Means or Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated or Changing Pictures on Advertising and like Appliances Carried on the Person.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Dee., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 9th Sept., 1898 -Accepted, 10th Dec., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Means or Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated
or Changing Pictures on Advertising and like Appliances Carried
on the Person.
I, WILLIAM FRIESE-GREENE, of 39, King's Road, Chelsea, in the County of
London, Photographer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention has reference to producing and exhibiting animated or changing
pictures and its chief object is to adapt kinetoscopic apparatus to the purpose of
advertising upon appliances carried upon and above the shoulders of men in a
similar manner to advertising boards, or carried upon his head.
According to my invention in one of its forms I employ a frame or support to be
carried on the shoulders of a man, and like that commonly employed to support an
advertising board above the man's head. To this frame or support I attach a
translucent screen and in line with the screen, either in front of or behind it, I
attach a kinetoscopic apparatus of the well known kind in which a film bearing
successive pictures of photographs or transparencies is caused to travel rapidly
through the apparatus so as to produce upon the screen what are generally called
animated pictures. I preferably use an endless film so that the apparatus can be
worked without stopping to change the film. To the lower part of the supporting
frame or to a downward extension of the same so as to be convenient for the hand
of the man carrying the apparatus I attach an appliance for operating the kine-
toscopic apparatus through the intermediation of suitable gearing. This appliance
may conveniently consist of a pulley fitted with crank handle for rotating it. From
this pulley the rotary motion may be transmitted by a strap to a smaller pulley
situated at the part of the frame which is behind the man's neck and this smaller
pulley may be connected by toothed or other gearing to the first motion shaft or
spindle of the kinetoscopic apparatus. The man has therefore simply to turn the
crank handle at a suitable speed in order to operate the kinetoscopic apparatus and
produce the animated picture on the screen. Instead of producing animated
pictures the kinetoscope may be arranged as will be well understood to throw a
succession of pictures on the screen at such a slow speed that each picture is
distinctly visible separately for any desired length of time.
According to another form of my invention the translucent screen is cylindrical
and may constitute the man's hat or the upper of same and the kinetoscopic
apparatus is placed within the hat. This apparatus consists of the film or series
of pictures moving on a vertical axis within the hat and of a cylinder between the
pictures and the hat and moving in the reverse direction to the pictures: the
cylinder has vertical slots or openings. The pictures as they move are seen
through the slots and the animated effect is thereby obtained. The movement of
the pictures and slotted cylinder may be effected by mechanism such as that here-
inbefore described or by other means such for instance as clockwork.
111
1
190

page_text: Means or Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated
or Changing Pictures on Advertising and like Appliances Carried
on the Person.
I, WILLIAM FRIESE-GREENE, of 39, King's Road, Chelsea, in the County of
London, Photographer, 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 has reference to producing and exhibiting animated or changing
pictures on appliances carried on the person and its chief object is to adapt kine-
toscopic apparatus to the purpose of advertising upon such appliances. The
appliances may, for example, take the form of a translucent hat or the like carried
on the head or of a translucent screen carried by a frame which is supported upon
and above the shoulders in a similar manner to advertising boards.
The invention chiefly consists in the combination of a transparent or translucent
screen, means for attaching it to the person, a film or sheet bearing a series of
successive pictures preferably such as are adapted to produce what are generally
called animated pictures, means whereby the said film or sheet is caused to travel
opposite the screen so that the pictures are thrown upon or exhibited through it,
and a lighting or illuminating device for lighting up the pictures and the screen.
In the accompanying drawings:
:-
Figure 1 is a front elevation with the hat body in section of an apparatus con-
structed according to my invention in the form of a hat or device adapted to be
worn on the head, the screen being of cylindrical form.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 represents a man wearing the apparatus.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of an apparatus constructed according to my inven-
tion and adapted to be supported upon and above the shoulders, the screen in this
case being of rectangular form.
Figure 5 is a rear elevation of the appparatus shown in Figure 4.
Figure 6 represents a man with the apparatus shown in Figures 4 and 5 attached
to him.
Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, a represents a hat body, b its crown and c its
brim. The body a is made of a suitable transparent or translucent material such
for example as celluloid and constitutes the screen upon which the pictures are
thrown or through which they can be seen; the crown band brim e may be made
of the same material or of any other suitable material opaque or not. d represents
a ribbon or band around the body a just above the brim but the employment of
this ribbon is optional. e is a cylindrical sheet or film or translucent material
bearing a series of pictures arranged around it in the same horizontal plane. f is
a cylinder of opaque or translucent material concentric with the cylindrical sheet e
and situated between it and the hat body a. The cylinder f is formed with a
series of slots or openings g. In the centre of the hat body a is a lighting up
device of any suitable kind but preferably an electric glow lamp has shown
connected up by wires ii with a small battery k which as seen in Figure 3 may
be conveniently carried in the coat pocket. The cylindrical sheet e and the
slotted cylinder f rotate in opposite directions and as they do so the pictures are
successively exhibited through the slots g and through the transparent hat body a.
As the slots g are all round the cylinder f the onlookers, no matter on what side of
the hat they are, can see the pictures. These pictures may constitute an advertise-
ment and other permanent advertisements may appear upon the hat body a above

