Improvements in and relating to Magic Lanterns and to the Manipulation of the same.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 30th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 25th Mar., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Magic Lanterns and to the
Manipulation of the same.
I, HENRY SIMPSON of 10 Crooked Lane, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Lamp Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to lanterns used for projecting magnified images of slides
on a screen to illustrate lectures and the like.
The object of my invention is to provide means for successively placing in position
in the lantern front a number of slides which have been arranged in proper order,
to operate the dissolving view apparatus and to regulate the illumination, each of
the three operations being performed automatically by the one act of the operator.
According to my invention, such apparatus is constructed as follows:-
I provide a box large enough to hold the desired number of slides, say about one
hundred, and place the box above the lens and lantern front; the box holds the
slides in a single row, one behind the other, and a spring at the end of the box
remote from the condenser of the lantern, presses the row of slides towards the
condenser. The end of the box just over the condenser is provided with three
rollers whose axes are in a vertical plane parallel to the condenser, and the front
slide of the row is pressed against these three rollers by the spring, so that when
they are caused to rotate in one direction the front slide is fed down and is received
in a suitable carrier which locates it in position in front of the condenser. When
the slide has been shown, the carrier is caused to rock so that it no longer supports
the slide which falls on a suitably disposed travelling band at the bottom of a shoot
which guides the slide laterally until it is delivered into a box with a movable
bottom supported by a spring so adjusted that, as each slide is delivered into the
box, the bottom recedes by the necessary amount to accommodate the succeeding
slide.
The dissolving view apparatus consists of two overlapping shutters of ground
glass or the like, one hinged from above and the other from below, and which
preferably work in the space between the objective and the condenser. The
spindles which form the upper and lower hinges of these shutters are coupled
together by levers and a connecting rod so that the one is operated by the other.
I provide a pivoted lever the short end of which works between two arms attached
to the lower hinge spindle and so arranged that as the longer end of the lever
(which lies in the direction of the rear of the lantern) is depressed, the shutters are
closed, and when this end is raised the shutters are opened; the shutters are
provided with a balance weight which enables the lever to operate them between
extreme positions.
The long arm of the lever is attached by a cord to one of the three rollers first
mentioned, and these three rollers are geared together by elastic bands and the
lower one is also geared through a ratchet and pawl to the roller which drives the
lower set of travelling bands on which the slides are received when they leave
the carrier. One or more of the rollers thus geared together is provided with a
coiled spring which turns the rollers so as to coil on the cord attached to the lever
and lift the latter to its top position. When the lever is depressed the unwinding
of the cord rotates the rollers so that they tend to lift the slide pressed against them,
but the lifting is prevented by a suitable stop and the slide is thus prevented from
dropping; this direction of rotation would also drive the lower travelling bands in
the wrong direction but for the intervention of the ratchet and pawl which renders
this direction of rotation inoperative for working the travelling bands. As the long

page_text: arm of the lever descends, it operates a catch which rocks the carrier and allows
the slide already in to drop on to the travelling bands; the lever also, as it descends,
operates a toothed wheel which by suitable gearing operates the lime of the lime
light in the lantern and so ensures its being properly regulated.
It will be seen from what has been said that as the lever is raised the rollers will
now feed the slide down into the carrier and the lever will then open the dissolver
and at the same time operate the travelling bands which will convey the last slide
shown into the box with the movable bottom.
In using the apparatus, the slides, are arranged in proper order in the upper box,
and the lime light is properly adjusted in the first instance. Supposing the first
slide to be in place in the rocking carrier, the lever being up, the dissolver will be
open and the slide exhibited on the screen. When it is desired to change the slide
the arm is depressed, the dissolver is closed, the carrier is rocked and the slide
ejected, and the lime adjusted, the next slide being prevented from dropping; on i
the lever being raised the next slide is fed into the carrier which is now ready to 1
receive it, and the dissolver then opened, the used slide being in the meantime
removed to the containing box, each of these three operations being therefore
performed automatically by depressing and raising the lever.
Dated this 90th day of April 1892.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Magic Lanterns and to the
Manipulation of the same.
•
I, HENRY SIMPSON, of 10 Crooked Lane, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster,
Lamp Manufacturer, 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 :—
This invention relates to lanterns used for projecting magnified images of slides
on a screen to illustrate lectures and the like. The object of the invention is to
provide means for successively placing in position in the lantern front a number of
slides which have been arranged in proper order, to operate the dissolving view
apparatus and to regulate the illumination, each of the three operations being
performed automatically by the one act of the operator.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. I. shows my invention with the various parts in normal position, that is
with the dissolver open and a slide in position for projection on the screen;
Figs. II. and III. show the movable parts at the opposite end of their motion
to that shown in Fig. I.; in this position the dissolver is closed and the slide last
exhibited is being ejected from the slide carrier ready for the entry of the
succeeding slide; Fig. II. is an outside view and Fig. III. is a medial vertical
section;
Fig. IV. is a partial section on the line A. A. of Fig. I. and shows a detail.
