US3273894A - Talking book apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 20, 1966 P. E. CLAWSON TALKING BOOK APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1963 INVENTOR. PHILLIP 5 Cm NSC/Y ATHMWEYS P 0, 1966 P. E. CLAWSON 3,273,894

TALKING BOOK APPARATUS FiledJuly 5, 19 3 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. PWLL/P f. C: 4/4/60 BY @W G/ M 3,2 7&894

Sept. 20, 1966 P. E. CLAWSON TALKING BOOK APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1963 R m N E V W HIIIIIIIIIII 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 N Z Z Sept. 20, 1966 P. E. CLAWSON 3,273,894

TALKING BOOK APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIIIII IIIIIIII/Iif 7 /6 47;

I NVENTOR. Pym/P 5 Can/sow A7 7DPNEYS United States Patent 3,273,894 TALKING BOOK APPARATUS Phillip E. Clawson, San Leandro, tCalif assignor to Nial K. (lastle and Kay .fanet Castle Filed July 5, 1963, Ser. No. 292,981 14 Claims. (Cl. 2749) This invention relates generally to audio-visual devices as described in my co-pending patent application, Serial No. 79,747, filed December 30, 1960, now abandoned, of which the present application is a continuation-in-part.

There have been so-called talking books in the past which have been a combination of single or multiple records, containing a story line to be utilized simultaneously with a separate printed story line. Occasionally a so-called talking book would be published in the form of a record with no accompanying printed story line.

Additionally, there have been books published, as socalled talking books, that utilized, in one form or another, a version of the squeeze toy effect capable of producing sounds like moo, baa or quack.

Occasionally other methods of mechanical sound reproduction have been employed such as scraping or drag ging a pick across a width of material impressed with horizontal lines or indentations of unequal spacing to produce the sound.

There have also been attempts to produce talking books by use of a record keyed to photographic slides.

One other method that has been utilized to produce a talking book has been through presentation of the story verbally as reproduced by a tape recorder.

However, a true talking book, to operate as such, faces the barrier of an association of ideas, based on recognizable forms that identify it, first of all, as a book and secondly, complete with sound self-contained.

Therefore, any method that eliminates the popular concept of a book instantly meets user resistance, as it is then recognized by whatever new form was required to extend sound to it.

Obviously then, it is mandatory that a talking book must first look like a book. Secondly, there must be a requirement for simultaneous manipulation of the pages from right to left, as coordinated with the sound which, in itself, must be inherent in the apparatus, or book.

In addition it must also feel like a book. But most important of all, it must produce sounds, keyed to the pages, in a manner acceptable (manipulatively) as homogeneous to the operation of the book while being read. In other Words, the production of sound must not be the primary object but a corrolary act necessary for bringing about a sense of achievement or satisfaction.

My talking book effect is achieved through a combination of the simultaneous use of sight, sound and manual manipulation in connection with recognized and acceptable forms, associated with an idea.

In this apparatus the mere playing of the record, by manual manipulation, is an incomplete and unsatisfactory utilization of the device for the operator.

Proof of this is the instant seeking of the correct page and line to be followed upon commencing the manipulation of the crank handle. The resulting sounds, upon commencing operation, of the device, while amusing, do not satisfy the desire to see the apparatus function as a whole.

It follows then that there is created a void in senses left unfulfilled unless the operator can, at the same time manipulate the pages in a normal manner as instructed periodically by the sounds emanating from the speaker portion of the device and thus fulfill the complete urge to see and hear the device perform as a talking book while actually in the operators hands.

3,273,894 Patented Sept. 20, 1 966 Thus there is created an illusion intrinsic in the device. The manipulation of the device while in the operators hands fulfills the desire to feel a book. The eyes follow the story line and read the pictures (it is necessary to state read the pictures because of the introduction of sound efiects into the audio system separately from the printed story line), but the ears follow the sounds produced by the manipulation of the handle at the correct speed. The requirement to maintain the correct speed (45 rpm.) is accomplished unconsciously by virtue of the ears acting in the form of a monitor but extending a governor effect to the finger that is manipulating the handle. However, the operator is mostly unaware of this as it is accomplished instinctively in an area of peripheral vision. It must be kept in mind that, in the operation of this device, the head is turned to the left of center, for reading the pages while the finger manipulating the handle is to the right of center and therefore kept in an area of peripheral vision and out of the line of sight for reading.

