US1933647A - Announcing device - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 7, 1933. w 1,933,647

ANNOUNCING DEVICE Filed Sept. 6, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 7, 1933. L. WITTER 1,933,647

ANNOUNC I NG DEVI CE Filed Sept. 6, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,QN i

8 30 '29 23 X ze 21 32 31 24 Nov. 7, 1933. L. WITTER ANNOUNCING DEVICE 'F'iled Sept. 6, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 WNN @NN '2 U6 7? for mi NNN Patented Nov. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,933,647 ANNOUNCING DEVICE Lawrie L. Witter, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Application September 6, 1930. Serial No. 480,171

22 Claims. (Cl. 58-14) This invention relates to announcing devices and in its more specific application to time an- I nouncing devices.

It is desired for many purposes to be informed at frequent in ervals of certain changing information, such as time. In accordance with my invention I propose to record this information on a record and provide mechanical means for automatically announcing therefrom at any desired time or at predetermined intervals.

One aspect of my invention comprisesan announcing device including a plurality of electrically operated reproducers in operative communication with transmitting means adapted to cooperate with a record onwhich are recorded the announcements it is=desired to make. The reproducers may be widely distributed throughout the announcing area, such as a business plant or building of any kind, and desired announcements may be made therefrom by means of the record and transmitting means. The announcing operations are controlled by electric switches which may be automatically or manually operated. One phase of the invention relates particularly to time announcements for hotels, homes, and the like, and in such case electric switch means may be provided in each room and cooperate with a reproducer therein to cause the time announcement therefrom whenever desired, the arrangement being such that an announcement from one reproducer will not aifect the other reproducers unless their corresponding switches have been closed. Such time announcing device is particularly applicable to, hotels having radios installed in the rooms since the device may be applied to the speakers thereof without in any manner affecting the radio apparatus. The production of such an announcing device comprises one of the objects of my invention.

I am aware that announcing devices including electrically operated announcing devices have long been in use and that time announcing devices of various kinds have been suggested. However, most of these apparati have various objections. For example, they usually require constantshifting of the transmitting means or shifting thereof at very-frequent intervals, and the driven templets, to definitely locate the transmitters for each announcement. The invention also. preferably includes means for automatically driving the record only when an announcement is to be made. It is another object of my in- 60 vention to produce such an announcing'device and more particularly a time announcing device.

Other objects of my invention include the. provision of 'a plurality of transmitters and a novel arrangement of the announcements in sections on the record whereby the transmitters which are automatically set to the proper announcing positions will operate thereon in various combinations of the sections, and in proper sequence to make the desired announcements.

In'accordance with my invention as illustrated the record is driven from a motor, and geared directly thereto are means for automatically controlling the various announcing operations in accordance with one or more variable templets. This means automatically sets the transmitters to the proper announcing position, causes the transmitters to engage the record at the proper time, raises the transmitters from the record after each announcing operation, and automatically stops the record with the parts in position for the next announcement. Further means are provided for preventing operation of any of the transmitters which have not been set to an announcing position. The provision of an improved announcing device embodying these and other novel features comprises a further object of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated certain specific embodiments of my invention, but itwill be understood that the invention can be otherwise embodied and that the drawings are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims appended hereto being relied upon for that purpose.

Referring to the figures of the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mechanism embodying my invention, the cover case and certain Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 2.

While the device comprising my invention can be used for announcing any information, it is particularly applicable to the announcing of time and I have, for convenience, illustrated the same as thus adapted herein. Furthermore, while I have herein illustrated a disk record using a vibrating needle, it will be understood that certain features of the invention are equally applicable to other forms of records, and I therefore use the term record herein in its broad sense to mean anything on which sound to be reproduced is recorded. Again, while I prefer to use a plurality of transmitters which can be positioned to reproduce various combinations of announcements from the record, it will be understood that many features of my invention need not be thus limited. Other features of the invention which are herein illustrated in a preferred specific form are likewise of broader scope and are to be considered as limited only as required by the claims appended hereto.

