US590643A - Phonograph - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1. T. L. DENNIS, JI.

PHONOGRAPH. N0. 590,643; Patented Spt.'28, 1897.

f A v Le E N FQ- i@ N k i@ i f N Il I bq N j g l j Q 'l v s i l La l @LA I ITNESSES: INVENTOR v J. mzdJLe/z/zw r ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) l A2 Sheets-Sheet 2. Y

T. L. DEN y JI'. PHoNoGR No. 590,643. f Patented sept. 28, 1897.

W|TNESSES: i' l INVENTOI gz f lvizanzaenngs I ATTORNEY.

v "UNITE STATE-s PATEN Fries.

THOMAS, L. DENNIS, JR., OFI BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PHONOQRAPH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,643, dated September '28, 1897.

i Application filed April l, 1897. SerialNo. 630,256. (NoAmodel.) Y

To a/ZZ whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS L.DENN1s, Jr.,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in `Phonographs, of which'the following is a specification.

My invention, while relating to that class of machines orinstruments known as phonographs, has reference more particularly to the meansmade use of for causing the traveling diaphragm to return to itsinitial position with respect to the record-cylinder after having completed its course along the length backward-carrying devices and bring the feeding mechanism again into action.

To accomplish all of this and to secure other and further advantages in the matters of construction, Operation,and use, my improvements involve certain' novel and useful arrangements or combinations of parts, peculiarities of construction, and principles of operation, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, and then pointed out in the subjoined claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, Figure l is a plan or top view of an Ordinary form of phonograph, showing my improvements applied in connection therewith, the diaphragm being represented at a point near the completion of its forward course; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof with portions at the left'of Fig. l omitted and illustrating in dotted lines different positions assumed by the tripping mechanism; Fig. 3, an end view, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing the feeding-nut in and out of engagement with the feeding-screw and indicating the course of the belt or other connection by which the retracting-screw maybe driven; and Figs. 4 and 5, side and end views, respectively, of the extremity of the diaphragm carrier or arm, the latter figure representing the spring applied thereon and both figures omitting the revolving tripper shown in Figs. l and 2.

In all the figures like letters of reference are vemployed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates the record-cylinder, and B the shaft through which .it is rotated at the required times. This shaft is mounted on suitable centersb b or in other appropriate bearings secured to or forming parts of the bed of the machine and is provided with the usual feed-thread o','extending throughout a portion of its length, and with a pulley b2 at one of its ends, through which its rotation is effected from the motor or other source of power by a belt or other equivalent form of motion-transmitting devices.

Arranged in parallelism with the shaft B is a guide-rod C, upon which is fitted to slide a sleeve D. VThis sleeve is provided at one of its ends with the segmental nut cl, that engages at the appropriate times with the feedthread b, and at its other with the carrier or arm cl2, which, extending over the recordcylinder A, carries, in asuitable frame formed therein, the diaphragm E and is normally supported at its free end from the slide -ct on the base of the machine, when the diaphragm is being fed over the record-cylinder, by a lug or strut b3, depending from its under side, as shown. As thus arranged when the segmental nut CZ is'brought into engagement with the feedthread b and the shaft Bis rotated in the proper direction the record-cylinder will be similarly rotated and the diaphragm, with its carrier or arm, fed forward along the same, bringing the projecting stylus on its under side into engagement with the surface thereof, and thereby permitting of either the formation of appropriate indentations in such surface by the applications of the requisite vibrations to the diaphragm or of the reproduction of the tones or speech corresponding to such indentation if previously formed, as may be desired.

The several parts as thus far described,

while cooperating to produce the results speci- IOO position automatically after having been fed over and along the record-cylinder A, and to this end I make use of the screw-shaft F, which is j ournaled in suitable bearings 7L, formed in the stand Hin parallel relationship to the shaft B, from which latter the shaft F is rotated through the intermediaries of the belt c and the pulleys 7b3 and f, with which such shafts are respectively provided. In my preferred form of construction I find it convenient to make the screw-thread of this shaft F run in a different direction from that of the shaft B-as, for instance, make it a left-hand thread if the thread b is aV right-hand oneand to rotate the two shafts in the same direction, but this is unessential, and both of the threads may be of the same hand, in which event the two shafts will be rotated in opposite directions; but however the threads of these two shafts may be disposed with respect to one another I iind it desirable to make the pitch of the thread of the screwshaft F considerably greater than that of the thread of the shaft B, whereby to insure of a greater speed of travel of thediaphragm when moving back to its initial position under the operation of the former thread.

Coperatin g with the screw-shaft F is a triarmed tripper I, the arms of which are similar and preferably disposed at equal distances apart around its axis. This tripper is pivoted to the free end of the carrier or arm d2, which is extended sufficiently beyond the supporting lug or strut b3 to bring the former approximately over the axis of the shaft F and is provided at its extreme end with an upturned ear if* for reception of the screw b5, upon which such tripper is pivoted.