In its final total result it is necessary to achieve a psychological effect. One in which the operator plays and reads the book, but due to the coordination of the sounds he hears, feels he is reading a talking book.

The total effect being a new experience not heretofore produced.

Thus it can be stated, that to achieve the effect of a talking book the whole apparatus must appear as a book, require all its parts to function inter-relatedly, have an inherent capability of sound, produced manually as an almost unconsciously natural act, that is acceptable as a requirement to achieve satisfaction of the expected result.

The device must have the ability to produce an accept able reproduction of the human voice and other sounds, with close fidelity to the true tones of the original, without the use of electrical power or any motor driven by a spring or the use of a governor to maintain constant record speed, and yet to do so, in a confined space, with positive contact of the needle point on the surface of the record at all times.

Additionally, there must be provision for prevention of damage to the tone arm and record from the effect of external pressure accidentally or deliberately applied to the surface either front or back of the device.

Also, in order to prevent the sound commonly referred to as needle hiss, it is necessary to provide for a needle track, running degrees to the center of the arc of the groove with the least amount of resistance obtainable.

In a mechanical reproduction of sound from a record wherein the lateral recording effect on a record is utilized, clarity of tone and an acceptable level of audio can only 'be created where the needle is allowed a maximum amount of flexibility. In order to create vibrations closely simulating those created by the recording needle, it is necessary to use a low density plastic such as Lucite or similar lowdensity plastic, wherein the plastic is shaped down the side of the needle in a homogeneous mass, carried back to the point of attachment of the speaker diaphragm in a continuously expanding homogeneous. mass. This will provide for a means of the vibrations to be transmitted to the speaker diaphragm with a minimum of resistance to the vibrations, thereby creating a maximum drive on the speaker diaphragm.

Because of the deleterious effect of resonance created in the conventional mechanical phonograph speaker dia phragm pickup, it is difficult to achieve close fidelity with the conventional pickup head. By making the tone arm a homogeneous mass attached directly to the speaker diaphragm, with the needle imbedded in this homogeneous mass, the resonance problem is overcome. Therefore, all of the vibrations created by the needle traveling in the record groove, and following its undulating course, are

dB transferred directly to the speaker diaphragm, without the degrading effect of resonance.

It must 'be possible to operate the device in various extremes of angles from horizontal to vertical. This is achieved by the utilization of a spring loaded speaker diaphragm, wherein a spring is forced against the inside top of the device, by virtue of the needle point meeting the resistance of the record face when the device is closed, and in the operating configuration.

The spring loading of the speaker diaphragm carriage makes it necessary to provide an ability, inherent in the device, to raise the needle off of the record in its return cycle, or when it is desirable, to select a particular page as a starting point. In other words, the device must have a selective page feature that can be manually manipulated by movement of the integrated speaker diaphragm unit, and yet not damage the surface of the record by dragging the needle across its face. This must be accomplished without opening the device, and therefore requires an external method of manually manipulating the speaker diaphragm unit.

The insertion of the record into the device must be made simple, and yet achieve positive centering and leveling. The record must float on a flat plane while traveling in a circular motion so as to eliminate the undulating edges of the record that would otherwise result and it must turn with a minimum of drag.

By incorporating a drive line mechanism, with the features of a universal-joint, a constant flat plane is achieved, regardless of the variations from an absolutely perpendicular line in the assembly of the drive mechanism. Otherwise, the vertical assembly of the drive line would require exceptionally fine tolerances in the mechanism. The universal joint effect must be carried out through three planes-starting at the record as it lays on the back cover, extending through the primary drive plate, and onto the handle drive mechanism.

In addition, in order to provide a maximum number of playing hours, a simple method of opening the device, and reversing the record, must be provided, since it is obvious that the recording must be identical on both sides of the record to achieve maximum playing hours.

The device must provide means of automatic tracking across the face of the record, and this is achieved in the device, by utilizing the inside surfaces of a box-like portion of the device, as guides for the speaker diaphragm.

A positive position of the speaker diaphragm wherein the needle will always fall into the correct play beginning position, is required. This is achieved by utilizing the inside surface of the box-like portion of the device, wherein the edge of the speaker diaphragm support strikes against the inside wall and is therefore restrained to its correct position.

