US1430700A - Phonograph machine - Google Patents

Description

G. STROBINO. EHONOGRAPH MACHiNE. APPLICATION FILED 001 29, I920.

1,430,700. Patented Oct. 3,1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V///////////// ///Z/A/// WITNESS: I v INVENTOH A GaYon STvobmo, 7 I 8 E ATTORNEY G. STROBIN'O.

PHONOGRAPH MACHINE- APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29. 1920.

1,430,700. Patented Oct. 3, 1922.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

WITNESS: I IIVVE/VTOIR' W M QcxsTon STvobmo,

ATTORNEY Patented Get. 3, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHONOGRAPH MACHINE. I

Application. fil ed October 29, 1920. Seria No. 420,374.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GAsToN STnoBINo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonograph Machines, of which the following is a speci ficatiomi This invention relates to phonograph and the like machines (hereinafter termed phonograph machines), and it has for its principal object to provide an arrangement and construction ofthe system of parts that terminates in a needle or point to bear on the recorcbforming surfacethat will conduce to such a transmission of vibrations that reproduction of sound in a materially improved degree will ensue and that will further make it possible for said system of parts to be operative, when used in transmitting vibrations from such a' surface, with recorcb grooves whose undulations are eithervertical or lateral. The principal feature of my invention consists in a transmitter characterized by an attenuated arm formed of thin material and having a thick vibratory head, and a record-groove-engaging needle or point fixedly connected to the thick head of .said arm,fthe arm being movably connected to a fixed part of the machine. I have herein shown two forms ofv a machine embodying this feature of my invention; the machine shown in Figures 1. to 6 embodies it with, and that shown in Figures 7 to 9 embodies it without, certain other novel fea tures which when used with the principal feature of my invention increase the improvement which it represents in the way of better sound reproduction that is capable in the, use of, the ordinary devices, and which have certain value quite independent of the principal feature.

In Figures 1 to 6, showing the first form,

Figure 1 is a front elevatiomthe case appearing in vertical section on line 1 1, Figure 2; I

Figure 2 is a side elevation, the case again appearing in vertical section;

,Figure 3 is a vertical front-to-rear section of the principal parts; Figures 4 and.5 are side and end elevations of the record-'groove-engaging end portion of the transmitter; and I Figure 6 is a diagrammatic View;

formed and arranged as follows:

the record-supporting platen c which is carried on the upper end of a shaft (Z which protrudes upwardly through the horizontal partition 6 from the lower compartment 7 of the case and is adapted to be driven by any suitable motor in the lattercompartment,

such a motor being shown in Figure 2 and designated 9. The lower compartment may have a sound outlet means as h in one side, as the front, being preferably otherwise closed. 1

In the lower compartment is a rigid supp i g projecting inwardly from its front wall. The end of this arm enters the loop of abracket k which is articulatedto the arm by a pair of vertically opposed pivots Z Z set in the bracket, one of which is preferably a screw, as shown, to permit lost motion of the bearing formed to be taken up. The bracket is bifurcated at the top and one arm of its bifurcated portion is extended to form a segment at which is surmounted by a plate a formed with a longitudinal slot 0, said arm and the other arm 19 of the bracket carrying a pivot pin or bolt 9, arranged horizontally, and on this is journaled a rocker 1 which has a long arm 8 formed with an abutment t to bear against the under side of plate 1%, the arm penetrating the slot 0 of said plate and being threaded thereabout and equipped with a nut a which may be made to coactwith said abutment to clamp the arm and hence the rocker to whatever position around pivot 9 they maybe adjusted. A resilient sup ort or connection surmounts the rocker, eing preferably It is a plate spring v which is rebent (there being preferably two distinct bends, o and o", the former somewhat acute and the latter obcone and closed at its smallerend, which may i I be formed of some light, stiff sheet material,

as parchment paper and preferably reinforced and stiffened at its margin by a hoop of wood or the like g jand there stylus device consisting of a curved tubular stem or arm part 2 a needle-carryinghead to be described suitably fitted to one end of said stem,and a curved member 2 which is braced or otherwise secured to the other endof the part or member zand formstherewitli what substantially amounts to a fork, the members a and 2 bemg preferably formed of metal tubing and member 2 having its extremities beveled away so as to leave long bladelike resilient extremities 2 which are secured fast to diametrically opposite points i of the membrane member at or near its margin. It is desirable that the transmitter formed by the membrane'me-mber, the fork r2 -2 and head should be rigid, i. e., unadapt ed to flex as an incident to the beveling or thinning down of the member 2 at the points '2 2 ,the membrane member and the member .2 ar'eboth elastic elements, and it is {further desirable to utilize their elasticity in creating a state of tension in the transmitter. For

' these purposes, 3 designates take-up screws which are tapped into the member 2 and penetrate the reinforced margin'of the membrane member, and 4 designates suitable struts which traverse the marginal portion of themembrane member from points near the screws 3 to a substantially diametrically opposite point of the membrane member.

