An Apparatus for Automatic Production of Photographs.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Apr., 1896-Accepted, 11th July, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Apparatus for Automatic Production of Photographs.
I, CARL SASSE, of IV Favoritenstrasse 274 Vienna, Austria, Mechanical
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 :-
The object of the present invention is to produce photographs automatically, by
the insertion of a certain coin in the apparatus, a clockwork is set in motion,
which, on the one hand, will work the lens shutter, and on the other hand, in
conjunction with an electric current and a contact-breaking disc, will act on a
second wheelwork which will cause a table, on which the fluids required for the
finishing of the photographs are arranged in due rotation in vessels, to revolve
intermittently. The plate or paper, when exposed is dipped, in suitable succession
and during the proper intervals, into the fluids contained in the aforesaid vessels,
by means of a lever mechanism, fitted with a plate-holder, which is likewise set
in motion by the wheelwork, whereupon the negative, or as the case may be, the
finished photo, will drop from a slot arranged in the apparatus. A drum, in
which a number of photographic negative plates and sensitised paper are stored
in alternate order, will always supply one plate or one paper to the plate-holder,
whenever by the insertion of a further coin into the money slot a new exposure is
brought about.
The whole arrangement is mounted in a wooden case and is illustrated in the
annexed two drawings in which :
Figure 1. shows a front view, the case being opened:
Figures 2 to 6 and Figures 9 to 11 show details of the apparatus.
Figure 7. a longitudinal section of the complete apparatus, aud
Figure 8. a front view of the apparatus, the door of the case being closed.
Figure 12 shows the plate-holder in perspective view.
On the inner side of the door there is the arrangement for the insertion of the
coin, Figs. 1 and 2. which consists of a channel a' which revolves downwards round
an axis, and a guide a'. The channel a² in its downward motion acts by means
of a rail or bar a³ on one end of a lever a' which at its other end is pivotted
on o¹ and is held in its highest position by a spring a Lever a has put on to it
a little plate a' which, when this lever is in its position of rest, will check the
motion of the "flier" a of the clockwork b, and hence also the latter. Further,
the lever a is fitted with a pin a' which gears into a groove of the wheel 66. This
wheel 6 is fitted on its front side with an insulating plate 6 which is provided with
eleven contact-bars b' arranged radially, in equal intervals, and over which a spring 68
slides, which will intermittently close and break the circuit of the current generated
by the dry battery h, whenever wheel 6 revolves. To the same spindle to which
wheel 66 is fixed, a wheel & with four cogs (Figures 2 and 3.) is also fastened, on
the periphery of which a hook (or pawl) slides, which latter is joined to a
lever which is pivotted on o so that lever 6 will move downwards whenever the
cogs pass the hook (or pawl) 6 whereby lever c is moved downwards and
made to turn the lens-shutter (which revolves round o³) so that, when the cogs b³
pass the pawl, the shutter will assume an exactly horizontal position, that is to say.
the gap between lobes and will be placed in the centre line of the lens
thus uncovering the latter for exposure, while when the pawl slides over cog b
C
21

page_text: the shutter c will cover the lens c. When the cog-wheel 61 has made a full
revolution and reassumed its original position, the shutter c³ will also have reassumed
its original position, that is to say, it will cover the lens, as, may be seen from
Figure 1.
In the case of the apparatus there is arranged, independent from the motion of
the wheelwork bor of the revolution of the contact-wheel 6 a second wheelwork g
which will only be in motion when the circuit is closed by the contact of one of
the contact bars 6' with spring 68 as the electro-magnet k will attract the lever gl
(which is pivotted on o') whereby pin g² is withdrawn from the slot of wheel g³
which is thus released; fitted rigidly, together with the wheel g³ on the same
spindle, there is a flier g of the clockwork, which will therefore commence to move
as soon as lever gl is attracted by the electro-magnet. Moreover, at the same
time, the wheel 9 which is fixed to spindle of of the clockwork, is no longer
checked by the elbow-lever g which is rigidly connected with lever g' and which
gears into a notch of the wheel 9 and the latter will therefore be free to make a
full revolution. After this revolution the elbow-lever g' will again catch into the
notch of wheel 9 while at the same time the pin g² will re-enter the slot of wheel g³
as in consequence of the further revolution of the contact-wheel the circuit has
been broken and the electro-magnet has ceased to exert an attraction on the
armature, or in other words on lever g! whereby the whole clockwork is stopped.