The box-like device must provide the appearance of a radio, and achieve-through the association of appearance and soundqualities normally associated with listening to a radio. And yet, this must be done with mechanical phonograph reproduction techniques.

In shipping a device, incorporating the features of a needle, under pressure, in contact with the surface of a tablet or record, a drilling effect of the needle through the record results from the transportation-carrier vibrations. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a means of lifting the needle off of the face of the tablet during transportation.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide apparatus capable of producing the effect of a talking book apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide a talking book apparatus of a character which permanently embodies a book, a sound record, and means to reproduce sounds from the record, all within the protective covers of the book, which are themselves a working part of the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ap- (g, paratus of such character which can be simply and easily operated by a child, on a repeat or selective basis, by means of a single rotary crank and selection lever.

Another object of the invention is to provide a talking book apparatus, in the form of a book mechanism, which is effective to handle records of relatively large diameter in order to provide a suficiently long playing period to accommodate printed story lines of several minutes duration at an operating revolutions per minute sufliciently fast to produce acceptable sound reproduction in a manually driven device.

A still further object is to provide a device of the aforesaid character which can be simply and easily manufactured at relatively low cost.

It is also an object of this invention to reduce to a minimum, the space required to accommodate a tone arm, speaker diaphragm, needle, and recordand yet achieve loud volume, and faithful tone reproduction.

An additional object is to provide a novel talking book construction, wherein a speaker carriage, tone arm, diaphragm and needle, are fabricated as a single unit.

A further object is to incorporate a conventional radio speaker cone as an integral part of the sound reproducing unit.

Another object is to produce a hand-activated mechanical device, wherein a combination sound diaphragm, speaker, carriage, with page indicator attachment and record engaging needle, moves, as it travels across the face of a record. A further object in this connection is, that the sound diaphragm is utilized in such a manner, as to place it in a plane parallel to the record, and which is always immediately directly below a speaker opening, so that the sound vibrations are transmitted with a maximum of clarity and volume-in a minimum of space and travel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel method of returning the speaker diaphragm to its play beginning position, regardless of whether the device is held level or in some other attitude.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel tone arm, that, will evenly and faithfully, reproduce a broad spectrum of sound, from approximately 40 c.p.s. up to the higher range of sound including 4,000 c.p.s., or more, with a minimum of distortion.

Yet another object is, to provide a tone arm needle attachment method, that is not subject to vibration load fatigue under conditions of use.

Still another object is to provide a sound producing device-that is so simple in structure as to require virtually no tools for its assembly, and the assembly of which can be accomplished in a few seconds.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description and from the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective, of a talking book apparatus, embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. 1 but showing the apparatus with the cover in the open position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view with the cover open, and the story book portion open in the reading position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a page-indicating feature;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the parts comprising the phonograph;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the phonograph portion of the apparatus taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a reduced horizontal sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 99 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a detailed sectional view of the page selector device as taken on line 1010 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the bottom of FIG. 1

showing the method of opening the back, and installing a record;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower end of the tone arm showing the needle in the record groove; and 1 FIG. 13 is a detailed view of the tone arm full scale as molded into the speaker cone showing the line along which the needle travels and the broadcast effect created by the shape of the tone arm.

More particularly, referring to FIG. 5, wherein I illustrate one embodiment of my invention, 2,indicates a boxlike case or housing forming a part of my apparatus. This may, for convenience, be composed of cardboard or a variety of other materials, such as metal or wood, but it is contemplated that it should be composed of plastic. Provision is made for a speaker opening 3, a receiver hole 5 for the handle 1 and rivet holes 6 for cover 31 (FIG. 1). The box 2 contains a slotted opening 4 to receive a page selector device 9.

Referring to FIG. 8 the box-like case 2 receives the speaker diaphragm carriage 16 which is pivotally at tached to the page selector device 9. The speaker diaphragm carriage 16 is rectangular in shape and guided in its lateral movement by the inside portions of the boxlike case 2 at the points indicated at 47 and 55. The speaker diaphragm carriage 16 is limited in its forward travel by contact with the drive handle shaft.

The speaker diaphragm carriage 16 is limited in its rearward travel by engagement with the inside portion of the case wall 46.

