US511470A - Educational apparatus - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) Sheets-Sheet 1.

0. M. STONE.

. EDUCATIONAL APPARATUS.

Patented Dec. 26, '1893. Z

0. M. STONE.

EDUCATIONAL APPABJUPUS (No Model.)

-No..'511',-47-0'.- Patented "1390'." 26, 1 8913 [Mm/202 if IONAL LITHOGRAFHING wmsumm'un n o NlTiED TA 1 ATENT Erica;

EDUCATIONAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,470, dated December 26 1893. Application filedSeptember 5, 1892. Renewed June 9, 1893. Serial No. 477,119. (No model.)

To all whom it mag conceive Be 1t known that I, CHARLES MILTOX STONE, a citizen of theUnited States, residing Y at Nashville, in thecountyof Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Educational Ap paratus; and ldo 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. 7

. This invention relates to a novel educational apparatus. i

The objects of myinvention are to produce an apparatus whereby may be readily exhibited in an attractive manner different styles of alphabet, combinations of words and parts of speech, syntax, combinations of words and illustrations descriptive thereof, and also the fundamental rules and parts of mathematics with examples and combinations thereof, whereby instruction may be readily and attractively imparted in the arts of speech and calculation; my apparatus being equally-well adapted for a variety of uses,

such, for instance, as a date exhibitor',jt'orex1- hibiting information and matter of-varied character, for calculating interest, and such like purposes. v, I 5 1 The apparatus, briefly described, consists of a box or casing havingits front face either entirely open or provided either with a fixed row of figures, letters, words 'or signs, and a series of slits or openings through which a series of movable numerals, letters, words, signs and the like maybe viewed,'or with a transparent front face backed by a cardor the like having a set line or lines of characters thereon, and a series of slits through which the movablecharacters may be viewed; a series of rollers, one or more belts or hands reversely wound on said rollers and having on opposite sides thereof a series of characters, one or more indicating rollers, gearing connecting said rollers to secure the appropriate individual rotation thereof, and a crank or handle'for operating the said gearing and rollers. Y

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is aperspectiveview thereof witha portion of the casing removed. Fig.

3 is a section taken on the line a, a, of Fig. 2.

Fig.4 represents an end elevation with the.

si'de'of the casing removed. The primary object of my invention is the production of an apparatus whereby children may be readily and pleasantly instructed in the arts ofmathematics, the ifuudamental characteristics of language, spelling, syntax, object lessons,'and education generally, and such an adaptation of my apparatus is shown in' the accompanying drawings, though it Will be manifestthat 'the' apparatus is equally well adapted fora variety of other uses, such as for calculating interest, percentages, as

a calendar, an exhibitor of dates and other matters, depending solely upon the characters printed or otherwise placed upon the indicating roller and upon the movable'belt carried by the other rollers. This multiplication of uses will be so self-evident that it will only be necessary for me to indicate a single application to show the adaptability of the apparatus for general use. I have, therefore, in the drawings, illustrated the ap-v paratus as adapted to the representation of and instruction in the Written and printed fo'rms of the alphabet, and in the fundamental princ'iplesof and examples in mathematics, su'chas'addition, multiplication, subtraction and division; examples in higher mathemati'cs and in spelling, object and .Word lessons and {the like canreadily be furnished in a single apparatus by increasing thesize of the casing and of the size of the rollers and length of the traveling belt; similarly, by increasing the number of view-openings in thefront of the casing,'-th e number of belts'carrying roll- 'ers beyond what-are showniri the drawings,

the capacity of the apparatus for imparting increased instruction and information can be readily secured.

1 represents the box or case within which the indicator drum or roller or rollers, the belt-carrying rollers,-belt or belts and mechanism for actuating said parts are contained. In the drawings this case is shown as having its front face provided with a glass face, 2, against the rearof which is placed a sheet of paper, cardboard, muslin or the like, 3, havof slits, 5, 6, 7 therein. It desired, however,

IOO

- ing a row of numerals, 4, thereon and a series or other suitable material and have slits formed therein correspondingwith the slits, 5, 6, 7, and may have attached thereto either permanently or by means of a slide or strip working in guide-ways a series of numerals corresponding with the row, 4, heretofore described; it being well understood that for said numerals, 4, other devices may be substituted according to the use to which the apparatus is to be put. Or, as hereinafter mentioned, the front of the case may be entirely open to afford an uninterrupted view of the interior.

