US1186717A - Voice recording and reproducing device. - Google Patents

Description

.l. L. WALKER.

VOICE RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. 19:3.

1 1 86,7 1 7 Patented June 13, 1916.

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Patented June 13, 1916.

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l. L. WALKER. VOICE RECORDING ANDVREPRODUCING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21 1913- M/VMTUR TORNEY J.L.WALKER WITNESSES:

.I. L. WALKER.

VOICE RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. 1913.

1,186,717. Patented June 13, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3- lllll WITNESSES 2 INVENTOE 6 H mm.

ATTORNEYS .I. L. WALKER.

VOICE RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. 1913.

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I: 'l'IIIIIIII/i') 1-. Ll P-ll WITNESSES INVENTOR J.L.WAIKER Patented June 13, 1916.

J. L. WALKER. VOICE RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE. APPLICATION men s:PT.2. 1913.

1,186,717. Patented June 13,1916.

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II I 7 WITNESSES: INVENTOR JUMLKER TTORNEY JACK L. WALKER, 01 DALLAS, TEXAS.

VOICE RECORDING AND REPRODUCING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 13, 1916.

Application filed September 2, 1913. Serial No. 787,682.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACK L. \VALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Voice Recording and Reproducing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful sound recording and reproducing device. Its object is to provide an attachment for a moving picture camera, which, while a picture is being taken, will produce upon the film receiving the picture a continuous photographic record of sounds that appropriately accompany the picture.

Another object is to provide an apparatus that will cause a certain quantity of light to vary in intensity proportionately with sound vibrations of air, so that by focusing the light upon a strip of moving film, a photographic record of the sounds may be produced.

A further object is to provide an attachment for a moving picture projecting machine, which, when a strip of film carrying a photographic sound record is traveling before the projecting lens, will reproduce from the film the sounds recorded thereupon, the projecting pictures and reproduced sounds being synchronous.

A still further object is to provide a means for reproducing sound from a photographic record carried by a film by maintaining travel of the film and focusing light through its record-carrying portion upon a selenium cell, contained in an electrical circuit with an electro-magnetic sound reproducer, causing the resistance of the circuit to vary proportionately as the record on the film varies in transparency.

Still another object is to provide a means by which a continuous soun'drecord photographically produced upon a negative film may-be accurately reproduced upon a positive film in an enlarged size.

Finally, the object ofmy invention is to provide a device of the character described, that will be strong, durable, simple and'eificient'and comparatively easy to construct.

With these and various other objects in view, my invention has relation to certain novel features of construction and operation, an example of which is described in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view, showing in side elevation, my attachment for a moving picture camera, together with certain interior portions of the camera. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, the section being taken upon the line-WW-of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken upon X-X of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken upon the line Y-Y of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken upon the line Z-Z of Fig. 2. Fig. 6-is a view, showing in side elevation my attachment for a. moving picture projecting machine, together with certain interior portions of the machine, this view being also made to include an electro-magnetic sound reproducer which is shown diagrammatically con nected with the projecting machine by. an electrical circuit. Fig. 7 is a view showing in side elevation my machine for transferring an enlarged sound record from the negative to a positive film, the casing of the machine being shown in section. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the same taken upon the line H of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken upon the line 6-?) of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a detail vertical sectional view taken upon the line 0-0 of Fig. 7.

Referring now more particularly to the film and actuating its travel is old and therefore requires no description or illustration in connection with my device.