page_text: the upper line of the cylinder f. The cylindrical sheet e, the cylinder f and the
means whereby these devices are caused to rotate constitute together a kinetoscopic
apparatus. The rotary motions of the cylindrical sheet e and cylinder f can be
given in any suitable manner such as for instance as by clockwork. The preferred
means for this purpose are however shown in the drawings and are as follows:-
In the lower part of the hat body a is a frame / secured to the hat body a at
intervals by small brackets and screws at 11 and having at its centre a bearing
for the lower end of a vertical rod m to the upper part of which is fixed a frame n
which carries the cylindrical sheet e. Upon the rod m is a tube or sleeve p to
which is fixed a frame 7 which carries the cylinder f. Upon the rod m is a friction
disc and upon the tube p is another friction disc s. Between these two discs and
in contact with them both is a friction wheel t. This wheel is carried by a
horizontal rod u working in bearings r supported by the frame 7. The rod u
extends through a sleeve w to the outside of the hat hody a and carries a pulley r.
A driving cord y is carried from this pulley to another pulley Figure 3 having
its bearing in a bar z at the man's side. The bar z extends up through an aperture
in the hat brim c and is fixed to the sleeve : the cord y also passes through an
aperture in the hat brim. The pulley has a handle ¹ to enable the man to
turn it. It will be readily understood that as the pulley a¹ is rotated the rotary
motion is transmitted to the pulley x, rod u and friction wheel and that this wheel
rotates the discs r and s together with the cylindrical sheet e and cylinder f in
opposite directions respectively. In some cases I dispense with the cylinder f and
make openings such as q in the fixed hat body which in this case should be
opaque; the pictures on the sheet e will then as this sheet rotates be seen through
the openings; the hat body in short takes the place of the cylinder f, but is
stationary.
Referring now to Figures 4, 5 and 6, a¹ is the screen made of translucent
material, celluloid for example; it is carried at the front part of a framing A at
the back part of which is a box B containing a kinetoscopic or cinematographic
apparatus; this apparatus is not shown; it may be of any ordinary construction
such as is used for exhibiting so-called animated pictures. The box B will be
illuminated internally by an electric glow lamp or otherwise; when an electric
glow lamp is employed for the purpose the necessary battery may be placed within
the box B or in any other suitable position. The usual lens within the box B
will be so disposed as to throw the ever changing image upon the screen a¹ as
indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4. The framing A is carried by supports
CC so constructed as to rest upon the shoulders of a man as seen in Figure 6 and
to be secured to his body. On the end of the first motion shaft u of the kinetoscopic
apparatus in the box B (which apparatus comprises the endless film of pictures) is
mounted a pulley r from which a cord y is carried to another pulley having its
bearings in one of the supports C. The pulley r¹ has a handle to enable the man
to turn it. As this pulley is turned the rotary motion is transmitted to the pulley r
and first motion shaft u; consequently the kinetoscopic apparatus within the box B
is operated and the pictures are projected upon a screen a¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In apparatus for producing and exhibiting animated or changing pictures on
advertising and like appliances carried by the person, the combination of a trans-
lucent screen, means for attaching said screen to the person, a sheet hearing a series
of succcessive pictures, means operated preferably by the person to whom the screen
is attached causing said sheet to travel opposite said screen, whereby said pictures
are successively thrown upon it or exhibited through it and a device for lighting
up the pictures and the screen, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination of a cylindrical picture-bearing sheet, means for imparting

page_text: Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated or Changing Pictures.
rotation thereto on a vertical axis, a lighting device inside said cylindrical sheet
and a cylinder concentric with said sheet having equidistant openings around
same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. A hat having a body of translucent material in combination with a cylindrical
picture-bearing sheet within said body, a cylinder concentric with said cylindrical
picture-bearing sheet situated between same and said hat body and having equi
distant openings around same, a lighting device in said hat body and means opera-
ted preferably by the person wearing said hat body simultaneously imparting
rotation in reverse directions respectively to said picture-bearing sheet and said
cylinder substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The apparatus constructed and working substantially as herein before descrit.ed
and represented in Figures, 1, 2 and 3 for the purpose set forth.
5. The apparatus constructed and working substantially as hereinhetore de-
scribed and represented in Figures 4, 5 and 6 for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 9th day of September 1898.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, ('hartered Patent Agents.