Referring to the specific illustration of my invention as it appears in the accompanying drawings, which specific form, however, I do not limit myself to as the number and size of the several rollers and belts may be increased and varied matter placed thereon as desired.

8 represents metallic plates or strips which are secured to the inner side faces of the box or case, 1, and within which the roller ing for said shafts or journals.

9 represents a hollow roller or drum, termed the indicator, having around its periphery at suitable distances apart, a series of words, or words and symbols, indicative of the mat- ,ter shown on the belt or belts, for instance, as the words alphabet, addition, subtraction, division and the symbols thereof, or of other branches of mathematics, parts of speech, and so on; said roller or drum may either be closed at its respective ends by disks, 10, having rigid connection with the shaft or journal, 11, orits ends may be open and said shaft or journal connected with the roller by spider arms, 12. Upon one end of the shaft or journal of said indicator roller or drum is secured a cog, 13, which meshes with a similar cog, 14, on a. shaft, 15, journaled below said indicator roller, the opposite end of said shaft, 15, carrying asprocket wheel, 16, for a purpose to be presently described. This .indicator roller or drum is located within the box spective ends disks, 21, which serve to guide thereon.

, the belt in its winding and unwinding movements and insure its regularity in coiling To one end of the shaft of the up per of these rollers, 17, is attached a crank or handle, 22, by means of which said rollermay be rotated, a small cog-wheel, 23, being secured to the opposite end of the shaft, 19, of

. said roller, 17, and meshing with a larger gear wheel, 24, carried by a shaft or journal, 25,

loosely journaled in the plates or strips, 8, rearwardly of the roller, 17 extending from the inner face of. said gear, 24, is a stud, 26, which at each revolution of said gear, 24, engages with the sprocket, ]6, on the shaft, 15, connected by cogs 13, 14, with the indicator roller so as to turn said indicator roller one step for each revolution of the belt-carrying roller, 17. Rearwardly of the belt-carrying roller, 18, is journaled in the strips, 8, a shaft, 27, carrying at one end a gear, 28, similar to and having anequal number of teeth to that of the gear, 24, with which it meshes, said gear, 28, also meshing with a toothed pinion, 29, on the adjacent end of the lower belt-carrying roller, 18. The number of teeth around the peripheries of the gears, 24, 28, correspond with the number of lines of letters, words, figures, characters, or other devices on the belt, so that at each complete revolution of the crank or handle, 22, the respective gears, 24, 28, will be moved one tooth and the pinions, 23, 29, correspondingly moved one cog so as to rotate the rollers, 17, 13, the distanceofone space and thereby bring another line of characters opposite-each slit, 6, 7, in the face of the box or case. hen said rollers, 17, 18, have thus been rotated to bring intoplay the entire length of the belt, and the gears, 24, 28, have been revolved entirely around the stud, 26, on the gear, 24, will engage with the sprocket, 16, on the shaft, 15, at. therear of the indicator roller and thereby cause, through the medium of the cogs, 13, 14, said indicator roller to move one space to bring a newline of indication opposite the slit, 5. When the mechanism above described hasthus been actuated to expose theeutire matter upon the belt, or at any period of such exposureas may be desired, the belt can be rewound by simply reversing the direction of rotation of the crank. or handle, 22, thereby reverselyrotating said mechanism.

30, represents the posite faces of which are printed or otherwise placed the letters, words, figures, or characters it is designed to display through the slits, 6, 7, in the front'of the case. The respective ends of this belt or band are attached in any. it suitable manner to the rollers or drums, 17,

18, and are coiled thereon in reverse directions so that said belt as the, rollers, 17, 18, are rotated will unwind from one and wind upon the other of said rollers and simultaneously expose through the slits, 6, 7,portions belt or band. upon. the opof the opposite sides of said belt;hthis arrangement permits of the exhibition of. the maximum amount of. matter with theemployment of the minimum amount of belting,space and mechanism. Bylocating the shafts, 25, 27, at the rear upper portion of the: belt-carrying rollers, 17, 18, as shown, they assist in guid- 7 ing the belt into position as it windsnpou the respective rollers.

