Leveling device and method for record playing turntables

A leveling device and a method of use for record playing turntables to insure that the turntable is completely level around the entire periphery thereof. The leveling device comprises an outer housing having a peripheral section and with an opening in the housing to receive the spindle on the record playing turntable such that it is centrally located on and rests upon the turntable. The housing is provided with a peripheral section having a liquid therein and with the liquid depth being less than the depth of the peripheral section. In this way, the user can determine if the turntable is entirely level around its entire periphery by observing the liquid in the peripheral section of the device to determine if the device is level. If not, the user can make adjustments on the turntable to insure complete leveling thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in 
leveling devices for record playing turntables and a method of use 
therfore, and more particularly, to leveling devices for record playing 
turntables and a method of use which utilizes a technique for observing 
the level of a liquid in a peripheral section of a device in order to 
determine if the entire periphery of the record turntable is level. 
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
It has been well known that it is desirable, if not necessary, to insure 
complete leveling of a record playing turntable in order to obtain better 
music reproduction from a record used on that turntable and in order to 
reduce premature wear of the records. For example, it has been well 
established that when the record turntable is not completely level, the 
needle will tend to wear in the grooves of the record to a much greater 
degree and much more rapidly. This problem is particularly pronounced in 
the case of stereophonic records. Thus, when the record is rotating on a 
turntable which is not level, the needle may tend to wear one of the 
channels to a much greater extent than the other of the channels. This 
condition results in uneven reproduction of sound and unbalanced sound 
reproduction. 
There have been several proposed devices in the prior art for use in 
attempting to obtain a leveling of the record playing disc. These devices 
rely primarily on a bubble located in a body of liquid contained within a 
small device to be placed on the surface of a record playing turntable. 
The device generally contains a hemispherical bubble-shaped cap disposed 
on a base and which is generally almost completely filled with a liquid 
such as water, except for a small air bubble contained therein. This 
device is then placed on the surface of a record and moved around the 
turntable in order to attempt to determine if all peripheral portions of 
that turntable are level. 
This prior art device is not really effective in that it cannot really 
determine if one portion of the periphery of the turntable is level 
relative to another oppositely disposed portion of the turntable. Thus, 
this device can only determine if a small segement of the turntable itself 
is level. In most cases, it is desirable to measure the level of and 
determine whether or not the turntable is level by incrementally moving 
the turntable and determining if successive portions are level. This can 
be accomplished by slowly rotating the turntable with the hand and also 
incrementally moving the prior art level device. However, this prior art 
leveling device when moved at all, causes the liquid bubble to shift such 
that it does not give an accurate reading and some time is required for 
settling. 
In addition to the above, the aforesaid prior art leveling device is also 
slow in use and not accurate. Moreover, and due to the fact that it cannot 
be positioned at the very center of the turntable because of the spindle, 
the device itself cannot determine proper leveling at the center of the 
turntable. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to 
provide a leveling device for use with record playing turntables which 
permits accurate leveling of the turntable at the center thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a leveling device 
of the type stated which permits complete balancing of a turntable at all 
portions of the periphery without moving the leveling device. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a leveling 
device of the type stated which utilizes a peripheral section of a liquid 
in order to determine if the entire periphery of the record playing 
turntable is in a level condition. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a leveling 
device of the type stated which can be manufactured at a relatively low 
cost and which is highly efficient in operation. 
It is another salient object of the present invention to provide a method 
for determining if the playing surface of a record playing turntable 
entirely level by examining the level of liquid in a peripheral section of 
a device to determine if the device is entirely level by reference to the 
liquid surface. 
With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel 
features of form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts 
presently described and pointed out in the claims. 
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
A leveling device for record playing turntables wherein it is desired to 
level all portions of the turntable so that the turntable can be level 
throughout its radius and throughout the entire periphery during rotation 
thereof. 
The leveling device of the present invention comprises an outer housing 
having a peripheral section, as hereinafter described. A opening is formed 
in the housing so as to be capable of extending over and around the 
spindle on the record playing turntable. In this way, the housing can rest 
upon the exact center of the turntable. 
A liquid is contained within the peripheral section of the housing and 
which liquid is sealed from the remainder of the housing. The liquid, such 
as water, or for that matter, a colored liquid, has a depth which is less 
than that of the peripheral section and typically about one-half of the 
overall depth of the peripheral section. In this way, when the device is 
disposed centrally on a turntable, by insuring that the liquid is at the 
same graduation mark or level indicia on the peripheral section, then the 
turntable itself will be level. 
In a more preferred embodiment, the opening which extends through the 
housing is generally perpendicular to the surfaces of the housing and 
thus, perpendicular to the surface of the liquid when the latter is in a 
level condition. The housing is preferably circularly shaped. In addition, 
the aforesaid graduation marks or other forms of indicia may be located 
within or on the peripheral section so as to determine if the device is 
level, that is, when the liquid surface in the peripheral section is the 
same indicia around the disk. 
In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the housing 
comprises a base wall with an enclosing side wall integrally connected to 
the base wall. An intermediate wall spaced from the outer side wall is 
located within the housing and thereby forms the peripheral section 
completely surrounding the housing. A top wall extends over at least the 
peripheral section above the base wall. The intermediate wall is sealed to 
the base wall and the top wall to thereby form a completely liquid 
enclosed interior section. The liquid is disposed within the interior 
section generally prior to the time that the top wall is sealed to the 
housing itself. 
