US1219164A - Phonograph. - Google Patents

Description

M. 1. SAMUE'LS.

PHONOGRAPH.

APPLICATION r1150 APR. 11. 1915.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M. J. S-AMUELS.

PHONOGRAPH.

I APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1915. I 1,219,164. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5] n ue n-foz W $13 A SHOW M. J. SAMUELS.

PHONOGRAPH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. I915. 1,219,164. Patented Mar.13,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

F @ymwg $1 attozuew MARK JAY SAMUELS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PHONOGRAPH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented M3 13 1917- Application filed April 17, 1915. Serial No. 21,983.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARK JAY SAMUELs, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonographs, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to phonographs, and particularly to phonographs of the type which utilize disk records.

1 For the purpose of improving the appearance of phonographs of this type, it has recently become popular to dispense with.

the sound amplifying horn and to use a wooden sounding board, or sound box, situated in the support as a substitute for the horn. The results obtained by this substitution have been satisfactory to a certain degree, but great difficulty is encountered in producing a number of instruments which will give exactly the same tone quality, since it is practically impossible to obtain two pieces of wood for use as a sounding board, or sound box, which are exactly the same.

To obviate this difficulty, and for other reasons which will hereinafter appear, my invention contemplates the use of an entirely metallic sound amplifying device which takes the place of the horn heretofore used and of the sounding board, orsound box, now commonly in use, and serves also as asupport for all of the remaining parts of the phonograph.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a sound amplifying device which shall be composed entirely of metal, and in which there shallbe no soldered joints, since I have found that soldered joints interfere considerably with the tone reproduction.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved means, preferably supported by the sound amplifying device for driving the record supporting disk. This means consists essentially of a friction driving wheel, the periphery of which is adapted to contactwith the lower surface of the record supporting disk and thus impart rotary motion thereto. The advantages of such a driving means are that the speed of the record supporting disk is rendered more constant, and also that the manufacture of a friction driving wheel is less expensive than the manufacture of the tooth gear now commonly used.

Another object of myinvention is the prov1s1on of an arm for supporting the sound reproducing device, which .arm is made of some material other than metal, such, for instance, as'hard rubber, whereby a loose ball and socket connection between two metallic surfaces is dispensed with, thus improving the tone quality.

Another ob ect of my invention is the provision of means for automatically raising the sound reproducer from the record on the record supporting disk when the effective part of the record has been traversed by the sound producer.- With the above, and other ends in view, as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the apparatus, parts and combinations disclosed in the drawing and described in the specification, and more particularly pointed out in the 'claims which follow.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved phonograph;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view with a portion of the sound amplifying device removed;

Fig. 4 is rear elevation,'partly in section, showing the ball and socket connection between the sound amplifying device and the arm for supporting the sound reproducer;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing particularly the spring motor; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the sound amplifying device. and is seen to consist ofa spirally arranged member, the cross section of which. increases gradually from the end 11 to the other end or mouth 12. The top cover or wall 13 of the sound amplifying device preferably extends across the entire device,1ncluding the central recess 14, in which is disposed the motor 15.

The cover 13 thus forms a-eonvenient support for the motor 15 and, as herein shown, the motor is suspended-from the cover 13, by means of suitable bolts 16, passing therethrough.

The motor 15 may be of any desired type, such, for instance, as a spring motor or an electric motor, the motor herein illustrated being a spring motor. The particular construction of this motor is not essential-to my invention and, therefore, I will not describe it in detail. Suffice it to say that the spring drum 17 is geared in some suitable manner to the friction wheel 18, which passes through the slot or opening 19 in the top cover 13 of the sound amplifying device, and contacts with the under-surface of the record supporting disk 20, which is supported in some suitable manner upon the cover 13. Means, such as the handle 21, is provided for tensioning the spring drum 17. Also,

' it-is desirable to provide a governing device,

such as shown at 22, for. maintaining the speed of the motor and record supporting disk substantially constant during the operation thereof. Regulating means, such as indicated at23, may also be provided for varying -the speed of the record supporting disk at will. At 24: is indicated some suitable means, in the nature of a friction brake,

acting on the edge of the record supporting disk for starting and stopping the rotation of the disk when desired. In Fig. 3 it is seen that the bottom ofmy sound amplifying device is provided with a door 25 over the central recess, whereby the motor may be inserted into the recess and access thereto may be had when desired.

The sound amplifying device, as above described, is composed entirely of metal-having as few joints as'possible, and the necessary joints are preferably lap joints, whereby all soldering is eliminated. This is important, since I have discovered that the soldering of two pieces of metal in a sound reproducing instrument materially inter fers with the quality of the tone produced. Also it is seen that-the sound amplifying device is constructed to provide a graduated passage, thereby improving the tone quality and, at the same time, reproducing the overtones which are so often destroyed in sound reproducing devices.

At one side my sound amplifying device is provided with a projection 26, adapted to form a support for the arm 27, to which the reproducer 28 connected, and to provide a means of communication between the sound amplifying device and the arm. This arm 27 is preferably supported upon the projection 26 of the sound. amplifying de' vice by means of ball and socket joint, such as is shown at 29, in Fig. 4. I prefer to construct the arm 27 of some non-metallic material, such, for instance, as hard rubber, or some composition whereby I eliminate a loose joint between two metallic surfaces, and thus avoid any interference with the tone production.

The method of operation of my improved phonograph should be apparent from the foregoing. A record having been placed on the disk 20, thebrake 24 is removed from contact with the edge of the disk thus permitting the motor 15 to effect the rotation thereof. The reproducer 28 is then placed in contact with the record on the disk, and the device continues to operate and, produce sound until the reproducer and its supporting arm 27 have moved toward the center sufficiently to cause cooperation between the cam 30 and projection 31, and the resulting elevation of the reproducer. The ro-. tation of the disk 20 will continue after the reproducer has been elevated, but this continued rotation is of ne disadvantage.

As above pointed out, by eliminating wood entirely from my apparatus and by using stamped, rather than'cast, metal, I am able to produce any number of instruments which will give exactly the same results, and these results are found to be far superior to those obtained from wooden instruments, because of the fact that in devices embodying my invention there are no irregularities or imperfections in the sound amplifying elements.

The cost of manufacturing instruments embodying my invention is reduced to a minimum, since there are no excess parts. The sound amplifying device serves not only its usual function, but also serves as a support for all of the other parts of the apparatus.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, including a particular form of sound amplifying device, I do not wish to limit my self to this exact embodiment, since obviously ma changes may be made therein without departing from the'spiritof my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a metallic sound amplifying device arranged circularly to form a central recess and including a circular top plate which bridges said recess, a motor located in said recess and dependently supported from said a metallic sound amplifying device arranged circularly to form a central recess,

10 said and including a cireular top plate which bridges said recess, a motor located in Said rewess and dependently supported from said plate, a record supporting disk adapted to be driven: by said motor, sound reproducing means adapted to cooperate with a record on the record supporting disk and communieating with thesound amplifying device, and a bottom plate hingedly connected to amplifier, and adapted when closed to bridge the bottom of said recess. and when opento permit aeeess to said motor.

In testimony whereof I have signed this speelfieation in the presenee of two subserihmg witnesses.

MARK J AY SAMUELS.

Witnesses:

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