Throughout the drawings the same parts are indicated by the same reference
figures.
1 is the body of the lantern which may be conveniently fixed to the top of the
box 2 by the metallic clips 3 and the screws 4; the box 2, in which the lantern is
packed when not in use, serves also to support the deep vertical box 5 which
receives the slides after they have passed through the lantern.
6 is a box very slightly wider and somewhat deeper than the slides, and
sufficiently long to accommodate the number required for an exhibition,-say
about one hundred; the sides and bottom are preferably lined with glass 53 NO

page_text: as to offer as little friction as possible. For convenience of carriage, the box 6
is detachably secured to the lantern by being fitted to slide longitudinally into
a groove on top of the bracket 7 and to he locked therein by the removable pin 8.
The slides 9 are placed in the box 6, as shown in Fig. III., in a single row,
one behind the other, arranged in proper order and are pressed toward the
right hand end of the box, which is open, by the sliding block 10 actuated by
the light spring 11 which is sufficiently powerful to overcome the friction between
the slides and the box. The bottom of the box 6 ends at the point 12 so that the
front slide, unless otherwise prevented, can descend into the slide carrier 13.
14, 15 and 16 are rollers mounted to rotate on their respective fixed pivots, and
geared together by the elastic endless bands 17; these bands are preferably in
triplicate, that is to say one near each side of the slides and one at the centre and
the lower roller 16 is operated in one direction by the lever 18 through the agency
of the cord 19 which is wrapped round the pulley 20, and in the reverse direction
by a spring coiled within the spring casing 21.
The slide carrier 13 is an open bottomless frame and is pivoted at the near side
on the short spindle 22 carried in the fixed bearing 23 (see Fig. IV.); at the far
side it is pivoted on a corresponding pin. Under the influence of the spring 24
the slide carrier stands vertical as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1., abutting
against the stop 25 (Fig. III.), and it is operated by the crank 26 which is
secured to the spindle 22 and has an overhung pin 27 adapted to engage with the
lever 18 when the latter approaches the end of its stroke, as shown in Fig. II.,
which causes the slide carrier to rock through a small angle (see Fig. III.).
The lever 18 is fulcrummed on the outside of the bearing 23 (Fig. IV.) and
may be operated directly by hand or by means of a rod or cord but I prefer to
employ a pneumatic cylinder 28 pivoted at 29, the air under pressure being led
to the cylinder through the rubber tube 54 from a suitable syringe operated by
the hand or foot.
The dissolving apparatus consists of a pair of screens 55, 56 of ground glass or
other translucent material, plain or coloured, pivoted respectively at 30 and 31.
32 is a three-armed lever secured to the spindle 31, and 33 is a two-armed
lever secured to the spindle 30. The arms 34 and 35 are linked together by the
rod 36 so that if either dissolving screen be operated, the other moves in unison
with it. The lever 32 is operated by the anti-friction roller 37 on the end of the
lever 18 which roller engages with the pin 38 as it approaches the bottom of its
stroke and engages with the pin 39 shortly after the commencement of its up
stroke. The movements of the dissolving screens are completed by the balance
weight 40 which also serves to retain the screens in their extreme positions until
moved by the lever 18.
41 is an endless band a little wider than the slides and running over the
pulleys 42 and 43. This band is operated from the spindle 44 by the endless
belt 45 which gears over the pulley 42', and carries away the slides after they
have left the slide carrier 13, and deposits them in the box 5.
The action of the parts described is as follows
-
Matters being as in Fig. I., there will be a slide in the carrier 13 resting upon
the fixed crossbar 46 and the dissolver will be open so that the picture may be
projected on the screen; the succeeding slide has also partially descended and is
resting with its lower edge upon the top edge of the one in the carrier.
Upon operating the syringe, the piston rod of the pneumatic cylinder 28 will
begin its out stroke, and the roller 37 will almost immediately encounter the pin 39
and close the dissolvers; in the meantime, by the unwinding of the cord 19, the
rollers 14, 15 and 16 rotate clockwise and the rubber bands 17, against which the
slide 9' next to that in the carrier, is pressed by the spring 11, will raise the said
slide 9¹ until it is arrested by the hinged stop 47. As the pneumatic piston
approaches the end of its out-stroke, the lever 18 encounters the pin 27 and tilts
the slide carrier 13 as in Figs. II. and III. so that the slide 9" therein being no
longer supported by the cross-bar 46 slides down out of the carrier, over the padded

page_text: •
shoot 48 on to the band 41 (see Fig. III.). On the return stroke of the mechanism
which is effected by the coiled spring within the spring casing 21, the slide
carrier 13 returns to the vertical position ready for the reception of the next slide 9¹
which has in the meanwhile been prevented from descending by the upward
movement of the bands 17 and which is now propelled downwards by the bands;
the top edge of the succeeding slide is arrested by the rubber edged roller 49 but
its lower edge is free to follow the slide in front and so the slide descends partially
out of the box 6 and gets below the hinged stop 47. In the meanwhile the slide 911
has been carried away by the travelling band 41 and deposited in the box 5.
