US1988846A - Phonograph - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 22, 1935. v L JONES I 1,988,846

PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. ,19, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l L l 9 v 9 I M ii o INVENTOR A TORNEYS Jan. 22, 1935.

| 'L. JONES PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 19, 1929 3'Shets- Sheet 2 L. L. JONES 1,933,845

PHONOGRAPH Filed Feb. 19, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 22, 1935.

m w w M a I, o S 5 m. m Rm Y mm R w M 1m a m N m 1 r W A m A e Y l B m {2 E T m mm w I m a 5 m m 1 2 .5 m H M M. LB N E. \I D m l I Patented Jan. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I PnoNoGnArn Lester L. Jones, Oradell, N. J.

Application February 19, 1928, Serial No. 341M":

24 Claims. (o1. 274-10) This invention relates to phonographs, and more particularly to automatic or self-operating phonographs.

The present application, together with my copending applications Serial Numbers 341,076, now

Patent No. 1,983,087, granted Dec. 4, 1934, and 341,078, now Patent No. 1,954,246, granted April 10, 1934, filed concurrently herewith, disclose an automatic phonograph designed with a view to simplifying and accelerating the record changing operation. In accordance with my invention, the used record is discharged from the record turntable while the table is tilted from the horizontal to a substantially vertical position, and the next record to be played is picked up by the centering pin of the table on its upward oscillation back to the horizontal or playing position. The present application relates more particularly to the arrangement of the tiltable turntable and the tilting mechanism therefor, and also to the automatic and manual control means for actuating this mechanism;

One object of my invention is to overcome the dimculty presented by the fact that the turntable must be made tiltable althoughgeared to a driving motor. This I overcome by tilting the table and the motor as an integral unit, without disturbing the gearing therebetween. The turntable, the motor, and the tilting mechanism are 30 carried one. frame supported by trunnions, and,

in accordance with my invention, the mass of the table, motor, and mechanism is so distributed that the entire unit is balanced about the axis of support. 35 A further object of my invention is to provide tilting mechanism without necessitating the use of a separate driving motor, and to this end I mount a crank on the tiltable frame and anchor or connect it by a connecting rod to a wrist pin 40 fixed in a stationary chassis. In this manner the crank may readily be geared to the motor which drives the turntable, and the resulting rotation of the crank about its anchored crank pin causes the crank shaft, and the tiltable frame which car- 45 ries it, to move relative to the stationary chassis.

One time saving feature of my invention is' ,that the record picked up by the turntable is moved directly into contact with the reproducer needle when the table is oscillated toits playing 50 position, and another is that the tilting operation is made quite rapid in order to speed up the record changing operation. However, it is necessary that at the moment of: contact of the record with the reproducer needle their relative motion be slow, and to meet this condition is another object of my invention, which I do by arranging the crank and connecting rod so that the crank moves into dead center at the time of contact of the record and reproducer, thereby bringing them into engagement gently.

The tilting crank is to be geared tothe motor only during the tilting operation, and I therefore interpose between the driving motor and. the crank a single revolution clutch. To prevent over-travel the clutch is disengaged slightly before the end of a full revolution of the crank. To insure the completion of a full revolution, in spite of this necessarily premature disengagement, is still another object of my invention, for which purpose I provide'a cam rotating with the crank, and a cam follower which is resiliently pressed against the cam, the cam shape being. such that the pressure of the follower forces it to complete a full revolution, so that the record fiirntable is brought into proper playing posi- Obviously, the turntable should be kept quite rigidly in position during the playing of records,

and to lock the frame in position is a further object of my invention, which I fulfill by two expedients. The first is the cam to which I have already adverted, for the cam follower engages a recess in its surface and holds it in position. The second consists in so arranging the crank on the tiltable frame, and the connecting rod between the crank and the fixed wrist pin, that the axes of the crank, the crank pin, and the wrist pin are aligned when the frame is in normal reproducing position.

