Improvements in Phonographic Apparatus Applicable to Dolls and other Uses.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 9th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 9th Nov., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Phonographic Apparatus Applicable to Dolls and
other Uses.
I ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of the firm of Wm. Brookes & Son of 55 & 56
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents,
(a communication to me from abroad by William White Jacques of Newton in the
County of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts one of the United States of
America,) Electrician do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
16
My invention relates to certain improvements in the apparatus known as the
Phonograph" substantially such as that described in the United States Letters Patent
to Thomas Alva Edison, dated February 19, 1878, whereby it can be constructed in a
manner so simple and inexpensive as to be adapted to almost universal use in the
reproduction of articulate sounds and especially short sentences or phrases of everyday
speech.
The particular object of my invention is to produce a talking doll or other image by
placing therein a suitable phonograph such as hereinafter described which may be
readily actuated, either by power applied from without or by automatic mechanism
placed within the image.
It is obviously necessary that a talking doll or image suitable for a toy must be
capable of repeating its phrases a great number of times, and in whatever position tho
image may happen to be held by the child or other person inducing it to talk; and a
phonograph used within such an image for the purpose of causing it to talk, should
possess the following characteristics, to wit:-
First, the record or registration of the vibrations which represent the articulate
sounds to be reproduced must be sufficiently permanent to be capable of withstanding
the operation of effecting such reproduction a great number of times without material
injury to the plate upon which the record is made, which plate I will designate as the

page_text: Second. The relative adjustment of the plate containing the record, the diaphragm
with the style or tracer attached to its centre and the diaphragm holder or frame, must
be such as to maintain a comparatively light yet constant pressure between the record
and the point of the style, while the edge of the diaphragm is so controlled as to
resist quick vibratory movements, and yet will readily yield to slow movements, such, for
instance, as might be caused by changes of temperature or inaccuracies in the con-
struction of an apparatus intended for a toy. And the several parts of the apparatus
must be capable of maintaining the above named conditions without regard to the
position in which the toy may be held.
Third. In order to obviate unnecessary wear of the record, and the disagreeable
noise which would otherwise be produced in reversing the motion of the record-plate
with relation to the tracer attached to the diaphragm, it is extremely desirable to
provide means whereby the style will be automatically withdrawn from contact with
the record-plate whenever it is moved in such reverse direction.
Fourth. To ensure greater clearness and volume to the articulate sounds produced
by the vibration of the diaphragm, it is essential to provide a resonating chamber of
such shape and dimensions that it shall operate in connection therewith to select and
reinforce the reproduced sounds due to the record to the exclusion of accidental
noises.
Fifth. That the sounds reproduced by the phonograph may be more distinctly
heard, it is requisite to provide an aperture, in the body of the image opposite to or
coincident with the outlet of the resonating chamber through which the sounds may
readily issue, and this aperture when the plionograph hereafter described is embodied
in a doll I preferably make in the head where it may be easily obscured by a light
covering of wire gauze hidden by hair, and thus cause no detriment to the appearance
of a doll.
Sixth. It is desirable that the external devices employed for imparting motion to
the phonograph shall be capable of being readily attached or detached, in order to
remove them from the control of children, and also that the image be so constructed
as to afford ready access to the phonograph within for the purposes of repair or renewal
of the record plate or phonogram.
In order to meet the requirements above set forth, I have found the construction
hereinafter described embodying the following features to be satisfactory, although it
will be readily understood that many variations in the specific form and construction
of the several parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the
invention.
A box (preferably of tin) is provided within which is fixed the frame.
The phonograph cylinder having a spirally grooved surface is carried by a similarly
grooved journal which runs in the nut constituting a part of the frame.
A removable key or crank has studs which fit into receptive holes.
Flange plates screwed together at suitable points make the diaphragm frame or
holder, which is pivoted on one side by suitable pivots. At the other side it is free
to move up and down the adjusting screw within the limits of its head and the
shoulder upon its shank, although against the pressure of the springs.
