US1091335A - Multiple letter for advertising-boards, skylights, and the like. - Google Patents

Description

O. B. HERRMANN. MULTIPLE LETTER FOR ADVERTISING BOARDS, SKYLIGHTS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLIUATIQN FILED AUG. 22. 1912.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914.

72. 6g 7n ven Zon- CARL BORRO HERB-MANN, OF HALENSEE, NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY.

MULTIPLE LETTER FOR ADVERTISING-BOARDS, SKYLIGI-ITS, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914.

Applicat'i'on filed. August 22,1912. Serial No. 716,551.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CARL Bonito Hume.

MANN, engineer, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at 90 Paulsbornerstrasse, Halensee, near Berlin, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Multiple Letters for Advertising- Boards, Skylights, and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a multiple or socalled universal letter as used for advertising boards, sky-lights, and the like, in which, of the plurality of such letters provided, each may be transformed into any desired other letter in order to make another word or sentence appear upon the respective board etc.

Apart from the electric skylights, in which the transformation is effected by switching glow-lamps on or off, there are universal letters in which the universal let ter proper, or ground-letter, which, in fact, is no letter proper at all but a combination of all existing letters, is furnished with flap-like parts each of which corresponds, in shape, to a part of a letter proper and may be turned against and upon the ground-letter, or off the same, so as thereby to cover the corresponding part of the ground-letter and withdraw it from View, or uncover it and expose it to View. In contradistinction to this known arrangement, I combine the ground-letter with a number of lever-like parts, i. c. letter-parts, which, also distributed all over the round-letter are moved parallelly to the latter and, consequently, to each other also. Those of these parts which cooperate with the same part or parts of the ground-letter overlap each other, or lie over, or below, each other respectively, and such neighboring parts may be regarded as groups or sets which act rather similar to a diaphragm (an iris-diaphragm or the like), as employed in connection with the lenses of photographic and other apparatus.

The ground-letter is of a certain distinct color, for instance white, and the lever-like parts, or movable letter-parts respectively, are of another certain distinct color, for i11- stance black, this latter color being exactly the same as that of the base-board to which the ground-letters are attached. Therefore, supposed, all movable parts be swung inward so as to lie over, or in front of, the ground-letters, these latter are entirely covered and thus not to be seen at all. To make a letter appear, that is: a letter proper, for

instance B or I or M, or to make a word appear, for instance BIM, such and so many of the movable parts are swung outward that the thus uncovered parts of the respective ground-letter or -letters represent the desired letter or letters proper, the swung out parts being, or remaining, practically lnvisible because their color is the same as that of the base-board; for instance black upon black. The uncovered parts of the ground-letters appear, however, in the other color, for instance white, these white parts forming in their entireness the letters or word to be produced.

Owing to the movable letter-parts being arranged in front of the universal letters, and owing to their color being the same as that of the ground or base board, the letters, or the word or words formed by them, may be'cha-nged not only in the evening by means of artificial light, but it or they may be changed also in day-light.

, In order to make my invention more clear, I refer to the accompanying drawing in {which similar letters of reference denote similar parts, throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a representation of one of the ground-letters, the base-board being left away, Fig. 2 shows that letter combined, and covered with the lever-like letter parts. 3-11 are representations in plan of the various letter-parts belonging to one ground-letter, the-re being, however, two such parts as shown in Fig. 3, four as in Fig. 4, four as in Fig. 5, two as in Fig. 6, fouras in Fig. 7, two as in Fig. 8, one as in 9,"four as in Fig. 10, and two as in Fig. 11; and Fig- 12 is a. plan of a baseboard with three letters, the parts of which have been so adjusted that the word BIM is formed.

The ground-letter (Fig. 1) is divided into parts or subdivisions I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX, and there are, besides, the separate or movable letterparts I (Fig. 3), II (Fig. 10), III (Fig. 7), IV (Fig. 4), V (Fig. 8), VI (Fig. 11), VII (Fig. 6),VIII (Fig. 5) and IX (Fig. 9),of which there are as many as has just been stated in the short description of the figures. These parts are arranged in front of the groundletter or universal letter, each at its proper place where its configuration corresponds to, or coincides with, the configuration of the part of the universal letter just below it (Fig. 2).

The letter-parts in question are supported upon pivots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, which are suitably distributed over, and at the sides of, the ground-letter, and each letter-part is provided with a counter-poise e balancing the weight of the respective part. Turning them inward (so as to cover the corresponding part of the ground-letter) may be effected in various ways, mechanically or electrically, for instance by means of a solenoid Z) c (Fig. 8), the core 0 of which is suspended from a cord affixed at its upper end to an eccentric a secured to the letter-part V, or to any other of the letter-parts existing. Supposed, each letter-part be provided with such actuating-means, the letters may be changed or transformed by aid of an appropriate switching device throwing the electromagnets into, and out of, circuit, just as required for the formation of the other letters, or the other word respectively.

When employing my invention for skylights, or in connection with electric glowlamps respectively, such, for instance, as indicated by the letter f (Fig. 1) these lamps are distributed all over the straight and curved parts of the groundletters, and they may remain'in circuit during the whole time of operation, the movable letter-parts serving then very much like diaphragms to cover, or uncover, the burning lamps, the uncovered or visible lamps representing the letters or the word desired.

Having now described my invention, what I desire to secure bya patent of the United States is:

1. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and the like, the combina tion, with a base and a ground-letter, of means for illuminating said ground-letter at night-time; movable letter parts arranged in front of said ground-letter and illuminating means and adapted to be moved parallelly to the said ground-letter; the color of the said letter parts corresponding to that of the base, for the purpose as described.

'2. In a multiple letter for advertising Copies of this patent may be obtained for boards, sky-lights, and the like, the combination, with a base and a ground-letter, of electric incandescence lamps adapted to illuminate said ground letter; movable letter parts arranged in front of said ground letter and lamps and adapted to be moved parallelly to the said ground-letter; substantially as described.

3. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and the like, the combination, with a base and a ground-letter, of electric incandescence lamps arranged upon said ground-letter; movable letter parts arranged in front of said ground letter and lamps and adapted to be moved parallelly to the said ground-letter; substantially as described.

4. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and the like, the combination, with a base and a ground-letter, of electric incandescence lamps arranged upon said groundl.etter and distributed over all parts of the same; movable parts having the contours of letter-parts and being arranged in front of said lamps and adapted to be moved parallelly to the said ground-letter; and means for moving the said letter-parts in proper succession, for the purpose as described.

5. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and the like, the combin ation, with a base and a ground-letter, of electric incandescence lamps arranged upon said ground-letter and distributed over all parts of the same; movable parts representing various parts of letters and situated in front of said lamps and adapted to be moved parallelly to the said ground-letter and to cover or uncover corresponding parts of the same, and means for thus operating said parts; substantially and for the purpose as described.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CAR-L BORRO I-IERRMANN.

itnesses HENRY HAsrnR, ARTHUR SOHROEDER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

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