An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Producing Artistic Pantomimic Displays in Roofed Buildings or Erections, such as Theatres, Circuses, and the like.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 19th Nov., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Producing Artistic
Pantomimic Displays in Roofed Buildings or Erections, such as
Theatres, Circuses, and the like.
I, CARL GEORG RODECK, of the firm of Rodeck & Matthew, of Hamburg, in
the Empire of Germany, Engineer and Captain of the Military Balloonists, 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 a method for giving hovering movements to objects and
characters in any desired position in space, and for consealing the same in this
position by clouds of any desired density, colour and motion, for the purpose of
obtaining pantomimic representations of the most varied kind in the interior of
exhibition rooms which are roofed in.
In order to cause solid objects to traverse a space with a hovering movement there
have hitherto been employed wires or wire ropes passing transversely across the
space, and guided at two points in its extent to winding drums or rollers; the wire
or wire rope being unwound from one winding drum or roller and wound up on the
other. It was certainly possible to lower or raise the hovering object within the
direction of the transversely stretched wire or portion of wire rope, more or less,
but it was neither possible to cause a single hovering object to hover in the desired
position in space, nor to move several objects at will near one another, above one
another, over one another, or to give a crooked direction of travel to any object at
all. Clonds have also heretofore been produced and illuminated in a closed space,
but the idea of giving any desired form or motion to the clouds obtained was utterly
out of the question, whilst the new process allows of a cloud of any desired density
being sent after an object in its passage at any point in its path, or to keep it
constantly enclosed in a cloud of any desired density, and so to a certain extent
allows of veracious representations of stories of apparitions which descend to earth
in a cloud or are taken up by a cloud, or of stories in which a character is supposed
to emit rays from within a cloud in supernatural splendour. In order to cause a
flying solid object to take up any desired position in space, and to cause it to ascend
and descend during its movement of flight at will, as a flying bird does, there is no
other means than the attachment of it to a travelling raising mechanism to the
drawing or winding cable or chain of which it is suspended, and in order that this
travelling lifting arrangement may be made to move towards any position in space
and shall at the same time always carry the flying object below it, its travelling
wheels must run on a hanging track which is provided with many crossing curves.
By this method the rails of the track may either be hung up free to the roof or
secured to a suspended floor which has slits along the rails of the track or between
the same, through which the drawing or winding cable or chain of the lifting
mechanism can hang down into the space situated beneath the track in which the
exhibition takes place.
Through this fissure which runs to the track itself the suspended floor is divided
into numerous parts which have no sort of connection with each other. These
parts must therefore be fastened very rigidly, so that during the movement of the
travelling lifting mechanism they may undergo no vibrations such as to involve
danger.
As regards the production of the required movement of vapour or clouds in the
manner above referred to, two systems of tubes with numerous outlet nozzles or tubes

page_text: r
arranged in groups and directed towards the required places are required and each
nozzle must be capable of being opened and closed independently. Of these two
systems of tubes just mentioned, one has to carry the cloud producing substance
(such as steam at low pressure, or atomized water at high pressure) into the
exhibition space, whilst the other tube system is the inlet and conductor of the
pressure or suction of a blast engine.
It is to be understood that the blast engine, must be constructed in such a manner
that, according to requirement, it can either suck through or out of the system of
tubes or press air into the same. In this way alone it is possible to produce clouds
of any desired density. Beyond this however it is necessary that the nozzles of the
tube system for wind and also of the other system of tubes (which conveys the cloud
producing medium) should be directed in such ways, that it is possible to bring them
in action towards any given position in space.
In the accompanying drawings,
..
Figure 1 is a sectional view of a building illustrating my improved method of
producing artistic pantomimic displays:.
