US2076298A

US2076298A - Sound reproducing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2076298A
Application number: US750534A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward R Harris
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-10-29
Filing date: 1934-10-29
Publication date: 1937-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 1954-04-06

Description

April 6; 1937. ,E. R. HARRIS 2,076,298

SOUND REPRODUCING APPARATUS Filed Opt. 29, 1934 K. y A I v as 39' V L I 16 [6f as 39 as L INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 6, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16 Claims.

This invention relates to means for reproducing sound from records of the disc type such as are commonly used in the sound reproduction art, and the primary object of my invention is to provide an instrument capable of being used in connection with or apart from a radio receiving set so as to amplify and control the volume of sound when the reproducer is electrically connected in the circuit of a. loud speaker.

A particular object is to provide a compact, simple and inexpensive instrument of composite character including means for rotatably supporting a disc sound record of large size on which the sound track, or groove, is regularly and accurately formed for providing a maximum number of convolutions and a record of maximum length. My instrument is in effect a talking book on whichby reason of the closely spaced groove convolutions a book length novel may be recorded in a single unit.

The invention accordingly comprehends means for continuously applying power to and for rotating the record at a variable axial speed, as compared with the usual constant speed records,

0 whereby the speed of the record may be increased or decreased gradually as the reproducing stylus traverses successive convolutions of the grooved sound track as it is moved either inwardly from or outwardly in the direction of the axis of the record.

It is a further object to provide means for manually releasing and engaging the power applicator and the reproducer from a record so that any selected portions of a record may be reproduced by a simple adjustment .of the mechanism. Other objects may appear as the description progresses.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a preferred form, of apparatus, subject however, to modification within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention. In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of

a composite radio signal receiving set and sound reproducing unit;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figs 3 and 4 are, respectively, sectional details of the structure on lines 3-3 and 4-4 of Fig. 2.

As generally arranged I provide a suitable case i of ample size and suitable form to accommodate all of the necessary elements of a radio receiving set, as at one end thereof, and a sound reproducing unit in the other end thereof. Said case has a cover 2, a bottom 3, ends 4 and 5,

2. front side6 and a back 1. An end portion (see the left hand portion in Fig. 1) may be arranged to receive the mechanism of a radio receiving set, with an aperture 8 through-which the station dial of a set is visible, and rotatable dials or knobs 9, I0, I l and 12 on the front ii of the case. Knob 9 maybe arranged for station finding, knob ID for station tuning, knob II for volume and knob I2 for connecting the reproducer with the loud speaker of the radio set, or otherwise.

The mechanism of the sound reproduceris preferably mounted as a unit on a metal base I3 so that the complete mechanism may be quickly attached to or detached from the case. The

mechanism includes an electric motor M, a worm l5, and gear reduction set iii, a friction driving pulley H and a sound reproducer l8, and a centrifugal governor l9, all of which elements are mounted as a'sub-assembly on a travelling carriage 20.

The carriage 20 includes a base 2| which is slidably supported at one end by means of a pair of

lugs

22, 22 and a longitudinal rod 23 extended through said lugs and held at its ends in

portions

24, 24 formed on or attached to the stationary base l3. The other end of base member 2| has a depending lug 25 on which a tractionwheel 26 is rotatably supported by means of a pin 21. Portion 20 of the carriage is superposed on the base member 2| and is hingedly secured thereto by means of

hinge pins

28, 28 which extend through

lugs

29, 29 on member 20 and similar lugs30, 30 on member 2|.

Member 20 has a pair of spaced bearings 3| and 32 which rotatably hold a drive shaft 33 connected withthe motor l4 and on which a centrifugal governor I9 of suitable form is mounted as by means of a pivot 34 carried by another bearing 35 on member 20. Intermediate the bearings 3| and 32 a worm I5 is secured to shaft 33 for operative engagement with a worm gear l6 which is carried on a short transverse countershaft 36. Member 20 has a pair of spaced standards 31, 31 which form bearings for shaft 36, and said shaft supports, in addition to gear IS, a frictional driving pulley I! for engagement with the lower surface of a record turntable 38 adapted to support a record 39 in playing position relative to the reproducer l8.