A used record is discharged by tilting the frame to a nearly vertical position and pushing the record away from the table in order to dislodge it from the centering pin to permit a gravity drop. The next record to be played is picked up by inclining it in such a position that its center hole lies in the path of the centering pin when the table is being restored to normal playing position. The first operation is certain, and the table may be tilted downwardly quickly, whereas the second operation is more exacting and apt to go wrong if made too fast. Also, the used record may be disengaged from the reproducer quickly, whereas the new record must be brought into contact gently. To make the total record changing time a minimum by meeting these varied requirements, that is, to make the downward tilt of the table more rapidthan the restoring oscillation, is a still furtherobject of my invention. For this purpose the linkage made upof the stationary chassis, the tiltable frame, the crank, and the connecting rod, are so arranged that the frame is given its full downward tilt in about one quarter of a revolution of the-crank, while it is restored to the horizontal position during the remainder of the revolution of the crank.

When the last of a stack of records has been played, or if only a single record is played at a time, it is desirable to stop the driving motor when there is no new record on the turntable, and to provide for this is a further object of my inven-' tion. This I do, by meansof a member, preferably a roller urged toward the peripheries of the record and the table, and means responsi e to a movement of the roller entirely to the periphery of the table for stopping the motor. The roller tends to move inward when the table is tilted, but at this time the motor should not be stopped because that would interfere with the completion of the tilting operation, and in accordance with a further feature of my invention the stopping means already mentioned are made inoperative when the table is in tilted position. The driving motor is preferably an electric motor, and the stopping means is simply a switch in series with the motor. Another switch is connected electrically in parallel with the first mentioned switch, and is arranged to be opened when the table is in horizontal position, but is closed when the table is tilted, to prevent opening of the motor circuit.

Any usual type of automatic stop means may be employed in cooperation with the reproduoer in order to ascertain the ending of the record, and this means is made to actuate the single revoliition clutch on the tilting crank, thereby disengaging the record and reproducer, and ejecting the used record from, the turntable. It sometimes happens that a record, when played, proves undesirable, and a further object of my invention is to permit of rejection of records at will, to do which I provide manually operable means for tripping the single revolution clutch.

My invention is described more in detail in the following specification, which is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned elevation showing schematically the general arrangement of the phonograph;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the tilting mechanism and turntable in normal playing position;

Fig. -3 is an elevation of the tilting mechanism and turntable when fully tilted;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation;

Fig. 5 is a detailed section through the single revolution clutch, taken on the line 5--5 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram for the phonograph.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is a record turntable 2 supported on a shaft 4, rotated in a tiltable frame, not shown, by' a driving motor 6, which is geared to the shaft 4 by a worm 8 meshing with a worm wheel 10. The assemblage is tiltable about trunnions 12 fitted in bearings 14 supported on pedestals 16. The reproducer 18 is supported on an arm 20 which reciprocates about a vertical shaft 22 fitted within a stationary sleeve 24. The record is separated from the reproducer when the turntable 2 is tilted downwardly. Meanwhile a cam 26 and follower 28 are arranged to reciprocate the reproducer 18 outwardly while the table 2 is being tilted downwardly to the position indicated at 2'. At the same time ejector arms 30 are moved to dislodge a record from the centering pin, and drop it by gravity into a discard magazine 32. The next record to be played is separated from a stack of records in the magazine 34 by means including a separatingfinger 36, which slides the forwardmost record upwardly over edge 37 out of the magazine and onto sup- .port 38. The upper portion of the record leans will be seen that the tiltable frame 40, supported on trunnions 12, carries not only the turntable 2, the turntable shaft 4, and the driving motor 6, but also a crank disk 42, the crank pin of which, indicated generally at 60, is connected to one end of an anchor or connecting rod 44, the other end of which is connected to a wrist pin 46 fixed to the stationary chasis 50.

Aworm 52 on the shaft 4 meshes with a worm wheel 54, which positively drives a clutch 'wheel 56, provided with holes 58 in one of which a clutch pin, carried in a single revolution clutch mechanism indicated generally at 60, is inserted to tilt the frame 40. The crank disk 42 also acts as a cam, it being indicated at 62 to mark the crank position corresponding to the normal playing position of the frame, while a follower 64 is forcibly pressed against the cam by a torsional spring 66'. The cam shape is designed to insure completion of a full revolution of the crank, even though the single revolution clutch is necessarily released a little before the end of a full revolution, and also to help hold the turntable in its normal playing position.