Figures 2, 3, 4, 4ª, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 8 are views of parts of the apparatus:
In Figure 1, A and B are two flying objects (a flying angel and an air balloon);
a, a the two lifting mechanisms belonging thereto and travelling upon the hovering
floor b, c is the tube system which supplies the cloud forming medium at the
required spot c', cl, el are the nozzles of this system of tubes; d, d the tube
system which supplies the air drawn in, or compressed air, and which is connected
at D with a blower. The nozzles of this system of tubes are indicated by ". As
regards the details of construction of the novelties above mentioned, it must be
stated, with reference to the hovering floor b, shewn in Figures 1 and 7, that the
construction of the same is most appropriately effected by means of suitable rods
suspending it from the roof of the chamber, with or without struts, in such a way
that every lateral strain of the members of the floor in a direction from its edges
outward must meet with a corresponding resistance to curvature on the part of the
suspensory mechanism, in order to exclude the, possibility. of dangerous oscillations.
The tracks which overlie the slits in the floor, are provided with switches
revolving as easily as possible, so that they may be reversed from the lifting
mechanism without interruption of the travel.
The travel of the lifting mechanism must not only take place without interruption,
but this travel must also be as far as possible under the control of the same person
who moves the flying object attached to the lifting mechanism up and down during
its flight. It is also necessary that this person should travel upon the travelling
frame of the lifting mechanism and not push it forward from behind. In order,
likewise, that the passage may be rapidly effected it is best to do it by means of
pedal crank mechanism such as is used for the wheels of bicycles, tricycles and, the
like and for service trolleys on railways.
The drawing up and letting down of the flying object may be effected by means
of any desired mechanism, which is mounted firmly upon a travelling framework.
If the raising or lowering is to be done through a considerable height a winding
drum is most suitable for the purpose. This drum may be so coupled up to the.
pedal gear of the travelling frame that during the passage its fore part may be
wound up or let down without hand labour, or that the winding drum may be
prevented from revolving by the corresponding arrangement of a hand lever for
this purpose.
.
It is also a good plan to partially neutralize the weight of the flying object by a
counterpoise or by a spring which is thrown into a state. of tension automatically
during the descent of the flying object in order to lessen the load in raising it
again.
Finally the possibility of reversing the switches of the track for the travelling
lifting mechanism from the latter involves the necessity of applying to the frame of
it an apparatus which in action renders this reversal of the switches more easy.
example of a travelling lifting mechanism with an arrangement for winding up,
An

page_text: very suitable for the production of the movements of flight, is shewn in elevation in
Figures 8 and 8^.
....
It is provided with a pedal crank mechanism & such as is employed for tread
wheels. The axle of the same is connected by means of spur wheels n, o to the
back axle m of the driving wheels of the travelling frame, so that these are made to
revolve.
In addition to this the axle m is provided with a sleeve p having two conical.
toothed wheels t₁ and to and by means of this sleeve pone or the other of the two
wheels t, and to can be brought into gear with the conical toothed wheel t, by the
aid of the shifting lever . The conical toothed wheel t, is firmly connected with
the conical toothed wheel t, and the latter is always in gear with the conical
toothed wheel t, which is keyed tight on the spindle wo Upon this spindle w, the
winding drum wis tightly fixed, and upon it is wound the rope s to which the flying
object is to be suspended.
Upon the same spindle w, as the winding drum w and firmly connected to the
latter, is the drum w, which is connected with the drum w, by a rope s.. If this
rope s is wound on to the drum¸w, it is wound off the drum
The drum w, is loose upon its axle r, but is connected with the latter by a spiral
spring inasmuch as one end of this spring is connected to the axle r and the other
end of it to the cylindrical casing of the drum wą.
The rope s is wound upon the two drums w₁ and w, in such a direction that the
spring is stretched when the rope s is wound off the fore side of the drum w, that
is to say, when the flying object is sinking.
According as the conical toothed wheel 1,, or the conical toothed wheel t, has
been put in gear with the conical toothed wheel t, the charged ropes becomes.
wound on to the drum e (drawing up the flying object) or becomes wound off this
drum (lowering the flying object).
If the lever is set in the middle. position as shewn in the drawing, neither of the
conical toothed wheels t₁, to is put in gear with the conical toothed wheel t, the
winding drum w must be prevented from revolving since it would otherwise be turned
by the weight of the flying object which would sink. In order to prevent the
winding drum to from revolving, a brake disc w, is made in one piece with the
winding drum 2022 and round this, brake disc placed a steel ribbon which can be
tightened by the hand lever 7, to prevent by its friction the brake disc from
revolving. The weight of the flying object can then of course give rise to no
movement in the rotation of the winding drum w because the rope s₁ is thereby
pulled.
