Improvements in or relating to Advertising and other Illuminating Effects.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Mar., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 4th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 5th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Advertising and other Illuminating
Effects.
I, HORACE FRANCIS SIMON of 38 Princes Square, Bayswater, in the County of
Middlesex, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the production of spectacular effects by certain arrange-
ments of moving lights and is suitable for advertising purposes and the like where
such effects are required. I will describe the invention as applied to an illuminating
and advertising device it being understood that other applications of the invention
may be made.
Supposing that I desire to illuminate an advertising sign arranged in the form
of a circle. The letters or devices would be arranged around or upon any suitable
framework and either the whole of the letters or parts thereof would be open or
transparent. For example the letters might be made entirely of glass either plain
or semi-opaque, and transparent or coloured, or they might be made of an opaque
outline with transparent or coloured centres of glass, paper, or the like. Behind
this frame would be arranged a disc or frame carrying one or more lights and
preferably of the same diameter or length as the circular frame to be illuminated,
and adapted to he revolved by an electric motor or any other suitable means.
The lamp or lamps may be plain electric lights or any other suitable light such as
gas or oil Geisler tubes or the like. The effect of revolving the lights behind the
letters is to present the appearance of a much larger number of lights than are
actually employed, and if run at a high speed an apparently continuous illumination
may be produced so that by this arrangement with a comparatively very few lights
I am able to produce the appearance of a large number of lights or a large
illumination.
Another way of carrying out this invention would be to place behind letters,
constructed as above described but arranged say in a straight line, a series of discs
presenting their peripheries behind the letters and each disc carrying at its periphery,
one or more lights so as to produce the effect of more lights than are actually
employed as in the previous instance. Other means may be employed for traversing
the lights as for example they may be secured to or connected with a travelling
chain, band or equivalent.
Any suitable means may be employed for producing a brilliant or variegated
effect upon the letters as various coloured glasses, papers or the like and if desired
these may be left loose as in the case of paper so as to vibrate with the draught
produced by the revolving frame or lamps behind, or they may be positively
vibrated in any convenient manner.
Instead of employing separate discs behind the letters I may employ a single
drum or equivalent or may hang the lamps upon arms extending from a shaft or
other means of a like nature may be adopted. In the case of the drum it would be
advantageous to blacken the portions of it between the letters and to whiten those
portions appertaining to the letters.
Instead of revolving the letters around a centre I may employ a reciprocating
motion produced by any suitable means and where desired as for instance with
letters of particular shapes I may employ cams to impart the precise movement
required.
Dated this 18th day of March 189z.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Advertising and other Illuminating
Effects.
I, HORACE FRANCIS SIMON of 38 Princes Square, Bayswater, in the County of
Middlesex, Electrical 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 :--
This invention relates to the production of spectacular effects by certain arrange-
ments of moving lights and is suitable for advertising purposes and the like where
such effects are required. I will describe the invention as applied to an illuminating
and advertising device it being understood that other applications of the invention
may be made.
Supposing that I desire to illuminate an advertising sign arranged in the form
of a circle. The letters or devices would be arranged around or upon any suitable
framework and either the whole of the letters or parts thereof would be open or
transparent. For example the letters might be made entirely of glass either plain
or semi-opaque, and transparent or coloured, or they might be made of an opaque
outline with transparent or coloured centres of glass, paper or the like. Behind
this frame would be arranged a disc or frame carrying one or more lights and
preferably of the same diameter or length as the circular frame to be illuminated,
and adapted to be revolved by an electric motor or any other suitable means. The
lamp or lamps may be electric lights or any other suitable light such as gas or the
like preferably enclosed in or located behind different coloured globes, envelopes or
screens. The effect of revolving the lights behind the letters is to present the
appearance of a much larger number of lights than are actually employed, and if
run at a high speed an apparently continuous illumination may be produced so that
by this arrangement with a comparatively very few lights I am able to produ:e
the appearance of a large number of lights or a large illumination.
Another way of carrying out this invention would be to place behind letters,
constructed as above described but arranged say in a straight line, a series of
discs presenting their peripheries behind the letters and each disc carrying at its
periphery, one or more lights so as to produce the effect of more lamps than are
actually employed as in the previous instance. Other means may be employed for
traversing the lights as for example they may be secured to or connected with a
travelling chain, band or equivalent.