{When the screws 3 are turned the trans- Qmitter comprising the fork 2-2 and membrane member will obviously be set in a condition of tension. Thetransmitter has a screw5 set in the relnforced marginal portion of the membrane member thereof at a 'point'adjoining and opposite the juncturebetween the members .2 and 2, and this screw 1s tapped into the upper arm. of the spring supporter connection 1;, so that the said transmitter hangs pendent from said arm,

the connection (said screw) between the transmitter and arm being an inflexible one,

It will beseen (particularly on a view to thediagram, Figure 6) that the structure comprising the transmitter,screw 5, spring sup 'port o and rocker '2" are carried on'arm 27 through the med1um..of a universal-joint lconnectionwhose.ares g and Z Z perm-it up n and down movement of said structure, as.in changmg records, and horlzontal movement thereof, in order that the needle mayprogress generally radially of the record A when the machine is operating. In. order to 'relieve the record of some of the pressure that would otherwise be incident to the weight of the transmitterin short, in order to ad just the pressure ofthe needle on the recordarm 8 may be shifted and then secured in the new position by means of nuts. So far the platen. It 1s also new to provide a carrier member, ask, movable in a plane parallel with the record surface and a transmitterincluding structure, as i", o 5, yw 2, a attached to the carrier and having a terminal (as a needle or point, to be described) to' rest on the record and being flexible and elastic between the carrier and terminal, and further provide said structure and the carrier with coacting means to secure said structure, when the point device rests on the record, in different degrees of tension. The membrane member occupies, as shown, the lower com partment of the casethe stylus device protruding up through a hole 6 in partition 6- and so is out of the way and obscured. The hereinbefore mentioned head of the trans mitter, generally denoted by B, is'in the present case made in two parts and 10, one to receive the needle or pointC and the other having a plug tofit into tube 2, parts 8 and '10 being connected by a coupling 9, fixed in part 10 but affording a pivota supportthe axis 8 being horizontal-to part 8', so that there will be a vertical yield, which is resisted by a spring 11. The needle or point C is shown as a fork with a threaded stem 7 to fit into head B and a head 7 having (here) three arms 7 one to receive a plain needle proper (shown in axial alinement with stem 7 for laterally or vertically cut record-grooves and the other two to receive respectively, Edison and Path needles proper for V-shaped andU-shape'd, record grooves, respectively.- In changing from one to another kindof record the operator has onlyto turn fork 7 on its stem as an, axis to bring the appropriate needle proper into o erative relation to the record-groove; when either of the Edison or Path needles proper is in use the fork stands in a vertical plane;

:Whell the plainneedle prop r i use the fork is shifted on its axis through The pivot 8 permits the part 8 of the transmitter head which actually carries the point-device or needle to' yield vertically relatively to the remainder of the transmitter. The yield thus afforded serves to absorb the shock which, on account of the weight and inertia of the transmitter, the record would undergo, with consequent injury, when the record is of the lateral-cut type, where the point device seeks to follow a direct course and short-cuts the deflections of the record-groove and so undulates up and down somewhat. So far as I amaware it is broadly new to mount a pointdevice in a part of a transmitter yieldable up and down relatively to the remainder.

Referring now, to Figures 7 to 9: Parts a, b, b, 0, cl, 6, f, g, h and A are or may be the same as parts a to h and A heretofore described, except that compartmcnt f is here shallower than in the first form. The transmitter parts a, B- and C are also essentially the same as the parts 2 and B and C described, except that needle C is fixedly connected to a plate spring C" which is in turn fixedly connected to the head. A block 12 is fitted to the outer end of tube .2 and it is equipped with a downwardly protruding bearing pin 13 whose upper end forms a conical bearing socket 14 for the tapered lower end of a bearing pin 15 which seats in said socket; a slot 16 in the block, extending longitudinally thereof and but just wide enough to admit pin 15, allows the latter to oscillate longitudinally but not transversely of the block. The lower end of pin 13 and upper end of pin 15 are also tapered, being received in suitable bearings formed in the opposite portions of a rebent bracket 17 which overhangsa recess 17 in and has one arm suitably fixed to part c of wall 6. The structure B, e 12 can swing on the axis 1315 horizontally, or over the face of the record, and the connection is also such that it can be swung up in a vertical plane but cannot fall over sidewise,

due to the slot 16 confining pin 15 to. a plane of articulation longitudinal of said structure. A spring 18 holds pin 15 with its upper end always engaged in its bearing in bracket 16, In order to adjust the bearings of the pins 13-15 in the bracket the latter is traversed by a stem 19 which is fixed in one arm and penetrates the other arm of said bracket and has an adjusting nut 20 screwed thereon and bearing against the latter arm, it being desirable to avoid any tendency of pin 15 to rattle.