At an elevation above the lens holder 2, the film 3 has contact with the front end of a rectangular box 4 impervious to light mounted upon the rear wall of the casing, the front wall of said box being formed with a pin hole aperture 5, opposite to one of the edge portions of the film. In the rear portion of the box 4, there is mounted an incandescent electric bulb 6, which may derive current from any suitable source. In the middle portion of the box 4, a pair of rectangular frames 7 and 8 are mounted mount similar circular diaphragms 9. The

frame 7 is permanently engaged in a rigid relation with the box 4 by two cap screws 10, one of which enters said,.frame through the top of the box and one through'the bottom thereof. The two frames 7 and 8 are connected at their corners by four elongated mounted fast in the horizontal bolts 11,

freely through the frame 7, but passing frame 8. Upon each bolt 11, there is mounted a coiled spring 12 having its extremities respectively abutting against the two frames, serving to hold the frame 8, firmly pressed against adjusting thumb-nuts 13 mounted upon the free ends of the bolts 11. By means of said thumb --nuts, the frame 8 may be subjected to a delicate adjustment to or from the frame 7. To the centers of the diaphragms 9,.there are secured short horizontally alined wires 14, which are respectively connected with two rectangular frames 15 containing sheets of mica or some similar transparent substance, indicated by the numeral 15. Said sheets of mica are suspendedvertically and transversely of the box 4 by threads 16, attached to the top of said box midway between its side walls and centrally secured to the upper edges of the members 15. The threads 16 and wires 14 together hold in a slightly spaced relation. Upon each of the members 15*, there are provided a plu ra-lity of very closelyadjacent vertical lines of a black or other opaque color. The side walls of the box 4 are formed opposite to the diaphragms 9 with rectangular apertures 17, into each of which there is fitted a metallic sound transmitter 18, one of which has a screw-threaded connection with the frame 7 as indicated at 19, while the other is held in place by set-screws 20, passing respectively through the top and bottom walls of the box 4. The transmitters 18 are formed with integral elbows 21, which respectively communicate with tubes 22, (preferably flexible) extending toward the front of the casing 1, above the lens holder 2, and communicating with a member 23 mounted in the front casing wall. The member 23 is formed with an annular threaded flange 24, receiving a member 25 having the form of an ordinary telephone mouth-piece.

In the front portion of the box 4, there is mounted a lens 26, so disposed that such light from the lamp 6 as reaches said lens through the members 15 will be focused through the aperture 5 upon an edge portion of the film 3, forming a line 26 An explanation will now be given as to the operation of the above described attach-- ment to a moving picture camera. While a picture is being taken, the lamp 6 is kept the members 15 Y 28, opposite to which a film 28 thereupon.

incandescent bnlb 31 within lighted, and the travel of the film is maintained in the usual manner. The air vi- .brations created by the various sounds ac- 'one of said members will be opposite to the spaces between the lines provided upon the other member so that a negligible quantity of light from the lamp 6 will pass through the two members. But when the two members are in vibratory motion, the relation between the lines formed upon the two members will be constantly varying, the magnitude of this variation being proportionate to the magnitude of the air vibrations. While the members 15 are in vibration, therefore, a constantly varying quantity of light emitted by the lamp 6 will pass through the members 15-, the intensity of this light, varying in unison with the intensity of the vibratory force acting upon the members 15. A certain quantity of the light thus passing through the members 15 will pass also through the lens 26 which will focus this light upon the moving film 3 through the aperture 5, thus producing upon the sensitized surface of the film the line 26 parallel and adjacent to one of the film edges. This line will vary in transparency according as the light which produced it, varied in intensity, and hence will be an accurate photographic record of the sounds produced in the vicinity of the camera during the taking of a moving picture, each sound being recorded adjacent to the pictures taken while the sound was being produced.

A description will now be given of an attachment to a moving picture projecting machine, which attachment serves to reproduce the sounds recorded upon a film in the manner set forth in the preceding description. The casing 27 of the projecting machine is provided with the usual lens holder is adapted to travel vertically within said casing. The means for supporting the film within said casing and for actuating its travel are not new and require no description or illustration herein. A rectangular box 29 is mount ed within the casing 1 upon the rear wall thereof in substantially the same relation to the member 28.-and to the film 28 as has been already described in connection with the moving picture camera attachment. In the front of the box 29 is formed a pin-hole aperture 30, through which light from an the box may reach and pass through a record line 31 parency as carried by an edge portion of the strip 28. The record line 31 carried by the film 28 has precisely the same variations in transthat produced upon the film 3, but has a greater width. The means for producing the line 31 are hereinafter described. Directly opposite to the aperture 30, a selenium cell 32 is mounted upon the front wallof the casing, said cell being contained in a circuit 33 in which are also included the coils 34 of a powerful sound transmitter, the diaphragm of which is indicated at 35 and the sound amplifying horn at 36. Any suitable source of electromotive force may be included in the circuit 33.

