US3201130A

US3201130A - Record changer

Info

Publication number: US3201130A
Application number: US173465A
Authority: US
Inventors: James L D Morrison; Michael D Estkowski
Original assignee: VM Corp
Current assignee: V M Corp; VM Corp
Priority date: 1962-02-15
Filing date: 1962-02-15
Publication date: 1965-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 1982-08-17

Description

Aug. 17, 1965 Filed Feb. l5, 1962 J. L. D. MORRISON ETAL RECORD CHANGER l0 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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ug- 17 1955 J. D. MORRISON ETAL, 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l5, 1962 INVENTORS" www@ yM/mpm n mwN www .NNN mwN Aug- 17, 1965 J. L. D. MoRRlsoN l-:TAL 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER Filed Feb. l5, 1962 A118- 17, 1965 J. L. D. MORRISON ETAI. 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER lO Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. l5, 1962 A11g- 17, 1955 J. L. D. MORRISON ETAL 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER Filed Feb. 15, 1962 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 All@ 17 1965 J. D. MORRISON ETAL 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER Filed Feb. l5, 1962 l0 Sheets-Sheet 6 All@ 17 1965 J. L. D. MORRISON ETAL 3,201,13@

RECORD CHANGER Filed Feb. l5, 1962 10 Sheets-Sheet 'Y IN VEN TOR5.' @www Aug- 17, 1965 J. L. D. MORRISON ETAL 3,201J30 RECORD CHANGER Filed Feb. 15, 1962 10 Sheets-Sheet 8 j jf@ Aug. 17, was 1. D. MORRISON ETA. 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Feb. 15, 1962 INVENTORSJ )7702/1244072 E WMe/55m yam Yam Allg- W, 1955 J. l.. D'. MORRISON ETAL 3,201,130

RECORD CHANGER Filed Feb. 15, 1962 10 Sl'leeCS-Sheei'I lO United States Patent C)Y 3,291,130 RECGRD @HANGER .lames L. D. Morrison, Los Angeles, and Michael D.

Estlrowslri, Sun Valley, Salii; said Estltowslii assigner to yf-M Corporation, Eentnn Earlier, Mich., a corporatien of Michigan Filed Feb. 1S, 1962Ser. No, 173,465 17 Claims. (Cl. 274-10) proved record changer adapted to accomplish substan` tially all results desired by a user, while alfording maXimum ease of use.

p A second object of the invention is the provision of an improved record changerhaving a minimum number of components visible to and manipulatable by the user and providing for marked simplicity of operation. i

Another object of the invention is to provide an im proved record changer wherein a stack of records may be loaded and retained on the mechanism simply by slipping the same onto a spindle.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an i improved record changer adapted to play automatically any size of record loadedthereon irrespective of the variations in the sizes of the records in a single stack.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved record changer embodying means for automatii cally playing a stack of records, for shutting the changer off upon completionrotplaying of the last record in the stack, and for automatically transferring the unplayed records in the stack to the turntable and for then shutting the changer off should the user attempt to shut the changer oil while there are still some unplayed records in the stack.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved record changer instantly convertible from fully automatic operation to fully manual operation, and vice versa, by the simple expedient of ilipping a switch.

`An additional object of the invention is the provision of an improved record changer of particularly` economical and practical construction having an improved inode of operation.

i Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following detailed description.

Now, in order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the` mannerof making andiusing our improved record changer, we shall describe, in connection with the acc0rnpanyingdrawings, a preferred embodiment of the changer and preferred manners of making and using the same.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view ofthe complete record changer of the invention, the view especially depicting the minimum number and simplicity of the components revealed to and manipulatable by the user;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of the record changer with the turntable removed;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View, on a further enlarged scale, showing particularly the change cycle mechanism of the changer, the view being taken substantially on line 3 3 of FIGURE 2 and showing the change cycle mechanism in its at-rest or end position;

FIGURE 4 is essentially a plan View of the change cycle mechanism, the view being taken substantially on line d--d of FIGURE 3; i

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIGURE 3 depicting the rotary cam means of the cycling mechanism in the at-rest or end position of the mechanism;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5, but taken at a slightly higher elevation, depicting the rotary cam means of the cycling mechanism in the record size-sensing position;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing the cycling mechanism in its recordsize-sensing position;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the spindle, `the spindle supporting and actuating means and the turntable and its shaft, the view beingtaken substantially on line 3 3 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of the cycling gear depicting the trip means, shut-off lever and supplementary stop means associated therewith;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged vertical section, taken substantially on line` 1'0-10 of FIGURE 9, depicting the trip means and shut-olf lever in detail;

FIGURES l1, 12 and 13 are views somewhat similar to FIGURE 9 depicting the automatic shut-ofi means and the automatic stack unloading means of theinvention in the positions, respectively, wherein the means areconditioned for operation, the means are about to be actuated and the means are shut oli'; f

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary View, similar to FIG- URES 11 to 13, showing the shut-oli? means in the position wherein it is reset for normal operation of the changer;

FIGURE: 15 is an enlarged sectional view taken sub-V stantially on line 15-15 of FIGURE 12; Y FIGURE 16 is an enlarged sectional view taken sub.- stantially on line 1d I6 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 17 is a view similar to FIGURES 11 to 13 showing particularly the reject `and automatic stack unloading means of the invention;

FIGURE 18 is` an enlarged sectional view taken sub-I stantially on line 1Il-18 of FIGURE 17;

FIGURE 19 is a plan view of the means provided according to the invention for selectively rendering the changer automatically operable and manually operable, the means `being illustrated as rendering the changer manually operable; ,v

FIGURE 2() is a detail View taken substantially on line Ztl-21B of FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 21 `is a detail View of the supplementary stop means of the said selection means, the VView being taken substantially on line 21-21 of FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 22 is a detail view taken substantially on line 22-22 of FIGURE 19, `and showing the switch actuator in position for manual operation, as compared to FIGURE 18 which shows the switch actuator in position for automatic operation;

FIGURE 23 is a detail view taken substantially on line 23-23 of VFIGURE 19; and

FIGURE 24 is an enlarged vertical section of: the gear and rotarylcaln means of the cycling mechanism of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and especially to FIG- URE 1, we have provided a record changer that is of particularly neat and uncomplicated appearance and that aiords the user utmost ease of operation. The only components normally visible to the user arethe base plate 30, the turntable 31, the spindle 32, the tone arm 33, a speed selector and on-oii control 3d` and a control or switch 35 for selectively renderingthe device automatically operable or manually operable. s

The base plate 3@ is of conventional construction, preferably a sheet metal stamping, having a central depresi sion or cup for reception of the turntable 31 which is also adornan of conventional construction, except for the shaft receiving portion thereof as will be subsequently described. On the lower surface thereof, the base plate Sti mounts a supporting bracket 36 which extends diagonally of the base plate from the corner thereof in which the tone arm 33 vis moutned to the side of the spindle opposite said corner. VThis bracket is comprised essentially of a mounting or supporting plate which is disposed in spaced parallel relation to the plane of the base plate.

The spindle 32 per se comprises the invention of I ames LL.l D. Morrison and is disclosed in detail in his application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 119,400, filed lune 26, 1961. As shown in FIGURE 8, this spindle comprises an elongate hollow or tubular body 4@ of substantially uniform inner and outer diameter throughout its length, except for a counterbore in the upper end portion thereof and a circumferential groove in the outer surfacey thereof for receiving a C-washer 41 which serves to retain the turntable on the spindle. Intermediate its ends, but adjacent the upper end thereof, the body is provided in its wall with a plurality of elongate longitudinal slots 42, preferably six in number and disposed in equal circumferential spacings. The slots communicate at their upper ends with the lower end of theaforesaid counterbore, whereby a shoulder or ledge is provided at the bottom of the counterbore between each adjacent pair of slots. Fitted within the upper end portion of the spindle body is :a clutch member 43 comprising an upper tubular carrier portion 44 and a plurality of depending resilient clutch ngers 45 aligned with and fitting respectively within the slots 4.2. The outer diameter of the member 43 is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the counterbore in the body, and the member is fitted down into the counterbore to dispose the fingers 45 in the slots 42 and to bring the carrier 44 to rest on the shoulders or ledges defined at the bottom of the counterbore. To secure the clutch member in the body, a tubular insert 46, having a reduced lower extension, is pressed into the counterbore with the extension thereof fitting within the carrier 44. To complete the clutch means, a resilient pad 47 is fixedly secured to the outer surface of each of the clutch fingers 015 within the slots d2.

