US2571466A - Apparatus for automatically playing gramophone records - Google Patents

Description

9 c. METCALFE ETAL 2,571,466

v A APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY I PLAYING GRAMOPHONE RECORDS Filed Oct. so, 1946,

' PIGKUP'ARM LEVER TURNTABLE TURNTABLE DRIVE MOTOR SPINDIV.E.

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Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY PLAY- ING GRAMOPHONE RECORDS Application October 30, 1946, Serial No. 706,612 In Great Britain November 5, 1945 6 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for automatically playing gramophone records, the invention having particular but not exclusive reference to the kind of apparatus in which an inward movement of the pickup arm trip lever serves to move a lever into the path of a cam rotated by the turntable drive, the trip lever being moved under the action of the cam to its original position until an exaggerated movement of the pickup trip lever occurs. Then, due to the consequent increased movement of the trip lever, a clutch is actuated initiating a changing cycle of the apparatus.

Usually, in automatic record playing apparatus the automatic cycle for removal of the pickup or tone arm, hereinafter referred to as pick-- up arm from a played record is initiated under the control of the well known tap-tap mechanism which comprises a tap-tap lever which is fed inwardly during each revolution of the turntable towards a member rotated by the turntable which during each revolution moves the tap-tap lever back to its original position until an exaggerated movement of the pickup arm and its associated pickup arm lever occurs when the tap-tap lever is moved into a position where it can be tripped in such a manner as to initiate the automatic cycle. An example of such a mechanism is described in the specification of British Patent No. 562,650. In this specification when the exaggerated movement occurs a gravity-operated clutch is caused to become engaged so that a face cam is driven so as to effect raising of the pickup arm from the record and the further operations necessary for the changing of a record. The tap-tap lever is associated with a clutch lever which, when the tap-tap lever is tripped, is thrown out of engagement with a shutter so that an arm on said clutch lever which normally holds the gravity-operated clutch disengaged is moved from engagement with the clutch so that the clutch falls by gravity and is thereby engaged. Said shutter is rotated by a driving gear and when the shutter is disposed in a position such that the clutch lever can move into the slot in the shutter, a spring then moves said clutch lever into a position to cause disengagement of said clutch and the tap-tap lever into its tap-tap position. The tap-tap lever is coupled to the pickup arm lever by a frictional coupling and when employing lightweight pickups it is necessary to employ only a slight frictional coupling and it is found that when the tap-tap lever is restored by said spring to its tap-tap position said spring tends to cause the tap-tap lever to be moved beyond its tap-tap position so that on rotation of the turntable the tap-tap lever is tripped so causing false operation.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism with a view to overcoming this difficulty.

According to one feature of the present invention are provided for moving the taptap lever into its normal tap-tap position, said means being positively driven at an appropriate time during the automatic cycle.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into efiect, the same will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an under plan view of mechanism embodying one feature of the invention, and