In the operation of my attachment to a motion picture projecting machine the light 31 will be maintained constantly lighted while the film 28 is in motion. The rays from the lamp 31 passing through the aperture and through the record line 31 upon the film will impinge upon 32, with an intensity varying as the transparency of the record varies. This will cause the resistance of the circuit 33 to vary in synchronism with the variations in transparency of the sound record so that the resulting vibrations of the diaphragm will reproduce the sounds recorded upon the film. Since the sounds recorded upon the film are reproduced simultaneously with the projection of pictures made during the production of the sounds, the projection of the pic tures upon the film will be synchronous with the sound reproduction. That nism maybe perfect, the rays of light should pass through the record line 31 at the same distance above the lens-holder as in the moving picture camera attachment.

A description will now be given of a machine which is employed to produce upon a positive film 28 an enlarged reproduction of the sound-record line 26 formed as fpreviously described upon a negative lm. Within a casing 37, upon the top and bottom thereof, there are respectively mounted pairs of brackets 38, each pair of brackets serving to rotatably support a pair of horizontally alined fihn reels 40 and 41. The reels 40 and the reels 41 are respectively vertically alined. The upper reel 40 when mounted in its correlated brackets carries a negative film 3, which film is vertically extended to the lower reel 40 upon which it is adapted to be wound. The upper reel 41 when placed in its correlated bracket carries a positive film 28 which is extended vertically to the lower reel 41 upon which it is adapted to be wound. The vertical portions of the two films 3 and 28" have a parallel spaced relation. Each pair of brackets 38 carries a pair of guide rollers 42, which serve to hold the vertical portions of the two films constantly spaced the same distance during their travel.

the .selenium cell In the same wall of The two films are adapted to travel downwardly at exactly the same rate of speed,

their travel being induced by a small electric motor 43 driving the lower reel 41 through a belt 44. The lower reel 41 drives the lower reel 40 through a crossed belt 45. The lowermost reels 49 and 41 are driven, not to actuate the travel of the films, but to take up the slack of the films as they are driven downwardly. The mechanism for driving the films comprises two pairs of star wheels 46 mounted in the upper pair of brackets 38, engaging the lines of perforation 39 carried by the edge portions of the two films. The star wheels driving the film 28 are driven from the motor 43 through a belt 47, and the other pair of star wheels is driven by a sprocket chain 48 carried by sprocket wheels mounted upon the spindles of the star wheels.

The vertical portion of the film 3 is contiguous with one end of a closed box 49, containing a lamp or a plurality of lamps 50, the other end of which box is mounted fast upon the casing 37. That end of the box 49 with which the film 3 is contiguous, is formed with a rectangular opening 51, having its vertical edges alined with the vertical edges of the picture carrying portion of the fil-m, and having a height equal to one of the pictures carried by the film 3. the box 49, there is formed a pin hole aperture 52 which is alined with the record line 26. Within the box 49, there is mounted a shutter 53 which is held contiguous with the apertured end of said box by angular strips 54 respectively secured to the top and bottom of said box. The shutter 53 is imperforate except for the pin hole aperture 55, which in one limiting position of the shutter is alined with the aperture 52. In the same limiting position of the shutter, it completely covers the rectangular aperture 51, preventing any light escaping from the box 49 except through the pin- hole apertures 55 and 52. In the other limiting position of said shutter, the same is shifted to a large extent out of the box 49 uncovering the rectangular aperture 51 and covering the pin-hole aperture 52. The means for shifting the shutter 53 between its limiting positions comprises a handle member 56 integrally formed with the shutter and passing through an aperture 57 in the casing 37.

