USRE12192E - Keissued jan - Google Patents

Description

REISS UED JAN. 12, 1904.

T. A. EDISON.) KINETOSGOPIG FILM.

APPLIUATION FILED DEC. 17', 1903.

s SHEETSSHEET 1.

/ 1 III! Ill I/IlI/IIl/IIII/l Ill/l Witnesses 11; van tor Attorney INVENTOR 4... 4 44...

ATTORNEY.

No. 12,192. RBISSUED JAN. 12, 1904. T. A. EDISON.

KINBTOSCOPIG FILM.

APPLICATION FILED 11110.17. 1903.

' a SHBBTSSHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

@a a gay/e;

' No.12,192. RBIssUED JAN. 12, 1904.

T. A. EDISON. v

I I KINBTOSGOPIG FILM.

-API'LIOATIOHPILEDDBU. 11, 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

uounnuundbuuunnnnnn r 5 1 #5" Q. 31 figznnuqq uunpduuuuninfl 4 Inventor M WM v g No. 12,192.

UNIT D ST TES Reuaued January is, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

,KINETOSCOPIC FlLM. I

SPECIFICATION forming part of Reissued Letters Patent No. 12,192, dated January 12, 1904. Original No. 589,168, dated august 31, 1897. Reissue No. 12,038, dated September 30, 1902. Application for present reissue filed December 17, 1903.

To all whom/it may concern."

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. EDISON, a

l citizen of the United'States, residing at Llewellyn Park, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Kinetoscopic Films, (Case No. 928,) of which thefollowing is a specification.

The purpose I havein View is to produce pictures representing objects in motion throughout an extended period of time which may be utilized to exhibit the scene including such moving objects in'a perfect and natural manner by means of a suitable exhibiting apparatus, such as that described in an application filed simultaneously herewith, (Patent No. 493,426, dated March 14:, 1893.) I have found that it is possible to accomplish this end by means of photography.

In carrying out my invention I employ an apparatus for effecting by photography a representation suitable for reproduction of a scene including a moving object or objects comprising a means, such as a single camera, for intermittently projecting at such rapid rate as to result in persistence of vision images of successive positions'of the object or objects in motion as observed from a fixed and single point of view, a sensitized tapelike film, and a means for so moving the film as to cause the successive images to be received thereon separately and in single-line sequence. The movements of the tape-film are intermittent, and it is preferable that the periods of rest of the film should be longer than the periods of movement.

By taking the photographs at a rate sufiiciently high as to result in persistence of vision the developed photographs will,when brought successively into View by an exhibiting apparatus, reproduce the movements faithfully and naturally. i w

I have been able to take with a single carnera and a tape-film as many as'forty-six photographs per second, each having a sizemeasured lengthwise of the tape of one inch, and l. have also been able to hold the tape at rest for nine-tenths of the time; but I do not wish to limit the scope of my invention to this high Serial No. 185,597.

rate of speed nor'to this great disproportion between the periods of rest and the periods of motion, since with some subjects a speed as low as thirty pictures per second or even lower is sufficient, and while it is desirable to make the periods of rest as much longer than the periods of motion as possible any excess of the periods of rest over the periods of motion is advantageous.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, Figure l is a plan view, with the top of the casing removed, of a form of apparatus which I have found highly useful for vertical longitudinal section on line as :1: in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and i are enlarged views of the stop mechanism of the photographing apparatus. Fig. 5is a plan view of the shutter for with-the photographs thereon.

Referring to the drawings, 3 indicates the transparent or transiucent tape-film, which before the apparatus is put in operation is all coiled on a reel in the sheet-metal box or case 1, the free end being connected to an empty reel in the case 2. The slim 3 is preferably of sufficient width to admit the taking of pietures one inch in diameter between the rows intervals along the two edges of the film, and into which holes the teeth of the wheels 5,

tively advancing the film. When the fihn is narrow, it is not essential to use two rows'of perforations and two feed-wheels, one feeded .on a shaft '6,whichcarries a loose pulley 7'that is, a pulley frietionally connected to its shaft and forming a yielding mechanical connection. This pulley is driven by a cord or belt 8 from a pulley 9 on the shaft 10, which I 11 12. The 'wheel 12 is preferably driven by an electric motor-13, which when the apparatus is in use is regulated to runat the desired trifugal governor 14 and the eircuit-control-- Figs. 1 and 2, enter for the purpose of posiwheel being suflicient. Said wheels are mountthe taking of the photographs. Fig. 2 is a the photographing apparatus, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a section of the tape-film of holes 4, Figs... 2 andfi, arranged at regular shaft is'driven by means of the beveled gears i ler 15in awell known manner. On the shaft uniform speed, being controlled by the cen-.

