US2771855A - Machine for applying protective coatings to the marginal portions of gramophone discs - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 27, 1956 'r G G. 'rHowl-:MAN 2,771,855

MACHINE FOR PPEYING PROTECTIVE COATINGS TO THE MARGINAL PORTIONS OF GRAMMOPHONE DISCS 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l si s Nov. 27, 1956 T, G. G. 'rHowEMAN 2,771,355

MACHINE FOR APPLYINC PROTECTIVE COATINGS To THE MARGINAL PORTIONS 0F GRAMMOPHONE DISCS Filed March 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR. 72'.: :ump G. MM 70 /02 y a B L United States Patent O MACHINE FOR APPLYING PROTECTIVE COAT- INGS TO THE MARGINAL PORTIONS OF GRAM- OPHONE DISCS Thorwald Georg Gunnar Thoweman, Stockholm, Sweden Application March 5, 1954, Serial N o. 414,405

3 Claims. (Cl. 118-232) This invention relates to a machine for treating gramophone record discs and more particularly for applying a protective coating to Ithe marginal portions of such discs.

The main object of the invention is to provide a miachine capable of applying a protective coating to the marginal portions of gramophone record discs, said coating serving as a spacer between adjacent discs when piled or placed in closed side 4to side relationship. The coating may, if colored, at the same time serve as indication for the type of recording carried by the disc.

Another object of the invention is to provide `a machine of the kind deiined which is capable of applying the said protective coa-ting in a simple and inexpensive manner in connection with the finishing of the edge portion of -the disc normally carried out by a grinding operation.

A still other object of the invention is to provide a machine capable of applying a smooth and lthin protective coating to the marginal portions of the gramophone record disc, said coating being resilient and having la surface presenting a high friction against similar surfaces on adjacent discs in for instance record changer mechanism.

A further object of the invent-ion is to provide gripping means for handling the gramophone record disc and securing it in the abovementioned machine during the finishing process and the following application of `the marginal coating.

A machine embodying the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the machine seen from behind,

Fig. 2 -is Ia section of the rotatable support and the gramophone record disc secured thereto,

Fig. 3 is a partial front view of the support shown in Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the roller applying the coating to the marginal portions of the gramophone record disc,

Fig. 5 is an exploded cross-section ofthe support and gripping means for securing the gramophone record disc during treatment,

Fig. 6 is an exploded cross-section of a furthermodiiication of the disc attachment and handling means of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a cross-section on the line 7-7 in Fig. 6 and Fig. 8 is a frontal View of the support of Fig. 6, the seat member being removed.

Referring now yto Figs. l to 4, the machine comprises a shaft 1 supported in bearings 2 and 3 carried by a bracket 4. Intermediate the bearings 2 and 3 a belt pulley is secured to the shaft 1. A belt 6 from a motor (not shown) runs over the pulley 5 and imparts a continuous rotation to the shaft 1. The shaft 1 carries at one end a clamping disc 7 coupled to the shaft 1 for being driven thereby. Conveniently there may be pro- 2,771,855 Patented Nov. 27, 1956 vided a spring actuated coupling between the shaft 1 and the disc 7 normally keeping the disc 7 out of engagement with the shaft 1 but allowing firm connection therebetween when the disc 7 is pressed against the shaft end as will be explained later on. The clamping disc 7 is preferably covered with a soft coating of felt, rubrber or the like and it has in its center a tapering bore 8 for a purpose to be explained in the following.

Turning now to the right end of Fig. 1, 9 designates a second shaft coaxial to the shaft 1 and rotatably supported in spaced bearings 10 and 11 carried by a bracket 12. The shaft 9 is axially slidable in the bearings 10 and 11 and carries between said bearings a sleeve member 13, which is free on the shaft 9 and retained thereon by means of two annuli 14 and 1S rigidly fixed to the shaft 9 by screws 16 and 17 respectively. The lowermost portion of the sleeve member 13 has a downward projection 18 presenting a plane surface 19 sliding against a rail 20 extending parallelly to the shaft 9. This will prevent the sleeve member 13 from taking part in the rotation of the shaft 9.

