US745218A

US745218A - Combined sound-reproducing and stereopticon apparatus.

Info

Publication number: US745218A
Application number: US15421603A
Authority: US
Inventors: Carl F Mensing
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1903-04-25
Filing date: 1903-04-25
Publication date: 1903-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 1920-11-24

Description

No. 745,218. ,PATENTED NOT- 24, 1903.

G. F. MENSING.

COMBINED SOUND RBPRODUGING AN D STBREOPTIGON APPARATUS.

APPLICATION; n'Lsn APR. 25. 1903.

N0 MODEL SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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COMBINED SOUND REPRODUCING AND STEREOPTIUON APPARATUS. nrmonron rum) 11.25. 1903.

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UITED STATES Patented November 24, 1903.

PATENT COMBINED SOUND-REPRODUCING AND STEREOPTICON APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 745,218, dated November 24, 1903.

Application filed April 25, 1903. Serial No. 154,216. (No model.)

To atZZ whmn it ntcty concern:

' zen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Sound-Reproducing and Stereopticon Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to combined soundreproducing and stereopticon apparatus, and has for its object to produce apparatus of the character enumerated whereby the reproduction of words descriptive or suggestive shall be synchronously attended by the display of the scene to which such words relate.

A further object is to produce such apparatus which can be adjusted to project a scene on the screen to accommodate a particular word arrangement of any song, speech, lecture, or other address.

A still further object is to produce such apparatus so combined and arranged that it may be contained within a small cabinet for use in places of amusement.

To these ends the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a cabinet with its near wall removed to expose the mechanism. Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section taken above the partition of the cabinet. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 111 III of Fig. 1.

,1; In the said drawings, 1 designates a cabinet of any suitable or preferred type and having its front and upper ends connected by a portion 2, sloping rearwardly and upwardly at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the cabinet is provided with ahorizontal partition 3, impervious to light. In the chamber above the partition and supported thereon or in any other suitable manner is an ordinary phonograph adapted to be equipped with the usual appurtenances whereby it may be set in operation by dropping a coin into the machine, the coin-chute and connections being omitted because of well-known construction. The phonograph is provided with the usual traveling arm 5 and is belted, as at 6, to the usual governor 7 of an electric motor, (not shown,) said motor being of the type in common use in coin-operated phonographs. The belt 6 is also utilized to drive a wheel 8, having a small pulley 9 fora purpose which hereinafter appears.

10 is a contact-arm secured to the traveling arm 5 of the phonograph and adapted while the sounds are being reproduced to successively engage contacts 11, adjustably secured by set-screws 12 on a bar 13, suitably supported, a rod 14 being disposed below contacts 11 to prevent their dropping sufficiently low to interfere with the proper travel of arm 10. A contact-plate 15 is mounted on bar 13 and is electrically connected by conductor 16 to one of the binding-posts, 17, of said motor,

the other binding-post, 18, being connected by conductor 19 to a magnet 20, arranged in the chamber below partition 3, said magnet being also connected by conductor 21 to arm 10 in order that the engagement of the latter with one of the contacts 11 shall establish an electric circuit to energize the magnet, it being understood, of course, that a storage battery (not shown) will be employed to operate the motor or else the latter will be operated by an equivalent source of electric supply.

The usual spring-retracted armature 22 is pivoted on a bracket 23, mounted on one pole of the magnet. A lever 24 substantially parallel with the armature is limited as to gravitative movement by stop-pin 25 and pivotally carries a bevel-end catch 26, held normally by spring 27 and post 28 of the lever with its bevel end against the other pole of the magnet, said catch having a notch 29.normally engaged by the armature, the arrangement being such that the energization of the mag net attracts the armature and causes the latter, through the medium'of the catch, to lift or trip the lever, and at the same time the engagement of the bevel end of the catch with the magnet-pole disengages the former from the armature to permit the lever to drop down to its original position. engagement of arm 10 with contact 11 is broken and the magnet is deenergized, the denergization permitting the armature to be instantly retracted and in such action to ride upon the'bevel end of and force'the catch aside until again .opposite the recess, when him I As this occurs the the catch is again drawn by spring 27 into engagement with the armature.

30 is a horizontal shaft suitably secured in the lower chamber of the cabinet, and 31 a skeleton wheel journaled thereon and adapted to be equipped peripherally with the usual stereopticon-slides and provided with a corresponding number of equidistant peripheral pins 32 for successive engagement with the upper end of lever 24 when in its normal or depressed position.

33 is a pulley journaled on shaft 30, and 34 a coil-spring secured at its inner end to the hub of said wheel and at its outer end frictionally to the hub of wheel 31 and tending to rotate the latter in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1. The pulley rotates continuously but slowly in the same direction through the medium of a belt 35, connected at its opposite end to small pulley 9, hereinbefore mentioned, said belt extending up through the partition and around a guidepulley 36, journaled in the free end of a bar 37, hinged as at 38 to the cabinet and pressed upwardly with a yielding pressure by spring 39, so as to hold the belt under proper tension at all times.