Within the lower end portion thereof, the spindle body slidably mounts a coaxial tubular member 4S comprising, integrally, a plurality of record supporting fingers 49 and an actuator 59 therefor. The tubular body lportion of the member 4S comprises the actuator 50 and extends upwardly from below the lower end of the body to a normal position adjacentV the lower ends of the slots 42 in the body. The record supporting lingers 49 are aligned respectively with the slots 42 and are quite long to enhance the flexibility or resiliency thereof, andare bent intermediate their ends so that the upper end portions of the ngers extend diagonally outward and upward through the slots 42 to the exterior of the spindle. The upper ends of the fingers are disposed in a common horizontal plane at a significant distance outwardly from the spindle to provide a support for a stack of records. Due particuarly tothe fact that there are six of the fingers t9 spaced equally about the entire circumference of the spindle body, a very stable support for a stack of records is provided, so stable in fact that the stack of records may be supported exclusively by the spindle without need for the steadying arms or means that have heretofore been conventional in the art. Thus, a stack of records may be loaded on the changer simply by threading them on the upper end of the spindle..

Since the ngers 49 are joined to the longitudinally movable orY slidable actuator 5t), the fingers are also slidable longtudinally of the spindle body di). To accommodate such movement the slots 42 in the body are elongated and the portions of the body defining the lower margins of the slots 42 are rounded or tapered, as indicated at 51, to comprise cam surfaces for the fingers.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the spindle body lli is rigidly secured at its lower end to the supporting bracket 36 by means of a collar 49a which is fixed t0 the body and a nut 37 which is threaded on the collar and clampingly engaged with the bracket. The tubular member i8 .projects below the spindle body and the main plate portion of the bracket 36, thereby to be exposed for access to facilitate operation of the same. Below this is the lower accessible end of a second actuator S2 comprising a rod which extends upwardly through the interior of the tubular actuator 5@ to above the record supporting lingers and to adjacent the clutch fingers 45. This rod is slidably mounted in the spindle body within the tube 5t) and comprises a cylindrical portion 53 slidably mounted in the tube, a reduced portion 54 extending through the linger area of the member 48, a cam portion 55 having slidable bearing engagement with the spindle body just below the lower end of the clutch lingers and an upper cylindricalV guide portion 56 having slidable bearing engagement in the cylinder 46 at the upper end or the spindle body. The rod 52 comprise the actuator for the clutch fingers and the rod and the fingers are provided with cooperable cam surfaces whereby the rod is movable to project the fingers and the pads 47 outwardly through the slots 42 in the body. In the disclosed embodiment, these cooperable cam surfaces are comprised of a conical cam surface on the rod and inturned portions 57 at the lower ends of the clutch fingers 45'.

For effecting actuation thereof, the actuator rod 52 is notched at its lower end for reception of the slotted end portion of `an operator lever 58 which is pivotally mounted at 39 on a downwardly extending projection of a post 38. Also pivotally mounted at 59 is an operating link 6G which is operatively `connected `at one end tothe lever 58 by means of `a torsion spring 61 and which at its opposite end carries a follower 62 engaging in a cam slot 63 formed in a depending leg portion of a slide 64 which is slidably mounted on the bracket 36. Y

The actuator tube 4S is provided at its lower end with radially extending follower pins 65 which are received at their outer ends in vertical guide slots 66 provided in a pair of depending extensions 67 of the mounting bracket 35, the said extensions lbeing disposed to opposite sides of the tube Ihe follower pins 65 .also extend through inclined cam slots 68 provided in a pair of depending legs 69 which project downwardly through slots in the mount- :ing bracket to opposite sides of the tube i8 ,and which are integrally joined at their upper ends with a slide '7G which is slidably mounted on the upper `surface of the bracket 36. Intermediate the -bracket 36 and the base plate 30, the spindle body rotatably mounts the shaft 71 of the turnn table, a thrust bearing 72 being provided between the shaft `and said bracket. At its upper end, the shaft projects through lthe base plate 3f) and is tapered for selflocking reception thereon of the hub of the turntable. The hub is comprised in effect of a pair of annular surfaces delined respectively by .a hole in the main plate portion of the turntable and a hole in the bottom wall of a cup-shaped member 73 that is secured to the lower surface of the turntable concentric therewith. The two holes `are of respective diameters complementary to the taper of the upper end of the shaft, whereby they define a complementary cone adapted for self-locking engagement with the shaft. To secure the turntable to the shaft, and the shaft to the spindle, a C washer 41 is provided on the spindle as aforesaid. y

As is yconventional in the art, the turntable 31 is adapted to 'be rotated -by means of an electric motor and transmission assembly 74, including a friction 4drive wheel 75 engageable with the inner surface of the peripheral flange of the turntable (FIGURE 2). The transmission is shift-- able to afford various speeds of turntable drive, and forthis purpose a control rod 76 extends from the assembly 74- to a crank arm 77 associated with the control 34 whereby the control may be rotated to select an appro,-

priate speed of turntable operation, e.g., 16, `33, 45, Gr.78 rpm.

The turntable and its shaft serve as the power input means for the change cycle mechanism, indicated generally at A30, and for this purpose the shaft 71 is provided adjacent its lower end with teeth forming a drive pinion 61. The .shaft also is provided with a radially projecting lug 32 which serves to initiate the .change cycle, as will be described. The cycling mechanism is comprised of a main element or gear 83 rotatably mounted on the post 33 and adapted for meshed engagement `with the drive pinion 31, The gear is provided at its peripheral edge with two interruptions 84 and 85 (see FIGURE 9) which serve selectively as means for causing thetgear to stop in predetermined selective positions. yIn the at-rest or end position of the cycling mechanism, the interruption or opening 84 in the gear is disposed opposite the drive pinion 81 so that the gear is uncoupled from the pinion and is at rest. The interruption is spaced about 220 from the interruption 34 in the direction of gear rotation, and in automatic operation of the changer is closed by a :spring biased gear segment 86 which is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 87 secured to the gear. Also mounted on the gear is ,a trip assembly 88 comprising a trip lever 89 pivotally mounted on a pin 9h secured to the gear, and a tone arm responsive element or trip .arm 91 pivotally mounted on pin 90 and frictionally engaged with the lever 89 by a spring 92. The trip lever 89 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and includes at one end thereof an upstanding tab 93 comprising an interposer located within the area of the interruption 34 and adapted for cooperation with the trip or cycle initiatingy lug 82 on the turntable shaft. At its other end, the lever has a downturned .tab 94 comprising a reject contactor, as will be described.

The tone arm 33 is pivotally `mounted at its rearward end on a bracket 9S which is secured to a hollow or tubular tone arm supporting shaft 96 which is mounted for both rotation and sliding movement in a tubular post 97 secured to the base plate 30. The shaft 96 extends downwar-dly through the turntable and at its lower end carries, in fixed relation, a `first crank arm 98. Rotatably mountyed on the shaft above the arm 98 is a second crank arm 99, the purpose of which is to swing the tone arm in a horizontal plane as will be described. For raising or lowerin"g the tone arm, a lift pin 100 is slidably mounted in` the shaft 9u, the pin `extending from below the cnank arm 93 to above the bracket 95 and being adapted for engagement with an adjustable abutment 101 on the tone arm.

