AN IMPROVED INDICATING APPARATUS TO BE PLACED AT THE CORNERS OF STREETS OR IN OTHER PUBLIC SITUATIONS FOR ADVERTISING AND SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "AN IMPROVED INDICATING APPARATUS TO BE PLACED AT THE CORNERS
OF STREETS OR IN OTHER PUBLIC SITUATIONS FOR ADVERTISING AND
SIMILAR PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Protais Joseph Pointe
and Charles Pierre Porcher, both of Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th March 1881.
.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED INDICATING APPARATUS TO
BE PLACED AT THE CORNERS OF STREETS OR IN OTHER PUBLIC SITUATIONS FOR
ADVERTISING AND SIMILAR PURPOSES.' [A communication from abroad by
Protais Joseph Pointe and Charles Pierre Porcher, both of Paris, France.]
The indicating tablets sometimes placed at the corners of streets, squares, and
crossings in towns or cities cannot, as ordinarily made unless they are of very large
dimensions, contain all the information which is of interest to those who consult
the same; such tablets or indicators can barely contain the addresses of all the
firms or commercial houses within the district to which they relate.
This Invention has for its object to provide an indicator, which, within moderate
It would be
dimensions, will contain all the information that may be desirable.
inconvenient to provide in such public places a book, the leaves of which are to be
turned, as the book would soon become worn out; I therefore arrange the
addresses, advertisements, and other desirable information upon a continuous sheet
of paper, or woven fabric, or other suitable material, the ends whereof are rolled
upon two parallel rollers arranged within a case or box which is designed to be
hung or secured upon the wall at the corner of a street or in any desirable place,
the said case or box being closed by a plate or sheet of glass to preserve the

page_text: interior sheet and the mechanism from injury by rain and dust. Milled heads
outside the case are provided whereby either of the rollers may be rotated, so that
the sheet with the addresses and other information thereon will be unrolled and
pass behind the glass.
Having thus explained the essential features of an apparatus embodying this
Invention I will now describe its construction, that is to say,-
I provide a box or case of cast or sheet metal; its front portion is closed or
covered by a glass-plate, the frame containing the latter being screwed upon the
said case.
In the interior there are two rollers, each of which carries a pinion
gearing with a toothed wheel mounted on a separate shaft which carries at one end
projecting outside the case a milled head or stud. An arrow marked upon the
outside of the box or case indicates the direction in which the milled studs must
be rotated in order to move the sheet containing the information.
To cause the said sheet always to remain parallel with the glass the former is
passed over two rods upon which small lateral springs press, thus continually
imparting to the paper a certain amount of tension. Pawls are suitably arranged
to prevent the rollers being turned in the wrong direction.
This improved apparatus may be hung on hooks upon a wall, or it may be
fixed on the latter by screws, and the box may be surmounted by a coat of
arms of any kind or by any device which may be desired. A gas burner may also
be added in order that the indications, addresses, or informations may be read at
night.
The addresses and other information may be arranged upon the sheet in various
ways, as, for instance, in three columns, the first containing the addresses arranged
according to the professions or trades, the second containing the same in alpha-
betical order, and the third may contain miscellaneous information as to postal
and telegraph offices, cabs, omnibuses, physicians, chemists, public offices, and the
like.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th September 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED INDICATING APPARATUS TO BE
PLACED AT THE CORNERS OF STREETS OR IN OTHER PUBLIC SITUATIONS FOR
ADVERTISING AND SIMILAR PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by
Protais Joseph Poințe and Charles Pierre Porcher, both of Paris, France.
The indicating tablets sometimes placed at the corners of streets, squares, and
crossings in towns or cities cannot, as ordinarily made (unless they are of very
large dimensions) contain all the information which is of interest to those who
consult the same, such tablets or indicators being barely of sufficient size to contain
the addresses of all the firms or commercial houses within the district to which
they relate.
This Invention has for its object to provide an indicator, which, within moderate
dimensions, will contain all the information that may be desirable.
It would be inconvenient to provide in public places a book whose leaves must
be turned over, as the book would soon become worn out; I therefore arrange the
addresses, advertisements, and other desirable information upon a continuous sheet
of paper, woven fabric, or other suitable material, the ends whereof are rolled upon
two parallel rollers arranged within a case or box which is designed to be hung
or secured upon the wall at the corner of a street or in any other suitable position,
the said case or box being closed by a plate or sheet of glass to preserve the interior
sheet and the mechanism from injury by rain and dust. Cranks or milled headed
rods are provided outside the case whereby either of the said rollers may be rotated,
so that the sheet with the addresses and other information thereon will be unrolled
and pass behind the glass.
Having thus set forth the essential features of an apparatus embodying this
Invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction with reference to the
accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved apparatus, and
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the said apparatus with the glass plate and the
flexible sheet removed.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A represents the box or case which may be cast or constructed of sheet metal,
This box is closed at the front by a plate or sheet B of glass fixed in a frame which
is screwed to the said box. In the interior of the said box are the two rollers C, C¹,
the shaft of each of these rollers carries a toothed pinion D with which a toothed
wheel E mounted on a shaft F gears, each of the shafts F being provided at its
outer end, that is to say, on the exterior of the case A with a crank G.
A two armed spring M, whose tension can be regulated by a screw V, having a
milled head, bears on the shafts F and serves as a brake. An arrow upon the
outside of the box or case indicates the direction in which the one or the other of
these cranks has to be turned to effect the movement of the sheet x of paper or
textile material in one or the other direction.
To keep this sheet a constantly parallel with the glass plate B, I pass the said
sheet between the rods H, H, and H¹, H', and arrange at the back of the said
sheet another rod H³ which prevents the bending of the same. These rods are
surrounded by glass tubes which diminish the friction upon the sheet of paper or
cloth.

page_text: To prevent the rollers C, C¹, being revolved in the wrong direction the cranks
are formed with an inclined plane on surface P terminating in a shoulder which
serves as a stop for a pin R on the shaft F. When the crank is turned in the
proper direction this stop abuts against the pin R and revolves the shaft F; if
however the crank is turned in the other direction the inclined plane of the crank
will slide over the pin and thereby cause the said crank to rotate loosely upon its
shaft. To facilitate the engagement of the notched face of the said crank with the
pin R, I arrange upon the shaft F a coiled spring as shewn, which spring tends to
constantly force the said face into contact with the said pin.
My improved indicating apparatus can be hung on hooks upon a wall, or may be
fixed thereto by screws or otherwise.
The box may be surmounted by insignia, ornaments, or emblems of any kind,
such as the coat of arms of the town or city, or the like. A gas-burner may also
be placed near the same in order that the directions, addresses, and other
information on the sheet may be read at night.
The addresses and other information may be arranged upon the sheet in various
manners, for instance, in three columns, the first containing the addresses arranged
according to the professions or trades, the second containing the same in alpha-
betical order, and the third may contain miscellaneous information as to postal
and telegraph offices, hackney-carriages, omnibuses, physicians, chemists, public
offices, and the like.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction of my improved
apparatus as above described nor to any particular size of the said apparatus, as
the same may be varied without departing from the principle of my Invention, and
I claim,-
An indicating apparatus comprising a sheet of paper or textile fabric of con-
siderable length placed within a box or case and provided with addresses and other
information, and having its ends wound upon rollers which may be rotated from
the exterior of the said box or case in one or the other direction according to the
motion desired to be imparted to the said sheet for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
TIZM DAPT TAKE Gal
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