US2220094A - Picture-indicia projection system - Google Patents

Description

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A. GILE$ 2,226,694

PICTURE-INDICIA PROJECTION SYSTEM Filed Dec. 8. 3.937

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a m UM u Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PICTURE -INDICIA PROJECTION SYSTEM Aquila Giles, New York, N. Y., assignor to Trans- Lux Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 8, 1937, Serial No. 178,685

3 Claims. (Cl. 88-24) This invention relates to a novel method or indicates aprinting mechanism commonly known system of disseminating information, as well as as a teletype," and from which a tape II is disstructures whereby such method or system may charged and passed through the projection apbe practised. paratus generally indicated at H. The latter 5 .According to one aspect, it is an object of the includes any desired light source (not shown), 5 invention to project upon a suitable receiving contained, for example, within casing l3, and surface indicia in a novel and improved manner, which light source is caused to project its rays and by means of a novel and improved grouping through tape II and lens assembly l4 upon a of apparatus. suitable image receiving surface. The tape II Viewed from another aspect, it is a further obis moved in proper relationship to the projecting 10 ject of the invention to simultaneously display unit l2 by means of a motor l5 conveniently upon a suitable receiving surface a plurality of coupled through a torque cable IS with a driving light images mutually harmonized and related roller it be o Course, O i hat a y so that a proper final ensemble is assured, substitute form of coupling between the motor Another object is that of furnishing a novel and roller might be resorted to. 15 grouping of apparatus by means of whi h in- In order to arrive at a proper understanding of formation may, for example, be received in the the present invention and the P e involved. form of code symbols and by mean of whi h it is primarily to be understood the unit I0 is such symbols will be transmitted into light f su h p at w for e ampl um rs.

images or indicia suitably roje ted upon r in contradistinction to letters, are to be printed 20 ceiving surface or screen. upon the tape H, such tape is shifted trans- Still another object is that of providing a novel versely. To this end. the Chute h o g and improved form of film of particular value W ch the tape emerges from unit I6, is of a when used in certain of the associations above Width adequate to allOW for such S ti Mo ereferred to, over, it has been found that the only tape suit- 25 An additional object is that of furnishing an able for use w a te ype u t, and w ich improved grouping of apparatus consistent with lends itself to P p Subsequent p j ct S an or all of the foregoing bj ct d hi h one which is formed of Cellophane or similar paratus will be relatively simple in construction materieland capable of operating with minimum expense Additionally, it has been found that in order to 30 d manual supervision, obtain an imprint of indicia upon this tape such With these and other objects in mind, referthat light i a es will result which will have ence is had to the attached sheets of drawings deal and p definition. it is necessary to e illustrating practical embodiments of the inven- P oy an ink of such characteristics that a lon M andin i h; interval of time must necessarily elapse before 5 Fig 1 is a h t; diagrammatic for of the ink dries. A still further difficulty encounprojection apparatus and assembly which may term is that the unit l0, in imprinting t e be employed; dicia uponthe tape, has disposed such indicia Fig. 2 is a perspective view of certain portions along the central Zone of the p and p ted of the apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 1; the same with such force that the tape has be- 40 Fig. 3 is a similar view of a still further unit e r nsversely distorted or curved. which preferably forms a part of the assembly; It is, of Course, apparent a e ough the Fig. 4 is a face view of a fragment f film hi characteristics of unit "I be such that a transmay be projected; verse shifting of the tape occurs, such shifting Fig. 5 is a similar View of a portion of the may not k Place at the P j c Stat on, as transmitting tape which is preferably employed; otherwise a jumping image would result. Also, Fig.6 is a diagrammatic view showing, the relathe only feasible method of moving t tape tionship of the several projectors which may be through the projecting Station is pp y by conjointly used; drawing the same therethrough, and such move- Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the complete asment necessarily should, or has to, occur shortly, 50 sembly of apparatus which may be utilized; and or substantially immediately, after imprinting Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a gate which may is effected. Accordingly, there can be no opporbe employed in lieu of the particular film illustunity for the ink to dry, but, at the same time, trated in Fig. 4. should the imprinting become smudged to the Referring primarily to Fig. 1, the numeral Ill slightest extent, any such imperfection would, 55

of course, in projection, be magnified many times, and such a result would not be commercially acceptable. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that the tape is relatively narrow, and unit It! releases the tape by an intermittent movement, the speed of which varies. Accordingly, speed with which roller II, or its equivalent, is moved, must likewise vary, and the control for such roller should be arranged in advance of the projecting station and-in operative relationship with respect to the tape, but without danger of smudging the indicia thereon, and despite the limited contact zone on the tape between the side edges of the latter and the indicia. Furthermore, should there be any tendency on the part of the tape'to transversely curve or distort adjacent the projecting station, there would occur not alone a distortion of the projected images but also an improper focal relationship between the tape and the projecting unit l2.

