Improvements in Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated Photographs.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Apr., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 28th July, 1898-Accepted, 23rd Dec., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated
Photographs.
I, LAURITS VILHELM PACHT, of 3, Gamle Kongevej, Copenhagen, Denmark,
Director of Scandinavisk Panoptikon, a limited company at Copenhagen, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
A principal object of this invention is to do away with or greatly diminish the
vibrations or dithering" observable in the exhibition of the so called animated
photographs. For this purpose I construct the apparatus for producing them
and the apparatus for exhibiting them on the following general lines. The feed-
ing on of the film is produced by two feed rollers with smooth surfaces, these
rollers being connected by tooth wheel gearing and rotated from the hand wheel
by suitable wheel gear transmission. The feed of the film passing between them
is intermittently stopped or interrupted by the intermittent interruption of the
jamming action of the two rollers upon the film. For this purpose I prefer to
mount the bearings of the lower roller in a forked-lever. having its fulcrum at one
end, the other end being adapted to be raised mechanically or by preference
electrically at the required intervals. I prefer to fix the fork ends of the lever
to the armature of an electromagnet. The film is provided with equidistant
holes (in fact the apparatus is adaptable to the already known variously perforated
films). The film on its way down from the coil passes between a metal door
hinged below, and a metal plate in front of the door. Upon the plate is provided
a very light steel lever provided with a peg adapted to pass into the hole in the
film. The aforesaid door is held up against the film by a spring. The other end
of the lever has a peg which can make contact with the plate. This lever is
reciprocated by suitable connection with the driving gear. The plate is in an
electric circuit including the electromagnet. The consequence of this arrange-
ment is that when the circuit is broken and the point of the lever enters a hole
in the film, the feed rollers are kept from each other, so that the film is stationary,
and when the circuit is closed the lower roller is pressed up and the film is fed
forward.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Producing and Exhibiting Animated
Photographs.
I, LAURITS VILHELM PACHT, of 3, Gamle Kongevej, Copenhagen, Denmark,
Director of Skandinavisk Panoptikon, a limited company at Copenhagen, do
Price d

page_text: 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 follow-
ing statement:-
65
A principal object of this invention is to do away with or greatly diminish the
vibrations or ditliering "observable in the exhibition of the so called animated
photographs. For this purpose I construct the apparatus for producing them
and the apparatus for exhibiting them on the following general lines.
The feeding on of the film is produced by two feed rollers with smooth surfaces,
these rollers being connected by tooth wheel gearing one of them being rotated
by any suitable means. The feed of the film passing between the rollers is
intermittently stopped or interrupted by the intermittent interruption of the
jamming action of the two rollers upon the film. For this purpose I make one
roller by preference the lower one of the two movable, and mount its bearings in
a forked lever having its fulcrum at one end, the other end being adapted to be
raised mechanically or by preference electrically at the required intervals, the
lever being fixed to or forming the armature of an electromagnet.
The film is provided with equidistant holes, in fact the apparatus is adaptable
to the already known variously perforated films. The film on its way down from
the coil passes in front of a metal plate or frame. Upon the latter is mounted
a very light steel lever provided with a pointed peg or pegs adapted to pass into
the hole or holes in the film. The other end of the lever has a peg or button
which can make contact with a part that is in an electrical circuit including the
electromagnet. This lever is reciprocated by suitable connection with the
driving gear.
The consequence of this arrangement is that when the circuit is broken and
the points of the lever enter holes in the film, the feed rollers are kept from
each other, so that the film is stationary, and when the circuit is closed the lower
roller is pressed up and the film is fed along.
A suitable construction of apparatus is shewn on the accompanying sheet of
drawings.
Fig. 1 is a side view partly in section of the mechanism.
Fig. 2 is a front view.
'
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line x-y on Fig. 1.
For the sake of clearness the drawings only shew the feeding devices while all
the rest of the apparatus is omitted.
A is the film having the usual holes a near each edge. B is a plate or frame
upon which are mounted the various working parts. C is a drum or feed roller
with two flanges, the flange on the right in Fig. 2 is provided with a spur
wheel C which gears with a much smaller pinion c¹ on one of the flanges of a
small drum or feed roller c, the gudgeons of which work in a forked lever or
one having two arms D D which are united in front and behind by the cross
pieces E and E¹ respectively. The film A passes between the feed rollers C
and c.
The front piece E constitutes the armature of an electromagnet with
two bobbins QQ the rear piece E' is hinged to a bracket fixed to the plate or
frame B see Fig. 1 and rests upon a screw F which serves to regulate and limit
as required the distance between the armature E and the electromagnet Q Q.
The toothwheels C care by preference in gear whether the electro armature is in
the attracted or the off position.
:
In the upper part of the plate B is placed a spindle G which is constantly
rotated for instance by the disc H fixed thereon. The spindle G also carries
the shutter I. On the face of the disc H there is a cam K having a slight eleva-
tion and which when rotating pushes back the hook L. The latter is fixed on
the upper cross member of a stirrup shaped lever M that is hinged to the plate B
and by the weak springs M¹ M¹ constantly pushed against the cam disc H, K
see Figs. 1 and 2; in the latter figure the springs are partly cut away for the

