US2272946A - Animated display device - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 10, 1942. F. HOTCHNER ANIMATED DISPLAY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17. 1940 INVENTOR- Feb. 10, 1942. F. HOTCHNER ANIMATED DISPLAY DEVICE 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed June 17, l 940 INVENTOR Patented Feb. 10, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16 Claims.

This invention relates to animated display devices and is particularly suited for the production of animation effects in electric signs of the gaseous conduction lighting tube type, in which connection it is shown in the accompanying drawings as preferred embodiments. It is not limited, however, to electric signs, or to the type of illumination shown,*but is adaptable in vari-' ous of its features to a wide variety of display and decorative uses and in certain features to uses in which the illumination is by extraneous sources.

'It is an object of the invention to produce animation devices which are simple, low in cost, and easily maintained. As the devices may be constructed as detachable units which fit over the tubing on completed signs without making contact with the tubing, they may be removed for servicing without taking th signs out of service.

In the application of animation devices to high voltage gaseous signs, or like uses, the provision of current to the motor which drives the moving element is a problem of some moment. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ani mation device, the motor of which operates in series with the lighting tubes, utilizing the current which flows through th tubes. An extra low voltage wire to the motor is thus unnecessary and animation units may be positioned at any place on the display however remote from the outlet point, or a number of separate animation devices may at convenience be located at various points around the display.

It is a further object to produce an animation device which may be positioned on the sign body above and clear of the tubing, that is to say, in front of the tubing to the observers view, without making contact with the tubing except at the point where the tube electrodes make contact in the motor box as hereinbelow explained. The animation device may cover a portion of the tube which is to appear animated, or portions of several pieces of tubing, other portions continuing onward to other parts of the display; thus making it unnecessary to provide separate tube sections for the animation effect.

It is a further object to produce an animation device of the class described, which supports the motor spaced clear from the sign body and well insulated to all points of ground potentiaL'thereby permitting the use of motors of the low voltage type in series with the high voltage lighting tubes with but little special provision for insulation beyond the voltage which is consumed in the motor itself.

A motor which consumes 110 volts and. about 3 Watts of power will require approximately the same current that flows through the ordinary gaseouslighting tube. A these lighting tube circuits may be, as muchas 7500 volts above ground potential I have provided a construction whereby very little more, if any, than the potential necessary to operate the motor exists at any point where it will stress ,the motor insulation. V i The present invention-has as one of its objects to eliminate the necessityfor revolving one of the interceptors, as is done'jwith the device of my Patent No. 2,097,123, and to produce an animation effect by gyrating one interceptor with respect to the other. That is to say, the moving interceptor is moved bodily along a path, which is a small circle around the center of the device. The interceptor itself need not revolve around the eccentric center. The amount of movement necessary is very slight and a very small amount of power will suffice to produce effects here-' according over a very considerabl display surface.

In this connection it is a further object to take advantage of the very slight movement involved in the device by making use of light plastic sheeting for the moving element in a type of construction impracticable when the moving element revolves. I

Another object of the invention is to provide displays having animation borders, or animation areas which need not follow border designs, which are rectangular or follow any desired design'departing widely from round borders. By

gyrating my interceptor disk instead of turning it around the driv point, a variety of border forms may be animated. In this connection, the

concentric lining of the disks simplifies the problem of guiding the moving member as a small amount of rotary movement incident to loose guidance of the moving member will have no effect on the animation.

Various other objects of the invention will, be apparent from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings.

The invention is shown in certain preferred embodiments thereof in the accompanying drawings in which the same reference numeral appearing in several views is to be understood as referring to the same, or the equivalent part throughout. It is to be understood that the invention may b variously modified and embodied within the purview of the claims and is to be g V 7 limitations whichspecifically-appear inthe claim.

limited only by the prior art and Figure 1 is the front view of the upper portion of a gaseous conduction lighting tube sign, having an animation device positioned in front of certain portions of decorative tubes, which tubes continue onward to other parts of th sign not shown. The effect produced is that of a whirling disc.

Figure 2, which is a side view of same, shows the manner in which the gaseous tubing continues on from behind the animation units and to other parts of the sign and also shows the motor box.

