US1033608A - Vitascope. - Google Patents

Description

P. J. MUKAUTZ. VITASCOPE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1910.

1,033,608. Patented July 23, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET1.

W/TNESSES ATTORNEYS P. J. MUKAUTZ.

VITASGOPE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1910.

1,033,608. Patented July 23, 1912.

5 8HEETSSHEBT 2. J7

WITNESSES INVENTOP P. J. MUKAUTZ.

VITASCOPE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1910.

1,033,608. Patented July 23, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W/TNESSES IINVEAI/VTOH 7/ 656! f .Jf aka/1112 BY Md A TTOHNE VS P. J. MUKAUTZ.

VITASGOPB.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 3, 1910.

ATTORNEYS P. J. MUKAUTZ.

VITASOOPE.

APPLIGATION TILED AUG. 3, 1910.

1,033,608. Patented July 23, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

W/TNESSES U U INVENTOR ft -JM 1k 1 M A TTO/YNEYS PETER J. MUKAUTZ, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

VITASCOIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 3, 1910.

Patented July 23, 1912.

Serial No. 575.223.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER J. MUimorz, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kansas City, in the county of J ack son and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Vitascope, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to biographs, vitascopes or similar apparatus for the purpose of projecting moving pictures upon a screen. It may e used either alone, as a vitascope, or in connection with a phonograph. The apparatus is intended to be used in connection with a phonograph, the arrangement bein such that both instruments move in unison, so that persons may be represented upon a screen in an act or in conversation, the .words for the lines which the actors are supposed to say being supplied by the phonograph at the appropriate time. 7

The invention concerns itself especially with the construction of the picture-projecting mechanism.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the ccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the vitascope, representing, diagrammatically. a phonograph in connection therewith; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the upper portion of the vitascope and illustrating the mechanism for advancing the film and operating the shutter; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the machine, a portion of the lamp hood being shown in cross section; Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross section taken through the vitascope at the shutter. and further illustrating the shutteroperating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a rear elevation taken at the shutter and showing a portion of the web and contiguous arts of the mechanism; and Fig. 6 is a detail showing the form of the blades of the shutter, and the manner in which they overlap each other in operation.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and especially to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 represents the case of the vitascope, which is adapted to be mounted upon a suitable frame 2. On the forward portion of the case a lens barrel 3 is provided before which the film 4 is guided, in a manner which will be described more fully hereinafter. Behind the film, the case 1 is provided with a lamp hood 5, from which the rays of the lamp are pro jected through the film, through the lens in the lens barrel 3 upon the screen, the screen being located before the audience.

In the case 1 there is mounted a main driving shaft 6 which is adapted to be continuously rotated by a crank 7. Referring now, also, to Fig. 3, this main driving shaft 6 is provided with bevel gears 8 by means of which an auxiliary driving shaft 9 is continuously rotated. This shaft 9 extends downwardly, and operates, through suitable gearing, to rotate the drum 11 of the phonograph upon which the record is adapted to be received. Upon the face of this record a stylus 12 rests, the said stylus being mounted upon the usual diaphragm which produces a sound issuing from the horn 18. It should be understood that there is a relation or correspondence between the position of the pictures on the film and the Words that issue from the phonograph, so that when a certain picture is projected upon the screen, the phonograph will produce the appropriate words or music.

The mechanism for controlling the movements of the film and shutter will now be described:

The main driving shaft 6 is rotatably mounted in the side walls 14; and 15 of the case 1, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In the side wall 15 which is located at the left as viewed in Fig. 3, the shaft 6 is provided with a gear wheel 16, and this gear wheel meshes with a smaller gear wheel 17 which is rigidly mounted upon a balance shaft 18, said shaft having its extremities rotatably mounted in the side walls 14 and 15 like the shaft 6. Near the gear wheel 17 the shaft 18 is provided with a cam gear 19, and this cam gear is formed, at diametrically opposite points, with curved recesses or cut-outs 20. Adjacent to this cam gear 19, the shaft 18 carries rigidly a pin wheel 21 which, opposite the recess 20, is provided with pins 22, there being a pin opposite each recess, as indicated. Cotiperating with the cam gear 19 I provide a star gear 23, which is rigidly mounted upon a shaft 24. This star gear is formed with four points or arms 25,

each of which is provided with a radial slot 26, the edges of the gear between the arms being curved or cut away to form recesses 27 having the same curvature as the periphery of the cam gear 19. The cam gear 19, in connection with the star gear 23, con stitutes a Geneva stop movement. The operation is such that as the cam gear 19 re tates, the pins 22 engage successively with the slots 26 and advance the star gear 23 one quarter of a revolution by a step-by-step movement. During the time in which the pins 22 are not in engagement with the slots, the star gear 23 is locked against rotation from the fact that the periphery of the cam gear 19 is in engagement with the concave periphery or recess 27 between the arms. From this arrangement, while the mechanism operates to advance the star gear by a step-by-step movement, between the periods of advance, the star gear is securely locked against rotation. In order to insure that the rotation of the shaft 18 will be substantially constant or uniform, the shaft is extended beyond the wall 15, and is provided with a suitable fly-wheel 28, as shown in Fig. 3.