In the construction of the tripper the arms are made of such length that when either is forced into a vertical position and is in engagement with the thread of the screw-shaf t F it will elevate the free end of the carrier or arm d2 with the diaphragm and other attachments to such an extent as to make them clear the record-cylinder during their retracting movement and at the same time disengage the segmental nut d from engagement with the feed-thread In of the shaft B, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. As thus constructed and arranged the plane of rotation of the tripper is approximately coincident with a plane passing longitudinally through the axis of the shaft F, and in order to insure the proper engagement of its arms with the thread of such shaft I find it convenient to equip cach of their extremities with a short transversely-arranged cylindrical portion 7L,which is provided with a circular notch 7b2 in its side, whereby to straddle and receive the upper portion of the thread of the screw-shaft F, as shown in Fig. l.

In addition to the t-ransversely-arranged cylindrical portion 7L each of the arms of this tripper is likewise provided with a pin h4, projecting outwardly from its rear side for coperation with the holding-spring fi, which is secured to the under side of the free end of the carrier or arm d2, in close relationship to the plane of rotation of the inner face of the tripper, by a screw 2". As thus disposed each of the pins h4 will be brought into engagement with the spring il in succession as the tripper is rotated upon its pivot and the movement of the same arrested until the spring is bent inward away from the path of travel of said pins, when such rotation will be resumed, and so on.

Vith the tripper I and springt' are employed stops 7a and Z, the former of which is made in the form of a plate-spring'and is supported from some convenient part of the machine, as from the base-plate thereof, in line with the travel of the tripper, by a stand 7c', while the latter is preferably made from a rigid bar in L shape and so secured tothe baseplate of the machine as to bring the extremity of its free end into and slightly across the line of travel of the spring 1f.

The several parts being constructed `and arranged, as above explained, with the tripper I in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the operation of the machine willbe as follows: On rotatingthe shaft B in the proper direction the record-cylinder will be similarly rotated and the diaphragm carried over and along the same until the upper surface of the arm of the tripper I that is in advance is brought into contact with the under side of the spring-stop 7c and the tripper so rotated thereby as to force the extremity of that arm down into engagement with the thread of the screw-shaft F, or intothe positions shown 'by dotted lines at the right of Fig. 2. The arm of the tripper having been thus brought into engagement with the thread of this screw will be carriedalong with it as such vshaft is rotated and the tripper rotated upon its axis until such arm is carried into a vertical position, orinto the position shown by dotted lines at the left of Fig. 2, the result of which will be to raise the free end of the carrier or arm d2 with the diaphragm and thereby disengage the segmental nut d from the thread Z1 of the shaft B and stop the further feeding of the diaphragm along the record-cylinder. The arm of Vthe tripper engaged with the screwshaft F having been carried thereby into a vertical position, the pin h4 of the next preceding arm of the tripper in the direction of its rotation will be brought into contact with the spring 2', the resistance of which is sufficient to prevent the further turning of the tripper. As a consequence'of this the elevated diaphragm,with the tripper and the segmental nut, will be carried back until in its backward movement the sprin g 'L' is brought into contact with the free end of the stop l, when the further backward movement of the parts will cause the said spring to move inward, releasing the pin h4 from engagement Y the thread of the screw-shaft F and the return of the diaphragm and the other parts-to their normal positions, with the segmental nut into engagement with the thread b of the shaft B ready foranother forward movement, and so on.

In some instances I nd it convenient to secure the stand H iixedly to the bed of the machine. I prefer, however, to provide for its vertical adjustment, whereby to insure of the proper engagement and disengagement of the segmental nut with the thread b of the shaft B by the operation of the tripper I, and for this purpose I make use of the adjustingscrews m and n, the former of which I preferably insert into threaded orifices upward from the under side of the stand and the latter of which is provided with a milled head and is inserted downward from the upper side of such stand, as shown. When this arrangement of adjusting-screws is employed, I findV it desirable to secure the stand II to the base of the machine bya screw o, passing down through the center of the former and en gaging with its free end the base below.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the improvements are simple in construction, efiicient in operation, and Well calculated to answer all the purposes or objects of the invention hereinbefore alluded to.

Although in the foregoing I have described the best means contemplated by me for carrying my invention into practice, I Wish it distinctly understood that I do not limit myself strictly thereto, but reserve to myself the right to modify the same in various ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having nowr fully described my invention and specified certain of the ways in which it is or may be carried into effect, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a phonograph, a rotatable tripper combined with the diaphragm-carrier, and a stationary stop, with which such tripper en gages and is rotated to effect the elevation of the carrier at the completion of its forward travel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination, with the diaphragmcarrier having a rotatable tripper, a screwshaft for returning the carrier, and means substantially as described for compelling the tripper to rotate and engage with the shaft at the time, and substantially in the manner, set forth.

3. The diaphragm-carrier, a revolving tripper mounted thereon, a stationary stop havrier, a resistance-spring also mounted on said arm and arranged to bear against a pin or projection on the tripper to limit its movement, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

5. The revolving tripper having the pins or projections, a resistance-spring for bearing against either of the pins, and a stop against which the spring is borne to release the'pin, combined and arranged for operation substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a phonograph, a feeding-screw, feeding-nut, diaphragm carrier, an automatically-.operating switching and tripping mechanism applied on said carrier, and revolving` threaded shaft for engaging the tripper and rctracting the diaphragm-carrier, combined and arranged substantially as set forth.

7. In a phonograph, the combination with the diaphragm-carrier, an automatic tripping and switching device applied thereon, and

the revolving shaft for carrying the tripperV VVitnesSes:

FRANK S. OBER, R. F. SWEENY.

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