Improvements in Advertising, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Feb., 1896-Accepted, 7th Mar., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Advertising, and Apparatus therefor.
I, JOHN THOMAS GENT, of Oakleigh, Narborough Road, Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, Electrician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to advertising by illumination, the object of my invention
being to provide means whereby the different parts of an advertisement can be
illuminated in a seemingly arbitrary manner and, after the whole has been
illuminated, suddenly again placed in darkness.
In carrying out my invention I make use of a switching apparatus which may
be arranged to operate the cocks or taps in connection with a series of gas burners
for illuminating the different portions of the advertisement, or to operate the
switches of electric lamps for the same purpose.
In a suitable arrangement I provide a revolving spindle having several cams or
pins attached at equal distances apart circumferentially, which cams or pins as the
spindle revolves come in contact with lever-arms in connection with the taps or
switches and lift them into the position where they will be retained by catches
provided for the purpose.
I also provide a second revolving spindle having one pin or cam for the purpose
of lifting the catches away from the lever-arms and allowing all the lever-arms to
go back to their original position simultaneously.
Each spindle is provided with a cog wheel, which wheels gear into each other,
and one wheel is provided with a number of teeth more than the other, equal to
the number of teeth between two cams, whereby, instead of the levers being lifted
in regular succession, the order will be varied, one cam missing at each revolution
of the shaft.
M 1805
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Advertising, and Apparatus therefor.
I, JOHN THOMAS GENT, of Oakleigh, Narborough Road, Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, Electrician, 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 relates to advertising by illumination, the object of my invention
being to provide means whereby the different parts of an advertisement can be
illuminated in a seemingly arbitrary manner and, after the whole has been
illuminated, suddenly again placed in darkness.
gas
burners
In carrying out my invention I make use of a switching apparatus which may
be arranged to operate the cocks or taps in connection with a series of
for illuminating the different portions of the advertisen.c. t, or to operate the
switches of electric lamps for the same purpose.

page_text: In a suitable arrangement I provide a revolving spindle having several cams or
pins attached at equal distances apart circumferentially, which cams or pins as the
spindle revolves come in contact with lever-arms in connection with the taps or
switches and move them into the position where they will be retained by catches
provided for the purpose.
I also provide a wheel or spindle having one pin or cam for the purpose of
lifting the catches away from the lever-arms and allowing all the lever-arms to go
back to their original position simultaneously.
Each spindle is provided with a cog wheel, which wheels gear into each other,
and one wheel has a number of teeth more than the other, equal to the number of
teeth between two cams on the cam spindle wheel, whereby, instead of the levers
being lifted in regular succession, the order will be varied, one eam missing at
each revolution of the shaft.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is an elevation of apparatus arranged in accordance with my invention
and adapted for operating five gas taps :
Figure 2 is a plan of the same:
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1; and,
Figure 4 is a section on the liue 4-4, Figure 1:
Figures 5 and 6 are respectively an elevation and plan shewing modified
arrangements suitable for use in connection with an electrically lighted
advertisement.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the cam-spindle, and b, 61, 62, 63, 6 are the cams or pins thereon, the said
spindle being mounted in suitable uprights c, and being rotated by any suitable
means such, for instance, as a clock movement enclosed in a casing d.
e is a main gas pipe and f, f, f, f³, f are branches connected therewith and
conveying gas to several sets of burners for illuminating the different parts of an
advertisement, each of the said branches being provided with a tap or cock g.
h,,,, are the lever-arms in connection with the cocks g, g of the
branches, ƒ ƒ ƒ respectively, the said arms having arranged in
conjunction with them springs i, which normally tend to retain the said arms in
the position they occupy when the cocks g, g are closed, in which position the cams
or pins to will act against the said arms to push them rearwardly and
open the
cocks are catches which engage with the lever-arms h, h³ to h*
when the latter are moved as just mentioned and retain them with the cuck, m
the open position until released as hereinafter described. There catches j, jare
pivoted to a bar / so as to permit of their independent movement to allow of the
engagement of the lever-arnis with them, and the bar is at the ends carried upon
centros, in standards m, in so that it can be utilated and all the catches j, j
simultaneously disengaged from their respective lever-arms. is an auxiliary bar
connected at its ends to the bar and serving together with the bar to disengage
the catches.
o is the wheel having one pin or cam p for disengaging the catches from the
lever-arins, to ', the said wheel being driven from a wheel g on the spindle a
and having a number of teeth greater than the number of teeth of the wheel q,
equal to the number of teeth between two of the pins or cams, that is to say, if
the wheel g has fifty teeth and there are five pins or cams upon the spindle at
equal distances apart, the wheel o will have sixty teeth.
is a lever pivoted to the frame of the aparatus and having one arm
arranged in the path of the pin of the cam wheel whilst the other arm
de nel to page (when moved in one direction) with an arm a fixed to the bar /
carrying the catches and e-cillate the said bar to disengage the said catches from
their r
is weighted arm fixed to the lever and serving to normally
retain the arm the id lever in cente
The operation of this releasing mechanism will be readily understood by reference

