US2281435A - Control system for automatic phonographs - Google Patents

Description

April 28, 1942. E. G. HENRY 2,281,435

CONTROL: SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC P HONOGRAPHS Filed March 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J2 fy Ap 8,19 42. m. HEN' w y 2,281,435

CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPHS Fil ed March 5, 1941 2 Sheets-She et '2 Patented Apr. 28, 1942 STTES TENT OFFICE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPHS Earle G. Henry, Chicago, 111., assignor to Buckley Music System, Inc., a corporation of Illinois 9 Claims.

A popular form of apparatus for providing entertainment is the automatic phonograph which automatically plays any desired number of records within the capacity of its magazine or other holder for a group of records. When employed in public places, they are often provided with coin boxes into which nickels, dimes and quarters may be deposited; the number of records that can be played without inserting additional coins being determined by the value of the coin or coins that have already been received, whereas the actual records that will be played are determined by manually-operable elements such as push buttons or keys more or less like the white keys of a piano keyboard. This type of control system makes it necessary for a patron to walk over to the phonograph in order to cause it to play; and, as a result, the practice has arisen of providing remote control through boxes adapted to be set upon counters or tables or to be attached to the walls or other supports around a room. The usual wall boxes have only one coin slot, making it necessary to deposit a nickel at a time, although as many records, within the capacity of the machine, can be played as there are coins deposited.

It is desirable that, in the case of the particular type of phonograph to which I have just referred, the playing of records may be controlled both from a remote point or points and also by depositing coins in the coin receptacle mounted on the machine and manipulating the keys or other manually-operable devices.

The object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel control system which will permit the playing of records to be controlled locally or at one or more remote points without interference between the two types of controls and in a manner to cause each record to be played in its proper turn or order, regardless of whether the selection be made locally or at a remote point.

In carrying out my invention, I provide electro-magnetic stop devices for the selector shaft present in the machine and employ the keys or other manually-operable elements to energize these stop devices. These same stop devices may then also be controlled from wall boxes at remote points. The mechanism in the local coin box fornickels, dimes and quarters is utilized to limit the number of records initiated by manipulation of the local keys according to the amount of money that has been deposited. Therefore, if all of the local keys should be depressed, and only enough money be deposited to pay for the playing of, say, five records, only five consecutive records would be played. If any of these five records had been selected from a remote point, they would be played only once; but, if other selections were made from remote points, they would also be played in their proper turn, as determined by the selecting shaft.

In order that any record, or any number of records, distributed throughout the entire series,

may be played under local control, I provide an automatic circuit closing device in each of the electro-magnetic circuits, whereby gaps in all of these circuits are closed momentarily, one after the other, until all of the records, selected by local control, have been played.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic or schematic view illustrating my improved control system and so much of the phonograph apparatus as is necessary for an understanding of the system; Fig. 2! is an end view of the record-selecting shaft, forming part of the phonograph, showing a ring of stop pins distributed around the same with their axes parallel to the axes of the shaft; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a more or less diagrammatic view showing a part of the remote control system and a portion of the electro-magnetic stop devices.

The remote control system which I employ may be, and is illustrated as being, the system disclosed in my prior patent application, Serial No. 292,079, filed August 26, 1939. A part of this system, disconnected from the local control system, is illustrated in Fig. 4, in which I, l represent the coils of as many solenoids as there are records to be played, and 2 are the solenoid cores adapted to be moved in one direction upon energizing the coils and requiring the application of an external force to move them. in the other direction. Thus, in Fig. 4, the first and the third cores have been shifted to one limit of their movement through the energization of the corresponding coils. Assuming that the axes of all of these solenoids lie on the surface of a cylinder with their axes parallel to the axis of the cylinder; that the selecting shaft of the phonograph is coaxial with the cylinder and is provided with a radial arm 3 located near one end of the group of solenoids: when the cores are retracted, they lie out of the path of this arm as the selecting shaft rotates: whereas, when the solenoid cores are shifted, upon the energization of the corresponding coils, as are the first and the third core in Fig. 4, the cores project into the path of the arm 3 and thus serve as stop pins.

