US1431119A - Automatic sound control eox phono gkraphs and the like - Google Patents

Description

0. E. KELLUM.

AUTOMATIC SOUND CONTROL FOR PHONOGRAPHS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1920.

1 ,43 1 1 1 9, Patented Oct. 3, 1922.

jade)??? Patented Oct. 3, 1922.

UNITED. STATES 1,431,119 PATENT OFFICE.

ORLANDO n. KELLUM, or LOS Anenrns, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC SOUND CONTROL FOB- PHONOGRAIPHS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed September 18, 1920. Serial No. 411,215;

nism, such, for instance, as a 'kinetograph.

In a broad and general way the invention relates to and comprises an automatic sound control for a phonograph, musical instrument, or, in fact, any mechanism or apparatus similar or equivalent to a phonograph or musical instrument. In'the present form of the invention I provide means, embodying electrical and mechanical means,for carrying out the invention in a manner thatcan be advantageously employed when the invention is applied to a phonograph. In this particular means I provide a mechanical modifying or dampening device in connection with the sound arm of the phonograph, electromagnetic means for operating the modifying device, and adjustable control means for'the electro-magnetic means. In operation the sound from the phonograph -is partially or completely cut off at the desired time or times and isunmodified in any way at other times.

In a-somewhat more specific sense the invention comprises in combination two synchronously operating mechanisms, one of i which. is a. phonograph, and automatic sound control for the phonograph. To disclose this phase oil the invention I am herein setting 'l'orth a synchronous phonograph and lrmetograph with the automatic sound control deviceinv connection. with the phonograph.

Tn such an arrangement as this the control.

means in the automatic sound control device can be actuated by the phonograph, or by the kinetograph, either of which will cause it to operate in synchronism with both the phonograph and kinetograph and thereby cause synchronous operation of the entire combined apparatus.

This last mentionedphase of the invention is'of particular note and importance from a practical standpoint in that it provides, in

combination with asynchronous phonograph graph mechanism 11.

and kinetograph, means for controlling the sound produced by the phonograph in such manner as to either completelycut it off or to modify it, In practice when a phonograph and kinetograph are operating synchronously there are times when it is desired to modl'ly the soundproduced by the kinetograph and there are tlmes when it is desired .to completely out off all of the sound from the phonograph. In operation the present invention effectively and automatically pro I duces the desired modification and cutting off of the sound; and,1n fact,when 1t operates to completely cut off the sound it positively cuts of] all of the sound even. that caused by the operation of the phonograph mechanism, including the needle scratch, etc. Such operatlon as this cannot be had by any sort oi. recording on the record used on the phonograph. For instance, in theordinary operation of the phonograph when it is playing a part of the record on which no musical. or vocal sounds have been recorded,

such as the starting blank groove or any intermediate blank port on, the needle scratch lowing detail description of a preferred em bodiment of the invention throughout which referenceis had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- i Fig. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus emlypdying a phonograph kinetograph and the automatic-sound control device for the phonograph; Fig. 2 IS an enlarged detail sectional vlew taken as indicated by line 2-2 on Fig. if; and Fig. .3 is anwenlargedside eleration ofua portion of the automatic sound control. devlce showing the electric circuits diagrammatically.

Tn thedrawings numeral 10 design-ates a tyqiical phonograph mechanism inconnec tionwith which is arranged atypical kineto- The phonograph mechanism 10 is adapted to be operated by a motor 12 directly connected with the record carrying table 13, while the'kinetograph mechanism 11 is adapted to be operated by'amotor 14. The motor 14 is synchronous electric motor operated from and controlled by a commutatormechanism 15' operated from and by the phonograph IHGCll-r specific means' for synchronously connecting I anism 10.

chronous motorsystems, filed Aug. 19', 1920,

Serial No. 404,684. It will be understood, howeven'that the nature of the'present invention is such that itpis not in any way limited 'or'res'trictedto any oneparticular or v "the phonographmechanism and kinetograph movements.

cut oil or close ofl the mechanism. Further it may be here stated that various forms and types of phonograph mechanisms and kinetograph mechanisms may be used in carrying out the invention without in anyway departing from the spirit thereof. v