The diaphragm is held in a rubber ring between the plates and having a tracer or
style attached at its centre.
An aperture through the upper flange plate for the emission of the sounds produced
by the diaphragın.
A spring of bent wire is hung on a rod and having a piece of rubber tube upon it,
which rests lightly against the surface of the cylinder when it is turned in the direction
to make the phonograph talk. Its object is to raise the diaphragm frame by contact
with the projection when the rotation of the cylinder is reversed and thus disengage
the tracer from the record upon the plate.
A metallic foil is wound around the cylinder and having its ends pushed through
the slot therein, and into the slot in the plug where it is held tightly in place by
turning the said plug from the position favorable for insertion to that of locking by
partial rotation of the plug.

page_text: This foil is the record-plate on which at first, is registered the vibrations of a
diaphragm caused by talking to it and at the same time revolving a cylinder upon
which the foil is wound, and which afterwards when placed upon the cylinder
causes the same sounds to be reproduced by inducing similar vibrations in the
diaphragm.
A resonating tube or chamber connects the entering aperture with the exit opening
through the outer tube for the purpose of conducting the sound from the diaphragm
out of the doll and also for the purpose of selecting and reinforcing the sounds due
to the record, to the exclusion of accidental noises.
The upper portion of the phonograph chamber (preferably of tin) attached to the
head of the doll serves as a cover fitting onto the box or lower part of said
chamber.
The parts may be of any suitable materials; but for the sake of economy as well as
rigidity of material, I make some of the parts of cast iron, and the resonating tubes
I make of paper.
The spring to the adjusting screw should be sufficiently strong to hold the
diaphragm frame in place even when the phonograph is inverted.
In order to secure a substantially permanent record I substitute for the tin, silver
or other foils, heretofore used with the phonograph, a foil which is inelastic and hard,
so that a record once impressed upon it by the style of the diaphragm, will not be
distorted by reason of elasticity, (in the sense that rubber is elastic), and, being hard,
is not easily worn away by the action of the style upon it. Specifically, I prefer
what is known in irado as Oroide foil, composed of the proportions; Copper 80%,
Zinc 13%, Nickel 6%, Iron and Tin 1%. A record upon this foil will repeat a
phrase distinctly several thousand times, in a phonograph. The foil should be polished
to prevent vibrations due to friction and advantageously, may be oiled for the same
purpose. A record upon foil such as above named gives far better results than that
produced by electro-plating or analogous methods.
It is desirable, in order further to ensure permanency, that the foil upon the
cylinder should present a continuous surface without seam and that it should be held
there under considerable tension. I effect this by inserting the ends of the foil
through the narrow slit in the cylinder and into the slit in the plug and after turning
the plug, soldering the seam. If the foil is held in the manner usual in the phonograph
it very soons begins to wear out at the seam and causes the diaphragm to produce a
thumping sound which is very disagreeable..
For the purpose of securing the relative adjustment of the record, diaphragm
with its tracer and diaphragm holder, referred to in the second desideratum herein-
before specified and, at the same time, render the phonograph operative in any position
in which it may be held, I make the diaphragm holder of considerable weight, say,
about four ounces, so that its inertia may restrain the vibratory motions of the edge of
the diaphragm, and I retain the diaphragm holder in its normal position by a spring of
sufficient strength to sustain the weight of the diaphragm and its frame, even when
the phonograph is inverted.
The means for holding the diaphragm frame already mentioned, that is, by pivoting
one end and controlling the movement of the other end by the spring I have found
successful and satisfactory, but the diaphragm frame may be otherwise controlled, for
instance, by means of a slot at each end engaging with the shank of a screw having a
spiral spring or their equivalents.
This method of holding the diaphragm in a holder which offers resistance to rapid
vibrations by reason of its inertia instead of its rigidity, may be said to be analogous
to the method of holding the carbon electrode of a Blake transmitter or similar
microphone as contra-distinguished from the so-called "rigid contact" microphones.
