US3590488A - Apparatus for tracing random geometrical figures - Google Patents

Apparatus for tracing random geometrical figures Download PDF

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Publication number
US3590488A
US3590488A US31676A US3167670A US3590488A US 3590488 A US3590488 A US 3590488A US 31676 A US31676 A US 31676A US 3167670 A US3167670 A US 3167670A US 3590488 A US3590488 A US 3590488A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
support
frame
legs
tool
suspended
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US31676A
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English (en)
Inventor
Miron Padowicz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
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Individual
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to DE19707039786 priority Critical patent/DE7039786U/de
Priority to CH1754470A priority patent/CH538941A/de
Priority to IL35892A priority patent/IL35892A/xx
Priority to ES386773A priority patent/ES386773A1/es
Priority to JP45116898A priority patent/JPS4919649B1/ja
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3590488A publication Critical patent/US3590488A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
    • B44D—PAINTING OR ARTISTIC DRAWING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PRESERVING PAINTINGS; SURFACE TREATMENT TO OBTAIN SPECIAL ARTISTIC SURFACE EFFECTS OR FINISHES
    • B44D3/00—Accessories or implements for use in connection with painting or artistic drawing, not otherwise provided for; Methods or devices for colour determination, selection, or synthesis, e.g. use of colour tables
    • B44D3/18—Boards or sheets with surfaces prepared for painting or drawing pictures; Stretching frames for canvases
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H33/00—Other toys
    • A63H33/22—Optical, colour, or shadow toys
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43L—ARTICLES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING UPON; WRITING OR DRAWING AIDS; ACCESSORIES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
    • B43L11/00—Non-circular-curve-drawing instruments
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43L—ARTICLES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING UPON; WRITING OR DRAWING AIDS; ACCESSORIES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
    • B43L11/00—Non-circular-curve-drawing instruments
    • B43L11/005—Non-circular-curve-drawing instruments pendulum-actuated