Figure 3 is a front view of the same sign section on a smaller scale, with the animation device removed showing the terminals of the tubing which make contact with the motor box. The position of the box is shown by a broken line.

Figure 4 is an elevation of a portion of the moving interceptor disc. Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross section of the animation unit taken as shown by the section line 5-5 in Figure 1 and showing the relation of the interceptor discs, coverglasses and the motor, and showing in broken lines a portion of one of the gaseous tubes entering the electrod housings in the motor box.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary rear elevation of a portion of th animation device on an enlarged scale, showing the details of the motor box and portions of two of the tubes which enter'and make contact in the motor box.

Figures 7 to 10 are shadow diagrams of the effects produced by various different eccentric displacements of the moving dial.

Figure 11 is a front elevation of another embodiment of the invention in which a rectangular traveling border is produced along a gaseous conduction lighting tube by means of an interceptor disc which is moved in an eccentric manner around a point near the center of the display device. Figure 12 is a cross section of the same, taken as indicated by section line l2-I2 in Figure 11, showing the device mounted on a sign body. This device is typical of a variety of border deviceswhich may be constructed hereaccording.

In Figure 1 and the related View the upper portion of sign body proper on which my device is used, is indicated by the numeral l, the animation unit proper by numeral 2. Mounted in front of the sign body by means of insulating posts 3-3 etc., are various gaseous conduction lighting tubes, certain portions of which are shown on the views. The tube 4 forms a double loop behind the animation unit with the ends continuing off to the portion of the sign not shown. The tubes 5 and 6 form portions of double loops and terminate .behind the animation.

units in electrode terminals 1 and 8 respectively in a position such that the motor box 9 will fit down over these terminals, with the terminals extending into the insulating housings l and II. The motor 12 within this box is connected to the terminal housings by means of the leads I3 and M. The motor thus operates in series with the tubes ands. The opposite sections of tubes 5 and 6 are on the portion of the sign not shown in the view and are connected in the usual manner to the high voltage terminal of a transformer. The motor housing 9 may be made of dielectric material, such as porcelain or glass when the voltage of the. circuit is sufficiently high. In the view it has been shown as a metal box, which suflices for most uses. The motor should be insulated fora voltage somewhat higher than the voltage dropped through the motor its-elf, as a matter of precaution, but the parts of the motor need not be insulated from each other to a materially higher degree than ordinarily practiced with motors of low voltage type. The motor with its box is mounted on the rearward glass plate 15, which effectively insulates it from the metal part of the animation unit and provides protection against the high voltage of the tube circuit.

The animation unit includes the glass plates l5 and I6 spaced from each other around the edge by the filler I1 and held together by the three sectors l8, I9 and 20 of the frame 29 around the edge. These sectors are soldered together at the joints with the feet 2|, 22 and 23, which are mounted on the sign body by means of sheet metal screws 24. Between the glass plates is a disc of light permeable material 25, which is driven eccentrically by the hub 26 on the motor shaft 21. This disc may be made of any suitable light permeable material, such as the plastic sheeting mentioned above. It is not necessary that the sheet itself rotates and in fact, it is preferable that it merely shifts bodily without rotating around the eccentric center. Therefore, I have shown a groove 28, in which the sheet is free to slide. mechanical detail maybe substituted for this feature,- if desired.

According to the preferred construction of these views, displays are constructed in all respects consistent with standard approved practices, with the luminous tubes mounted on the sign body by insulating posts and connected to high voltage transformers. The entire animation unit, including the driving motor, ready to mount on the sign body, is constructed as a unit. The tubes which are to appear animated are constructed with a pair of terminals formed and located so that the unit may be set over the terminals when it is mounted to the sign body and thus complete a circuit through the motor with the two tubes thus involved. When only one tube is involved in the animatlion effect another connection is provided for the other unit terminal to the high voltage circuit.