page_text: sake of clearness. The lever M carries between the two vertical members the
horizontal U shaped very light steel lever N, see Figs. 1 and 3. This lever is
mounted in pivots so that it can oscillate; its two extremities n are pointed; its
transverse member is provided with a contact button or peg corresponding with
an analogous contact button O placed just under it on a bracket insulated from
the plate B and connected by a conducting wire with the wire coils of the electro-
magnet QQ. The spring P presses the lever N against the contact piece 0.
The plate B is cut open at T for the film A to pass through. The electro-
magnet QQ is connected with an electric battery or other source of electricity.
The feed mechanism operates in the following manner. When the electric
circuit is closed (the spring P closing the contact o upon the contact 0) the
armature E is attracted, the roller c is raised and nips the film A against the
roller C the film will then be pulled downwards. But the moment a pair of
holes a in the film A pass the points n n of the lever N, these points will enter
the holes in question under the very gentle pressure of the springs M'. The
upper edges of the holes in coming upon the points n n will swing round the
lever N, and this latter in pushing back the spring P swings in such a manner
that the contact will be broken at 0; the circuit will therefore be broken. Simul-
taneously the electro magnet Q Q lets go the armature E, the lever I goes down,
and the roller e drops away from the roller C (the wheels C¹¹ still by preference
remaining in gear); the film stops; this is the position shown in Fig. 1.
The effect is therefore that, the feeding of the film ceases (though the rollers Co
may continue to rotate) in the same moment that this film is sensibly arrested by
the points n n of the lever N.
But the spindle G continues to rotate, and at the next turn the cam K pushes
back the hook L and the lever M; the points n n of the lever N then leave the
holes à a of the film A; the spring P again swings round the lever N and thus
closes the circuit at the contact 0. The same feeding action of the film is then
commenced afresh.
By varying the relative speeds of the parts C and G it is easy to stop more or
less often or for a shorter or longer time the forward movement of the film. This
feeding mechanism may therefore be applied to existing films which are made with
various numbers of holes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A mechanism for intermittently feeding the film in apparatus for producing
and exhibiting animated photographis characterized by points n made to enter and
leave intermittently the holes in the film and by two feed rollers such as C and c
one on each side of the film which are made to intermittently approach to each
other for feeding the film while the points are free of the holes in the film
and to recede from each other while the points n are in the holes and thus hold
the film substantially as set forth.
2. A mechanism for the purposes stated consisting of points on a lever Na
spring P, a stirrup M carrying the lever N springs M¹, and a rotating cam
disc HK for operating the stirrup, a feed roller C and a feed roller c both con-
tinuously rotated a lever armature D carrying the feed roller c an electromagnet
in an electric circuit and contacts O, o, all so arranged that when the cam pushes
back the stirrup M, the points n leave the holes a in the film, the spring P presses
the contact o on the lever N against the contact O, the circuit is closed, the
armature attracted and the feed rollers nip and feed the film until the points n
come to, and by the action of the springs M are made to enter the next holes a a,
the film while still descending then tips the lever N, whereby the circuit is
broken, the armature let go, the roller c drops and the film stops and is held by
the points n until the cam causes them again to be drawn out of the holes a and

page_text: the spring P forms the contact again at O, and so on, substantially as
set forth.
3. The construction of mechanism shown on the drawings