Improvements in or appertaining to Phonographs, Graphophones, or the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Mar., 1891-Accepted, 2nd May, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or appertaining to Phonographs, Graphophones, or
the like.
A communication from abroad by PHILIP TELL DODGE, of Washington, D.C.,
United States of America, Attorney.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster & 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
At the present day it is the common practice for one person to dictate to a
phonograph matter which is to be written out by another. It frequently becomes
desirable to have portions of the matter recorded on the cylinder omitted by the
amanuensis, but, as this fact cannot be indicated on the cylinder in advance of
the part to be omitted; and, as the machine is without means for cancelling the
undesirable portions, much time is wasted in obtaining clean manuscript.
The invention is intended to overcome these troubles by enabling the person
dictating to erase or obliterate from the cylinder, at will, any desired portion of
the record. This is accomplished by providing the instrument with a device, for
convenience termed an eraser, which may be called into action at will to crase,
cancel or obliterate from the record, progressively, the required portions of the
record.
The eraser is arranged to act in one line of the record at a time, and immediately
behind the reproducing style, so that the user, listening to the words as they are
reproduced, is thereby enabled to determine the precise times for starting and
stopping the eraser to effect the erasure of the required words.
The eraser may be made in many forms and combined with erasing devices
variously arranged, the only requirements being that it shall follow behind the
style, be adapted to obliterate one line without disturbing the next, and be under
the control of the attendant as to the time of its action.
It is preferable, however, to make the eraser in the form of a sharp-edged roller
to travel in and smooth down the record surface, and to attach it to the carriage by
which the reproducing style and diaphragm are carried along the cylinder.
This improvement is applicable alike to the graphophone, the Edison phonograph,
and all similar instruments, but is shown in connection with an instrument known
in the market as the graphophone.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure represents a transverse vertical section through the instrument now
known in the art as the "graphophone," with this improvement applied thereto, the
section being taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the instrument, the reproducer being turned
upward and a portion of the cylinder broken away in order to expose the erasing
device to view.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 3-3 of the preceding figure.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view showing, in elevation, the erasing device on its
preferred form.
Figures 5 and 6 are similar views showing the erasing devices in modified forms.
Referring to the drawings:-
A, represents the main frame; B the record cylinder having a wax-like surface
and sustained by rotary supports at its end; C a carriage movable gradually along
the guide c by a screw feed, and carrying the recorder D and reproducer E, both

page_text: The
of which are hinged thereto, so that either may be turned down in operative
relation to the record cylinder or phonogram when the other is turned up.
reproducer has a style e, which, travelling in the continuous record groove of
varying depth, receives therefrom a vibratory motion which it communicates to the
sound producing diaphragm. The foregoing parts are constructed and operate as
usual.
Passing now to the improvement, F represents a depending arm hinged to the
carriage to swing to and from the record cylinder and carrying a sharp-edged roller f
which constitutes the eraser proper. By swinging the arm forward, the edge of the
roller is caused to enter and travel in the record groove a short distance behind the
reproducer style, its effect being to erase or roll down these irregularities which
give character to the groove, and to produce a smooth surface thereon so that,
when the style again traverses the smooth portion of the groove, the instrument
will remain mute or practically so.
As a convenient means of controlling the action of the eraser, around one of the
horizontal frame bars a parallel with the cylinder, a tube H is mounted having a
front finger piece, and at opposite ends two arms which sustain a horizontal
rod which lies behind the lower end of the eraser carrying arm F. When the
finger piece is depressed, it raises rod h², which, in turn, throws the eraser into
action.
As the carriage advances and carries the style along the cylinder, the eraser
arm slides along the elevated rod h², sustained in operative position thereby, and
the eraser, travelling behind the style, continues to obliterate the record, word
after word, as they are announced by the diaphragm, so long as the operator
maintains a pressure on the finger piece h.
