US1351814A - Framing mechanism for moving-picture machines - Google Patents

Description

I. F. UHLEMANN.

FRAMING MECHANISM FOR MOVING PICTURE MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29. 1918.

1,351,814. PatentdSept. 7,1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE IE. UHLEMANN, OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGNOR T NICHOLAS POWER GOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FRAMING MECHANISM FOR MOVING-PICTURE MACHINES.

Application filed November 29, 1918.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THEODORE F. UHLE- MANN, a citizen. of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Framing Mechanism for Moving-Picture Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in framing mechanisms for moving picture ma chines in which the intermittent sprocket is bodily shifted with relation to the projection aperture to correspondingly adjust the film to bring its individual pictures into registration with the aperture.

More particularly the present invention comprises an improvement over the framing mechanism shown and described in Letters Patent Nos. 826,112 and 1,184,126, granted to Nicholas Power on July 17, 1906,

and May 23, 1916, respectively.

In each of these patents the intermittent sprocket and its immediate driving shaft are supported on an mounted in the machine frame for vertical adjustment immediately beneath the aperture, and in each case the driving shaft of the intermittent gear is actuated from a shaft on the machine frame having stationary bearings through an intermediate gear so mounted on almovable support asto be maintained in mesh with the gear of the stationary main shaft and the gear on the vertically adjustable carriage.

As framing devices, the structure of these patents has proven satisfactory and has been very largely used in commercial machines.

. tion that the adjustment of the carriage causes a rotation of the sprocket driving gear about its own axis which alters the time of operation of the sprocket with relation to Specification of Letters Patent.

independent carriage Patented Sept. a, 1920.

Serial No. 264,686.

the other moving parts of the projection machine.

In the framing mechanism shown in the l atent No. 1,184,126 the intermediate gear 18 independently supported in a supplemental carriage which is adjusted simultaneously with the framing carriage but to a less extent, to thereby avoid the rotative movement of the sprocket. In this'structure, however, the movement of the intermediate gear is not concentric with the two gears which it connects, and therefore the teeth are moved more or less into and out of mesh with each other with consequent wear and lost motion.

In carrying out the present invention I provide anlinte'rmediate gear arrangement in which all the gears are maintained in proper meshing relation, but in which they are so relatively shifted in the framing movement as to maintain the driving shaft of the intermittent gear against rotation, so that the synchronous operation of the intermittent sprocket and'the other elements of the film feed is not disturbed.

In the accompanying drawings I have I illustrated my invention as applied 'to a moving picture machine of the type shown in the patent to Nicholas Power, No.

1,184,126 referred to above, and have illustrated only so much of the moving picture machine structure as is necessary to an understanding of the framing mechanism.

In the'saiol drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a moving picture machine equipped with my improved framing mechanism with certain parts shown in section;

M Fig. 2 is a similar view of a portion of Fig. 1 showing a different adjustment of the framing mechanism; and

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modification.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the frame of the machine which is supported in the usual manner, the upper and lower sprockets 2 and 8, respectively, of which are continuously rotated from the main driving shaft 4 to feed the film into and out of the machine.

The film, which is indicated at 5, is intermittently fed pastthe projection aperture 6 where it is exposed for projection in the usual manner by an intermittent sprocket 7 whose shaft bearings are supported in the vertically'adj ustable framing carriage 8, all of which parts may be identical with those disclosed in the above mentioned patentto Nicholas Power.

The sprocket 7 is intermittently operated by an intermittent couple, not shown, but which may be of any approved design, for instance that disclosed in the above men. tioned patent, from a driving shaft 9'also mounted in the carriage-8. continuously driven from a main gear 10 supported on the machine frame and operated by suitable gearing from the. main shaft 4:. The shaft of the gear 10 isstationarily supported, while the shaft "9. is mounted for vertical adjustment in a right line, and the intermediate gearing for effect ing the continuous rotation of the shaft 9 from the gear. 10 constitutes the novel feature of my invention. This intermediate gearing comprises a gear 11 meshing with the gear 10 and supported at the end of a link or swinging bracket arm 12 having its bearing on the shaft of .the gear 10 so that the teethv ofthe gear 11. will be at all times maintained in the gear 10. he gear 11 drives a similar gear 13 whose shaft is carried at the end of a link .14: supported at one end -upon the shaft'of the gear 11 and at the other end bya third link 15 swung from the shaft-9,

the links 12, 14: and 15 forming an articulated connection between the shaft 9 and the shaft of the gear 10. This connection allows the gears ll-and 13 to assume various relative positions but maintains their teeth in he shaft 9 is proper mesh with the teeth of Fig. 1 to constant mesh with'eachother and also maintains the gear 11 in mesh with gear 10 and gear 13 with the driving pinion 16 on-tthe end of the shaft 9, so that the rotative movement of the gear 10 will be transmitted without interruption to the pinion 16, regardless of the movement of the carriage 8.

The mechanism so far described, while suflicient to maintain the driving connection during the framing adjustment, may cause an independent rotative movement of the shaft 9 due to the turnifig of the gears 11 and. 13 on their axeswhen the framing carriage is shifted.v To preventthis T ro- I \vide means for "regulating the exten ofmovement of the axesof the gears Hand 13 so that the rotative' movement of the shaft 9 which would be produced by therotation of one of the intermediate pinions about the axis of the gear which drives it will be com pensated for by an opposite. movement of the other intermediate gear about the axis of its driving' ear.