Turntable 38 is fixed to the upper portion of a vertical spindle 40 which is supported in a thrust hearing 4| on base l3 and in an upper bearing 42 formed on a standard 43 attached to base l3. (See Fig. 1.) A rotatable feed screw 44 is journaled at its ends in bearings 45 and 46 and is operatively connected with turntable 38 by means of a pair of bevel gears 41 and 48 which are fixed to screw 44 and spindle 40, respectively. The gear ratio between spindle 40 and screw 44 is such that the number of groove 'convolutions per inch on record 39 will be proportionate to the number of threads per inch on screw 44, i. e. if record 39 has 160 convolutions per inch and the screw 44 has 40 threads per inch, the gear ratio between said elements should be four to one.

Reproducer I8 is tiltably mounted on carriage member 2| and has an arm 49 which is rigidly or pivotally secured at its lower extremity to a bar 50, and said bar is hingedly secured to member 29 at points 5|. A compresion spring 52 between bar and member 2| tends to swing said bar, arm 49 and reproducer l8 upwardly and to hold the same out of engagement with record 39. A clutch 53 is pivotally mounted on and below member 2| at points 54 and is provided at one end with a threaded yoke 55 adapted to engage the-threads of screw 44, a compression spring '56 between member 2| and bar 53 tending to hold the clutch normally engaged with said screw.

In order that the reproducer |8 may be quickly andv easily adjusted relative to the record 39 I provide means for simultaneously raising the reproducer from contact with the record and for detaching the clutch yoke 55 from screw 44 so that the carriage 20 may be moved forwardly or backwardly in the case I. Said means include a rod 51 which is provided with a grip button 58 externally of the front of the case andbearings 59 and 60 formed on the upper side of member II for rotatably supporting said rod. A pair of cams 6| and 62 are fixed to rod 51 at spacedpoints adjacent the ends of member 29, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, one of whichoam 5|als0 serves to detach the friction driving pulley H from the turntable 38. Member 20 carries a projecting pin 63 which overlies the eccentric periphery 64 of cam 6| so that when rod 51- isv turned in a clgckwise direction as seen in Fig. 3 the member 29 and the mechanism thereon will be tilted sufliciently to disengage the pulley H from turntable 38, while a projection 65 on said cam will engage pin 63 and limit the movement thereof.

The rotation of rod 51 as described will correspondingly rotate the S shaped cam 52 shown in Fig. 4 which is peculiarly formed for the dual purpose of elevating the tone arm bar 50 and the clutch 55 and for locking said members in operative positions. Cam 52 has a pair of oppositely formed

hooks

66 and 61 which are adapted to interlock with

portions

68 and 69 formed on

members

50 and 53, respectively, and

intermediate cam surfaces 10 and 1| which areadapted to engage the adjacent surfaces of

portions

68 and 69, respectively, for tilting the bar 50 and the tone arm 49 carried thereby, and the clutch bar 53. Springs 52 and 55 tend to hold the

members

50 and 53 in engagement with the cam 62 so that when the rod 51 is turned in a counterclockwise'direction member 20 will reoccupy the position shown in Fig. 3, and

members

50 and 53 will be restored to the normally engaged positions shown in Fig. 4.,

It will be obvious that when pulley I1 is disengaged from turntable 38, clutch 55 is disengaged from screw 44 and reproducer I8 is deacvaaaa I plied to button 58, a slot 58 being formed in the front of the case of ample length to permit an adjustment of the reproducer from one extreme to the other.

4 The elements of a radio signal receiving set may be mounted as a unit in a suitable case 12 and the

wires

13 and 14 leading from the reproducer |8 through tone arm 49 connected with the electrical system of said radio set in a suitable manner, not material to this invention, so that in reproducing the sound from record 39 the speaker of the radio set may be utilized for amplification of the reproduced sounds by operation of the knob |2.

