Improved Pedal-apparatus for Controlling the Recording and Reproducing Apparatus of Phonographs.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Leit, 21st Mar., 1895-Accepted, 27th Apr., 1895
•
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Pedal-apparatus for Controlling the Recording and
Reproducing Apparatus of Phonographs.
I, LESLIE STEPHEN ROBINSON of 28 Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improved pedal-apparatus for controlling the recording
and reproducing apparatus of phonographs. According to my invention I employ,
in combination with the recording and reproducing apparatus a pedal so connected
therewith that as long as the pedal is kept down by the foot the recorder or
reproducer is allowed to bear on the wax or other cylinder; but immediately
upon the release of the pedal the reproducer or recorder is lifted clear of the
cylinder and so retained until the pedal is again depressed. When the apparatus
is combined with an Edison-Bell phonograph a simple mechanism is employed
comprising a pedal connected to a spring-controlled lever which pivoted to the
frame or support of the phonograph and connected to the so-called "off" lever by
which the recording and reproducing devices are normally kept off the cylinder.
The "on" lever by which the recording and reproducing devices are normally
caused to come on to the cylinder is held in an inoperative position by a wire and
hook or otherwise or may be removed, when my improvements are employed.
Improvements of the kind hereinbefore described are applicable to the starting
and stopping levers of phonographs, and to other than Edison-Bell phonographs,
and although I have described a convenient mode of carrying my invention into
effect it will be understood that modifications may be made without departing from
the spirit of my invention.
Dated this 18th day of December 1894.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for Applicant.
Improved Pedal-apparatus for Controlling the Recording and
Reproducing Apparatus of Phonographs.
1, LESLIE STEPHEN ROBINSON, of 28 Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, 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 :-
This invention relates to improved pedal-apparatus for controlling the recording
and reproducing apparatus of phonographs.
According to my invention I combine with a pedal which when controlled by
the foot or otherwise renders the phonograph or the like operative, an automatic
device to render the instrument inoperative when such control ceases. With such
apparatus the user of the instrument has his hands free for handling documents
Ph

page_text: for instance and moreover on releasing the pedal he raises the needle clear of the
record cylinder but leaves everything in readiness for instant operation which
re-commences immediately upon depression of the pedal whereby the needle is
restored to the acting position.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a vertical section showing apparatus constructed according to my
invention applied to an Edison-Bell phonograph of a usual and well-known type
the section being taken transversely to the cylinder thereof.
"
Figure 2 is a view in perspective of a portion of the phonograph showing the
'on" and "off" levers, and
Figures 3 and 4 are views drawn to a larger scale than that of Figure 1 to
illustrate the action of the "off" and "on" levers of the phonograph.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the recorder and reproducer hinged so as to be movable towards or away
from the record cylinder. C is the "off" lever and D an "on" lever; the "off"
lever has a laterally-extended bail or working face C¹ upon which the recorder and
reproducer A bears by means of a strut A¹. The "on "lever D which in effect is
a spring detent, tends always to engage automatically with a pin C on the "off"
lever C so that normally when the outer end of the latter is fully depressed as in
Figure 4 the "on" lever causes the "off" lever to retain, through the bail C¹ and
strut A, the recorder and reproducer A clear of the record cylinder B. The
on lever as hereinafter explained is not necessary for the purposes of my
invention, and is in Figure 4 prevented from engaging the "off" lever.
With such apparatus I combine improvements as follows;
66
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-
To the frame of the instrument I pivot at E a lever F coupled at one end to
the "off" lever C by a wire or other connection C and at the other end to a
pedal G by a rod G. H is a spring secured to the frame and arranged to bear
upon the lever F so as to tend always to keep it and its connections in the position
in which they are shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, that is to say in a position in
which the recorder and reproducer A is retained clear of the cylinder B. By
depressing the pedal G the action of the spring H is overcome and the "off"
lever Crises while the bail C' drops to allow the recorder and reproducer A to
descend into contact with the cylinder B as iudicated in full lines in Figure 1. In
order that the recorder and reproducer may be free to descend when the outer end
of the "off" lever is released the "on" lever D must not be operative to hold the
"off" lever; therefore retain the "on" lever in an inoperative position by a
wire hook 1 (Figures 2 and 4) attached to the instrument, or 1 remove it
altogether.
Instead of the spring H I may use for a similar purpose springs applied to other
parts of the apparatus or 1 may use a counterbalance upon the recorder and
reproducer, and connect the pedal apparatus directly thereto, or I may employ any
other pedal-controlled devices to cause the instrument to become inactive when
the pedal control ceases. I may arrange the pedal to move laterally when
depressed, into a notch, like a harp pedal for instance, or otherwise retain it in its
lower position.
Apparatus constructed and operating according to my invention may be applied
to the starting and stopping levers of phonographs or the like, instead of being
used to operate upon the recorder and reproducer; and although I have described
by way of example the application of iny invention to an Edison-Bell phonograph
I do not limit my invention to that particular application.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. In a phonograph the combination with pedal gear which renders the
phonograph or the like operative when desired of an automatic device tending
always to render the phonograph or the like inoperative.

page_text: 2. In a phonograph the combination with an
"off" lever such as C of a spring
controlled or counterbalanced lever such as F and a pedal such as G substantially
as and for the purpose described.
66
"
on
3. In a phonograph the combination with an "off" lever such as C and an
lever such as D of a spring-controlled or counterbalanced lever such as F a pedal G
and means for retaining the "on" lever out of action substantially as and for the
purpose described.
י
51
11002
LESLIE S. ROBINSON.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.