At
In addition to this there is a lever h, which can be operated from the seat T of
the operator to turn upon a vertical pin, in a horizontal direction, whilst this
support u, is itself movable in a vertical direction on a horizontal pin so that the
lever can be made to turn in a vertical direction as well as a horizontal one.
its lower end the lever / has a fork ', by which the operator can grasp the switches,
and a counterpoise " near the driver's seat. The lever can by means of this
arrangement be easily employed to reverse the switches.
The use of the travelling hoist is clear from the foregoing description without
further explanation. The operator sitting upon the scat T moves the pedal crank
work with his feet, and so effects, according to the position of the lever
g the
lowering or raising of the fore rope and, if the brake band is stretched tightly on
the brake disc w, by means of the lever, and the lever is in its middle position
the flying object has neither a raising nor a lowering motion imparted to it.
q
In Figure 2 an electrically driven blower is shewn; this forms no part of the
substance of the invention and requires no further explanation, being already known.
Such a blower may be made to revolve in either one or the other direction so that
it can either draw air out of the tube system d or compress air into it.
The nozzles d of the tube system d, d' can, as shewn in Figure 3, be closed by
revolving covers (valves) and be pressed upon their seatings by springs fl so that
they are not automatically opened by the air driven into the tube system d, d'. In.

page_text: order to raise the covers these have lifting cords & attached to them, guided over
pulleys y (Figure 1) to a desired position in the building from which place a man
can open the nozzles as desired or required.
Instead of valve covers as just described, Figure 3 shews a method of closure by
a plug st. This plug st is usually kept pressed into its seating by a spiral
spring, and is raised from the seating by means of a cranked lever, suspended to a
cord.
The nozzles of the tube system e may be provided with closing covers similar to
those described for the system d, d, but the method of pressing them upon their
seats by a spring is not necessary if steam at low pressure be used as the cloud
forming medium (see Figure 4).
If water under pressure be employed as the cloud forming medium the plug
stoppers st of the nozzles c¹ may also be employed as a shock resistance for atomizing
the water. If the plugs are in this case to open automatically a cranked lever is
not essential, as shewn in Figure 4 on the left; where a flat spring f" is shewn as
effecting the counter pressure.
'
The openings of the nozzles may also be opened and closed in a constantly
alternating manner, if there be any necessity for it. For this purpose it is only
necessary to make the covers of iron and to arrange an electro-magnet E (Figure 4")
over them, one end of the coil of the magnet being connected with the iron cover.
If the cover be then insulated (say by means of india-rubber) from the nozzle cl
when it is opened, but so that the circuit is closed when the latter is shut, the return
conductor of the electro-magnet which leads back to the generator C may be
connected up directly to the nozzles. An automatic contact-breaking magnet is
thus obtained in a simple way, and it acts by raising the cover, thus breaking the
circuit, whereupon the cover falls, and so on.
If steam at low pressure be employed as the cloud forming agent it is necessary
to heat the tube system c, c' before forming the-clouds. For this purpose a coil c
of tube may be arranged, and placed in the water space of the steam boiler,
Figure 5. Before the steam valve e, is opened this coil at its highest point is
brought into connection with the tube system c, c¹ (by the opening of a cock c, or
similar cut-off arrangement) the coil c, is also connected at its lower point with the
condensed water pipe of the tube system when the latter is cut off from the
water outlet pipe c, and the pipe c connected to a branch c, of the coil of tube.
For this purpose a three way cock c. may be used. The cold air then sinks
through towards the coil of tube co whilst heated air from the upper end of
the latter enters into the tube system c, c'. In order to illuminate the cloud when
formed, at one place (as for instance at the spot at which it surrounds the flying
object which is enveloped in it) brightly, and at another place more dimly, it is
best to use an electric light projector which may be turned from the same point
from which the lifting of the nozzles d, d¹¹¹, c', c of the two systems of tubes is
effected, as may be required.
A very simple arrangement of such a projector is shewn in Figures 1, 6 and 6^.