Referring to FIG. 10 the foraminoussheet 51 extending across the speaker opening serves a further purpose by forming a reacting surface for the speaker diaphragm carriage spring 12 which engages sheet 3 at 57 as it travels forward and backward in the playing cycle.

The box-like case 2 is designed with a recessed area 41 (see FIGS. 3 and 5) to accommodate the rotatable handle 1 and allow the book cover 31 to close to a flush position as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The recessed area 41 accommodates the rotatable handle 1 at a level allowing the closing of the cover 31 without applying pressure to the drive-handle shaft 8.

It is contemplated that the outer surfaces 52 of three sides of the box-like case 2 be made to simulate the edges of the pages of a book.

Rivets 37 secure the book cover 31 to the fourth side of the box-like case 2 so that the portion of the book cover serving as the back 54 of the book can properly act as a support for a record support stud 30 (FIG. 6) which in turn supports the record 27 and lower drive disk 18 when the back portion of the cover 31 is in the closed position as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

It is important to note that the protruding portion of the drive handle shaft 8 as shown in FIG. 11 extends through the record hole and into record support center hole 28 when the back cover 54 is in the closed position as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 whereby the record support center hole 28 serves as a bearing 58 for the drive handle shaft 8 with the back cover 54 serving as a support at 59 for the record support stud 30.

Clips 43 are riveted to the back cover 54 to hold the back cover in the closed position by friction against clip receivers 60 on the inside of the box.

Rotation of the record is achieved by placing a finger in the handle hole 33 and rotating it in a clockwise direction 39 at a speed of rpm. Torque is transmitted from the handle 1 by means of three opposed studs 7 on a stepped shoulder 61 of the handle 1. These studs in turn pass through three opposed holes 21 in the upper drive disk 17 which is supported on two sides by shoulders 62 resting on the lower drive disk 18 at point 63 and which has two drive legs 28 passing through holes 24 and resting on the record 27. Rotation of the handle 1 thus causes drive disk 18 to rotate and the rotation of the lower drive disk 18 is transmitted to the record 27 through contact attaching the book with the lower drive disk legs 23, of which there are three, protruding from the bottom face 98 of the lower drive disk 18 and fitting into three matching holes 26 in the record 27. The record turns freely on the record support stud shoulder 29.

The height of the record support stud shoulder 29 is suflicient to hold the record 27 a distance 68 from the inside face of back cover 54 thereby providing clearance for the record. The record 27 is held in. a flat plane 99 and against tilting by contact with the lower total surface 98 of the lower drive disk at 64.

Drive handle shaft 8 plays no part in the drive of the record 27 but functions only as a center shaft for purposes of alignment vertically and as a stop 59 for the rear cover portion 54 of the book cover 31 and as a centering device for the record support stud 28 as shown at 58. The hub upon which pins 7 are mounted engages the sides of opening 5 to center the upper end of the shaft 8.

The upper drive disk 17 is held in place on shaft 8 by a lock or clamp washer 19 and against the lower face of the handle opening 5, on face 65 of shoulder 66.

The hole 67 in the lower drive disk 18 allows the drive handle shaft 8 to pass through to the record support stud 311 as does the center hole 22 in the upper drive disk. The drive handle shaft 8 performs the additional function of acting as a shaft to receive the lock or clamp washer 19 to hold the upper drive disk 17 in place against shoulder 66.

The record center hole 25 is slightly larger than a stanclard A; inch hole to accommodate the record at the record support stud 30 on the record support stud shoulder 29.

As the handle 1 is rotated clockwise the speaker diaphragm carriage 16 travels towards the center of the boxlike case 2 until the operator chooses to stop or the playing cycle is completed. This forward travel is caused by engagement of the needle 48 with the record 27 at a point in the usual spiral sound groove in the upper surface of the record 27 as illustrated in FIG. 12 and is contained there by the shoulders of the V shaped groove 87. This sound groove 87 is of an undulating character, pressed into the record 27. The force of spring 12 against the plate 57 keeps the needle 48 seated in the sound groove 87 while sides 47 and 55 along with shoulder 71) (see FIG. 9) guide the carriage 16 rectilinearly. Spring 12 and shoulder along with spaced feet 15 keep the needle in perfect vertical alignment thus allowing forward or reverse movement without the needle digging into the record 27 on reverse play.

