US3501154A - Multiple sequence sound reproducer - Google Patents

Description

March 17, 1970 J. E. MARSHALL ETAL 3,501,154

MULTIPLE SEQUENCE SOUND REPRODUCER Filed Jan. 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aw! mm: 1 .770: x. #45141 97 ,Tfla? A 659:1: Y 15:72? 72 570/ 01 a Jaw a in? March 17, 1970 Filed Jan. 25, 1968 J. E. MARSHALL ET AL 3,501,154

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United States Patent MULTIPLE SEQUENCE SOUND REPRODUCER James E. Marshall, Westminster, Jack L. Barcus, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Lester T. Stormon, Manhattan Beach, and John W. Ryan, Los Angeles, Calif, as-

signors to Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, 'Calif., a corporation of California Filed Jan. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 700,563 Int. Cl. Gllh 17/06, 3/68 U.S. Cl. 274-14 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sound recording having a plurality of spiral sound tracks, each track having a separate starting point and having a discrete sound sequence, and a portion, of the tracks on which a sound pickup can be positioned to make a selection of one of the tracks at a part of the selected track to provide sound reproduction of the entire selected track, said portion of each track normally having no recording thereon, but possibly having recordings thereon which would be compatible with the discrete sound sequences.

A low cost, light weight, easy to assemble and install centrifugal governor having two diametrical weights supported on pins extending from a rotor and having a spring means extending around the rotor to bias the weights radially inwardly, the spring means being supported axially by the weights and being supported radially by the weights and diametrical spring contacting members extending from the rotor; and the spring contacting members, the weight supporting members and the rotor being formed of one piece; the spring being formed of a single wire having overlapping free ends.

A sound reproducing device for use in a figure toy, the device having a movably mounted recording of the type described above, and in which there is a manually controlled means for energizing a means to drive the recording, and having means responsive to the operation of the manually controlled means to position the tone arm so as to make an at random selection of one of the tracks, and which in the course of repeated operations of the manually controlled means the tracks will be selected so that all of the sound sequences may be reproduced.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a sound recording, which may be in the form of a phonograph record, having multiple sound tracks which may be selected, one at a time, at a part of the selected track to provide reproduction of the entire track.

The sound recording is a part'for use in combination with a sound reproducing device, usable in a figure toy or doll. In the operation of the device at random selections of the tracks may be made and in the course of repeated selections the tracks will be selected so that all of the sound sequences on the tracks may be reproduced.

The present invention has been made for installation in a relatively small toy or doll. In the prior art there have been other sound reproducing devices for use in dolls but these prior art dolls have been substantially larger than the type contemplated and in which the present invention can be used. The making of the device to produce a multiple of at random selectable sound sequences in a much smaller arrangement, than has been heretofore successful, presented substantial problems which had not been encountered in the making of the prior art larger devices.

In the prior art, means are provided whereby in response to a simple manipulation as the pulling of a drawstring, the needle of the tone or reproducing arm is lifted from the recording, and in the case of a disc record, moved to its periphery to a starting point to select a sound track having a discrete recording thereon. In the larger devices, the tolerances relative to the movement of the tone arm for the selection of a track were substantially greater than those permitted in a substantially smaller sound reproducing device, as provided in the present invention. The elimination of the lack of tolerance problem is an important feature of this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problems of making a sound reproducing device for a relatively small toy were solved by various features of the present invention. The invention here is in a new sound recording, an improved governor, an improved drawstring winding arrangement, for use in a new sound reproducing device which as a new combination provides other new features.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved multiple sound sequence reproducing device.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved sound recording for use in the device referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device, as described in the preceding paragraphs, embodied in a figure, such as a doll, to simulate speech by the doll.

Still another object is to provide a phonograph having a disc record having a plurality of spaced spiral sound tracks, each capable of reproducing a separate sentence or other discrete sounds, and in which each track has a nonrecorded part at which an at random selection can be made of the various tracks and from which the entire recording on the track selected can be reproduced. Additional recordings may be inserted in the nonrecorded part, the additional recordings being separate from but compatible with the separate sentences or discrete sounds.

A further object of the invention is to provide a phonograph, as set out in the foregoing, and having manual means so arranged that by a single manipulation, the tone arm is lifted and moved against a stop adjacent the periphery of the record and from which the tone arm automatically rebounds radially inwardly to a position to effect an at random selection of one of the sound tracks and in a part thereof having no recording, the lifting of the tone arm occurring during the energizing of the driving means.

