US1325648A - Phonograph - Google Patents

Description

L. H. MENTEL.

FHONOGRAPH AFPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNEZ, 19171 l f 1 $25,648. Patented Dee. 23,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

L. H. MENTEL. I

PHONOGRAPH APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION man 1uNE2s. 1911.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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Louis n. Yivinirrnn, or covINGToN, KENTUCKY.

PHONOGRAPH APLIANCE.

To all whom t may concern: p

Be it known that I, Louis H. MENTEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ot' Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonograph Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesV to phonographs or talking machines.

The object of my invention is to provide means for automatically stopping the rotation et the record of a phonograph when the stylus has reached the end or" the operative part of the record groove; and to so provide this means that it may be set to work properly in accordance with any given record that may be used on the phonograph.

A further objectV of my invention is to provide a meter that will measure and indicate the amount of work done bv the motor ot the phonograph at any given time until the motor is run down and requires winding again. Y

A further object of my invention is to effectively brush and clean the record before and during the operation thereof.

A further object of my invention is to combine all ot these means in a simple ccmpact device adapted either to be constructed in the phonograph, or to be so provided as tobe applied to a phonograph already built or in use.

My invention consists in the combination of parts and in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of part of a phonograph with my invention applied thereto fl Fig. 2 is a similar View showing a modification of my invention; y

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the device as shown in Fig. 1; i

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-section on a plane corresponding to the line `lA-lof Fig. 1; and

F ig. 5 is another plan View, similar to Figs. 1 and 2, showing another modilication of my invention. y

As illustrated in Figs. 1, and il, there is the turn-table '1 rotated by a suitable motor not herein shown, and carrying the record Specicatonof Letters Patent. Paten'bd Dec, 23V, 1919,

Application led June 25, 1917. Serial No. 176,764. i

2 for rotation therewith and to receive the stylus 3 supported with the sound-box' -l on the swinging arm 5l which has a support on other parts of the phonograph which are omitted for lack of space, only the front is taken out of the groove near the circular blank space 8 after the rendition. Without some means tor automaticallystopping the rotation ofthe record 2 or otherwise preventing further movement in toward'the center of the record, considerable damage may be done to the mechanism wherethe attendant forgets to perform these duties.

vFor the purpose ot' automatically stopping the rotation of the turntable 1 and the record 2 thereon, I provide, mounted on the casing top 6 at one side of the turntable, a frame 9 whichhas journaled in it on a verticalV aXis a rather large wheel 10 with a rim V11v of rubber or other material adapted to make effective frictional contact with the edge of the turn-table 1. Turning coaXially with this wheel 10 is a pini-on 12. Also journaled in the frame 9` on vertical axes are a train of gears 13, 15, 17 and 19 having coaxial pinions 14, 16, 18 and20, respectively, the vfirst gear 13 of' the train meshing with the pinion 12 andeach sucseeding gear meshing with the pinion of Y the preceding gear in the order enumerated;

the last pinion 2O ymeshing with a gear 21 coaxial withY the gear 17 and its pinion 18 about midway of the length of the frame. The arrangement of these gears is best seen by inspection of Figs. land '4C together As may 'be seen in Fig. 4, the last gear 21 has aI hub 22 iiXed on the shaft 23, which has a lower reduced part 24 below which it is journaled .in the lower part of the frame 9,

and the shaft 25 of the.v gear 17 andpinionv 18 is hollow and fits around the reduced part 24;, thus having its journal bearing, enabling the shaft 23 to turn independently of it.

The shaft 23 projects a considerable distance above the top of the frame 9, and is threaded for a considerable distance downward from its upper end. A circular dialplate 26 is fastened on the upper side of the frame 9 so that the shaft 23 projects up through its center. Immediately under the top of the frame 9 there is another gear 27 fitted to a thin-walled sleeve 28 which projects up loosely around the shaft 23 through the dial plate 26, and has the sleeve 29 of a hand 30 slipped down on it so that the hand extends radially across the dial plate. The tightness of lit of the sleeve 29 and the sleeve 28 is such that the hand will turn with the sleeve 28 except when moved by direct engagement; this arrangement being like that lof the hour hand on an ordinary clock. A

gear 31 has a pinion 32 coaxial with it and is journaled in the frame 9 on a vertical axis to mesh with a pinion 33 on the shaft of the gear 19, and to have its pinion 32 mesh with the gear 27.