Referring now to Fig. l of the drawings, it will be seen that the coils I of twelve solenoids are shown, thereby permitting twelve different records to be selected. The number of these coils may, of course, be increased or decreased, depending upon the number of records that may be contained at one time in the phonograph. 4, 4 represent the manually-operable selective ele ments of the phonograph, these corresponding in number to the number of selections that can be made. Since my system is particularly adapted for use in connection with automatic phonographs having manually-operable controlling elements of the piano key type, the elements 4 are shown as being of that type. Upon the depression of a key, it closes a switch 5, there being such a switch for each key. These switches control the energizing circuits for the solenoid coils, but do not constitute the only controls for those circuits. One terminal of each of these switches is connected to one terminal of the corresponding solenoid through a line which contains a gap. Thus, in the arrangement shown, it will be seen that there is a wire 6 leading from one terminal of the uppermost switch 5 to a stationary contact piece I on a stationary disk 8 or other flat support; there being also a wire leading from one terminal of the upper solenoid I to a stationary contact I located near the contact 'I on the member 8. Each switch is connected to one terminal of the corresponding solenoid coil in this same way. All of these contacts I are shown as being arranged in a circle smaller than and concentric with a circle in which the contacts I0 lie. Each contact I and the corresponding contact I0 lie in the same radius.

A rotatable shaft I I passes through the support 8 at the center of the two circles of contacts and at right angles to the plane in which these contacts lie. Fixed to this shaft is a radial contact finger I2 which, as the shaft revolves, sweeps over one pair of contacts, 'I and I0, after another. Therefore, assuming the upper switch in Fig. 1 to be closed and the shaft II to be rotating, the line between that switch and the uppermost of the solenoid coils I will be completed as soon as the contact finger I2 sweeps over and forms a bridge between the two contacts I and II] which are so marked in the drawings.

Current for energizing the solenoid coils is taken from one terminal of the secondary of a transformer l4 through a wire I5, a switch I6 and wire II that is common to all of the switches 5. One terminal of each of the solenoid coils I is connected to a line I8 that is connected to the second terminal of the transformer secondary. In the arrangement shown, the line I8 includes the coil of an electromagnet I9 which, when energized, closes a switch 2i) that may be in the circuit of the motor (not shown), that drives the phonograph mechanism or in any other usual or suitable circuit which must be closed to cause the phonograph to operate. Normally the switch is held open by a spring 2 I. However, as long as selections remain to be played, the phonograph mechanism will remain in operation.

The switch It is the so-called magazine switch present in the usual coin-receiving unit 22; this switch being closed whenever a coin is deposited and being again opened after as many records have been played as have been paid for. An example of such a coin-receiving unit is disclosed in Patent No. 2,236,198 to Osborne, dated March 25, 1941. The commonly used means for controlling this switch includes a ratchet wheel 24 which is turned one step for each selection covered by the money deposited in the box. In accordance with my invention, I cause this ratchet wheel to turn back again, one step at a time, for each of the solenoid coils I that is energized in the manner heretofore explained. In other words, an actuating pawl 23 for the ratchet wheel is mounted on the lower end of the core 26 of a solenoid which is normally held up by a spring 21. When the coil 28 of this solenoid is energized, it pulls the core down, turning the ratchet wheel through a step equal to the length of one of the ratchet teeth. The coil 28 receives current through one of the wires 6, the corresponding contact I, the contact finger I2, when that finger engages the latter contact, through a wire 29 and thence through a wire 3! which is connected to the same terminal of the transformer as is the wire I8. Thus, whenever one of the solenoid coils I is energized, upon the depression of any one of the keys 4, the solenoid coil 28 is connected in parallel therewith and is also energized. Also, as soon as the rotating contact finger I2 leaves a stationary contact I, the circuit of the ratchet-operating solenoid is broken.