The operation of the shipping device which I employ for automatically disengaging
the tracer from the record on the plate, is as follows; to wit: a bent wire being
wound spirally about the rod and having its ends resting upon a portion of the frame,
constitutes a spring, which should be so adjusted as to cause the portion upon which
the rubber tube is placed, to bear lightly against the phonograph cylinder at all times.

page_text: Thus when the cylinder is turned in the direction to make the phonograph "talk,"
the rubber tube portion will merely rub lightly against the record-plate, but
immediately that the rotation of the cylinder is reversed the piece of india-rubber
will stick to the face of the cylinder and be carried upward and with it the diaphragm
and its frame, until the resistance of the coil spring becomes equal to the pressure
exerted by the bent wire spring when the rubber piece will simply slip upon the
surface of the cylinder. When the diaphragm and its frame is raised to the
disengaging position the tracer will be withdrawn from contact with the record upon
the plate and no sound will be produced by the diaphragm.
The phonograph may be operated by a key or crank or a small clock mechanism
may be placed within the box and geared to the grooved journal.
It has been found of great benefit, in order to select and reinforce the vibrations
of the diaphragm, due to the record, which reproduce speech, to the exclusion of
accidental noises, to use resonating chambers constructed in accordance with well
known laws of acoustics, of such form and dimensions as to attune them to the pitch
corresponding to the vibrations of the diaphragm when the phonograph is in
operation, and I also find that by the use of different materials considerable variety in
the quality of the sounds issuing from the resonating chambers may be obtained.
It is obvious that the opening for the emission of the sounds from the phonograph
may be made in various other parts of the image instead of the top of the head; but
this is a convenient location in dolls having artifical hair.
The described construction of chamber for containing the phonograph will be found
convenient as affording facility in reaching the phonograph for repair or renewal of
the record plates, for the head of the image may be removed and replaced as easily
as the cover of the box, and for the sake of greater security a screw may be used to
fasten the head and body together. An opening in the body of the image in
juxtaposition to the phonograph, which can be closed by a suitable cover, will serve
the purpose of gaining access to the operating mechanism of the apparatus, although
it might not afford the same facility in adjusting the resonating tubes.
The construction of phonographs described in this specification was devised mainly
for use with an enclosing case taking the form of a doll or other image, but as will
be readily understood, the same apparatus may be used in a box or case of any other
form desired, and a record of a great variety of sounds may be impressed upon
different record-plates for reproduction.
T
T
1000
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London.
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: UMTUMIM DI MALTA LION.
Improvements in Phonographic Apparatus Applicable to Dolls and
other Uses.
1, ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of the firm of Wm. Brookes & Son of 55 & 56
Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents
(a communication to me from abroad by William White Jacques of Newton in the
County of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts one of the United States of America
Electrician) do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described an i ascertained in and by the
following statement:--
My invention relates to certain improvements in the apparatus known as the
"Phonograph," substantially such as that described in the United States Letters
Patent to Thomas Alva Edison, dated February 19, 1878, whereby it can be constructed
in a manner so simple and inexpensive as to be adapted to almost universal use in the
reproduction of articulate sounds and especially short sentences or phrases of every
day speech.
The particular object of my invention is to produce a talking doll or other
image by placing therein a suitable phonograph which may be readily actuated,
either by power applied from without or by automatic mechanism placed within
the image.
It is obviously necessary that a talking doll or image suitable for a toy must be
capable of repeating its phrases a great number of times, and in whatever position
the image may happen to be held by the child or other person inducing it to talk; and
a phonograph used within such an image for the purpose of causing it to talk, should
possess the following characteristics, to wit:--
First. The record or registration of the vibrations which represent the articulate
sounds to be reproduced must be sufficiently permanent to be capable of withstanding
the operation of effecting such reproduction à great number of times without material
injury to the plate upon which the record is made.
