Improvements in Means for Mounting and Actuating Revolving Tablets for Advertising and other Purposes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 14th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 10th Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Mounting and Actuating Revolving
Tablets for Advertising and other Purposes.
We FREDERICK JOHN BEAUMONT of 37 Stockwell Park Crescent, Brixton,
Surrey Electrical Engineer, jointly with THE REVOLVING ADVERTISER COY.
LIMITED of 9 & 10 Railway Approach London Bridge do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to mechanism for causing tablets to be successively displayed
and withdrawn from view.
1 first provide a drum or cylinder on which to hinge the tablets to be exposed.
The said drum may consist of two end plates or discs having holes near their
circumference or notches on the circumference for the hinge pins of the said tablets
to rest in. These discs are mounted on an axis and fixed at the required distance
apart.
I also provide a suitable frame to afford bearings & support for the above drum
so that the latter can revolve freely.
At one end of the drum, and rigidly attached thereto, is a lantern or ratchet
wheel, a lever pivoted at or near the centre of the drum and a suitable pawl to
engage the teeth of the ratchet and to move the drum round when the said lever is
moved in one direction. A stop pawl fixed to the frame of the machine engages
the teeth of the ratchet and thus prevents the return of the drum. The lantern
may be formed by a prolongation of the hinge pins of the tablets and a third disc
may be added where necessary to give additional support.
Other devices may be employed to cause the drum to rotate such as a rack &
pinion or the ratchet may be dispensed with and a plain disc substituted, in which
case the lever is provided with a clutch to act on the disc and move it in one
direction. In order to easily remove the tablets from the drum I arrange that the
holes in one disc do not penetrate the disc entirely and the other disc is provided
with a removeable cap so that the wires can be withdrawn on removing this cap, or
there may be a cap at both ends of the drum.
Where the discs are provided with teeth on their circumference I surround these
discs with a cap or band to keep the hinge pins in place. One of these caps or
bands I either make removeable or provide it with a notch which on being turned
to the required point, allows the hinge pin to be removed.
When the drum is placed horizontally and caused to rotate, the tablets reach a
point at which they overbalance & fall forward, and in order to retain them in the
proper position for a suitable time, I provide a stop or finger, attached to the
frame, which supports them till they reach the required points. Where it is
required to expose four tablets at once or place the drum in a vertical position I
provide each tablet with one or more springs which are compressed as the tablet
approaches the finger and on the tablet being released move it a sufficient distance
to expose it to view.
I may also expose more than four tablets, and in this case I provide a retaining
arm for each pair exposed. In order to prevent the drum moving more than the
required distance at each stroke of the lever I attach to the latter a projecting arm
the end of which is inserted between two adjacent hinge pins as the lever is raised
and thus the drum cannot turn more than the required distance. Other devices
may also be employed to effect the above object, as for example, an escapement
having two arms attached to the lever, one arm of which is withdrawn from between
the hinge pins and the other inserted as the lever moves up, or a piece may be

page_text: hinged to the frame of the machine so as to drop between the hinge pins and
prevent the drum turning until it is raised, by a suitable projection on the lever, a
sufficient distance to allow the drum to be moved the required distance and then
the said stop falls back into its former position and prevents the onward motion of
the lever acting on the drum.
Where it is required to expose only one tablet at a time I provide a moveable
'shutter which can be moved over one or other of the tablets as required so as to
cover them and thus expose only one side of the tablets.
This may also be accomplished by surrounding the drum by a hollow cylinder
having segmental openings and covered spaces of equal size arranged alternately
around its circumference. This cylinder is mounted on the axis of the drum, and
so arranged that as long as it is required to expose one side of the tablets the
opening in the cylinder remains in a position to allow that side to be seen, but when
the drum reaches a certain point, the hollow cylinder is moved round a sufficient
distance to cover the tablet which was before exposed and expose the other side of
the adjacent one. This is effected by having on the hollow cylinder a number of
projecting pins and on the axis an arm furnished with a spring which engages with
these projecting pins so as to move the cylinder round if it is free to move and if
not to slip on to the next pin. This hollow cylinder is locked by a spring catch
fixed to the frame of the machine and a cam on the inside drum unlocks this catch
when the required point is reached and allows the above mentioned arm to act upon
the hollow cylinder. This machine can be worked by air gas or water or other
suitable fluid and in this case I provide a bag, bellows or cylinder and piston to act
on the above mentioned lever whenever the fluid is forced into them and thus cause
the drum to rotate. The pressure is obtained by a suitable compressor, as for
example a bag bellows or cylinder & piston above mentioned, being acted upon
with sufficient force, and this second bag or bellows may be compressed by the
opening of a door, the lever of a brake or any other suitable means.
Several machines may be joined to one compressor and worked simultaneously..
I also provide an inlet valve and a safety valve where necessary.
Other means than those above described may be employed for rotating the drum
such for example as clockwork.
In cases where it is desirable to set the tablet drum to a certain point before
starting the machine I make the locking gear detachable where necessary and also
provide means for easily turning the drum.
Dated this 15th day of March 1893.
FREDERICK JOHN BEAUMONT.
Directors of The
LIONEL MADDISON, Revolving Advertiser Coy.
JOHN KENT,
DE MULTICATIA
Improvements in Means for Mounting and Actuating Revolving
Tablets for Advertising and other Purposes.
I FREDERICK JOHN BEAUMONT of 37 Stockwell Park Crescent Brixton
Surrey Electrical Engineer and THE REVOLVING ADVERTISER COY. whose
registered office is situated at 52 Leadenhall Street in the City of London late of
9 & 10 Railway Approach London Bridge 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 mechanism for causing tablets to be successively displayed.
and withdrawn from view.
My said invention relates to machines of the kind described in my previous
Specification No. 14183 of 1892 in which tablets hinged to a drum or central axis