As the unit itself is an effective insulator for the motor, the only voltage drop through the motor, and consequently the measure of the duty imposed on the internal insulation of the motor, will be that voltage which the motor will normally consume for the given current flow. However, inasmuch as the tube circuit voltage is in that voltage range in which corona discharge becomes a factor, the motor should be carefully mounted that it is insulated from atmosphere paths back to ground. For this reason it is advisable to design the insulation of the motor so that all points which can become starting points of air discharges are adequately protected or so related to other parts of the device that the discharge will be harmless.

By the c onnection of the motor in the high voltage circuit, animation units may be applied being comparatively easily done. In certain j,

Any other suitable.

cases the terminals of the old tubes may be left unchanged and other connections between the tubes and the motor provided.

I prefer that this invention be practiced so that the animation effects appear to follow the course of the luminous tubes. That is to say, the tubes themselves are actually visible through the interceptor discs, the animation effect being produced by the order in which certain portions of the tubes are obscured to view or the light thereof altered by the movement of the moving interceptor. There will, of course, be a certain amount of light reflected from the sign body around the tube which contributes to the effect. It is permissible to practice this invention by more or less diffusing the light of the tube as it passes through the back plate, and in certain aspects the invention may be practiced with other types of illumination within the purview of the claims.

Various effects may be produced by this device by modifications of the lining of the discs and by modification of the form of the luminous tubes. The most desirable effect, and the one which is chosen to illustrate the invention, is the whirling disc. In this effect, the disc defined by the exposed surface of the display appears to turn one revolution for each movement of the interceptor around the eccentric path. The radius of this eccentric movement will be the less, the finer the disc linings. Thus, if the lines have a one-eighth inch spacing, the effect shown in Figure 7 will appear by displacing the discs suficient that the lines of one disc cover the adjacent corresponding open spaces of the other. This will be one-sixteenth of an inch radial displacement, or a total displacement will be oneeighth of an inch. As a line spacing of oneeighth of an inch may easily be provided for a disc as much as 24 inches in diameter, it is apparent that very considerable apparent movement around the disc is produced by an insignificant mechanical movement.

The moving disc may be made of very light material which may be guided by the glass plates.

Thus, as shown in Figure the glasses [5 and I6 guide the disc .25. The relative glass spacing may be much reduced from that shown in the view. A spacing of a sixteenth of an inch between the glass with a plastic disc of tenthousandths of an inch is good proportioning for line spacing of from one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch.

The lining on the discs may be either opaque or translucent. The discs may also be constructed from material which is punched, etched or otherwise cut out for the open spaces. The lines may be formed by painting or any other suitable method on the discs. When translucent colors are used on the discs different colors may b used for the lines on the two discs to provide multi-color effects.

In Figures 1, 4 and 6 I have indicated the lines as black by vertical and horizontal cross shading on the front cover glass, as indicated by 30, 30, etc., and by diagonal cross shading on the movable disc as indicated by 3|, 3| etc. The rear glass I5 need not bear a pattern. The most striking effects are secured by leaving the open spaces between the lines on both discs fully transparent, thus exposing the tube direct to view to the observer. The effect is secured by the direct transmission of light from the tube and the background to the observer through the openings between the obscuring lines.

' Preferably the finish should be on the proximate surfaces of the moving disc and the cover glass and these surfaces should run as close together as practicable to avoid distortion to the angular View. I prefer to put the finish on the inside surface of the cover glass and the front surface of the moving disc.

In the device shown in Figure 1 and related views the displacement of the moving disc is just sufficient to shift the lines thereof to cover the adjacent corresponding open spaces of the cover glass. The effect resulting from this displacement is shown by the shadow diagram of Figure '7. The lines on the cover glass are concentrio with the motor shaft and on the moving disc with the hub 25. By further displacement other effects are produced. Thus Figure 8 shows the shadow effect produced by the displacement of the moving disc one full line spacing distance. Figure 9 shows the effect produced by one and one line spacing displacement and Figure 10 by two line spacing displacement.

Various other circuitous line arrangements than the circular design shown may be used within the purview of the claims with striking effects. The invention may also be practiced in certain of its features with any line arrangement which produces animation effects.