Second. The relative adjustment of the plate containing the record, the diaphragm
with the style or tracer attached to its centre and the diaphragm holder or frame,
must be such as to maintain a comparatively light yet constant pressure between
the record and the point of the style, while the edge of the diaphragm is so con-
trolled as to resist quick vibratory movements, and yet will readily yield to slow
movements such, for instance, as might be caused by changes of temperature or
inaccuracies in the construction of an apparatus intended for a toy. And the
several parts of the apparatus must be capable of maintaining the above named
conditions without regard to the position in which the toy may be held.
Third. In order to obviate unnecessary wear of the record, and the disagreeable
noise which would otherwise be produced in reversing the motion of the record-plate
with relation to the tracer attached to the diaphragm, it is extremely desirable to
provide means whereby the style will be automatically withdrawn from contact with
the record-plate whenever it is moved in such reverse direction.

page_text: Fourth. To ensure greater clearness and volume to the articulate sounds produced
by the vibration of the diaphragm, it is essential to provide a resonating chamber
of such shape and dimensions that it shall operate in connection therewith to
select and reinforce the reproduced sounds due to the record to the exclusion of
accidental noises.
Fifth. That the sounds reproduced by the phonograph may be more distinctly
heard it is requisite to provide an aperture in the body of the image through which
the sounds may readily issue, and this aperture I preferably make in the head where
it may be easily obscured by a light covering of hair, and thus cause no detriment to
the appearance of a doll.
Sixth. It is desirable that the external devices employed for imparting motion to
the phonograph shall be capable of being readily attached or detached, in order to
remove them from the control of children, and also that the image be so constructed
as to afford ready access to the phonograph within for the purposes of repair or renewal
of the record-plate.
In order to meet the requirements above set forth, I have found the construction
hereinafter described in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
to be satisfactory, although it will be readily understood that many variations in the
specific form and construction of the several parts may be made without departing from
the spirit of the invention.
Referring to the accompanying drawings
Figure 1. is a sectional view of the head and trunk of a doll showing the phonograph
and its attachments therein.
Figure 2. is a view of the phonograph looked at from the back of the doll as
arranged in Figure 1, and with the diaphragm and its holder partly in section showing
its position when the motion of the phonograph cylinder is reversed.
Figure 3. is the same view, showing the position of the parts when the cylinder is
rotated in the direction to make the phonograph "talk."
Figure 4. is a detail drawing of the device by which the diaphragm with its style
or tracer is automatically withdrawn from the record-plate, when the motion of the
cylinder is reversed.
Figure 5. is a top view of the phonograph.
Figure 6. is a side view of the phonograph from the same position that it is seen in
Figure 1.
Figures 7, 8 and 9, are detail drawings of the devices and construction of the
parts by which the record-plate is tightened and held upon the cylinder.
Similar letters and figures in the several views indicate the same parts of the
apparatus.
a is the head of the doll; a¹, an aperture in the top, covered by a wire gauze u and
hidden by the hair v.
c, is a box, (preferably of tin) within which is fixed the frame I m m¹ m².
2, is the phonograph cylinder having a spirally grooved surface as shown at j, and
carried by a similarly grooved journal k which runs in the nut 1, constituting a part
of the frame m.
is a removable key or crank having studs p, p, which fit into holes p¹ p¹.
f and e, screwed together at 4, 4, make the diaphragm frame or holder, which is
pivoted on one side at n, n, by pivots 3, 3. At the other side 8, it is free to
move up and down the adjusting screw 6, within the limits of its head and the
shoulder upon its shank, although against the pressure of the spring 7 and the
spring 10, 11.
g, is the diaphragm, held in a rubber ring between the plates f, e, and having a tracer
or style attached at its centre.
r, is an aperture through the plate e for the emission of the sounds produced by the
diaphragm.