With a view to preventing any transverse shifting of the tape adjacent the projecting station, and despite such movements at a point immediately preceding the same, a chute I9 is provided in advance of the projection station which is tapered from its receiving endto its delivery end and which has two side wall portions which slightly overlap the face of the tape H to prevent the latter from escaping from the chute, all as shown in detail in Fig. 2. At its delivery end the width of the chute is slightly in excess of the width of the tape. The unit l2, moreover, mounts a guide block 20, furnished with a groove 2!, substantially exactly the same width asthat of the tape and formed with a projecting aperture 22 through which the light source projects its rays in their travel towards lens assembly I4. The distance between chutes l8 and I9 is such that no strain will be placed on the tape incident to the fact that it is freely shifting (in a transverse direction) within chute l8, although it is incapable of any substantial shifting by the time it emerges from the delivery end of the latter chute, and is utterly incapable of any such shifting in its passage through groove 2 I. It accordingly follows that no difliculty will be experienced in this connection.

Now with reference to controlling the movements of roller l1, it will be observed that tape I passes through the body of a plate 23 secured to an arm 24 attached to a crank 25, in turn controlling a motor switch (not shown). There may also be associated with this crank arm a stop member 26, which may conveniently limit its downward movement. Such movement preferably occurs incident to the action of gravity; and with stop 26 inoperative, motor l5 will operate at diminishing speeds and with arm 25 sufficiently elevated, will cease operation and will correspondingly interrupt the movement of roller H, with a corresponding action on the part of tape past the projecting station. In this manner, no objections will be experienced incident to the intermittent movement of the tape as it is delivered from unit ||l. However, great care must necessarily be exercised to prevent any smearing on the part of the indicia 21 imprinted upon that tape. Consequently, the opening in plate 23 is of a width barely suflicient to accommodate the transverse shifting of the tape which occurs at this point. In the upper edge of this opening a pair of contact portions 28 are presented which ride in engagement with the upper face of the tape and which are spaced from each other. The overall length of the edges f these the contact portions (and including the gap between the same) is such that no matter how frequently the tape is transversely shifting, neither side edge of the latter may ride into this gap 29. At the same time, however, the width of the gap is such that neither edge of portions 28' will contact the indicia, despite the transverse shifting to which the tape may be subjected. Thus, no smearing of the indicia will occur prior to the time it traverses the projecting station or unit l2.

Now, in order to present the tape in proper condition to such projecting station, it will primarily be understood that incident to the strain under which the tape is maintained, it will tend to straighten as it passes through the aperture of plate 23, and because of the natural tendency of the edge portions of the tape to be depressed by engaging the contact portions 28 while the central portion of such tape is free to move upwardly because of the latitude allowed by gap 29.

It will, of course, be appreciated that should unit l0 feed the tape at a rate of speed such that not alone does crank-arm 25 remain in fully lowered position, but actually the tape will sag in passing through the apertured plate 23, still no injury will be caused to the tape or the indicia thereon. This is because the lower edge of the aperture is preferably defined by plate or guiding lip portions 30 which, as the tape is pulled by element ll, will allow any slack of the tape to be properly guided through the aperture and until the tape reaches its normally taut condition. To this end, it will be understood that roller under full drive conditions, operates at a speed in excess of that with which the tape may be fed from unit Ill, and the speed of such roller will be lowered as arm 25 is gradually raised.

In most instances, such ironing effect as occurs incident to contact the tape with portions 28, will be relatively negligible. To enhance this effect, it will be understood that the path of travel of the tape towards chute I9 is in a generally upward direction. Therefore, due to the tension on the tape it will be somewhat flattened when passing over the forward or leading edge of this chute.

However, the maximum ironing and flattening efiect is secured by the following structure, attention being particularly directed to Fig. 2: In advance of block 20 is a deck portion 3| over which the tape passes upon emergence from chute l9. An ironing element comprising a pair of contact members 32 is movably disposed above this deck portion. The members are spaced 2. distance such that they bridge the imprinted area of the tape and contact the same at points adjacent the side edges of the latter. Consequently, these side edge portions which may have a tendency to curl up will be depressed into firm contact with deck 3|. Additionally, an appreciable drag or restraining influence will be imparted to the tape, and, consequently, due to the fact that block 20 is raised above deck portion 3|, the tape will, under tension, pass upwardly and over the entrance edge of this block, and which edge defines the groove 2|. In this manner, absolute. assurance may be had that the tape is completely flattened and is fed to the projecting station as a plane sheet of material, so that improperly focused portions will not result.