As the tone arm moves across a record during playing of the same, the crank arm 98 is moved therewith, where- -upon the crank .arm engages and moves a trip wire or rod 102 which extends from adjacent the tone arm cranks through the turntable well of the base plate to adjacent the trip assembly 3S, the wire including depending portions lat its opposite ends engageable respectively with the tone arm crank and the trip arm 91. Consequently, as the tone arm moves in toward the center of the recond, the crank arm `moves the wire 1G22 and the trip arm 91 inwardly, thereby causing corresponding inward movement of the interposer end of the trip lever 89. So long as the tone arm moves inwardly only the distance of one record groove per revolution of the turntable, the lever S9 is moved inwardly only to such small degree that when the lug 32 bumps the interposer, it pushes the same back out or" the way of the lug, the relative movement thereby caused between the trip lever and arm being accommodated by the frictionally engaged assembly of the two. However, when the tone arm reaches the fast spiral groove at the end ot the recorded portion of the record the tone arm, and thus the trip arm and the interposer, `are moved nwaidly a substantial distance in one revolution lof the turntable so that the lug S2 catches the interposer 93` `and through the medium of the trip lever 89 initiates rotation of the gear 83 and causes the gear to become t5 meshed with the drive pinion S1, whereupon the gear will be rotated one full revolution. During this revolution the tone arm is -swung outwardly and the trip assembly 88 and trip wire 102 are reset in their initial posi-tion, so that the gear automatically stops when the interruption 311 again comes opposite the pinion 81. Thus, the gear rotates only one full revolution anism 30.

Secured to the gear or rotation therewith are a pair of cam members dening three cam tracks, namely, an upper cam member 103 comprising means for swinging the tone arm horizontally, and a lower cam member 10d having in the lower surface thereof a iirst cam track 105 for raising and lowering the tene `arm and controlling the clutch means t3 of the spindle, and a second cam track 106 for 4actuating the record-supporting ngers 49 of the spindle. The slide 70, by means of which the recordsupporting lingersare actuated, is coupled directly to the cam track 106 4by means of a follower 107 secured to the slide andengaging in the track to the side of the post 38 opposite the spindle. The slide 64, by means of which the spindle clutch member is actuated, is indirectly coupled to the cam track 105 by a secondary slide 10S, a drive clutch 109 for selectively coupling .and uncoupling the

slides

64 and 108, and a follower 111B` secured to the secondary slide and engaging in the track 105. The cam member 1h15 is operatively connected to the tone arm by means of a rod or strap 111, which is slidably mounted on the lower surface ofthe base plate and extends from the cam to the upper tone arm crank 99, the rod 111 being pivotally secured to the crank 99 at its outer end per cycle of the mechand at its inner end carrying a follower 112 engaging the peripheral surface of the cam. For holding the follower in Vengagement with the cam, a torsion spring 113 is disposed about the tone .arm shaft 96 and engagedwith the crank arm 99 normally to .bias the same in inward direction.

When the trip assembly 8S is actuated as above described, the gear and its associated cam members commence to rotate counter-clockwise, as viewed in FlG` URES 5 and 6. Assuming the slidese-t and 103 to be coupled together, as depicted, rotation of the cams through approximately 30 will bringiposition B in the track ltiS into alignment With the follower 110, Awhere-` by the follower and the

slides

108 and 64 will be moved to the right. During this movement, an inclined ramp 114 at the right-hand end of the slide 64, will engage the tone are lift pin 16d to raise lthe pin and thus the tone arm. As this occursV a spring 115 secured to the pin will exert on upward force on the tone arm crank 98 and shaft 9d, and thereby move the same upwardly until the arm 98 is frictionally engaged with the crank arm 99. After about 40 of -gear rotation, the cam 1% will commence to move thefollower 112 and the rod 111 outwardly,`thereby to swing the crank arm 99, and thus the crank arm 9S and the tone arm, outwardly until at about 75 of gear rotation the tonearm is disposed outwardly from the center of the turntable by a distance greater than the radius of the largestrecord to be played by the changer. In the mean-time, when the gear has been rotated about 60, position C in track 1115 is brought into alignment with the follower 110, and during movement of the cam through the next 15 or so, to position D, the `follower is moved further to the right, whereupon the inclined portion of the cam slot o3 engages the follower pin 62 and moves the link 60 downward, Whereupon the lever 5S and the actuator rod 52 are moved upwardly to cause the cam surface 55 on the rod to er1- gage the complementary cam portion 57 of the clutch lingers 45 and move the clutch lingers radially outward, into engagement with certain of the records in the stack for the purpose of holding all but the bottom record in the stack in fixed position on the spindle. From position D to position I, the cam track is simply a cir` cular surface concentric with the axisof rotation of the gear so that the record-holding clutch means 43 remain engaged and the tone arm remains raised until the gear rotates to position l, i.e., about 265 of gear rotation.

For t-he rst 75 4ol cam rotation, the Vearn track 1025 is concentric with the cam axis so that the pin 107 and the slide '70 Aare not actuated during this period. After the clutch member 43 has been engaged, the track 106 in moving the pin 107 from the position E to position F (75 to 115 ot gear rotation) moves the slide 70 to the right to a position wherein the leg 69 thereof is disposed as shown in FIGURE 7. In this position, the cam slot 68 has moved the pin 65 :and thus the tube 50 and the record-supporting lingers 49 downwardly a predetermined distance, as determined by the cam track d. The slots 42 in the spindle body are of a length to accommodate this initial downward movement or" the ngers 49, whereby the bottom record is lowered to and supported in a position intermediate the stack and the turntable, in which position the record is individually accessible for size sensing. The record is held in this position -by the concentric portion of the cam track 105 lying between positions F and G (115 to 190 of gear rotation).

While the record is held in this position, the cam 103 permits the torsion spring 113 to swing the crank arm 99 inwardly substantially to the limit of its inward movement. As this occurs, the crank arm 9d and the tone arm 33 are also moved inwardly until the tone arm engages the edge of the record then held in the intermediate position, as Vdepicted in FGURE 7, whereupon the tone yarm and the crank 9% are stoppedand the arm $9 slips inwardly relative to the arm @3 to maintain the follower 112 in engagement with the cam. lust short of 190 o gear rotation, the cam 103 causes slight outward movement of the crank 99 whereby the tone arm is Y backed oil la slight distance from the edge of the record.

Then, the cam track 10d in moving the pin 107 from position G to position H (190o to 220 of gear rotation) moves the pin 107 and slide 70 further to the right to cause the cam track 655 to move the pin 65 and the record-supporting finger member 68 to their fully retracted positions. During this movement the resilient fingers 49 are pulled down against the cam surfaces 51 defined yat the bottom ot the slots 42 and are thereby forced inwardly into the interior of the spindle body. As the upper ends of the fingers move into the slots d2, the bottom record is released to fall to the turntable. As the record falls, the air between the descending record and the turntable (or the records resting on the turntable) 'serves as .a cushion so that the record descends gently to the turntable.

The cam track 106 thereupon moves the pin 107 to the left, from position H to position l (220 to 260 of gear rotation) which causes the record-supporting linger member 43 to be moved upwardly past its normal position to a fully elevated position wherein the record-supporting tingers'49 engage the lower surface of the record then at the bottom of the stack. The clutch member 43 is then released by virtue of the cam track 105 moving the pin 110 from position I to position K (265 to 275 ot gear rotation) whereupon the clutch fingers and pads move inwardly to release the stack and the stack becomes fully supported by the fingers 49.

As the gear continues to rotate, the cam 103, at about 290 of gear rotation, permits the tone arm 33 to swing inward under the urge of the torsion spring 113 by a distance equal to the sum of the distance the tone arm was backed ott from the edge of the record and the distance from the edge of the record to the starting groove therein (which total distance may be as little as 1A or so), there-A by to position the tone arm over the starting groove in the record that was just dropped to the turntable. At about the same time, the remaining stack of records is lowered to the starting position (FIGURE 3) by virtue of the cam track 106 moving the follower 107 from posi- S tion L to position M (280 to 290 of gear rotation). To avoid undue stress on the driving elements, the pin 65 in this position preferably rests on a horizontal shoulder defined on the legs 69 by a short horizontal track portion formed in the cam slots 68.