There is, rigidly fixed to spindle o a crank web e with rod e' to which latter
the plate-holder e is fastened. This plate-holder e Fig. 12. consists of two horse-
shoe shaped bent, pieces of metal-plate ele the two sides of which overlap each
other and are joined to each other, with liberty of motion, by two screws e³ so
that these two pieces of plate form a sort of box closed on the four sides, but
open at the top and bottom. This plate-holder is fitted with two springs each e e
so that the springs e effect the pressing of the springs et against the posterior,
somewhat longer side of the plate-holder. At the front part of the plate-holder e
there is a further spring e fixed upright, and which, when pressed backwards,
will turn the front side e of the plate-holder round the screws e thus removing
the springs e from the back e² of the plate-holder. A plate p inserted in the
plate-holder between springs and the back of the plate-holder will therefore be
held fast in any position in which it is inserted, while when it drops from above
into the plate-holder it will assume the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 10.
The plate-holder is guided in a vertical position, by two rods t which are fastened
on a wooden cross-bar fitted to the case.
There is further arranged, in the case, a vertical revolving spindle o' on which
a disc m provided with eleven studs n placed at equal intervals from each other,
as well as, below this, a disc l with eleven notches at the side, likewise arranged
at equal intervals, is fixed.
Into one of the notches of disc a vertical pin will gear, which is fixed to
lever which is borne with an elastic spring connection at of and which, in its
elongation, is provided with a pin so that pin is always pressed against disc
or into its notches, thus preventing it from revolving, or in other words, fixing the
positions of spindle o' and of the table d.
This table d fixed to spindle o' is divided radially into eleven compartments.
In the first and seventh compartments, elongated apertures are arranged which,
on three sides, are surrounded with a guide-plate d On the second and
eighth compartments there are stool-like plates d2 on which the photographic plate
or the paper pis supported during the exposure or during the copying process.
The table further carries, by means of rods d two segments d (which, however,
only extend over the compartments d' and d) for the purpose of effecting the
bending back of spring e of the plate-holder when at its lowest positions, in these
four compartments, which will effect the releasing of the photographic plate or of
the paper p at these moments by the springs e which hitherto held the same.
every full revolution made by disc g the pin g' fitted to it will turn disc m and
hence also the table d to the extent of one-eleventh of its circumference, because
At

page_text: this pin 97 presses on one of the studs n as well as on pin or which latter will
release disc at the moment of rotation, while thereafter reinserting itself into
the next-following notch. But further, by this full revolution of the disc g the
plate-holder e is at the same time raised and lowered by means of the crank and
the rod e'.
In conclusion, there is, in the case of the apparatus, a metal-plate drum f
(Figs. 9 and 10) completely secured against the intrusion of light, and consisting
of two cylinders f, inserted into each other, each having one bottom only. In
the interior of these cylinders there is a revolving spindle o³ to which two
horizontal discs and with corresponding radial slots rare fixed. The bottom
of the lower cylinder f1 is provided with a similar slot, underneath which a guide
channel is affixed, through which the photographic plates, alternating with
sensitised papers p (of which one each is standing vertically in the slots of the
discs and ) will drop in succession from the drum into the plate-holder,
whenever the spindle is turned. This revolution of spindle o8 is effected by
the two hooks or pawls u fastened to spindle of which pawls, twice for every
full revolution of spindle o' will move on, by one tooth, the cog-wheel f³ which is
keyed to spindle o and which is fitted with as many teeth as there are slots r in
the discs. The pawls u are adjusted so that a photographic plate or a
sensitised paper p will drop from the drum whenever plate holder e comes to be
placed underneath the guide f and has attained its highest position (Fig. 10).