40 is a bracket secured within the cabinet and carrying a condensing-lens 41,0ver which the slides successively pass, being held inactive thereover for the required period by means of the lever 24 and stop-pins 32, as will be readily understood.

Below the condensing-lens a lamp 42 is secured, and in line with the same and the center of said lens is the usual objective lens 43, the same extending up through the partition and supported preferably by a bracket 44.

In alinement with the lamp lens 41, and lens 43 a mirror 45 is secured to the inner side of the cabinet portion 2 by means of cleats 46 or otherwise and adapted to project the scene of the slide at that moment above the condensing-lens upon the screen 47, secured to the back wall of the cabinet and opposite the usual sight-piece or hood 48 at the front side of the cabinet. The pictures are viewed by looking through hood 48, one only of which appears, and the sound is heard by introducing the tips of the phonograph-tubes 49 into the ears, said tubes extending through the cabinet in the customary manner and normally resting on the hooks 50, projecting from the front of the cabinet.

In practice it is preferred that the apparatus shall be provided with a coin-chute (not shown) and accessories in order that the introduction of a coin shall start the apparatus in operation. As the phonograph reproduces sound heard by the operator through the medium of tubes 49, as explained, its contact arm 10 successively engages contacts 11 and with each engagement and disengagement makes and breaks a circuit through the magnet, which through the control it exercises over lever 24 periodically arrests and holds the slide-carrier 31, said carrier being actuated, as will be readily understood, by the re laxation of the coil-spring 34, said spring being automatically retensioned while the carrier is at rest through the medium of the constantly but slowly operating belt-wheel 33, as will be readily understood.

As the wheel slide-carrier is held stationary for varying periods of time, this being dependent on the distance betweencontacts l1, and the belt-wheel rotates continuously at a uniform speed, it is obvious that the c0ilspring would be wound tighter at times than at others if provision was not made to prevent such result-viz., to permit the spring to slip or move independently of the wheelcarrierand to effect this result in the most practical manner I provide the outer end of the spring, with an enlargement or head 34, which wedges lightly between the proximate spring convolution and the wall of the cup formed on the hub of wheel 31, the friction between the spring-head and cup being sufficient to rotate the said wheel in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1, and yet slip sufficiently when said wheel is stationary to prevent the spring being wound sufficiently tight to stop the belt or reduce the speed thereof, either of which results would correspondingly affect the sound-reproducing machine. It will thus be seen that the slides are successively disposed between the lens and remain stationary in such position for a period of time dependent upon the distance between contacts 11, and during such time is portrayed through the apparatusdescribed upon the screen. After the contact-arm has passed the last contact 11, which is preferably the slide which announces the title of the reproduction, the arm 5 is pivotally operated in the usual manner to dispose the contact-arm below the plane of the contacts and is then returned toward its original position through means common in automatic phonographs without engagement with contacts 11, and therefore without affecting the carrier.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that I have produced apparatus of the character described which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of invention and which is susceptible of modification with out departing from the principle and scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet containing a mirror, a screen, a sight-piece, an objective lens, a condensing-lens, and a light in operative relation with said lens; a slide-carrier to dispose its slides between the lenses; means to hold the slide-carrier stationary; a sound-reproducing instrument; means actuated by the sound-reproducing instrument, for tripping *the slide-carrier-holding means at intervals; and means to move the slide-carrier when said holding means are tripped.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet having a dark chamber containing a reflecting-mirror, a screen and a sight-piece, an objective lens arranged to throw a picture upon said mirror, aslide-carrier, means tending to move the same, means to for arresting and holding said carrier stationary after it travels the width of a slide, a series of contacts corresponding to the number of slides, a magnet in circuit therewith, a sound reproducing apparatus having a [5 movable arm and ear-tubes, a contact-arm movable with said arm and adapted to successively engage said contacts When moving in one direction and also in circuit with said magnet, and a catch movably securedto the wheel-oarrier-arresting means and engaging the magnet-armature when the carrier is at rest.

3. In an apparatus of the character described,a cabinet having a dark chamber containing a mirror, a screen, and a sight-piece, an objective lens, a condensing-lens in line with the objective lens and mirror, a mov- .ing slide-carrier between said lenses, a soundreproducing instrument, and means whereby said sound-reproducing instrument shall periodically arrest the movement of said carrier.

4. In an apparatus of the character described,a cabinet having a dark chamber containing a mirror, a screen, and a sight-piece, an objective lens, a condensing-lens in' line with the objective lens and mirror, a moving slide-carrier between said lenses, a soundreproducing instrument, means to arrest the carrier at intervals, a magnet having its'armature connected to such means, contacts in circuit with said magnet, and a contact-arm moved by the sound-reproducing instrument to successively engage said contacts and thereby alternately energize and denergize the magnet and trip and release said carrierarresting means.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet containing a mirror, a

, screen, a sight-piece, an objective lens, a conment for releasing the slide-carrier, and then permitting the arrestingand holding means to again arrest and hold the said carrier.

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

CARL F. MENSING.

Witnesses: v

H. O. RODGERS, G. Y. THORPE.