US2296872A - Sound recording and reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 29, 1942. B. A. PROCTOR SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUQING APPARATUS Filed June- 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Barron A. Procror BY A TTORNE Y5 p 1942- B. A. PROCTOR SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS Filed June 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Bdrm/7 A. Procfor %p-w W A TTORNE Y5 Sept. 29, 1942. B. A. PROCTOR SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS Filed June 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. BarfonAPmcfor BY ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 29, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS Application June 25, 1941, Serial No. 399,605

19 Claims.

This invention relates to sound recording and reproducing apparatus and is particularly directed to an improved arrangement for accurately determining the position of a disk record with reference to the recording or reproducing member which engages the record.

In certain uses of such apparatus, and particularly in dictating machines where dictation is inscribed on the record, to be transcribed later by a typist, it is important to be able to position a predetermined part of the sound track or of the record surface in register with the recording or reproducing member, either to resume recording, to reproduce a desired portion of the record, to determine the proportion of the total length of the sound track that has been inscribed or reproduced, or for other reasons.

A purpose of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement for determining the position of the record in relation to the recording or reproduc- H ing member; and a specific object is to accomplish this purpose in apparatus in which the point of contact between said member and the record is not readily visible. A further specific object is to obtain the same result by novel means in apparatus in which the record has a translatory motion during operation.

The invention is particularly applicable to apparatus which utilizes translucent records, such as the apparatus disclosed in the application of Barton A. Proctor, Serial No. 281,811, filed June 29, 1939. A specific feature of the invention is the utilization of the translucent or transparent character of such records to locate position-indicating means below the record which will be visible through the record, either directly or by means of its shadow. An ancillary feature is the use of a scale carried by translucent material through which the indicator will also be visible. In the preferred form both features are employed, the indicator being visible through both the record and the translucent scale panel.

The invention advantageously includes the provision of suitable lighting means arranged to illuminate the indicator either to render it visible, to improve its visibility and to cast an appropriate shadow which is visible on the scale. The specific purpose is to provide such a source of light which travels with the indicator and which may readily be arranged to cast a suitable position-indicating shadow on the lower face of the record in register with the scale.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a scale arrangement overlying the rec- 0rd and extending diagonally relative to the di- 55 rection of its translatory motion, preferably covering the entire range of translatory movement as well as the entire distance between the innermost and outermost limits of the sound track. With this arrangement the scale construction may be provided with scale markings indicating either the extent of translatory movement, the radial position of a predetermined point on the record, or both. A specific feature is the provision of a scale construction on which both radial and translatory positions are indicated, this arrangement being particularly advantageous for accurately locating a given point on the record by the use of the two types of indication.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective side view of the relevant portions of an apparatus embodying the invention:

Fig. 2 is a partly diagrammatic plan view of a portion of said apparatus with the record and scale shown in a fiat plane, and indicating the limits of translatory movement of the record; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through said apparatus with parts omitted.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention is applied to apparatus disclosed in the above mentioned Proctor application Serial No. 281.811, although its utility is not limited to apparatus of that type. Reference is made to the disclosure of said application for the details of construction and arrangement of such apparatus, and the parts shown therein will be referred to herein only as far as may be necessary to understand the present invention.

In general, such apparatus comprises a frame I0 carrying a turtleback support II for the disk record l2, which is tightly fitted over a spindle l3 mounted on carriage I4. The record I2 is made of thin translucent material and is rotated by an upper feed wheel l6 bearing against the upper face of the record and registering with a rotatively mounted platen [5 bearing against the lowerface of the record. The upper feed wheel [6 is driven through shaft 2! provided with a drive roller l6 bearing against hub 22 of pulley I3 driven through belt [9 by motor 20. Shaft 2| is mounted in a suitable support which is vertically movable to shift feed wheel l6 into and out of engagement with record [2, thereby starting and stopping the drive of said record.

