In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants (1914)

12,037 17 to a pulley 18, also f rictionally connected to its shaft, and which carries the real to which the tape is couuected in casing 2. TKfi film passes from the casing 1 through a slit 5 formed by the edge 19 and the sliding door 20, which is normally thrown forward by the spring 21, Fig. 2, with sufficient force to clamp the film and hold It from movement. When the door 20 is retracted by pulling on io the rod or string 22, which is connected to the arm 22', the film is liberated and allowed to advance. Film-case 2 is provided with a similar door, bat the device for moving the door is not illustrated. This arrangement of 15 the sliding door not only holds the film, but k tightly closes the casing, thus excluding light and protecting the sensitive film. The casings or boxes 1 2 are removable, so that ttiey, with the inclosed film, may be taken so bodily from the apparatus. The shaft 6, heretofore referred to, is provided with a detent or stopwheel 23, the form of which is most clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The wheel 23 is provided with a number of pro «5 jecting teeth 24, six being shown, which teeth are adapted to strike successively against the face of the cooperating detent or stopwheel 25 on the shaft 26, which is the armature-shaft of the motor or a shaft which i& 3© constantly driven by the motor. The wheel 2.5 has a corresponding number of notches 27 at regular intervals around its periphery. These notches are of such size and shape that the teeth 24 can pass through them, and 35 when the wheels 23 and 25 are "rotated in the direction indicated by the arrows each tooth in succession will strike the face of wheel 25, thereby^bringing the film absolutely to rest, at the same moment that an opening in the 40 shutter exposes the film and will then pass through a notch, allowing the tape-film to be moved forward another step while it is covered by the shutter. To avoid the danger of the wheel 25 moving so quickly that a tooth 45 cannot, enter the proper notch, a laterallyprojecting tooth 20 is provided adjacent to each notch. When n tooth 29 strikes a tooth 24, the latter tooth will be guided by the tooth 29 into the adjacent notch 27. 50 30 is a detent spring or pawl to prevent backward movement of the wheel 23. I prefer to so proportion the parts above described that the wheel 23 is at rest for ninetenths of the time in order to give to the sen 55 sitized film as long an exposure as practicable and is moving forward one-tenth of the time, and said forward movement is made to take place thirty or mjie times per second, preferably at least as high as forty-six times per 60 second, although the rapidity of movement or number of times per second may be regulated as desired to givo satisfactory results. The longor interval of rest of the film insures a good impression of the object projected 65 thereon and results m a picture having clean and sharp lines, since the film has sufficient time to becomo steady and overcome the vi bration caused by the sudden and rapid motions of the feed mechanism. On the shaft 28 or on any suitable shaft driven by the mo 70 tor 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 apertures 32 atregu 75 lar 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 open 80 ing 33' and falling on the film half-way between the reels on which the film is wound. 34 is a device for adjusting the camera-lens toward or from the film, and 35 is a device by means of which the operator can focus the 85 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 sen go sitive tape-film several hundred or even thousands of feet long and the motor is set 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 95 film along, but when a moving object — for example, a man gesticulating — is placed in the field of the camera and the handle 22 is pulled the film is released and the pulleys operate to pull the same along. At the same 100 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 intermittent, the film advancing by very rapid steps, which are definitely and posi 105 tively controlled by means of the peculiar detent or escapement described, and a photograph is taken after each step. While I do not care to limit myself to any particular nnmber of steps per second, there 1 10 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 115 illustrated in Fig. 7. A less speed in taking the pictures will cause a trembling or jerky appearance in the reproduced picture. When the movement of the object being photographed has ceased or the desired number of 120 photographs has been obtained, the apparatus is stopped. The film is suitably treated for developing and fixing the pictures, when positive prints therefrom, Fig. 6, can be used ia an exhibiting apparatus. 125 What I claim is — 1, An apparatus for taking photographs suitable for the exhibition of objects in motion, having in combination a camera having a single' stationary lensj a single sensitized 130 tape-film supportedon opposite sides of, and longitudinally movable with respect to, the lens, and having an intermediate section crossing the lend; feeding devices engaging