As shown in igs. 1 and 2, this v sists of a-guide" bracket '18 attached to the side ofthe machine frame adjacent the path means conof travel of the-- framing carriage, the

ferred construction, but instead of using a bracket having a cam slot 19 which embraces the other naeneie the end of the shaft on which the gear 13 is mounted, thereby causing'the shaft of the 'gear to shift transversely as well as verti- "cally when the carriage'is adjusted. The

about their. axes to compensate for each other and also for the movement of the gear 13 about the axis of the pinion 16.

It is of course to be understood that the accompanying drawing is not drawn to scale, although the cam shown is a close approximation of that required in actual practice.

It will also be understood that the threelink ebnnection between the shaft 9 and the o stationary dIlVHlg shaft constltutes a connection which may be described as of universal flexibility as distinguished from the two-link connection shown in the Power Patent No. 826,112, that is, inadjusting the shaft 9 the several links would notneoessarily have the same relative movement for each adjustment (except for the cam'slot 19) but either joint might take all the movement, or the total movement may be divided in any proportion betweenthetwo joints;

according to which presents the greatest friction. If, for instance, allthe movement took place at the axis ing carriage from the osition shown 'in' that shown in ig. 2, in a counterclockwise direction, which movement would produce an equal clockwise movement of the gear 13, which would be transmitted to the pinion 16 and interfere with the synchronous operation of the film feed and shutter. On hand, all the movement might take place at the axis of the inion 13, the-pinion 11:then serving to all intents and purposes as a stationary gear.

In this case theframing movement from i the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2 will cause a rotation of the pinion'13 about its own axis in a counter-clockwise direction, thereby destro ing the synchronism of the parts by a'retarding instead of an advancing, movement. to the pinion 16.

ment of the floating gear 13 is so controlled as to cause a portion of the movement to take the gear 13 about the axis ofthepinion 16, a and the pinion is neither advanced nor retarded.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a1 modified arrangement for controlling'the relative movement-of the two intermediate gearss'. As

here shown, the arrangement of the driving gears 10,11, 13 and 16, andjtheir supporting links and brackets, is the same as in the preof the gear '11 that gear would be rotated, on lowering theffam- By. I means of the cam slot 19the pathof movestationary guide cooperating with the shaft of the gear '13 I employ a movable, cam 20,

to properly proportion the required move- I ment between the two joints of the articulated connection to maintain the shaft 9 stationary during the framing movement.

It will of course be understood that other means may be employed to guide the shift, ing pinions in their proper paths of movement. It will also be understood that various other modifications may be made in the structure without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. In a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combination of a driving sprocket for the film, an adjustable support for said sprocket, a driving gear for said sprocket having a fixed axis of rotation, gears for transmitting the rotation of said fixed gear to said sprocket, means for maintaining the center of said gears at fixed distances from each other, and means for. controlling said gear connection to prevent rotative movement of said sprocket from'the movement of its support. i

2. in a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combination of a feed sprocket for the film, an adjustable support therefor, a driving memberfor actuating said sprocket having a fixed axis of rotation,

intermediate power transmitting devices be tween said member and said sprocket for effecting the rotation thereof, means for supporting said intermediate devices comprising links pivoted to said support and the axis of said stationary driving member, re-

spectively, and means for controlling said intermediate power'transmitting devices to maintain said sprocket against rotation from the movement of its support.

3. In a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combinationof a carriage mounted for adjustment with relation to the film aperture to frame the picture, a feed sprocket supported on said carriage, means for operating said feed sprocket comprising a gear having a stationary" axis of rotation, a gear on said carriage, a power transmitting connection between said gears comprising a gear mounted for movement independently of-saidcarriage and with its axis of rotation maintained at an equal distance from the axis of said stationary gear,

and means for controlling said power transmitting connection so as to prevent rotation of said sprocket from the movement of said support.

4. In a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combination of a carriage mounted for adjustment with relation to the film aperture to frame the picture, a feed sprocket supported on said carriage, means for operating said feed sprocket com prising a gear having a stationary axis of rotation, a gear on said carriage, a power transmitting connection between said gears comprising a gear mounted for movement independently of said carriage and with its axis of rotation maintained at an equal distance from the axis of said carriage supported gear, and means for controlling said power transmitting connection so as to prevent rotation of said sprocket from the movement of said support.

5. In a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combination of a carriage mounted for adjustment with relation to the film aperture to frame the picture, a feed sprocket supported on said carriage, means for operating said feed sprocket comprising a gear having a stationary axis of rotation, a gear on said carriage, a power transmitting connection between said gears comprising a gear mounted for "movement independently of said carriage both verti-' vent rotation of the sprocket from the movement of its support;

6. In a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combination of a film feeding sprocket, an adjustable support therefor, a gear having a stationary shaft for rotating said sprocket, means for transmitting the movement of said gear to said sprocket comprising a plurality of gears intermediate said gear and said sprocket, means for supporting said gears for movement independently of said carriage, and means for guiding said gears'in their movement so as to prevent rotation of the sprocket from the-movement of its support.

7. In a framing mechanism for moving picture machines, the combination of a feed sprocket, an adjustable support therefor, a main driving gear having a fixed axis of rotation for driving said sprocket, a plu ios pictureniachines, the combination of a feed sprocket, an adjustable support therefor, a main driving gear having a fixed axis of rotation for driving said sprocket, a plurality of intermediate gears between said sprocket and said main driving gear, a pivgear being mounted on a swinging support having itsaxis of rotation coincident with the axis of said pinion, connections between said two supportsfor maintaining the gears carried thereby in mesh,and means for con-' trolling the movement of said swinging supports so as to prevent rotative movement of said sprocket on the movement of its sup ort.

igned at New York city in the county of New York and State ofNew York this 14 day of October 1918.

, THEODORE F. EMANN.

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