Further objects and advantages of the invention may be brought out in the following part of the specification wherein small details have been described for the competence of this disclosure, without intending to limit the scope of the invention which is set forth in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the invention with a top cover of the casing removed.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional line taken as indicated by the line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the line 33 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded view with portions cut away, the view being taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a disc record illustrating the arrangement of the sound tracks in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS the torso of a doll. The casing has an upper half 11 and a lower half 12, FIGURE 1 illustrating the device with the upper half removed. There is shown in FIGURE 1 a resilient tone arm stop 13 which may be made of elastomeric material in substantial abutment with the tone arm 17. The stop 13 is secured in the bottom 18 of the lower half 12 of the casing. The tone arm is pivotally secured at 19 on a pin 28 extending upwardly from the lower housing member, the pin 28 terminating in a member 25 of an inner generally longitudinally extending frame member, designated as 20, which is supported in the lower casing portion by pins 23, 24 and 28. The member has a bifurcated end formed of members 25 and 26. The tone arm carries a needle 27 which is engaged as a sound pickup means with the sound recording or disc record 29, also shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5. The tone arm 17 has an extension 30 having a pin 31 at its end.

As may be seen in FIGURES 1-4, an upper end 32 of the needle portion of the tone arm supports an extension 35 of a lower part 36 of a sound frequency transmitting coupling, generally designated as 37, and being similar to the type disclosed in US. Patent No. 3,174,756. The lower part 36 has a cylindrical bore 38 having a coil spring 39 therein, the spring having one end biasing the extension 35 against the tone arm and having its other end abutting the upper casing 11. Externally on the wall of the cylindrical bore 38 is a cylindrical surface 40 slidably engaged with an internal cylindrical surface of a bearing sleeve 41 secured within a central opening of the sound reproducing cone 42, secured to the casing member 11. Between the surface 40 and the internal surface of the sleeve 41 is a viscous silicone grease at 43. The grease is in shear and has the characteristics of being able to transmit most audio frequencies in the lower half of the coupling and needle to the sound cone 42. The cone transmits the sound out of the casing through the openings 44 shown in FIGURE 3.

A phonograph rotor spindle 46 is bearing mounted for rotation in the frame member 20 and at lower end of the rotor 47 is a spindle 48 bearing mounted for rotation in a boss 49 extending upwardly from the lower casing member. Immediately outwardly of the central portion of the rotor is an annular well or groove 52 for carrying a winding drawstring 53 when the rotor and record 29 is in an unwound or deenergized condition. The well saves space in the compact arrangement and prevents the string from interfering with rotor and surrounding parts so to not increase frictional drag. An end 54 of the string has been inserted through an opening at the bottom of the groove 52 and is knotted at the underside 55 of the rotor to secure the string to the rotor. The other end of the drawstring extends through an opening 58 in the upper casing half and has a pull ring 59 secured thereto.

Radially outwardly of the groove 52 is an annular wall 60 having an external cylindrical surface on which the record 29 is fitted. Also extending radially of the groove 52 is a record support disc 61, having an annular skirt 62 extending downwardly therefrom. The record is secured to the disc by glue or cement. The skirt-is supported by three annularly spaced webs 64 which extend outwardly from a small diameter portion 65 of the rotor. At the outer portion of the disc 61 is an axially extending annular member 66 and from it extends a radial flange 67, which with a circumferential portion of the record forms an annular groove 70. Fitted to be driven by the rotor in the groove 70 is an elastomeric ring or belt 71 which ex tends around the knurled spindle 72 so as to drive a governor, generally designated as 73.