page_text: are successively exposed to view by the rotation of the said axis and although it is
obvious my invention is applicable to machines of a similar kind I will describe my
invention with reference to the machine described in the sd. Specification No. 14183
of 1892.
In place of the ratchet wheel described in the above mentioned Specification I
may employ a lantern wheel, and the said lantern may be formed by a prolongation
of the hinge pins of the tablets. A third disc may be added where necessary to
give additional support.
Figs. 1 and 2 show the method of carrying out this part of my invention. A' is
one of the supports in which the bearing of the axis a is placed. B is the end of
the drum and b are the hinge pins. H is a cylinder containing the bag or piston by
which the machine is worked and H' is the piston rod or plunger. An arm F is
pivoted to H' so as to be capable of moving freely up and down without moving
laterally. F is suitably notched at its extremity to engage with the hinge pins b.
When H' is raised it is clear that F will engage with one of the hinge pins b and
move the drum round a certain distance and when H' falls F will glide over the
hinge pins and come into position for another upward movement.
Other devices may be employed to cause the drum to rotate such as a rack and
pinion or the ratchet may be dispensed with and a plain disc substituted in which
case the lever is provided with a clutch to act on the disc and move it in one
direction.
The latter arrangement is shown in Figs. 3 & 4. A' is the support and a the axle
as above mentioned. The disc or end plate B is allowed to project beyond the
hinge pins b, and the lever E which is pivoted on the axis a is provided with a small
projecting hinge piece 3. The clutch 2 is also provided with corresponding hinge
pieces and is secured to the lever E by the hinge pin 1. On the lever E being
raised the clutch 2 will become inclined until its edges press against the disc B and
turn it round, and on the lever E being lowered again, the clutch will glide freely
over the surface of the disc B. A stop pawl 4 attached to the support A pivoted
at 5 and shaped at its extremity to the shape of B prevents B being moved back by
the return of the lever.
Where the discs are provided with teeth on their circumference I surround
these discs with a cap or band to keep the hinge pins in place. One of these caps
or bands I either make removeable or provide it with a notch which on being
turned to the required point, allows the hinge pin to be removed.
Figs. 5 and 6 show this method of removal. B is the end disc having notches f
round its circumference in which the hinge pins & rest. The cap c having a notch c¹
on its circumference is secured to the end plate B by screws g or other suitable
Thus on releasing the cap c the notch c¹ can be turned to the hinge pin to
be removed and the tablet hinged thereon changed without disturbing the remaining
tablet.
means.
In order to prevent the drum moving more than the required distance at each
stroke of the lever I attach to the latter a projecting arm the end of which is
inserted between two adjacent hinge pins as the lever is raised and thus the drum
cannot turn more than the required distance. Other devices may also be employed
to effect the above object, as for example an escapement having two arms attached
to the lever, one arm of which is withdrawn from between the hinge pins and the
other inserted as the lever moves up or a suitable piece may be hinged to the frame
of the machine so as to drop between the hinge pins and prevent the drum turning
until the said piece is raised by a suitable projection on the lever sufficiently to
allow the drum to turn the required distance. The said piece is then allowed to
drop into its former position and arrest the movement of the drum.
Figs. 12 and 7 shew the method of carrying this part of my invention into
practice.
In Fig. 7 I attach an escapement T to the piston rod H' (as I find this preferable
to attaching it to the lever) by means of a set screw T¹ or other suitable device.
When the piston is raised the upper arm of the said escapement will be

page_text: withdrawn and the lower arm inserted thus preventing the drum moving more
than the required distance. In some cases use only the lower arm of the
escapement T.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a piece R is hinged to the frame A² at R¹ and the piston rod H
has attached to it an arm S having at its extremity a pawl S¹. When the rod H¹
is raised the pawl S¹ lifts R sufficiently to allow the drum to move the required
distance and S¹ then becomes free of Ŕ which falls into its former position between
two hinge pins and prevents further movement of the drum.
Where it is desired to set the drum to a certain position before starting the
machine, I either remove the locking gear entirely or provide the arrangement
shown in Fig. 2. In this case R is prolonged beyond the frame and a piece R³ is
pivoted to R at R. The axle a is prolonged through the bearing in A² and
provided with an end 6 shaped to fit a key 7. R' is allowed to hang down beyond 6
and is bent so as to correspond with the inclined end of the key 7. Thus when the
key is inserted R is raised and the drum is free to turn.
Although I have described in my Provisional Specification means of covering
one of the exposed tablets I do not claim them as part of my said invention.
Several of the above mentioned machines may be joined to one compressor and
worked simultaneously.
It is obvious that gas or other fluids may be employed to work the above
described machine.
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 :-
1st. The combination of a machine worked by compressed air or otherwise
having a rotating drum and tablets with a pawl and lantern wheel substantially as
and for the purpose specified.
2nd. The combination of a machine having a rotating drum and tablets with
locking gear for checking the movement of the said drum substantially as and for
the purpose specified.
3rd. The combination of a machine having a rotating drum, tablets and locking
gear with means for unlocking the said gear substantially as described in Fig. 2 of
the accompanying drawings.
4th. The improved apparatus consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings and
operating, as and for the purposes above specified.
14th December 1893
FREDERICK JOHN BEAUMONT.
For THE REVOLVING ADVERTISER COY.,
JOHN KENT,
LIONEL MADDISON, } Directors.