Spring v serves to absorb the centrifugal power of drum f, as otherwise, through a
further revolution of discs f³f two or more plates or papers p might drop from
drum f.
The box w serves for the production of positive pictures on paper. It is fixed
by means of hinges to so that it can be turned away from the lens c and during
the exposure of the negative is turned sideways by 90 degrees. During the
production of the positive picture, (that is to, say "copying"), the box assumes
the position shown in Figs. 5 and 7.
The arrangement w may also serve, independently, for making copies froin
negatives, or for the production of positive pictures, as well as for the production
of photographic enlargements.
"
In the production of so-called ".
"quick process photos by means of the
apparatus, the arrangement to with the battery z will be dispensed with, while at
the same time the table d will have one support d2 only, as well as one aperture
only for letting photos drop out. The drum f which in that case is moved by
one pawl u only, would in that case contain suitably coated and prepared metallic
plates.
The action of the whole apparatus which, as already stated, is started by the
insertion of a certain coin, is as follows:-
The coins inserted through the slot provided for this purpose are held fast by
guide a' in the channel a² and owing to their gravitation will act on bar a which
again will act on lever at which will thus be made to revolve downward round o¹.
Thereby the flier a as well as the contact disc and the cogged disc 6' are
released and the clockwork 6 will commence to act. While this takes place the
arrangement w for taking positive pictures (or copying) is turned aside. In the
first moment of the action of the apparatus the channel (or slot pipe) a² will
turn a little further downward still through the action of a tooth or cam fitted
to the contact disc and the coins will thereupon drop into an open box arranged
underneath the channel a².
After a short time the pawl or hook 6 will drop over the tooth b³ whereby
the opening of the lens is exposed and the exposure of the plate commences.
When the discs baud b¹ revolve further in the direction of the arrow the
pawl 6° will drop over the second cog ; the lens will then be covered by the
lobe c. The negative exposure is now finished, while at the same moment a
contact stud 67 is brought into contact with spring 68 thus closing the circuit.

page_text: Lever g is now attracted by the electro-magnet, ping will release the disc g
and the clockwork g with disc g which is likewise released by lever 96, will
commence to act, turning disc in the direction of the arrow and raising the
plate-holder e by means of the crank e and e. By means of piu g' the pin is
pressed downward and disc 1 is released from the check of the stop-pin . At
the moment when the plate-holder e with the exposed plate has attained its
highest position, the spindle o' and with it also table d is turned by means of
pin pin n and the pin disc m by one-eleventh of a full revolution. When
disc g has completed its full revolution, lever g will drop into the notch of disc g³,
and pin g will drop into the slot of disc g³ as the electro-magnet has lost its power
of attraction in consequence of the breaking of the circuit meanwhile effected
through the interruption of the contact between the contact studs 67 and the
spring 68. Thereby the clockwork is stopped and plate dips into the first vessel
towards the plate-support d. If now the spring 68 again touches the next contact
stud 67 the evolutions previously described will be repeated, and will continue
until pin a catches into the notch of the contact-wheel & which has the effect of.
causing the little plate on lever a to arrest the motion of the flier a whereby the
clockwork and hence the entire apparatus is stopped.
When the table has revolved so far that the first aperture d' arrives under the
plate-holder, at which stage the negative will already be completely finished, the
spring of of the plate-holder, during the descending motion, will knock against
the segment de and the finished negative will drop through d' and upon the
inclined plane 3 being retained by the prongs i².
The negative picture is now inserted into the slot wt of the box w and this
box which during the exposure of the negative plate was turned aside, is
brought into the position shown in Figs. 5 and 7.
During this time the second pawl or hook u will turn disc f of the drum f, and
a sensitised paper will be conveyed into the plateholder e in the same way as
happened in the case of the plate. Now the contact 6 is brought into touch with
the contact-springs whereby the incandescent lamp is lit, and a positive
picture is thus produced on the sensitised paper, while the lobes will expose
or shut up lens c by means of the second pair of teeth 63 64 of disc b exactly as
happened during the production of the negative picture.
