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)

United States Patent Office. THOMAS ARMAT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. VITASCOPE SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 673,&92, dated May 14. 1»01. Application filed February 19, 1896. Serial Ho. 579,901. (No model.) To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, Thomas Armat, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have in5 vented certain new and useful Improvements in Vitascopes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as1 MM enable others skilled in the art to which it apper* io tains to make and use the same. This invention relates to apparatus for exhibiting pictures, but more particularly to that class of picture-exhibiting apparatus in which the impression is given to the eye of «5 objects in motion. The primary object oi me mvention is to provide improved and efficient means whereby a series of photographic or other pictures showing successively the different positions co or attitudes assumed by a person or object in motion may be displayed in such manner as to reproduce to the eve fch" appearance of the moving object through all the phases of such movement with a life-like and unblurred ef 25 feet. Another object is to provide means by which a continuous or endless strip or film forming the picture-carryipg surface may be operated so as to successively place the ob 30 jects thereon in position for reproduction without liability to injury from unnecessary strain and »"»ar thereon and without the knockingandjarringof the mechanism which is incident tuthe means heretofore proposed. 35 Other objects are to provide meaus for preventing the film from flexing or puckering at the point of exposure (in order to assure a proper reproduction of the objects thereon) and for intermittently releasing the film, so 4^> its to permit it to move a sufficient distance to expose a picture at each successive movement, and also to provide continuously-operated mechanism for moving the film, and means for intermittently moving it so as to 15 successively place the pictures iu the field of illumination for reproduction. These several objects maybe accomplished by the use of the mechanism hereinafter described and without usinga shutter or equiva 50 lent device, such as is commonly used in apparatuses of a similar character, whereby the light for illuminating the picture to be pro jected or reproduced is utilized continuously and to the best advantage and the casting of shadows or cloud effects produced by the pas 55 sage of the shutter across the light is avoided. The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description. Referring to the accompanying drawings, 60 forming a part of this. specification, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view, ia side elevation, of one form of picture-exhibiting apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged . side elevation of a preferred form oflneehau 65 ism for operating the picture-carrying surface or film, so as to place the objects thereon successively in position for reproduction. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the tension and guiding device for the film. Fig. 4 is an eu 70 larged vertical sectional view taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tension and guiding device. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the tension and guiding device looking from the rear, illustrating an 75 adjustable plate which may be employed for enlarging or decreasing the size of the opening therein according to the size of the object to be reproduced. Fig. 7 is a detail view of one of the feed-drums, having a pressure 80 aud a guiding device for the film while passing around said drum. Fig. o is a detail view of a preferred form of device for intermittently operating the film. Figs. 9 aud 10 are side elevations of modified forms of mech 85 &ni8m for .intermittently operating the film. Fig. 1 1 is aside view of another form of mechanism for intermittently operatiug the film, showing how pressure may be applied to and released therefrom. Fig. 12 is * sectional 90 plan on the line XII XII of Fig. 1, illustrating how the banks or series of rollers may be adjusted upon their support; and Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic view of a modified form of apparatus in which a continuous instead of 95 an endless strip or film is employed. In devices or apparatuses such as have heretofore been devised for exhibiting lifelike pictures or producing the appearance of objects in motion it has been considered most 100 feasible to keep the series of similar pictures (whether on a disk, tape, or other surface) constantly moving at a regulated speed corr«wt>oiu)>ruc with the speed at which the pio