The gear d3 then returns toward zero position, during which time (300 to 360 of gear rotation.) the track 105 so moves the pin 110, slide dit and ramp 114i as to lower the tone arm on the record then uppermost on the turntable. As this occurs, the tone arm is disengaged from the crank arm 99, follower 111-112 and spring 113, whereby the tone arm is free to follow the groove in the record. The gear then stops, due to the interruption S4 again coming opposite the pinion 81.

Thus, it is seen that in one revolution of the gear 83, the described components are operated to raise the tone arm trom the played record and to swing the same outwardly beyond the records, to cause the record-holding clutch means to engage and hold all but the bottom record in the stack, to cause the record-supporting fingers 119 to lower the bottom record to size-sensing position and to hold the record in such position, to swing the tone arm in to sense the size of the held record and to position the tone arm relative yto its moving means for subsequent playing of this record, to back the tone arm away from the record, to cause the fingers d@ to release the bottom record for descent to the turntable, to move the lingers 49 up to stack engaging position, to release the clutch and thereby the stack for support by the fingers 49, to return the lingers 49 and the stack to starting position, to swing the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting groove in the record, and to lower the tone arm to the record for playing the same.

When the tone arm reaches the end of the record, it will again automatically actuate-the tripassernbly 3S, whereupon the cycle oi operation above described is repeated until all of the records have been played. As will be appreciated, operation or" the tone arm in the manner described to sense'the size of each record to be played automatically results in proper disposition of the tone arm on the record, irrespective of the size, i.e., whether it be any one of the popular 7, l0, and 12 inch sizes of records, or any unusual or new size, such as 8 or ll inch. Also, operation of the tone arm in the described manner facilitates use of the saine to determine the presence or absence of a record, whereby the tone arm and its associated components may be employed as actuating or conditioning means for shutting the changer oft when the last record in the stack has been played, i.e., when there are no records left to be played.

With reference now to FlGURES 1 and 11 through 18, the record changer includes a conventional ori-olif switch 11o for controlling supply of electric current to the motor assembly 74 and a switch operating member 117 for turning the switch on and otl. The operating member 117 is pivotally mounted on a pin 118 secured to the base plate and is adapted to be operated for at least turning the switch on by means of a manually operable switch actuator 119 slidablyrnounted on the lower side of the base plate. Por moving the actuator, a rod 120 is connected thereto, which rod extends upwardly through the base plate and horizontally through the turntable well to adjacent the control 34. Beneath the control 3d, the rod 120 is pivotally connected to a bell crank 121 (FIGURE 18) which is pivotally mounted on the base plate and includes a nose portion adapted to be engaged by a push button 122 forming part of the control 34 so that upon depression of the button, the rod is moved in the direction toward the control thereby to shift the actuator in the same direction. Thus, the control 34 by depression of the button 122 controls the switch 116, and by rotation controls turntable speed.

The actuator 119 at its rearward end includes a U-shaped portion defining a pair of forwardly extending projections 123 and 12d, the projection 123 of which is disposed to engage an opstanding arm 125 on the switch operator 117, for rotating the switch operator in the direction to turn the switch on when the actuator' is moved toward the control 34 by depression of the button 122 as aforesaid. The operator 117 includes a tab 126 operatively engageable with the switch and it is selectively biased toward and away from the switch by a toggle spring 127 which is anchored to the base plate and connected to the arm 125. When the switch is turned on, as shown in FIGURE l1, an outwardly projecting portion 128 at the lower end of the member 117 extends immediately beneath the gear S3 adjacent the periphery thereof, for a purpose to be described.`

On the upper surface of the gear 83, a shuttle 129 is pivotally mounted on the pin 67, the shuttle including a raised nose portion 139 cooperable with the cam 1113 and follower 112 to change the contour of the tone `arm swinging `cam means, and a tail poriton 131 positioned on top of the gear 83 and extending adjacent the trip assembly 88. Pivotally mounted on the trip assembly pin 9@ on the lower side of the gear 83 is a shut-olf lever 132 including an upstanding tab 133 extending through a hole in the gear for cooperation with the tail 131 of the shuttle, and a down-turned shut-olf tab 1311 disposed adjacent the periphery of the gear. In normal operation of the changer, when records are in the stack, the shuttle 129 is retained in the position shown in FIGURE 4 wherein its nose portion 131D is swung `away from the cam 1% to permit the follower 112 to ride on the periphery of the cam per se. Also, the trip wire or rod 122 is retracted by the crank arm 59 when the tone arm is swung outwardly and is self-retained in a retracted position since it is not pushed inward by the crank arm 9S during the size-sensing portion of the cycle due to the stopping of the tone arm by the record next to be played. records in the stack, and none held in the said intermediate position by the lingers 49, the tone arm 33 and the crank arm 98 move inwardly with the crank arm 99 and follower rod` 111 substantially to the innermost position thereof, since there is then no record in position to stop or prevent such movement. Consequently, the crank arm 98 pushes the trip wire 1192 inwardly to its innermost position. Just after this occurs, at `about 191B" of gear rotation, an upstanding tab 13S on the shuttle moves adjacent the position of the inner end of the rod 1112 and engages the down-turned end of the same, whereby the shuttle is pivoted to swing the nose portion thereof into engagement with the cam 1113, the nose engaging the cam rearwardly (in the direction of gear rotation) of the back-off rise in the cam, as is shown in FIGURE 11. As a consequence, the follower 112 is subsequently engaged by the nose of the shuttle (at about 235 of gear rotation) and moved thereby to a full outward position wherein the tone arm is positioned above the tone arm rest 136 (FIGURE 1). The shuttle includes an upstanding arcuate flange 137 substantially concentric with the aXis of the post 33, whereby the same retains the tone arm in its full outward position until about 350 of gear rotation, as illustrated in FIG- URE l2. At this time, the shut-off lever 132, which was swung outwardly by the tail of the shuttle as the nose portion was moved in to the cam 1113, has reached a position wherein the shut-ofi tab 134i engages the projection 128 of the switch operating member 117, so that as rotation of the gear continues the member 117 is rotated to move the tab 126 thereof away from the switch to turn the switch off, as shown in FIGURE 12. The gear continues to rotate, due to the momentum of the turntable and its pinion, thereby to complete the cycle of the mechanism Sh, during which time the member 117 is rotated over-center relative to the toggle spring 127, whereupon the member is spring biased away from the switch. The gear 83 then automatically stops when an opening 84 is again aligned with the pinion 81. Since the power is now off, the turntable will coast to a stop and the record changer is at rest and dez-energized.

However, when there are no As the switch operating member 11"?` is rotated in the direction to turn the switch off, a rod 138 connected with the projection 128 is moved in such direction as to swing the idler wheel 75 ofthe turntable drive mechahnism away from the turntable, thereby to relieve pressure engagement between the wheel and theturntable so as to mitigate occurrence of flat spots on the friction wheel. which would result if the record changer were left at rest for prolonged periods of time with the idler wheel in engagement with the turntable. Also, during the latter portion of gear rotation, the tone `arm is lowered onto its rest 136. AS the tone arm is lowered and the same is released from the crank arm 99 and follower means 111-112, the follower 112 is released as a consequence of termination of the iiange 137, whereupon the follower 112 returns to its normal at-rest position in engagement with the cam 1113, as shown in FIGURE 13. Thus, the change cycle mechanism Su is brought to rest in the condition shown in FIG- URE 13 with the tone arm resting on its rest pad 136, wherein it does not constitute an obstruction to removal of the stack of played records from the turntable. The stack of played records may thus be removed from the turntable simply by raising the whole stack upwardly, the lingers i9 readily retracting into the spindle to facilitate removal of the played records. A fresh stack of records may then be threaded on the spindle and rested on the lingers 49, whereupon the records in the fresh stack may be played one at a time automatically simply by depressing the button 122.