A flat negator spring 76 has an end secured at 81 to the outer surface of the skirt 62 about which it is wound by pulling the ring 59 on the string 53. The other end, not shown, of the spring 76 is securingly maintained on the drum 77 on which the spring is normally stored in its unwound or at rest position relative to the record rotor. The drum 77 has its spindles 78 and 79 bearing mounted for rotation in bosses 82 and 83, respectively, in the casing. As may be seen in FIGURE 4, the spring extends from the storage drum 77 to the skirt 62 but is wound in the opposite direction on the skirt from which it is wound on the drum 77. On the drum, the spring is in its at rest position, whereas when it is wound on the skirt 62 by pulling the string 53 out of the groove 52, it is in a stored energy condition, and when the ring 59 is thereafter released, the spring rewinds on its drum 77, unwinding from the skirt, to rotate the record, winding the string on the rotor in the groove 52, the rotation of the rotor and record, during the play, being in the clockwise direction while the winding of the spring on the drum is in the counterclockwise direction. It has been found to be advantageous in the compact mechanism of the invention to position the flange 71 extending from the rotor 47 so that it acts as a guide for the spring during the winding and unwinding.

The governor 73 is formed of a rotor 84 from which the knurled spindle 72 extends. A further extension from the spindle is a second spindle 85 bearing mounted for rotation in a boss 88 in the frame member 20. From the opposite end of the rotor extends a spindle 89, bearing mounted for rotation in the lower casing 12. Extending diametrically from opposite sides of the rotor are a pair of spring contacting members 90 and 91 and extending at 90 to the latter members are a pair of cylindrical diametrical pins 94 and 95. The pins 94 and 95 are slidably engaged in bores on the governor weights 96 and 97 and when they are in their innermost position fit on the rotor and on the radially directed surfaces of the spring contacting members 90 and 91.

In the outer circumferential surfaces of the weights are annular grooves 100 and 101 in which a single wire spring 102 is fitted. The spring has free ends 103 and 104 overlapping and from which position they can be moved depending upon the radial position of the weights. On the outer circumferential surfaces of the weights are secured frictional members 106 and 107 which are adapted to engage the inner cylindrical surface of a wall 108 of the cylinder in which the rotor is centrally positioned, frictional braking contacts being made at excessive speeds of the governor. The governor is driven by the belt 71 which is in turn driven by the rotation of the record rotor during sound reproduction. As the speed of the governor increases, the weights move outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force and against the force of the spring 102. The frictional members 106 and 107 may engage the interior cylindrical surface of the wall 108 so that this frictional engagement retards or restrains rotation of the governor and thus limits the speed of rotation. In this manner, the speed of rotation of the record is controlled and regulated and maintained at the optimum speed for desirable reproduction of sound. During rotation of the governor the circular configuration of the spring is maintained in part by the outer circumferencial surfaces of the spring contacting members 90 and 91. These provide a very light weight means to maintain the proper spring configuration. It has been found to be advantageous to cast the rotor, the members 90 and 91, the weight supporting members 94, 95 and the governor spindles in one piece of plastic. It should be noted that the spring is slidable within the grooves formed in the outer surfaces of the weights and the mating grooves formed in the inner surfaces of the frictional members. The ends 103 and 104 of the spring prevent substantial rotation of the spring by contact with the weights or members 90 and 91 so that they do not enter the grooves 100 and 101.

In FIGURE 5 there is shown a plan view of the :record 29. The record has five spiral bands or tracks, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, each starting at staggered, annularly spaced locations along the periphery of the record, as indicated in the drawing. Each band or track has a distinct recorded saying thereon and when embodied in a doll, for example, the operating child does not know what response he or she is going to get from the doll. The record has a sector 113 formed by radial lines 111 and 112 and the peripheral arc of the record subtended by the two radial lines. In a portion of the sector radially outwardly of a groove 115 in track 5, each of the tracks has two runs or two portions thereof on which there is normally no re cording. Track No. 1 starts at the sector line 111 so as to start generally outwardly of the outer sector portion, extending radially from 115, and track No. starts just outwardly of the line 112 adjacent the periphery, of the record so as to start generally outwardly of the sector. Within the sector 113, there are two 36 angles, one on each side of the center line 114. The unrecorded portion of the five tracks in the outer portion of the sector, includes two runs of each so as to occupy ten grooves of the record, extending between the inner run 117 of track 1 and the outer run 118 of track 5. The radial distance between runs 117 and 118 along the line 114 is approximately 70-thousandths of one inch, the radius of the record periphery being 0.678 of an inch.