page_text: to Figures 3 and 4. As the wheel o rotates in the direction of the arrow, Figure 4,
the pin p thereon comes into contact with the arm r¹ of the lever r and lifts the
same whilst at the same time the arm is moved downwardly past the end of the
arm s, which end is pivoted to the other part of the arms and arranged in
conjunction with a spring in a well known manner to allow of the arm² thus
When the wheel o has
passing in this direction only without moving the bar k.
rotated so far that the pin p moves away from beneath the arm r, the weighted
arm t acts to return the lever to its normal position and during this movement
the arm striking against the under side of the end of the arms (which end
cannot turn upon its pivot) oscillates the bar k sufficiently to disengage the
catches j from the levers h, to, the said arm passing the arm s into the
position shewn in Figure 4 which it at first occupied.
Assume all the
I will now describe the operation of the apparatus as a whole.
cocks g to be closed, the pin b to be just making contact with the lever h, and
the pin p on the wheel o to be in the position shewn in Figure 3 (which is the
position it occupies after having moved out of engagement with the arm of the
lever r). As now the spindle a is rotated, the levers h, h', h2, h³, are successively
operated during one complete revolution of the spindle a and during which time
the wheel o has only made ths of a revolution. The continued rotation of the
spindle a to complete the revolution of the wheel o causes the pin b to pass the
still retained lever h so that after the cock levers are disengaged by the pin p
the cam 6 comes into contact with the lever h¹ whereby the levers are then
operated in the following order h¹, ha, ha, ha, h; in the next revolution the lever /¹
is passed whilst still retained, the levers being then operated as follows h², h³,
hh, h; in the next revolution the lever is passed and then the levers h³, h³, h,
h, are operated; in the next revolution the lever is passed, the order of
operation being then h, h, 1, 2, 3, and in the next operation is passed so that
the order of the operation of the levers is as in the first rotation and so on.
It will be understood that as many changes can be obtained as there are levers
and pins.
If it is desired to vary the order of the changes from time to time this may be
accomplished by altering the connections between the several cocks and the
different branch pipes leading to the several sets of burners to be lighted and
extinguished.
The arrangement of a switch for using my apparatus in connection with an
electrically lighted advertisement will be understood by reference to Figures 5
and 6. In these figures it will be noticed that the lever 1, instead of being
connected to a cock, is provided with an extension vso arranged that when the
lever is moved, say, for instance, to the position indicated by the dotted lines
Figure 5, the said extension v will be caused to make a connection between two
contact springs w, w.
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 apparatus for use in advertising by illumination, operating a series of
cocks or switches by the employment of a series of cams or pins and a series of
levers, which levers when operated are retained by catches until disengaged,
substantially as described.
2. In apparatus for use in advertising by illumination, operating a series of
cocks or switches in a seemingly arbitrary manner by the employment of a series
of cams or pins and suitable levers, which levers, when operated, are retained by
catches until disengaged, the point of disengagement relatively with the movement
of the spindle carrying the cams being made variable, substantially as described.
3. In apparatus for advertising by illumination, the arrangement of a series of
levers operated by cams or pins and arranged in connection with catches which
hold the said levers when operated by the cams or pins and retain them until all

page_text: the levers have been operated, whereupon the levers are simultaneously released,
substantially as described.
4. Apparatus for causing variations in the illumination of an advertisement
consisting of the parts constructed and combined substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and operating as, and for
the purpose, specified.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.