In the preferred form of my invention I record the necessary information on the record in sections or groups of announcements in such manner that a large number of announcements can be made from a single record by combining the announcements in the several groups into varying combinations. In adapting my device to time announcing I propose to announce the hour or the hour and minute, such, for example, as eight oclock or eight seventeen or eight twentytwo. This can be done by providing the record with a section of hour announcements from one to twelve, inclusive, and a section of minute announcements from one to fifty-nine, inclusive, and an oclock" announcement, and combining the two sections to announce in sequence any hour and minute. Such a combination would require seventy-two announcements and two reproducers or transmitters. I prefer, however, to record the minutes in three sections on the record, 1. e.,

1. A section for announcing one to nineteen inclusive, and oclock.

2. A section for announcing twenty, thirty, forty" and fifty, and

. 3. A section for announcing one to nine, inclusive.

- Such three sections operating in sequence in the order stated provides for making any announcement from one to fifty-nine, inclusive and "oclock and requires only thirty-three recorded announcements, it being understood that a reproducing transmitter is provided for each section. Thus this latter method requires a total number of forty-five announcements on the record and four reproducers, whereas the former method recTuires a total number of seventy-two announcements on the record and two reproducers.

The record 10 has four announcing sections A, B, C and D. The section A has twelve recorded announcements from one to twelve, inclusive, for announcing the hours. These announcements all start on the radial line 12 and end near the line 14. The sections B and C start on the radial line 14, the section B having twenty recorded announcements and the section C having four recorded announcements. The first announcement of section B is oclock and the following nineteen are one to nineteen, inclusive. The four announcements of section C are twenty, thirty, forty and fifty. The announcements B and C end near the line 15 and the section D starts at this line. The section D has nine recorded announcements from one to nine, inclusive. Between the end 16 of section D and the starting line 12 is a blank area 17.

Cooperating with the record are four reproducers or reproducing transmitters 21, 22, 23 and 24 to respectively cooperate with the sections A, B, C and D. Each transmitter comprises an inner element 26 carrying a needle 27 and an outer carrying case 28 having three ears 29 slidably mounted on rods 30 of a rotary cage 31. The rods are supported at their ends in arms 32 carried on hubs 33 rotatably mounted in a bridging plate 34 and an upright standard 35, respectively. The plate 34 is part of a housing 36 resting on a horizontal frame plate 37 and the standard 35 also rests on this plate 37. An arm 40 at the outer end of the cage carries a roller 41. When this roller is engaged by the cam portion 42 of a disk 43 the cage is rotated to a position raising and holding the needles up off the record. The element 26 and case 28 of each transmitter carries cooperating lugs 44 and 45 which engage to raise the needle when the cage is thus rotated.

The parts are shown in normal position in Figs. 1 and 2. Four rods 50 have their opposite ends slidably mounted in the standard 35 and in a head plate 51. The plate 51 is carried on a shaft 52 slidable within a bearing 53, a spring 54 normally holding the shaft to, the left and a roller 55 thereon in contact with a cam 56. The rods are normally in the position illustrated but springs 57 between the plate 51 and collars 58 may compress and permit the rods to slide within the plate. A yoke 59 on each rod engages over a transmitter in a manner adapting the rod to slide its transmitter longitudinally but permitting independent rotation of the transmitter.

Carried by the inner element 26 of each of the transmitters 22, 23 and 24 and adjacent to the needle thereof is a roller 63 and in the normal position of the transmitters (Figs. 1 and 2) these rollers are respectively over concentric ribs 64, 65 and 66 adjacent to sections 18, C and D of the record. The ribs are of such height that, when engaged by the roller, they hold the needles out of contact with the record. The purpose of these rollers is to hold out of operation any transmitters which are not set to an announcing position. Obviously the hour announcing transmitter 21 operates for every announcement and therefore requires no such rib.

