US363967A - Half to menaed k - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

. W. G. PB

AUTOMATICALLY OPERATIN 0 MERA' SHUTTER.

No. 363,967 m Patented May 31, 1887.-

N. PETERS. PhotwLillw vbur, Waoingten. DJ

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM GUNN PRICE, OF NE\V ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONF- HALF TO MENARD K. BOVEN, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATICALLY=OPERATING CAMERA-SHUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,967, dated May 31, 1887.

Application filed January 10, 1987.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM GUNN Peron,

a citizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aut'omatieally-Operating OameraShutters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus for opening and closing the shutters or opaque covers of the outer lens of a photographic camera.

The novel means employed in my invention whereby the time for exposure of the lens is governed and adjusted by the escape of an from the operating-chamber of the said de vice are fully described in the following specification and covered by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my invention as applied to the lens end of a camera. Fig. 2is a vertical section in the line as roof Fig. 1, the operatingcylinder being shown in outline. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the aforesaid adjusting device, a part of it being in elevation and part in sec;

tion.

A in the drawings represents the lens end of a photographic camera; B, the lens, (shown by a dotted circle;) 0 O, the shutters; D, the air-cylinder, and E the air-compressor. v

The shutters G G, which may berof an ysuit able construction, are, by means of their arms c c and pins 0, pivoted to the lens end A of the camera, as shown, so as to move in a vertical plane away from and toward each other. The arm 0 is provided with an upright pawl, 0,

the upper end of which is reenforced by a hard steel plate, 0 in order to prevent rapid wear. The respective arms 0 c are provided with a spring, 0, and the tension of these springs holds the shutters closed. A connecting-rod, 0 connects the forward portion of the 'arm 0 with a rearward extension, 0 of the arm 0', whereby the motion of both arms and both shutters is rendered uniform from and toward the center of the lens 13. The

shutters are provided with coneussionlugsf 0 f,- which, when the shutters are thrown open, come in contact with elastic bumpers F F, suitably fastened to the lens end A, and by this construction the force of the momentum of the opening shutters is modified or ab- 5 sorbed, and thus the inconvenience from sudden jars on the mechanism, as well as noise, is overcome. The positions of the open shutters are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the pawl c is shown- (also in dotted lines) engaged with a steel plate, 9, forming a step, on the left arm of a lever, G, pivoted at g to the lens end A of the camera. I The right arm of said lever is provided with a spring, fastened at one end to a pin, y in the lens end A of the camera, and thus the right arm is always raised and the left arm is always held in contact with the pawl c". \Vhen the shutters are being opened the pawl c glides along the plate 9, and arriving at the end of the same lodges behind the step 9, and thus prevents the shutters from being drawn together again by the spring 9 prematurely, as will be hereinafter described.

The arms 0 c and lever G are moved against the tension of the springs c and g by means of an operating-rod, H, fastened to an elastic diaphragm, h, (or a piston,) of the air-cylirr der D, and guided by means of an eyebolt, h", both the cylinder D and eyebolt h being suitably fastened to the lens end A of the canr era. This rod H is provided with two lugs, [L3 It", so plaeed'that the upper lug, h at its least altitude depresses the right arm of the lever G, and thus disengages the left arm and the pawl 0*, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and the lower lug, If, at its greatest altitude has moved the arm 0 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The rod H is movedinto the described positions by the descent and ascent of the central portion of the diaphragm h, which descent and ascent are produced by a varying pressure of air within the cylinder D and by a spring, 7L5, fastened to a lug, h, of the rod H and a pin, it, of the lens end A of the camera. Air is LII supplied to and withdrawn from the cylinder D by means of the air-compressor E and a number of escape-vents connected therewith, as will now be described.