The first five runs extending radially inwardly from the periphery are a part of the first revolution of each respective track. Track 1 starts its second revolution at line 111 and similarly, track 5 starts its second revolution at adjacent line 112. The other tracks, 2, 3, and 4 start their second revolutions to the right of the line 112. The recorded portion of the tracks, shown in wavy lines all start adjacent the line 111, outwardly of the sector, and in the second revolution of the respective grooves. Only track 5 is shown in its entirety and the endings of the other tracks are shown at the center of the record, indicated by the numbers thereof at a dot. The record is shown schematically for clarity. In comparison with the record shown in FIGURE 2, it is evident that in the actual record that the inner ends of the tracks are positioned radially outwardly from the locations shown in FIGURE 5.

The area of engagement of the needle 27 on the record is substantially along the line 114, in which is shown to be within the rectangle 119, the drop zone. It may be seen from FIGURE 1 that as the tone arm 17 moves radially inwardly it tends to move 011 of the line 114. However, since the drop zone has a radial length of about only 50- thousandths of an inch, the movement off of the line 114 will be insignificant. The record is properly positioned relative to the tone arm and the drop zone during the winding operation by pulling the string all the way out of the figure. Shorter pulls can be made after experience to position the record in the same or other positions. A maximum tolerance for ideal random selection of the five distinct sayings is provided by the 72 sector 113. This is determined by 1/N 360=the sector angle, where N equals the number of sayings; thus, where there are five sayings, the ideal sector should be 72". A somewhat smaller angle will function satisfactorily. The record is secured to the disc so as to be stopped when the spring is unwound with the line 114, substantially vertically upwardly as viewed in FIGURE 1. As indicated in FIGURE 5 the windup direction is counterclockwise and the play direction of the record is clockwise.

In operation, the needle 27 and the tone arm are shown in FIGURE 1 to be in position to start the play of the record. However, the spring is not shown as being wound on the skirt 62 as required to play the record. Normally, when the spring 76 is in its at rest position on the drum 77, the needle 27 would be radially inwardly on the record at an end of play position adjacent the wall 60 on the rotor. To then energize the rotor 47 for playing, the string is pulled to unwind it from the rotor 47 and at the same time to unwind the spring 76 from the drum 77 and onto the skirt 62. When this occurs, the driving energy for the rotation of the record is stored in the spring and the device is energized for to reproduce the sound in any track or groove randomly selected.

At the start of the winding of the spring on the skirt 62, the needle and tone arm are adjacent the wall 60 and the string 53 is positioned below the tone arm member 30. As the string is pulled it contacts the lower surface of the arm member 30 and lifts it radially outward relative to the record to a position where it finally, during the winding, makes contact with deflects the resilient stop 13. The lower end of the pin 31 on the end of the tone arm acts to prevent the string from slipping off of the tone arm during the winding of the spring. When the string is released by the dropping of the ring 59, the resilience in the deflected elastomeric stop 13 causes the tone arm to rebound radially inwardly, substantially along the line 114 on the record. Whether the stop 13 should be made of resilient material depends upon the amount of rebound desired. This causes the needle to come to a resting place on a groove within the drop zone 119 or to a position adjacent one of the grooves from which it will enter a groove during the rotation of the record which occurs as soon as the string is released, the spring then being rewound on the drum 77. The design of the stop and of the record is such that the needle rebounds inwardly five or six tracks from the outer periphery. If the needle landed exactly where it might be expected to, it would fall either on the second revolution of the fifth track or on the first revolution of the first track, the second revolution of the first track starting at the line 111. However, the tone arm tends to fall somewhere within a SO-thousandths of an inch area on the line 114. Therefore, by the design of having the needle rebound in about the middle of the drop zone in which a groove of each track is positioned twice, a fairly random distribution of the five recordings or sayings is obtained.

The record, by the design of the spring, makes eight revolutions per play. Seven revolutions are required to complete each recording or saying. This leaves one revolution of silent or unrecorded track per saying. Since the record rotates during playing in the clockwise direction and the needle always drops somewhere along or adjacent to the line 114, the record can move 36 clockwise from the line to start the entrance of a silent portion of the track 5 and 360 clockwise from the line to start the playing on track 1 in groove 117. The entrances to the other tracks are staggered between the entrances of tracks 1 and 5 with the sound beginning at a point along a line 111 at which is the first entrance to track 1 radially inwardly from the periphery of the record along the line 111. With this arrangement, track 1 moves two turns before the sound starts; track 2 rotates 1.8 turns; track 3 rotates 1.6 turns; track 4 rotates 1.4 turns; and track 5 rotates 1.2 turns, the number of turns in the foregoing being approximate.