The projection 18 or the sleeve member 13 has a shoe 21 to which a Wire 22 is secured. This Wire runs lover a right hand pulley 23 supported for idling motion in a bracket 25 on the bracket 12 and a left hand pulley 24 similarly supported on the -bracket 12. The left end portion of the wire 22 is connected to a spring loaded pedal 26 and the right end portion of the wire is similarly connected to a second spring loaded pedal 27. By depressing said pedals 26 and 27 alternatively the shaft 9 may, through the sleeve member 13 indisplaceably mounted thereon, be caused to move accordingly in either direction -against the spring of the unactuated pedal. It should be noted that the said pedal springs are calibrated to normally keep the shaft 9 in a neutral intermediate position when none of the pedals is actuated.

The end of the shaft 9 facing the clamping disc 7 on the shaft 1 carries a supporting disc 29 which is rigidly connected to the shaft 9. On its back the supporting disc 29 has a tapering, frictional edge 31 which in the position off the supporting disc shown in Fig. l, where the pedal 27 is assumed to be fully depressed, engages a tapering, frictional driving wheel 32, which is continuously driven by a second motor (not shown) to the yshaft of which i-t is secured, to impart a relatively slow rota-tion to the supporting disc 29 in comparison to that of the coupled disc 7. Engagement between the driving wheel 32 and the supporting disc 29 only occurs when the pedal 27 is depressed and thus when the pedal 27 is released no engagement will occur and the supporting disc will be at rest. Secured to the disc 29 there is a gramophone record disc 33 which is retained by means of a combined pick-up and connector tool according to the invention and gener-ally designated by 34 in Fig. 1.

Before referring to the particular design of the said tool 34 it may be mentioned that the machine shown in Fig. 1 is a combined finishing and coating machine. When a gramophone record disc 33 is secured to the supporting disc 29 there i-s a considerable distance maintained between the supporting disc 29 and the clamping disc 7. As soon as the gramophone record disc 33 is in position the pedal 26 is depressed so that the disc 33 is clamped between the clamping disc 7 and the supporting disc 29 by the displacement of the latter with its shaft 9. The tool 34 is received within the bore 8 of the clamping disc 7 and the clamping disc 7 is pressed into engagement with the rotating shaft 1, so that the clamped gramophone record disc is set in rapid rotation. Now the disc 33 is ground by means of a manually operated grinding tool pressed against ythe periphery of the disc 33 in a conventional manner. When grinding is finished thepedalZis releasedandthepedal 27 depressed cause ing enga-gement between the supporting disc 29 and the driving wheel 32, so that the disc 33 will be retarded and continue to rotate at a lowy speed, say 50 R. P. M.

When the gramophone recorddisc 33. rotatesat such lower speed a coating is applied to its marginal portions by means which will be described later on, and such coating will not set immediately. Therefore the gramophone record disc just treated cannot be` grasped. at its periphery and after all it is very unsatisfactory to-handle the discs by the naked hand. Thus it will be quite necessary to have a particular tool for picking up and handling the record and particularly for removing it from the supporting disc 29. Such av tool should be able to safely grasp the record and permit securing thereof to the supporting disc 29 and it has been found that the most uncompiicated manner to obtain-a suitable tool for such purposel is to make use of the central hole of the gramophone record disc.

One embodiment of such a tool is illustrated more particularly in Fig. 2, where the supporting disc 29 is provided with a central cavity 35' partially covered with a washer 35 fixed by means of screws to the front face of the supporting disc. Furthermore the'disc 29 has threaded thereinto a central guide pin 38 having two opposed flats 39 and 40 as will be better seen from Fig. 3 which igure also shows that the washer 36 has two opposed notches 41 and 42 on either side of the guide pin. The tool 34 previously referred to comprises a exible bowv ofv steel having two shanks 43Aand 44 each having a rigid lip extension 45 and 46 respectively sized to permit introduction thereof through the central hole of a gramophone record disc 33. Both lips 45 and 46 have a prong 47' and 48 respectively and the bow 34 has two support plates 49 and Sti having attached thereto resilient pads 51 and 52 respectively of sponge rubber or like'material.

