Improvement in Advertising Apparatus.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1897-Accepted 26th Mar., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Advertising Apparatus.
FREDERIC
We, WILLARD HERBERT GILMAN, of No. 31, State Street, and
LEAVITT MILLIKEN, of No. 53, State Street, both of Boston, in the County of
Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentlemen, 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 has for its object to provide a simple and effective apparatus
for successively displaying symbols in accordance with a predetermined programme,
the symbols being, for example, the letters of the alphabet displayed in such order
that they spell out a word or series of words. The invention consists in an advertis-
ing apparatus comprising a series of incandescent électric lamps, a corresponding
series of branch circuits, each including one of the lamps, casings enclosing said
lamps and provided with light-outlets representing letters or other symbols, a sheet
or strip having provisions for automatically breaking and closing said circuits in
accordance with a predetermined programme, and means for moving said sheet.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,-
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a portion of the interior of a street-car
provided with our improved advertising apparatus.
Figure 2 represents a side elevation, showing the principal parts of the apparatus.
Figure 3 represents a diagrammatic view, showing one of the incandescent
lamps and the branch circuit in which it is included.
Figure 4 represents a view of a portion of the perforated sheet or strip which
automatically breaks and closes the branch circuits.
C
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In the drawings,-
a a represent a series of incandescent electric lamps, which are arranged in a
group in any suitable order, each lamp being enclosed in a cell or casing b which
has a light-outlet in the form of a symbol such as a letter of the alphabet. We
prefer to employ a series of lamps corresponding in number to the number. of
letters in the alphabet, so that any word or series of words can be spelled out by
illuminating the lamps successively in suitable order. The light-openings of the
cells b may be formed by applying to a sheet or plate c of glass which extends
across the outer ends of the cells b, an opaque coating of paint or other suitable
material, said coating being interrupted to form a passage for light, of the form of
the desired symbol. In Figure 2, the opaque .coating is represented at.c¹. The
glass plate or covering c is enclosed in a frame.d, and is preferably provided on its
outer surface with a translucent .coating composed of suitable coloring matter,
such as oil paint disposed to form a picture or other design, the coating & being of
such nature that when one of the lamps a is illuminated, the light issuing from
the corresponding light-opening will shine through the coating ³, and will show
clearly through said coating the form of the light-opening. It will be seen, there-
fore, that by forming the translucent coating of a number of colors, the whole
may be disposed to form a landscape or other design, the lamp-covering c and its
frame d presenting the appearance of a picture by day, while in the night, when

page_text: the lamps are illuminated, the translucent coating gives a variegated effect to
the illuminated letters or symbols displayed through it.
The filament of each lamp a is included in a branch circuit which may include a
wire 2 connected with one end of the filament, a wire 3 connected with the other
end of the filament, a terminal 4 connected with the wire 2, and a terminal 5 con-
nected with the wire 3. As here shown, the terminal 4 is an elongated roll or
cylinder which is connected with the wires 2 of all the branch circuits, while the
terminal 5 is a narrow resilient strip connected with only one of the wires 3, there
being therefore as many terminals 5 as there are lamps a. The terminals 5 are
adapted to normally make contact with the terminal 4, thus closing the branch
circuits, the terminal 4 being permanently connected with the circuit, which receives
electricity from a suitable source of supply.
e represents a sheet or strip of insulating material, preferably flexible, such as
paper, which is interposed between the terminal and the series of terminals 5,
and serves to prevent electric contact between said terminals, excepting when
perforations e¹ formed in the sheet coincide with the free ends of the terminals 5,
thus allowing said free ends to make contact with the terminal 4. The sheet e is
preferably made in the form of an endless band passing around the cylinder which
constitutes the terminal 4, and around another cylinder 6. The perforations in
the sheet e are formed so that only one branch circuit can be closed at a time, the
arrangement of the perforations being such that as the sheet e is moved progressively
between the terminals 4 and 5, the lamps intended to be operated will be illuminated
successively and in such order as to spell a word or series of words, as will be under-
stood by reference to Figure 4, where an arrangement of perforations designed to
display the word "America" is shown.
The sheet e may be moved progressively by any suitable means.