The table is also looked in position by the alignment of the crank shaft, the crank pin assembly 60, and the wrist pin 46. These are in dead center, so that any tendency of the table to tilt, in either direction, merely puts the parts in tension or in compression, rather than turns the crank.

Fig. 3 is an elevation similar to that shown in Fig. 2, except that the frame 40 has been tilted until the turntable 2 is in a substantially vertical position. It is important to notice, in this figure, that the crank disk 42 has rotated, relative to the frame 40, only about a quarter of a revolution, resulting in a very rapid downward tilt of the table. To better illustrate this the position of the crank pin and clutch mechanism 60, or of the cam indentation 62, may be compared with some fixed point on the frame, such as the worm 52, or the cam follower 64, and it is evident that these points have moved relatively only a quarter of a revolution, even though the absolute rotation of the crank, relative to the fixed chassis 50, is a half revolution. The remaining three quarters of the relative revolution of the crank are used in restoring the turntable to normal playing position, a slower motion being desirable when picking up the next record to be played.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 5--5 in Fig. 2, and illustrates the positively driven clutch wheel 56 formed integrally with the worm gear 54, and provided with tapered clutch holes 58. Coaxially mounted with the positively driven clutch wheel 56 is the loose wheel 42, which serves not only as the driven member of the clutch, but also as a crank disk and as a cam. This wheel carries a crank pin 70, to which one end of the connecting rod 44'is connected by a bearing 72. The crank pin '70 is hollow and carries a clutch pin 74, which is reciprocable within the crank pin 70, but which is splined thereto to prevent 1 relative rotation by means of a key slot 76, engaged by a set screw 78. There is a plunger 80,

supported in the' stationary chassis, actuation of v which forces the clutch pin 74 into one of the holes 58 in the rotating clutch wheel 56, and so causes the crank to rotate. V 1' 1.

The connecting rod bearing 72 has an enlarged face 82, on which a cam 84 is fixed. The end of the reciprocable clutch pin '74 carries a cam follower 88. The cam and follower experience relative rotation because of the eifectof the key 78,

and near the end of a single revolution the follower 88 rides up on the cam surface 84 and retracts the clutch pin '74 from engagement with the positively driven clutch wheel 56. The holes 58 and pin 70 are slightly tapered to permit ready retraction. The outer end of the clutch pin 74 carries a curved shield 90 to prevent jamming of the clutch pin against the plunger 80, should the latter through some mishap not have been restored to its normal position.

This single revolution clutch is particularly advantageous because it is an arrangement in which the relative revolution is obtained without reference to a fixed point located on the stationary chassis. It will be understood that the retracting cam may be of any type, and particularly, the cam surface may be attached 'to the clutch pin 72, while the connectingrod bearing face 82 may be made to act as a cam follower. I

The general assemblage is illustrated in the front elevation, Fig. 4, which shows how the clutch pin 74 is aligned with an actuating plunger 80, in this case magnetically operated by the at traction of a magnet 92, attached to the stationary chassis 50, on an armature 94, fixed to the plunger 80. This figure also shows how the tiltable frame 40, carrying the turntable 2, the turntable shaft 4, the driving motor 6, and the crank and clutch mechanism, is supported by trunnions 12 mounted in pedestal bearings 14.

A wiring diagram for the phonograph is given in Fig. 6. Energy from a supply line 100 is fed to the driving motor 6 whenever the circuit is closed by either a manual switch 102, or either of the automatic switches 104 and 106, these switches all being connected electrically in parallel. Switch 106 is arranged, as shown, to be opened when the turntable is in normal playing position, but closed when the table is even slightly tilted. The switch 104 is operated by a roller 107, supported on an arm 108, which is pivoted at 110 to the stationary chassis, and urged toward the periphery of the record truntable 2 by a torsional spring 112. The turntable is smaller in diameter than the records, and the screw 114 is so adjusted that the contact 104 is opened when the roller 107 moves entirely over to the periphery of the turntable 2, without being stopped by a record. A roller or other wiper moving normally'of the table, and depending for actuation upon the pressure of the record, might equally well be used, but I prefer the present scheme because the roller is also used to switch 106 keeps the circuit closed until the tilt,-

ing cycle has been completed.

