US809956A - Amusement device. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JAN 16, 1906.

C. H; JAEGER. AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT.10,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

CHARLEs H. JAEGER',

No. 809,956. PATENTED JAN. 16, 1906. O. H. JAEGER.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE;

APPLIOATNN FILED 00w. 10.1905.

2 SHBETSSHEBT 2.

Q/vdvmoscs gmvawi'oz 4 #79,; CHARLES H.JP\EGER,

CHARLES H. JAEGER, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1906.

Application filed October 10,1905. Serial No. 282,105.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. J AEGER, a citizen of the United States of. America, residing at 24 est Fifty-ninth street, borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Amusement Device; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to amusement devices or illusion apparatus, especially of the class in which passengers are seated in a body representing a vehicle and adjacent moving parts create an illusion of travel of the body which carries the passengers.

The object especially aimed at is to cause the passengers to believe that the vehicle is running away, jolting or jarring movements being also given to said body in addition to the movements of the adjacent parts which give the illusion of travel.

In the accompanying drawings, which represent somewhat diagrammatically apparatus embodying my invention, Figure 1 represents a top planview of a structure showing three passenger-carrying bodies. Fig. 2 shows lever arrangements for shifting the side scenes as desired. Fig. 3 is a plan view, the floor being removed, of one general arrangement of driving connections; and Fig. i is a longitudinal section of a part of Fig. 1.

The apparatus is provided with one or more passenger-carrying bodies A, which may be automobiles, more or less complete, or be constructed to give the appearance of automobiles. Such body or bodies may rest directly upon flooring or other platform. To cause the passengers to believe that the body in which they are seated is running rapidly over an uneven road or is traveling uncontrolled, rising and falling, or jolting or twisting motions are contributed. to the body, which it is to be understood does not actually travel. The rising and falling or jolting or twisting motions referred to may be given by any desired connections, and I have shown a mechanical arrangement which (see Fig. 4) comprises an upright B, (which is loosely connected with the bottom of the body A,) and to which repeated reciprocations are imparted by a rotatable barrel C.- For this pur. pose I have shown the upright B provided with a bottom roller b, (axially mounted between forks, for instance,) which fits into and rides upon depressions and projections 0 upon the periphery of barrel C. As will be seen, the rotation of the part C will result in giving rising-and-falling jerky motions to the upright B, and the intervals between and the extent of such motions will be dependent upon the number and size of the recesses and projections upon the surface of C and upon the speed of rotation thereof.

Any form of barrel C may be used; but in order not to again and again repeat the same motionsof the body A, I prefer a broad barrel (see Fig. 3) and provide connections whereby the same will be moved widthwise as well as rotate. As shown, I may secure the part C upon an axial shaft D and drive the same from a gear E,.which meshes with gear 6, carried by main shaft X. To cause traverse movements of C, I show an axial screw F, engaging a projection in the framef, and connect the shaft D and the rod from gear E by a pin playing in slot G of the shaft.

The passenger-carrying body A, as stated, does not travel. To give the occupants thereof the illusion of traveling, side scenes II and H (see also Fig. 1) are provided, and these are rapidly moved at both sides of an automobile A and toward the occupants.

These side scenes will be painted or ornamented in any way desiredfor instance, to represent trees, houses, fences, &c., past which a body A is supposed to be travelingand to further heighten the illusion one of the scenes II or II maybe inclined toward the other, or both may be inclined, as shown in Fig. 1, thus giving a false perspective to the occupants of the body A. The illusion of perspective will also be increased if the apparatus is also provided with hanging curtains DC or SC (as hereinafter described) and upon which are painted views of distant mountains or other views. I have also provided means whereby the occupants of the body A will still be led to believe when looking forward at the roadway that their vehicle is in motion, and such means consists of a substitute road-bed which travels toward the body in which the occupants sit. This moving roadway consists of an endless con veyer L, of any suitable construction, and painted upon its exterior to represent the upper surface of a road. The belt L moves around the rollers M and N, the latter being driven by gear N, meshing with gear O at the top of short shaft P, thelower end of which carries a gear meshing with gear Q upon the main shaft X.