As means for dampening oil or regulating the sounds from the honograph mechanism "10. a damper or -va ve" 18 is arranged in connectionwith the sound arm 19 of the "phonograph mechanism. I am showing the regulating means, or in other words the valve 18, in connection with the'sound arm '19 merely because it maybeeasily and efiectively arranged at that part of-the phonograph mechanism, it being understood of course that it might well be arranged in or at any sound transmitting portion of the phonograph mechanism. Guides'20 are provided on the sound arm 19 to slidably carry the valve 18 and direct it in various The valve 18 itself is a member, or structure, having a. closed or continuous portion '21 and an opening or upcture 22. The continuous portion of. the valve 18 is of suflicient ac to completely 11d army in the manner clearly shown in 3g. 2 of the drawings, while [the opening" inthe valve is the same size as the opening in the sound arm 'andis adapted to register with the opening 'in the sound arm under certain operating conditions. In the particular jform of the invention herein set forth the coutinuous portion of' the" va'lve is at the formed 'at thelower end thereof.

upper. end thereof while the opening 22 is It isobviousthat when'thevalve l8 'isinthe position shown-in Fi J 2t'hat the sound-arm is com- .pletely'close' in a-manner topositively prevent the; passageof-sounds, or any "kind,

"throu hit, 'aniijthaft when the valve is in a position tocausethe upening 22 to register with the opening in the sound arm that the sound arm is unrestricted and will allow free passage of sounds through it, and that when the valve is in a osition intermediate of the above mentione positions that the sound arm will be out 011: or restricted to a more or less degree de ending upon the particular positioning of ewvalve, thereby partially restricting the passage of sound through the arm.

To operate the valve 18 it is connected to or wit a solenoid mechanism 25. The solenoid mechanism 25 is mounted on the sound arm 19 by a suitable member 26 and comprises, generally, three concentric coils 27 arranged so that there is a vertical opening 28 through them. A core'29 is freely carried in the opening 28 so that it will be moved through the opening 28 by energizution of any of the coils. The core 29 is connected to the valve '18 by a suitable rod 30 thereby causing the valve 18 to be operated when the core 29 is moved. In the preferred formof construction the valve 18 and rod 30 are of light construction and a light spring 31 is connected to a bracket 32 which extends downwardly through the o ening 28 and connects to the core 29. n practice the spring 31 is not sufficiently strong to support the load of the core 29, rod 80, and valve 18. although it is of such strength as to almost counterbalance the weight of these parts, thereby allowing the core 29 to be very easily moved by the coils 27. It will be readily understood how energization of any one of the coils 2? will cause the core 29 to be moved through the opening 28 until it is within that particular coil. For instance, if the core 29 is in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the lowermost coil27 is energized, t-hecore will move only a short distance upwardly through the opening 27, thereby causing only slight opening of the valve 18. If the central coil 27 is energized the core 29 will move through the opening 28 until it is within the central coil 27 or equidistant between the top and bottom coils 27, thereby causing the valve 18 to be in a half-open position. If the uppermost coil 27 is energized the core 29 will be moved to its extreme upper position, causing the opening 22 in the valve 18 to register with the opening in the sound arm 19, thereby causing the passage of sound to be unrestri ted. At such times when none of the coils 27 are energized the core 29 is moved downwardly in theoperiinc 28 by gravity until it engages the stops 34, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 2. When the core 29 is in this last the enerzization of the coils :27 a commutator mechanism &0 is arranged in the electrical circuit in which the coils 27 are arranged. The commutator mechanism' comprises three metal disk-like members a1 mounted on a shaft 12 which is rotated or driven from the shaft 16 through a cooperating worm 43 and .wormgear 4:4- mounted on the shaft 16 and shaft 12 respectively. Each of the members 4.0 is formed at its periphery with a plurality of tapped holes 45 which are adapted toreceive screws 16 by which contact plates 4E7 aresecuredto the members 41. By providing a plurality of holes 15 in the member 41 it is possible to very easily and conveniently arrange various numbers and of (3OI1tEtCtSl7 on the members 41. A brush" holder 48, preferably formed ofin sulating material, carries three brushes 49, each adapted to cooperatewith one of the members 411. The brushes4l9 are constructed so that they will not actually engage the members 41, although they will engage and make good electrical contact with the contactsti'. A wire leads from one side of the source of electrical energyfil to the shaft 12 on which the members 41 are mounted. Wires 52 lead from the brushes 49 to the other side of the source of electric energy and have the coils 27 arranged in them in a manner clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be readily understood how, when one of the members l]. is moved so that one of the contacts 47, mounted on it, engages one of the brushes an electrical circuit is completed from the source of electrical energy 51, through the wire 50, through the shaft 42, through the plates 41, through the contact and brush, which are in engagement with each other, through the wires 52, which connects to that brush, and through the coils 27 arranged in the wires It is obvious, that when the members 41 are rotated in synchronism with the phonograph mecha; nism in a manner such as has been hereinabove described, and have contacts 47 of various sizes arranged in proper intervals on them so that the several units of the solenoids, or thecoil 27, and therefore the valve 18, will operate at the proper and desired time or times. It may be said that the mech ism just described provides an adjustable automatic means for actuating the valve 18 and that the mechanism just described may be synchronously operated. with the other mechanisms in any suitable or desired manner and is not necessarily limited to being operated in the specific manner herein set forth. It isobvious that various numbers of members 11 may be employed with various arrangements or forms of the solenoid mechanism, and that permanent or fixed member a1, that is members with fixed contacts 17, may be provided or made to be used with certain phonograph records. In other words, each phonograph record may be supplied with a member 41 which is made particularly for it. Further it may be pointed out that the means for operating the valve 18, which in this case is the solenoid mechanism 25, may be constructed to operate or move the valve 18 to any number of various positions and that it is in no way limited toa three unit device such as has been hereinabove described. However, in connection with. the particular three unit solenoid mechanism herein set forth it will be noted that itis possible: to move or actuate the core 29 andtherefore the valve 18 to more positions than there is number of coils 27. For instance, if any adjacent coils 27 are energized, the core 29 will be moved by the combined force of the two coils, and therefore will not be in a position such as would be caused by either of the coils 27 singly.

