US689947A - Advertising device. - Google Patents

Description

N0. 689,947. Patented Dec. 3|, 90L E. M. BENTLEY.

ADVERTISING DEVICE.

(Applicatior filed Jan. 19, 1897.)

(No Model.)

fia entor;

onms PETERS co. Pnovouwu, mswucvm UNiThn STATES EDXVARD M. BENTLEY, OF

PATENT ()FFICE.

LAWRENCE, NEW YORK.

ADVERTISING DEVICE,

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 689,947, dated. December 31, 1901.

Application filed January 19, 1897.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. BENTLEY, a citizen of the United States, residingat Lawrence,Queens county,State ofNew York,l1av'e invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Advertising Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, where- 1n- Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of my apparatus; and Fig. 2 is a crosssection thereof on the line X X of Fig. 1.

My invention consists in an advertising device adapted to be placed along theline of an electric railway and to be operated by the trolley or contact of the electric-railway cars as it passes along the line conductor of the railway. More particularly, it consists of an advertising-sign which is brought into operation by means of a controlling circuit-closer located on or near the trolley-wire or conductor, which circuit-closer is adapted to be actuated by the trolley or contact each time that it passes. The advertising device is preferably located at the side of the street along which the railway passes, either on a pole or on the side or even on the interior of a building, and the arrangementis such that it will continue in operation for a definite length of time after the trolley has passed and will then be automatically thrown out of action and so remain until another trolley passes along, when the previous operation will be repeated.

The invention also resides in certain details of construction, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A represents an ordinary trolley-wire of an electric railway, which is suspended above the roadway in the usual manner.

B is an ordinary hanger or a plate of any suitable kind attached to the upper surface of the wire and supported from an insulatingblock 0. It serves as the base or framing for maintaining the circuit-closer in its required fixed relation to the conductor. The insulating-block is contained in a metallic casing D, being held therein by a retaining-ring E, which engages the under side of a shoulder on the block 0 and is bolted to the casing D. WVithin the casing and above the insulating- Serial No. 619,807. (No model.)

block is a space within which is located the circuit-closer, designed to be operated by a trolley passing along the conductor A. The hanger B is cut away at its center for a short distance, and in the center of the space thus formed is placed over the conductor a rod F, which extends upward through the insu lating-blocloO into the aforesaid space above, where it is provided with means for operat ing the circuit-closer. To the lower end of the rod F are jointed two plates G, split or slotted to embrace the plate or hangerB and having depending flanges on their lateral edges. These two plates extend in opposite directions from the rod F, on which they are hinged or have a bearing at their inner extremities. The outer extremities of these plates rest loosely or have a suitable hearing or hinge on projections H, placed one at each end of the hanger B. These projections H maintain the outer ends of plates G at a higher level than their inner ends, and pins extending through the said projections above the plates hold the said outer ends down. These plates G are of such width that a trolleywheel may pass freely between their depending side flanges, and beinginclined the flanges of the trolley-Wheel will strike the under side of the plates G and gradually lift their inner ends as it proceeds, and thereby force the rod F upward, so as to operate the circuit-closer. There being two of these plates G, the direction of movement of the trolley-wheel is immaterial, as it will obviously operate the rod F in whichever direction it may be passing.

The hanger B is attached to the under side of block 0 by means of acentralbolt K, which is itself centrally perforated, so as to receive the rod F. The upper end of bolt K is screwed into a plate L, from the edges of which rise three standards M, which meet at a central point directly over the end of bolt K and sustain from such meeting-point the cylinder N of a small dash-pot, of which the rod F forms the piston. The upper end of cylinder N is covered by a spring-plate O, which acts as a valve, permitting the rod F to be lifted freely, but retarding its movement downward. By this arrangement the main moving or operating portions of the device are mechanically connected by strong and unvarying metallic parts independently of so thatas it moves upward it will slide past the tip of spring R, which will then spring out, so as to engage the under side of the lug. The rod F will then drop down gradually by reason of the weight of the plates G, attached to its "lower end, and will draw down with it the end of spring R until the spring assumes theposition shown in dotted lines, when its tip will be drawn out from under lug S, letting the spring fly back into its original position.