1, 11, is a spring of bent wire hung on a rod 9 and having a piece of rubber
tube 12, upon it, which rests lightly against the surface of the cylinder i, when it
is turned in the direction to make the phonograph talk. Its object is to raise

page_text: the diaphragm frame by contact with the projection 5 when the rotation of the
cylinder i is reversed and thus disengage the tracer h, from the record upon the
plate, j.
j is a metallic foil wound around the cylinder i, and having its ends pushed through
the slot 18 therein, and into the slot 17, in the plug B, where it is held tightly in
place by turning the said plug B, from the position shown in Figure 8, to that shown
in Figure 9.
This foil is the record-plate on which at first, is registered the vibrations of a
diaphragm caused by talking to it and at the same time revolving a cylinder
upon which the foil is wound, and which afterwards when placed upon the
cylinder i, causes the same sounds to be reproduced by inducing similar vibrations in
the diaphragm g.
s, is a resonating tube or chamber connecting the aperture with the opening a
through the tube t, for the purpose of conducting the sound from the diaphragm out
of the doll and also for the purpose of selecting and reinforcing the sounds due to the
record, to the exclusion of accidental noises.
b is the upper portion of the phonograph chamber (preferably of tin) attached to
the head of the doll at 1 and 2, and serving as a cover fitting onto the box or lower
part c of said chamber.
The parts may be of any suitable materials; but for the sake of economy, as well
as rigidity of material, I make the parts m, i, f, e, of cast iron, and the resonating
tubes I make of paper.
The spring 7, should be sufficiently strong to hold the diaphragm frame in place
even when the phonograph is inverted.
In order to secure a substantially permanent record I substitute for the tin, silver
or other foils, heretofore used with the phonograph, a foil which is inelastic and hard,
so that a record once impresssed upon it by the style of the diaphragm, will not be
distorted by reason of elasticity, (in the sense that rubber is elastic), and, being hard,
is not easily worn away by the action of the style upon it. Specifically, I prefer
what is known in trade as Oroide foil, composed of the proportions; Copper 80%,
Zinc 13%, Nickel 6%, Iron and Tin 1%. A record upon this foil will repeat a
phrase distinctly several thousand times, in a phonograph. The foil should be polished
to prevent vibrations due to friction and advantageously, may be oiled for the same
purpose. A record upon foil such as abovenamed gives far better results than that
produced by electro-plating or analogous methods.
It is desirable, in order further to ensure permanency, that the foil upon the
cylinder should present a continuous surface without seam and that it should be held
there under considerable tension. I effect this by inserting the ends of the foil
through the narrow slit 18, in the cylinder and into the slit 17, in the plug B, and
after turning the plug to the position shown in Figure 9, soldering the seam at 18.
If the foil is held in the manner usual in the phonograph it very soon begins to wear
out at the seam and causes the diaphragm to produce a thumping sound which is very
disagreeable.
For the purpose of securing the relative adjustment of the record, diaphragm with
its tracer and diaphragm holder, referred to in the second desideratum hereinbefore
specified and, at the same time, render the phonograph operative in any position in
which it may be held, I make the diaphragm holder of considerable weight, say, about
four ounces, so that its inertia may restrain the vibratory motions of the edge of the
diaphragm, and I retain the diaphragm holder in its normal position by a spring of
sufficient strength to sustain the weight of the diaphragm and its frame, even when the
phonograph is inverted.
The means for holding the diaphragm frame shown in the drawings, that is, by
pivoting one end at 3, 3, and controlling the movement of the other end by the
spring 7, I have found successful and satisfactory; but the diaphragm frame may be
otherwise controlled, for instance, by means of a slot at each end as at 8, engaging
with the shank of a screw 6, having a spring 7, or their equivalents.
This method of holding a diaphragm in a holder which offers resistance to rapid

page_text: vibrations by reason of its inertia instead of its rigidity, may be said to be analogous
to the method of holding the carbon electrode of a Blake transmitter or similar
microphone as contra-distinguished from the so-called "rigid contact" microphones.