Sounds in addition to those, starting at line 111, six grooves from the periphery, may be recorded within the sector 113 and all around the record in the first five grooves which are portions of the tracks 1 through 5. For example, in a doll, a single word, such as Ouch, could be recorded in the sector 113 or in the peripheral portion in the first five grooves. Similarly, in a toy automobile, a siren sound could be recorded in the sector as in the outer peripheral portions of the tracks. These sounds would be compatible with the sayings or sounds recorded, starting at line 111, for a doll or automobile, respectively. The doll could say any number of things in the distinct recorded sayings and any number of automobile sounds could be used, such as the roar of the engine, starting at line 111 after the siren sound.

This arrangement has been found to be particularly advantageous for selecting a saying fairly randomly after each winding. This is, by aiming the needle at the middle of the drop zone where the needle may enter the track 1 or 5, a good random distribution of the selection of the five sayings can be obtained. Thus if the needle falls a short distance from the first groove in track 1 in the drop zone, it should move into track 2 and similarly if the needle moves past the second revolution of the track 5, it will enter the second revolution of track 4. From this it is clear, considering the short distances between the grooves of the respective tracks, that any one of the five sayings can be easily selected over five windings of the spring.

The spring 76 is completely wound by one extended pull of the drawstring. However, less extended or shorter pulls may be exerted on the drawstring during a playback cycle for the purpose of resetting the very light weight tone arm for a new selection by moving it against the stop 13 from which it then rebounds as previously described.

The record could be driven electrically and the tone arm could also be positioned by an attachment operated by the rotating motor which would drive the record rotor.

The particular nature of the mechanism provides a construction which is simple and effective, but yet is very rugged and durable and capable of withstanding very rough treatment. Particularly, it will withstand and properly respond to any manipulation that may be made by a child who does not understand the details of the mechanism but perceives only that by pulling the drawstring, the device will be caused to reproduce the sounds. The nature of the mechanism is such that it does not impose a requirement from the operator that the length of the pull of the drawstring or the force exerted must be nicely judged or gauged. The device therefore commodates itself very well to the treatment expected to be given it by children.

While the record is being played, the governor is being driven as indicated above and it regulates and controls the speed of rotation of the record to provide optimum reproduction conditions.

From the foregoing, it is clear that the invention embraces the fascinating concept of providing a device which will figuratively speak for itself and is adapted to speak or say things which the operator is not able to anticipate, at least not exactly. The invention embraces the concept of a device which a child may speak to and then receive a respouse from and which is chosen and selected by the device itself since the operator does not know which of the sound tracks or spiral grooves on the record will be engaged by the needle. The actual movements required for operation are limited to those that are absolutely necessary to the required operations and are reduced to a very simple form.

During the playing of the record, vibrations are picked up by the needle and transferred through the tone arm to the sound frequency transmitting coupling 37 connected to the central portion of the cone 42 to reproduce the recorded sounds which are transmitted through a plurality of openings 44 immediately outwardly of the cone in the upper casing. The compact arrangement of the various elements of the invention has been found to be particularly advantageous for use in a very small doll construction and arrangement of the parts of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages, the arrangements herein before described being merely by way of example. We do not wish to be restricted to the specific forms as shown or uses mentioned.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sound reproducing device for use in a figure y;

a rotatable disc record having a plurality of interleaved spiral sound tracks thereon, driving means for rotating said record, and sound reproducing means including a sound pickup means movable generally radially across said record;

each of said sound tracks extending through a predetermined area of said record at least once, said area being of limited circumferential extent and adjacent the outer periphery thereof, said sound tracks continuing spirally inwardly from said area;

manually controlled means for energizing said driving means; and

positioning means operable in response to operation of said manually controlled means for engaging said sound pickup means with said record at a substantially randomly determined point within said predetermined area.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein that portion of each of said sound tracks within said area has no sound recorded thereon.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said sound tracks extends through said area at least twice.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 including a swingably mounted tone arm on which said sound pickup means is mounted;

a resilient abutment adjacent the outer periphery of said record in the path of travel of said tone arm, said manually controlled means, serving to impinge said tone arm against said abutment whereby said tone arm rebounds from said abutment to position said pickup means in said predetermined area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner DENNIS A. DEARING, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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