Within the case and attached to the rear side of the forward wall 29 thereof, I provide a light shaft 30, which is of substan tially conical form, enlarging from the position of the shutter toward the opening 31 in the forward wall before which the lens barrel 3 is attached. This light shaft simply consists of an opaque sleeve, of hard rubber or similar material. At its rear end it is provided with a shutter holder 32, the construction of which will be described more minutely hereinafter. On each side of the light shaft 30 as illustrated most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, I provide a frame-plate 33.

These frame-plates are rigidly attached to the side walls of the case by means of suitable posts 34. The frame-plates 33 are of star form, presenting radially projecting arms or points 35, and these arms are at tached to the posts 34, as illustrated. At substantially the central point, each of the Y frame-plates 33 is provided with a master gear wheel. The master gear wheel which lies adjacent to the wall 15 is represented by the numeral 36, while the corresponding master gear wheel adjacent to the opposite wall, is represented by the numeral 37. The gear wheel 36 is adapted to be driven con tinuously through the medium of a gear wheel 38 which is carried rigidly by the shaft 24. On the upper side of the light shaft, as viewed in Fig. 2, this gear wheel 36 meshes with a smaller gear wheel or pinion 39 which is carried rigidly upon a suitable shaft 40. This gear wheel 39 meshes with two other gear wheels 41 and 42 which are rigidly carried by shafts 43 and 44 respectively, and these shafts 43 and 44 are provided with guide rollers 45 and 46, across the face of which the film is guided in the manner indicated. On the lower side of the light shaft the gear wheel 38 meshes with two gear wheels 47 and 48, which are similar to the gear wheels 41 and 42, and these gear wheels are respectively carried rigidly upon shafts 49 and 50. These shafts 49 and 50 are provided with guide rollers 51 and 52 respectively, which are similar in construction to the guide rollers 45 and 46 referred to above. The construction of the guide rollers 46 and 51 is most clearly illus trated in Fig. 3. The bodies of these rollers are of reduced diameter, as shown, and the ends of the rollers are enlarged and provided with spurs or sprocket teeth 53 which project outwardly, and these sprocket teeth are adapted to engage with openings 54 formed in rows adjacent to the edge of the film, as indicated in Fig. 5, so that as the rollers rotate, the film will be advanced. The rollers 45 and 48 are similar to the rollers 46 and 51, except that they are not provided with the teeth or spurs 53. In order to hold the film upon the rollers, I provide presscr rollers 55, which rollers are disposed in pairs on opposite sides of the shutter holder, each pair of presscr rollers being carried in a frame 56 pivoted at 57 and constrained toward the film by means of a spring 58. The faces of these rollers 55 are provided with outwardly projecting collars 59 which press against the film and hold it upon the guide rollers.

From the construction described above, it should be understood that when the shaft 24 is being rotated, the guide rollers 45, 46, 51 and 52 will be rotated so that the film will be advanced. In this way the film is given a step-by-step advancing movement.

The gear wheel 37 is driven from the left side of the machine through the shaft 40. This shaft has a rigid gear wheel 37 which meshes with the gear 37, as indicated in Fig. 3.

Arrangement is made for opening the shutter during the periods that the film remains stationary, so that the picture on the film opposite the lens may be thrown upon the screen. For this purpose, the shafts 60 of the master gear wheels are extended through the frame-plates 33, and carry rigidly cam wheels 61; the form of these cam wheels is very clearly shown in Fig. 2. They are of substantially circular form, provided with outwardly projecting spurs or teeth 62 disposed an equal distance apart, as shown. The frame-plates 33 are connected above and below the light shaft by transverse pivot bars 63, there being one pivot bar above the shaft and another below it, as shown in Fig. 2. Upon these pivot bars 63 shutter levers 64 are pivot-ally mounted, and these levers 64 are connected by transverse roller bars 65, the said roller bars being provided opposite the cam 61, with suitable rollers 66. These rollers are adapted to be engaged by the edge of the cam wheel 61, so that as the cam rotates, the spurs 62 may operate periodically to force the levers 64 away from the light shaft. The levers 64 are constantly pressed toward the light shaft by means of springs 67 coiled about the pivot bars 63 as indicated. These levers 64 afiord means for opening the shutter when the film is at rest. To accomplish this mode of operation, the shutter holder 32 is provided with a pair I of blades 68 which are guided in the inner portion of the shutter holder so that their inner edges overlap, as indicated in Fig. 2. In this way the blades 68 constitute slides which may shut off the light which would enter through the hood 5 and pass throu h the opening 69 which is formed in t e shutter holder. The form of the blades 68 is very clearly shown in Fig. 6. The adjacent edges of the blades are provided with tongues 70 which project toward each other and overlap each other in the open position of the shutter. In this way the blades are guided one upon the other, so that the edges cannot engage with each other when the blades approach; this might prevent the closing of the shutter. The blades 68 are provided at their outer edges with openings 71 through which the levers 64 project, as indicated in Fig. 2. From this arrangement, it should be understood that when the rollers 66 are engaged by the spurs 62, as shown in Fig. 2, the levers 64 are forced outwardly so as to pull the blades outwardly and open the shutter.