Immediately above the hand 30, the shaft 23 has a collar 34 fixed to it and a bell crank comprising arms 35 and 36 is pivoted on the shaft 23 and is held down on the top of this collar 34 under a fiber or other suitable frictional contact washer 37 under the yielding pressure of a helical spring- 38, which is held down and may have its pressure adjusted by a thumb nut 39 screwed on the threaded upper part of the shaft 23 and held in adjusted position by a lock nut 40. The arm 35 extends substantially radially across the dial-plate on the side next to the turn-table 1, and is bent downward and carries on its end a shoe 41 having a face of suitable material to make eiiicient frictional contact with the periphery of the turn-table 1 when the arm 35 is swung toward said turn-table. The other arm 36 extends about at right angles to the arm 35, substantially radially across the dial-plate and across to a hollow segment 42 that extends a little over half the way around the dial-plate, a short distance radially outward therefrom throughout its length concentric with the dial-plate on the side remote from the turn-table 1. The arm 36 has a bent down part 43 lying outside the hollow segment 427 and this segment 42 has its radially outward side provided with a slot 44 throughout its length, out through which extends the stirrup 45 that is fixed to one end of a flexible extension element 46 tting inside the hollow segment 42 and extending from the stirrup 45 out through one end of the segment 42 substantially radially across the turn-table 1 and the record 2 mounted thereon, as is best seen in Fig. 1; it being understood that the frame 9 and mechanism just described is so located ou the top 6 of the phonograph casing that the extension element 46 will have-this relation to the turn-table and record when extended from the segment 42. This mounting of the frame 9 on the top 6 is preferably by means of a pivot 47 on a plate 48 that is fixed to the top 63 and a tension spring 49 is stretched between a lug 50 on the inner side of the plate 48 and a lug 51 on an adjacent side of the frame 9. 'Ihe result of this arrangement is that the spring 49 normally yieldably holds the mechanism toward the turn-table 1 so that the wheel 10 has its friction rim 11 automatically adjusted to any slight irregularities in the periphery of the turn-table 1, thereby causing the driving of the mechanism by thc turn-table to be more efficient and uniform. Also with the mechanism thus pivotally mounted it may be manually swung away from the turn-table, so that it is not driven by the turn-table; this being useful, for instance, when the stylus 3 is being properly located at the beginning` of rendition.

About one-half of the dial-plate 26 on the side next to the turn-table 1 is provided with graduations 52, and the bell crank that comprises the two arms 35 and 36 also comprises a hand or pointer 53 that travels over the graduations 52 as the bell crank is swung around through the medium of the train of gears hereinbefore described. The opposite part of the dial-plate 26 is provided with graduations 54 over which swings the hand 30 as it is swung around by its .hereinbefore described.

The other end part of the flexible element 46 has mounted on it a brush 55 that extends downward and bears on the face of the record; while extending upward therefrom there is preferably a small lug or handle that is grasped to manipulate the element 46.

Thus constructed, when the record 2 has been properly placed on the turn-table 1, the element 46 is pulled out of its inclosing segment 42, drawing the brush 55 radially inward across the record a suitable distance; which action draws the bell crank around with the element 46, due to the engagement of the parts 43 and 45 and swinging the hand 53 along the graduations 52, so that the extent of swinging of the bell crank and the distance of withdrawal of the shoe 41 from the turn-table periphery is thus indicated. The graduations 52 as here shown indicate the number of revolutions the turntable 1 will have to make to bring the shoe 41 back into contact with the turn-table periphery. In Fig. 1 the solid lines indicate the positions of the bell crank and the ele-` ment 46 before this setting operation; while the dotted lines indicate these positions after the setting operation. The record shown is one requiring 325 turns of the turn-table 1 to render the selection recorded upon the record; this being indicated by the mark- -rendition the shoe 4l will have made such contact with the turn-table periphery when the stylus has reached the end of the operative part of the groove 7 in near the blank space 8 as to stop the turning of the turntable against the turning force of the motor,

ywhich motor, as before stated, is not shown herein; it being understood that my invention is especially adapted for working in conjunction with a spring motor such as is usually employed for turning phonograph turn-tables. A

If another record is to be used requiring a different number of revolutions, the element 46 will be set accordingly as indicated by the hand 53 on the graduations 52. With the brush 55 bearing on the face of the record, if it is drawn inwardly thereacross with sufficient slowness, the record will be well brushed and cleaned prior to placing the stylus `in the groove 7 and as the brush 55 travels radially outward across the face of the record during the rendition, any dust particles that may light on the record or any particles that may be raised by the stylus 3 from the record will be brushed aside so as not to interfere with the correct operation of the phonograph.