The transmitters shown in both forms of the machine are essentially the same in that each is characterized by an attenuated arm a (or a) formed of thin material and having a thick vibratory head B (or B), and a record-groove-engaging needle or point fixedly connected to the thick head of said arm, the arm being movably connected to a fixed part of the machine. Since sound reproduction is not by my transmit ter dependent on fiexion, as of a diaphragm in the case of the ordinary transmitter (which diaphragm is substantially inoperative unless set in a certain relation to the undulations of the record groove). but is the result of vibrations acting from point or needle C through the substance of the thick head B in every direction, the trans niitter is not only adapted to both verticall and laterally cut records, interchangeably, but the sound reproductions are much more in faithful accord with the original. I utilize this quality of a thick vibratory body to best advantage in a practical organization of parts by making it a head on the end of an attenuated supporting portion formed of thin material (thin, so that the vibrations do not expend themselves in solid matter, as they in large measure would if said portion were as thick as or thicker than the head) and arranged and operating as set forth. The tube a is preferably made of resonant material and so serves as a good means itself for setting up sound waves in the atmosphere, as well as to conduct the vibrations created in the head to an amplifier, as the means 2, w y of Figures 1 to 6, or the sound-box formed by the (wooden) walls of chamber f in Figure 7. For the material. of the head I use any resonant substance, having used with good results such nonmetals as wood, fibre or the composition of which phonograph records are usually made; tube a is preferably metal, as brass.

Havin thus fully described my invention,

what I cIaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination, a stationary supporting means, a movable record supporting platen therein, and a transmitter including an attenuated arm formed of thin material and having a thick vibratory head, and a record-groove-engaging point device fixedly connected to the thick head of said arm, said arm being movably connected to said supporting means at a point remote from the head and holding the head and point device in operative relation to a record on the platen and the transmitter being out of contact with said supporting means between.

said point and the point of contact of the point device with the record.

2. In combination, a stationary supporting means, a movable record supporting platen. therein, and a transmitter including an attenuated arm formed of thin resonant material and having a thick vibratory head, and a record-groove-engaging point device fixedly connected to the thick head of said arm, said arm being movably connected to said supporting means at a point remote from the head and holding the head and point device in operative relation to a record on the platen and the transmitter being out ofcontact with said supporting means between said point and the point of contact of the point device with the record.

3. In combination, a stationary support? ing means, a movable record supporting platen therein, and a transmitter including an attenuated arm formed of thin tubular material andiliaving thick vibratory head, and a record-groove-engaging point device fixedly connected to the thick head of said arm, said arm being movably connected to said" supporting means at a point remote from the head and holding the head and point device in operative relation to a record on the platen and the transmitter being out otcontact with said supporting means between said point and the point of contact of the point device with the record.

4. In combination, a supporting means, a movablev record-supporting platen therein, and a transmitter including a vibratory member arranged under the platen and an upwardly and laterally extending portion terminating in a record-groove-engaging point. device overhanging a record placed on the platen, said means supporting the transmitter in operative movable relation to a record on the platen.

5 In combination, a supporting means, a. movable record-supporting platen therein, and a.,transmitter including a vibratory member arranged lower than the platen and an upwardly and laterally extending portion terminating in a record-groove-engaging point device and overhanging a record placed on the platen, said means having a pivotal joint device to support the transmitter in operative movable relation to the platen.

6. In combination, a supporting means, a movable record-supporting platen therein, a carrier member in said means, and a transmitter-including structure attached to the carrier member and having a record-grooveen'gaging point device and being flexible and elastic between said device and its point of attachment to the carrier member, said structure and the carrier having coacting means to secure said structure, when the point device/rests on the record, in different degrees of tension. j

7. In combination, a supporting means, a

v movable "record-supporting platen therein, a

carrier member in said means, and a transmltter-including structure plvoted to the carrier member on an axis substantially parallel with the record surface and having a record-groove-engaging point device and being flexible and elastic between said pointdevice and axis, whereby the tension of said structure may be varied when the part of saidstructure adjacent said axis is shifted onsaid axis whilethe point device bears on the record, said structure and carrier having co-acting means to hold said part in the position to which it is thus shifted.

8. In combination, .a supporting means, a movable record-supporting platen therein,

and a transmitter including a vibratory movable record-supporting platen therein, a"

transmitter including a hollow vibratory member opening laterally, and a stylus de- 'vice' projecting from said member and adapted to bear on'the record, a part of said supporting means projecting into said member, and means to connect said transmitter to said part.

.10; A phonograph transmitter structure including a stiff membrane member and a stylus device including a bent elastic portion, said member and stylus device holding each other in a state of tension.

11. A phonograph transmitter including a stiff hollow membrane member, a stylus deing around the membrane member, and means, connecting said member and device, to cause each to hold the other in a state of tension.

. ice including 'a bent elastic portio t 12. A phonograph transmitter including a astiff membrane member, a stylus device including a bent elastic portion extending around, and attached at spaced points thereof to, the membrane member and spaced therefrom between said points, and means to draw together the stylus device and member having connection with them between said points. i

' 1.3. A phonograph transmitter including a stiff membrane member, a stylus device in-: eluding a bent elastic portion extending around, and attached at spaced points thereof to,"the membrane member and spaced therefrom between said points, means to draw together the stylus device and memberhaving conneotion with them between said points, and strut means connectingone side of the membrane member near the first means with the opposite side of said member. i

j 14. A phonograph transmitterincludinga stylus device having a bent elastic portion and means to hold said bent elastic portion in a state of tension including a membrane member aroundwhlch said portion extends:

and secured to said portion at spaced points thereof. I

In testimony whereof I afiix m signature.

GASTON ST OBINO.

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