US3612516A

US3612516A - Apparatus and method for producing display illusions

Info

Publication number: US3612516A
Application number: US790606A
Authority: US
Inventors: James Mark Wilson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-01-13
Filing date: 1969-01-13
Publication date: 1971-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 1988-10-12

Abstract

The invention is an apparatus and method for producing illusionary display effects. The device or apparatus includes a cabinet having doors and provided with concealed means and a passageway with trap doors whereby a person can enter the cabinet unknown to an audience. The passageway is concealed by members mirrored on both sides positioned between the cabinet and a backdrop. The mirror surfaces are positioned to provide for equal angles of incidence and reflection between the mirrors and adjacent reflected surfaces whereby the space between the cabinet and the backdrop appears to be vacant. There is provided also a robot head for which the head of a person is substituted. A girl assistant enters the cabinet through the concealed passageway and stands in a concealed position. The magician places the robot head in position where it is grasped and held by the girl. A globe with a cutout is placed over the head and manipulated to momentarily conceal it, at which point the girl removes it, and substitutes her own, after which she steps forth, the disembodied head apparently having become embodied.

Description

United States Patent m1 3,612,516

[72] Inventor James Mark Wilson OTHER REFERENCES ggg Callf- Magic- By A, A. Hopkins, pp. 48- 50 and 69. Published by Munn & Co., Publishers, Scientific American Office, New 133%; York. 1906 Copy in Group 330 Unit334 [45] Patented Oct. 12, 1971 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Arnold W. Kramer Attorney-J-lerzig & Walsh [54] A RAT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING ABSTRACT: The invention is an apparatus and method for DISPlJAY ILL I producing illusionary display effects. The device or apparatus 3 lalIn 4 Dra g lg includes a cabinet having doors and provided with concealed 52 us. Cl 272/9 means and a passageway with whereby a [51] Int. Cl [50] Field of Search A63j 5/00 enter the cabinet unknown to an audience. The passageway is 272/9 10 concealed by members mirrored on both sides positioned 13 25, 21 8 8 M, 8 N, 8 D between the cabinet and a backdrop. The mirror surfaces are positioned to provide for equal angles of incidence and reflec- [56] References Cited tion between, the mirrors and adjacent reflected surfaces UNIT STATES PATENTS whereby the space between the cabinet and the backdrop apears to be vacant. There is rovided also a robot head for 64l79 4/1867 wnhmgton 272,9 v vhich the head of a person is substituted. A girl assistant enl46293 1/1874 Tobm 272,13 ters the cabinet through the concealed passageway and stands 872,305 1 1/1907 Purpura 272/25 l 760 842 5/1930 Greenwood 272 in a concealed position. The magician places the robot head in position where it is grasped and held by the girl. A globe with a FOREIGN PATENTS cutout is placed over the head and manipulated to momentari- 22J80 1399 Great Britain 2/l 3 ly conceal it, at which point the girl removes it, and substitutes 10,401 1915 Great Bfiminm 272/9 I her own, after which she steps forth, the disembodied head ap- 443,668 3/1936 Great Britain 272/13 parently having become embodied.

PATENTEUUCT 12 l97| Amy/m: 14/11:: Max a/Aua/v APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING DISPLAY ILLUSIONS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an illusionary display apparatus and method whereby a fascinating and entertaining illusion is produced. In the exemplary preferred form of the invention the illusion is that of a disembodied robot head made to appearto become a part of an animate body, or on the other hand, the disembodied head made to appear to become a part of an integrated robot figure made animate.

The illusion or display that is produced has utility purely from an entertainment standpoint as a stage effect. It has a very distinct utility, however, as a sales aid, the display being associated with or made in connection with the sale and advertising of products to be marketed.

In a preferred exemplary form of the apparatus and technique of effecting the display, a cabinet is provided having doors and a trap door concealed by mirrors whereby a person may obtain access to the cabinet, unknown to the viewing audience. A robot head is provided and the head of a female person is substituted for the robot head. The cabinet is provided at the top with an enclosure for'the head of the robot, and a globe having a cutout in the front is provided, which is manipulated at the time of substitution of the head the real person for the robothead in a manner to conceal the substitution.

A concealed passage is providedbetween the cabinet and an opening through a backdrop or screen, the passage or passageway being concealed by a unique improved arrangement of concealing members which are mirrored on both sides. Wing members extend out at an angle from the inner extremities of the mirrors (at the backdrop surface). The wing members are surfaced identically with surfaces of trap doors at the .end 'of the passageway, the relative angles being such that the angles of incidence and of reflection of the light are equal. As a result the view of the apparatus either from outside of the cabinet or through it is of reflections that make it appear that the cabinet is simply spaced from the backdrop.

