Improvements in Advertising on Hoardings and the like, and in Means or Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 24th 'Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 17th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Advertising on Hoardings and the like, and in
Means or Apparatus therefor.
I, ALGERNON MOSES MARSDEN, of 82 Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington,
in the County of London, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in advertising on hoardings, and the like,
and in means or apparatus therefor, and it has for its object to enable the advertise-
ments or announcements to be effectively displayed on such surfaces, both by day
and by night, and, at the same time, to allow of a number of different advertisements
being brought to view successively, thereby rendering them not only more likely
to attract the eye by reason of their constant change, but also economising the
space on such hoardings, as the same space will sorve again and again for a number
of various advertisements.
To this end, I provide or fit behind the hoarding, or the like, any suitable
number of cusings containing any desired number of bands or lengths of appropriate
material, on which are printed, painted, or otherwise applied, the advertisements or
announcements to be exhibited, and these bands or lengths are carried by rollers
adapted to be revolved by suitable mechanism (electrical or otherwise) so as to
impart to such bands or lengths a to and fro movement which may be either
continuous or intermittent.
The bands or lengths may be passed through slits in the hoarding so as to travel
over the front thereof, and said bands or lengths may be protected from the weather
by glass, or other transparent material.
In some cases, spaces or openings may be provided in the hoarding, or the like,
in front of the apparatus, and be fitted with a glass or other transparent front, thus
obviating the necessity of passing the bands or lengths of material over the front
of the hoarding, or the like.
The bands or lengths may be made of a diaphanous material, so that when
illuminated from behind, the advertisements or announcements will be rendered
conspicuous at night.
T
2004

page_text: Improvements in Advertising on Hoardings and the like, and in
Means or Apparatus therefor.
1, ALGERNON MOSES MARSDEN, of 82, Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington,.
in the County of London, Gentleman, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings and to the letters and figurce marked thereon, that is
to say :-
My invention relates to improvements in advertising on hoardings, and the like, and
in means or apparatus therefor, and it has for its object to enable the advertisements
or announcements to be effectively displayed thereon, both by day and by night,
and, at the same time, to allow of a number of different advertisements being
brought to view successively, thereby rendering them not only more likely to
attract the eye by reason of their constant change, but also economising the space
on such hoardings or the like, as the same space will serve again and again for a
number of different advertisements.
To this end, I provide or fit behind the hoarding, or the like, any suitable
number of casings containing any desired number of bands or lengths of appropriate
material, on which are printed painted, or otherwise applied, the advertisements or
announcements to be exhibited, and these bands are carried by rollers adapted to
be revolved by suitable mechanism (electrical or otherwise), so 'as to impart to
such bands a to and fro movement which may be either intermittent or continuous.
The bands may be passed through slits in the hoarding, or the like, so as to
travel over the fiont thereof, and may be protected from the weather by glass
or other transparent material.
In some cases. spaces or openings may be provided 'in the hoarding, or the
like, in front of the apparatus, and be fitted with a glass or other transparent
front, thus obviating the necessity, of passing the bands over the front of the
hoarding, or the like.
The bands may be made of a diaphanous material, so that, when illuminated
from behind, the advertisements or announcements will be rendered conspicuous
at night.
And in order that my invention may be readily understood, I will proceed to
describe the same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Fig. 1 shows, in front view, a part of a hoarding with apparatus for advertising
according to my invention, applied thereto, a portion of the hoarding being broken
away to show the interior arrangements of the apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a front view showing the external appearance of the hoarding with the
band for the advertisements passing outside the same.
Fig. 3 is a section of the hoarding showing the apparatus in side view.
Fig. 4 is a detail view, to a larger scale, showing a reversing device I find it
advantageous to employ for working the band to and fro, and
Fig. 5 shows, separately, a cam for use in connection with this reversing device.