Another and perhaps more important function of the element 46, however, is the indication of the correct degree of withdrawal of the shoe 41 from the turn-table periphery, independently of any dial arrangement. such as that comprising the graduations 52. Thus the brush 55 is so located on the element 46 that in the example shown herein the end of the brush remote from the end of the element 46, and radially outwardly therefrom across the record, coincides substantially with the last turn of the groove 7 in next to the space 8, as seen in Fig. 1, when the shoe 4l has been swung far enough away from the turn-table periphery to permit the rendition before again reaching said periphery and stopping the turn-table. Most rec ords are of either one of two diameters; and the brush 55 is preferably made of such length that this radially outward end of the brush, remote from the end of the element -4-6, will indicate the proper adjustment for incident with the last turn of the groove 7,

the shoe 41 will of course be swung a lesser distance away. from the turn-table so as to reach the turn-table sooner and thus stop the turn-table Vafter the rendition by this smaller record. l

In any case it will be seen that at the completion of the rendition the element 46 with its brush 55 will be drawn so far off the face of the record that the removal of the record and placing of another record will not be hindered.

While this function of the element 46 to indicate the proper adjustment of the mechanism is highly useful in that it dispenses with the dial, it will be understood that it is useful only where all the records have the saine number of turns of the groove 7 in a given distance radially across the record.

For instance, some records have 100 turns per inch, while others have'l50 turns. Thus if the device is constructed for this use for one kind of record it will be necessary to resort to the dial for, proper setting for a record having a less or greater number of turns per inch. Therefore, it will be seen that rmy device provided with both the dial and the element 46 functioning as an indicating element is ladapted for any contingency; while'theV brush 55 of course functions to clean the record whether the ele-y ment 46 is functioning as an indicating element or not. Also my invention is useful whether either the dial or the element 45 be dispensed with, since if it has the dial alone it may readily be set for any given kind of record.

The gears driving the hand 30 are so de'- signed and proportioned'that the hand will pass a succeeding one ofthe graduations each time a record has been played, so that it may be readily noted how many records have been played since the last winding of the motor. For instance in Vthe example, the graduations 54 are 0, l, 2, 3, 4. The hand 30 is set at 0 when the motor is wound, and supposing that the motor is capable of running the turn-table l until four selections have been rendered, the hand 30 pointing to 4 will indicate that the motor should be wound again. These graduations are of or average record; as, for instance, with'the B25-turn record of the example. That is to say the motor would be .capable Vof giving the turn-table 1300 turns.

' ln the modification shown in Fig. 2, instead of having the arms 35 and 36 com-- prised in a Vbell crank, the arm 35 is fixed concentric to a gear 35`me'shing with a pinion 35a on the shaft 23; while the arm 36 is mounted directly onl the shaft 23 in the same Vmanner as the bell crank inthe preceding example. rlChus the arm 36 swings through a greater angle than does the arm 35. The result 1s that the'hollow segment 42 may be of considerably less radius so that it is contained under the dial plate 26. Thus arranged the segment lf2 has the slot -lf/ in its top and the dial plate 26 has a coincident slot i4. The iiexible element 46 has its stirrup e5 extending up through these slots around the arm 36 and thus coperates with said arm in a manner similar to that described for the element of the preceding example. The arm 36 has the pointer 53 mounted directly on its end, dispensing with the separate hand 53 of the preceding example; and the graduations 52 are of greater angular extent around the dial to correspond with the Igreater angle of swinging of the arm 36. Since these graduations extend nearly all the way around the dial, the motor-meter graduations 5% over which the hand 30 travels are arranged radially inwardly and the hand 30 correspondingly' shortened as compared with the hand 30 in the preceding example.

rlhe other details of this example are suhstantially the same as those of Figs. l, 3 and il, as is also the method of operation of the device.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 the construction is similar to that of Fig. 2, but the stirrup 45 of the flexible element e6 lies on the rear side only of the arm 36, so that the element LlG be used to draw the arm 36 the required distance around the dial which, through the gearing, not shown in this view, will swing the arm 35 with its shoe Lll the required distance away from the turn-table; and then the element 4G may be drawn back into the hollow segment 42 so that the mechanism is relieved of drawing this element back into this segment. Thus the freedom of operation of the device is somewhat increased over that where the mechanism must draw the element 4G gradually into the segment. For automatically drawing the element d6 back into the segment after it has performed its function, the tension spring 57 has one end connected to the stirrup 4:5 and extends around a sheave 58 coaxial with the shaft 23, and has its other end fixed to a lug 59 on some fixed part of the device.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, and indicating means moving over the face of a record operatively related to said record-moving means to indicate, in connection with said record, the degree lof movement of said element away from said position before rendition.

2. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, indicating means to indicate, in connection with a record operatively related to said record-moving means the degree of movement of said element away from said position before rendition, and additional indicating means operatively connected to the aforesaid indicating means to indicate the degree of movement of said element.

3. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor moved to stopping position during rendition, indicating means moving over the face of a record operatively related to said record-moving means to indicate, in connection with said record, the degree of movement of said element away from said position before rendition, and additional indicating means operatively connected to the aforesaid indicating means to also indicate the degree of movement of said element away from said position before rendition.

l. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, means to indicate, in Connection with a record operatively related to said record-moving means, the degree of movement of said element away from said position before rendition, a dial, a hand to move across said dial, and a geared operative connection between said hand and said stopping element, to move said hand to indicate the degree of movement of saidV record-moving means.

5. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with a record-carrying turn table, a stopping element for said turn table malring frictional contact with the periphery thereof, rotary means making frictional contact with said periphery and operatively connect-ed to said element to move said element to stopping position during rendition, and a yieldable mounting for said rotary means and said stopping element whereby they are yieldably held against said periphery.

6. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, and means moving across part of a record operatively related to said record-moving means to indicate, in connection with said record, the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition.

7. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, graduated means, means moved, with the movement of said stopping element, along said graduated means, and an indicating element adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across vthe face of a record operatively related to said record-moving means, to indicate, in connection with said record, the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition.

8. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving` means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, and an indicating element adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record operatively related to said record-moving means, to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition.

9. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, anda brush adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across and in contact with the face of a record operatively related to said recordmoving means, to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition.

10. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, and a brush adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across and in contact with the face of a record operatively related to said recordmoving means, to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition, different parts of said brush indicating the proper degree of said movement for records of di 'fferent sizes.

11. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with a record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, an arm swung by said stopping element, a hollow segment having a longitudinal slot, a flexible indicating'element in said segment and extending therefrom, and means extending from said indicating element through said slot and engaging with said arm, whereby said indicating element is adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record operatively related to said record-moving means to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition.

12. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with a record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, an arm swung by said stopping element, a hollow segment having a longitudinal slot, a flexibie indicating element in said segment and extending therefrom, means extending from said indicating element through said slot and engaging with said arm, whereby said indicating ele` ment is adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record operatively related to said record-moving means to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition, and a brush on said indicating element to make contact with the face of the record when said element moves across said face.

13. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with a record-moving means, a stopping element therefor, means whereby said element is moved to stopping position during rendition, an arm swung by said stopping element, a hollow segment having a longitudinal slot, a flexible indicating element in said segment and extending therefrom, means extending from said indicating element through said slot and engaging with said arm, whereby said indicating element is adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record operatively related to said recordmoving means to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from said position before rendition, and a brush on said indicating element to make contact with the face of the record when said element moves across said face, different parts of said brush indicating the proper degree of said movement for records of different sizes.

14. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with a record-carrying turn-table, a stopping element moved into position to contact with said turn-table during rendition, graduated means, means moved, with the movement of said stopping element, along said graduated means, and an indicating element adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record carried on said turn table to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping element away from its contacting position before rendition.

15. In a phonograph appliance, in combination with a record-carrying turn-table, a stopping element moved into position to contact with said turn-table during rendition, and an indicating element adapted to move, with the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record carried on said turn-table,

16. In a phonograph appliance, in oombination With a record-carrying turn-table, a stopping element moved into position to Contact with said turn-table during rendition, an arm swung by said stopping element, L hollow segment having a longitudinal slot, 2L flexible indicating element in said Segment and extending therefrom, and means extending from said indicating element through said slot and engagin with said arm, whereby Said indicating e ement is adapted to move, With the movement of said stopping element, across the face of a record carried on said turn-table to indicate the degree of movement of said stopping 15 element away from its contacting position before rendition.

LOUIS H. MENTEL.

l/Vitnesses CLARENCE PERDEW, IRENE PARKER.

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