Figure 2 is an exploded under plan view of mechanism embodying another feature of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the tap-tap lever which is constructed similarly to the tap-tap lever described in the specification of the aforesaid patent, is pivotally mounted on a trip lever 2 which is frictionally coupled to the pickup arm lever 21 which is mounted on an an- .gularly movable post 3 the pickup arm which is not shown is also mounted on the post 3 to cause both the pickup arm and the pickup lever to pass through the same angular movement. The tap-tap lever l is provided at one end with a rubber roller 4 with which a lug 5 carried on and rotated by the turntable spindle 28 normally engages during the playing period to return the tap-tap lever l after its inward movement, said tap-tap lever i also having a nose 6 which is actuated by said lug 5, the nose 6 being engaged by said lug when an exaggerated movement of the pickup arm lever occurs. If desired an arrangement similar to that described in the specification of U. S. Patent No. 2,178,199 may be employed for operating said lever I. The turntable spindle is driven by a turntable drive motor 29 through any desired mechanical coupling as indicated by the dotted linkage 3. This drive can be accomplished by means of a direct gear drive arrangement or through the turntable (not shown) by means of a rim drive arrangement as shown and described in U. S. Patent 2,348,924 of May 16, 1944. The tap-tap lever l and the trip lever 2 are coupled together by a spring I, and a pin 8 on the tap-tap 1ever I normally engagesa clutch lever 9' and a shutter lever 10 which are pivotally mounted on 3 a common pivot II, said clutch lever 9 having an arm I2 which normally projects into a position such that it holds the clutch I3, which is constructed. similarly to the clutch described in the specification of the aforesaid patent, disengaged. The shutter lever I has a lug I4 at one end which is normally engaged in a slot I in the shutter l6 which is also constructed similarly to the shutter described in the specification of the aforesaid patent. The shutter lever I0 is normally held in said slot I5 by the provision of a suitably disposed spring and when the mechanism is tripped the tap-tap lever I is turned about its pivot moving the trip lever 2 and also moving the clutch lever 9 and the shutter lever I0 about the pivot II due to the engagement of the pin 8 on said tap-tap lever I with the clutch 9 and the shutter lever ID. This movement moves the arm 12 on the clutch lever 9 out of the path of the clutch I3 so that the clutch falls by gravity and is thereby engaged to drive the mechanism to commence a fresh automatic cycle. The shutter lever I0 when moved outwardly by the pin 8 of the tap-tap leverrl withdraws the lug I4 on the end of said lever I9 from the slot I5 in the shutter I6 and said lug I4 rests on the periphery of the shutter I6 and remains in such position until the shutter is rotated to such an extent as again to bring the slot I5 in the shutter into line with said lug I4. After tripping has occurred and when the lug 5 rotated by the turntable spindle moves out of engagement with the nose 6 of the tap-tap lever I, the tap-tap lever is returned to its initial position relatively to the trip lever 2 by the spring 1. In order to avoid the tap-tap lever I being returned beyond its taptap position which might cause false operation when the playing cycle recommences, a pin I8 is arranged so that at an appropriate time in the cycle said pin I8 engages said trip lever 2 and positively moves the latter and said taptap lever I carried thereby into the tap-tap position. Said pin I8 may, for example, project from said shutter I 6 as shown so as to be rotated with the shutter and is suitably disposed on said shutter so that said trip lever 2 is positively moved at the appropriate time. The shutter lever I9 when the slot I5 in the shutter I6 is in line with said lug I4 on the shutter lever I9 is moved into said slot I5 under the action of its associated spring and this movement is communicated to the clutch lever 9 by a pin and slot connection so that the arm I2 on said clutch lever is moved into the path of the clutch I3 which is then caused to be disengaged. Thus, by the provision of said pin I8 which engages the trip lever 2 the tap-tap lever I is not moved into its tap-tap position under the action of a spring so that the possibility of said tap-tap lever being moved to a position beyond its tap-tap position, which is likely to cause false operation, is substantially avoided.

In mechanism of the kind described in the specification of the aforesaid co-pending patent application, records are usually fed to the turntable by the provision of a feeding sleeve which is driven during the automatic cycle, the feeding sleeve being rotatably mounted about a stationary record post and is provided with a projection which engages the centre hole .in the record to cause, when a fresh record is required to be fed to the turntable, the lowermost record to be moved laterally from a shoulder on the record post so that it can slide down the record post onto the turntable. It is found with this mechanism that there is a tendency when the motor of the machine is switched off for the inertia of the turntable to cause the mechanism to be driven beyond the desired position so that when the motor is switch on again the parts are not in an appropriate position for recommencing playing or for recommencing the automatic cycle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism with a view to overcoming this difiiculty.

Accordingly to a further feature of the invention the clutch is caused to be disengaged so as to uncouple the turntable from the rest of the mechanism as soon as the motor is switched off.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawing, normally the switch 3I which controls the starting and stopping of the motor of the mechanism is controlled by a latch bar I9 whch is held in such a position that the motor is not switched of! until the mechanism is in a position with the pickup arm supported on its rest. In this position as soon as the motor is switched on again a, fresh playing cycle can be commenced. However, as mentioned above, if the clutch remains coupled to the mechanism when the pickup arm is supported on its rest, there is the possibility that even though the motor is switched off the inertia of the turntable will drive the mechanism to such an extent that when the turntable ultimately stops rotating the parts are no longer in a position to commence a fresh playing cycle. In order to overcome this difliculty the latch bar I9 is coupled to a clutch-actuating lever 20 which as soon as the latch bar is released causes the aforesaid clutch lever 9 to be moved into a positon such that said arm I2 on said clutch lever 9 is moved into the path of the clutch I3 so as to cause the clutch to be disengaged so de-coupling the turntable from the mechanism so that the turntable can rotate under its inertia without communicating any movement to the mechanism. The latch bar I9 may be mounted for rectilinear movement and may be operated under control of a push button and carries suitable contacts for the switch of the motor and is normally held in the latched position until either the machine is manually switched off, as by the operation of a further push button, or until the last record has been fed to the turntable when the mechanism controlled on the release of the last record conditions the mechanism for the release of the latch bar, release of the latch bar occurring in either case when the pickup is supported on its rest. Said latch bar I9 is coupled by a pin and slot connection to a cam 2I the periphery of which engages said clutch-actuating lever 20 so that when the latch bar I9 is in the latched position the clutch-actuating lever 20 is moved into a position where the arm I2 on the clutch lever 9 can perform its normal functions during the automatic cycle. However, the clutchactuating lever 20 is so coupled to the clutch lever 9 that when said latch bar is released and the cam 2| is then moved into a position as to permit a spring (not shown) to cause said clutch-actuating lever 20 to turn about its pivot, the movement of the latter is communicated to said clutch lever 9 so that the arm I2 on said clutch lever 9 is moved into the path of said clutch I3 causing the clutch to be disengaged so de-coupling the turntable from the mechanism. Said clutch-actuating lever 20 may be pivotally mounted on the same axis 22 as the aforesaid clutch lever 9 and shutter lever l9 and is coupled to the shutter lever in by the provision of a pin 23 on said shutter lever 10 which passes through an aperture 24 in the clutch lever 9 and through a slot 25 in the clutch-actuating lever 20. A pin 26 provided on the clutch lever 9 projects into the path of the clutch-actuating lever and when the latch bar 19 is released the clutch-actuating lever turns about its pivot and the leading edge of the clutch-actuating lever 20 engages the pin 26 on the clutch lever 9 causing the latter to turn about its pivot 22 and moving the arm I2 on the clutch lever 9 into the path of said clutch I3. Lost motion occurs between the shutter lever l0 and the clutch lever 9 by virtue of the pin 23 on the shutter lever moving freely in the aperture 24 in said clutch lever. When the motor is switched on again the latch bar I9 rotates said cam 2| and moves the clutch-actuating lever 20 against the tension of its spring without disturbing the positions of the clutch lever 9 and the shutter lever Hi owing to the lost motion connection afforded by the slot 25 in said clutch-actuating lever and the pin 23 provided on said shutter lever; movement of the clutch lever 9 may be damped by the provision of a light spring.