Having set forth only a preferred embodiment of the invention I do not wish to restrict myself to the specific details hereinabove set forth, but wish to reserve to my self any variations that may appear to those skilled in the art andthat may fall within the scope of the following claims. 1

Having described apreferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with the sound generating apparatus and the sound conducting passage of a phonograph, a valve in the passage for regulating the passage of sound, electromagnetic means for actuating the valve, and a commutator mechanism for controll ng the energization of the electro-magnetic means operated in synchronism with the sound generating apparatus.

2. In combination with the sound generating apparatus and the sound conductingpassage of a phonograph, a valve in the passage for regulating the passage of sound, a plurality of electromagnetic units adapted to be energized independently or in groups to actuate the valve, and means operating in synchronism with the sound generating apparatus for controlling the energization of the units.

3. In combination with the sound generating apparatus and the sound conducting passage of a phonograph, a valve in the pas sage for regulating the passage of sound, a

plurality of electro-magnetic units adapted to be energized independently or in groups to actuate the valve, and a commutator mechanism. operating in synchronism with. the sound generating apparatus for corn trolling the energization of the several units.

1. In combination with the sound conduct of a phonograph, a valve in the conduct adapted to be actuated to regulate the passage of sound through the conduct, the valve being arranged so that it is actuated in one direction by gravity, a plurality of electromagnetic units each adapted when energized to actuate the valve to a different position and means for energizing the electro-mag- "trolling the energization of the several units,

the commutator mechanism including a moving carrier, a plurality of contacts detachably. 'adjustably mounted on the carrier,-and 'a stationary contact adapted to cooperate with the "contacts'mounted on the carrier.

6. In combination with the sound conduct of a phonograph, a valve in the conduct adapted to be actuated to regulate the pasbeing arranged so that it is actuated inthe direction by gravity; the valve having a stem projecting from the conduct, electromagnetic means for actuating the valve in the other direction includinga core attached the valve bein to the stem of the valve, and a spring in connection with the core tending to move it and the parts connected with it against the resistance of gravity.

1 7 In combination with the sound generati'n-gapparatus and the sound conducting essage of a phonograph, a valve arrange in the passage to regulate the passage of sound,

arranged so that it is actuated in one irect'ion by gravity, a spring in connection with the valve to tend to move it against the resistance of gravity but not strong enough to move it, a plurality of electro-magnetie unitsada-ptedto be energ'zed independently or in groups to actuate the valve in the other direction, to various positions, and a commutator for controlling the energization of each unit, the commutators being connected with the sound generating apparatus to operate in synchronism therewith. sage of sound through the conduct, the valve 7 In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 8th day of September, 1920.

' ORLANDO E. KELLUM.

Witness:

- VIRGINIA Bunmoaa.

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