A is the hoarding, and B is the casing arranged behind it to contain the operating
mechanism. a is the band of material bearing the advertisements, and which, in the
example shown, passes through slits a* in the hoarding and travels over the outer
face thereof. It is arranged to pass over rollers a', a³, mounted on the hoarding,
and through trumpet mouths a³, a, also secured to such hoarding, and serving as
guides for it. d, d', are a pair of drums of equal diameter upon which the band is
wound. One of the drums, for instance d', is provided, after the manner of a spring
barrel, with a tension spring d² to keep the said band constantly tight and allow for

page_text: the variations in the effective diameters of the two drums owing to the alternate
winding and unwinding of the band. The drums are driven synchronously from a
vertical shaft e, by bevel gear e', e, and this shaft derives its motion from a main
shaft through the medium of suitable reversing gear in the following manner :-
The shaft is rotated continuously by an electro motor C (or other independent
motor) communicating motion thereto by any suitable means, such as by a chain-
wheel and friction clutch, the latter being so adjusted as to slip and allow the
shaft to remain at rest, should the resi-tance become sufficiently great. This shaft f,
drives by means of a worm f³, a spring barrel g (or toothel wheels) which in turn
communicates motion, in an increasing ratio, to a pinion whose axle is in
alignment with the shaft e, and in a diminishing ratio to a wheel i, the ratios being
such, for example, that while the spring barrel g (or wheels) makes 10 revolutions,
the pinion makes 50, and the wheel makes 1, and consequently each revolution
of this latter wheel corresponds to 50 of the pinion. Above the spring barrel is
mounted a rocking arm j, pivotted at j and having at one end a pin engaging in
a cam k.
This cam k is mounted on the axle of the wheel i and is forined (as shown
more clearly in Fig. 5) with a pair of parallel grooves connected by cross ways as
at so that the rocking arm is kept stationary during the greater part of each
revolution of the cam, but is raised, or lowered, as the case may be, as soon as its
pin enters the part of the cam.
At its other extremity, the rocking arm i has a pin 1ª engaging in a groove in the
sliding part or sleeve of a clutch reversing device shown more clearly in Fig. 4
by which motion is transmitted between the axle and the shaft e. The sleeve l
is aanged to engage one or other of a pair of clutches formed upon pinions m, m',
the former of which is fast on the extremity of the shaft e, while the latter is loose
on the axle, and these pinions are in common engagement with an intermediate
pinion m². It will thus be apparent that if the sleeve is in its upper position, and
in engagement with the clutch on the pinion m, the shaft e will be driven direct
from the axle h¹, whereas if the sleeve is in its lower position, the said shaft will
receive a motion the opposite of the axle.
From what has just been described, it will be seen that the direction of movement
transmitted from the shaft to the shaft e will be reversed every time the latter
shaft has made 50 revolutions, or any other desired number for which the motion-
work may be arranged. It will also be seen that, by reason of the interposition
of the friction clutch f, the chain wheel f, or other driving arrangement, can go
on rotating continuously without fear of injuring the mechanism.
A.t
The automatic escapement arrangement which I find it convenient to use for
controlling the step by step movement, comprises arms or stops n arranged in pairs
on shafts mounted in bearings n. At the ends of each shaft are secured
arms n³, connected by rods n³ working on pins a carried by the arms n³.
intervals along the band a, between the different advertisements, are arranged
horizontal bars a' whose ends project beyond the edges of the band. The arms or
stops n are situated at each side of the band a in proximity thereto, so that they
can engage with the ends of the bars as and arrest the movement of the band.
They are operated by a clock movement arranged in a casing o, and serving to
rotate a three-throw cam o' which actuates a pivotted lever p. This cam works in
a loop or stirrup p¹ on the lever and is mounted on an arbor or spindle carrying a
The other end of
pinion in gear with any suitable wheel of the clock movement.
the lever is forked, and engages with the pin nt of one of the arms n³. The clock
inovement is so adjusted that the lever p, and consequently the arms or stops »,
are caused to rock and to disengage the band a at predetermined intervals, say
once every ten seconds, thereby shifting the different advertisements in regular
succession.