\Vithin the lower belt-carryingroller, 18, is located a coiled spring, 31, which at one end is secured to said roller and at its other end backward movement, and the remaining mechanism similarly assisted through the medium of the gearing, by the uncoiling of said spring.

A further advantage secured by the employment of the spring roller, 18, is that it regulatesthe paying-off of the belt from the one roller (which, with the belt thereon, is, for the time being, of greater diameter or circumference than is the roller with less belt thereon, and onto which-the belt is being coiled), onto the otheras will appear from the following description of the method bywhich the belt is attached and operated.

In the ordinary size of apparatus constructed for a childs use the belt is of sufficient length to allow, say, twenty revolutions of the rollers, 17, 18, and the space required for making the full revolution of theindieator roller, which is about two revolutions of the controlling gears of the belt-carrying rollers, 17, 18, though I do not limit myself to such as the size of allthe parts maybe proportionately increased as desired. The width of and material used in constructing the belt depends upon the size of the apparatus; it may be of paper, cloth, or any other suitable substance. fastened to the roller, 18,1and. first wound .tightly thereon; the shaft, 20, is then rigidly secured in said roller, 18, then said roller is revolved in the same direction that the belt is wound until the spring, 31, therein is wound up. The other end of the belt is then securely fastened to the roller, 17 so as tov insure its be ing wound thereon in 'a reverse direction to that in which it is wound on the roller, 18, This having been done, the apparatus is now ready for use. As the belt is wound on the roller 17 the importance of the spring roller, 18, will readily be observed. The rollers, 17, 18, are geared to make the same number of revolutions, and as the roller, 18, at this pointis larger in diameter than is. the roller, 17; were it not for the spring, 31, the roller, 18, would let off more belt than roller, 17, would wind up, so the spring unwinds and revolves the roller, on the shaft sufficiently to takeup all the slack in the belt. After the center of the belt is reached, the roller, '17, commences to get larger than roller, 18, and then takes up more belt than comes ofi the roller 18; then the spring, 31, gives to the tension of the belt, and by recoiling itself supplies the deficiency, so that, by the use of the'spring the rollers adjust themselves so as to keep One end of the belt is securely.

the belt perfectly tight. By the arrangement of gearing described, the belt-carrying rollers, 17, 1.8, revolve in opposite directions and they and the belt can be brought nearer the front of the box and the rollers brought nearer togetherto economize space than would be possible were said rollers geared together simply by the gears, 24, 28.

It is not essential, in all cases, that the front face of the case shall be provided with visual slits, as the front may be transparent or open throughout its entire area providing that the spaces between the respective lines of characters on the-belt are sufficiently wide to insure of only single lines thereof being visible at each turn of therollers.

The operation and mode of use of the apparatus will be evident from the foregoing description.

herewith, which is of the smaller size and is adapted to teach and illustrate to a child the diiferent styles of the alphabet and the fundamentals of mathematics, and where the apparatus can readily be operated by the child; the front is provided with three slits or view openings, 5, 6, 7,midway between the two lower view openings, 6, 7, is located a line of numerals, say, from 1 to 12. Upon turning the crank or handle, 22, until that portion of the indicator roller, 9, with the word alphabet thereon comes opposite the upper opening, 5, and continuing the rotation of said crank or handle, 22, the rollers,- 17,' 18 with their connective gearing and the belt, 30, will be moved so as to expose at the openings, 6, 7, the small and capital letters of the alphabet,both in" the printed and Written forms thereof. Then, by continuing such rotation of the crank or handle, when the alphabet has been exhausted the indicator roller will, by means of the stud, 26, sprocket,