Finally, just before the completion of the in-stroke of the pneumatic piston, the
roller 37 encounters the pin 38 and opens the dissolver and the cycle is completed.
It will be observed that the first action of the mechanism is to close the dissolver
and the last to open it so that all the operations of changing the slides are effected
while the dissolver is closed.
In order that the slides in the box 6 may be in contact at their lower edges but
free of each other at their top edges I make the front face of the sliding block 10
at a considerable inclination to the vertical and guide it above by the rollers 50
which run against the under side of the cover 51. The conformation of the
cover 51 is such that the depth of the box increases towards the right, so that as
the slides are withdrawn and the sliding block 10 moves to the right, it gradually
tilts forward so as always to present the front slide at the proper inclination to the
vertical. 52 is a gauge slot in the cover through which the slides may be passed
to make sure that they are not too wide or thick to pass through the apparatus.
The box 5 has a freely sliding block 68 to receive the slides, supported by the
spring 69, whose strength is such that the block 68 descends under the weight of each
additional slide a sufficient amount to accommodate the next one.
The arrangements for regulating the illumination are as follows:-The lime in
carried by the rotatable stem 57 carried from the slide 58 traversed by the milled
wheel 59-all of ordinary construction. The rotation of the lime which is effected
at intervals by hand in lanterns of ordinary construction, is, according to my
invention, effected automatically by the same movement that changes the slides.
60 is a bevel pinion gearing with the wheel 61 on the stem 57; 60 is secured to
the same spindle as the ratchet wheel 62 and the latter is rotated through one tooth
at each stroke of the lever 18 by the pawl 63 attached thereto. The lime requires
to be adjustable longitudinally in the lantern to suit the position of the screen and
accordingly the ratchet wheel 62, pinion 60 and their spindle are mounted on a
longitudinally adjustable plate 64 secured by the screw 65, and the pawl 63 instead
of being attached directly to the end of the lever 18 is mounted on the slotted
adjustable arm 66, fixed in position by the screw 67.
It will be seen from the foregoing description that by one act of the operator
the dissolver is first closed, the used slide ejected and deposited in the box, a fresh
slide brought into position, the lime rotated and the dissolver opened.
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 improved apparatus for manipulating magic lanterns which consists of a
containing box in which the slides are placed in order and which is provided with a
spring to press the slides forward, a rocking slide carrier, a series of endless bands
against which the front slide is pressed and which are adapted to convey it to the
said carrier, a receptacle into which the slides are conveyed after leaving the
carrier by a travelling band, a pair of articulated screens forming a dissolver, and
a vibrating lever adapted to operate the bands, to rock the carrier, to open
and close the dissolver and to rotate the lime, substantially as described and
illustrated.
2. In apparatus for manipulating magic lanterns, the devices for passing the
slides in succession through the lantern which consist of the containing box pro-
"

page_text: vided with a spring and sliding block adapted to press the slides forward, the
endless bands and their rollers operated in one direction by a spring against which
bands the front slide presses and between which and the bottom of the containing
box is a gap slightly wider than the thickness of a slide, the rocking carrier into
which the said bands convey the slide, the cross bar which in one position of the
carrier supports the slide, the travelling band 41, the receptacle 5 and its spring
and the lever and cord for operating the bands and rocking the carrier substantially
as described and illustrated.
3. In apparatus for manipulating magic lanterns the containing box 6 provided
with a spring 11 and sliding block 10 to press the slides forward, and having a
hinged stop 47 to limit the upward motion of the slide 9¹ and a roller 49 against
which the top of the next slide abuts, substantially as described and illustrated.
4. The device for ejecting the slides from the carrier which consists of the
rocking slide carrier 13 and the means for rocking the same and the bar 46 which
supports the slide in one position, and allows the slide to drop when the carrier
is rocked into the position for ejecting, substantially as described and illustrated.
5. In apparatus for manipulating magic lanterns the device for operating the
dissolver consisting of the levers 32 and 33, the balance weight 40 and the roller 37
on the operating lever substantially as described.
6. The device for rotating the lime which consists of the ratchet wheel 62
geared to the lime stem and movable therewith and the pawl 63 carried on the
adjustable arm 66 of the operating lever substantially as described and illustrated.
7. The combination with apparatus for manipulating magic lanterns as herein
described of the pneumatic cylinder 28 substantially as described and illustrated.
8. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved apparatus
for manipulating magic lanterns substantially as described with reference to the
drawings.
Dated this 28th day of January 1893.
-
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.