The shaft II is driven by an electric motor 3|. This motor is connected across the terminals of the transformer secondary by wires 32 and 34, the first of which is connected to the wire I! at a point between the switch I6 and the switches 5, while the other is shown as being connected to the wire I8 at a point between the solenoid I9 and the transformer. Consequently, whenever the switch It is closed, the motor 3I is running, and the contact finger I2 is sweeping over the pairs of stationary contacts I and I0. When the switch 56 opens, the motor stops. I provide means for stopping the motor in such a position that the contact finger I2 lies between consecutive pairs of contacts I and I0, so that the circuits controlled by the switches 5 must remain dead until the motor again starts. This can conveniently be accomplished by fixing on the shaft II a disk 35 provided with twelve holes 36 evenly distributed in a circle about the center of the disk, and employing a pin adapted to enter any one of these holes. In the arrangement shown, the pin is the core 31 of a solenoid 38 mounted beside the disk 35 with its axis parallel to the shaft II and at the same radial distance from the axis of the shaft as the holes 36. A spring 33 tends constantly to force the plunger against the disk and to carry it into each of said holes when that hole registers with the pin. Upon energizing the solenoid coil, the pin is retracted so as to leave the shaft free to turn. It will be seen that the coil of the solenoid is connected to the motor circuit by Wires 39 and fill, so as to be in parallelism therewith. Consequently, whenever the motor circuit is energized, the stop pin is withdrawn and, as soon as the motor circuit is interrupted, the stop pin is pressed against the side of the disk 36. If the stop pin happens to be directly opposite one of the holes in the disk when the circuit is interrupted, the motor will stop abruptly. On the other hand, if the stop pin lies between two of holes in the disk, the

momentum of the motor is suflicient to carry the disk around until the pin drops into the trailing hole.

. It will be seen in Fig. 1 that the rotatable contact finger l2 lies about midway between two pairs of stationary contacts, while the stop pin 31 is engaged in one of the holes 36. In other words, the motor always stops in such a position that there can be no energization of the solenoid coils l upon the closing of one or more of the switches 5, until the motor again starts.

Reference has heretofore been made to the record-selecting shaft forming part of the phonograph. An arrangement of this type is shown in the Wilcox Patent No. 2,002,236 for Automatic phonograph, 'dated May 21, 1935, in which the shaft ll is provided with an arm 31 whose movement is arrested in various positions by selective pins 32. This shaft, to which is fixed the radial selector arm 3, is indicated at M in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be seen that the stop pins 2 are distrib uted at equal radial distances from and evenly spaced about the shaft and that the arm 3 is longer than these radial distances so that, when; ever one of the solenoid coils l is energized and pushes its stop-forming core 2 into its working position, as in Fig. 3, this core constitutes a stop to arrest the rotation of the shaft when the arm 3 strikes the core.

After a record has been played, the corresponding stop pin or core 2 must be returned to its idle position, out of the path of the arm 3. This can conveniently be done by fixing to the shaft ii, near the arm 3, a disk or other suitable supporting member upon which is secured the coil 34 of a solenoid, the core 55 of which is aligned with each stop pin 2 whenever the arm 3 is engaged with the latter. The member 55 extends through a hole in the part 42 so that when it is pushed in, it strikes the end of that stop pin 2 with which the arm 3 happens to be engaged, and pushes it back out of the path of this arm. Normally, the core 15 is held retracted, as indicated in Fig. 3, by means of a spring 46. Therefore, the core 45 remains retracted except during the time that the solenoid is energized.

The usual phonograph; machine is so constructed that whenever the selecting shaft stops, in any one of its twelve working positions, a new playing cycle is started and thereafter automatically continues to completion. Therefore, each stop pin may be pushed into an idle position at any time during the progress of such a cycle. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the coil of the solenoid M is connected directly across the terminals of the transformer secondary, and its energization is controlled by a switch 41. The switch 41 is adapted to open automatically and to be closed by means of a cam 48 or other part of the phonograph that makes one revolution, for example, during each playing cycle. Therefore, once during each playing cycle, the cam 48 closes the switch l! so as to cause the solenoid 44 to be energized and the stop pin with which it happens to be registering, to be kicked back into its idle position,