When grasping a record disc the bow Shanks are pressed together so that the prongs 47 and 48 may pass through the central hole and then the bow is permitted to expand, so that the prongs will catch the disc 33 and pads 51 and 52 will stabilize it. Then the -grasped disc 33 is lifted to the supporting disc 29 where the central pin 38 enters through the central hole of the disc 33 keeping the bow lips 45 and 46 spaced. By pressing the bow 34 towards the supporting disc 29 the prongs 47 and 48 are caused to'enter through the notches 41 and 42 in the washer 36 and then the tool is slightly turned so that it will remain secured to the supporting disc 29 and retain the record disc 33 in proper position for treatment. When detaching the record from the support the tool is turned in opposite direction so that the prongs are extracted through the notches 41 and 42 by expansion of the pads 51` and 52 compressed during the attachment, andthe record may easily be removed from the guideV pin 38 and put aside. A slight pressure on the bow will release the tool34-from the record disc.

Referring again to Fig. l the means for applying the protective coating to the marginal portions of the gramophone record disc 33 when the latter rotates at the lower* speed in` the machine as illustrated in Fig. l comprises a guide 53 for a sliding bracket54. This bracket 54 comprises two protrudingarms` 55'and' 56 having forkedends 57 carrying a dispenser wheel generally designated by 59, which is free to rotate andcarried by a shaft 60. Between the arms 55v and S6 of the sliding bracket 54 there is a:

Attached to the rear end of the guide 53 is a spring pulley 67over which is coiled a wire 68, theend of which is secured to the sliding bracket S4, so that the latter will` betensioned away from the record disc 33. Extend-- ing from the bracket 54 there is further a rod 69 terminating in a handle 70, by means of which the dispenser wheel 59 may be temporarily pressed into engagement with the edge of the rotating record disc. The dispenser wheel 59 which is also shown in Fig. 4 comprises a hollow body serving as a container for the liquid coating substance to be appliedl to the record disc. substance isintroduced' inV said hollow body through a lateral aperture therein closed by a cap or the iike (not shown). Around the. periphery or envelope surface'72` of the hollow body the diameter is slightly reduced and there are providedperforations 73 leading into the hollow body. The perforated envelope surface. is covered by a permeable, cushiony annular pad 74 which in turn is wrapped by an annular permeable and flexible screen, preferably having a mesh width 15-l3 dernier and manufacturedof synthetic lilaments;

By pulling the'handle 70 the dispenser wheel S9`mayy mechanism. The dispenser wheel 59` only has to` be' pressed against the record disc during one or a few revolu` tions ofthe latter. After having been so coated the recordk disc should be placed away so that the coatinglis allowed" to'set.n

The combinedtool accordingv to the invention may obviouslybe modified in several respects and to show this two further embodiments thereof will be described withA referencefto'Fig.- 5 and Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive.

In Fig. 5 the modifiedtool comprises a foot 71 havingl its bottom covered with a layer 72 of soft and'resilient` material such as sponge rubber. To the foot'is threaded a sleeve 73 carrying a slidable knob 74 and enclosing. a pipe 75v having a` point 76 pressed into its frontal vmouth protruding through the foot 71. The pipe has an external ange 77 intermediate its ends between which and the foot 71 there is providedv a helical spring 78.` Between the flange 77 and a free washer 79surrounding'the pipe 75- there is a weaker spring 80. Slidingly arranged within the` pipe 75 is a rod 83 having a cross pin 81 behindthe washer'79 and passingv through longitudinal slots 90 and 91 in the pipe 75. The knob 74 is closed by a threaded washer 82'secured'to the slotted end of the pipe 75l The rodv 83 terminatesin a releasingbutton 84. The opposite endofthe rod 83." has a longitudinalslot 85`for receiving the inner ends of two jointedfjaw members 86' and 87' having each a frontal detent 88 and S9 respectively protruding through each one slot'in the pipe 75 behind'the point 76 in a resilient'manner.