The arrangement of the arms n is such, that only the upper or the lower pairs are
in the engaging position at one time, and their outer extremities are hooked or bent.
over so as to engage the ends of the bars a³, no matter in which direction the ban·l
may be travelling. When the shafts n' carrying the arms a, are operated by the

page_text: clock movement through the lever p, that pair of arms which was in engagement
with one of the horizontal bars a³ is disengaged, and the band immediately travels
sufficiently far to carry the bars past the said arms.
On the shafts n¹ returning to their former position, the movement of the band
continues until the succeeding bar comes against the end of the same pair of
aims n. This however takes very little time, and the change of the advertisements
appears to a passer-by to be practically instautaneous.
Instead of employing two pairs of arins or stops n, with connected parts, I may,
in some cases, employ only one pair.
The clock movement for operating the escapement, may be provided, or
connected, with a dial and hands arranged outside the hoarding to indicate the
time to passers-by.
In some cases, however, the clock movement may be dispensed with, and the
escapement may be operated by a finger, or other suitable device on, or connected
with, some convenient moving part of the motor.
When applying the apparatus to a wall, I prefer to place it on the front thereof,
and the slits may be formed in the front cover of the casing; or the latter may be
provided with a glazed opening.
It is obvious that instead of the band (or bands) being arranged to travel to and
fro, it may be an endless one, and travel intermittently always in the same direction,
in which case the reversing device would be dispensed with.
Although I have described and shown one set of means or apparatus for
application to a hoarding, or wall, I may employ any suitable number thereof, and
these may be so arranged that they may all be driven by one motor.
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. Advertising on hoardings, or the like, by applying thereto mechanism or
apparatus so constructed and arranged that a travelling band (or bands) bearing
advertisements, is caused to pass over the face of the hoarding, or the like, or to
exhibit the advertisements at an opening (or openings) therein, and to successively
display such advertisements, the same space thus serving for a number of different
advertisements, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with a hoarding, or the like, of means or apparatus for
advertising purposes, in which one or more bands or lengths of material bearing
advertisements is, or are, arranged to travel to and fro over drums with a step by
step or intermittent movement, and to display the advertisements successively at
predetermined intervals, substantially as described.
3. Means or apparatus for advertising purposes, comprising a casing adapted to
be fixed on a hoarding, or the like, and having mounted therein rollers or drums
over which a band (or bands) bearing the advertisements is caused to travel;
a device or mechanism for actuating the drums; an escapement arrangement for
controlling the movement of the band (or bands); and a clock movement for
actuating the said escapement and permitting the shifting of the advertisements
at regular intervals, the power for actuating the band, or bands, being derived
from any suitable motor and communicated through suitable means substantially as
described.
4. In means or apparatus for advertising purposes, as herein before claimed, the
arrangement and combination of parts constituting the mechanism for effecting
the step by step or intermittent movement of the advertisements, and for controlling
the same, substantially as described.
5. In means or apparatus for advertising purposes, as hereinbefore claimed, the
use of a reversing device comprising a clutch whose sliding portion or sleeve (7) is
controlled by a rocking arm (j) operated by a cam (k) driven by the same set of
gearing as the said sliding portion or sleeve, substantially as described with
reference to the drawings.

page_text: 6. In means or apparatus for advertising purposes, as herein before claimed, the
use of an automatic escapement arrangement, comprising arms or stops (n), having
hooked or bent over extremities and disposed in pairs on a shaft, or shafts, (n'),
the said escapement being operated by a clock movement to cause the said arms
or stops to engage bars (a) on the advertisement band (or bands) and to thus
arrest the movement of such band (or bands) for the required time, substantially
as described with reference to the drawings.
7. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the means or
apparatus for advertising on hoardings, walls, or the like, substantially as herein-
before described and shown with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated th18 17th day of Augus
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 5A, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.