In addition to the switch operating member 117, the pin or stud 118 pivotally mounts a reject member 14? which includes a reject tab 141 at an elevation just above the gear 83, a trip tab 112 `at an elevation just below the gear S3, a detent tab 143 extending to adjacent the base plate 3i), and an actuator tab or arm 144 extending adjacent the switch-on projection 123 ofthe actuator 119. At this location, the actuator 119 includes a down-turned tab 145 engageable with the arm 144 of the reject member. Consequently, upon each forward movement of the actuator 119, upon depression of the button 122, the reject member is rotated to cause the reject tab thereof to swing over the upper surface of the gear 83 (FIGURE 17) to engage, in the `at-rest position of the mechanism titl, the reject contactor 94 on the trip lever 89, thereby l to swing the interposer 93 into position to be engaged by the lug 82 on the turntable shaft, whereupon a change cycle is initiated. Thus, as the button 122 is depressed to start the machine into operation for purposes of playing a fresh stack of records, the reject member Mtl is automatically actuated to move the trip lever and initiate a change cycle, thereby to set the machine automatically into operation for playing of the stack of records. At any time during the playing of a stack of records, the operator may reject any undesired record simply by depressing the button 122. In effecting such rejection, the operator depresses the button simply to the extent freely accommodated and does not exert such force as necessary to overcome the resistance of the detent tab 143 in engaging with a complementary detent projection 146 provided on the lower surface of the base plate 3i). When 'the operator releases the button, the reject member 141B is returned to its normal position, as depicted in FIGURE 11, by a torsion spring 147 (see FIGURE 16) confined between the members 117 and 14d in encircling relation to the pivot pin 118.

This same reject member 11111, and the actuator 119 and push button 122, also constitute means operative during automatic operation of the machine for automatically causing all of the records in the stack to be deposited on the turntable in the event the user desires to turn the record changer off while there are still unplayed records on the spindle. To shut the machine `oli", the user depresses the push button 122 to an extent sulicient to overcome the resistance of the detent means 143 rand 146, whereupon the reject member 140 is releasably locked in reject position. To facilitate movement of the member to detent-retained position, the member is preferably slidably mounted on the pin 113 and biased upwardly by the torsion spring 147. 1n its detent-retained position, the tab 141 of the member is disposed automatically to actuate the trip lever S9 each time the gear 83 returns substantially to the position wherein the opening or interruption 8d is aligned with the pinion 81, whereby the' gear is caused to rotate continuously until the top record in the stack has been deposited on the turntable. During the cycle of the mechanism following that during which the last record was dropped, the tone arm swings inwardly toward its innermost position due to the fact that there are no records in the stack, or in the previously described intermediate size-sensing position. As this occurs, the rod 1th?. is moved inwardly to such position as to swing the shuttle member into the position shown in FGURE l1, whereby the changer is conditioned for automatic shutofi as above described. In this instance, however, the shut-olif tab 134 on the lever 132 also serves to engage the trip tab 142 on the reject member, thereby to cause the reject member to be moved out of its detent-retained position and to be swung by the torsion spring 147 to its at-rest or stop position, as depicted in FIGURE 13.

From the foregoing, it is to be appreciated that the present invention provides, in the form of the switch actuator, the switch operating member, and the reject member, a relatively simple and highly economical mechanism for facilitating rejection from play of an undesired record, for automatically shutting the record changer olr` upon completion of play o` the last record in the stack, and for automatically depositing all of the records in the stack on the turntable and then shutting the changer ott should the operator shut the machine ot prior to completion of playing lof the entire stack. This latter feature is of particular merit, since when records are lett on a spindle in such manner as to be supported solely at their centers, the records may tend to dish downwardly and become warped thereby greatly reducing the usefulness and the fidelity tot the records. The present invention positively prevents such disadvantageous practice even by the most careless user.

Regardless of the manner in which automatic shut-olf occurs, the record changer, and especially the change cycle mechanism, is placed in a condition whereby automatic playing of a further stack of records may commence immediately upon a subsequent depression of the push button 122. All of the components of the mechanism are returned to their original positions upon automatic shut-oft, except for the shuttle 129. However, during the initial part of the first change cycle following automatic shut-ott, the shuttle 129 is returned to its starting position by virtue of engagement of the trip tab 135 thereof with a re-setting cam 14S projecting downwardly from the base plate 31B. The position at which re-setting occurs is depicted in FIGURE 14.

1n addition to the completely automatic operation above described, the record changer of the invention is adapted to be conditioned for completely manual operation. T o achieve this result, it is necessary to have the tone arm free, to keep the record-holding clutch means 43 of the spindle in a normal or non-energized position, and to retract the record supporting ngers 49 into the interior of the spindle so that the spindle simply comprises a cylindrical stern onto and oi of which records may be threaded manually without obstruction. To accomplish this condition of the changer, the operator need only move the control 35 from the automatic position, shown in FIGURE l, to the manual position, shown in FIGURE 19, and to depress the button 122. In moving the control 35, the operator shifts a lever 156 from a first position to a second position, the lever being releasably retained in each of its positions by a spring detent 151 that is anchored on the pivot pin 152 for the lever. As shown in FGURE 23, the lever 150 is mounted on the pivot pin 152 closer to one end than the other, and the control 35 engages the shorter end portion of the lever so that a relatively short stroke of movement of the control 35 will effect a relatively large movement of the outer end of the opposite and longer Varm of the lever. Connected to the outer end of the longer arm of the lever is a wire or rod 153 which projects Jfrom beneath the base plate through the turntable well to a pin 154 located above the secondary slide 1118. The pin 154i extends through and is slidably guided in an L-shaped cam slot 155 provided in the base plate and carried thereon is a control arm 156 which is of generally C-shape. In use, the rod 153 is adapted to pull the pin into one end of the L-shaped cam slot in response to movement of the control from manual position to automatic position, and upon movement of the control from automatic position to manual position it permits a spring 157 to pull the control 156 in such direction as to dispose the pin 154 in the other end of the cam slot 155. As this latter movement occurs, a downwardly projecting portion of the pin 154 engages an upstanding tab or flange 158 on the secondary slide 16S thereby to pivot lthe slide in a counterclockwise direction to cause disengagement of the clutch means 109, whereby the primary slide 64 is disconnected from the secondary slide 1113. As a consequence of this disconnection, the primary slide 6ft cannot be activated by the change cycle mechanism 30 so that said mechanism will not exert control over the tone arm and the tone arm will remain in its normal playing condition, i.e., disconnected from the slide 64 and the cam follower means 111-112 whereby the tone arm is free to be raised and lowered and swung horizontally manually. Also, disengagement of the clutch means 109 results in deactivation of the cam means Sit-63 for the record-holding clutch means d3, so that the latter remains in its normal position within the interior of the spindle.

At one of its ends, the upper end as depicted in FIG- URE 19, the control 156 is provided with another pin 159 guided in a slot 159 a in the base plate, which pin in the automatic position of the control member is disposed outside the path or rotation of the gear segment Se and which in the manual position of the control is disposed in the path of a raised detent portion 16@ of said segment. At its other end. the lower end as viewed in FGURE 19, the control member 156 includes an upstanding flange 161 having a cam slot 162 therein through which the actuator rod 121? extends. 1n the automatic position of the control 35, the slot 162 maintains the rod 1241 and thus the actuator 119 in a raised position with the actuator 119 immediately 1below the base plate. Upon shifting of the control to manual position, the cam slot 162 lowers the rod and actuator to the position thereof shown in

FGURES

20 and 22.