In order that the eraser may be caused to align with the style, means are
provided for adjusting the eraser laterally. One simple contrivance for this
purpose is shown in Figure 3, in which the eraser arm is mounted on a threaded
sleeve or nut h³, which is in turn mounted on the hinge pin 4º, between the arms of
the carriage so that its end motion is prevented. This nut turns freely on the pin
but is seated tightly in the arms so that it forms in effect a rigid part of the latter,
but, by the application of moderate force, it may be turned in the arms so as to
shift the latter sidewise.
In practice, it is found advantageous to
pressure, and to this end the eraser arm is
sustaining spring h³, which rides on rod /².
hold the eraser to its work by spring
provided, as shown in Figure 1, with a
The depth to which the eraser acts in the record surface should be controlled, to
the end that it may not force the substance of the cylinder laterally so as to disturb
or impair the record in the adjacent convolutions of the groove. This may be
accomplished by means of an adjustable stop screw 10 located beneath the finger
piece or elsewhere in connection with the erasing devices.
As an additional means of controlling the depth of action of the eraser, it is
proposed to provide the arm F with a roller or equivalent support, such, for
example, as that shown at ", Figure 4, to ride on the surface of the cylinder
without disturbing the record therein.
While it has been found that the best results are secured by a rolling eraser, it
is to be understood that, in the same manner, an arm or blade such as shown in
Figure 5 may be employed to smooth down the surface of the record groove; or a
blace as shown in Figure 6 to deepen the groove and give the same a smooth
surface.
.
My correspondent is aware that a phonograph has been provided with a
mechanism for paring or shaving off its outer surface from end to end to adapt it to
receive a new record. This mechanism, however, is neither intended nor adapted
for the erasure of a single line of matter at a time, nor was it so constructed that
the operator listening to the reading of the record could select and eliminate at will
definite portions of the record.
My correspondent believes himself to be the first to provide a phonograph in any

page_text: form or manner with means whereby the operator may select and cancel at will a
definite portion of the record, and it is to be understood that the invention includes
any eraser for this purpose having a mode of action analogous to that herein
described.
In order to distinguish the eraser which acts in one line or at one point only at a
time from paring knives which remove a wide slice, including two or more
convolutions of the record groove, it is designated in the claims as a line eraser.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In combination with a phonograph or similar instrument, an eraser adapted to
act on and to obliterate a single line of the record at a time, and means whereby
the attendant may throw the same into and out of action at will.
2. In a phonograph or the like, the combination of a grooved record or
phonogram, a reproducer having a style arranged to travel in the record groove
as usual, and an eraser arranged to act in the record groove immediately behind the
reproducer style, and means for throwing said eraser into and out of action at will;
whereby the attendant, listening to the reproduction of the words upon the cylinder,
is enabled to select and obliterate from the record the particular words desired.
3. In a phonograph or the like, the combination of the revolving record cylinder,
the travelling carriage having the reproducer attached, the eraser also attached to said
carriage, a finger key, and intermediate connections through which said key acts to
throw the eraser into action during the operation of the machine, substantially as
described.
4. In a phonograph or the like, an eraser, consisting of a sharp edged wheel or
roller mounted to act within the record groove to obliterate the inequalities and
produce a smooth surface, to the end that the style may remain inactive while
traversing such smooth surface.
5. In a phonograph or the like, and in combination with the record cylinder, a
spring sustained eraser adapted to act within the record groove substantially as
described.
6. In a phonograph, the combination of a record cylinder, an eraser mounted to
travel lengthwise of said cylinder, and adapted to act in a single groove or
convolution of the groove at a time, means for throwing said eraser into action, and
a stop device to control the depth of its action in the cylinder, substantially as
described.
7. In combination with the rotary record cylinder, the travelling carriage having
the reproducer attached, the line eraser also connected to the carriage, and means
substantially as described for adjusting said eraser laterally to secure and maintain
its alignment with the reproducer style.
8. In combination with the rotary cylinder, the travelling carriage, the eraser
arm jointed to the carriage, and the locking frame having a rod or support parallel
with the cylinder to operate and sustain the eraser arm, substantially as described.
Dated this 26th day of March 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.