The record 10 is supported on a rotary table 70 driven from a motor 71 suitably geared to a vertical shaft 72. A gear 73 on this shaft is in mesh with a gear 74 on the shaft 75 which supports the cam 56. The cam disk 43 on the shaft 76 is driven from the shaft 72 through bevel gears 77 and 78. For purposes of convenience and simplicity I have herein illustrated the mechanism as adapted to give the record two rotations for each announcement, the first rotation being adapted to give the record a start and set the transmitters to the proper announcing positions and the announcement taking place during the second rotation. As thus operated the gearing will be such that the shaft '72 rotates twice for each rotation of shafts 75 and 76. It is quite fully appreciated that in practice it may be necessary to rotate the record more than two turns for each announcement, but by merely changing the gearing and other features herein fully disclosed such change can be easily made without departing in any respect from the spirit of the invention.

In the normal position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and sponding announcement groove.

6, the cam portion 42 of disk 43 is holding the cage 31 rotated to a position wherein the needles and rollers are off the record and thetransmitters are freely slidable on the cage rods 30. Rotation of the shaft 72 operates the cams 43 and 56in the direction of the arrows. The rise of the "cam 56 forces the head plate 51 to the right, .(Figs. land 2) thereby sliding the transmitters along the rods 30 and over their respective announcing sections of the record. Means now to be described is provided for automatically stopping the transmitters in predetermined announcing positions in accordance with the setting of a templet or templetelements, it being understood that while these elements are herein illustrated as clock driven, the same may be operated or set in any desired manner and including manual operation thereof.

Mounted on the housing 34 respectively adjacent to the rods 50 and extending toward the head plate 51 are four racks 80 each having a shoulder 81 and teeth 82 on the lower edge thereof. Four pawls 83 respectively pivoted to the four rods 50 are normally held by springs 91 against stop pins 84, and in such position the free ends of the pawls just clear the teeth. Any pivotal movement of such pawls, however, causes them to engage the teeth and stop further movement of their rods. The spacing of the teeth 82 corresponds to the spacing of the starting portions of the announcing grooves on the record.

Extending upwardly from the pivot shaft on each pawl 83, (Fig. 5) is an arm 86 and these four arms which act as sensing means are so shaped that their ends are in alinement and directly over four concentric stepped templets 87, 88, 89 and 90. These templets respectively control the announcing positions of the transmitters 21 to 24, inclusive by being sensed by the arms 86. The springs 91 normally hold the pawls in engagement with their stop pins 84. When upon forward movement of the head plate 51 the end of an arm 86 comes into contact with its templet, its pawl is swung into engagement with its corresponding rack 80. Immediate engagement of the arm with the highest portion of its templet causes the pawl to engage the shoulder 81 and prevent any forward movement of the corresponding transmitter. Engagement of an arm with one of the lower steps causes its pawl to engage one of the teeth 82 and thereby place its transmitter in position to engage the corre- It will be understood that the templets may be independent elements and independently set or adjusted manually or otherwise. However, in the case of a time announcing device, as illustrated, the three outer templets 88, 89 and 90 control the minute announcing transmitters and are therefore movable as a unit. The templet 87 which controls the hour announcement is another independent unit.

A clock 92 has a minute hand shaft 93 pinned to the minute templet unit and a tubular shaft 94 on which is mounted the hour controlling templet. By referring to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the hour templet 87 has twelve steps corresponding to the twelve hours and to the one to twelve hour announcing grooves of record section A, the hour one step being the highest. The templet 88 has a high portion 95 and twenty steps beginning at 96 and ending at 97. The first of these steps corresponds to the first groove of record section B and is the announcement oclock. The remaining nineteen steps correspond to the remaining nineteen grooves of sectime announcements.

tionB and are announcements from one to nineteen, inclusive. The templet 89 has a high portion98 and four relatively long steps beginning at 97- and ending at 96. These four steps correspond to the four announcing grooves of section C: and respectively announce twenty, thirty,

. forty and fifty. The templet 90 has a high portion 99 and'fou'r series of nine steps each opposite the four steps of templet 89. These series are separated by steps 100 on a level with the high portion 99.. The nine steps of each of said series corresponds to the nine announcing grooves of section D which are adapted to announce one to nine, inclusive. These four series of steps are adapted to cooperate with the four announcements of section C to announce twentyone to fifty-nine, inclusive.