Some of the energy from the line 100 is supplied through a transformer 120 to a magnet 92, which is arranged to attract the armature 94 in order to move the plunger 80 against the clutch pin 74. The magnet circuit is closed by a contact 122 which, when the reproducer arm reaches the end of a record, is actuated in any conventional manner, and thus trips the single revolution clutch and ejects the used record. A manually operable switch 124 is arranged in parallel with the automatic switch 122, so that a record and thereby repeating the tilting cycle.

may be rejected at will, without waiting for its completion.

To start the machine the button 126'is' depressed, which closes the switches 102 and 124. The closing of the switch 124 trips the single revolution clutch, while the closing of the switch 102 starts the driving motor 6, so that the turntable 2 immediately begins to tilt. The button must be depressed long enough for the table to begin to tilt, whereupon the contact 106 is closed, and remains so until the tilting cycle is completed. When the table is restored to its operating position, it carries a record which moves the roller 107 outwardly, which closes the contact 104 so that the driving motor continues to operate. At the end of the record the contact 122 is closed, tripping the single revolution clutch, If no record is brought up with the table the motor circuit is opened by the wheel 107 opening the contact 104. If a record already begun is considered undesirable, the button 126 maybe depressed, tripping the single revolution clutch and ejecting the undesired record.

It may incidentally be mentioned that the reproducer 18 is preferably of the electrical type, and its pick-up is led over conductors 130 to a suitable amplifier, which, in the case of a combined radio receiver and phonograph, may be the amplifier of the radio set.

It will be .apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in. the preferred forms, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic phonograph comprising a stationary chassis, a reproducer mounted thereon, a tiltable frame, a record turntable carried thereby, a single small motor carried thereby and geared to the table, means for tiltably supporting the frame on the chassis,'a crank on the frame, a

' connecting rod between the crank and a wrist pin fixed to the chassis, and, means for operatively connecting the crank. and the aforesaid small motor in order to tilt the frame between a recrd changing position away from the reproducer and a record playing position in contact with the reproducer.

2. An automatic phonograph comprising a stationary chassis, a reproducer mounted thereon, a frame, a record turntable carriedthereby, a motor carried thereby and geared tov the table, means for tiltably supporting the frame on the chassis, for movement relative to the reproducer, a crank on the frame, a connecting rod between the crank and a wrist pin fixed to the chassis, and a single revolution clutch for gearing the crank to the motor in order to tilt the frame and restore it to position, said clutch including driving means, driven means, means to operatively engage the same, and means causing release of the engagement means when the driven means has completed a single rotation.

3. An automatic phonograph comprising a tiltable record turntable and a driving motor there'- for, a positively driven clutch wheel geared to the motor, a loose crank disk arranged coaxially with the clutch wheel, a crank pin fixed to the crank disk, a connecting rod between the crank pin and a fixed wrist. pin, a clutch pin reciprocable within the crank pin for operatively engaging the positively driven clutch wheel, and means causing retraction of the clutch pin near the end of a single revolution of the crank.

4. An automatic phonograph comprising a tiltable record turntable and a driving motor therefor, a crank and connecting rod for tilting the table, a clutch for operatively connecting the crank to the driving motor, means to release the clutch slightly before a single revolution of the crank, and means to insure completion of a full revolution of the crank.

5. An automatic phonograph comprising a tiltable record turntable and a driving motor therefor, a crank and connecting rod for-tilting the table, a clutch for operatively connecting the crank to the driving motor, means to release the clutch slightly before a single revolution of the crank, a cam rotating with the crank, and a cam follower resiliently pressed against the cam, said cam being so shaped that the pressure of the follower insures completion of a full revolution of the crank.

6. An automatic phonograph comprising a tiltable record turntable and a driving motor therefor, a crank and connecting rod for tilting the table, a clutch for operatively connecting the crank to the driving motor, means to release the clutch when the table approaches its normal playing position, and means to lock the table in that position.

