US557990A - Photographic-background carrier - Google Patents

Description

N0 Mod 1. e R. A. GREEN & A. R. LAWTON.

PHOTOGRAPHIG BACKGROUND CARRIER Patented Apr. '7, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD A. GREEN AND ARTHUR R. LAIVTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PHOTOGRAPHlC-BACKGROUND CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,990, dated April '7, 1896.

Application filed January 20, 1896. Serial No. 576,103. (No model.)

To all whont it ntay concern:

3e it known that we, RICHARD A. GREEN and ARTHUR R. LAwToN, residents of Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Photographic-Background Carriers having Changeable and Adjustable Backgrounds, of which the following, when taken in connection with the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, is a full and complete description, sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to which it pertains to understand, make, and use the same.

Our invention relates to photographicbackground carriers and backgrounds, used by placing the same back of one or more persons sitting for a photographic negative; and the object of our invention is to obtain a photographic-hackground carrier having chan geable and adjustable backgrounds, whereof the backgrounds can be easily changed in the background-carrier, so as to expose the desired background to view, and when so exposed such background can be readily adjusted to the required height or position in the background-carrier.

In the drawings referred to and illustrating a photographic-background carrier having changeable and adjustable backgrounds e1nbodying our invention, Figure 1 is a perspective View of such backgroundcarrier, showing the movable backgrounds contained therein, the connection between the backgrounds, and the relative positions thereof; Fig. 2, a vertical cross-sectional view of our photographicbackground carrier through the upper portion thereof and of the background contained therein Fig. 3, a horizontal sectional View of one side of the photographic-background carrier on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows, showing one end of the photographic backgrounds contained therein; and Fig. 4, avertical sectional view of a portion of one side of the photographic-background carrier, showing one of the friction-rollers placed at the bottom of the grooves to reduce the friction incident to adjusting the background in the carrier.

A letter of reference used to designate a given part is applied to such part to indicate the same wherever the part appears throughout the several figures of the drawings.

A A are the feet or the base of our photographic-background carrier.

B B are the side posts of the carrier, secured at their lower ends, respectively, to the feet A A and at their upper ends secured together by connecting bar or rail 0.

O is a bracket secured to the side post B and to the connecting-rail O.

D is a connectingrail extending between the feet A Aor between the lower ends of the posts B B.

E E are grooves in posts B B, in which grooves the backgrounds F F are placed to slide freely upward and downward. The backgrounds F F", as will be observed by reference to Fig. 1, are of less height than is the carrier and are connected together by the flexible connection G, extending over the rotatable pulley H, mounted on the top rail 0. By this means the backgrounds F F counterbalance each other, and as one of such backgrounds is raised in the grooves in which it is placed the other is correspondingly lowered in its grooves. To prevent the backgrounds F F from binding in the grooves E E, respectively, and also to lessen the friction caused by the sliding of the backgrounds in the grooves thereof, respectively, we place at intervals in the grooves two or more rollers I I, rotatably mounted in frame J, an d with which the edges of the backgrounds come in contact, the post B having recess K therein, as illustrated in Fig. 4, to receive the roller I and a portion of the frame J thereof.

In order to obtain more than two backgrounds which can be exposed to the camera and adjusted with but little effort to any desired height in the carrier, we construct the carrier and backgrounds as follows: The backgrounds may consist of canvas stretched on a frame, whereof f f Fig. 3, are the side rails, and f f f, and f respectively, are the canvas covers or sheets on which the scene or design of the background is painted.

F F Fig. 2, are the top rails of backgrounds F F, respectively. 7

L L are removable sections of post 13. These removable sections L L, respectively, are of the height of the backgrounds F F, respectively, and when such removable sections are taken from the posts B B the bottom of the groove adjacent thereto is exposed, so

that the end of the background in such groove can be removed therefrom, and so, also, the other end of the background removed from its groove, and such background turned end for end or top for bottom, as preferred, so that the face of the background, which in the first instance formed the back thereof, shall form the front. The removable sections L L, respectively, when in position to hold the backgrounds in place are secured to the posts B B, respectively; but when removed from such position these removablesections may or may not, as preferred, be attached to such posts B B, respectively.

o prefer to construct the photographicbackground carrier embodying our invention in such manner that the removable sections L L, respectively, are secured to the posts I B, respectively, by hinges Z Z and are held in front of the respective grooves EE by hook Z. When so constructed, by unlatching the hook Z of removable section L or removable section L such removable section can be turned from its position forming part of the groove adjacent thereto into such positionas, say, the position indicated by dotted lines L Fig. 3as to open the groove and permit the end of the background therein to be taken therefrom.

here the background is of comparatively large dimensionsas, say, four feet by seven feet or thereaboutit may be advisable to loosen the flexible connection G from the background to be changed, and in such case, after the background has been changed in the manner described and the removable sec tion secured in place, such flexible connection G is again secured to the background.

To adjust the background to be used to the proper and desired height, it is simply raised or lowered in its grooves, being at all times counterbalanced by the other background, which at all times moves in the opposite direction to the background being adjusted and a corresponding distance.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a photographic-background carrier, side posts having vertical grooves therein, backgrounds in the grooves, such back grounds connected together by a flexible connection, one of such backgrounds being a counterbalance to the other and both of such backgrounds sliding in the grooves therefor respectively, and a removable section to the posts, respectively, such removable section forming when in position on the post thereof the front of the groove adjacent thereto; substantially as described.

2. In a photographicbackground carrier, side posts having vertical grooves therein, rollers rotatably mounted at the bottom of the grooves respectively, backgrounds in the grooves, a flexible connection secured at its ends to the backgrounds respectively, a pulley rotatably mounted on the top rail of the carrier over which pulley the flexible connection extends whereby one of such backgrounds is a counterbalance to the other and both of such backgrounds sliding in such grooves respectively, and a removable section to the posts, respectively, such removable section forming when in position on the post thereof the front of the groove adj acen t thereto; substantially as described.

In a photographic-background carrier, side posts having vertical grooves therein, backgrounds in the grooves, a flexible connection secured to the backgrounds respectively, such flexible connection arranged so that one of such backgrounds is a counterbalance to the other and both of such backgrounds sliding in the grooves therefor, a removable section to the posts, respectively, hinges securing the removable sections respectively, to the posts thereof, and means for securing the removable sections respectively in position to form the front of the groove adjacent thereto; substantially as described.

RICHARD A. GREEN. ARTHUR R. LAXVTON. \Vi tn esses:

D. E. STEDMAN, JAMES M. GREEN.

Images