US2528190A - Recording stylus feed means - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 31, 1950 R. D. THAYER I 2,528,190

RECORDING smus FEED MEANS Filed Dec. 15, 1947 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 31, 1950 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECORDING STYLUS FEED MEANS Richard -'llhayer, Worcester, Mass. Application December 13, 1947-, Serial No. 791,492

in the provision of an improved sound recording.

apparatus of the class described comprising a recordcutter, means to feed thesame, and manuallyoperated means for disengaging the feed means so as to provide for making the spiral groove above described.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a sound recording, apparatus having a rotating turntable on which is mounted the conventional disk of any usual type, in combination-with a swinging cutter arm having means toengage a feed screw so as to swing thecutter arm across the disk as it rotates in order to produce a sound track, in combination with means to disengage the cutter arm from the feed screw so that a spiral groove for automatic record changer operations may be made manually at the end of the recorded sound track. 7

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of sound recording apparatus as 0 above described including a power operated feed screw located below the table, the cutting" arm being provided with a resilient screw follower which is adapted to rest on the feed screwlbut due to" its inherent resilience may be easilymoved away from the feed screw so as to free the cutting arm therefrom, in combination with a lever pivoted at the under side of the table, said lever having a blade extending along the feed screw in position to engage the screw follower so that upon proper manipulation of the lever, the feed screw follower may be easily disengaged from the screw to release the cutter arm from the feeding mechanism whereby the cutter arm may be swung manually to produce the desired spiral terminal groove.

-A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of a sound recording apparatus as above described including a blank spot on the feed screw in combination with an angular cutaway portion at the end of the blade so that even though the lever bein position to disengage the cutter arm from the feed screw, still the feed screw follower will descend along the inclined portion of the blade and be d rected i 1 Claim. (01. 274 13)- theblank portion of the feed screw to automatically provide an annular terminal groove.

Further objects of the invention are to pro'-- drawing in which 1 Fig. 1. is a top plan view ofa device according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view, part being'broken away; I 1

Fig. 4. is an enlarged detail .view showing the actionof. thefeed screwfollower; v I

Fig. 5 is an enlarged-view of the feed screw showing the blank spot; and

. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the operative end of the lever, showing the angular terminal portion thereof.

It is to be understood that apparatus accord! ing to the present invention may be installed wherever necessaryor. desired such as in, radio cabinets, etc., and to this end there is provided a table In which may be set into a cabinet 01: the like and-bolted down if desired. On the table in there is provided a plate i2 on which is mounted t the: spindle?- extending through the topsurface of the plate 12, the usual motor i6, and a gear box i8' for a feed screw 26, the latter being driven from the motor by well known means. A turntable 22 is adapted to be rotated by the spindle and a swingingcutter arm 24 mounted on a pin 26 is also provided asclearly shown. As so far described, the apparatus is more or less conventional and represents apparatus which may be purchased on the market at the present time.

Fixed to the pin 26 there is an arm 28 located underneath the table and swingable with the cutter arm 2 The arm 28 terminates in a resilient thin plate 30, which is secured thereto by anydesired means. Plate 30 is provided with a depending tooth 32, this tooth being adapted to rest on the feed screw so as to swing the arm 28 and cutter arm 24 generally radially of the turntable 22. Of course, it is well understood that the pitch of the threads on the feed screw 2, see, 190

will determine the spacing of the sound track cut by the cutting tool.

The feed screw 20 is provided adjacent its inner end with a non-threaded blank spot 34 and, of course, when the tooth 32 reaches the blank spot, the cutter arm will no longer be fed inwardly but will produce a circular finishing groove on the disk being out. It is to be clearly understood, however, that the blank spot will merely make an annular groove at the termination of the recording at one particular location or radius and this cannot be changed without changing the feed screw. From this it will be seen that all recordmatic record changers but must be individually 7 applied and removed from the turntable by hand.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, I provide a bracket 36 which depends from the table ill and, in the absence of the table 10, from the plate l2. This bracket is provided with a pivot pin 38 on which is pivotally mounted a lever 40. The left hand end of lever 40, as seen in these figures, is screw threadedly mounted on a threaded pin 42 byany desired means, such as a pair of nuts 44. The pin 42 is freely movable through a slot in the table as at 46 and the pin is provided with a head 48 extending above the plate l2. A spring 50 tends to maintain the pin 42 in uppermost position and a like spring 52 balances the same and prevents spring 50 from raising the pin 42 to too great a degree. It is obvious, of course, that a light pressure on the head 48 will depress pin 42 and swing the lever and that the point of attachment of lever 40 to pin 42 may be easily adjusted.

The other end of the lever in the particular case shown is twisted 90 and provides a vertical blade 54 which is bent in a manner to be located parallel to the feed screw and underneath the screw follower tooth 32 as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The arm 54 terminates at 56 in an angularly inclined portion which is located adjacent the blank spot of the screw at 34. A bumper 58 serves to eliminate vibration.

The parts are so arranged that when the cutter arm 24 is lifted to place the cutter on the disk on the turntable, the screw follower tooth 32 will be placed on the screw adjacent the free end thereof as at E8, and the screw obviously will then travel the arm 28 in an angular manner, so also traveling cutter arm 24 inwardly toward the spindle at a predetermined rate of feed to cut the sound track. Whenever it is desired to dis* engage the feed screw from the follower tooth 32, it is merely necessary to depress pin 42 by means of the button 48, whereupon the lever is moved in a counterclockwise direction in Fig. 2, thus raising the blade 54 and disengaging the follower tooth 32 from the screw 20 as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. Upon this being done, the cutter arm 24 may be moved inwardly manually so as to produce a blank spot on the record of a certain time duration and also. to produce the spiral groove necessary for the operation of automatic record changers. However, when the annular termination 56 is reached, the follower tooth 32 will descend and come into the blank pocket 34 so that the operator may release the cutter arm and automatically form the annular terminal groove above referred to in the objects of the invention. The reference numeral Ill indicates a stop against which the arm 23 will strike when the follower tooth 32 reaches approximately the center of the blank pocket 32 on the feed screw 20. This is for the purpose'of forming a terminal perfect circle on the record blank.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:'

Recording apparatus comprising a support, a motor-operated turntable thereon, a movable cutter arm on the support, an under arm in fixed relation to the cutter arm, said under arm being located beneath the support, said arms being movable together, a rotating feed screw under the support, a resilient follower for the screw on the under arm so that the follower may rest on the screwto feed the arms, and optionally movable means to raise the follower from the screw to leave the cutting arm free to be moved manu- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 887,429 Rosenthal May 12, 1908 897,053 Boulanger et a1 Aug. 25, 1908 Berliner June 6, 1944

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