The projectors H (Figure 1) consist in this case of a concave reflector within which
an electric incandescent lamp is placed. The concave reflector is fixed to a column
or other suitable support in such a manner that it can be turned. Upon its axle is
placed a crank which is counteracted by any suitably placed spring, and is operated
by the tension of a rope which passes over guide pulleys 1, 2, Figure 1.
This rope
is conducted to the place from which the covers of the nozzles of the two tube
systems c, c and d, above referred to may be lifted, and here the rope may be
fixed to an adjusting crank which by means of a simple arrangement of catches of
the usual kind can be fastened to a firmly mounted bearing with slots 3, 3, 3.
A separate adjusting lever is of course required for each projector.
On the right hand in Figure 1, is shewn in addition a screen dise which can be
rotated in front of the projector H by means of crank gear. Such screen dises
may be made of coloured glass and have then the effect of tinting the light of the
projector....

page_text: 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. The herein described method of producing artistic pantomimic displays in
roofed buildings, or erections by effecting any desired movements of flight,
characterized by the employment of lifting mechanism mounted upon travelling
wheels and running upon a freely suspended track which crosses and intersects
itself, there being attached to the drawing or winding rope or chain of the lifting
mechanism the flying object which is to be raised and lowered by means of the
lifting mechanism during the travel of the latter, substantially as set forth.
2. The herein described method of producing artistic pantomimic displays in
roofed buildings or erections by effecting any desired movements of flight,
characterized by the employment of lifting mechanism which is mounted upon
travelling wheels and travels upon a track intersecting itself, fastened upon a freely
suspended floor divided by clefts into several pieces in no wise dependent upon one
another, through which clefts passes the rope or chain of the lifting mechanism
carrying the flying object which during the passage of the said lifting mechanism.
may be raised and lowered by means of the latter, substantially as set forth.
3. In the methods described in Claims 1 and 2 the employment of lifting
mechanism mounted upon travelling wheels, which mechanism can be caused to:
travel by a pedal and crank worked by a man, and at the same time be caused to
wind and unwind, in order to raise and lower the flying object suspended from them.
during their travel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. In the methods described in Claims 1 and 2 the employment of lifting
mechanism mounted upon travelling wheels on the frame of which a lever (see h
Figure 8) is so mounted that during the travel of the lifting mechanism it can be
used to change the position of the switches of the track, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
5. In the methods described in Claims 1 and 2 the employment of lifting
mechanisms mounted upon travelling wheels, which are provided with a tension
arrangement acting in opposition to the effect of the weight of the flying object
suspended to the rope or chain (like for instance the spring in the drum Wy in:
Figure 8) for the purpose of facilitating the raising of the flying object.
6. The herein described method of giving any desired position and density and
movements of flight in any desired direction to vaporous masses in covered spaces by
means of the arrangement of two tube systems (c, and d, d¹) each of which is
provided with nozzles capable of being opened and closed independently from a
given point in the space and of being directed so that groups of them can be caused
to give a desired effect against a particular place in the space to which one of the
systems (c, c) furnishes the cloud forming medium (steam or water under pressure.
atomized by being caused to play upon a resisting substance) and the other
system d, supplies the exhaust or pressure draught of air, which is brought about
by a blast engine, all substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and for the
purpose set forth.
7. In the method described in Claim 6 for producing movements of flight in
vaporous masses in covered spaces the employment of an apparatus for previously
warming the system of tubes which carries the cloud forming material in the shape
of steam of low pressure, characterized by a coil of tube (see c, in Figure 5) lying
in the water space of the steam generator which can be so connected to the tube
system above referred to that cold air flows out of this tube system at its lower end
whilst it is supplying hotter air to the same tube system at the upper part.
8. In the method described in Claim, for producing movements of flight in
vaporous masses in covered spaces, the illumination of these vaporous masses, which
adopt any desired position, density, or direction, by means of a projector which
gives off electric or any other light, and which projector is moved and adjusted at
pleasure from the same spot, by means of a rope passing over guide rollers (as.

page_text: shewn for instance in Figure for the projector H) from which spot the nozzles of
the two systems of tubes described in Claim 6 can be opened and closed again
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 8th day of September 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.