The response of the eye to bright lights follows a flattening curve. Thus, a source may increase in brightness by a factor of two, but will produce an impression of brightness much less than two. Further doubling of the source brightness produces even less proportionateincrease in the sense of brightness. Expressed otherwise the eye is increasingly acute in perceiving dimmer sources. For this reason if a person observes a light source which increases in straight line function from zero to a given value and falls to zero periodically along a given surface to produce dark and light regions as in the devices hereof, he will perceive the light regions as much larger than the dark regions. Therefore, in order to enhance the dark regions in my device I make the lines somewhat wider than the spaces between them. A ratio of 9 to '7 has been found most satisfactory for the usual case, producing a pronounced dark spot without too much sacrifice of illumination.

It is to be noted that with the arrangement of tubing shown, the effect along the tubes is produced by the slantwise movement of the lines of one disc over the lines of the other in front of the tube, reciprocating at an opposite slant for each opposite movement of the reciprocation, at any given point. This produces the effect of continual movement in one direction along the tube, or along any given tangent line of the background surface behind the discs.

By various other line and surface arrangements, various other effects may be produced. In Figures 11 and 12 I have shown a modification of the invention in which a rectangular border is produced around a copy space. The sign shown may be taken as typical of such combination displays, subject to the wide variations in detail which may be made within the practices of the art. Thus, the copy may be provided by translucent finishing of the cover glass. 01' it may be painted on the background of the sign body. Or it may be delineated by tubing mounted on the background, or otherwise by any known construction. Likewise, various border forms may be had, such as diamond shape, shield, etc.

The cover glass, indicated by 50, is mounted in a frame 55 and supported from the sign body by the legs 55, 56, etc., in front of the luminous border tube 52. The animation is here confined to the border portion 53 which is lined concentric with the motor shaft in the same manner as the device described above, with the copy space 51 clear of lines and devoted to the translucent copy which is shown in simple outline and finished in any desired fashion. The copy is lighted by the direct and reflected rays from the tube, the center portion of the moving interceptor disc 54 being left clear for the passage of rays and lined around the border portion concentric with the eccentrically driven hub center. The luminous tube thus forms th animated border and also lights the copy.

The interceptor in this case is shown as a disc of light permeable material which is selfsupporting and guided by the frame. It is not necessary that this disc move with a parallel movement. As it is gyrated, the lines being con-' centric with the hub center, will produce the same effect at any position. The frame thus forms a very simple and effective guide for the disc, the slight rotation of the disc being of no moment.

As used in the claims the following terms are to be understood as having the significance which follows:

The terms of the claims are to be broadly construed as embracing all substantial equivalents thereof.

The term dark region embraces intensity variations as regards any spectral component of the light.

The term circuitous design embraces any pattern or design having a circuitous component.

The term illuminant embraces any light source of the type described or any luminous object or surface so utilized. By the term light intercepting member and similar terms I intend to include a member or portion which effects the intensity or character of light.

The term sheet member shall be construed to apply to a surface of the illuminant itself when a surface thereof is provided with light intercepting means and used as the equivalent of one sheet member in the combinations described and claimed, and also embraces any fabricated structure substantially equivalent to and functioning in the same manner as the sheet members shown in the drawings.

The term design is to include any ornamental or inscriptive outline.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

1. An animated display including an elongated illuminant in the form of a pattern along which the effect of animation is to be produced and at least partially enclosing a non-circular copy space, a pair of sheet members positioned one in front of the other in front of said illuminant and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments over the region which is to appear animated, there being non-animated copy exposed to view over said copy space, and means to shift one of said sheet members relative to the other to traverse the segments of one over the segments of the other to produce an animation effect along said illuminant without general rotation of the moving member.

2. An animated display including an elongated illuminant in the form of a non-circular pattern along which the effect of animation is to be produced and at least partially enclosing a copy space, a pair of sheet members positioned one in front of the other in front of said illuminant and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments over the region which is to appear animated, there being non-animated copy exposed to view over said copy space, and means to shift one of said sheet members relative to the other to traverse the segments of one over the segments of the other to produce an animation effect along said illuminant without general rotation of the moving member.

