Improvements in Portable Photographic Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1896-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1896.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Portable Photographic Apparatus.
I, EDMOND BLOCH, of 1 Avenue de la Republique, Paris, in the Republic of
France, 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 :-
The present invention has for its object to produce portable photographic
apparatus for taking simple or stereoscopic photographs, which is constructed in
the form of an opera glass or small telescope, and sighted by looking through the
eye pieces in the ordinary way. The apparatus is distinguished from those already
in use by the fact that contrary to similar articles, it is not only constructed in the
form of an opera glass or small telescope but further is placed before the eye of
the operator, absolutely in the same manner as though the latter wished to regard
some object with a distance-reducing apparatus. That is to say, to operate, the
parts called in the ordinary opera glass the eye-lenses, are placed towards the eyes
of the operator and the simulated object-glasses are at the opposite end, the real
photographic object-glasses being at the side (see Fig. 7A which is a diagrammatic
view of the opera glass). By this method of construction, the special use of the
apparatus is not apparent, as is the case with similar apparatus as heretofore made
and used which must be held in the contrary manner, that is to say, with the
ordinary object glasses presented towards the object to be photographed.
With the latter class of apparatus the character of the photographic apparatus
cannot be dissembled, and moreover it is necessary to direct it straight before one,
towards the object to be taken which is in any case, rather indiscreet.
My apparatus as stated above is carried exactly as an opera glass or small
telescope, and in order to further remove any suspicion of its real character,
I have placed the object glasses on one of the sides in such a manner that the
operator appears to be regarding an object altogether different to that which he
wishes to take. With this object the sight glass is placed on the same side as
the object glasses and reflects the image in the eye-lens.
When not in use, the object glasses are completely hidden by the shutter, the
apparatus thus at a short distance, gives no external sign of being a photographic
apparatus.
The placing of the object glasses on the side, being given the form of opera
glasses or small telescopes, permits of the obtainment of simple or stereoscopic
results at the will of the operator.
In order to make the arrangement of my apparatus well understood, I have
illustrated two examples in the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a plan of my apparatus made in the form of an opera glass and shown
in the extended position for taking the photograph;
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the eye-piece end;
Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the object-glasses;
Fig. 4 is an enlarged end view, showing the dark-chamber, part of. the shutter
and one of its counterpoises, and the plate magazine with its drawout pocket.
Figs. 5 and 5A show enlarged end and front views of the mechanism for
disengaging the shutter C.
Fig. 6 is a front view of the shutter C.
Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the plate magazine and its withdrawal
Docket.

page_text: Fig. is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus.
Fig. 8 is a plan of my apparatus made in the form of a small telescope; Fig. 9
is an end elevation of same;
Fig. 10 is a cross section of the object-glass chamber which serves as the plate
magazine; and
Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the object glass chamber showing the spring for
returning the outside shutter.
As shown by Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 74 the apparatus made in the form of an ordinary
opera glass can be regulated by hand, by means of the milled nut a and the
screw a¹, one barrel only of the opera glasses that on the left side in the drawing
is intended to operate by means of a sight-apparatus formed by a lens 6 closing the
eye-piece, a ground glass c, an oblique mirror d and a small object or sight glass e
which gives to the visual ray an angle of 90° with reference to the axis of the
barrel of the opera glasses; the lens b arranged in the eye-piece has for object the
enlargement on the ground glass of the image received from the small objective or
sight glass e.
The two heads of the opera glasses are fixed by ordinary means in an envelope A
closed at its other extremity but furnished notwithstanding with two rings g and
two black glasses to give the illusion of a real opera glass.
In the envelope A and in front of the orifices therein (Fig. 1) are arranged
the two object glasses B (Fig. 4) which have between them and the envelope
sufficient space to allow the shutter C to describe its course in a partly circular
manner. This shutter consists of an arc-shaped metallic plate in which are
arranged two orifices corresponding with the orifices h in the envelope, and
above and below is a stop-hole or notch r in which catches the corresponding
hook-nose of a lever pivotted at i, when the shutter arrives at the end of its
course.
As will be easily understood, the shutter C is always ready for action or
engaged with one or other of these hooks; after each impression it is therefore
necessary to extend the spring D more or less by means of the handle E which is
stopped at one or other of the projecting knobs j according to the length of
exposure required. Thus for example on referring to Fig. 1 the handle is seen
arranged for a very small exposure, for longer exposures the handle is stopped
against one or other of the knobs j' which has the effect of extending the spring D
less and accordingly to give less speed to the shutter.
The tension of the spring D by the handle E is obtained by the intervention of
two bevelled cog wheels F F 1 (see Fig. 5); the wheel F' is fast on an axle in
which is fixed one end of the spring D the other end of said spring being engaged
in a piece o formed on or secured to the shutter in such a position as to be able to
give either an upward or downward impulse thereto. The spring D being in the
extended position as shown in Fig. 5, to obtain an impression it is sufficient to press
one of the knobs H, H', left uncovered by the handle E. The pressure exercised
by the knob H will have the effect of causing the lower hook i (Fig. 5) to oscillate
on its pivot by the medium of its rod H 2, and consequently to bring about the
disengagement of said hook from the shutter thus leaving the spring D and the
counterpoises D' (shown in Fig. 4) free to carry the shutter C to the upper
hook i. In this case and to reset the shutter, the handle E is brought back
towards the knob H uncovering H' on which the pressure must now be exercised to
again disengage it.
The knob H' being pressed causes a double lever (see Fig. 5A) to oscillate
which by the intervention of a hooked rod causes the upper hook i to oscillate in
the desired direction and to catch on the shutter C. The lower hook i is
continually brought into its hooking position by a helical spring 12 fixed at one
end to said lower book and at its opposite end to the rod mentioned above (see
Figs. 5 and 54).
The counterpoises D' are intended to equilibrise the shutter so as to obtain an
equal upward and downward course for the same.