In order to enable the position of the picture upon the screen before the audience, to be adjusted, I provide a light plate or light screen'72, illustrated in Fig. 5; from an inspection of this figure, it will be seen that the ends of the shutter holder are detachably connected to the inner faces of the side walls 14 and 15 by screws or other suit-able means. At the side wall 14 the light plate 72 is attached through the medium of a bolt 73 which passes through a vertically elongated slot 74 formed in the wall of the case, as shown. This bolt 73 projects to the outer side of the case, where it is provided with a thumb-head or thumb-nut 75, which affords means for clamping the light plate in vertically adjusted positions. At a suitable point, the light plate is provided with a square or rectangular opening 76, which determines the position of the illuminated area of the screen before the audience. The film 4 passes down across the outer face of the shutter holder, and across the outer side of the film I provide a cover 77, which cover is provided at one side with a hinged connection 78 which enables the cover to be thrown back for the removal of the film.

The cover is held in its closed position by a suit-able catch 79 disposed opposite the hinge joint 78, as shown in Fig. 5. At the polnts where the film passes through the shutter holder, guide lips 80 are provided at the edges, which protect. the film and prevent injury to it. i

The driving mechanism for the vitascope is provided with a governor 81, which governor is driven through the medium of a countershaft 82, the said countershaft being driven by a pinion 83 carried rigidly thereby and meshing with the aforesaid gear wheel 16 on the main driving shaft 6. At the end of the countershaft 82 opposite the pinion 83, a gear wheel 84 is provided, which meshes'with a pinion 85 mounted on the shaft of the governor, and this pinion drives weights 86 which are carried upon suitable straps 87, as shown. If the machine has a tendency to race, these governor weights or balls 86 fly outwardly, and tend to reduce the speed of the machine. When the weights 86 move outward, the shaft of the governor offers a greater resistance to rotation, thus checking the movement of the mechanism. When the weights move toward the shaft, the resistance of the shaft to rotation is lessened.

The mode of operation of the entire machine will now be briefly described: By means of the crank 7, the main shaft 6 operates, through the medium of the gear wheel 16 to drive the shaft 18. In this way, the Geneva stop movement, which is composed of the cam gear 19 and the star gear 23, operates to give the guide rollers of the film a step-by-step advance movement. The amount of advance is normally substantially three-quarters of an inch, in the machine which I am now describing. During the time that the film is being advanced, the rollers 66 are running on the edges of the cam 61 between the spurs 62, and the shutter blades are closed. When the advance of the film ceases, the Geneva stop movement locks the star gear 23, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the shaft 24 is held against rotation. When the shaft 24 is in this position, a pair of oppositely disposed spurs 62 will have raised the levers 64 so as to open the shutter. In this way the film is advanced periodically and exposure made, whereupon, as the movement is resumed the shutter is instantly closed and the advance of the film takes place, while the screen before the audience is in darkness.

Having thus described my invention, I- claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent:

1. In mechanism of the class described and in combination, a film feeding means for advancing the film with a step by step movement involving alternate periods of rest and advance, means for directing light transversely through the film, shut ters arranged between the film and the light, a pair of levers for each shutter, a shaft for eachpair of levers, the levers of each pair being journaled on the shaft, a spring on the shaft for each lever, and engaging the lever to normally hold the shutter closed,

the pairs of levers being oppositely arranged, a rod connecting each pair of levers, each rod having a roller near each lever, and a pair of cams between the shafts, each cam having oppositely arranged projections for engaging simultaneously the adjacent rollers to open the shutters.

2. In mechanism of the class described, and in combination, a film feeding means for advancing the film with a step by step movement involving alternate periods of rest and advance, means for directing light transversely through the film, shutters arranged between the film and the light, levers connected with each shutter for operating the same, said levers being connected with a shutter at one end and being pivoted to a fixed support at the other end, a rigid connection between the levers of each shutter, and a common means engaging the connection for simultaneously moving the shutters away from each other, and springs engaging the levers to normally hold the shutters closed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER J. MUKAUTZ. Witnesses W. C. MORGAN, A. G. FOSTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

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