US870300A - Stylus for sound-reproducing machines. - Google Patents

Description

N0.a7o,tsoo. PATBNTBD Nov.5, 1907.

I s. LEVIN.

STYLUSFOB. SOUND REPROD'UGING MACHINES. ArPLIoATIoN ILBD MAB. '1. 1901.

' INI/ENTOR,

Troie/VE Ys UNITED STATES PATENT oFiIoE.

SAMUEL LE'VIN, oFl HIGHLAND PARK, ILL'INoIs.

STYLUS FOR, SOUND-REPRODUCING MACHIES.

Bpecieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

Application led Harsh 7.1907. Serial No. 361.122.

ticularly from dat or disk-shaped records wherein the sound record is represented by a sinuous groove of even depth. The usual form of. stylus used with-.soundreproducing machines of the type wherein flat record I tablets of hard, resistant composition are employed, is that of a steel needle having the point suiciently sharp to follow the groove. Such needles not only wear away themselves but also wear away the walls of the sound-groove and in a comparatively short time the liner sound waves, representing.r the' over-tones, are

either destroyedtor distorted; and theseh delicate tones,

. which impart to the reproduced sound that characteristic known as quality, having been destroyed, the reproduced tones become harsh and unnatural and disagreeable to the ear. Also, the improved stylus obliterates the harsh, disagreeable scratching or scraping noises which are found so obtrusive when the hard steel needles are employedl for tl'e reproduction of sound from the resisting tablets of hard material.

The'invention consists essentially in making a stylus of semi-elastic, non-resonant, homogeneoirs material with a' cylindrical or nearly cylindrical portion adapted to fit into the stylus socket provided at the end of the stylus lever actuated by the diaphragm of the soundreproducing sound box, and the other or free end of this stylus is preferably widened and then narrowed to a point and suitably curved or bent to make this part ol the stylus elastic yet strong and resisting, and more particularly resisting in the plane of travel of the stylus when under .the impelling action of the sound waves.

The invention will be Iully understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in Which,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation, upon an enlarged scale, of a portion of a sound-reproducing sound box with the improved stylus in place therein; and Fig.- 2 is a perspective view of the stylus upon a larger scale than is shown in'Fig. l. i teierring'to the drawings, there is shown a sound box l'which may be ofany desirable construction such as is used in connection with sound-reproducing machines wherein the fiat disk records are employed, and no special description of such sound box is necessary since in itself it forms no part of the present invention.v

The stylus 2 is composed of a piece of horny, homogeneous, hard material such as a thin piece of horn or goose quill or Celluloid or some such substance having one endxbent or curled up intoa cylinder or into approximately cylindrical shape, as indicated at 3, and

the other end spread out into a nearly at shape, as indicated at and then with the sides 5 approaching each other until they finally merge into a ppint 6, the wholel structure being similar in appearance to that of the well-known quill pen. The cylindrical portion 3 is of such sizeas to fit snugly into the stylus-holding socket of the sound ybox and` be there retained by the ordinary clamp screw 8, which latter, engaging the cylindrical portion 3, will serve to hold the improved stylus firmlyk in place in' the socket 7. v iWhen the parts are in proper pos1tion the point 6 will rest in a'sound groove upon the record tablet', which latter is. indicated at 9 in Fig. l, and the sound wavdes will impart motion to the st'ylus 2 and from thence to' the sound box diaphragm in the usual manner. l 'But because of the peculiar nature of the material used, the

impulses transmitted lto the diaphragm are modified in) such manner that tho reproduced sound is very mellow, soft, distinct and natural, and the tones are very pleasing to the ear and especially adapted for small rooms, although the reproductionY is suiiciently penetrating to be heard in the largest auditorium. I

The peculiar shape of the stylus makes it sufficiently stiff to bear the weight of the sound box and th parts carried thereby and it is particularly resistant to changes in shape in the plane of the vibrations imparted to it by the sound record groove` The peculiar nature of the material from which the stylus is made, more particularly.when it is made of quill, is such that the record groovevis not worn perceptbly by the action of the stylus thereon,'and, consequently, records reproduced with the improved stylus are practically unaffected by, the' reproduction;

and will never become worn or defective from such reproduction.

1t is also found that with a stylus constructed in-accordance with my invention the harsh, grating, scratching noisesso often heard in'reproductions from record tablets where the steel stylus is used, are not heard at all, and this ,may bei due tothe absorption of ,the sudden, short, violent impulses, which give rise to these harsh and grating sounds, by the stylus, and the y n thin piece of horny, homogeneous material having one end bent into u cylinder of o size to fit the stylus-holding socket of a sound-box; and the other end bent out into an upproxlmutely tint shape with the sides approaching and mei-glug' into a point adapted to the sound groove of a sound record tablet. v

2. A stylus for sound-reproducing machines composed of n thin piece of quill bent at one end into a cylinder of a size adupted to fit the stylus socket of a sound-box and the other end formed approximately dat with side walls tapering to u point adapted to engage u sound record groove.

3. A stylus for sound-reproducing machines having u rounded or cylindrical shank and a fiat, thin, tapering, pointed end of substantially equal thickness throughout und wide .in the direction of vibration.

ln testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, l havc'hereto afixed my slgnatureln the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL LEVIN.

Witnesses: Y

W. N. GooDnIDGm, (monos Illesnmn.

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