Improvements in Photographic Box Cameras.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1889
Complete Specification Lett. 3rd Mar., 1830-Accepted, 12th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Photographic Box Cameras.
GEORGE CHARLES INKPEN Architect & Surveyor 12 Havelock Road Southsea do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The construction of Box Cameras, the means of releasing the exposed plates,
bringing forward fresh plates & storing them after being exposed, also the con-
struction of the lens shutter & means for opening & closing same.
The Camera consists of an oblong box with raised platform each end. On the back
platform the plates are placed in vulcanite sheaths & held in position by india rubber
bands & are pressed up to the front by means of a coil spring. The lower edge of the
sheath is caught in a catch and the upper part by a lever worked from the outside of
the box which on being moved alternately to the left or right correspondingly passes
over notches in the vulcanite sheaths & releases the plates--which fall upon a roller
covered with india rubber and are afterwards passed and collected together beneath
the platforms at each end of Camera.
The front platform carries the lens of the ordinary type, and the focus can be
regulated from the outside.
The shutter consists of two vulcanite discs, fixed on a centre, attached to a base
board and having a drum with two cords wound upon it. The pulling of the cords
alternately causes a corresponding movement of the discs, which in passing over the
lens aperture opens and closes the lens.
T
11 1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Photographic Box Cameras.
GEORGE CHARLES INKPEN 12 Havelock Road Southsea Hants Architect & Surveyor
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 Box or Detective Photographic Camera's and is devised
with the object of simplicity in construction for expeditiously & secretly releasing a
number of prepared sensitised plates of glass or other material, prepared films or
other media placed one behind the other on carriers for exposure within the Camera
in taking a succession of photographic pictures conveying the carriers with the
plates films or other sensitised media into a lower chamber and storing them after
exposure, without damage to the sensitized surfaces & in such a manner that the
carriers are conveyed & stored into the lower chamber to enable the operator io
place the camera on its side without fear of the carriers with exposed plate falling
into the field of the lens, or necessity to bring into action any additional means to
hold them in position at the bottom of the box.
The Camera consists of an oblong box with raised platforms at each end on the rear
platform the plates &c. in carriers ready for exposure are placed, the front platform
carries the lens and shutter, & the bottom of the box & beneath the platforms is
utilized for receiving the exposed plates &c., the whole being enclosed in a light tight
box or case with lid at top of door is provided for access to lens & shutter in front,
& a door for removal of exposed plates with carriers at rear of bottom of box.
The platform placed at the rear of the Camera is to receive a number of plates or
films having backs or carriers as hereafter described which are pushed up to the line
of focus by means of coil or other suitable springs at back of plates so as to keep them

page_text: always up to the point of focus, the backs are prevented from going beyond it by
means of fixed catches on the edge of the front of platform against the projecting
edges of the carriers, & the shifting bolt at top all hereafter described, & to reduce
friction runners are placed all round the parts traversed by the carriers.
The carriers when released by the sliding bolt fall forward automatically on to a
platform on which are one, or more rollers covered with india rubber which being
placed at an inclined angle, conducts them into the lower chamber where they
fall & are collected together either one above the other, alternately, or otherwise at
the will of the operator but preferable by slightly elevating or depressing the ends of
camera they can be collected so as to lie one above the other in twos thus occupying
the vacant space at the bottom of the Camera.
Once the plate has fallen into the lower chamber the Camera may be placed on
its side without fear of the previously exposed plates projecting forward they being
kept from doing so by the platforms at each end & also the platform with rollers
in the middle lower part of the camera.
To prevent more than one plate being released at a time I employ a sliding bolt
of simple construction in conjunction with flat carriers, or backs consisting of a
piece of vulcanite, hard wood, or other suitable material having projecting edges
all round beyond the size of the glass plate or film the edges of carriers slightly
touching the runners placed at sides top & bottom of chamber containing the
unexposed plates or films, the projections at bottom edge also of sufficient depth
to engage with the catches fixed on the edge of front of platform & the projections
at top edge of carriers sufficient to allow-of alternate notchings being made in them
& to be caught by the sliding bolt previously mentioned this admits of the plates
being caught & released alternately.
The movement necessary to release a carrier with exposed plate being to move
the bolt to either the right or left of the centre line of camera by so doing the
hold of the sliding bolt is liberated by passing the open notch, or slot in the carrier,
but the bolt catches & retains in position the carrier immediately behind & the
released carrier with plate falls forward on the rollers before mentioned & then to
the bottom of the camera, with a reverse movement of the bolt the next plate
would fall & so on till all the plates on platform are released at the will of the
operator.