The elements 26 may be reproducing transmitters and in communication with electrically operated reproducers 110. While in Fig. 3 of the drawings I have simply illustrated the reproducers as connected in parallel to the transmit; ters through a .battery 111, it will be understood that any desired operative connection can be used. A normally open switch 112 is preferably in the circuit of each reproducer 110. In the circuit to the motor 71 are a battery 113, a solenoid 114 and a switch 115. The -solenoid controls a brake 116 which is normally held against the table by a spring 117. When the motor circuit is closed the solenoid withdraws the brake.

The switch 115 comprises a stationary contact on a bracket at 120 and a movable contact on an arm 121 pivoted at 122. A spring 123 acts in a direction to normally close the switch. A controlling circuit 124 for this switch passes through a solenoid 125 and a battery 126 and has connected in parallel therewith a plurality of switches 127 adjacent to the switches 112. A spring 128 on the core 129 of this solenoid normally forces the core outwardly sc that its free end acts as a latch beneath the am 121 to hold the switch 115 open (Fig. 7). Closing a switch 127 energizes the solenoid 125 and withdraws the latch whereupon the switch 115 closes and starts the motor. The motor continues to operate until a boss 130 on the disk 43 rides under the arm 121 and opens the switch 115. The latch 129 thereupon engages beneath the arm and holds the switch open, the brake 116 automatically engaging the table upon opening of the switch 115.

It will be understood that the reproducers 110 will ordinarily be distributed throughout the announcing area or in difierent rooms and that the switches 112 and 127 therefor will be conveniently located. These two switches may be independent units, as illustrated, or, if desired, the same may, for convenience, be combined in any well known manner to be operated as a unit. It will furthermore be clear that these switches may, if desired, be automatically operated by well known time clock mechanism to cause'periodic The apparatus is normally in the position illustrated in the drawings, the clock and templet parts connected thereto being the only parts which continue to move when no announcements are being made.

The operation of the device is substantially as follows:

When it is desired to receive a time announcement at any one of the reproducers or speakers 110, the operator-momentarily closes the switch 127 and holds the switch 112 closed during the announcement. The closing of the switch 127 withdraws the latch 129 and permits the switch 115 to close. The brake 116 is thereupon withdrawn and the motor started. One rotation of the shaft '72 rotates the cam 56 180 which moves the head plate 51 to its extreme right-hand position. Assuming that the clock driven templets 87-90 are in the position shown in Fig. 5: The transmitter 21 will be set to the announcing groove seven of its section A; the transmitter 22 will remain in initial position since the end of its pawl arm 86 engages the high part 95 of templet 88 and causes its pawl 83 to engage the shoulder 81 of its rack and thus prevent movement of its rod 50; the transmitter 23 will be set to the announcing groove forty of section C; and the transmitter 24 will be set to the announcing groove eight of section D. It will be understood that the settings are automatically performed by the templet steps, causing the pawls 83 to engage the corresponding teeth 82 and that after such an engagement the corresponding spring 57 is compressed as the head plate 51 continues its movement over the rod.

Thus at the end of the first rotation of the record the roller 55 is on the concentric portion of the cam 56 which holds the transmitters in their set positions during the second rotation of v the record, and the end of the cam 42 of disk 43 has reached the roller 41. This latter is so timed as to permit the cage 31 to rotate to the left (Fig. 6) and engage the needles with the record at the starting point 12. The transmitter 22 which remains in its initial position is held from such engagement due to its roller 63 riding on the rib 64 of the record. The transmitter 21 first engages its section A and announces seven. Directly thereafter the transmitter 23 engages its section C and announces forty, and directly thereafter transmitter 24 engages its section D and announces eight. Thus the time 7:48 has been announced.