Between the vertical portions of the films 3 and 28, there is mounted a funnel-shaped casing 58 having its center line transverse of the films and passing through the aperture 52. The member 58 is supported rigidly by a bracket 59 secured to oneof the Walls of the casing 37. In the small end of the member 58, which end is closely adjacent to the box 49, there is secured a pair of guide plates 61 respectively extending upwardly and 52 and through the scribed may and downwardly, extremities slightly away from the lm, guiding the and the box 4!). \Vithin the small end of the casing 58. is centrally mounted a double convex lens 60, which will transmit any rays of light passing through the apertures film and will conrays of light passing through it, focusing upon an edge porfilm 28. To prevent any diffusion of these rays such as might cause some of them to impinge upon the central portion of the film 28. the large end of the casing 58 is inclosed as indicated at 63, the member 63 being formed with a slit 65 through which the rays are projected upon the film 28. Above and below curved guide plates member 63 to steady the film 28 vertical travel.

An explanation will now operation of the device which has just been described. The object 'of this device is to reproduce the record line negative film 3 in an enlarged size upon the positive film 28, so that when the positive film is passed through a projecting machine carrying mv sound reproducing attachment, a larger quantity of light may be be given as to the more pronounced. During the process of enlarging the record line, the films 3 and 28 chine.-

through every and will be focused in the form of a small rectangle upon the edge portion of the film his light, in pa$ing through the record line of the film 3 will ary in intensity according as said record line varies in transparency, and this light being focused upon the film 28 will produce thereupon a record line 31 varying in transparency uniformly with the record line 26. largement of the line produced upon the film 28 is due to the cylinder lens 62.

he machine which has be employed also tively upon the film 28, the tively carried by the film 3. In using the machine for this purpose, the positive and negative films will be carried as before, re-

just been deto print posipictures negaand curved at their free:

spectively by the two upper reels 40 and 41.

In this case, however, stead of passing vertically to the lower reel 41, will be extended over a roller 66 carried by the uppermost pair of brackets 38 and will then be extended downwardly contiguously with the film 3 passing with said film between the box 4!) and the plates 61. After passing below the lower plate 61, the film 28 will be extended to the lower reel 41 upon which it will be wound. The star wheels 46 engaging the apertures 39 of the film 3 will also engage the same apertures in the film 28. so that the one pair of star wheels will actuate the travel downwardly of the two films. The shutter 53 will now be shifted outwardly so as to leave the rectangular aperture 51 unobstructed allowing the light from the lamp 50 to pass through said aperture 51 and through the two films, the two films being actuated downwardly. The light passing through the film 3 will produce upon the sensitized face of the film 28' positive reproductions of the negative pictures carried by the film 3.

In Figs. 9 and 10 the box 49 contains tWo lamps 50 of which the left hand lam is used to reproduce the picture, when light from the other lamp is shut off by shutter The right hand lamp is used, when the left hand lamp is shut off, in the reproduction of the magnified voice record.

he invention is presented as including all such modifications and changes as properly come within the scope of the following claim.

\Vhat I claim is:

n a device of the character described, the combination with an elongated strip of sensitized, film, of means for inducing longiof said strip, means for p ectmg light upon a portion of the film during its travel, a plurality of adjacent members interposed between the source of said light and the film, said members having alternate transparent and opaque portions of very small area, means for adjusting said members parallel to each other, vibratory diaphragms correlated With said members, and communicating their vibrations to the same. the joint transparency of said members being varied proportionately to the intensity of the vibrations communicated to the same, and means for conducting sound vibrations of air to said diaphragms.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACK L. WALKER.

the positive film in- Witnesses:

J. S. MURRAY, MAYBELLE RnAvEs.

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