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT A flat support, suspended at three of more points from a frame so as to be freely swingable in two dimensions, carries a sheet on which a marker pen or other drawing tool bears under light pressure.
  • the support When the support is set in eccentric motion with reference to the polygon of its suspension points, as by being laterally displaced along a line offset from the center of that polygon, it carries out a generally elliptical rotation about the suspension axis at a rate corresponding to its natural frequency and with a certain precession whereby a variety of convoluted figures can be drawn on the sheet by the stationary tool.
  • the variety may be enhanced by eccentrically loading the support, or by placing the sheet on a motor-driven turntable mounted on the support.
  • My present invention relates to an apparatus for tracing random geometric figures, of convoluted shape, for the purpose of amusement or for the creation of esthetic effects.
  • the general object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of this type which, without appreciable effort onthe part of the user, will draw a virtually infinite variety of designs on a sheet of paper or other marking surface.”
  • a more specific object is to provide an apparatus for the tracing of figures which, without following an exactly predictable or reproducible pattern, may have selected basic configurations imparted to them by the skill of the user.
  • a generally planar support for a marking surface which is substantially horizontally suspended from a frame on three or more points defining a triangle, rectangle or other polygon, the members of the frame being sufficiently spaced from the support to let the latter swing freely in two dimensions in a damped periodic motion about the center of the polygon.
  • a tracing implement such as a pencil or a marker pen
  • the pin or other drawing tool may be car ried on a swingable or resiliently deformable holder which, in an advantageous embodiment, is an arm pivoted on a horizontal cross brace of the frame and provided with a counterweight nearly balancing the weight of the tool.
  • the principle of my invention may also be realized, however, without physical contact between a tracing or scribing implement and a marking surface, as with a point source of light whose beam is trained upon a photosensitive film which is subsequently developed.
  • the support When the user displaces the suspended support from its quiescent position and then releases it with a slight push in a direction offset from the center of the polygon, the support will revolve about that center in a generally elliptical and progressively decreasing orbit with a certain precession whereby a multiplicity of convolutions of progressively changing radius and orientation are traced on the marking surface. If the color of the marking tool is varied during the swing, or if the same procedure is repeated with differently colored imple; ments, a multicolor pattern of artistic merit will be produced. Naturally, two or more drawing tools of the same or different colors may be simultaneously trained upon the marking surface. A further dimension, as it were, may be added to the resulting picture if the marking surface is rotated on its support, independently of the swing of the latter, by a continuously or intermittently driven turntable.
  • the frame which advantageously is collapsible or bolted together for quick disassembly, may comprise four legs positioned generally in line with the diagonals of a rectangle defined by the suspension points of the support. This construction allows the support to be swung out between any two adjoining legs and to follow a relatively wide orbit without striking the frame.
  • a certain asymmetry of the mounting and/or the weight distribution of the support and its load helps insure the eccentricity of the initial pendulum swing and therefore the twoone cycle per second, especially if the tracing element is a pencil, pen or other marker physically contacting a drawing surface.
  • Fiber-tipped marker pens which do not require much contact pressure, are particularly useful for this purpose. As the damping factor increases, the number of convolutions drawn by the apparatus in one continuous tracing operation is reduced; it is therefore desirable to make the contact pressure between the tool and the marking surface as low as possible.
  • FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an apparatus embodying the invention
  • FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a modified tool holder for an apparatus otherwise similar to that of FIG. ll;
  • FIG. 3 is an isometric view of another modified tool holder
  • FIG. 41 is an isometric view of a modified support, including a turntable, usable in the apparatus of FIG. ll;
  • the support could be made at least in part of ferromagnetic material whereby one or more relatively massive magnets can be readily attached to it at any number of locations.
  • FIG. 6 is a further isometric view illustrating another modification.
  • the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises a preferably portable frame consisting of four bent legs 1 forming part of two frame halves which are bolted together at 2 and can be separated for transportation and storage. Suspended from the top of the frame, by means of highly flexible chains 3, in a plate-shaped support 4 for a sheet 12 of drawing paper. Though the support 4 has been shown as flat, it could also be given a slight (e.g. downwardly convex cylindrical) curvature.
  • the lower ends of the legs I are approximately aligned with the diagonals of the rectangular plate 4 in its quiescent state and are spaced sufficiently from the corners of that plate to allow the same to orbit with a large radius about the geometric center of the structure without striking any part of the frame.
  • Two of these legs are spanned, at a level slightly higher than that of plate 4, by a cross brace 11 on which an arm 6 is freely pivotable with the aid of a sleeve 13 for limited oscillation in a vertical plane as indicated by an arrow A.
  • Sleeve 13 is prevented by stops not shown from shifting laterally along the rod 1 1.
  • a counterweight 8 on the opposite end of arm 6 is adjustable for the purpose of nearly balancing the weight of tool 7 so that the latter bears upon the sheet 12 with minimum pressure.
  • the support 4 is shown eccentrically loaded by weight 5, e.g. of to 2000 grams, which can be freely positioned thereon.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a representative trace produced on the sheet by the marker 7, the convolutions of that FIG. being generally elliptical and of progressively decreasing radius with the spacing a determined by the above-described damping factor. It will be noted that these convolutions also undergo a precession, here clockwise, with the widest loops generally symmetrical about a major axis 0, and the narrowest loops converging on a major axis 0 substantially perpendicular thereto.
  • FIG. 2 I have shown the tool 7 mounted on an elastic wire loop 6a balanced by a counterweight 8a, the loop being secured to a rigid vertical rod 6b centrally depending from the top of the frame.
  • the contact pressure is here determined by the resiliency of the holder 6a and can be adjusted by varying the width of the loop.
  • FIG. 3 I have shown two marking tools 7', 7", e.g. of different colors, carried on a bifurcate extension 6' of arm 6.
  • FIG. 4 shows the supporting plate 4 fitted with a turntable 9 on the shaft of a motor 10 secured to the underside of the plate.
  • a sheet of drawing paper, not shown in this Figure, is placed on that turntable to undergo continuous or intermittent rotation while being marked by the tool 7.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates the possibility of placing a photosensitive sheet 12a on the swingable plate 4 in the path of a beam of visible or invisible light 14 trained upon it from a frame-supported, stationary source 15.
  • a modified frame la comprises a single yoke-shaped, preferably tubular standard terminating in an overhanging upper plate 117 and a confronting lower plate 1c, the former serving as an anchor for the suspension chains 3 whereas the latter can be bolted to the upper surface or the underside of a base such as a tabletop 16 (shown in phantom lines).
  • a base such as a tabletop 16 (shown in phantom lines).
  • Such a frame construction may, of course, also be used in the embodiment of FIG. 1.
  • suspension chains 3 could be replaced by cords, threads, thin wires and other sufficiently flexible links.
  • These links 1 should be so designed as to attenuate any unwanted oscillatory spin of the supporting platform 4 about a vertical axis which may initially superimpose itself upon the generally elliptical revolution.
  • the truncated pyramid defined by the links 1 should have a relatively broad minor base at the top, with sides preferably ranging in length between about one-half and one-fourth of the corresponding sides of the major base at the bottom and with an appreciable downward divergence of adjoining links.
  • the angle included between any of these links and the vertical, with the system at rest, preferably lies between about and 30.
  • This divergence stabilizes the platform against erratic swinging and causes it to tilt slightly from its horizontal position when off center so that the marking tool 7 is raised only slightly as compared with the vertical shift it would have to undergo with a parallelogrammatic suspension.
  • the presence of one or more weights 5 increases the spin inertia of the system whereby the platform tends to revolve about the frame axis, as desired, rather than rate about its own axis; for the purpose of suppressing these gyrations, therefore, the weight or weights may be centered on the support unless they are also intended to deform the trace.
  • the chains 1 were 40 cm. long and were anchored to the frame at the corners of a rectangle measuring Uri-8.5 cm.; the junctions between the links and the support 4 were the comers of a square with a side of 28 cm.
  • the support loaded at its center by a suspended weight, weighed about 1 kg.
  • Such a system has a natural frequency of slightly more than I cycle per second.
  • the links 3 could be made part of a continuous single chain, wire or cord, passing through four holes at the corners of platform 4 and through as many holes at the corners of upper plate lb (P16. 6), held in position by friction to allow for a levelling of the platform even in the presence of a not exactly horizontal frame-supporting surface.
  • a tracing apparatus comprising a frame, a generally planar support for a marking surface suspended substantially horizontally from said frame by at least three flexible elements anchored thereto at points defining a polygon, said support being freely swingable in two dimensions, and a scribing implement mounted substantially fixedly on said frame above said support and trained upon said marking surface for producing random geometrical figures thereon upon execution of a damped periodic motion of said support about the center of said polygon.
  • said scribing implement comprises a drawing tool with a yieldable holder exerting light pressure upon said markin surface.
  • said frame comprises a plurality of legs interconnected at the top and spaced apart at the bottom, said support being suspended between said legs with substantial clearance therefrom.
  • said frame comprises an upright with a lower termination securable to a base and an upper termination overhanging said base, said elements being suspended from said upper termination.
US31676A 1969-12-24 1970-04-24 Apparatus for tracing random geometrical figures Expired - Lifetime US3590488A (en)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19707039786 DE7039786U (de) 1970-04-24 1970-10-16 Malvorrichtung
CH1754470A CH538941A (de) 1969-12-24 1970-11-27 Vorrichtung zum Zeichnen von Linien
IL35892A IL35892A (en) 1969-12-24 1970-12-23 Drawing device for obtaining random geometric curves
ES386773A ES386773A1 (es) 1969-12-24 1970-12-23 Un dispositivo para pintar, con el fin de obtener efectos opticos.
JP45116898A JPS4919649B1 (de) 1969-12-24 1970-12-24