The spindle I3 is rotated by the record I2 and is provided with means for moving carriage M to impart the necessary translatory motion to the record. Said means includes spiral gear on spindle l3 meshing with spiral gear 26 on feed screw 21 engaged by half nut 28 on the outer end of arm 29 fast on rock shaft 36. The half nut 28 is normally held in-engagement with feed screw 21 by spring 32, but may be raised to inoperative position through rotation of control rod 33 by finger piece 34, rod 33 being connected through bevel gears 35 to cam 36 on cam shaft 39 engaging arm 3l on shaft 30. Control rod 33 also regulates the vertical movement of" the, upper feed wheel 16 through cam; 56 on shaft 39 positioned to engage tailpiece 5! fixed to carriage 58 pivoted on shaft 59 and carrying shaft 2| on which the upper feed wheel I 5 and its drive roller I 6 are mounted. The recording stylus 3! and reproducing stylus 38' may be shifted into and out of operative position by suitable means, such as that disclosed in the above mentioned application, Serial No. 281,811, though such means forms no part of the invention, which is equally applicable whether the Styluses are operated mechanically or manually In the operation of this apparatus a record I2 is forced down on spindle l 3 while styli 31 and 38 and upper fee-d wheel 16- are in uppermost inoperative positions, and half nut 28 is out of engagement with feed screw 21. Carriage I4 is then moved to bring the record into the desired position, such as the innermost limiting position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 appropriate for the commencement of recording or reproducing; and appropriate manipulation of finger piece 34 will then shift half nut 28 into engagement with feed screw 21 and move the feed wheel l6 into engagement with the record l2, thereby rotating the record and imparting the necessary translat'ory movement to carriage l4. Operation of finger piece 34 likewise shifts either the recorder 31 with its stylus 31 or the reproducer 38' with its stylus 38 into engagement with the record l2, and the desired recording or reproduction proceeds, the record being supported by a rotatable platen 38a under the active stylus. The details of manipulation and operation of the various parts are more fully set forth in the above mentioned application and are, therefore, omitted. The arrangement is such that the apparatus may be readily set for recording or transcribing at any point on the record 12, and the record may be promptly shifted manually to any desired position by raising the half nut 28 and the upper feed wheel [6.

A suitable indicator is mounted for movement with carriage l4 and advantageously extends beneath the record l2 into position for observation from the exterior of the apparatus. In the preferred form the indicating portion of the indicator is located directly beneath the record,- and such indicating portion or its shadow is visible through the record. For this purpose a suitable opening through the record supportis provided, which opening is advantageously arranged beneath the record so that the indicator may be observed through the record when the latter is in operative position. Suitable indicator illuminating means is also provided so that the indicator or its shadow may be more readily observed, the illuminating means being advantageously mounted on and" traveling with the carriage. I

In the illustrated embodiment side opening 40 is provided in the turtleback support ll, overlying the path of travel of an indicator 4| in the form of a wire or the like mounted at one end on carriage l4 and advantageously extending closely adjacent the inner face of support II in a plane at right angles to the direction of movement of carriage M in position for ready visibility through opening w. A suitable electric lighttZ is mounted in a socket in support 43 on carriage l4 and is provided with appropriate electrical connections, such as flexible leads (not shown). Light 42 advantageously consists of an elongated bulb arranged parallel to and in the same vertical plane as indicator 4!, arranged to cast a sharp shadow of the indicator on record l2.

.. V A suitable scale is arranged above side opening 40 in position for indicating the location of indicator M. In the illustrated construction'the scale is associated with a window 65 in the housing 46 which overlies the record at one side of the machine and has a lower surface curved to follow the contour of the record and of the upper surface of the support H on which the record rests. The scale may be advantageously carried by flexible" translucent or transparent material, such as regenerated cellulose, cellulose acetate, synthetic resins and the like, mounted on housing 46. In the form illustrated a scale strip 41 of such material is arranged with its margin eX- tending between the edges of the outer and inner walls of housing 46 surrounding window #5. Specifically, the margin of scale strip '41 rests upon the flat inner face of the inner Wall '48 of the housing; and the outer wall 49, which is spaced from wall 88, is provided with an inturned margin 50 forming the side of the window 45' and extending close to the upper surface of scale strip 41. Strip 41 may be secured to the inner wall 48 as by rivets, not shown, passing through holes 41, Fig. 2, in said strip and corresponding holes in the wall G8. The strip 4! carries a suitable scale applied or inscribed thereon and indicated' generally at 51, arranged so that indicator 41 or its shadow 54 is Visible on said scale substantially throughout the entire path of travel of said indicator.