With the control member 156 thus shifted, the operator may start the turntable in operation and complete the conditioning of the changer for manual operation simply by depressing the button 122. As he does so, the actuator 119 moves forwardly and the projection 123 thereof engages the leg of the switch operating member 117 to turn the switch on. Simultaneously, the tab on the actuator rotates the reject member 140 to cause the tab 141 thereof to trip the change cycle mechanism, i.e., the lever 89, whereupon the gear 53 is set in motion. As the gear rotates, the cam track 165 moves the follower 11h and secondary slide 1113 in the manner previously described, but this has no effect since the primary slide 6d is disengaged from the secondary siide. Also, the cam 133 actuates the follower 112, the rod 111 and the crank arm 99 in the same manner as before, but due to the inaction of the slide 64 and ramp 114-, the tone arm remains disengaged from the crank 99. Consequently, the tone arm remains on the rest 136 in a freely movable condition. `Also, the record-holding clutch means remains in its normal relaxed condition within the interior or" the spindle body. However, the cam track lilo is operative to drive the olower 1d?, the slide itl and the pins 65 in the manner previously described up to the position wherein the fingers d? are drawn into the interior o the spindle body. At this time, the gear has been rotated to such extent (about 220) that the raised detent portion 16d or" the segment 36 engages the control carried pin 159 and is moved thereby inwardly about the pin d? toward the axis of the gear, thereby to move gear segment 36 inwardly to open up the interruption 555 in the gear. Then, when the interruption 85 comes opposite the pinion Si, the gear stops. In this position, the follower 107 is in about position H (FGURE of the cam track tti-5 whereby the lingers 49 are contained entirely within the spindle body and the spindle is simply a cylindrical rod facilitating manual deposit of records on the turntable. Thus, the cycling mechanism automatically stops and the changer is conditioned for completely manual operation.

To hold the gear in the position wherein the interruption 35 is aligned with the pinion Si, the detent portion lo@ of the gear segment is provided with a V-shaped face engageable with the pin 159 and the coiled compression spring 163 is confined between the segment and an upturned tab on the gear normally to bias the segment outwardly. Consequently, the V-shaped detent face and the spring cooperate with the pin 159 to provide means releasably retaining the gear in its inoperative position. This tace and spring also form detent means for releasably holding the gear 83 in its normal at-rest position with the interruption Se aligned with the pinion 8l, a depending detent pin lod being secured to the base plate 3b for cooperation with the detent portion 2.6i) in such position of the gear (see FGURE 4).

With the changer thus set for manual operation, the

actuator H9 is also conditioned directly to control the switch operating member 117 for turning the switch both on and ofi. Specii cally, lowering of the actuator 119 by the cam slot teit results in disposition of the actuator projection 124i in the plane of a second opstanding tab or leg M5 formed integrally with the member lli to the side of the pivot pin il@ opposite the tab or leg E25. Thus, after turning the switch on, the button 122 may again be depressed thereby to cause the projection 124 to engage the leg ldd and rotate the member 117 to switchol position. The following depression of the button will again turn the switch on, and upon this occurrence the mechanism 8@ remains in the manual reset position depicted in FGURE 19 since the trip lever 8? has been rotated to a position where it is not in the path of the reject tab Ml on the member ldd. Thus the user is afforded full manual control over the machine.

To return the changer to fully automatic operation, it is only necessary for the operator to shift the control button from manual position to automatic position, whereupon the segment 86 is released for movement by the spring 163 into engagement with the pinion Si thereby to complete the change cycle previously initiated. Upon the next change cycle, the entirety of the mechanism is returned to normal automatic operation as previously described.

Thus, it is to be appreciated from the foregoing that all of the operational characteristics sought after have been achieved by virtue of the present invention in a most convenient, economical and practical manner. As to economy, it is to be noted that almost all components of our improved record changer comprise wires, rods, and stamped metal parts. ln particular, with reference to FIGURE 24, it is to be observed as there shown that the base plate Sil, the cam w3, the gear 83, the cam member lifi having cam tracks M35 and the therein, and the slides 64 and lith all comprise sheet metal stampings. This especially facilitates economical production of the record changer. Also, the manner of assembly is such that parts readily intert with one another with a reasonably maintained tolerance to hold manufacturing expenses at a minimum.

While we have shown and described what we regard to be the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be appreciated that various changes, rearrangements and modiiications may be made therein without departing from the scope ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

l. ln a record changer, a spindle including record supporting lingers retractable into the spindle for dropping records one-by-one to a turntable, a tone arm for playing the records one-by-one as they are dropped to the turntable, and a cycling mechanism normally operative automatically upon completion of the playing of one record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, retracting said ngers to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, said mechanism comprising a main element movable in cyclical path, clutch means between said main element and said tone arm selectively operable to couple the tone arm to said element for normal automatic operation and to uncouple said tone arm from said element, stop means associated with said element at the point in its cyclical path at which said lingers are retracted into said spindle, said stop means being selectively operable to accommodate normal movement of said element in said path and to stop said element at the said point in its path, and control means for operating both said clutch means and said stop means selectively to render said mechanism normally operative and to uncouple the tone arm from the mechanism and stop the mechanism in the position wherein said fingers are retracted into said spindle thereby to render the mechanism inoperative and to accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm.

2. In a record changer, a spindle having record supporting lingers for supporting a stack of records above a turntable, record-holding clutch means in said spindle adapted for projection from the spindle to retain all but the bottom record in the stack on the spindle, said fingers being retractable into the spindle to drop the bottom record to the turntable, a tone arm for playing the record, and a cycling mechanism normally operative automatically upon completion of the playing of the record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, projecting said record holding clutch means from the spindle, retracting said lingers into the spindle to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm into a position above the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, said mechanism comprising a main element movable in a cyclical path and having tirst cam means for operating said tone arml and second cam means for operating said record supporting fingers, said record holding clutch means being operatively associated with said tone arm for actuation by said rst cam means, a drive clutch between said rst cam means and said tone arm selectively operable to couple said tone arm and said record holding clutch means to said first cam means for normal operation and to uncouple said tone arm and said record hol-ding clutch means from said first cam means, stop means associated with said element at the point in its cyclical path at which said fingers are retracted into said spindle, said stop means being selectively operable to accommodate normal movement of said element in said path and to stop said element at the said point in its path, and control means for operating both said clutch means and said stop means selectively to render said mechanism normally operative and to uncouple the tone arm from the mechanism and stop the mechanism at the said point in its cyclical path thereby to render the mechanism inoperative and to accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm.

3. In a record changer, a spindle having record supporting ylingers for supporting a stack of records above a turntable, record-holding clutch means in said spindle adapted for projection from the spindle to retain all but the bottom record in the stack on the spindle, said lingers being retractable into the spindle to drop the bottom record to the turntable, a tone arm for playing the record, and a cycling mechanism normally operative automatically upon completion of the playing of the record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, projecting said record-holding clutch means from the spindle, retracting said lingers into the spindle to drop a second record to the turntable, sw-inging the tone arm into a position above the starting point of the second record and for lowering Vthe tone arm to the second record, said mechanism comprising a gear rotatable through a single revolution per cycle of said mechanism, a drive pinion for said gear, an interruption in said gear normally aligned with sai-d pinion, trip means for initiating revolution of said gear 4and meshing said gear with said pinion, rst cam means driven by said gear for operating said tone arm, second cam means driven by said gear for operating said record supporting fingers, said record-holding clutch means being operatively associated with said tone arm for actuation by sai-d rst cam means, a drive clutch between said iirst cam means and said tone arm selectively operable 4to couple .said tone arm and said record-holding clutch means to said first cam means for normal automatic operation and to uncouple said tone arm and said record-holding clutch means from said lirst cam means, a second interruption in said gear aligned with said pinion when said `second cam means retracts said ngers into said spindle, a gear segment movably associated with said gear and selectively movable to close said second interruption for normal automatic operation lof said mechanism and to open said second interruption to cause said gear to stop when said second cam means retracts said lingers into said spindle, and control means for operating both said drive clutch and said gear segment selectively to render said mechanism normally operative and to uncouple the tone arm from said mechanism and stop the mechanism when said lingers are retracted into said spindle thereby to render the mechanism inoperative and to accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm.