Additional control of the speaker carriage is achieved by pivoting a page selector and indicator arm 9 to the speaker carriage 16 at 4-5. The selector arm 9 is provided with a manually depressable plate 11] that can be depressed and which then serves to raise the needle 48 through a fulcrum effect at 14. When depressed, with the finger, the page selector depress plate 10 is moved with the finger forward or backward and in so doing moves the speaker carriage 16, and consequently the needle 48, to any point indicated along a group of numbers 32 (see FIG. 4) keyed to pages of the story appearing in book 34.

Depressing plate 10, therefore, allows the operator free selection of the starting point for playing the record 27. As the needle 48 travels across the record 27 its progress is reflected by progressive travel of the indice point 72 of the depress plate 10.

Correct operation of the book is achieved through sight, sound and manual manipulation of the handle 1. Turning handle 1 clockwise brings forth instructions as indicated by 74 in FIG. 3 and is verified by visual reference 73 at which point the coordinated word-sound is continued by reference to the printed portion of the story and continuing to listen to the oral recitation emanating from the speaker 74 which is identical to the printed portion of the story 75.

The speaker carriage 16 is composed in one piece of Lucite or Plexiglas or other suitable plastic. Its general features are its legs 15 and selector arm attaching ear 11. It has a hole 77 to accommodate the spring 12 and a rivet 78 for securing the spring thereto. It has a left edge 80 and a right edge 81 as well as a front edge 49 and a rear edge '79, also an inside peripheral edge 82 to accommodate a speaker diaphragm cone 13 and with the diaphragm in place as illustrated in FIG. 6 a tone arm receiver hole 83 in which plastic 84 is molded so as to grip the edges of the paper speaker cone. The plastic molded into the receiver hole 83 should be Lucite or Plexiglas to achieve maximum clarity, volume and tone and must be molded to the edge 85 of the speaker cone.

The angle between the molded tone arm 86 land line 88 (FIG. 13) must be 45 degrees more or less to eliminate needle hiss. In addition the needle must move along a radius of the record 27. This places the needle 48 exactly at the maximum point of travel of each arc of the impressed record grooves and thereby achieves a twisting and rotating efiect on the tone arm 14. Because of the biased installation ofthe molded tone arm 14 in relation to the lateral oscillations of the needle 4 in the lateral cut 87 (as opposed to a hill and dale cut) of the record groove, uniform sound vibrations are distributed along the edges of the tone arm 14 as illustrated in FIG. 13 at 88 and FIG. 8 at 88, thus creating a loud clear tone reproduction. The needle travel in its oscillations is shown in FIG. 12 as generally indicated by 88. The molded tone arm reaching down over the needle as an inverted cone 89 lets the tip of the tone arm 89 act as an extension of the needle with an inherent elasticity that assists the tip of the tone arm 14 to vibrate with the needle, hereby increasing the reproductive potential of the needle tone arm combination to such a degree as to achieve remarkable clarity, tone and volume. Best results are achieved through use of Lucite or Piexiglas in this application but other plastics work well too. The shape of the tone arm 14 is a generally pear shape with a conical head 89 gripping the needle 4, the tone arm produces a scattering effect (see 91, FIG. 13) escaping to the rear or large end 89, much as a pie-shaped segment of a disturbed circle of water would look after tossing a rock into still water, and as illlustrated generally in FIG. 13. The length of the needle has a definite bearing on this as a needle any longer than of an inch is detrimental to the clarity and volume of sound produced by this method. Also, the needle must not be gripped over more than /3 of its over-all length by the tone arm 86 or volume will be sacrificed. Thus, a total of 2% inches of effective escape surface is created for the sound vibrations, taking into consideration the distance around the peripheral edge of the molded tone arm 14 that is in actual contact with and molded to the speaker cone 13.

It is important to note that the molded tone arm 14 has a distinct taper to a feathered edge 101 (FIG. 9) which distinctly enhances vibration escape by acting in the manner of a reed.

In the process of manufacturing the unitized speaker cone, it should be noted that it is contemplated that plastic molding is not the only method that can be used to achieve a satisfactory result. While mold-ing is cheaper and more satisfactory, acceptable results can be achieved by gluing with a suitable adhesive and the plastic carriage could be assemble-d from out parts with the needle 4 being inserted in a drilled hole in the tone arm 14 and glued into place.