Along thin flexible tube, d, connects the cylinder D with a rubber tube, d, lined with leather, as shown at d in Fig. 3. The tube d is fitted to a metal tube, d, having vent-holes d, and by sliding the tube d more orless over the tube d a greater. or less number of ventholes d will be covered up and rendered inactive, while those left open will serve as the operating-vents. The tube (1 is suitably fastened to the aircompressor E, and the tube d is held to it by means of the friction ofa wellfitting leather lining or packing, which renders the union of the said tubes airtight without ofl'ering great resistance to the movement of the tube (1 upon the tube (1, and without liability of its becoming fastened upon said tube by chemical action,whieh would occur in case a rubber tube were used in contact with the metal tube (1.

The rod His held in its lower position by means of the spring If, and in order to prevent the rod H from being moved to too great a height an elastic bumper, h, is suitably fastened to the lens end A of the camera at a point which will properly limit the upstroke of the rod, and thus, as the rod cannot rise higher than necessary, the mechanism operated thereby cannot be disarrangcd, and noise will be prevented \Vhen all necessary arrangements have been made previous to taking a picture, the lens B is covered by the shutters O C, and the mechanism appears adjusted in the position shown in full lines. The operator now adjusts the tube d upon the tube (1", leaving as many vent-holes d exposed as are necessary to exhaust the air from the apparatus within a proper time, according to his judgment,'determined by practice with the apparatus. He now takes the air-compressor E in his hand, and from a suitable position observes the person whose likeness is to be taken, and at the proper moment quickly compresses the compressor E, whereby the diaphragm 7t and rod-H are raised and the shuttersC O are opened and held open by the lever G and pawl c, as described. While the operator holds the air'compressorE tightly compressed in his hand, the air escapes through the vent-holes d left open, and the diaphragm h 'and rod H descend until the lug h" comes in contact with the lever G and moves it into the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, whereby the pawl c is relieved and the shut tors are drawn together over the lens by the spring a. The length of time which the shutters remain open will be just in accord ance with the number of escape-holes 01* of the tube d which are left uncovered'say, for instance, it will remain open six seconds it one hole is exposed, five seconds if two holes, and four seconds if three holes are exposed. In practice the ordinary thumb-operated pinch air-cut-ofl" valve may be applied on the rubber tube (1 above tube (1 as an adjunct to the apparatus herein described, and a piston work ing in a cylinder, D, might be used in lieu of the diaphragm h for oscillating the rod H.

I am aware of the state of the art asillustrated by Letters Patent No. 342,693, and make no claim for anything embraced by said patent.

What I claim is 1. The combination of the connected arms 0 0, having the shutters attached to them, pawl c, and springacted lever G, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with camera-shutters and suitable intermediate mechanism, of the air-cylinder D, diaphragm h, or its equivalent, rod H, having lug h, and the springactcd lever G, substantially as and forthc purpose described.

3. The combination, with the camera-shutters C C and suitable intermediate mechanism, of the air-cylinder D, diaphragm 71, red H, having lug h, and the arm a, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The eombination,with a suitable camera shutter, of arm 0, lever G, rod H, having lugs h h, spring h, and air-cylinder D, having elastic diaphragm h, or its equivalent, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the air-cylinder D, elastic diaphragm 71 or its equivalent, and 0s cillating rod H, with the elastic bumper h, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The vertically-oscillating camera-shutters O 0, having concussion-lugs f, and provided with arms 0 c, pivoted at c a", connected by the rod 0 and the spring 0, in combination with the elastic bumpers F, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination, with the air cylinder D and shutter-operating mechanism, substantially as described, of the tube d", having a. series of vent-holcs, d, which can be used either singly or plurally at the will of the operator, the sliding tube d, connecting-tube d, and air-compressor E, substantially as and for the purpose described' 8. In combination with the air-compressor E and tube d, having a series of vents, the sliding tube d, having leather lining, 11, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In an automatic pneumatic shutter opener and closer for cameras, an adjustable air-escape device comprising a series of vents, or the equivalent thereof, and suitable mechanism for operating the shutters, whereby the shutters are opened and kept opened for a given length of time and then-closed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signatu re in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLTAM GUNN PRICE.

Witnesses:

Hucuns J. Litvnncnn, M. O. SONIAT.

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