Before starting the apparatusgthe side scenes H and H are entirely unwound from the upright rollers I and I and fully Wound upon the upright rollers J and J. As especially shown in Fig. 4, the scene H has open ings K therein (which may represent the doorways of automobile-garages) and through these doorways the passengers enter and leave to get to and from the bodies A. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, there may be a series of bodies A, and one pair of side scenes may be used with the several bodies, running past all of them. In such event the apparatus will be divided into compartments by hanging curtains, as shown in Fig. 1. Such curtains may comprise dropped curtains DC, placed a considerable distance in advance of automobiles 1 and 2 and the right-hand stationary curtain SC. The side scenes H and H and the individual road-beds L are then set in motion, the side scenes being driven by bevel-gears R and S, Fig. 3, from the main shaft X. The occupants of the bodies A may also witness, as they believe, the running down of objects by their vehicle. For this purpose the objects may be permanently or temporarily attached to the roadways L and be drawn toward the bodies A. I contemplate giving the illusion of actually running down a man, and to accomplish this an attendzj ant may (see Fig. 1) enter from behind the right-hand curtain SC, step upon the moving roadway L, and apparently be carried underneath the first automobile. He will, however, be shunted down or upon stairs a, and will then walk upstairs a and pass around the curtain DC and step upon the second roadway L, with the same result as before. This may be done as often as there are bodies A and may be repeated as desired.

It will be readily understood that at the end of each run and before the next run the side scenes H and H and the barrel C may be returned to initial position. To avoid this, however, and to secure a great number of runs ina day, the movements of the said parts in either direction are utilized to create the same illusions. In furtherance of this the automobiles are mounted to be turned so as to face either forwardly or rearwardly. As shown in Fig. 1, the bodies A face to the right and the curtains DC are down. I/Vhen, however, the bodies A are reversed, so as to face the left, such curtains DC would be too close to the occupants to give an illusion of distance. I therefore use curtains in pairs, DC being down while RC are up, and when RC are down DC are raised. The curtains RC constitute distant views for the vehicle occupants when facing one direction. The curtains DC serve a like purpose when the occupants face in the other direction.

The curtains SC at the ends of the apparatus are stationary, and it is not necessary to raise or lower these.

It is desirable, of course, to preserve the illusion of perspective no matter which direction the bodies A seem to travel, and for this purpose I may use a lever arrangement, such as illustrated in Fig. 2, which shows the upright rollers I I and J J upon which the side scenes are wound, carried at the ends of long bars or beams V and W, which are respectively pivoted at v and w and connected to swing as desired by link-bar Y, which is gclmtected to the plate provided with han- I desire it to be understood that while I have shown one embodiment on my improvement it will be obvious that other embodiments may be made, and these will be within the scope of my invention.

. What I claim is 1. In an amusement device, a stationary body representing a vehicle, means whereby the occupants may be seated to face either forwardly or rearwardly, and connections for imparting rocking movements to the stationary body.

2. In an amusement device, a stationary body representing avehicle, means for reversing said body to face either forwardly or rearwardly, and connections for imparting rocking movements to the stationary body.

3. In an amusement device, a stationary body representing a vehicle, connections for imparting rocking movements to said body, a flexible body representing a roadway, and connections for moving said flexible body toward the stationary body.

4. In an amusement device, a stationary body representing a vehicle, a flexible body representing aroadway a main shaft and connections therefrom for respectively rocking the stationary body and for moving the flexible body toward the stationary body.

5. In an amusement device, a stationary body representing a vehicle, means whereby the occupants may be seated to face either forwardly or rearwardly, traveling bands representing scenery at opposite sides of the body and means to incline said bands toward each other in the direction viewed by the occupants of the stationary body.

6. In an amusement device, a stationary body representing a vehicle, and connections for imparting rocking movements to said body, said connections including a rotatable barrel provided with peripheral projections and means for rotating said barrel and moving it lengthwise.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. JAEGER.

Witnesses GEORGE G. SCHOENLANK, FRANK H. LOGAN,

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