When grasping a fresh record disc the point'76 is simply pressed throughthe central hoie of the disc 33"andV the.

detents S8', 89" will 'readily snap out outside the disc` for retaining it on the tool. When securingvthe record'disc 33" and the tool to the supporting disc 29 of the machine hereinbefore described thelatter must be provided with a central hole havinga lining 93 ypreferably threaded thereinto.` It has been found advantageousto provide afunnellike recess 9Z`around' this lining93, which will facilitate positioning. The point 76 andthe outer end of the pipe '75 is simply pushedk into the lining 93 by pressing the knob 74 so that the detents 88 and 89 will snap in behind the lining 93./

When releasing thedisc 33`andV the tool'from supportingldisc 29`the button 84'is pushed whereby the detents The coating Though the coatingA 88 and 89 are drawn into the pipe 75 by the forked end of the rod 83. The spring 78 will extract the point 76 out of the lining 93 and the button 84 is rapidly released so that the detents 88 and 89 will again catch the record disc 33 while the point 76 still centers in the lining 93. Then the tool with the record disc is removed from the supporting disc 29 and the record disc 33 may be dropped in suitable place by again pushing the button 84.

With reference to Figs. 6 to 8 numeral 94 designates a turned handle having a cover 95 of relatively slippery cloth or the like on its disc facing surface. In the top of the tool there is a push button 96 into which is screwed one end of a rod 98 having a square or unround crosssection. Around the rod 98 there is provided a spring 97 between the handle 94 and the button 96. The rod 98 is slidable but not turnable in the handle 94 and has an enlarged point 101 projecting from the disc facing surface of the handle. Between the inner side of this point or head 101 and a bushing 100 iixed to the rod 98 by means of a pin 99 is anchored the outer end of a rubber mantle 104, the rear end of which is secured to the handle 94 by a wire ring 106 and a threaded Washer 10S. The point 101 as better seen in Fig. 7 is provided with two opposite and parallel and transverse slots 102 and 103.

When using the tool of Fig. 6 the supporting disc should, as apparent from the left part of Fig. 6, have a central recess 112 for receiving the point 101 of the tool. Around the recess 112 there is provided a square block 109 having a central hole inside of which there are provided two leaf springs 107 and 108 kept in place by two projections 110 and 111. In picking up the record disc 33 by means of the recently described tool the button 96 of the tool is pushed so that the rubber mantle 104 is extended when the point 101 is passed through the central hole of the record disc 33. Then the button 96 is released causing the rubber mantle 104 to form an angular bulge outside the disc 33 as shown. Securing of the disc 33 and the tool to the support 29 is attained by simply entering the point 101 into the recess 112 and turning the tool so that the leaf springs 107 and 108 will snap into the respective slots 102 and 103. Releasing of the tool from the support is again obtained by turning the tool in either direction a quarter of a revolution whereby the leaf springs will release the point 101 for extraction. The record disc is dropped away .by again pressing the button 96. It should be mentioned that in this latter case it is important that the support 29 has a covering 113 which is soft and frictionally engages the record disc to prevent it from freely rotating on the support.