When during the further revolution of the disc 6 the contact between 610 and
the springs 61 is broken, the incandescent lamp will be extinguished; at the same
time the next contact is made, whereby the clockwork g is put in motion and
the plate is dipped, as described above, into the various baths, until the finished
photo, as well as the negative, drops from the second aperture d' upon the inclined
plane whence it can be withdrawn through the aperture 1. As the contact disc 6°
has eleven contact studs or bars and disc m likewise has eleven pins or studs, the
table is made to revolve, during one complete exposure, (that is to say during the
production of the negative and positive picture), by an angle of 360 degrees,
while the plateholder e moves up and down eleven times.
During the last ascent of the plate-holder e it will come to be placed above the
guide channel fe of the drum f; the pin pawl or hook u has at this moment turned
the wheel by two teeth, and consequently also the slotted plates, f3 by two
divisions, so that a negative plate is dropped into the plate-bolder e (as shown in
Figure 10).
The stoppage of the whole apparatus is effected by the circumstance, that after
a full revolution of the disc 6 the pin a gears into the notch arranged in the
disc, thus preventing it, and with it the clockwork b and the entire apparatus, from
further action.
During the descent of the plate-holder e spring e" is again brought into contact
with segment d whereby the plate p is brought into the position shown in
Figures and 7. Now the apparatus is ready for a new exposure and on a
renewed insertion of a certain coin at a it will again recommence its action as
described.

page_text: 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. The apparatus for the automatic production of photos, consisting of the
money-slot arrangement a, the clockwork b the lens shutter c, table d, plate raising
and lowering arrangement e, plate and sensitised paper stock-drum f, arrange
ment to for the production of positive pictures, clockwork g, dry batteries h and z
with wire connections, photograph carrier i and electro-magnet k, for the purpose
of producing photos automatically, on a certain coin being inserted into the
apparatus.
2. The mechanical starting arrangement a for setting the apparatus in motion,
in combination with the clockwork b and the lens-shutter arrangement c, for the
purpose of working the lens shutter on the insertion of a certain coin into the
apparatus.
3. The table d in combination with the plate supports d², the vessels and the
apertures d' as well as in further combination with spindle o' and the stud-wheel m
fixed thereon, for the purpose of taking photos, finishing them and removing them
from the apparatus.
4. The plate raising and lowering arrangement e in combination with the
springs ees and e and in further combination with lever e and crank es for the
purpose of receiving the photographic plate or sensitised paper p, and to dip
the same into the requisite baths, in vessels d³ and drop the finished negative or
the finished photo.
5. The plate stock-drum fin. combination with the plate-guides fftbe
cogwheel the spring v, the hooks or pawls u and the plate guide-channel for
the purpose of making the photographic plates and sensitised paper p secure
against light, and feeding the plate raising and lowering arrangement for every
new photographic exposure, each time with one, and no more photographic
negative plates or sensitised papers p.
6. The clockwork ġ in combination with a check-arrangement (9¹ g² g³ and gº),.
electro-magnet k, stud (or pin) wheel 95, check-arrangement (and ), dry
battery with wire connections, and the circuit-breaking arrangement (67 68), for
the purpose of working, through the medium of clockwork b, the table d as well
as the plate raising and lowering arrangement e and the plate stock-drum f.
7. The arrangement w for taking positive pictures, consisting of a box w into.
which the negative picture is inserted through a slot in order to transfer, by
means of the lenses w w² and the incandescent light w the negative picture upon
the sensitised paper p (which is on the second table d² in the form of a positive.
picture, during which operation the incandescent lamp is brought into action by
means of an electric battery z through a contact 6¹º.
8. The application of the arrangement w characterised in Claim 7. for copying
positive pictures and for the production of photographic enlargements.
Dated thie 2nd day of Anvil 1806
J. E. EVANS-JACKSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.