4. In a record changer, a spindle including record supporting fingers retractable into the spindle for dropping records one-by-one to a turntable, a tone arm for playing the records one-by-one as they are dropped to the turntable, and a cycling mechanism normally operative automatically upon completion of the playing of vone record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, retracting said lingers to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, said mechanism comprising a gear rotatable through a single revolution per cycle of said mechanism, a drive pinion for said gear, and interruption in said gear normally aligned with said pinion, trip means for initiating rotation of said gear and meshing said gear with said pinion, cam means driven by said gear for `operating said tone arm and said ngers, a drive clutch between said cam means and said tone arm selectively operable to couple said tone arm to said cam means for normal operation and to uncouple said tone arm from said cam means, a second interruption in said gear aligned with said pinion when said iingers are retracted into said spindle, a gear segment movably associated with said gear and selectively movable to close said second interruption for normal automatic operation of said mechanism and to open said second interruption to cause said gear to stop when said fingers are retracted into said spindle, and control means for operating both said drive clutch and said gear segment selectively to render said mechanism normally operative and to uncouple the tone arm from the mechanism and stop the mechanism when said lingers are retracted into said spindle thereby to render the mechanism inoperative and to accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm.

5. In a record changer having means for supporting a stack of records above a turntable and for dropping the records one-by-one to the turntable, a tone arm for playing the records one-by-one, a cycling mechanism normally operative upon completion of the playing of one record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, operating said means to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, and reject means operable at any time during the playing of a record for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism, the imrovement comprising, in combination, detent means for locking said reject means in operated position for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism substantially immediately upon completion of each operation of the mechanism, and means operatively associated with said reject means and responsive to the presence and absence of records in the stack for releasing the reject means from said detent means when there are no records in the stack.

6. In a motor driven record changer having means for supporting a stack of records above a turntable and for dropping the records one-by-one to the turntable, a tone arm for playing the records one-by-one, and a cycling mechanism normally operative upon completion of the playing of one record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, operating said means to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, the improve- I ment comprising, in combination, a switch tor turning the motor on and oil, a switch operating member for turning the switch on and ott, means for manually actuating said member to turn the switch on, a reject member for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism, detent means for holding said reject member in operated position for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism substantially immediately upon completion of each operation thereof, and means responsive to the absence of records in the stack for releasing said reject member from said detent means and for actuating said switch operating member to turn the switch oit.

7. In a motor driven record changer having means for supporting a stack of records above a turntable and for dropping the records one-by-one to the turntable, a tone arm for playing the records one-by-one, and a cyclying mechanism including a main element movable in a cyclical path and normally operative upon completion of the playing of one record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, operating said means to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, the improvement comprising, in combination, a switch for turning the motor on and off, a switch operating member for turning the switch on and otr, means for manually actuating said member to turn the switch on, said member in its switch on position having a portion projecting adjacent the path of movement of said main element, a reject member manually movable from an inoperative position to an operated position for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism, detent means for holding said reject member in operated position for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism substantially immediately upon completion of each operation thereof, said reject member in the operated position thereof having a portion projecting adjacent the path of movement of said main element and adjacent said portion of said switch operating member, and movable means on said main element responsive to the presence and absence of records in the stack for clearing saidV portions of said members when there are records in the stack and engaging and moving said portions of said members when there are no records in the stack thereby to release said reject member from said detent means and to actuate said switch operating member 4to turn the switch oii` when there are no records left in the stack, said movable means being located on said main element to engage said portions of said members substantially upon completion of the cycle of movement of said element.

d. In a motor driven record changer having means for :supporting a stack of records above a turntable and for `dropping the records one-by-one to the turntable, a tone arm `for playing the records one-by-one, and a cycling mechanism including a main element movable in a cyclical path and normally operative upon completion of the playing of one record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, operating said means to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, the improvement comprising, in combination, ya switch for turning the motor on and otl, a switch operating member for turning the switch on and oil, a reject member movable from an inoperative position into an operative range for initiating operation of said cycling mechanism, detent means for releasably retaining said reject member in a predetermined position in its said operative range, a common actuator for moving said members in one direction, said actuator being adapted to move said switch operating member to turn the switch on and to move .said reject member from its inoperative position into its operative rance and also to move the same to its detent retained position, said members including portions projecting adjacent said main element in the switch on and detent retained positions thereof, a movable arm on said main element adapted to engage said portions of said members at approximately the completion of the cycle of movement of said element to move the members in the lopposite direction to the switch oil and inoperative positions thereof, and means responsive t-o the presence and absence of records in the stack for causing said arm to clear said portions when there are records in the stack and for causing said arm to engage said portions when there are no records in the stack.

9. In a motor driven record changer having means for supportim7 a stack of records above a turntable and for dropping the records one-by-one to the turntable, a tone arm for playing the records one-by-one, and a cycling mechanism including a main element movable in a cyclical path and normally operative upon completion or" the playing ot one record for raising the tone arm from the record, swinging the tone arm outwardly beyond the record, operating said means to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position over the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, the improvement comprising, in combination, a switch for turning lthe motor on and oil, a switch operating member for turning the switch on and oli, a manual actuator for said switch operating member selectively positionable to actuate said member only to turn the switch on and to actuate said member to turn the switch both on and off, means in said cycling mechanism responsive -to the presence and absence of records in said stack and .operatively engageable with said switch operating member approximately upon completion of thecycle of said mechanism when there are no records in the stack for actuating said member to turn the switch oil", clutch means selectively operable to couple the tone arm to and uncouple the tone arm from said mechanism, stop means for the mechanism selectively operable to accommodate complete cycling of the mechanism and to cause the .mechanism to stop in the record dropping position of said record supporting means, and control means for operating said actuator, said clutch means and said stop means selectively to rend-er said mechanism automatically operative and to Vuucouple the tone arm from the mechanism, stop the mechanism in record dropping position and position said actuator for turning said switch both on and olf thereby to render the mechanism inoperative and to accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm and manual control of said switch.

itl. ln a motor driven record changer having means for supporting a stack of records afbove a turntable and for dropping the records one-by-one to the turntable, a tone larm for playing the records one-by-one, and a cycling mechanism normally operative upon completion of the playing of one record for raising the tone arm from the record7 swinging the tone arm `outward-ly beyond the record, operating said means to drop a second record to the turntable, swinging the tone arm inwardly to a position lover the starting point of the second record and lowering the tone arm to the second record, the improvement comprising, in combination, Ia switch for turning the motor on and oil", a switch operating member for turning the switch lon and oil, a manual actuator for said switch operating member selectively positionable to actuate said member only to turn the switch on and to lactuate said member to turn the switch both on and oil, a reject member movable from an inoperative position to an operative position ifor initiating operation of` said cycling mechanism, detent means for releasably retaining said reject member in its operative position, said actuator in at least the rst-named position thereof being operatively associated with said reject member to move the same from its inoperative position to its operative position and also to its de'tent retained position, means in said cycling mechanism responsive to the presence and absence of record in said stack and operatively engageable with said switch operating member and said reject member approximately upon completion of the cycle of said mechanism when there are no records in the stack for actuating said members to turn the switch o and return said reject member to its inoperative position, clutch means selectively operable to couple the tone arm to and uncouple the tone arm from said mechanism,` stop neans for the mechanism selectively operable to accommodate complete cycling of the mechanism and to cause the mechanism to stop in the record dropping position of said record supporting means, and control means for operating said actuator, said clutch means land said stop means selectively to render said mechanism automatically operative and to uncouple the tone arm from the mechanism, stop the mechanism in record dropping position and position said actuator for turning .said switch both on and oit thereby to render the mechanism inoperative and t0 accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm and manual control of said switch.