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE6950517U DE6950517U (de) 1969-12-24 1969-12-24 Malvorrichtung.

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3590488A true US3590488A (en) 1971-07-06

Family

ID=6607374

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US31676A Expired - Lifetime US3590488A (en) 1969-12-24 1970-04-24 Apparatus for tracing random geometrical figures

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US3590488A (de)
AT (1) AT308413B (de)
DE (1) DE6950517U (de)
ZA (1) ZA708628B (de)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3977085A (en) * 1975-10-20 1976-08-31 Sandifer Robert L Pendulum toy
US4199868A (en) * 1979-03-05 1980-04-29 Steward R James Amusement device for tracing geometrical figures
US4199867A (en) * 1978-02-23 1980-04-29 George Cass Harmonograph
US5134778A (en) * 1990-04-13 1992-08-04 Maccarthy Patrick Design-making instrument
BE1018855A3 (nl) * 2009-08-12 2011-10-04 Unal Safak Trillingsweergavetoestel van een slinger.

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US898599A (en) * 1908-02-07 1908-09-15 Herbert Pearce Pendulograph.
US3496641A (en) * 1968-08-12 1970-02-24 Glen W Mills Harmonograph

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US898599A (en) * 1908-02-07 1908-09-15 Herbert Pearce Pendulograph.
US3496641A (en) * 1968-08-12 1970-02-24 Glen W Mills Harmonograph

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3977085A (en) * 1975-10-20 1976-08-31 Sandifer Robert L Pendulum toy
US4199867A (en) * 1978-02-23 1980-04-29 George Cass Harmonograph
US4199868A (en) * 1979-03-05 1980-04-29 Steward R James Amusement device for tracing geometrical figures
US5134778A (en) * 1990-04-13 1992-08-04 Maccarthy Patrick Design-making instrument
BE1018855A3 (nl) * 2009-08-12 2011-10-04 Unal Safak Trillingsweergavetoestel van een slinger.

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ZA708628B (en) 1971-10-27
DE6950517U (de) 1970-05-06
AT308413B (de) 1973-07-10

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