A rivet to hold the carriage spring is indicated at 78 and a pivot pin for the page selector :lever is indicated at 96.

Pages 34, 16, more or less, are utilized as the book portion of the apparatus and are bound in the usual manner at 95 (FIG. 2') remaining in the closed position after opening the top cover portion 31 of the book. They are held in place at 35 on the cover by binding to the inside surface of the cover 31, the whole cover 31 being held in place by rivets 37. Addition-ally, opening the book reveals the story lines '75.

The box-like case 2 is set inwardly from the edges of the cover 31 so as to give the visual appearance of a book.

An additional method of binding the book woulld be conventional binding replacing the rivets 37 with a suitable glue and it is contemplated that -I may choose to do so.

Closing the top cover 31 as in FIG. 1 brings pressure to bear on the page selector pressure plate 10 thereby lifting needle 48 off of the record 27 through the fulcrum effect created by the curve of the selector lever 9 as generally indicated 44 in FIG. 10. Raising the cover 31 revleases the pressure on the selector lever plate 10 allowing the needle to drop onto the record 27 so that playing may commence.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred form of my invention, I contemplate that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A talking book apparatus comprising: a generally flat housing having upper and lower covers hinged thereto, said housing and covers being configured to simulate a book; a booklet having a plurality of pages mounted on the inner face of said upper cover and having a story printed thereon; a record in said housing having said story recorded thereon in voice pronounciation of the words printed in said booklet; means in said housing for reproducing the sound recorded on said record; and manually operable drive means for said record and reproducing means accessible to an operator from the top of said housing and only when said upper cover is open whereby an operator may manipulate said booklet pages while reading the story material thereon and simultaneously operate said record and reproducing means to reproduce the recorded sound of said story material in synchronism with the reading thereof.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a top wall; an upwardly open recess in said top Wall; said manually operable drive means comprising a crank arm journalled in the bottom of said recess and rotatable therein whereby said upper cover may be closed snugly against said upper wall without interference from said crank arm.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said lower cover has means on the inner face thereof for rotatably supporting said record and said drive means including a rotatable member releasably engaging said record whereby opening said lower cover disengages said record from said drive means and renders said record accessible for replacement or reversal.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a top wall; said sound reproducing means including a needle mounted in said housing for movement across the upper face of said record; resilient means biasing said needle toward said face of said record; retracting means for [lifting said needle from said record against the biasing action of said resilient means and including a depressible actuating member extending upwardly through said upper wall whereby closing said upper cover depresses said member and retracts said needle from said record and whereby opening said upper cover releases said member and permits said resilient means to move said needle into engagement with said record.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said member is operatively connected to said needle to move therewith as said needle moves across said record; a slot in said upper wall parallel to the direction of movement of said needle; said member extending upwardly through said slot for movement therealo-ng; indicia on said upper wall jacent $81G slot and identifying sequential portions of said story material; pointer means on said member cooperating with said indicia to thereby indicate the portion of said story material being reproduced by said needle and whereby an operator may manually manipulate said member to retract and move said needle to reproduce any selected portion of said story material.

6. Sound reproducing apparatus comprising: a housing having a top wall, opposed side walls and a Ibottom wall hinged thereto; means on said bottom wall for rotatably supporting a record thereon; manually operable means rotatably supported by said top wall and releasably engageable with said record, when said bot-tom wall is closed, for rotating said record; and sound reproducing means in said housing, engageable with said record for reproducing sound recorded thereon, said means on said bottom wall comprising a boss having an annular shoulder for supporting said record about a center hole therein; said boss having a central opening; said manually operable means including a crank arm above said upper wall and a shaft fixed thereto and depending therefrom; the lower end of said shaft being removably received and journalled in said central opening, said means releasably engageable with said record comprising a disk loosely surrounding said shaft and having projections engageable in corresponding openings in said record; means connecting said disk to said crank for rotation therewith; and means on said crank pressing said disk into firm contact with said record, said disk being of substantially greater diameter than said annular shoulder; said means pressing said disk in to firm contact with said record being fixed to said crank and engaging said disk radially outwardly of said annular shoulder to thereby stabilize said record against tilting movements relative to the axis of said shaft.