Directly after section D passes the transmitter 24 at point 16 on the record the cam boss 130 on the disk 43 rides beneath the arm 121 and opens the motor switch 115. the latch 129 immediately engaging beneath the arm and holding the switch open after the boss has passed by as shown in Fig. 7. The spring 117 thereupon immediately applies the brake 116 to the table 70 and stops the motor and connected parts with the transmitters in position over the blank area 17 of the record and the other parts of the device in the normal position shown in the drawings. In such position the pawl arms 86 are disengaged from their templets which are thereupon free to move with the clock shafts, it being understood that such 4 move the hour templet to its next step during the last minute of each hour. This arrangement is best shown in Fig. 8. The hub 140 of the templet 87 is loose on the tubular shaft 94 and a pin 141 in such shaft extends outwardly through a slot 142 in the hub, the slot being slightly wider than the diameter of the pin. A very light spring 143 connects the end of the pin with a pin 144 on the hub.

A lever 145 pivoted at 146 to the inner wall of the templet 88 carries a roller 147 on one end and a light spring 148 on its other end keeps the roller in contact with the templet 87. A slight depression 149 is provided in the templet 87 and this depression is so located that the roller 147 engages therein, as shown in Fig. 8, during the last minute of each hour. Thus as the templet 88 continues to advance at its relatively high speed it advances the templet 87 therewith until the other wall of the slot 142 engages the pin 141. The parts are so relatively proportioned that the roller then easily rides out of the depression and the minute templet continues on its way. It should be understood that the spring 143 is so light as to readily permit this slight advancement of the templet 87 and not suificiently strong to reversely rotate the templet after withdrawal of the roller from the depression 149. The spring is, however, sufliciently strong to thereafter re tard rotation of the templet 87 to permit the pin 141 to again move to the relative position shown in Fig. 8. It should be clear that this arrangement causes the hour templet 8'7 to move forward sufiiciently during the last minute of each hour to bring the next hour step of the templet beneath the end of the corresponding pawl arm 86. As has been heretofore stated, it is appreciated that a device of this character requires some experimenting to determine the details which will give the best results in the method of operation, and to determine the best specific arrangement of the parts for securing such operation. For example, the mechanism, including the record, has been illustrated as adapted to give the record two rotations for each announcement, the 110 actual announcement being performed during the second rotation. In practice it may be necessary to rotate the record more than this amount to secure proper announcing operation of the device. Such a change would require a modification of the speed ratio between the record and the cams 56 and 43, and a modification of the cams in accordance therewith. If the announcement requires a greater length ofannouncing grooves than is provided in one rotation of the record, the grooves may be made spiral, the end portions overlapping, as will be readily understood, but the starting lines 12, 14 and 15 remaining in the sequential order illustrated. Since the device is illustrated as announcing in a single rotation of the record, I have, for convenience, illustrated the grooves herein as circular.

As has been heretofore stated, my invention is applicable to many uses other than the making of time announcements. Among such uses. wherein the announcements would ordinarily be controlled automatically by chronologically driven templets, may be mentioned the announcing of the arrival and departure of trains, the change of class periods in schools, etc. Among the uses, wherein the announcements would probably be manually controlled by manually adjusting the templets, may be mentioned calling devices in lieu of the bell calls now used in factories, hospitals, etc. for locating oificials, doctors, etc. somewhere in the building 01' plant.

I claim:

1. An announcing device comprising a record having sounds recorded thereon, a plurality of reproducers cooperating with the record, means for setting the reproducers to predetermined announcing positions, electr'c switch means for causing said setting operations, and means for holding the reproducers raised from the record during said setting operation and directly there- 150 after permitting those set to an announcing position to engage the record during the announcing operation and preventing such engagement by any reproducers not so set.

