US778271A - Phonograph. - Google Patents

Description

' 'PATENTED DEC. 27;. 1904.

E. M. ROBINSON.

PHONOGRAPH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12. 1904.

2 snms snnm 1.

' To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES Patented December 27, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE M. ROBINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PHo'NoeRAPH.

srncznzcanon fe -4m part. r Letters.

Patent No. 778,271, dated. Decembe 27, 1904.

Application filed m 1:, 904. semi to. 201.713..

Be it known that I, EUGENE M. Ronmson, a citizen of the UnitedStates, cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful I'mprovement in Phonographs, of which the following is a specification in its best form now known to me, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which similar nureproducing-phonograph,

merals indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

' My invention relates to phonographs ;.and the object of my inventionis to so improve a particularly one deslgned for rendering music, that it can be satisfactorily used in a small room.

While a commercial phonograph-reproducer may be operated upon the sound-reproducing cylinder 'or disk' record to produce music or spoken words of low volume of sound, it has has been frequently demonstrated that such-a device does not properly improve and round out thereproduced sound, and it is therefore "substantially universally the practice to sup-' ply such instruments with a horn. Such a horn is in practice applied to one side of the reproducer, and the vibrations from that side only of the reproducer areeollected in the horn. Whena phonograph equipped with such ahorn is used in a small room without there being any obstructions whatever in the horn, ,the tone of the instrument is much too loud for the air-space-in the room. Where such instruments 'have'been used in private houses, it has frequently been'found necessary in order to have satisfactory results to place the instrument in one room and the audience in'another at some distance; but this has the disadvantage of compelling the operator of the instrument to remain away from his friends and also to endure the discomforture of the loudsound of the instru- I ment. 1 As an alternative for this method of stufling some sort of getting satisfactory results it has been attempted to mufile the phonograph sounds by an obstruction, usually a'cloth wadding, in the bell of the horn; but I have found this method very unsatisfactory, for the reason that it destroys in a large measure thequality of the tone coming, from residing at Chi of the reproducer.

,may be. mufiled without fully described and claimed the horn. Furthermore, I have foundthat at all times the sound-waves from the side of the producer on which the horn is not attached can be heard by noticing them, but that when .the horn itself isfmufiled,-as just described, these sound-waves from the uninclosed side of the reproducer become very noticeable and unpleasant, because they are not properly ing sound.

' The ob ect of my invention 18 to provide" means by which the horn of the phonograph injuring the quality of the tone coming from it, to provide means whereby the horn itself will not transmit through its walls any materialvolume'oi'sound,

'to provide means by which the, heretofore open side of the reproducer will be closed and substantially all sounds produced by it be re tained within the instrument, and to provide means for adjusting the pressure of the needlepoint upon the :record to'reduce the scratch.

My inventionalso consists in many details of constructiomwhich will be hereinafter more as the specifica tion proceeds. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 isa side elevation of one of the commercial forms of phonographs having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation "of the details of mechanism for varying the weight orpressure of the needle upon the record-plate. Fig. 3

' is a plan view of this mechanism, taken on line 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional end elevation taken on line 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a center sectional detail view taken vertically through the horn and reproducer, showing my the sound-waves within the horn,

bears too heavily upon the. tending to unduly wear the Y such as is'common'ly I 55 said members.

inven tionapplied thereto. Fig. 6 is e perspective view of an ordinary reproducer. Fig.

' 1'? is e detail view of a plug to be inserted in the reproducer tube or born to reduce the 5 volume of vibrating air passing through it.

5 be applied.

in 'the drawings, numeral indicates'the box or case of such a commercial instrument having within it a motor or engine adapted to be woundup by'the operation of a crank 11,

so having on its end a handle 1-2. Attached to this motor 11 is a vertical rotatable shaft 13, having on its upper end a permanent disk 14. (in this rotatable disk 14: are pieced in succes- 'sion difierent detachable record plates or #5 records 15, having impressed upon their surfaces the souud record either of words or music or of other sounds which ere'to be reproduced by the instrument. Extending irom the box 10'is a stationary support 17, having its end 58's pivoted post 5?,bearing st its upper end a block or casting 4:8. Pivoted to thiscasting48'at18 isunother arm, 19. Either integral with or rigidly secured to the end of this arm 19 is apusua-lly cylindrical case 20,

