Improved Projecting Apparatus for Exhibiting Pictures, Advertisements, and the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Sept., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 7th July, 1897-Accepted, 7th Aug., 1897
Improved Projecting Apparatus for Exhibiting Pictures,
Advertisements, and the like.
I, LOUIS HENRY HART, of No. 325 Collins Street, Melbourne, in the Colony of
Victoria, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention consists of an improved stereopticon in which the pictures or
advertisements to be displayed are conveyed and controlled by self-acting gears or
contrivances which bring each picture in succession into focus between the lenses and
light and retain each thereat for a predetermined time whilst being displayed and
then causes the picture to pass on in order to allow the next to come into position and
so on until the controlling gears are run down or stopped.
The preferred form of the invention consists of a portable wooden case or casing six
to seven feet high by from two to three feet square. At the front and near the top
of said casing a disc or screen about two feet diameter preferably circular, and of
some semi-transparent material, such as ground glass, tracing cloth, or other suitable
material, is fixed or stretched in a suitable framework. At the back of said disc
inside the casing a mirror of silvered plate glass or other suitable reflector is arranged
at an angle of 45° from the face of disc the bottom edge of such mirror or reflector
being on a level with the bottom edge of disc whilst the top edge of the mirror will
be almost in contact with the top edge of disc. Directly underneath the top mirror
just described and at such a distance below it as will be necessary according to the
focal length of the lens used in the lantern is a mirror of smaller area and this lower
mirror will also lie or he arranged at an angle of 45° its inclination being in the
opposite direction to that of the top mirror. On a level with the centre of the lower
mirror is a lens of suitable focal length and arranged in such a position as that it will
cause the rays of light from a condensing lens of a suitable lantern to be gathered
and projected to the face of the lower mirror which then deflects it to the face of the
top mirror and from the latter the said rays of light are projected to the semi-
transparent disc. Consequently any picture or advertisement, painted or photoed or
by any other process produced as a transparency, that is passed between the lens
and the lantern condensing lens will be displayed on the disc. The pictures or
advertisements to be displayed are preferably carried in a number of slides on a disc
of metal, wood, glass, or other suitable material, mounted on an axle that rotates in a
plane parallel with the front of the casing and in its rotation one picture at a time
will be centred between the two lenses. The motive power to cause this disc to
rotate, may be a spring or a cord and weight or other suitable means and the time
which each picture or slide shall remain between the lenses is determined by an
escapement controlled by a clockwork or other suitable motive power, the latter
preferably actuating through an eccentric or cam a suitable pivoted oscillating lever,
the other end of which has pins or other suitable catches which are designed to
alternately engage and release pins arranged at regular intervals on the disc, Said

page_text: eccentric or cam in its rotation gives the oscillation movement to the escapement
lever.
Dated this 9th day of September 1806
A. F. SPOONER,
124 Chancery Lane, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
Improved Projecting Apparatus for Exhibiting Pictures,
Advertisements, and the like.
I, LOUIS HENRY HART, of No. 325 Collins Street, Melbourne, in the Colony of
Victoria, 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:-
This invention consists of an improved projecting apparatus for exhibiting pictures,
advertisements and the like in which the pictures or advertisements to be displayed
are conveyed and controlled by self-acting gears or contrivances which bring each
picture in succession into focus between the lenses and light and retain each thereat
for a predetermined time whilst being displayed and then cause the picture to pass
on in order to allow the next to come into position and so on until the controlling
gears are run down or stopped.
The invention will now be described aided by a reference to the accompanying
sheet of drawings in which,
Fig. 1 shews a front view of one form of the apparatus with its casing partly broken
away in front of the wheel or disc which carries the slides or pictures in order to
exhibit their position, and
Fig. 2 a sectional view taken on line of Fig. 1 while,
Fig. 3 is a front and sectional view of the lamp casing shewn in Fig. 2 and shewing
the flues leading from lantern chimney.
+
Figs. 4 are enlarged details of the disc wheel which carries the slides or pictures
and its attached winding drum and ratchet gear, and
Figs. 5 are enlarged details of the lever and cam escapement-gear for the said
disc.
Fig. 6 is a front and Fig. 7 a side sectional view of an alternative form of apparatus
and designed to be operated by sand and
Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are details of the sand buckets for same.
The first form of the invention consists of a portable case or casing A having at its
front near its top an opening over which is stretched a screen B formed of some
semi-transparent material, such as ground glass, tracing-cloth or other suitable
material. At the back of said screen or disc inside the casing is a reflector or mirror
of silvered plate glass Carranged at an angle of 45 degrees from face of said srceen or
disc, the bottom edge of said mirror being on a level with the bottom of screen whilst
the top edge of mirror is almost in contact with the top edge of disc. Directly
underneath the top mirror C and at such a distance below it as will be necessary to
suit the focal length of the lens employed is another mirror or prism D of smaller
area than the upper one and this lower mirror or prism also lies at an angle of
45 degrees with its inclination in the opposite direction to that of the top mirror as
shewn. On a level with the centre of the lower mirror or prism D is a lens E of
suitable focal length arranged in such a position that it will cause the rays of
light from a condensing lens F of a suitable lantern F1 to be gathered and projected
to the face of the lower mirror or prism D which, then reflects the rays of light to the
top mirror C from which it is projected to the screen or disc B. Consequently any