An apparatus of the character herein shown and described is particularly useful for the entertainment and amusement of aiiiicted persons such as the blind who are unable to read, and the records 39 may be arranged for the IGPI'O. duction of books, sermons, lectures, operas or other forms of entertainment of long or short subjects.

In operation, a record 39 is placed inoperative position on the turntable in the usual manner,

after the carriage has been moved to an extreme as to engage the friction pulley H with turntable.

38, engage clutch 55 with screw 44 and lower the reproducer I8 into contact with the record groove, whereuponthe motor I4 is energized and the reproduction will continue until the stylus of the reproducer has traversed the entire sound track.

It will be understood that the friction pulley |1 engages the turntable 88 at a point precisely beneath the stylus of the reproducer at all times and the speed of the record is gradually reduced as the stylus moves outwardly in the sound record groove, or if the sound record begins at the outer extremity of the groove the speed of the record is gradually increased as the stylus moves inwardly of the record.

What I claim is:

1. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operativelysupporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a frame, a carriagebodily adjustable radially of the axis of said turntable and tiltable on said frame, a power operated driving means on said carriage, a reproducer also on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, and manually operable means including frictionally engageable driving and driven elements for operatively connecting said carriage with said feed member through the tilting of said carriage whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turntable at progressively different points to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer.

2. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a frame, a carriage tiltable on said frame and bodily adjustable radially oi the 7| axis of said turntable,'a power operated driving means on said carriage including a friction driving element, a reproducer also on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, and manually operable means including frictionally engageable driving and driven elements for ratively connecting said carriage with said feed member and said friction driving member with said turntable whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turntable at progressively diilerent points to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer. and a manually adjustable member for detaching said reproducer from said record.

3. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a carriage bodily adjustable radially of the axis of said turntable, a power operated driving means onsaid carriage including a friction driving element, a reproducer also on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, manually operable means for simultaneously connecting said carriage with said feed member and said friction driving element with said turntable whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turntable at progressively different points to correspond to the varying position oi said reproducer, and a manually adjustable member for disconnecting said carriage from and connecting the same with said feed member at will, for adjusting the carriage relative to a record.

4. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to on said carriage including a friction driving element, a reproducer also onsaid carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, means for operatively connecting said carriage with said feed member whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turntable at progressively difierent points'to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer, and a manually adjustable member for tilting said carriage so as to disconnect and connect said friction driving means with respect to said turntable at will.

5. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a frame, a carriage bodily adjustable radially of the axis of said turntable and adjustable on said iram a power operated driving means on said carriage including a friction driving element associated with said turntable, a reproducer also on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, and means for manually adjusting said carriage on said frame for operatively connecting said carriage with said feed member and said driving element with said turntable whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turntable at progressively different points to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer, and a manually adjustable member operative ior. simultaneously connecting and disconnecting said reproducer with respect to said record, at will.

6. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a frame, a carriage bodily adjustable radially or the axis of said turntable and also adjustable on said frame, a power operated driving means on said carriage, a reproducer also on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, and means for adjusting said carriage for connection with said feed member whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turntable at progressively different points to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer, and a manually adjustable member operative for simultaneously connecting and disconnecting said driving means with respect to said turntable and said carriage with respect to said feed member.

7. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a carriage bodily adjustable radially of the axis of said turntable, a power operated driving means on said carriage, a reproducer also on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, and means including frictionally engageable driving and driven elements for operatively connecting said carriage with said feed member whereby power from said driving means is constantly applied to said turn table atv progressively different points to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer, and a manually adjustable member operative for simultaneously connecting and disconnecting said carriage with respect to said feed member and said reproducer with respect to said record, at will.

8. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a sound record, a rotatable feed member geared to said turntable, a carriage bodily adjustable radially of the axis of said turntable and tiltable relative to said turntable, a power operated driving means on said carriage, a reproducer tiltably held on said carriage for contact with a record held on said turntable, and means for tilting said carriage for connection with and disconnection from said feed member, power from said driving means being thereby constantly applied to said turntable at progressively different points to correspond to the varying position of said reproducer when the carriage is operatively positioned, and a manually adiustable member operative for simultaneously connecting and disconnecting said driving means with respect to said turntable, said carriage with respect to said feed member and said reproducer with respect to said record, at will.

9. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a reproducer, a rotatable turntable for operatively supporting a record in and a driving mechanism radially reciprocable relative to the axis of said turntable and manually operative for adjustment to selectively position the reproducer on said record and automatically operative thereafter for adjustment with the reproducer during the progress of the reproduction operation for rotating said record, and -manually operable cam means for tilting said reproducer whereby to connect the same with and disconnect the same from said record.

10. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a turntable for supporting a record in operative position, a rotatable feed member, a reciprocable unit-including a driving means, means for operatively connecting said reciprocable unit with said feed member, and a reproducer operatively connected with said turntable, all of the elements of said reciprocable unit being movable a reproducing operation,

gresses from one extreme of movement to the.

other, and manually releasable means including a rotatable shaft and an operating member thereon for simultaneously rendering said reproducer and said driving means and the connection between said reciprocable unit and said feed member operative at will.

11. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable, a carriage reciprocable radially relative to said turntable, a reproducer adjustably mounted on said carriage for adjustment to and from operative position relative to a record carried by said turntable, and a power application unit tiltably mounted on said carriage and including a motor, and a driving element engageable with said turntable, and manually operable means for adjusting said reproducer and said power unit to and from operative positions.

12. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable, a carriage reciprocable radially relative to the axis of said turntable, a reproducer adjustably mounted on said carriage for adjustment to and from operative position relative to a record carried by said turntable, and a power application unit tiltably mounted on said carriage and including a motor, and a driving element engageable with said turntable, and manually operable means for adjusting said reproducer and said power unit to and from operative positions, and a feed member rotatably connected with said turntable and operatively connected with and for automatically moving said carriage during the progress of a. reproducing operation.

13. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable, a carriage reciprocable radially relative to the axis of said turntable, a reproducer adjustably mounted on said carriage for adjustment to and from operative position relative to a record carried by said turntable, and

a a power application unit tiltably mounted on said carriage and including a motor, and a driving element engageable with said turntable, and manually operable means for adjusting said reproducer and said power unit to and from operative positions, and a feed member rotatably connected with said turntable and operatively connected with and for automatically moving said carriage during the progress of a reproducing operation,

and means associated with said manually operable means for rendering said carriage operative and inoperative at will.

14. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable, a slidable carriage arranged for radial movement relative to the axis of said turntable, a reproducer adjustably mounted on said carriage for contact with a record carried by said turntable, a frame tiltably supported on said carriage, a power application means including a driving element carried by said frame for engagement with said turntable, and manually operable means for simultaneously adjusting said reproducer and said driving element to and from operative positions relative to said record and said turntable, respectively.

15. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable, a slidable carriage arranged for radial movement relative to the axis of said turntable, a reproducer adjustably mounted on said carriage for contact with a record carried by said turntable, a frame tiltably supported on said carriage, a power application means including a driving element carried by said frame for engagement with said turntable, and manually operable means for simultaneously adjusting said reproducer and said driving element to and from operative positions relative to said record and said turntable, respectively, and means operatively connecting said turntable with said carriage for automatically moving said carriage during the progress of a reproduction operation.

16. A sound reproducing mechanism comprising a rotatable turntable, a slidable carriage arranged for radial movement relative to the axis of said turntable, a reproducer adjustably mounted on said carriage for contact with a record carried by said turntable, a frame tiltably supported on said carriage, a power application means includ ing a driving element carried by said frame for engagement with said turntable, and manually operable means for simultaneously adjusting said reproducer and said driving element to and from operative positions relative to said record and said turntable, respectively, and means operatively connecting said turntable with said carriage for automatically moving said carriage during the progress of a reproduction operation, and means associated with said manually operable means for rendering said carriage moving means operative and inoperative at will.

EDWARD R. HARRIS.