wholly open on one face, as shown, and opened .into the restricted passage-way 27 onzthe opposite side, as shown, having within itet epproximately its center a-vihrating diaphragm 21, usually of mice. Rigidly secured to this 4 mica disk 21,which will be hereinafter referred to as the reproducer-disk, isa depending arm 22, adapted tovihrate, having its lower end supported, whileallowing' free vibration, by the screwsQS, which enterthe depending rigid support 24, secured to the bottom of the cylinder 20. Detachably secured'to the lower end of this depending vibratory arm %2 by s screw 25 is adetachable needle 26, adapted to bearin a spiral groove in the surfaeeoi the 5 record-plate 15. Inclosing the tube 517, heretofore referredxto, is e rubber bushing 28, on which fits the born 29. This bushing, d8 rosy be secured either to the tube 27 or to the in side of the born 29 and slip along the-other of The'fun'ction of this bushing 28 is to. makean air-tight joint between the horn and the tube.

In-the operation of'tliis-commerciel phonograph just described the propellingmiotor rotates shaft 13 and the disk 14;, with the rec I ord 15 upon it, under the needle 26. The

needle 26 is thus given by the irregularities of the pathof-the recordrunde therein at the timethle record itself is'nrei'ie a sidewise Vi" outed, through the vibratory arm 29;, hereto vi'ore described, to the zproduser-diaphragm '21, which diaphragm vibrates and gives the sounds which were impressed uponthe record when it was made. The vibretions of the front of this diaphragm are open, as shown inthe front of 6, end the vibrations oi the other side of the diaphragm travel through the tube 27 and out through the born 29 into theairythis horn beingused to collect and emplify the sound tones. When only the perts described are used, the sound thus ninplifiedby the horn is so gtreatthat except by placing onee ear near the reprodueer-dislr .21 the sounds coinin from the reproducer shown in the front, es'in 8., are n'otperticulsrly noticed. is volumeof-sound,huwever conling from the horn'of the phonegrsph of ordinary size is, us hereto'inrodescribed, altogether too greet'for use in en ordinary roonnend it has heretofore'bcen'the of e-wad of something, inthe bell of: thehorn.

dered unsatisfactory, end at the time the sound-waves whichese'spe'ihornthe front of the reprcducer-dislr greatly-decorate eted. Under these eonditionsl elsoiind that even the neck of the horn adjacent to the tube 27 vibrates and so ds-out sour waves into the room. All oi t. care-conditions render the use of the instrument ulmostes unsatisfactory in e rosin ordinary site :1

when an uninuiiled horn used; in order to avoid these disedvnnteg -ns,l provide the following mechanism: first provide e'cep32, made (in the core-of e instrument shown) cylindrical in form to lit over the linnge'QO, inelosing the FEQFC-Llilfifil illfili. If, however, the reprodueer d' lllL-l. red in a assent a difierent sh .e, t nap should be mode to conform to thet ope. l innlie'this cepof some rrlaterislywhich does not readily trens: rnit vibratory sounds, and if a substenee which does not transmit unv such sounds'euu be obtained such subst ould preferably be used. in. practiced rile cap made of heavy cardbcr ntury. This cep'ilts upon the l ropredueer very closely, ins eutir it, 2r edgezrnehrhll-l, through which the dopendr vibratory urrn pee end in which, it, n i'reely'vibrute. I also provide a un to engegethe'arrn 19. This notch serves as s guide, so that the cup will be in the some posiion, thereby insuring that the vibrating arm 22 shall be free to vibrnte in notch 34 with: out any danger or" coming in contact With-the cap I furhermore {ind it of great adventodulosethe elbow oi the horn in a nonsound-vibrationtransmlttins' tube 36, preferably s; thick-piece of hose mane oi-soft rubber.

ry'motiounnu'tais comment I in practice l have f0" "l tlrt such-a piece of insert on eighth oi: hthr ck As-sc on as this is donethe volume of sound practice to stuff it muffler, consisting usually substantially all perceptible transmission of ing into the horn from thereproducer.

sound through thiselbow of the born.