Any suitable means may be employed for producing a brilliant or variegated
effect upon the letters as various coloured glasses, papers or the like and if desired
these may be left loose as in the case of paper so as to vibrate with the draught
produced by the revolving frame or lamps behind, or they may be positively vibrated
in any convenient manner.
Instead of employing separate discs behind the letters I may employ a single
drum or equivalent or may hang the lamps upon arms extending from a shaft or
other means of a like nature may be adopted.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a transverse section through an electrically illuminated apparatus
constructed according to this invention.
Figure 2 is a front view of the facia thereof.
Figure 3 a front view of the frame carrying the electric lamps which are also
shown in this figure.
Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in transverse section of
a gas illuminated apparatus constructed according to this invention,
Figure 6 being a front view of the burner-carrying frame thereof.
Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section showing a modification of the electrically
illuminated apparatus.

page_text: Figure 8 is an elevation with the facia removed of apparatus illuminated by
fairy lights.
and
Figure 9 a front view of part of the facia of the apparatus shown in Figure 8,
Figure 10 is a transverse section of electrically illuminated apparatus for
illuminating two facias.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
In the apparatus represented in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 I provide a facia A which
may be of opaque material such as wood and have the letters A' or other devices
cut out therefrom and which as shown in Figure 1 may be backed with a sheet of
coloured glass A' or other equivalent material; or if desired the facia may be
constructed in any other desired manner, for example the letters themselves being
opaque and the body of the facia transparent or instead of a sheet of glass of one
colour throughout the facia A may be backed with one or more sheets or pieces of
glass or other material such as paper and the like of various colours. This facia
be mounted in a suitable frame or box B and at the back of it is arranged the
device by means of which it is illuminated. As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, this
device may consist of a frame C formed with one or more arms (four arms being
shown in Figure 3) or a disc secured to the preferably flanged end D' of a
horizontal shaft D mounted in bearings D' supported on a suitable base E.
may
To the front of the frame or disc C are secured electric incandescent lamps F F¹ F*
at various distances from the centre or axis of rotation of the frame or disc C so
as to correspond with the various distances at which the circles of letters A' are
arranged from the centre of the facia A and the globes of which are of various
colours, or enclosed in envelopes of various colours. On the shaft D are secured
a driving pulley D³ & two contact makers G each electrically connected by a wire G+'
with all of the lamps F F F so that the current passing by a suitable conductor H
may be passed through a brush H', through the appropriate contact maker G thence
along wires G' through the lamps F F F and return wires G¹ to the other contact
maker G from which it is conducted by the appropriate brush H' and conductor H
back to the source of electricity.
The contact makers may themselves be insulated in any convenient manner from
the shaft D as may also the wires G¹ which preferably pass through a passage or
deep recess D' formed at the centre of the shaft D. If desired one or more metallic
portions of the contact making surfaces of either of the contact makers G may be
removed the continuance of the periphery being maintained by segments of wood
or other equivalent material so that at each revolution of the frame or disc C the
circuit through the lamps may be broken one or more times.
The shaft D is rotated by means of the pulley D' and band D' by any suitable
means such as by hand, an electric motor, clock-work or other power.
At the back of each of the lamps F F F may be arranged a reflector Ft.
In the arrangement shown in Figure 5 the shaft D is tubular throughout its
length and is provided at its back end with a gland and stuffing box D' by means
of which a tight joint is formed around the non-rotating gas supply tube D³ as will
be well understood. The frame for carrying the lamps or burners in this example
consists of a series of tubular rings I 1' 1 (Fig. 6) connected together and with the
tubular shaft D by one or more radial pipes or branches 18 and the burners J with
or without reflectors J¹ are screwed or otherwise secured into the front face of the
rings their position in relation to the axis of rotation of the ring being such that
they will revolve immediately at the back of the various rings of letters in the
facia A.
The tubular frames II' 1', Figure 6, preferably carries arms each adjacent to
one of the burners J for the purpose of carrying a sheet of coloured glass or other
transparent or translucent material in front of the flame of such burner.
In the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 the electric incandescent lamps Fare
mounted on arms projecting from a vertical shaft K supported in suitable
bearings K¹ and adapted to be rotated by the pulley D' and band D* by any

page_text: suitable motor. The lamps F are connected with the contact makers G in substan-
tially the same manner as before described in reference to those shown in Figs. 1
and 3 the brushes H' and conductors H serving to complete the circuit through the
lamps and electric battery or other source of electricity.