In actual practice the shaft H and, therefore, the arm l2, completes a revolution in less than ten seconds, thus causing all of the controlling coils l corresponding to records that have been selected to be energized and the stop pins set within that short period of time after the insertion of coins and the pressing down of keys. Therefore, the keys that are depressed in making a selection of records need not remain down more than a few seconds after the phonographbegins playing. Or, in other words, a patron is not required to wait until the phonograph stops playing, before raising the keys that were previously depressed, and then depressing the keys corresponding toselections desired by him, as is true with the type of phonograph described before my new control system is applied; but a patron may, at-any time during the playing of a record or records, raise all of the keys, deposit the necessary coins, and make his desired selections, with the assurance that these selections will then be played in their regular order, as heretofore explained.

Records may be selected from remote points without interferring with the proper playing of the records selected at the local keyboard. Thus, each of the wires 9 may be connected to a suitable stationary contact 49 on a wall-dialing device 50 by means of a wire 5!; there being twelve of these stationary contacts, distributed in a circle, as in my aforesaid application. A manually-operable, rotatable part 52 may be brought into engagement with any one of the stationary contacts Q9. The part 52 is connected through a wire 54, a coin slot switch 55, and a wire 56 to the opposite terminal of the transformer secondary from that to which the wire 9, solenoid.

coil I, and wire i8 lead. The result is that by setting the dial device to a position corresponding to a given record, and dropping a coin into the coin slot 51, the corresponding solenoid coil I is energized. Other selections can be perfected by shifting the movable element of the dialing device to other stationary contacts and, in each instance, depositing a coin.

In order that the solenoid 19 may remain energized, notwithstanding that all of the solenoid coils I may be dead after having brought their stop-pin core members into stop positions, it is necessary to provide a circuit for the solenoid which shall be independent of the circuits for the coils l. The arrangement shown in my aforesaid patent application is well suited for this purpose. As shown in Fig. 4, each solenoid core 2 has atone end an extension 58 of insulating material a portion of which is surrounded by a metallic sleeve 59. It is only when a solenoid core is retracted as is the second core from the left in Fig. 4 that the circuit for the corresponding solenoid coil is connected to the transformer.. This is because the metal sleeve 59 engages with a pair of stationary contacts 60 and 6 I; the contact 69 being connected to one terminal of the solenoid coil; and the contact 6! being in electrically-conductive engagement with a metal bar or rail 62 which, in turn, is connected to one terminal of the transformer secondary by a wire 64. As soon as one of the solenoid coils I becomes energized and moves its core into stop position, as in the case of the lefthand solenoid in Fig. 4, the circuit for that coil is broken at the switch Ell, but a circuit isestablished for energizing the coil l9, through the wire 64, the rail 62, the contact piece 5|, the metal sleeve 59, a contact piece 65 secured to a metal rail 65, and wire 61. In other words, whenever a selectvie solenoid has been energized and has completed its work of placing a stop into its working or stopping position, it brings about an interruption of its own circuit and establishes a new circuit which causes the closing of the switch 20 which, while open, prevents the operation of the phonograph. It will be seen that whenever a number of the solenoid coils l have been energized, the coil l9 remains energized and the switch 20 remains closed until all of the corresponding records have been played, so that there is no opening or closing of the switch 20 except at the beginning of the playing of the group of records, and after all of the records have been played.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a simple and novel system for utilizing the manually-operable selective elements, such as devices of the piano key type to control selective playing of records, while making it possible to achieve similar control from one or more remote points, without the addition of anything more than the desired number of wall boxes and the equivalent of a single cable leading from the phonograph to the wall box or boxes. In this way the coin box with its mechanism adaptedjto be controlled by nickels, dimes and quarters, that has heretofore been commonly used in connection with local manual control, can be utilized in the same manner as previously, while the patrons may avail themselves of the ordinary nickel in the slot selective devices within easy reach. It will also be seen that there is no conflict between the two methods of control which I employ, since every record that is selected, either locally or at a remote point or points, is played in its regular order and cannot be cancelled by another patron; nor can the patrons at one point or another bar others from having their selections played promptly, because all selections are registered in the order determined by the rotating selecting shait, so that each selection is played as that shaft reaches the angular position corresponding thereto and not according to the order in which the patrons initiated the selections.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coinreceiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said selective element to arrest it in various positions according to the selections to be made, a separate, normally-open energizing circuit for each electro-magnet including a manually-operable switch, and means controlled by said controller operating successively to close momenta'rily all of said circuits in which the said switches happen to be closed.

2. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coinreceiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said selective element to arrest it in various positions according to the selections to be made, a separate, normally-open energizing circuit for each electro-magnet including a manually-operable switch, a movable device adapted successively to close momentarily all of said circuits in which the aforesaid switches happen to be closed, a motor for driving said device, a coin-controlled motor switch, and means to cause said motor switch to open whenever a number of electromagnets corresponding to the value of the coins deposited, have been energized.

3. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coinreceiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said selective element to arrest it in various positions according to the selections to be made, a separate energizing circuit for each electromagnet containing a manually-operable switch and a normally open gap, a movable member adapted successively to cause momentary closing of said gaps, a motor for driving said member, and means to start the motor, and thereafter to stop the same after it has made a number of revolutions bearing a definite ratio to the value of the coins deposited in said controller.

l. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a rotatable selective element, which comprises: a series of solenoids distributed angularly about the axis of rotation of said selective element with their core members movable into and out of the path of said selective element, a separate, normally-open energizing circuit for each solenoid including a manually-operable switch, coin-controlled means operable successively to close momentarily all of said circuits whose manually-operable switches are closed and thus move the cores of the corresponding solenoids into the path of said selective element, and means controlled by a moving part of said machine to move each core member out of the path of said selective element during the cycle of operations involved in playing the record corresponding to that core member.

5. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coin-receiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said element to arrest it in various positions in making selections, each electro-magnet having a separate energizing circuit containing a gap, a motor, a member driven by the motor to close said gaps momentarily, one after the other, and means to energize the motor and then to deenergize it after energization of a number of electro-magnets corresponding to the value of a coin or coins that have been deposited in said coin-receiving controller.

6. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coinreceiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said element to arrest it in various positions in making selections, each electro-magnet having a separate energizing circuit containing a gap, a motor, a member driven by the motor to close said gaps momentarily, one after the other, means to energize the motor and then to deenergize it after energization of a number of electro-magnets corresponding to the value of a coin or coins that have been deposited in said coin-receiving controller, and means to stop the motor, upon degenergization, at a time when all of said gaps are open.

7. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coinreceivin'g controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro'magnets cooperating with said element to arrest it in various positions in making selections, each electro-magnet having a separate energizing circuit containing a gap and a manually-operable switch, a motor, a member driven by the motor to close said gaps momentarily, one after the other, and means to energize the motor and then to d-eenergize it after energizaticn of a number of electro-magnets corresponding to the value of a coin or coins that have been deposited in said coin-receiving controller.

8. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coinreceiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said element to arrest it in various positions in making selections, each electro-magnet having a separate energizing circuit containing a gap and a manually-operable switch, a motor, a member driven by the motor to close said gaps momentarily, one after the other, means to energize the motor and then to deenergize it after energization of a number of electro-magnets corresponding to the value of a coin or coins that have been deposited in said coin-receiving controller, and means to stop the motor, upon deenergization, at a time when all of said gaps are open.

9. A control system for an automatic machine adapted selectively to play a series of records having a movable selective element and a coin-receiving controller, which control system comprises: a series of electro-magnets cooperating with said element to arrest it in various positions in making selections, each electro-magnet having a separate energizing c' cuit containing a gap and a manually-operable switch, a motor, a member driven by the motor to close said gaps momentarily, one after the other, means to energize the motor and then to ldeenergize it after energization of a number of electro-magnets corresponding to the value of a coin or coins that have been deposited in said coin-receiving controller, and means always to stop the motor, upon being deenergized, in such a position that said member comes to rest between consecutive gaps.

EARLE G. HENRY.

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