In order to dispense'withthe muffler-wad in the By removing the born 29 from" the tube 27 and substituting a ..plug of different-sized openings 39 I am able to'regulate the volume of sound-Waves passordertofurtherregulate the volume of soundwaves passing through the born, I pivot at 40 -within the horn a damper 41, made like an ordinary stovepipe damper, adapted to be opened and closed either by an extension of the rod '40 through the surface of the horn. or by an instrument inserted in the bell of the hornytherebyin different positions of the damper 41 regulating the volume of soundwaves passing through the horn. While I have used the rubber plug 38 with success, I recommend 'that when the devices .are' made in commerce that a damper like the one-4Q be placed in the reproducer-tube 27 in place of t p 'als Another great dilfieulty in commercial practice lies in the fact that the needle 26 presses W too hard uponthe record, thereby Wearing it H3 f. tuating in the sound produced any irregulari- :ties impressed upon the record. In :order to do away with this difliculty,'I attach to the perm-19, heretofore: described, by clips 44 a out, and also, what is more. important, accenhorizontal member 45,-and I also inclose the casting 48 with a,ls'uppl,emental member 46.

' To the member 48.1 secure, by means of screws 47,; another horizontal member 49. These parts become when attached practical] ya part of thecasting 48. In the arm 49 is a hole 50, and in the arm is a hole 51, and through these Y holes 50 and 51 I pass a bolt 52, having its 56 By turning this thumb-screw 56 up and head 53 bearing against the pivoted moving member 45 and having on its shank a spring 55,, bearing againsta detachable thumb-screw down on screw 52 against the'action of spring 55 I am able to move the'movable arm 45 to and from the arm 49', thereby adjusting the weight of the horn and the reproducer upon the needle 26, and therefore regulating the pressure of the needle upon the record. ,In other Words, the action of this device is ust the same as though'I hung avariable counter- ,weight on the arm'45 I When any of the commercial types of phonographs are equipped with these attachments just described,1 find that I can, first, by regulating thethumbscrew 56 vary the pressure of the needle 26 upon the record, thereby decreasing the scratch, of the needle upon the record. I also'find that by using the cap 32 the sound-waves transmitted from the open much more useful. in an ordinary room irrespective .of whether or not the other features fof the device were used. By using either or both of the adjustable devices 38 and 41 I am able 'to reduce the volume of sound passing through the horn without injuring the quality, and I therefore improve the instrument. The use of the covering 36 over the elbow of the horn does away with the transmission of sounds through the elbow of the horn and render's it still more effective for use in an ordinary room.

By'the use of the above devices'here shown I can rcadilyconvert a large phonographsuitable only for concert purposes so that it can be satisfactorily used in ordinary rooms without its being distasteful to the audience in the same room.

I donot wish to be limited as to the form of phonograph to which my invention shall be applied. All of these features are by mere 'slight changes in form as readily adaptable for a phonograph of the cylindrical type as oneof the disk type, as here shown, without departing from my invention.

I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction, which may be varied within reasonable limits without departing from the principles of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y record, a standard, an arm pivoted to said standard. carrying a reproducer bearing on said'record, a supplemental arm secured to said standard, a supplemental arm secured to said main arm, and means engaging both of said supplemental arms adapted to vary the angle of the arm to the standard, whereby the pressure of the reproducer on the record is varied. I

" 2. As an article of manufacture for use ina phonograph a removable cap made of substan-' tially imperforate substantially non-sound transmitting material, adapted to slidably fit over and cover one side of the reproducer of the phonograph.

3. As an article of phonograph a removable cap made of substantially imperforate substantially non; sound-Y transmitting material, adapted to slidably fit over and cover one side of the reproducer of the phonograph,there beinga notch or notches cutin the sides of said cap adapted. to fit over fixed points on a reproducer'wherebysaid cap can only be inserted upon the reproducer in a predetermined proper position. j

4. In a phonograph, in combination with a record, a reproducer in operative connection therewith and a horn attached to said reproducer, adjustable means within the horn for restricting the opening within the born for the passage of sound.

,5. In a phonograph in combination with a 1-. In a phonograph the combination of a manufacture for use-in a vrecord, areprodueer in operative connection therewith and a horn attached to said reproducer; adjustable means within thehorn near the reproducer adapted to restrict the opening within the horn for the passage of sound and other adjustable means between said first adjusteble'means and the end of the horn adapted to restrict the volume of sound passing through the born.

6. In a phonograph the combination of a record, a reproducer in' operative connection therewith and a horn attached to said reproducer; a. damper mounted in the path of soundweves passing from the reproducer through .producer, a horn attached thereto, a. damper on sound-restricting device within the horn and a substantielly non sound transmitting covering inclosing the portion of the horn between the reprodueer and said damper.

EUGENE M. ROBINSON.

Witnesses:

DWIGHT B. Unnnvnn, CHAS. E. GAYLORD.

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