itl. ln a record changer, a turntable, a spindle having `lingers for supporting a stack of records above the turntaible, record holding clutch means within the spindle and :adapted to be projected therefrom `for holding all but the bottom record in the stack on said spindle, an actuator in said spindle for lowering said fingers to lower the bottorn record to a position intermediate the stack and the turntable and Ifor subsequently drawing said lingers into the spindle to drop the said bottom record 'to the turntable, Ia tone arm for playing the record uppermost on the turntable, a change cycle mechanism for` operating said record holding clutch means, said lingers and said tone arm in predetermined sequence, said mechanism including first cam means and a member actuated therebyA for raising and lowering said tone arm, second cam means for moving said tone arm in a horizontal arc inwardly yand outwardly relative to said turntable and third cam means for actuating said fingers, said record holding clutch means being operatively connected with said member for raising :and lowering said tone arm to be projected from said spindle when 4the tone arm is raised and to be released when the tone arm is lowered, a friction clutch between said second cam means and said tone arm actuated by said member for raising and lowering said tone `arm to be frictionally engaged when the tone arm is raised and to be disengaged when the tone arm is lowered, and trip means responsive to movement of said tone arm for initiating operation of .said change cycle mechanism upon completion of the playing of a record, said cam means being contoured and correlated to raise said tone arm from the played rec-ord, engage said friction clutch and project sai-d record holding clutch means from said spindle, to -swing said tone arm outwardly beyond the records, to lower the bottom record in the stack to the said intermediate position, to move `said tone arm toward the inner limit of its movement to cause said tone arm to engage the edge of the record lowered to said intermediate position whereupon said tone arm is held against inward movement and said friction clutch is caused to slip, to move said tone arm 4outwardly to a slight extent to back said tone arm away from the record, to draw said fingers into said spindle to drop the said `bottom record to the turntable, to swing said tone arm inwardly a distance slightly` greater than the last-named outward movement thereof thereby to position said tone arm over the starting point of the dropped record, to return said fingers to record supportin-g position, and to release said record holding clutch means, lower the tone arm to the record tand disengage said friction clutch.

12. In a record changer as set forth in claim iii, on-off switch means for the changer, a switch Voperating member manually actuatable to turn the switch on and including a portion projecting adjacent said cam means in the switch on position thereof, a shuttle carried by said cam means in association with said second cam means and responsive to said .tone arm when said tone arm is swung toward its inner limit of movement to be rendered inoperative when a record is in said intermediate position and to be operated when there is no record in said intermedlate position, said shuttle when operated engaging said `second cam means and effectively changing the contour thereof for moving said tone arm outwardly to its outer eXtreme of movement :subsequent to the said inward movement thereof and for holding said tone arm in its outer post-ion until substantially the end of the cycle of movement of said mechanism, and a shut-off member lassociated -with said shuttle and engageable with said portion of said switch operating member when said shuttle is operated at substantially the end of the cycle of movement of said mechanism for turning said switch means off.

i3. In a record :changer as set forth in claim li, a reject member operable to actuate said trip means at my time said change cyle mechanism is in its at-rest or end position, detent means for releasably retaining said reject member in a trip actuating position for initiating operation of said mechanism substantially upon completion of each cycle of movement thereof, said reject member including a portion projecting adjacent said cam means in the trip actuating position thereof, and a shut-off member carried by said cam means and responsive to the said movement of said tone arm toward its inner limit of movement when there is no record in said intermediate position for engaging said portion of said reject member and releasing said reject member from said detent means.

14. In a record changer as set `forth in claim il, on-off switch means for the changer, `a switch operating member manually actuta'ble to turn the switch on, a reject member operable to actuate said trip means at ,any time said change cycle mechanism is in its at-rest or end position,

-detent means for releasably retaining said reject member in Ia trip actuating position for initiating operation of said mechanism substantially upon completion 4of each cycle of movement thereof, said switch operating member and said reject member including adjacent portions projectingV ladjacent said cam means in the switch on and trip actuating positions thereof, a shuttle carried by said cam means in association with said second cam means and responsive to said tone arm when said tone arm is swung toward its inner limit of movement to be rendered inoperative when a record is in said intermediate position Iand to be operated when there is no record in said intermediate position, said shuttle when operated engaging said second cam means and eilectively changing the contour thereof for moving said tone arm outwardly to its outer eXtreme of movement subsequent to the said inward movement thereof and for holding said tone arm in its outer position until substantially the end of the cycle of movement of said mechanism, and a shut-off member .associated with said shuttle and engageable when said shuttle is operated with said portions of said switch operating member and said reject member at substantially the end of lmovement of said mechanism for turning said switch means oliC and releasing said reject member from detent means.

l5. In a record changer as set forth in claim il, a drive clutch between said first cam means and said member for raising and lowering said tone arm selectively operable to couple said member to and uncouple said member from said first cam means, stop means for said change cycle mechanism selectively operable to accommodate complete cycling of the mechanism and to cause the mechanism to stop in the position wherein said third cam means has drawn said fingers into said spindle, and control means for operating said drive clutch and said stop means selectively to render said change cycle mechanism normally operative and to uncouple said member from said first cam means and stop said mechanism in the position wherein said fingers are drawn into the spindle whereby the tone arm is disengaged from the change cycle mechanism, the record holding clutch means are released and the fingers are withdrawn to accommodate manual manipulation of the records and the tone arm.

15. In a record changer as set forth in claim 11, an onoff switch means for the changer, a switch operating member, a switch actuator for said switch operating member selectively positionable to actuate said member only to turn the switch means on and to actuate said member to turn the switch means both on and off, said switch operating member including a portion projecting adjacent said cam means in the switch on position thereof, a shutoff member carried by said cam means and responsive to the said movement of said tone arm toward its inner limit of movement when there is no record in said intermediate position for engaging said portion of said switch operating member at substantially the end of the cycle of movement of said mechanism for turning said switch means off, a drive clutch between said first cam means and said member for raising and lowering said tone arm selectively operable to couple said member to and uncouple said member from said first cam means, stop means for said change cycle mechanism selectively operable to accommodate complete cycling of the mechanism and to cause the mechanism to stop in the position wherein said third cam means has drawn said fingers into said spindle, and control means for operating said switch actuator, said drive clutch and said stop means selectively to render said change cycle mechanism normally operative and to unconple said member from said first cam means, stop said mechanism in the position wherein said fingers are drawn into the spindle and position said switch actuator for actuation of said switch operating member to turn said switch means both off and on whereby the tone arm is disengaged from the change cycle mechanism, the record

Claims

1. IN A RECORD CHANGER, A SPINDLE INCLUDING RECORD SUPPORTING FINGERS RETRACTABLE INTO THE SPINDLE FOR DROPPING RECORDS ONE-BY-ONE TO A TURNTABLE, A TONE ARM FOR PLAYING THE RECORDS ONE-BY-ONE AS THEY ARE DROPPED TO THE TURNTABLE, AND A CYCING MECHANISM NORMALLY OPEATIVE AUTOMATICALLY UPON COMPLETION OF THE PLAYING OF ONE RECORD FOR RAISING THE TONE ARM FROM THE RECORD, SWINGING THE TONE ARM OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE RECORD, RETRACTING SAID FINGERS TO DROP A SECOND RECORD TO THE TURNTABLE, SWINGING THE TONE ARM INWARDLY TO A POSITION OVER THE STARTING POINT OF THE SECOND RECORD AND LOWERING THE TONE ARM TO THE SECOND RECORD, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A MAIN ELEMENT MOVABLE IN CYCLICAL PATH, CLUTCH MEANS BETWEEN SAID MAIN ELEMENT AND SAID TONE ARM SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TO COUPLE THE TONE ARM TO SAID ELEMENT FOR NORMAL AUTOMATIC OPERATION AND TO UNCOUPLE SAID TONE ARM FROM SAID ELEMENT, STO/P MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID ELEMENT AT THE POINT IN ITS CYCLICAL PATH AT WHICH SAID FINGERS ARE RETRACTED INTO SAID SPINDLE, SAID STOP MEANS BEING SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TO ACCOMMODATE NORMAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEMENT IN SAID APTH AND TO STOP SAID ELEMENT AT THE SAID POINT IN ITS PATH, AND CONTROL MEANS FOR OPERATING BOTH SAID CLUTCH MEANS AND SAID STOP MEANS SELECTIVELY TO RENDER SAID MECHANISM NORMALLY OPERATIVE AND TO UNCOUPLE THE TONE ARM FROM THE MECHANISM AND STOP THE MECHANISM IN THE POSITION WHEREIN SAID FINGERS ARE RETRACTED INTO SAID SPINDLE THEREBY TO RENDER THE MECHANISM INOPERATIVE AND TO ACCOMMODATE MANUAL MANIPULATION OF THE RECORDS AND THE TONE ARM.