'7. An automatic phonograph comprising a tiltable record turntable and a driving motor therefor, a crank and connecting rod for tilting the table, a clutch for operatively connecting the crank to the driving motor, means to release the clutch slightly before a single revolution of the crank, a cam surface rotating with the crank, and a cam follower resiliently pressed against the cam surface, said cam surface being so shaped that the follower tends to hold the crank at a point corresponding to the normal playing position of the table.

8. An automatic phonograph comprising a stationary chassis,- a frame, a record turntable carried thereby, a motor carried thereby and geared to the table, means for tiltably supporting the frame on the chassis, a crank on the frame, a connecting rod between the crank and a wrist pin fixed to the chassis, and a clutch between the crank and motor for tilting the frame, the axes of the crank, the crank pin, and the wrist pin being substantially aligned when the frame is in its normal playingposition in order to tend to lock it in that position.

9. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a tiltable record turntable for bringing a record carried thereby into engagement with the reproducer, and means for tilting the table comprising a crank and connecting rod so arranged that the crank moves into dead center at the time of contact of the record and reproducer in that they approach dead center as the table ap-' proaches its normal reproducing position in order to bring a record thereon into gradual contact with the reproducer.

11. An automatic phonograph comprising a stationary chassis, a frame, a record. turntable carried thereby, a motor carried thereby and geared to the table, means for tiltably supporting the frame on the chassis, a crank on the frame arranged to be driven by the motor, and a connecting rod between the crank and a wrist pin fixed to the chassis, the linkage comprising the chassis, frame, crank, and connecting rod being so arranged that the frame is tilted through approximately-a right angle and is given its full downwardtilt in substantially less than half 'of a revolution of the crank relative to the frame, and is restored during the remainder of the revolution of the crank.

' 12. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a record turntable, a driving motor therefor, means to tilt the table away from its playing position and restore it to its playing position with a record thereon in order to bring the record into contact with the reproducer, a roller urged toward the peripheries of the record and table when they are in playing position, and means responsive to a movement of the roller entirely to the periphery of the table for stopping the motor.

13. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a record turntable, a driving motor,-

means to move the table away from its playing position and to restore it to its playing position with a record thereon in order to bring the record into contact with the reproducer, means responsive to the absence of a record on the table for stopping the motor, and additional means for making the stopping means inoperative when the table is moved from its playing position.

14. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a record turntable, an electrical driving motor, means to move the table away from its playing position'and to restore it to its playing position with a record thereon in' order to bring the record into contact with the reproducer, a switch and means to operate the same when no record is on the table for opening thecircuit, and another switch in parallel with the first mentioned switch arranged to open when the table is in playing position and to close when the table is moved from its playing position, in order to make the first switch inoperative to open the motor circuit during the table moving operaframe, a record turntable carried thereby, a motor carried thereby and geared to the table, means for tiltably supporting the frame on the chassis for movement relative to the reproducer, a crank on the frame arranged to be driven by the motor, a connecting rod between the crank anda wrist pin fixed to the chassis, a single revolution clutch for operatively connecting the crank to the motor in order to tilt the table, said clutch including driving. means, driven means, A means to operatively engage the same, and means causing release of the engagement means when the driven means has completed a single rotation,

and said phonograph including additional means.

for automatically actuating the clutch engagement means at the end of the record being rod between the crank and a wrist pin fixed to the chassis, a single revolution clutch for operatively connecting the crank to the motor in order to tilt the table, means for automatically actuating the clutch at the end of the record being played, and manual means for operating the clutch at will.

17. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a record supply magazine, a record discharge magazine, a record turntable, a driving motor therefor, record changing apparatus including means to move the table between a record playing position up near the reproducer, and a record loading position downwardly removed from the reproducer and so located relatively to said magazines as to facilitate transferring records from the supply magazine to the turntable and from the turntable to the discharge magazine, and means to accomplish said transfer, a

rotatable member for operating all of the aforesaid means for a complete record changing operation during a single continuous rotation of said member, and a single revolution mechanical clutch for gearing said apparatus to the aforesaid motor for a single revolution of said rotatable member, said clutch including driving means, driven means, means to operatively engage the same, and means causing release of the engagement means when the driven means has completed a single rotation.

18. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a record magazine, a record turntable, a driving motor therefor, record changing apparatus including means to move the table between a record playing position up near the reproducer and a record loading position downwardly removed from the reproducer and so located relatively to said magazine as to facilitate transferring records therebetween, and means to accomplish said transfer, a rotatable crank for driving all of the aforesaid record changing apparatus through a complete record changing operation during a single continuous rotation of said member, a single revolution mechanical clutch for gearing the crank to the aforesaid motor for a single revolution of said rotatable member, said clutch including driving means, driven means, means to operatively engage the same, and means causing release of the engagement means when the driven means has completed a single rotation, and said phonograph including additional means for automatically actuating the clutch engagement means at the end of the playing of a record.

19. An automatic phonograph comprising a record turntable, a driving motor therefor, record changing apparatus including means to move the table between a record playing position up near the reproducer, and a record loading position downwardly removed from the reproducer and a rotatable member for operating said means, a single revolution mechanical clutch for gearing said member to the aforesaid motor for a single revolution of said rotatable member, means for automatically actuating the clutch at the end of a record being played, and manual means for operating the clutch at will.

20. An automatic phonograph comprising a stationary chassis, a tilt'able frame, a record turntable carried thereby, a driving motor therefor, a crank on the frame, a connecting rod between the crank and a wrist pin fixed to the chassis, a single revolution clutch for gearing the crank to the motor in order to tilt the frame and restore it to playing position, and means to lock the frame in playing position.

21. An automatic phonograph comprising a tiltable record turntable, a driving motor therefor, a positively driven clutch wheel geared to the motor, a loose crank disc arranged co-axially with the clutch wheel, a crank pin fixed to the crank disc, a connecting rod between the crank pin and a fixed wrist pin, a clutch pin reciprocable within the crank pin for operatively engaging the positively driven clutch wheel, means causing said clutch pin to engage said clutch wheel at the end of the playing of a record, means causing disengagement of the clutch pin when the table returns to its normal playing position, and means to lock the table in its normal playing position.

22. An automatic phonograph comprising a reproducer, a movable record turntable, a motor for rotating the turntable, means including a rotatable crank member for moving the table away from the reproducer to disengage a record carried thereby from the reproducer or to restore the table back to its initial position in order to bring a record carried thereby into engagement with the reproducer, all during a single revolution of the crank member, and a single revolution clutch for gearing said crank member to the aforesaid motor.

23. In a phonograph, in combination, a frame, a tiltable turntable support pivotally mounted on said frame, a spindle rotatably mounted on said support and extending upwardly therefrom, means for driving said spindle, a turntable mounted on theupper end of said spindle and driven thereby, a tone-arm mounted for swinging movement on said frame, means operable upon the completion of the playing of a record on said turntable to tilt said support to eject a record from the turntable comprising a disk rotatably mounted on said support and driven from the spindle driving means and having a plurality of apertures adjacent the periphery thereof, a part swingably mounted at a fixed radius on said frame, solenoid operated means to engage said part in an. aperture of said disk, so that, due to the rotation of the disk, said support will be oscillated to a tilted position and back to its normal position, and means operable during the tilting of said support for returning the tone-arm to its starting position. i

24. In a phonograph, in combination, a frame, a tiltable turntable support pivotally mounted on said frame, a spindle rotatably mounted on said support and extending upwardly therefrom, means for driving said spindle, a turntable mounted on the upper end of said spindle and driven thereby, and means operable upon the completion of the playing of a record on said turntable totilt said support to eject a record from the turntable comprising a disk rotatably mounted on said support and driven from the spindle driving means and having a plurality of apertures adjacentthe periphery thereof, a part swingably mounted on a fixed radius on said frame, means to engage said part in an aperture of said disk so that, due to the rotation of the disk, said support will be oscillated to a tilted position and back to its normal position, and means for disengaging said part from said disk when said support has returned to its normal position.

LESTER L. JONES.

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