To enable the movement to be done simply & secretly I preferably employ a lever
placed on the first cover of the Camera box & within the lid of sufficient length
as to come up near to the front of the camera with a projecting knob exposed to
the outer part of the Camera box & in my invention the movement of the lever
which actuates the releasing of the carriers at the front part of Camera in its length
of radius is sufficient to be connected & communicated with any other mechanism
to reset any suitable shutter of the lens for the purpose of making exposures thus
the means of releasing the plate carrier & storing same & resetting the lens of the
shutter may be done in one movement only.
A register is provided by which means the number of each plate back, or carrier
when in position for exposure is recorded by its corresponding number appearing on
a sliding slip visible outside the Camera box & actuated by the movements by the
carriers towards the front edge of platform on which the unexposed plates are stored.
To enable the exposed plates being easily removed the platform with rollers is made
movable by means of a spring catch & also a small sliding door is provided at the
bottom end of Camera.
The focus of the lens can be adjusted by the lens placed in a sliding frame in front
of which any suitable shutter may be placed, access to the lens & shutter is
obtained by means of the door in front of camera which has an opening in its centre
corresponding with the lens.
Space for view finder is provide both for vertical & horizontal pictures.
In order that my invention may be better understood I have appended the
accompanying Sheets of Drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the Camera,

page_text: Fig. 2 is a sectional plan looking down into the Camera.
Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the Camera looking towards the sensitized
plate & carrier showing action of bolt with notches or slots on the carrier, the rollers
on which released carrier falls & the chamber for storing exposed plates.
Fig. 4 is an isometrical perspective sectional sketch with part of outer casing
removed, shewing interior working of Camera.
Fig. 5 is a perspective elevation with section of plate with carriers & elastic bands
showing notches or slots placed to the right of centre line with sliding bolt for
release.
Fig. is a similar elevation of plate with notches left of the centre line.
Fig. 7 is a perspective sketch of the end of Camera with the register exhibiting
the corresponding number of the plate carrier brought up to the position for
exposure.
The sensitized plates, films, or other media A are placed upon thin carriers or backs
of vulcanite, blacked metal, wood, or, other suitable material B of such dimensions as
to project all round beyond the edges of the sensitized plate, film, or other media, on
the upper & lower edges towards the extreme sides of the backing shallow notchings C
are formed which receive an elastic band D which on being placed over the plate, film,
or other media & in the notches C in the backing, temporally secure the two in
position & form a carrier for the glass plate, film or other media without other
preparation also protecting the plate behind when on the platform for exposure from
the effects of the light when the lens is opened, the elastic bands D embracing the
carrier & plate also effectually prevent contact or damage to the sensitized plates or
film, when more than one carrier is on the platform or either in falling or in the
depository chamber.
I also utilize the projections of the backings or carriers beyond the glass plates,
film or other media as follows, & by which means when they are placed on the
platform for exposure one behind the other they can be released one by one without
fear of failure separately & distinctly at the will of the operator, preferably I
arrange the lower projecting edge of the carrier to engage with the catches E fixed
to the edge of platform K which form stops & on the upper edge of carrier, I
form slots or notchings F. Fig. 3. 5 & 6 preferable towards the extremities of the
plates in order to obtain a better hold of the backing or carrier & placed in alternate
position with the next carrier. Fig. 5 shows the notching bearing towards the right
of the face of the centre line, in Fig. 6 they are shewn to be on the left of the
centre line, the sliding bolt which releases them in its movement along the upper
edge of the projecting carrier & having projecting shaped lugs or catches H. which
traverse with the projecting edges of the carrier & are placed equidistant &
corresponding to the slots or notches in edge of carrier in its sliding movement
towards the position J. Fig. 5 & 6 & shown by dotted lines the projecting of bolt H
passing over the open notches or slots & thus the front carrier with the plate film or
other media when placed upon the platform of Camera K. Fig. 1 & is pushed by
means of the coil or similar spring L Fig. 1 and falling forward in the direction
represented by falling carriers M Fig. 1 & 4 the carrier immediately behind the one
released is forced up to the position occupied by the carrier thus released & is held in
position by the sliding bolt & the edges of the projecting carrier now occupying a
relative corresponding position to that prior to the moving of the bolt, this operation
may be continued till the whole of the carriers with the plates, film or other media
have been released from the platform by the placing of the carriers with the notchings
or slots shewn by Fig. 5 alternately behind similar carrier having notchings as
Fig. 6 & moving the sliding bolt from left to right or right to left of the sides of
the Camera box as the case may be, to ensure the carriers being placed in the camera
alternately I number them from 1 to 12 & so on, odd numbers being carriers with
notches to the right & even numbers being carriers with notches to the left, preferably
they should be placed in proper rotation as numbered.