70 Beyond block 20 the tape may pass through the guiding notch of a plate 33 around an idler 34 and in contact with roller H. To assure firm contact between the tape and roller H, a springpressed roller 35 may be utilized. Of course, as

the tape passes in contact with this roller and roller I1, the indicia thereon will be smudged, but this will be of no consequence, because projection has already beeneffected.

While the foregoing assembly may, in itself, be employed to advantage in numerous different associations, it may be, and is, according to one aspect of the invention, intended to be, employed in the particular arrangement as illustrated in Fig. 6. In this view, parts heretofore referred to have been identified by the referencenumerals as previously employed. Additionally, it will be noted that the numeral 36 indicates, for example, the wall of a projection booth, formed with a conventional aperture 31 through which the light passing lens assembly 38 may be projected upon a screen 39. As illustrated, this screen is of a translucent type and the arrangement of apparatus is particularly intended for rear projection. It is obvious, however, that the parts may be re-arranged, which will provide for front projection, should this be desired. The lens assembly 38 is, of course, coupled to a projector (not shown) of the ordinary motion picture type.

The light rays projected through lens assembly l4 may strike against a reflecting member 39, which, in turn, reflects into a similar member 40,. properly disposed with relation to screen 39'. Consequently, light images embracing the indicia presented upon tape i I will be projected upon the screen and, as shown, substantially centrally thereof and parallel to the upper and lower edges of the main light image as projected through lens assembly 38. It is, of course, apparent that if the projector l2 be properly arranged, the reflecting elements 39 and 40 might be dispensed with.

Now, in order to define upon the screen an area suitable for the reception of the indicia displayed by projector i2, it is preferred that there be associated with the projector, of which the lens assembly 38 forms a part, a film 4|, which may have a conventional sound track (not shown), and feeding apertures 42, in addition to the exposure apertures 43. However, contrary to conventional construction, each of these exposure apertures is interrupted by a substantially, or completely, opaque strip or bar 44 extending across its center. Consequently, when this film is projected, proper light images will be cast upon the screen 39,'but the central portion of the screen will be in shadow. The width of this shadow or masked portion corresponds to the width of the light beam passing through aperture 22 and as extended to the surface of the screen. Consequently, the entire area of the screen will be properly illuminated by the rays passing through assemblies [4 and 38, and a complete composite picture or light image will be presented to the audience incident'to the movement of the film 4| in one direction and the tape II in a direction transversely with respect thereto. Of course, insteadof employing a film of the particular type shown in Fig. 4, a mask 45, such as has been illustrated in Fig. 8, may be employed, and which includes an ordinary light aperture through which a cross-bar 46 extends. This element may be readily associated with the projector, of which lens assembly 38 forms a part, and in order to provide for a properly shadowed or masked area on the screen. However, for all ordinary purposes, it is preferred that the film, as illustrated in Fig. 4, be employed.

An arrangement such as the foregoing is of particular value in connection with motion picture theatres where it is desired to, for example, convey to the audience, by means of a printed message passing across the screen, certain information, and at the same time create a background which will incorporate an illusion of motion such as is ordinarily imparted bya conventional motion picture film. Also, by using a film such as that illustrated in Fig. 4, an operator will be enabled to continue the operation of the conventional projector without having to interrupt the same to associate therewith a mask or substitute element.

Of course, and as afpre brought out, the information disseminated by projector I2 may be solely relied upon, and without any background such as would be furnished by a second projector, but such a system would not appear to be desirable in connection with ordinary theater work.

Now, with a view to avoiding any probability of the indicia upon tape ll being incorrect, it is preferred, according to the present invention, that unit Ill be not manually operated. Instead, this unit is caused to function by being operatively coupled to a transmitter 41, which is in turn operated by, for example, a code tape 48, as shown in Fig. 5. The coupling of the transmitter 41 to unit ID has been indicated at 49 in Fig. '7, but it will be understood that any other suitable form of coupling and association of these units with each other might be resorted to.

The code symbols upon tape 48 are conveniently furnished by providing suitable aggregations of apertures 50 therein. The tape, moreover, is

conveniently formed with a row of feeding apertures 5|, and is preferably provided by a perforated unit 52 (Fig. 7) of such nature that it not alone provides apertures 50, but also imprints adjacent the same, and as indicated at 53, indicia readily understandable to the ordinary layman. A tape of this type is associated with transmitter 41, as shown in Fig. 3, by being passed across the deck 54 of this transmitter in operative association with the translating mechanism thereof, with which it is held in contact by, for example, a clamping bar 55. Of course, the transmitter is provided with a sprocket (not shown) engaging the apertures 5| to feed the tape, and, as viewed in Fig. 3, such feeding occurs from right to left.