16, and. connecting gearing, be turned one space so as to bring opposite the upper opening, 5, the' word and symbol of addition the continued rotation of the belt, in the manner above described, will then bring to view'in the opening, 6, a seriesof numerals which, when added to the numerals respectively below each numeral opposite the open- Taking, for instance, an appa-- ratns such as illustrated in the drawings.

openings, 6,7; by subtracting the several numerals in the permanent row, 4, from those appearing in the opening, 5, the remainder will be. found to be correctly indicated in the lower row of numerals appearing at the open- .ing, 7. The continued rotation of the handle and. parts connected therewith will then successivelybring into view the words and sym" bols of multiplication and division, and the several series of numeralsopposite the openings, 6, 7, the lower line, in these cases, always indicating the product reached by either multiplying or dividing, as the case may be, the upper numerals by the permanent numerals, 4. Any desired extension of such examples may be had according to requirement, depending upon the size of the apparatus and length of belt employed. And, in lieu of, or in addition to such examples in mathematics and the alphabet, other matter may be similarly exhibited such, for instance, as wcrds,illustrative representations of such words, calendar matter, &c., the uses to which the apparatus may be put being most varied in character.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1., An educational appliance for indicating individual and combinations of parts of speech, words and illustrations thereof, and of the fundamental rules of and examples in mathematics and mathematical combinations, consisting of a suitable casing having a suitable scale and suitably disposed view spaces in its front, a revoluble indicator, reversely revoluble rollers, a belt or band connected to said rollers so as to Wind over said rollers in reverse directions and having on its opposite faces a series of letters, words, signs or numerals, and gearing connecting said rollers and indicator and a crank or handle for op,- erating the actuating mechanism and revolving said rollers and indicator, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An educational or indicating apparatus, consisting of a suitable box or case, a spring roller journaled in said case and having a pinion atone end of its journal,aroller similarly journaled above'said spring roller and having at one end a pinion intermeshing with the pinion on said spring roller, and an operating handle connected with its opposite end a belt connected with and reversely wound upon said rollers and having suitable subject matter on its opposite faces, shafts jonrnaled rearwardly of said rollers, gears mounted on said shafts and adapted to mesh together and with the pinions on the shafts of the beltcarrying rollers, a stud projecting from the face of one of said gears, a shaft journaled above said rollers and having a sprocket adapted to engage said stud, an indicator roller j on rnaled above said belt-carrying rollers and having suitable words orcharacters around its periphery indicative of the sub ect matter on said belt, and intermeshing pinions on the respective shafts of said indicator roller and sprocket, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. An apparatus of the character described; consisting of a casing having view spaces, an indicating roller journaled in the casing having a pinion atone end, a shaft havinga pinion engaging said pinion, a sprocket wheel on the other end of the shaft, rollersjournaled in the casing carrying a belt having educational lines of matter thereon, gearing c0nnecting and rotating said rollers, anda stud or arm on one of the gear wheels for striking the arms of the sprocket or tappet wheel to intermittently rotate the indicating roller.

4:. An apparatus of the charactertdescribed, consisting of a casing having view openings, an indicating roller journaled in the casing having a pinion, a shaft journaledin thecasing having a pinion and carryingasprocket or tappet wheel, belt carrying rollers mounted in the casing, one being a spring roller,

gearing for rotating said rollers, andan arm or stud on one of the gear wheels operated by the rotation of the rollers to intermittently strike the tappet or sprocket wheel and move the indicating roller by means of thepinions on the shaft and the said indicating roller.

5. An apparatus of the character described, consisting of a casing having view openings, an indicating roller journaled in the casing behind one of the openings having a series of lines of educational matter andcarryinga pinion, a shaft journaled in the casing having a pinion meshing with said pinion andalso having a sprocket wheel, reversely revoluble rollers journaled in said casing, a band or belt connected to said rollers and having matter on each face thereof, an operating handle or crank for revolving the rollers, gearing operated by said rollers, and an arm or stud carried by one of the gear-wheels and adapted to intermittently strike an arm of the sprocket or tappet wheel to move the indicating roller.

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

CHARLES MILTON STONE.

lVitnesses:

P. E. CLEVELAND, S. D. BULLINGTON.

Images