The operation of the shipping-device shown at Figure 4, which I employ for
automatically disengaging the tracer h, from the record on the plate j, is as follows;
to wit: The bent wire 11, 11, being wound spirally about the rod 9, and having its
ends 10, 10, rest upon the portion m³, of the frame, constitutes a spring, which
should be so adjusted as to cause the portion upon which the rubber tube 12, is placed,
to bear lightly against the phonograph cylinder at all times. Thus when the cylinder
is turned in the direction indicated in Figure 3, to make the phonograph "talk," the
portion 12, will merely rub lightly against the record-plate, but immediately that the
rotation of the cylinder is reversed, as indicated in Figure 2, the piece of india-
rubber 12, will stick to the face of the cylinder and be carried upward and with it the
diaphragm and its frame, until the resistance of the spring 7, becomes equal to the
pressure exerted by the spring 11, 11, when the rubber piece 12, will simply slip
upon the surface of the cylinder. When the diaphragm and its frame is raised to the
position shown at Figure 2, the tracer will be withdrawn from contact with the record
upon the plate j, and no sound will be produced by the diaphragm.
The phonograph may be operated by a key or crank o, or a small clock mechanism
may be placed within the box c, and geared to the journal k.
I have found it of great benefit, in order to select and reinforce the vibrations of
the diaphragm, due to the record, which reproduce speech, to the exclusion of accidental
noises, to use resonating chambers constructed in accordance with well known laws of
acoustics, of such form and dimensions as to attune them to the pitch corresponding
to the vibrations of the diaphragm when the phonograph is in operation, and I also
find that by the use of different materials considerable variety in the quality of the
sounds issuing from the resonating chambers may be obtained.
It is obvious that the opening for the emission of the sounds from the phonograph
may be made in various other parts of the image instead of the top of the head; but
this is a convenient location in dolls having artificial hair.
The construction of the chamber for containing the phonograph shown in the
drawings will be found convenient as affording facility in reaching the phonograph for
repair or renewal of the record plates, for as heretofore shown the head of the image
may be removed and replaced as easily as the cover of the box, and for the sake of
greater security a screw may be used to fasten the head and body together. An
opening in the body of the image in juxtaposition to the phonograph, which can be
closed by a suitable cover, will serve the purpose of gaining access to the operating
mechanism of the apparatus, although it might not afford the same facility in
adjusting the resonating tubes.
The construction of phonographs described in this specification was devised mainly
for use with a doll or other image, but as will be readily understood, the same
apparatus may be used in a box or case of any form desired, and a record of a great
variety of sounds may be impressed upon different record-plates for reproduction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A doll, or similar image, containing a phonograph capable of operating therein,
substantially as described.
2. A phonograph having its stylus controlled in relation to the record surface by
the action of opposing springs, combined with a doll which serves as a receptacle and
support for the phonograph, substantially as described.
3. A doll containing and supporting therein a phonograph having the stylus of its
diaphragm held between opposing springs, and a resonator to reinforce the sounds
produced by the diaphragin and direct them to an orifice in the image, substantially
as described.
4. A phonograph having a record-plate consisting of a sheet of metal which is

page_text: superficially hard upon the side which is to receive the record, contained and
supported within a doll or similar image, substantially as described and for the purpose
specified.
5. A phonograph having a travelling record-surface and an automatic shipping device
actuated by the reverse motion of said record-surface to withdraw the diaphragm-
tracer from contact therewith, all contained within a doll or similar image, substantially
as described, and for the purpose specified.
6. A doll containing and supporting therein a phonograph having the stylus of its
diaphragm held between the opposing tension of two or more springs, a resonator to
reinforce the sounds produced by the diaphragm and direct them to an orifice in the
doll, and a shipping device which automatically withdraws the stylus from the record
when the motion of the record-surface is reversed, substantially as described.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant.