Improvements in or connected with Devices for Displaying Illuminated Advertisements, Announcements, or the like
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 8th June, 1893—Accepted, 15th July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Devices for Displaying
Illuminated Advertisements, Announcements, or the like."
We, ERNEST LOWER BERRY, and FREDERICK HARRISON, both of Lyric
Chambers, Whitcomb Street, in the County of London, Electrical Engineers do
hereby declare the nature of our invention to be as follows:-
―
The object of our invention is to provide means whereby we obtain periodical
changes of colour, or effect, in illuminated advertisements, announcements or the
like. The invention is intended more especially for application to advertisements,
or announcements, which are illuminated by the electric light, but is applicable
also to cases where other means of lighting are employed. According to our
invention we employ clockwork, or other motor, which will operate, or is operated,
at intervals, and we cause this clockwork or motor at any predetermined periods,
to make the required changes of colour, or effect, for instance, by lowering, or
extinguishing the lights which give one colour, or effect, and raising, or lighting,
those which give another colour, or effect, alternately, or in any desired series, or
by bringing into, or out. of, position coloured glasses, or the like, by which varied
effects are given from the same lights.
The advertisement, announcement, or device, which is to be exhibited. is
preferably translucent, or semi-transparent, upon an opaque, or comparatively
opaque, ground, and the lights are situated behind one, or between two, or more,
such advertisements, announcements, or devices.
When the luminant is the electric light the clockwork, or equivalent motor, may
operate at intervals, a switch, which passes the current to the lamps which give one
colour, or effect, and discontinue it to the other lamps, then cut off the current to
the first named lamps, and pass the current to lamps which give another colour, or
effect, and so on alternately, or with any required number of lamps, or series of
lamps, according to the various effects to be produced.
We will describe an arrangement according to our invention as applied to an
advertisement, or announcement, illuminated by incandescent electric lamps, and a
switch which we have devised for the purpose: but we premise that we do not
limit ourselves to this particular switch, nor to the other precise details of this
arrangement. Behind a glass (or between two such glasses) mounted in any
suitable support and in any convenient position, we mount two sets of electric
lamps the members of the one set alternating with those of the other set..
The current from the main, or other source of supply, is led, by two branches, to
the said sets of lamps by a switch which is operated to make contacts at intervals,
by a motor, or clockwork, so that during one interval current is supplied to one set
of lamps, and not to the other set, and then, during another interval, current is
supplied to the latter set, and not to the former set; and so on alternately.
A convenient arrangement of the switch consists of two tongues which bridge from
a contact piece, with which contact is maintained whilst the lights are on, to a
number of pegs alternately placed in connection with the circuits to each set of
lamps and acting as contact pieces for the said circuits, so that as the tongues are
moved around by the clockwork, or other motor, they pass from one peg to the
other, and so alternately effect the illumination of the sets of lamps.
Although we have named two sets of lamps, more than two sets may be used if
desired, the branches and series of pegs being increased to correspond. For large

page_text: currents several switches may be used in parallel, and the current be divided so as
to pass through the several switches so arranged.
Dated this 8th September 1892.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Devices
for Displaying
Illuminated Advertisements, Announcements, or the like.
We ERNEST LOWER BERRY and FREDERICK HARRISON both of Lyric
Chambers, Whitcomb Street in the County of London Electrical Engineers 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 object of our invention is to provide means whereby we obtain periodical
changes of colour, or effect, in illuminated advertisements, announcements or the
like. The invention is intended for application to advertisements or announcements
which are illuminated by the electric light.
According to our invention we employ a clockwork or other motor which will
operate or is operated, at intervals and we cause this clockwork or other motor at
any predetermined periods to make the required changes of colour, or effect by
extinguishing the lights which give one colour or effect and lighting those
which give another colour or effect alternately or in any desired series. The
advertisement announcement or device which is to he exhibited is preferably
translucent or semi transparent upon an opaque ground and the lights are
situated behind one or between two or more such advertisements, announcements
or devices.
The clockwork or other motor operates at intervals a switch which passes the
current to the lamps which give one colour or effect and discontinue it to the
other lamps then cut off the current to the first named lamps and pass the current
to lamps which give another colour or effect and so on alternately, or with any
required number of lamps or series of lamps, according to the various effects to be
produced.
We will describe with reference to the accompanying drawings arrangements
according to our invention as applied to an advertisement or announcement
illuminated by incandescent electric lamps, but we premise that we do not limit
ourselves to the precise details of the arrangements shewn.
Figures 1 and are respectively a side elevation with part of the glass removed
and a transverse section of an arrangement according to our invention and Figures 3
and 4 are corresponding views of an analogous arrangement according to our
invention.
Figures 5 and 6 are views at right angles to each other of a clockwork motor
and switch for changing the circuits periodically as hereinafter described.
Behind a glass E Figures 1 & 2 (or between two such glasses E E² Figures 3
and 4) mounted in any suitable support or box E³ which may constitute with the
glass or glasses a complete casing in any convenient position, we mount two sets of
electric lamps B and C the members of the one set alternating with those of the
other. set. The current from the main G (Figure 5) or other source of supply is
led by two branches H and I to the said sets of lamps by the switch F which is
operated to make contacts at intervals by the clockwork or other motor A. so that
during one interval current is supplied to one set of lamps, and not to the other
set and then during another interval, current is supplied to the latter set and not to
the former set and so on alternately. A convenient arrangement of switch may
.consist of a spring tongue or spring tongues which bridges or bridge from a contact

page_text: piece, with which contact is maintained whilst the lights are on, to a number of
pegs alternately placed in connection with the circuits to each set of lamps B and C
and acting as contact pieces for the said circuits so that as the tongue is or tongues
are moved around by the clockwork or other motor it or they pass from one peg to
the other and so alternately effect the illumination of the sets of lamps B and C.
Or the device carrying the pegs may be rotated by the motor instead of the spring
or springs being so operated. This latter arrangement is that shewn in the
drawings where the contact piece consists of a spring tongue K which bears on
the switch Fas it is rotated first on a peg of the set so that the current passes
by the conductor or conductors H' through the lamps B and back by the con-
ductor I to the main and then on a peg of the other set so that the current
passes by the conductor or conductors H through the lamps C and back by the
conductor to the main. Although we have named two sets of lamps, more than
two sets may be used if desired, the branches H and I and series of pegs in
the switch being increased to correspond. For large currents several switches
such as F may be used in parallel, and the current be divided so as to pass through
the several switches so arranged.
The conductors to and from the sets of lamps may be arranged in any suitable
way. In the drawings they are shewn as consisting of metal rods (b c d in
Figures 1 and 2 and bed and bed in Figures and 4) arranged so that the
contacts made by the motor alternately make contact between the rod d and cach
of the other rods and c. In Figures 1 and 2 the lamps B are connected to the
rods and d and the lamps C are connected to the rods e and d. In Figures 3
and 4 the conductors from each of the lamps B are connected to the mid-
conductor d by the lamps B and the conductors the other conductors c
connecting through the lamps C and the conductors d to the mid-conductor d.
The lamps are in these figures shewn as being arranged in duplicate sets one
above the other. The course which the current takes for the lamps B is shewn in
Figures 1 to 4 in full arrows whilst that which the current takes for the lamps C
is shewn by the dotted arrows.
The arrangement with a switch such as is described is suitable for use with
alternating currents of small volume but if the current be of larger volume or if
it be continuous we employ an arrangement of switch such as is described in the
Specification of our application for Letters Patent No. 6975 of 1893.
In apparatus constructed according to our invention the advertisements or the
like can be readily changed without interfering in any way with the mechanism.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for displaying illuminated advertisements announcements or the
like the said apparatus being arranged and operating substantially as herein before
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In or for apparatus for displaying illuminated advertisements or the like a
motor and two or more electric circuits leading to two or more sets of lamps and a
contact making device operated by the motor to periodically put in and out
of the electric circuit the respective sets of lamps substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Dated this 8th day of June 1893.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.