Necessarily, and as clearly indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and '7, a certain amount of time must elapse before the tape l l reaches the projecting aperture 22 and after its discharge from unit I0. It would not be desirable in the case of theater projection to have a portion of thescreen suddenly become masked (as, for example, by the bars. or 46), and to thereupon have the audience wait until information began to be projected into this masked area of the screen. With this thought in mind, deck 54 is provided with an indicating mark or gauge 56. This mark is located on deck 54 a distance from the translating mechanism corresponding exactly to the length of tape I i necessary to extend between discharge chute 18 of unit In and the exposure aperture 22. Consequently, an operator will know that when that portion of tape 48 which carries the beginning of a desired message reaches gauge 56, tape l I will have its corresponding indicia immediately in advance of the exposure aperture. Consequently, by

starting the transmitter 41 with tape 48 in this Tape 48 is preferably arranged so that its ends are joined to furnish an endless member and, as afore brought out, is provided with a perforated unit 52. If the latter be coupled to, for example, a central news agency, it is apparent that much of the data transmitted should not be projected onto the screen. However, such data as is desired to so project may readily be deciphered by reading tape 48 and, if necessary, severing the desired sections of the same and joining such section together. Also, as afore brought out, it is apparent that the composite tape furnished may have its ends connected, if desired.

In any event, it will be appreciated that with an arrangement of apparatus such as the foregoing, a completenews service may be provided to a theater and to the audience of such theater. Of course, the perforator 52 might, in turn, be located in a station from which properly edited copies of the same could be distributed to several theaters. In such event, it would not be necessary to have a perforator located in each of the latter. Also, as afore brought out, however, the operator of the theater regardless of how he receives the tape-will be able to gauge precisely the projection of the indicia upon the screen, such gauging being again unnecessary unless a projector in addition to projector I2 be employed.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, among others, the several objects of the invention as specifically ,afore noted are achieved. Obviously, numerous changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims. Y

Having thus described the invention, what is .claimed is:

1. A projection apparatus for an indicia carrying tape, and including in combination a guide block formed with an aperture defining a projection field for said tape, said block being formed with a guide structure substantially equal in width to, and receiving said tape, said tape being adapted to be moved toward said projection field from a machine which feeds said tape lengthwise in one direction and shifts it widthwise in opposite directions, means for moving said tape across said projection field in cooperative relation with the guide structure of said block, a guide chute disposed in advance of said block, a tape weight interposed between said block and said guide chute for creating a retarding and braking efl'ect on said tape said guide chute including a receiving end flared in a direction transverse of said tape, and a relatively constricted discharge end having a width substantially equal to that of the guide structure of said block whereby said tape in entering said guide may, in addition to longitudinal movement, be free to shift within limits widthwise and said tape at the point of emergence from said guide will be restrained from such widthwise shitting.

2. A projection apparatus for an indicia carrying tape, and including in combination a guide block formed with an aperture defining a projection field for said tape, said block being formed with a guide structure substantially equal in width to and receiving said tape, said tape being adapted to be moved toward said projection field from a machine which feeds said tape lengthwise in one direction and shifts it widthwise in opposite directions, means for moving said tape across said projection field in cooperative relation with theguide structure of said block, a guide chute disposed in advance of said block, said guide chute including a receiving end flared in a direction transverse of said tape, and a relatively constricted discharge end having a width substantially equal to that of the guide structure of said block whereby said .tape in entering said guide may, in addition to longitudinal movement, be free to shift within limits widthwise and said tape at the point of emergence from said guide will be restrained from such widthwise shifting and portions forming a part of said guide chute and overlapping the face of said tape whereby to prevent escape of the latter from said guide.

3. A projection apparatus for an indicia carrying tape, and including in combination a guide block formed with an aperture defining a projection field for said tape, said block being formed with 'a' guide structure substantially equal in width to and receiving said tape, said tape being adapted to be moved toward said projection field from a machine which feeds said tape lengthwise in one direction and shifts it widthwise in opposite directions, means for moving said tape across said projection-field in cooperative relation with the guide structure of said block, a guide chute disposed in advance of said block, a tape yeight interposed between said block and said guide chute for creating a retarding and braking effeet on said tape, said weight contacting said tape in a plane below that of said guide block whereby said tape will move upwardly from said weight over the edge of said guide block and be maintained in taut condition, said guide chute including a receiving end flared in a direction transverse of said tape, and-a relatively constricted discharge end having a width substantially equal to that of the guide structure of said block whereby said tape in entering said guide may, in addition to longitudinal movement, be free to shift within limits widthwise and said tape atthe point of emergence from said guide will be restrained from such widthwise shifting. AQUILA GILES.

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