, is another pulley 16,. which is connected by a cross-belt 17 to a pulley 18, also frictionally connected to its shaft, and which carries the reel to which the tape is connected in casing 2. The film passes from the casing 1 through a slit formed by the edge 19 and the sliding door 20, which is normally thrown forward by thevspring 21, Fig. 2, with sufiicient force to clamp the film andhold it from movement.

-When the door 20 is retracted. by pulling on the rod or string 22, which is connected to or stop-wheel 23, the form of which is most clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The wheel 23 is provided with a number of projecting teeth 24, six being shown, which teeth are adapted to strike successively against the face of the cooperating detent or stop-wheel 25 on the shaft 26, which is the armature-shaft of the motor or a shaft which is constantly driven by the motor. The wheel 25 has a corresponding number of notches 27 at regular in.

tervals around its periphery. These notches are of such size and shape that the teeth 24 can pass through them, and when the wheels I 23 and '25 are rotated in the direction indisitized film as long an, exposure as practicableand is moving forward one-tenth of the time, andjsaid forward movement is'made to take ,pl'ace'thirty or more times per second, preferably at least ashigh-as forty-six times perv cated by the arrows each tooth in succession will strike the face ofwheel 25, thereby bringing the film absolutely to rest at the same moment that an opening in the shutter exposes the film, and will then pass through a notch, allowing the tape-film to be movcd forward another step while it is covered by the shutter. To avoid the danger of the' wheel 25 moving so quickly that a tooth cannot enter the proper notch, a laterally-projecting tooth 29 is provided ar'ljaccut to each notch. When a tooth 29 strikes a tooth 2-1, the latter tooth will be guided by the tooth 29 into the adja-' cent notch- 27.,

30 is a detent spring or pawl to prevent backward movement of the wheel23. a y

I prefer to so proportion the parts above described that the wheel 23 is at rest for ninetenths of the timein order to give to the sensecond, although the rapidity of moment or number of times per second may be r lated r 7 gas. desired to ldlgerinterval of rest. of the film insures a give satisfactory results. The

impressionof the object projected there- I: v

: on and results in a picture having clean and sharp lines, since the film has sufiicient time to become steady and overcome the vibration caused by the sudden and rapid motions of the feed mechanism. On the shaft 26 or on any suitable shaft driven y the motor is a revolving disk 31, serving as a shutter for alternately exposing and covering the sensitive 'film'. This disk, which is "continuously revolving, is provided with six or any other suitable number of apertures32 at regular intervals around it near the edge, they being so arranged that one of the apertures passes directly between the camera-lens 33 and the film. each time the film is brought to rest, the light-rays passing through the opening 33' and falling on the film half-way between the reels on which the film is Wound. v

34 is adevice for adjusting the camera-lens toward or from the film, and 35 is a device by means of which the operator, can focus the camera on the object to be-photographed.

Although the operation has been partially indicated in the description of the apparatus,

it will now be set forth more in detail.

, The apparatus is first charged with a-sensitive tape-film'several hundred or even thousands of feet long and the motor isset in operation. Since the spring'21 causes the door 20 to clamp the film, as already described, the loose pulleys 7 18 slip without pulling said film along; but when moving object-for ex ample, a man gesticu atingis placed in the field of the camera and the handle'22 is pulled the film is released arid the pulleys operate to pull the same along. At the same time the reel in case 2 is rotated to wind up the film, thus transferring it from the reel in case 1 to the reel in case 2; This movement is inter-.

mittent, the film advancing by very rapid steps, which are definitely and positively controlled by means ofthe peculiar detent or eecapement described, and a photograph is taken after eachstep.

While I do -not care to limitmyself to any particular number of steps per second, there should be at least enough so that the eye of an observer cannot distinguish, or at least cannot clearly and positively distinguish, at a glance a difference in the position occupied by the object in the successive pictures, as illustrated in Fig. 7. A, less speed in taking the pictures will cause'atrembling or jerky apf pearance in the reproduced picture.

graphed has ceased or the desired number of photographs has beenobtained, the apparatus is stopped. The film is suitably treated for 'de- When the movement of the object being photoveloping and fixing the pictures, whenit is ready 'for use in an exhibiting apparatus. It will be observed that all the photographs .on the film are taken through the same cameralens,which results in such auniformity of photographsas would be unattainable were; the photographs taken through different lenses.

cient in number to represent the movements of the object throughout an extended period oftime, substantially as described.

2. Anunbroken transparent or translucent tape-like photographic film provided with pe'rforated edges-and having thereon uniform sharply-defined equidistant photographs of successive positions of an object in motion as observed from a single point of view at rapidly-recurring intervals of time, such photographs being arranged in acontinuous straightline sequence, unlimited in number save by the length of the film, and suflicient in number to represent the movementsof the object throughout an extended stantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this period of time, sub- 15th day of December, 1903;

THOMAS A. EDISON. Witnesses:

FRANK L. DYER, HARnY' G. WALTERS:

Images