3. An animated display including an elongated illuminant in the form. of a pattern along which the effect of animation is to be produced and at least partially enclosing a non-circular copy space, a pair of sheet members positioned one in front of the other in front of said illuminant and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments over the region which is to be animated, there being non-animated copy in said copy space illuminated by sidewise radiation from said illuminant, and means to shift one of said sheet members relative to the other to traverse the segments of' one over the segments of the other to produce an animation effect along said illuminant without generation rotation of the movin member.

4. An animated display including an elongated illuminant in the form of a non-circular pattern along which the effect of animation is to be produced and at least partially enclosing a copy space, a pair of sheet members positioned one in front of the other in front of said illuminant and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments over the region which is to appear animated, there being non-animated copy in said copy space illuminated by sidewise radiation from said illuminant, and means to shift one of said sheet members relative to the other to traverse the segments of one over the segments of the other to produce an animation effect along said illuminant without general rotation of the moving member.

5. A display device including an inscription member displaying a circuitous design and a light intercepting member coextensive with and in front of the same and having at least one light intercepting portion similar in outline to said design, and means to shift one of said members relative to the other bodily in its plane in a circuitous path in such manner that each portion thereof traces a circuitous path non-concentric with the paths traced by the other portions thereof in such manner as to shift said light intercepting portion back and forth across the said design in different directions and time order from place to place along said design to variously expose and conceal the same and thereby produce the effect of animation therealong.

6. A display device including an elongated illuminant, a pair of light interceptor members coextensive with each other and said illuminant, movable one relative to the other, one in front of the other, in front of said illuminant, and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments relatively narrow as compared to said i1- luminant, extending in the general direction thereof and spaced from each other crosswise thereof, there being light permeable spaces thus provided between the segments of each of said members through which said illuminant may be seen by its own light when the spaces of one of said members are in registry with the spaces of the other said member to View, and means to shift one of said members transverse of said illuminant relative to the other said member with the segments thereof at a slant to the segments of the other in such manner as to bring the said open spaces into registry between the two members to View progressively from place to place along the illuminant to produce the eifect of animation therealong. r

7. A display device-including an elongated illuminant, a pair of light interceptor members coextensive with each other and said illuminant, movable one relative to the other, one in front of the other, in front of said illuminant, and having each a plurality of light interceptingsegments relatively narrow as compared to said illuminant,

extending in the general direction thereof and spaced from each other crosswise thereof, there being light permeable spaces thus provided between the segments of each of said members through which said illuminant may be seen by its own light when the spaces of one of said members are in registry with the spaces of the other said member to view, and means to reciprocate one of said members across the other transverse of said illuminant with the segments thereof at a slant to the segments of the other and at an opposite slant for each opposite movement of reciprocation, whereby to bring the open spaces of one of said members into registry to view with the open spaces of the other said member progressively in the same direction from place to place along said illuminant for both movements to produce the effect of animation therealong by the order of exposure of successive portions of said illuminant thereby,

8. A display device including an elongated illuminant, a pair of light interceptor members coextensive with each other and said illuminant, movable one relative to the other, one in front of the other, in front of said illuminant, and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments relatively narrow as compared to said illuminant, extending in the general direction thereof and spaced from each other crosswise thereof, there being light permeable spaces thus provided between the segments of each of said members through which said illuminant may be seen by its own light when the spaces of one of said members are in registry with the spaces of the other said member to view, and means to shift one of said members transverse of said illuminant relative to the other said member with the segments thereof at a slant to the segments of the other and changing in the degree of slant as the member moves in such order as to bring the said spaces of the two members into registry in spaced apart groups along the illuminant and moving in appearance therealong at a changing speed by virtue of the changing registry of said spaces.

9. A display device including an elongated illuminant, a pair of light interceptor members coextensive with each other and said illuminant, movable one relative to the other, one in front of the other, in front of said illuminant, and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments relatively narrow as compared to said illuminant, extending in the general direction thereof and spaced from each other crosswise thereof, there being light permeable spaces thus provided between the segments of each of said members through which said illuminant may be seen by its own light when the spaces of one of said members are in registry with the spaces of the other said member to V ew, andmeans' to shift one of said members relative tothe other bodily along a circuitous path in such manner that each portion thereof traces a circuitous path non-concentric with thepaths traced by other portions thereof to traverse the segments thereof across the segments of the other to variously expose portions of said illuminant bythe various registry of said spaces and thereby produce an apparent animation therealong.