We have here
shown an electric motor f the armature-shaft of which is connected by a belt
with the shaft of the terminal or cylinder 4. h represents a pressure roll supported
by resilient arms h¹ and arranged to press the sheet e against the cylinder 4 at a
point in advance of the terminals 5.
From the foregoing it will be seen that when the sheet e is moved progressively
it will automatically break and close the several branch circuits connected with
the terminals 5 that are allowed to make contact with the terminal 4 by the per-
forations in the sheet, so that spectators watching the frame d and the matter
enclosed thereby will see symbols or letters appearing and disappearing successively
and spelling out the word or series of words for which the sheet e has been per-
forated. The frame d may be placed in any suitable location, and is shown in
Figure 1 as placed in one end of a street-car, the sheet e and the mechanism with
which it co-operates being placed below one of the seats of the car.
The apparatus may be arranged to show a rectangular or other predetermined
block or area of light to mark the spaces between words; and to this end one or
more of the cells or casings b may have its entire outer end open, instead of being
provided with a light-opening formed as a symbol or letter. In Figure 1, we show
two such openings i i. The lamps behind these openings are or may be connected
with terminals 5 at one end of the row, these terminals being permitted to make
contact with the terminal 4 by special perforations which are arranged to close
one of the branch circuits after each word has been spelled.
We do not limit ourselves to the mechanical construction here shown, and the
same may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.
The sheet or strip e, instead of having perforations, may have any other suitable
provisions for breaking and closing the lamp-circuits, such for example, as teeth
or projections.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. An apparatus of the character specified, comprising a series of incandescent.

page_text: electric lamps, a corresponding series of branch circuits, each including one of the
lamps, casings enclosing said lamps and provided with light-outlets representing
letters or other symbols, a sheet or strip having provisions for automatically break-
ing and closing said circuits in accordance with a predetermined programme, and
means for moving said sheet.
2. An apparatus of the character specified, comprising a series of incandescent
electric lamps, a corresponding series of branch circuits, each including one of the
lamps, and each having separable terminals which are normally in contact with
each other, a perforated sheet or strip of insulating material interposed between
said terminals, and means for moving said sheet, the perforations in the sheet per-
mitting contact between the terminals and the closing of the circuits through the
lamps in accordance with the arrangement of the perforations.
3. An apparatus of the character specified, comprising a series of incandescent
electric lamps, a corresponding series of branch circuits, each including one of the
lamps, an elongated terminal included in all the circuits, a series of individual
terminals, each included in one of the circuits and adapted to normally make con-
tact with the elongated terminal, a perforated sheet or strip of insulating material
interposed between the elongated terminal and the series of individual terminals,
and means for moving said sheet, the perforations in the sheet permitting contact
between the individual terminals and the elongated terminal, and the closing of
the circuits through the lamps in accordance with the arrangement of the
perforations.
4. An apparatus of the character specified, comprising a series or group of electric
lamps, a series of branch circuits including said lamps, a series of cells or casings
enclosing the lamps and each provided at its outer end with a light-emitting outlet,
the outlets of the different cells differing in design, a frame enclosing the series
of outlets, and automatic means for breaking and closing said circuits.
5. An apparatus of the character specified, comprising a series or group of
electric lamps, a series of branch circuits including said lamps, a series of cells or
casings enclosing the lamps and each provided at its outer end with a light-emitting
outlet, the outlets of the different cells differing in design, a frame enclosing the
series of outlets, a translucent covering extending across said. outlets and enclosed
by the frame, and automatic means for breaking and closing said circuits.
6. An apparatus of the character specified, comprising a series of incandescent
electric lamps, casings therefor having light-outlets representing letters of the
alphabet, an additional lamp and a casing therefor having a light-outlet differing
in shape from the other light-outlets and adapted to serve as a space-indicator, a
series of branch circuits including said lamps, a sheet or strip having provisions
for closing the circuit through any desired number of the lamps having letter-
shaped light-outlets, and additional provisions for closing the circuit through the
lamp having the space-indicating light-outlet, and means for moving said strip.
Dated this Ofth dox of August 1897
WILLARD HERBERT GILMAN.
FREDERIC LEAVITT MILLIKEN.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.