tion with the conductor A, while the spring The rod F will be in electrical connec- Riwill form the terminal of a branch circuit. Therefore this branch circuit will become energized eachtime that the lug S comes in contact Wltlltlle tip Rand will remain energized until therodF drops and the spring R is released fromthe-lug, when it will fly back and open t'he circuit quickly and widely. The

branch circuit which is thus controlled by the described'circuit-closer may be employed to-operate an electrical'advertising device of any descrlption, a very simple one being shown in Fig. l as a transparent casing located on a postat'the side of the street and containing five or six incandescent lampsin series. On the transparent surface of the casing any advertising lettering or device may beinscribed.

-It is obvious that any other electricallyoperated sign or advertisement may besubstituted for that described, and it is also to be'understood that the retarding or timing apparatus of the advertiser may be of any other description than-that herein illustrated and also that other means may be provided for 'causing the trolley to control the said advertiser,:as-I do not intend to limitinyself to the specific devices herein set forth, there b'ei-ng various substitutes therefor which may be employed without departing from the spiritofmy invention.

WVhatI claim asnew, and desire tosecure by Letters -Paten t, is-

'1. The combination with an electric-railway conductor of'a' traveling contact, an electrically-operated advertiser at a fixed point along the line,'a circuit for said advertiser and a timed'cireuit-controller therefor placed int-he path of the said contact, so as to be operated thereby.

2. The combination with an electrically-operated advertiser at a stationary point along 'anelectric rail-way, ofa branch circuit from the conductor of said'railway extending to said advertiser for operating the same, and a controller for said circuit placed adjacent to the line conductor of the railway, so as to be operated by a traveling contact thereon.

3. The combination with a plate or hanger B adapted to be attached to an electric-railway conductor, of an insulating-block C, a bolt or connection K, a plate L attached to said bolt on the opposite side of said insulat ing-block, and a circuit-controller mechan ically connected to said plate and provided with an operating device mechanically connected to said plate B, whereby all of the operating parts are mechanically independent of the said insulating-block.

4. The combination with a plateorhanger B adapted to be attached to an electric-railway conductor, of vertically-moving rod F,

and horizontal plates Gextending'laterally in opposite directions from the-said rod and bearing thereon at one end andat the other end bearing on the said plate or hanger so as to engage the trolley-wheel flanges and'actuway conductor, of a rod F'placed centrally above the conductor and an operating-plate extending laterally therefrom so as toengage the trolley-wheel flanges.

6. Theeombination with inclined plate G placed above electric railway conductor A andextending laterally on opposite sides of the conductor, so'as to engagetheflangesof a trolley-wheel on the said conductor, and 'a circuit-controller operated by the said'plate.

7. The combination with an electric-railway conductor of a circuit-closer adapted to be operated by a traveling contact on the said conductor, and an intermediate-operating device placed in the path of saidtrolleywheel, so as to be-actuatedthereby and provided with depending side flanges for preventing derailment of the trolley during the time that it is operating the saidcircuitmontroller.

8. The combination with an electricallyilluminated advertising device, of a' oircuit containing the electric lamps of sai'd device, and a controller for said circuit placed at a point adjacent to the conductor of'an'electric railway and provided with operating devices placed in the path of-a traveling contact on said conductor, so as to be actuated thereby.

9. .The combination with the rod F and line conductor A, of the plate G'having depending side flanges and a connecting'device at one end for engaging therod F and-at the other end a device for engaging a projection on the upper side of conductor A. I

In witness whereof I have hereunto set-my hand this 4th day of January, 1897.

EDWARD M. BENTLEY.

Witnesses:

L. T. SHAW, L. H. LATIMER.

IIO

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