10. A display device including an elongated illuminant in the outline of a non-circular circuitous design, a pair of light interceptor members coextensive with each other and said illuminant, movable one relative to the other, one in front of the other, in front of said illuminant, and having each a plurality of light intercepting segments relatively narrow as compared to said illuminant, extending in the general direction thereof and spaced from each other crosswise thereof, there being light permeable spaces thus provided between the segments of each of said members through which said illuminant may be seen by its own light when the spaces of one of said members are in registrywith the spaces of the other member to view, and means" to shift one of said members relative to the other bodily along a circuitous path in such manner that each portion thereof traces a circuitous path non-concentric with the paths traced by other portions thereof whereby to shift the segments thereof across the segments of the other member in different directions and time order from place to place along said illuminant.

11. A display device including an elongated illuminant in the outline of a circuitous design and a light interceptor member coextensive with and in front of the same and having at least one light intercepting portion similar in outline to said design, and means to shift one of said members bodily in its plane in a circuitous path in such manner that each portion thereof traces a circuitous path non-concentric with the paths traced by the other portions thereof in such manner as to shift said light intercepting portion back and forth across said illuminant in different directions and time order from place to place along the same to variously expose and conceal the same and thereby produce the effect of animation therealong.

12. An animation display including a conductive sign body, a high voltage gaseous conduction lighting tube mounted thereon, an animation producing device having a moving part and a low voltage motor driving the same positioned in front of at least one portion of saidlighting tube and having a socket portion adapted to receive an electrode terminal of said lighting tube and a connection from said motor to said socket adapted to make contact with said terminal, said motor being of itself insufficiently insulated to withstand the voltage of the circuit thus formed, said animation producing device including motor mounting means carrying said motor and insulating the same from said sign body to the full potential of said circuit.

13. An animation producing display including a conductive sign body, a pair of high voltage gaseous conduction lighting tubes mounted thereon and having each an electrode terminal adja-- cent a terminal of the other, an animation producing device positioned in front of at least a portion of one of said tubes and having a socket portion into which said terminals extend and make contact with suitable terminal contacts, a low voltage motor included in said animation device having connection to said terminal contacts, a step up transformer and connections to the other terminals of said lighting tubes, said motor being of itself insufficiently insulated to withstand the voltage of the circuit thus formed, said animation device including motor mounting means carrying said motor and insulating the same to the full potential of the circuit thus formed.

14. A display device comprising an illuminant in the outline of a design, a member co-extensive with said illuminant, said member having light intercepting portions thereon similar in outline to the design formed by said illuminant while other portions of said-memben'are light permeable, a shaft, an eccentric connection between said shaft and said member, and means for rotating said shaftto bodily move said member in progressively changing directions in its own plane without substantial rotation to thereby create the effect of animation of the design by progressive exposure and concealment of successive portions of said illuminant by said light intercepting portions ofsaid member.

15. A display device comprising an illuminant v in the outline of a design, a member co-extensive withsaid illuminant, said member having light intercepting portions thereon similar in outline to the design formed by said illuminant while other portions of said member are light permeable, a hub in said member rotatable with respect thereto and means for rotating said hub eceentrically to thereby bodily move said member in progressively changing directions in its own plane without general rotation to thus create the eifect of animation of the design by progressive exposure and concealment of suecessive portions of said illuminant by said light intercepting portions of said member.

16. A display device including an illuminant member in the outline of a design and having a light interceptor member co-extensive with and in front of the same and having at least one light intercepting portion similar in outline tosa-id illuminant member and means to reciprocate one of said members back and forth crosswise of the other, slantwise and at an opposite slant for each opposite movement of reciprocation, whereby to produce the effect of animation along said illuminant by the order of exposure and concealment of successive portions of said illuminant member by said light interceptor member.

FRED HOTCHNER

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