In this arrangement it will be seen that the lamps F rotate in horizontal planes
the letters in the facia A being also arranged horizontally.
One or more of the shafts K each with its complement of lamps F may be
arranged in the same facia.
In Fig. 8 the vertical shafts K supported in and on bearings K' are provided
with arms on each of which is mounted a fairy lamp L and each of these shafts K,
of which it will be understood there may be one, two or more, is connected with
the horizontal shaft M, supported in suitable bearings M², by bevel gearing M³,
the horizontal shaft M is fitted with a crank handle M by means of which it may
be rotated by hand or with a pulley or equivalent device by which power may be
transmitted to it from any suitable motor.
The lamps L in Fig. 8 rotate in horizontal planes and the lines of letters in the
facia are also arranged horizontally as shown in Figure 9 to conform with this
arrangement.
In Figure 10 1 have diagrammatically represented the manner in which two
facias may be illuminated by one illuminating device. In this arrangement the
disc or frame C carries a set of lamps F at each side, the lamps on one side serving
to illuminate one facia and those on the other side serving to illuminate the other
facia. If desired the two sets of lamps employed in this form of the apparatus
may be mounted on two distinct frames or discs C mounted on the opposite ends
of the shaft D and each set of lamps so arranged as to partly illuminate both of
the facias.
.
It is preferred to rotate the before mentioned lamps at a moderate speed behind
the facias so as to present an appearance of being highly illuminated by a consider-
ably larger number of stationary lamps than is employed, the eye not being able
to follow the lamps and consequently the smallness of the number of the lamps
will not be detected. By revolving the light behind a facia constructed of some-
what thick opaque material with the letters cut out the device will appear to move
owing to the shadows which pass over the letters. By enclosing the lamps in or
providing them with globes of various colours the letters will appear to change
colours; this result may be enhanced by placing materials of various colours in
front of the device such materials for example as silk, glass gelatine or the like.
By hanging the coloured, transparent or translucent material loosely in front or
the back of the facia and revolving the lights behind the facia at a somewhat quick
pace an effective trembling or vibrating result may be obtained.
The electrically illuminated apparatus may be so connected with the electric
motor for operating it that by one switch the circuit may be completed through the
motor for rotating the lamps and also through the lamps.
Instead of mounting the lamps on a frame or disc rotating in a vertical plane or
arms rotating in a horizontal plane they may be arranged to swing as a pendulum
or mounted on oscillating or reciprocating discs or equivalent or they may be
mounted on a suitable frame reciprocated in a straight line either horizontally
vertically or obliquely; or the lamps may be rotated in any convenient manner in
horizontal, vertical or oblique planes. In other ways however the apparatus may
be modified without departing from the essential features of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination with a transparent or translucent plain or coloured letter or
device of a series of moving lights of different colours adapted to illuminate the
device or parts thereof substantially as described.
2. In apparatus such as described the illumination of a single or multi-coloured

page_text: partly transparent or translucent and partly opaque facia or device by travelling
lamps of the same or different colours substantially as described.
3. In apparatus such as described the combination with a partly transparent and
partly opaque facia or device and a series of moving lamps for illuminating it of
sheets or pieces of various coloured paper, silk or equivalent material attached to
the facia or device so that they may be vibrated by the currents of air generated
by the movement of the lamps substantially as described.
4. In apparatus such as described the combination with a partly transparent or
translucent and partly opaque facia or device. of a series of electric lamps such
As F F F of different colours frame or disc such as C carrying them shaft such
as D D' perpendicular to the facia or device conductors G and wholly intact or
partly mutilated contacts such as G substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
5. In apparatus such as described the combination with a partly transparent or
translucent and partly opaque facia or device of a series of electric gas or other
lamps of different colours supported and rotated by one or more shafts parallel with
the facia or device substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
6. In apparatus such as described the combination with a partly transparent or
translucent and partly opaque facia or device of a series of electric gas or other
lamps of different colours supported and rotated by a shaft perpendicular to the
facia or device substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
7. In apparatus such as described the combination with an approximately
horizontal rotating shaft of a series of lamps carried and driven in an approxi-
mately vertical plane by the said shaft substantially as described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1800