Although the mechanism described above is particularly suitable for use in conjunction with the apparatus described in the specification of the aforesaid co-pending patent application, it will be understood that the features of the invention are not limited in their use with such apparatus.

We claim:

1. In an automatic record playing apparatus having tap-tap mechanism comprising a pickup arm lever, a trip lever pivotally mounted in frictional engagement with said pickup arm lever, means including a tap-tap lever pivotally mounted on said trip lever, a turntable spindle, cycling mechanism, a clutch interposed between said spindle and cycling mechanism adapted to become engaged upon an exaggerated movement of the pickup arm lever to initiate the automatic cycling of said mechanism, and means positively driven at an appropriate time during the automatic cycle for moving said tap-tap lever into its normal tap-tap position.

2. In an automatic record playing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means are adapted to engage a trip lever on which said taptap lever is mounted.

3. In an automatic record playing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said means comprise a member carried by a part of the apparatus which is rotated during the automatic cyclev 4. In an automatic record playing apparatus having a turntable spindle and driving motor therefor, and having tap-tap mechanism comprising a pickup arm trip lever and a tap-tap lever adapted to be tripped upon an exaggerated movement of the pickup arm trip lever, a clutch adapted to become engaged upon tripping of said tap-tap lever under the control of the turntable spindle driving motor to couple the turntable spindle driving motor to mechanism for effecting the automatic cycling of said apparatus, and a switch for said motor, and means operative, when said switch is actuated to switch ofi the motor, to disengage said clutch whereby the turntable spindle is uncoupled from said mechanism.

5. In an automatic record playing apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said switch operating means comprises a clutch lever and a clutch-actuating lever a switch-actuating member coupled to said clutch-actuating lever through the intermediary of a cam, whereby when the motor is switched on said clutch-actuating lever is held out of engagement with said clutch lever and when the motor is switched 011 said cam is operated to permit said clutch actuating lever to engage said clutch lever and move it to clutch disengaging position.

6. Automatic record playing apparatus having a tap-tap mechanism comprising a pickup arm lever, a trip lever pivotally mounted in frictional engagement with said pickup arm lever, means including a tap-tap lever pivotally mounted on said trip lever, a turntable spindle and drive motor, a cycling mechanism, a clutch interposed between said turntable spindle and said cycling mechanism and adapted to become engaged through vertical movement upon tripping of said tap-tap lever to couple the turntable spindle to said mechanism for efiecting the automatic cycling of said apparatus, a switch for said motor, and means operative when said switch is actuated to switch off said motor to disengage said clutch whereby said turntable spindle is uncoupled from said mechanism.

CLIFFORD METCALFE. ALEXANDER. JAMES RAE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,434,366 Casper Nov. 7, 1922 1,685,471 Waterworth Sept. 25, 1928 2,259,251 Kamp Oct. 14, 1941 2,290,372 Knox July 21, 1942 2,307,030 Erwood Jan. 5, 1943 2,348,924 Roe May 16, 1944

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