casing, of a belt and belt-carrying
and exhibiting mechanism in one portion thereof, means for storing a portion of
the exhibition belt in another portion of said casing, and belt tension mechanism,
substantially as set forth.
4. In a kinetoscope, the combination with a casing, a belt carrying element
therein, and a movable mirror, of pressure mechanism in operative relation with
said element, belt supports, and a brake designed to operatively engage the belt
carried by said element, substantially as set forth.
5. In a kinetoscope, the combination with a belt carrying element and mirror,
of belt supports so relatively located as to bring only the portion of the belt
between said supports into the visual field of the mirror, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination with an oscillatory mirror, of torsional resistance mechanism
operatively connected with the mirror, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination with a spring-actuated oscillatory mirror, of a damper in
operative relation with the mirror, substantially as set forth.
8. The combination with a yielding damper, of a mirror in sliding contact there-
with, substantially as set forth.
9. The combination with an oscillatory mirror and a torsional spring for restor-
ing said mirror to its normal position, of a yielding damper in sliding contact with
the mirror, substantially as set forth.
10. The combination with a mirror-supporting block, of mirror securing
mechanism carried thereby, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 11. The combination with a mirror-supporting block, of an adjustable clamp
supported thereby, and a mirror held by said clamp, substantially as set forth.
12. In a kinetoscope, the combination with a casing, and belt-carrying element,
of a mirror post and a mirror removably supported on said post, substantially
as set forth.
1
1000
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.