page_text: picture or advertisement painted or photographed or by any other process produced
as a transparency and which is passed between the lens E and the lantern condenser
lens F will be displayed in an enlarged size upon the screen or disc B.
The pictures or advertisements, to be displayed, are preferably in the form of a
number of slides G' carried by a disc wheel G of metal, wood or other material
mounted on a snitally supported spindle G; said wheel being caused to rotate in a
plane parallel with the front of casing by the weighted condy being supported by
sheaves and having its end secured to the drum g' on spindle G, said drum being
attached to the disc by ratchet and pawl gear g as shewn in Figs. 4 and in which
figures the pictures or slides G are shewn secured over holes in the edge of disc G by
small clamps g. The length of time which each picture will remain between the
lenses is determined by an escapement lever H centred at H' and controlled by a cam
or eccentric J which is rotated by any suitable clockwork gears or by a spring
or other suitable motive power. The lever H has a pin h on its end
which works in a race in the cam J whilst the other end of lever is formed like a T
and has two small pins A' projecting from it and such pins alternately engage pins or
stops g' arranged at regular intervals on alternate sides of the disc or wheel G. It
will thus be understood that the weighted cord g imparts motion to the disc whilst
the dise is held stationary and in position with the picture or slide between the lens
by one of the pins &' on the vibrating escapement lever H engaging one of the stop
pins g' on the dise; the eain J holding it thereat for the predetermined period of
time and also releasing the pins in order to allow the dise to partially rotate and
bring the next slide into position. The lantern F is shewn arranged in a covering A¹
at front of the easing A whilst F is a split flue leading to both sides of the said
covering.
Figs. 6 to 10 shew the sand apparatus for operating the disc wheel G and which
apparatus has been designed mainly for small machines. In this form of the apparatus
it will be noticed that the lantern F¹ is at the back of casing A, that the small mirror
or prism D lies parallel with the top mirror C and that parts marked by reference
letters corresponding with those already described are similar. K is the sand reservoir
and K shoot leading to the double cradle L supported on rock shaft L which also
carries a trigger I provided with ears and a spring . L is a shoot leading to the
buckets M which project from the disc wheel G and each bucket has an ear or stop m
on it, said ears being arranged alternately on the opposite side of adjoining buckets.
N are checks on each side of the buckets to prevent sand scattering about and to
conduct it to the sand drawer O in which spreaders O are arranged. In operating
the disc wheel G with this apparatus the sand is first fed to the uppermost pocket of
the cradle L and which when filled overbalances and discharges the sand to the
bucket M lying under shoot L3 so as to give motion to the disc wheel. Upon the
tilting over of the cradle L the ear at one side of the trigger L2 is withdrawn from
the stop m on the bucket whilst the ear at other side of trigger falls in front of the
stop on the next bucket and so prevents for the time being the further forward
movement of the dise wheel while the spring prevents its backward movement by
dropping at back of the bucket and such operation will be continued while a supply
of sand is fed to the cradle.
It will be obvious that the pictures may be projected from the lantern on to a
screen placed directly in front of it without using the mirrors or prisms and using
therewith the self-acting gears herein described for conveying and displaying the
pictures at stated intervals, also an endless carrier may be substituted for the dise G.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is-
(1) An apparatus for the purpose specified consisting of a casing having a screen at
its front upper part and within the casing an upper and a lower reflector, a lens, a
slide or picture carrier and a suitable lantern substantially as described and shewn.
(2) In the apparatus for the purpose specified a rotating disc or wheel arranged to

page_text: carry a number of slides or pictures located at equal distances from one another
thereon and arranged to be rotated by such as a weighted cord or by a sand wheel
and designed to pass and stop at regular intervals, between the condensing lens of a
lantern and the focal lens substantially as described and shewn.
(3) In an apparatus for the purpose specified a rotatory disc or wheel arranged to
carry a number of slides or pictures located equidistantly thereon and having pins or
stops projecting alternately on either side of its edge or from buckets thereon to
engage pins or stops on an escapement lever or device substantially as described and
shewn.
(4) The improved projecting apparatus for exhibiting pictures advertisements and
the like constructed and arranged in either form substantially as herein described and
shewn in the drawings.
sted this och tay
July 1037.
A. F. SPOONER,
323, High Holborn, London, Agent for the Applicant