To facilitate the movement secretly I employ a lever N having a centre for its axis
at O Fig. 4 which engages the sliding bolt G in any convenient manner preferable
0

page_text: as shewn by projections P in the centre of bolt at Q the lever is in length from the
axis up to the front of Camera so as to lie over the position near to the shutter in
connection with the lens of the Camera, the lever is moved from the outside of
Camera box preferable by a small projecting knob working in a grooved space R
Fig. 4 & in its movement alternately from S to T Fig. 4 as shewn by dotted lines or
vice versa it communicates a corresponding movement to the sliding bolt G & causes
the release of the carriers as previously described. The lever in its action for
releasing a carrier by its length of radius forms a segment of a circle R. S. T of
sufficient length to be able to be imparted to the mechanism of any commercial lens
shutter, and act upon a spring or any other convenient arrangement to set or reset
the same for making an exposure.
My invention permits of a Photographic Camera being so constructed which will
bring a sensitized plate or film forward, feed up others, & store up after exposure &
also reset the shutter of lens thus reducing the whole operation to one movement.
A carrier with an exposed glass plate film or other media on being released as
previously described falls face downwards upon' a platform placed at an inclined
angle having one or more rollers U covered with India-rubber & by the force received
on being released from platform passes.over the rollers of its own accord into the
depository chamber where the plates may fall one upon the other or any other manner
by depressing either end of the camera to distribute them over the bottom of the
Camera.
The exposed plates having fallen into the depository chamber the Camera
assuming it is constructed to take horizontal pictures may at once be placed at its
side to take vertical images the plates in the depository chamber V are prevented
from falling forward into the field of the lens by the roller platform U & by the
platform K at the ends of the Camera Box.
To allow for easy removal of the plates from depository chamber I provide a
sliding door X at end of Camera & also arrange for the platform with rollers to be
movable.
The whole is contained in a light box or case W forming a camera.
The carriers with plates &c. for exposure are placed into the Camera by raising
the lid Y and depressing the coil spring L & back Z behind the last carrier.
In order that the operator may know the subject that he may have taken on any
particular plate, I provide a simple sliding register Fig. 7 (part of the side of
Camera box being removed) & comprises a piece of wood metal or other substance
sliding in a groove, a Fig. 2. 3 & 7 the end of the sliding piece engages with the
back behind carriers at b, and as the plates are removed from platform K the
slide c is pushed forward along the groove, a towards the opposite end of camera & in
its movement by means of a small hole, d, being inserted in the side of the Camera
box the numbers in their movement are exhibited in rotation, the numbers corre-
sponding with those marked on the carriers commencing preferably from the carrier
nearest lens.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the manner & nature of my
said invention & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is
First. The means by which a plurality of plates films or other sensitized media
arranged one behind the other in a light tight box commonly called a Camera are
released in succession, removed from the field of the lens, passed into a depository
chamber & retained there in such a manner as to prevent them falling forward so as
to obstruct the field of the lens as substantially set forth.
Second. In providing a back of thin vulcanite or other suitable material with
projecting edges as a carrier behind the plates or films & securing the two together
by means of elastic bands preferably placed towards the ends of the carrier which
also prevents the sensitized surfaces being damaged as substantially set forth.
Third. In cutting notches in the projecting edges of the carriers above mentioned
in such a manner as to be alternately placed when a number of carriers are arranged

page_text: in succession one behind the other & a sliding bolt or other similar means which by
engaging with the projecting edges of the carriers causes the catch or catches of the
bolt to release its hold on passing the notches or slots in the upper edge of the carrier
& allows one carrier with the plate or film to be expelled from the platform whilst the
plate immediately behind it is secured by the bolt & carrier as substantially set
forth.
Fourth. The arrangement of the sliding bolt and the lever which imparts a move-
ment to it actuated from the external case of Camera, also the capability of the lever
being connected to the mechanism of a lens shutter so as to set it & reset it as
substantially set forth.
Fifth. One movement alone is required to reset the shutter & release a canier
with plate, the action being simultaneous it follows that it is impossible to take two
views on one plate as substantially set forth.
Sixth. Exhibiting the number of the carrier by a sliding register visible from the
outside of Camera of a corresponding number to that placed on carrier as substantially
set forth.
'
Seventh. In providing a platform in the body of Camera on which are placed one
or more rollers, covered with india-rubber, to break the fall of the carrier with glass
plate or film when expelled from the platform, protect the sensitized surface &
conduct the carrier to the depository chamber as substantially set forth.
1
11 1. of Van 1800
GEORGE CHARLES INKPEN.