The invention is not limited of course to the embodiment and details herein shown and described but may be varied in several respects within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a machine for treating gramophone record discs; the combination of an annular support plate adapted to receive a record disc in closely abutting relation to one of the radial faces of said plate, means for retaining a record disc against said one face of the support plate, a shaft rigidly connected to said plate and extending axially from the other face of the latter, bearing means having said shaft journaled therein for rotational and axial movement of the shaft, means for selectively displacing said shaft in the axial direction for moving said support plate between first and second axially spaced apart positions, drive means engageable with said support plate only at said first position of the latter to there rotate the support plate at a relatively slow rotational speed, a rotary dispensing roller adjacent said irst position of the support plate and movable toward and away from the latter in the radial plane of the support plate for applying a protective coating to a record disc held against said support plate at said first position, means for displacing said dispensing roller in said radial plane to engage and release the edge of a record disc, an annular drive plate rotatably mounted 6 t adjacent said second position of the support plate coaxially with the latter to frictionally engage a record disc held against said support plate when the latter is moved to said second position, and means rotating said drive plate at a relatively high rotational speed so that a record disc held against said support plate and frictionally engaged by said drive plate will be rotated by the latter at a speed suitable for the grinding of the edge and marginal portions of the record disc.

2. In a machine for treating gramophone record discs; the combination of a rotatable support, means for securing a gramophone record disc to said support concentrically with the axis of rotation thereof, means for imparting rotary motion to said support and hence to the gramophone record disc secured thereto, and means for applying a coating to the marginal and edge surfaces of the gramophone record disc, said coating means including a rotatable dispenser roller having its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of the secured gramophone record -disc and being displaceable in the radial plane of the latter and actuator means for temporarily pressing said roller into engagement with the marginal portions of the gramophone record disc, and roller comprising a hollow body having a perforated envelope surface, and a permeable, exible member surrounding said perforated envelope surface of said hollow body and capable of being circumferentially indented by contact with the edge of the record disc, said hol-low body being adapted to contain a liquid coating substance capable of penetrating said permeable, flexible member, and said means for securing the gramophone record disc to said support comprising a gripping handle including members adapted to enter the central hole of the gramophone record disc, expandable means for hooking the gramophone record disc to said handle and means for securing the handle to said support so that, following the application of a liquid coating substance to the edge and marginal portions of the record disc, the latter can be removed from said support without requiring hand-ling of the disc.

3. In a machine for treating gramophone record discs; the combination of a rotatable support movable axially between two operative positions, means for securing a gramophone record disc said support concentrically with the axis of rotation thereof, means disposed adjacent one of said operative positions of said support for applying a coating to the marginal and edge surfaces of a gramophone record disc secured to said support as the latter is rotated at said one operative position thereof, said coating means including a rotatable dispenser roller having its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of the secured gramophone record disc and being displaceable in the radial plane of the latter at said one operative position of the `support and actuator means for temporarily pressing said roller into engagement with the marginal portions of the gramophone record disc, said roller comprising a hollow body having a perforated envelope surface and a permeable, flexible member surrounding said perforated envelope surface of said hollow body and capable of being circumferentially indented by contact with the edge of the record disc, said hollow body being adapted to contain a liquid coating substance capable of penetrating `said permeable, ilexible member, means for imparting rotary motion to said support including a rst rotary drive means operative to impart a relatively slow rotation to said support suitable for the application of a liquid coating to the edge and marginal portions of a record disc secured on said support when it is located axially at said one position and a second rotary drive means operative to impart a relatively rapid rotation to said support when the latter is disposed at the other of said op erative positions thereof so that the edge and marginal portions of a record disc on said support may be ground with the latter in said other position, and means normally retaining said support axially intermediate said two positions, so that the support is rotationally at rest fonpermitting the mounting of a record disc on, and the 973,356 Kinyon Oct. 18,` 19,10 removal of a record disc from, said support, and being 1,128,903 Riascher et a1. Feb. 16, 1915 operative to selectively displace lsaid support to each of 1,868,545 Slonneger July 26, 1932. said'two operative positions. 2,074,432 Rollings Mar. 23, 1931 5 2,284,366 Bryant May 26, 1942 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,330,411' Dettle. Sept 28; 1943 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,385,653 Rockola Sept. 25, 1945

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