7. Sound reproducing apparatus comprising: a housing having a top wall, opposed side walls, and a bottom wall; at least two of said side walls being parallel; means rotatably supporting a record in said housing; means for rotati-ng said record; and sound reproducing means in said housing including a carriage freely slidable therein and being slidably guided for linear movement by said parallel side walls; a speaker on said carriage; a tone arm secured to said speaker; a needle on said tone arm so positioned as to move radially of said record as said carriage moves along said parallel side walls, said carriage comprising a plate-like member spaced from said bottom wall; spacer means carried by said plate at one side thereof and slidably engaging said bottom wall; spring means carried by said plate at the other side thereof and slidably engaging said upper wall; said speaker, tone arm and needle being between said spacer means and spring means whereby said spring means yieldalbly presses said needle against the upper surface of said record; manually operable means connected to said plate-like member adjacent said other side for lifting said other side in a direction away from said record and against the action of said spring means whereby to lift said needle from said record to permit selective movement of said carriage for positioning said needle at a selected radial position relative to said record, said upper wall being provided with an elongated slot; said manually operable means extending upwardly through said slot for movement therealong with said carriage, said manually operable member comprising a rigid generally V-shaped member pivoted at one end to said plate-like member, with its apex slidably resting on said bottom wall, and its other end extending upwardly through said slot; and a head on its other end normally spaced above said upper wall whereby manual depression of said head rocks said member about its apex as. a fulcrum and lifts said needle from said record.

8. In a sound reproducing apparatus: a carriage; means guiding said carriage for movement along a predetermined linear path; a speaker cone secured at its outer periphery to said carriage; an opening in the apex of said cone; a tone arm having a peripheral portion fixedly secured to said cone at the periphery of said opening and supported wholly by said cone; and a needle secured to said tone arm laterally olfset from the center of said opening but adjacent the apex of said cone.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said needle is offset from the center of said opening in a direction oblique to said predetermined linear path.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said needle is offset from the center of said opening in a direction extending at approximately forty-five degrees from said pre determined path.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said carriage and said tone arm are of molded plastic material, molded to embrace the associated peripheral portions of said cone.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said tone arm is a generally fiat structure arranged to lie in a plane forming an angle of approximately 15 with the plane defined by the outer periphery of said cone.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said tone arm is of generally pear shape in horizontal outline; said needle being fixed to the narrow end thereof and said tone arm tapering in thickness from said narrow end to the other end thereof.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said tone arm is a molded polymethylme-thacrylate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,3 16,174 4/ 1943 Kurzen 2741 2,316,175 4/1943 Kurzen 2741 X 2,470,435 5/ 1949 Gold 274-1 2,886,328 5/1959 Duncan 2741.1 3,073,605 1/ 1963 Mennie 274-9 3,086,297 4/1963 Kay 27414 X 3,184,241 5/1965 Jones 27'49 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,007,839 2/1952 France.

515,852 12/1939 Great Britain.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

W. E. JACKSON, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A TALKING BOOK APPARATUS COMPRISING: A GENERALLY FLAT HOUSING HAVING UPPER AND LOWER COVERS HINGED THERETO, SAID HOUSING AND COVERS BEING CONFIGURED TO SIMULATE A BOOK; A BOOKLET HAVING A PLURALITY OF PAGES MOUNTED ON THE INNER FACE OF SAID UPPER COVER AND HAVING A STORY PRINTED THEREON; A RECORD IN SAID HOUSING HAVING SAID STORY RECORDED THEREON IN VOICE PRONOUNCIATION OF THE WORDS PRINTED IN SAID BOOKLET; MEANS IN SAID HOUSING FOR REPRODUCING THE SOUND RECORDED ON SAID RECORD; AND MANUALLY OPERABLE DRIVE MEANS FOR SAID RECORD AND REPRODUCING MEANS ACCESSIBLE TO AN OPERATOR FROM THE TOP OF SAID HOUSING AND ONLY WHEN SAID UPPER COVER IS OPEN WHEREBY AN OPERATOR MAY MANIPULATE SAID BOOKLET PAGES WHILE READING THE STORY MATERIAL THEREON SAID SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERATE SAID RECORD AND REPRODUCING MEANS TO REPRODUCE THE RECORDED SOUND OF SAID STORY MATERIAL IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE READING THEREOF.

Images