The technique involved in creating the display with the apparatus described is that at the outset a robot head is on a pedestal adjacent to the cabinet. The operator or magician then opens the cabinet doors displaying it to be empty. After the doors are closed the robot head is placed over an opening in the cabinet top and the girl assistant secretly enters the cabinet through the trap doors. She stands in the cabinet in a crouched position in the enclosure and the robot head is grasped and held by the girl. The magician then places the globe over the robot head. In doing so it is necessary to turn it so that the cutout is at the back, the front side is momentarily concealing the robot head. During this moment the girl snatches the robot head away and substitutes her own head. The magician turns the globe around so the cutout is at the front exposing the girls head similarly garbed in helmet and goggles. The cabinet doors are then opened and the girl steps forth, the robot head now apparently embodied as a part of a natural live being. The display may be varied to make it appear that the robot head becomes embodied in a robot figure which becomes animate.

In the light of the foregoing, the primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and unique illusionary display apparatus and method or technique useful for purposes of entertainment and in connection with advertising and sale of products. More particularly the object is to provide an illusionary display of this type in which a disembodied robot member (such as a head) is made to appear to become embodied in a live animate being.

Another object is to provide a display as in the foregoing including placement of the head in position in the cabinet; substitution of the head of a live person for the robot head; and manipulation of a concealing member, preferably a globe with a cutout placed over the head to conceal the substitution.

Another object is to provide a display as referred to in the foregoing object including a cabinet having concealed means whereby a person may obtain access unseen to the cabinet so that the persons head may be substituted for the robot head. A corollary object is to provide improved concealing means, comprising members mirrored on both sides to conceal a passageway between them by reflecting surfaces making it appear that it is impossible for anyone to enter or exit from the cabinet without being seen by the audience.

Further objects and additional advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the apparatus of a preferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the upper part of the apparatus of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 4 is a view like that of FIG. 3 illustrating the manipulation of the globe in the upper part of the apparatus.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawings, FIG. 1 is a pictorial view illustrating how the apparatus appears on a stage or the like in front of a backdrop or partition as designated at 10. The apparatus comprises a generally rectilinear cabinet or enclosure 12 as may be seen in cross section in FIG. 2. This cabinet is of a size that a person can stand upright in it. It has

sidewall

14 and 16, a floor 18 and at the back is provided an opening 19 providing for access to the cabinet. At the front the cabinet has hinged

doors

26 and 28.

The cabinet is positioned on the stage or platform outwardly from the backwall or backdrop 10 as may be seen in FIG. 2. Extending between the rear comer edges of the cabinet 12 and the backwall or backdrop 10 are

mirrors

32 and 34 which have a slight slant from the back corner edges of the cabinet 12 as shown. These members are mirrors on both sides, the mirrors on the inner sides being designated 32' and 34'. It will be observed that the backwall or backdrop 10 is made up of, by way of example, upright panels as designated at 36 and preferably the surfaces of these panels are of a uniform shade of color throughout.

Numerals

40 and 42 designate panels positioned at angles as shown with respect to the

members

32 and 34 the inner edges of these members being positioned at the points at which the

mirrors

32 and 34 come into contact with the backwall or backdrop 10. Between these points is an opening or passageway through the backwall or backdrop 10 adjacent to

trap doors

44 and 45. The surfaces of

members

40 and 42 are identical with the surface of

trap doors

44 and 45.

Members

46 and 47 are clear glass panels which may be framed, positioned as shown between the outer ends of wing members and side portions of cabinet 12. It may be observed that an audience positioned in front of the display looking towards the backwall or backdrop l0 sees reflections in the

mirrors

32 and 34 of the surfaces of

members

40 and 42 which surfaces are identical in appearance with that of

trap doors

44 and 45, that is, having the same shading of color and the appearance of vertical panels. The viewing audience, therefore, is unaware of the presence of the

mirrors

32 and 34, the appearance or illusion being that the audience sees a surface like that of the

doors

44 and 45 completely across and behind the cabinet 12. In other words, the opening closed by

doors

44 and 45 is concealed and the presence of the trap doors is unknown to the viewing audience. At times when

doors

26 and 28 of the'cabinet are open (and

doors

44 and 45 closed) the audience can see through opening 19, now seeing reflected images of the inner surfaces of

doors

44 and 45 which are identical with

surfaces

40 and 42 reflected in mirrors 32' and 34'.

At the upper part of the cabinet 12 is an enclosure as I designated at 50 having a backwall 52,

sidewalls

54 and 56, and top wall 60. The sidewalls are arcuately cut out as shown at 62 and 64, the front edge of the top wall 60 being arcuate as shown at 66 and a row of bulbs as designated at 70 being provided along this edge.

The top wall of the cabinet 12 as designated at 72 has an opening 74 in it, this top wall, of course, being the bottom of the enclosure 50. The opening 74 is adapted to receive the neck of a robot figure or of a human person as will be described.

Numeral 76 designates a globe preferable made of material such as frosted glass having a cutout in one side as designated at 78.

Numeral 82 designates an inanimate robot head. The head 82 is also made distinctive in that it wears a masklike helmet 86 with goggles 88 that are preferably dark. As will be described presently in connection with the technique of effecting the display illusion, a human, that is, a live girl is used in the display and her head is garbed or clothed exactly resembling that of the robot head. She wears a corresponding helmet or mask 86 and goggles 88 so that the appearance of the head of the live girl and the robot head are identical.