2. An announcing device comprising a record having sounds recorded thereon, a plurality of reproducers cooperating with the record, means for setting the reproducers to predetermined announcing positions, electric switch means for causing said setting operations, means holding the reproducers raised from the record during said setting operat'ons and thereafter engaging the same with the record, and other means holding from engagement with the record any reproducers which have not been set to an announcing position.

3. An announcing device comprising a record having sounds recorded thereon, means normally in a retracted position for cooperating with the record to reproduce the sounds, means for moving the first named means from said position over the record, controlling means having difierent portions corresponding respectively to the recorded sounds, and means including sensing means normally out of engagement with said portions but cooperating therewith for stopping the first named means in positions corresponding to the portions sensed.

4. An announcing device comprisng a record having sounds recorded thereon, means normally in a retracted position for cooperating with the record to reproduce the sounds, means for moving the first named means from said position over the record, controlling means having different portions corresponding respectively to the recorded sounds, means including sensing means normally out of engagement with said portions but cooperating therewith for stopping the first named means in positions corresponding to the portions sensed, and means for thereafter automatically engaging said first named means with the record and automatically raising the same therefrom after the announcing operation.

5. An announcing device comprisng a record having sounds recorded thereon, means normally in a retracted position for cooperating with the record to reproduce the sounds, means for moving the first named means from said position over the record, controlling means havng different portions corresponding respectively to the recorded sounds, means including sensing means normally out 'of engagement with said portions but cooperating therewith for stopping the first named means in pos'tions corresponding to the portions sensed, means for thereafter automatically engaging said first named means with the record and automatically raising the same there- 'from after the announcing operation, and means for thereafter returning the first named means to the said retracted position.

6. In an announcing device, a record supporting table, a reproducer for cooperating with a record thereon, means other than the record for moving the reproducer over the record, means for holding the reproducer from engagement with the record during such movement, means for automatically stopping the reproducer at a predetermined announcing position, and a common driving means for the table and first named means.

'7. In an announcing device, a record supporting table, a reproducer for cooperating with a record thereon, means other than the record for moving the reproducer over the record, means for holding the reproducer from engagement with the record during such movement, means for automatically stopping the reproducer at a predetermined announcing position, means for causing the reproducer to engage the record at said announcing position, and acommon driving means for the table and said first and fourth named means.

8. An announcing device comprising a record having sounds recorded thereon, a plurality of reproducers movable thereover, a plurality of independently adjustable elements each having reproducer controlling portions thereof extending to different heights corresponding to thedifierent announcements on the record, means for moving the reproducers over the record toward and from said elements, and means including sensing means normally out of contact with said reproducer controlling portions but cooperating therewith for stopping the reproducers in positions corresponding to the heights of the portions sensed. a

9. An announcing device, comprising a record, a movably mounted cage extending thereover, a plurality of reproducers carried by and movable along the cage, means for setting the reproducers automatically to announcing positions along the cage,-means for holding the cage in a position keeping the reproducers off the record during the setting operation, and other means for holding from engagement with the record during the announcing any reproducers which have not been set to an announcing position.

10. An announcing device comprising a normally stationary record having sounds recorded in sound grooves therein, means normally in an initial position fully retracted transversely of said grooves and adapted to cooperate therewith to reproduce the sounds, means including an electric switch for starting the record, means for setting the first-named means from said retracted position to predetermined announcing positions during the initial movement of the record, means for holding the first-named means off the record during such setting operations, means synchronized with said setting means for automatically engaging the first-named means with the record to make an announcement, and means for automatically stopping the record after a predetermined announcement.

11. The device set forth in claim 10, plus means automatically raising the first-named means from the record after the announcement and holding the same in raised position during the return movement to said initial position and during the next setting operation.

12. An announcing device, comprising a record, a rotatably mounted cage extending thereover, a plurality of reproducers normally in a retracted non-announcing position carried by and movable along the cage, an electric switch, means including a rotary electric motor for setting the reproducers automatically from said retracted position to predetermined announcing positions along the cage when the switch is closed, and cam means driven by the motor whereupon when the switch is closed the cage is rotated to positions in which the reproducers are held off the record during said setting operation, then engage the record during the announcement and thereafter raise from the record and return to said retracted position.

