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)

eae,953 are therefore more satisfactory than and superior to anything of the kind heretofore obtained, for the rcasou that the picture is held a much longer time than is required to re5 move it and substitute another in its stead, .thus prolonging the period of illumination very greatly as compared with the period of interruption or change, and there is no obstruction of the light by the interposition of 10 a shutter or "opaque substance across its path, so that the impression of the picture on the eye is so much longer and permanent than the distortion or shadow effect incident to its movement, and the interval of change or in 15 terruption is so infinitesimal that the imago of the picture is readily retained until displacement and substitution takes effect, and owing to the inability of the eye to receive an impression from every phase of motion 20 the interruption or change is wholly imperceptible, aud the result is a most vivid appearance of an object in motion, otherwise unchanging, clearly exhibiting all the phases of such motion with life-like effect. 25 In the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, A may denote an illuminator consisting, preferably, of an electric light and a condensing-lens, whereby the rays of light are concentrated upon a picture located iu 30 the focus of an objective lens H. C denotes a film or strip composed of any suitable transparent or translucent* flexible substance adapted to provide a surface for carrying pictures produced thereon by photo 35 graphic or other means, the several pictures in the series representing, successively, different positions of a moving objeet, so that the exhibition of the entire series of pictures in the order iu which they were made or taken 40 may result in the reproduction of the appearance of the moving object in every phase of its motion. This film may be wouud or coiled upon a reel or spool D, from which one of its ends may pass over the surface of a drum E, 45 said spool and drum being suitably journaled in standards or supports to permit the film to be wound upon one as it is unwound from the other and so arranged that as the film is moved the pictures thereon will be brought 50 successively into the focus of the object-lens. Our invention depends for its successful operatiou both upon the inability of the eye to receive impression of movement exceeding a certain vapidity and upon that faculty of 55 the eye which enables it to retain an impression after the source of light has vanished — the persistence of vision — which enables us to change the pictures, one for another, imperceptibly. , This we accomplish by moving 60 tho film or other picture-carrying surface inicrmittinglyin such manner that the interval of exposure and illumination of the picture shall exceed the interval of time required to effect a change sufficiently to enable the eye 65 to form a perfect impression or image at each exposure and to retain it through tbe interval of motion or change and until another pic ture has been superimposed, as itwere, upon the one displaced, thus rendering tbe act or effectof displacement and substitution of pic 70 tures wholly imperceptible arfd giving th6 impression to the eye of object* in motion. Various contrivances and forms of mech anisms may be employed for effecting the intermittent movement, the requirement being 75 that the film or other surface shall be moved quickly between successive pauses far enough to expose the next succeeding picture in the series. In the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 we have affixed to one side-of tho drum 80 E a peripherally notched or toothed gearwheel F, which is driven by a smallor gear wheel or disk G, having a single tooth o, which is adapted to engage one of the notches/ in the wheel F at every revolution. and move the 85 latter a part of a revolution proportional to the relative diameters of the two gears, such part revolutions of the gear E being adapted to bring the several pictures successively into the focus of the object -lens. The pe 90 riphery of the wheel F between each pair of notches/ is formed with a concave or semicircular depression /', which is adapted to form a seat for the toothless peripheral portion g' of tho gear G, whereby when the tooth 05 g has escaped from a notch the larger gear may be locked and held in a stationary position by said toothless portion of the gear G, engaging and moving in sliding contact With one of the depressions /' until the smaller 10c gear has made a complete revolution,wheTenpon the operation of moving the larger gear a part revolution and again locking it coincidently with the exposure of the picture ou the picture-carrying surface will again be re ie$ peated, and so on indefinitely. Any suitable motor may be employed for imparting motion to the driving-gear G. The letter K in Fig. 1 denotes a motor for this purpose connected by a belt 7t with the shaft no of the gear G. If desired, a reel, as at I, may receive the film or tape C as it is paid out by the drum E and may be rotated by the motor II by means of a belt 1, connecting the shaft of the reel with the driving-shaft of the 115 gear G, or in any suitable manner. Every time the gear F is moved a part revolution the film C should be moved just far enough to displace the exposed picture and substitute another in its stead, and itisalsodesirablathat rao the film should be held quite taut in passing behind the lenses and maintained against flexure or bending at the point of exposure of the picture, and to this end it is preferably provided with a series of perforations along 125 its edges, as at c c, to engage teats or pins e e on the drum E to prevent slipping, and is yieldingly olasped by a tension device K, between the members of which it passes on its way from the spool D to the drum E, said ten 130 sign device being suitably supported and in such position as to adapt it to prevent flexure of the film at tbe point of exposure of the picture and to aid in keeping che film taut.