Patent GB-373227-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to magazine gramophones
IPC: G11B17/16
Filed: 1931-02-20
Abstract: 373,227. Magazine gramophones. CAPEHART CORPORATION, East Pontiac Street Extended, COLLISON, E. E., 1908, Kenwood Avenue, and LANNERD, P. U., 2810, Radcliff Street, all in Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A. Feb. 20, 1931, No. 5434. [Class 40 (ii).] Consists of an automatic gramophone wherein a pile of unplayed records is supported above the turntable by a spindle having a supporting step at its lower end, and by a horizontal plate which engages the edge of the lowermost record, a sliding member on the horizontal plate being actuated to engage the lowermost record to release it into playing position, 'the plate and sliding member being also capable of a swinging adjustment so that records of different diameter may be used. A turntable 11, rotatably mounted on a table 10, carries a centring pin 13, above which is a recordretaining spindle 14, Fig. 3, upon which the unplayed pile of records 12 is mounted and held by an offset 15 in alignment with the pin 13. The spindle 14 extends from a bracket plate 16 pivotally mounted at 17 on a supporting standard 18, and the edge of the lowermost unplayed record 12 is supported on a plate 19 slidably mounted in a pair of swivel trunnions 20 which are pivotally mounted in the standard 18. Adapted for manual rotation by a lever 22, Fig. 2, is a shaft 21 to which are keyed links 23 pivotally connected to ears 24, Fig. 5, mounted on the plate 19. Thus when the shaft 21 is rotated by moving the lever 22 to its upward position the plate 19 is moved to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 to support twelve-inch records and when the lever 22 is moved to the downward position it will move the plate 19 through the angle shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 5 and then to the horizontal dotted line position to support ten-inch records. The plate 19 is yieldingly held in either forward or rearward position by a curved link 25 which is pivotally connected with one of the ears 24 by a pin 25a engaging in a slot 25b and is connected to a tension spring 26. Slidably mounted on the plate 19 is a record discharge plate 27 normally held in retracted position by a spring 30 which is connected at one end to a pin 28 extending through a slot 29, Fig. 4, in the plate 19 and at the other end to the rear surface of the plate 19. The discharge plate has ears 32 extending through openings 31 in the plate 19 and these ears 32 are adapted to be engaged by fingers 33 on record discharge actuating arms 34 secured to a shaft 35, Fig. 3. When a lever 38 is actuated by a cam 39 the upper end thereof serves to pull the arms 34 forwardly through the action of a spring 30a to actuate the discharge plate which pushes the bottom record 12 laterally to a position to drop over the offset head 15 into playing position on the turntable 11. When the plate 19 is in the position to support ten-inch records the ears 32 are engaged by the forward shoulders of the arms 34. The reproducer carrier arm 44 is pivotally mounted on a swivel support 46, Fig. 2, through which extends a control rod 47 which can be elevated by a lever 48 and adjustable contact 49 and rigidly secured to the rod 47 is an arm 50 with a pin 51. To secure the necessary pressure of the reproducer on the record a leaf spring is secured within the arm 44. The turntable is rotated by a motor 52 which has a second driving shaft 53, Fig. 3, coupled through a universal joint 55 to a shaft 54 to which is keyed a clutch member 58 adapted to engage a clutch member 59, slidably keyed to a shaft 60, through the action of a spring 62. A cam 40, keyed to the shaft 60, is provided with cam surfaces 63, 64 on one face and a cam surface 39 on the other face. A rod 66, rotatably supported by a bracket 65, carries a latch 67, having a cam face 68 adapted to be engaged by a pin 69 on the clutch member 59, and an extension 70 to engage the cam surface 64. When the reproducer reaches the end of a record groove the arm 50 either causes a pin 76, Fig. 6, to ride up a cam surface 78 or a pawl 79 to oscillate in engagement with a toothed plate 80 according to whether the record grooves terminate in spiral or eccentric inner grooves. This action releases a trip lever 82 keyed to the shaft 66 which latter is then turned by the action of a spring so that the latch 67 disengages the pin 69 to allow the spring 62 to bring the clutch members 58, 59 into engagement to rotate the cam 40. This depresses the lever 48 to raise the reproducer from the record. Thereupon the cam surface 63 engages a pin 74 to swing a lever 75 to a position causing the reproducer to swing outwardly beyond the periphery of the record. The cam surface 39 then operates the arm 34 to push the bottom record 12 to the position to fall on to the turntable. The lever 75 when released by the cam surface 63 is drawn back by a spring 89, Fig. 3, so that a head 88 in engagement with the pin 51 swings the carrier arm back to a predetermined position for the playing of the next record. For manually adjusting the starting position of the tonearm for records of different sizes, the arm 75 is eccentrically mounted in a bushing 87 so that it may be swung to different pivotal positions by a handle 90, Fig. 2. When it is desired to change a record before the end thereof is reached, a plunger 83, Fig. 6, is depressed to release the trip lever 81 and start the record-changing mechanism. To repeat the record being played, the bracket plate 16 is swung upwardly into vertical position about its pivot 17 so that the records cannot be engaged by the discharge plate 27. An auxiliary switch 92, Fig. 11, is provided so .that the mechanism is brought to rest only after completion of the playing of a record regardless of whether the master switch has been opened. Upon each cycle of operations, the switch 92 is opened by the operation of a cam 95 upon the end of the shaft 60, but the machine continues to operate so long as the master switch is closed. The arm 44 is mounted to swing in a plane making an angle of about ten minutes to the horizontal so that it tends to be urged towards the centre of the record.