13. A vocal announcing device comprising means on which vocal announcements arerecorded, means adapted tocooperate in different relative positions therewith to make different announcements, an electric motor, means operated thereby for causing a shifting relative bodily movement of the first and second-named means, an electric switch, adjustable templet means normally independent of the first and second-named means but opposed to and cooperating with the third-named means for causing a relative positioning of the first and second-named means to a position corresponding to the position of the templet means when the switch is closed, and means for thereupon causing the first and secondnamed means to make the announcement thus selected.

14. The combination set forth in claim 13, in which the device is adapted to announce the time and in which the templet means is driven chronologically from a motor.

15. A vocal announcing device comprising a record having recordings thereon to be repeated, means normally in an initial position laterally of said recordings adapted to cooperate with the record to announce said recordings, an electric motor, means operated thereby for moving the first-named means from said initial position to a predetermined announcing position, adjustable stop means opposed to the second-named means for limiting the extent of such movement, and means including an electric switch for causing the second-named means to move the first-named means to an announcing position corresponding with the position of the stop means.

16. A vocal announcing device comprising a rotary but normally stationary record having recordings thereon to be repeated, means normally in an initial position laterally of said recordings adapted to cooperate with the record to announce said recordings, an electric motor, means operated thereby for rotating the record and moving the first-named means from said initial position to a predetermined announcing position, adjustable stop means opposed to the second-named means for limiting the extent of such movement, and means including an electric switch for causing the motor to rotate the record and during the initial rotation thereof to move the first-named means to an announcing position corresponding with the position of the stop means.

17. In a device of the class described, two coaxial shafts, controlling templets operated by said shafts, means for rotating the shafts synchronously but at relatively different speeds, and means providing a connection between the shafts for automatically and temporarily rotating the slower shaft with the faster shaft once during each rotation of the faster shaft.

18. A device of the class described, comprising a member adapted to be moved to different predetermined positions, means for moving the member to such positions, a plurality of abutment shoulders corresponding respectively with said positions, stop means movable with the member and adapted to cooperate with said shoulders, an adjustable element having controlling portions thereof extending to different heights corresponding respectively with said shoulders, and means movable with the member adapted to engage one of said portions and cause an engagement between the stop means and the corresponding shoulder whereby to stop the member in a position corresponding to the portion engaged.

19. An announcing clock comprising a record having number recordings thereon to be repeated in announcing the time, means normally in an initial position adjacent to one edge of said recordings adapted to cooperate with the record to announce the numbers, means including an electric motor for moving the first-named means over said recordings from said initial position to a predetermined announcing position, stop means including a chronologically driven device opposed to the second-named means for controlling the extent of such movement, and means including an' electric switch for causing the second-named means to move the first-named means from said initial position to an announcing position corresponding with the position of said device and directly thereafter engage the record and announce the time whenever said switch is closed.

20. In combination, a rotary record having sound grooves therearound and a raised rib on and extending around the record adjacent to one edge of said grooves, a reproducer for cooperating with the record, and means for engaging the rib and holding the reproducer from engagement with said grooves while the reproducer is located adjacent to the rib.

21. An announcing device, comprising a record,

a plurality of reproducers normally in a retracted position and movable forwardly therefrom over the record, means including an electric motor for so moving and returning the reproducers, and other means including a plurality of elements rotatably mounted on a common axis for limiting 12 respectively and automatically said forward movement of the reproducers, said elements each having reproducer-controlling portions thereon comprising steps of different heights corresponding to the different announcements on the record.

22. An announcing device, comprising a record,

a reproducer normally in a retracted position and movable forwardly therefrom over the record to announcing positions, means including an electric motor for so moving and returning the reproducer, and other variable means for limiting said forward movement to place the reproducer in predetermined announcing positions.

LAWRIE L. WITTER.

Images