While the type of indicator arrangement which has been described may be employed for indicating simply the position of the carriage I8, and for this purpose need only extend in a direction parallel in the path of travel of the carriage, it is a purpose of the invention to determine at the same time the radial position of a selected point or points on the record; and for this purpose the required scale must extend transversely'to the direction of travel or the carriage and across the path of the entire portion of the record available for recording. These two types of scale have v been combined by arranging the scale strip 41,

the registering side opening 40 and window 45 in a diagonal direction, extending longitudinally relative to the translatory path of the record between the limits" of travel of indicator 4|, and radially from the path of the inner margin of the recording area to the path of the outer margin of said area. possible to inscribe on strip ll both vertical scale '52 indicating translato'ry movement and horizontal scale 53 indicating radial positions on the record.

The vertical scale 52 indicating carriage position may be coordinated with the horizontal scale 53 indicating radial distance to facilitate improved accuracy in locating the record I2 so that a predetermined point will be in register with a stylus. For this purpose each line of the This arrangement makes it.

horizontal scale 53 which will register with a certain turn of the sound track will be arranged as a continuation of a line of the vertical scale 53 which will register with indicator 40 or its shadow 54 (Fig. 1) when the stylus 31 or 38 in operative position engages the same turn of the sound track, or with a turn spaced therefrom by a predetermined radial distance.

The operation and use of the disclosed arrangement will be described in connection with the operation of the apparatus as a dictating machine. In such operation the record [2 may carry a number of separate dictation items such as a plurality of letters. The dictation may be continuous, the points of division between the various items being capable of indication, either by a notation of the location of the shadow 54 on the vertical scale 52, by a visible mark on the surface of the record, or by a short uninscribed gap 55 (Fig. 3) between items. With this arrangement the record may be accurately located with the desired point in position for recording or reproducing by positioning the carriage l4 so that the shadow 54 is in register with the proper point on the vertical scale. Such step is particularly advantageous with apparatus of the type indicated in which the point of engagement between the stylus and the record is not readily visible and, therefore, the stylus cannot be conveniently located at the desired point on the record by direct observation.

The combination of vertical and horizontal scales is, moreover, adapted to assist in locating accurately beneath a stylus the desired portion of the record indicated by a visible mark on the record, such as the gap 55 or the end of the inscribed portion, even when no notation of the corresponding position of shadow 54 on scale 52 has been made. For the purpose, if the guiding mark, line, point or groove on the record is not a complete circle, it is first positioned on a line through spindle l3 at right angles to the direction of travel and on the same side as scale 5|. The carriage I4 is then shifted until such mark or the like registers with a line of the horizontal scale 53. Such registration, however, is not sufficiently accurate to position the carriage properly, since the guiding mark, line or groove remains in register with a line of the horizontal scale 53 even though the record is moved back and forth in translatory direction for a suitable distance.

However, if the carriage is then shifted until the shadow 54 overlies the line on the vertical scale 52 which corresponds to the line on scale 53 registering with the determining mark on the record, it will be found that the record will be accurately positioned even though the stylus 31 or 38 is invisible. It will, of course, be understood that where the determining mark on the record falls between lines on the horizontal scale 53, the shadow 54 may be located at the same proportional distance between corresponding lines of vertical scale 52.

While the lines on scale 51, as already indicated, may be spaced to denote radial distances, and for this purpose would be evenly spaced, it is ordinarily preferable to indicate the proportional part of the total length of the sound track which is located at either side of the stylus, when the record is driven at an increasing rate of rotation as the stylus approaches the center of the record. Since the outer turns of the sound track are very much longer than the inner turns, a scale of the latter type will be provided with lines progressively closer toward one end. An arrangement of this type has been found to be entirely practical with the construction illustrated.

There are various conditions under which the described construction will be useful, as will be apparent to those familiar with this art. For instance, when a record has been partially used and removed, it may be readily and rapidly located in the machine with the recording stylus 31 positioned accurately adjacent the end of the previous sound track. It also permits any desired spacing between successive portions of'the sound track even though the distance of the stylus 31 from the preceding part of the track cannot be directly observed.

Certain constructions have been developed for placing marks on the surface of the record to indicate a particular portion of the sound track. In some constructions of this type, such as that disclosed in the application of Barton A. Proctor, Serial No. 315,169, filed January 23, 1940, the mark may be located at a predetermined radial distance from the portion of the sound track intended to be indicated. The scale arrangement herein describedis adapted for use with records marked in this manner, either by making a fixed allowance on the horizontal scale 53 corresponding to the radial distance between the mark and the portion of the sound, track indicated thereby, or by providing a scale in which the lines of the horizontal scale 53 are offset to a corresponding extent. The latter arrangement would be such that when the mark on the record is in register with a selected line of horizontal scale 53, said line will connect with an appropriate line of vertical scale 52, such that when the shadow 54 is brought into register with the latter vertical line, the part of the sound track lying beneath the stylus 31 or 38 will not be the turn which passes through the indicating mark on the record, but the turn that is intended to be designated by such mark.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, and means for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, including an indicator moved in conformity with the translatory movement of the record and a scale in register with the indicator, the indicator and scale being arranged with the record between them when in operative position.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including means for illuminating the indicator.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, including illuminating means arranged behind the indicator and positioned to throw a shadow of the indicator on a translucent record.

4. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, including a carriage engaging and traveling with the record, and means for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, including an indicator connected to the carriage and extending therefrom below the record, and a scale in register with the indicator and located above the record.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 in which the record when in operative position is located between the indicating portion of the indicator and the scale.

6. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, including a housing, a carriage traveling beneath the housing provided with means extending through the housing for engaging a record located above the housing, and means'for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, including an indicator connected to the carriage and extending therefrom beneath the record, and a scale in register with the indicator and located above the record and housing.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6, in which the housing is provided with an opening in regis- .ter with the scale through which the indicator is visible.

8. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, and means for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, including a scale overlying the record throughout its translatory movement and an indicator in register with the scale and moved with the record in the direction of translatory-movement.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including a housing overlying the record, and in which the scale is carried by said housing.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8, in which the scale is inscribed on a sheet of translucent material extending across an aperture in the housing.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8, in which the scale is inscribed on translucent material extending across an aperture in the housing, and means is provided for illuminating the indicator.

12. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, including an inner housing, a carriage traveling beneath the inner housing, provided with record engaging means extending through the inner housing, and an outer housing, the record being supported between the inner and outer housings; and means for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, including an indicator connected to the carriage and extending therefrom beneath the inner housing and record, and a scale in register with the indicator and carried by the outer housing.

13. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, and means for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, including an indicator moving in a translatory direction with the record, and a scale extending diagonally to the direction of translatory movement substantially throughout the path of travel of the indicator and in register with the recording area of the record.

14. Apparatus for rotating disc records provided with location-identifying markings in the recording area of a record which comprises means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to the record, scale means for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, and scale means for indicating the relative radial position of said markings.

15. Apparatus as set forth in claim 14, in which each scale means includes a scale arranged diagonally to the direction o'f'translatory movement and extending radially across and in register with the path of the recording area of the record.

16. Apparatus as set forth in claim 14, in which each scale means includes a scale arranged diagonally to the direction of translatory movement and extending radially across and in register with the path of the recording area of the record, the markings of one scale being associated with corresponding markings of the other scale, the arrangement being such that the combined scales indicate translatory positions each having a fixed predetermined relationship radial point on the record.

17. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises a stylus operatively engaging a record at a point not readily visible; means for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to the record; and means for positioning the record with a predetermined point on the record in register with the stylus, comprising means including a translatory scale for indicating the relative translatory position of the record, and means including a radial scale for indicating the relative radial position of an indicated point on the record, the markings on the radial scale being each associated with a marking on the translatory scale indicating the translatory position of the record at which the predetermined point on the record is in register with the stylus when the indicated point on the record is in register with said marking on the radial scale.

18. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises an inner housing, a carriage traveling beneath the housing and provided with means extending through the housing for engaging a record, an outer housing, the record being located between the housings in operative position, a translatory scale carried by the outer housing and marked to indicate the relative translatory position of the record, a radial scale carried by the outer housing and marked to indicate the relative radial position of indicated points on the record, said scales being arranged diagonally across the path of the recording area of the record with the markings of the radial scale each associated with a marking of the translatory scale to correlate a predetermined translatory position of the record with each radial position of an indicated point on the record, an indicator connected to the carriage extending beneath the inner housing and in register with said translatory scale, and means for illuminating the indicating portion of the indicator.

19. Apparatus for rotating disc records which comprises mechanism for imparting both rotary and translatory movement to a record, and means for indicating the relative translatory position of points on the record including a scale unit in register with the recording area of the record throughout its translatory movement, said unit including a scale arranged to indicate the radial position of points on the record visible along said scale, an indicator movable along, the scale unit, and means connecting the indicator and said mechanism for shifting the indicator along the scale unit in accordance with the translatory movement of the record, arranged to indicate the translatory position of said record.

BARTON A. PROCTOR,

to a corresponding

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