Numeral 92 designates a pedestal stem and it has an extending platform 94 on which the robot head 82 can be placed when not in use.

Next will be described the technique of effecting or producing the illusion or display, which is that of causing the robot head to appear to come alive, that is, to become animate.

At the outset the robot head is in a position as shown on the platform 94. The magician or operator now opens the

cabinet doors

26 and 28 displaying the cabinet 12 empty and unoccupied. The cabinet doors are then closed and the magicians female assistant then enters the cabinet through

trap doors

44 and 45 occupying it in a crouched position as shown in FIG. 1.

The magician now places the head 82 into position in enclosures 50 over opening 74. At this time the girl in the cabinet reaches up and holds the head in position. The magician or operator now places globe 76 in position in enclosure 50 and to put it over the head the cutout 78 must be turned around to the back out of view of the audience thus obscuring the robot head. At this moment the girl in cabinet 12 snatches the head 82 away and substitutes her own, handing head 82 back through

trap door

44 and 45. The magician now imparts an angular turn to the globe 76 in a direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4 bringing cutout 78 back into view and exposing to view the similarly garbed head of the real girl. The

doors

26 and 28 can now be opened and the live girl can step forth. The illusion is that of a disembodied robot head now actively a part of an animate person. Variations of the display are possible such as for example, making it appear that the live girl is a robot under mechanical control.

From the foregoing those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate the nature and construction of the invention objectives the manner in which it achieves and realizes the objectives set forth in the foregoing and the advantages that are apparent from the detailed description.

The form of the invention as disclosed herein is exemplary and is subject to variations in the apparatus as well as in the method and is intended to be illustrative, the invention to be accorded the full scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A display apparatus for producing illusions comprising the combination of a backdrop; a cabinet spacedly positioned from and in front of said backdrop, said cabinet having door means at the front and an opening through the rear; mirror means joining the rear of the cabinet and the backdrop and forming a passage between the rear of the cabinet and the backdrop, said mirror means being so positioned that the reflected backdrop observed in the mirror means by an audience in front of said cabinet creates the illusion either with the door means closed or through the opening in the rear of the cabinet with the door means open that the mirrored passage is not present but that the cabinet is only spacedly positioned in front of said backdrop; an opening in the top wall of the cabinet; door means in the backdrop directly behind the cabinet; and portable covering means adapted to be placed over said openin in the top wall of said cabinet.

2. A display appara us in clalm 1 wherein the portable covering means is a hollow element having a cutout connecting the sidewall and bottom thereof.

3. A display apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the hollow element is a globe.

4. A display apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the globe is made of frosted glass.

5. A display apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the backdrop on each side of the cabinet includes wing members angled forwardly from their juncture, with the mirror means.

6. A display apparatus as in claim 5 including clear glass panels positioned between the sides of the cabinet and the extrernities of the wing members.

7. A display apparatus as in claim 1 including an open enclosure overlying the top of the cabinet, the enclosure having sidewalls, a backwall, and a top wall.

8. The method of producing an optical illusion, comprising the steps of:

opening and exhibiting the interior of an empty cabinet to an audience;

closing said cabinet to conceal the interior thereof from said audience;

secretly introducing a living person into said cabinet;

placing an inanimate object, substantially identical in appearance to a portion of said living person, over an opening in said cabinet;

placing a hollow cover having a side opening over said inanimate object and rotating the same to conceal said ob ject from the audience, and while so concealed moving said object through said opening into said cabinet and projecting said portion of said living person through said opening to the position previously occupied by said object; and

exposing said complete living person, including said portion, to the audience.

Claims

1. A display apparatus for producing illusions comprising the combination of a backdrop; a cabinet spacedly positioned from and in front of said backdrop, said cabinet having door means at the front and an opening through the rear; mirror means joining the rear of the cabinet and the backdrop and forming a passage between the rear of the cabinet and the backdrop, said mirror means being so positioned that the reflected backdrop observed in the mirror means by an audience in front of said cabinet creates the illusion either with the door means closed or through the opening in the rear of the cabinet with the door means open that the mirrored passage is not present but that the cabinet is only spacedly positioned in front of said backdrop; an opening in the top wall of the cabinet; door means in the backdrop directly behind the cabinet; and portable covering means adapted to be placed over said opening in the top wall of said cabinet.

2. A display apparatus in claim 1 wherein the portable covering means is a hollow element having a cutout connecting the sidewall and bottom thereof.

3. A display apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the hollow element is a globe.

6. A display apparatus as in claim 5 including clear glass panels positioned between the sides of the cabinet and the extremities of the wing members.

8. The method of producing an optical illusion, comprising the steps of: opening and exhibiting the interior of an empty cabinet to an audience; closing said cabinet to conceal the interior thereof from said audience; secretly introducing a living person into said cabinet; placing an inanimate object, substantially identical in appearance to a portion of said living person, over an opening in said cabinet; placing a hollow cover having a side opening over said inanimate object and rotating the same to conceal said object from the audience, and while so concealed moving said object through said opening into said cabinet and projecting said portion of said living person through said opening to the position previously occupied by said object; and exposing said complete living person, including said portion, to the audience.