The present invention provides a method of determining if all of the 
peripheral portions of a record playing turntable are level and for 
adjusting the turntable to insure that it is completely level. The method 
comprises locating the device of the invention having a peripheral section 
with liquid therein on the spindle of a turntable so that it rests on the 
turntable. Thereafter, the method comprises examining the level of the 
liquid in the peripheral section to determine if the turntable is level 
around the complete periphery by determining if the liquid is at the same 
indicia level around the entire peripheral section. Thereafter, one can 
level the turntable by those means associated with the turntable so that 
the liquid is at the same indicia level around the entire peripheral 
section to thereby cause the turntable to be level around its entire 
peripheral section. 
This invention possesses many other advantages and has other purposes which 
may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of forms in which 
it may be embodied. These forms are shown in the drawings accompanying and 
forming part of the present specification. They will now be described in 
detail, for the purposes of illustrating the general principles of the 
invention; but it is to be understood that such detailed descriptions are 
not to be taken in a limiting sense.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings 
which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, A 
designates a leveling device for use with record playing turntables T of 
the type illustrated in FIG. 4. Generally, the record playing turntable 
contains a lower base cabinet 10 which generally contains a drive motor 
and the control electronics and the like (not shown). Extending upwardly 
from the casing 10 is a spindle 12 which supports a record supporting 
turntable 14. Generally, the turntable is provided with a protective pad 
16 on the upper surface thereof. 
The leveling device A of the present invention is shown disposed on the 
turntable 14 and particularly on the upper pad 16 thereof in the manner as 
illustrated in FIG. 4. In addition, it can be observed that the leveling 
device A is centrally located on the turntable itself and is retained in 
its centrally located position by means of the spindle 12. 
The leveling device A generally comprises an outer housing 20 which is 
comprised of a base wall 22 and an enclosing generally circularly shaped 
peripheral side wall 24. In this case, the side wall 24 is integral with 
or otherwise secured to the base wall 22 in a manner such that it is in a 
fluid tight seal therewith. An intermediate wall 26 which is spaced 
inwardly from the exterior side wall 24 is also secured to the base wall 
22 in the manner as more fully illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the 
drawings. This intermediate wall is also vertically located and generally 
parallel to the outer wall 24. Finally, a top wall 28 may be disposed over 
and secured both to the upper edges of the peripherally extending side 
wall 24 and the intermediate wall 26. In this way, a completely sealed 
liquid tight peripheral section 30 is formed. In the preferred embodiment, 
the top wall 28 covers only the peripheral section, as shown, for weight 
reduction, although the top wall could extend completely to the center, if 
desired. 
In a more preferred embodiment, and prior to complete sealing of the top 
wall 28 to the outer side wall 24 and the intermediate wall 26, a liquid 
is introduced into the peripheral section 30. In this case, the liquid may 
be a transparent liquid, or preferably, it may be colored. 
One of the preferred liquids for use in the present invention is simply 
water which may contain a red dye or other colored dye incorporated 
therein in order to impart some color to the liquid. Other liquids which 
may be employed, are for example, some of the lower molecular weight 
alcohols and the like. 
The exterior side wall 24 is transparent so that one may easily observe the 
level of liquid contained within the peripheral section 30. For that 
matter, it is also preferable to form the top wall 28 of a transparent 
material, as well. If desired, the intermediate wall 26 may also be formed 
of a transparent material. Further, at various positions around the entire 
periphery of the intermediate wall 24, graduation marks 32 are formed 
therein. These marks may be formed during the actual molding or other 
formation of the side wall 24 or they may be imprinted thereon. 
The outer housing is also provided in the bottom wall 22 with a central 
opening 34 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. This opening 
34 is sized to receive a conventional spindle 12 on a record playing 
turntable T. 
The housing itself may be formed of any of a number of conventional plastic 
materials and preferably transparent plastic materials. For example, the 
housing may be conveniently molded from polyethylene, polystyrene, 
polybutadiene, etc. Otherwise, the housing may be formed of other 
materials and preferably of other plastic materials and in other known 
molding operations. 
In use, the leveling device A is disposed on a record playing turntable 14 
in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 4 of the drawings. In order to 
determine if the entire turntable itself is level, the user merely 
examines the liquid level of the liquid contained within the peripheral 
section 30. If the liquid surface is not at the same graduation mark 32 
around the entire periphery, then by definition, the device itself is not 
level. As a result, the turntable itself is not level. In this way, the 
user of the device can then adjust the turntable by adjustment screws or 
other means which are provided with the turntable. When the user has 
adjusted the turntable to a desired position, the user can then re-examine 
the level of liquid within the peripheral section 30. If the liquid level 
is at the same graduation mark around the entire periphery, then the 
turntable itself is in a level condition. 
More preferably, when desiring to examine the level of a liquid, the user 
can merely incrementally rotate the turntable slowly and examine the level 
of the liquid contained within the peripheral section 30 of the housing. 
If the liquid is at the same indicia level on the device during the 
incremental measurement of the turntable, then it can be established that 
the turntable itself is entirely level around the entire periphery. 
Thus, there has been illustrated and described a unique and novel leveling 
device and method for record playing turntables and which enables complete 
leveling of the entire peripheral section of the turntable by insuring a 
leveling of a liquid in the peripheral section of the leveling device. it 
should be understood that many changes, modifications, variations and 
other uses and applications of the present invention will become apparent 
to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the 
accompanying drawings. Therefore, any and all such changes, modifications, 
variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the 
spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the 
invention.