page_text: The plate magazine (Figs. 4 and 7) is formed of a parallelopiped box X one end
of which is closed by a door with a bolt m and having at the other end two
openings n and n' admitting into the pliant or flexible withdrawal pocket X
secured to the box X. The opening n forms a passage for the negative, which
latter is extracted from the magazine by means of a ring m' fixed to a small plate
arranged in a groove and bearing at its other end a projection m 2 for the purpose
of withdrawing the said plate. The plate thus withdrawn from the magazine enters
the pliant pocket X' and after describing a small are re-enters the magazine through
the opening n behind the unused plates.
All the plates, to the number of 12, are continually forced toward the object glasses
by a curved spring Y provided for that purpose. Finally a thirteenth plate of metal
or other opaque material which will prevent the rays from penetrating into the
magazine is exposed after all the plates have been successively used, thus allowing
the magazine to be introduced in the apparatus in full light; as soon as the
12 negatives are taken the metallic plate comes next and closes the magazine thus
allowing of the removal of the same in full light.
The eyepiece of the right barrel is occupied by some kind of counting or recording
apparatus which, acted upon by each negative taken, shows plainly the number of
plates used. The pressure screw u only serves to keep the plate magazine X in
its place and against the dark chamber.
With the apparatus as above described, to obtain a simple photograph one of the
orifices h of the envelope A must be closed with the hand, whilst for stereoscopic
views they are both left open.
Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 show the same principle applied to a telescope constructed
of two telescopic tubes I, J of which the tube I carries the eyepiece and the sight
glass K' which are fixed in a tube I' of smaller diameter than I.
The tube in which the object glasses K, L are situated, is surrounded by a
tube M which serves as a shutter a rotatory movement being given to it by means
of a spiral spring N.
The shutter is pierced with two orifices as in the first described apparatus and
the spring which works it is secured to it at one end, its other end being fixed
to the barrels of a ratchet wheel O which can revolve at will round a fixed axle u
connecting the tube I' with the tube 1; by this arrangement the shutter can be
made ready for use by turning it in the contrary direction to the apparatus, and
stopping it by means of a suitable arrangement either spring or balance v as shown
as an example in Fig. 11. The tube l' as well as the cap P carries at its end
a circular plate Ron which is fixed a stop pawl p the free end of which is
engaged in one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel O; this ratchet wheel which
forms a toothed rack is intended to regulate the course and at the same time
the rotary speed of the shutter tube M and consequently the length of the
exposure.
In the first arrangement (described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7), the space left
by the dark chamber and the mechanism in the envelope A, and in the form
described with reference to Figs. 8 to 11, the space left in the tube I, serves to hold
the plate magazine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what
I claim is;
1. A portable photographic apparatus constructed in the form of an opera glass
or telescope and adapted for taking stereoscopic or simple images as desired, having
a sight glass and object glasses arranged at right angles to the eye lens, so that an
object may be sighted and photographed by directing the opera glass or telescope
at a right angle thereto substantially as described and illustrated by way of example
in the accompanying drawings.
2. In portable photographic apparatus of the kind indicated herein, the combi-
nation of the body of an opera glass or telescope with two object glasses placed on

page_text: the side, a sight glass on the same side projecting a view of the image in the
lenticular eyepiece by a mirror placed at a convenient angle, a shutter continually
in position for a new exposure without the necessity of being brought back
after each impression worked, in the opera glass form, by a plate forming a spring
extended at one side or the other by a small handle, and in the telescope form,
by an outside cylinder always ready for action in the same direction and worked
by a spiral spring, in both cases the moving of the shutter being more or less rapid
according to the greater or lesser tension of the spring; the second barrel of
the opera glass being if required provided with counting or recording apparatus
showing the number of plates used, all arranged so as to operate substantially in
the manner and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 1st day of October 1896.
F. W. GOLBY,
36 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agent for the Applicant.