Improvements in Phonographs.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Sent., 1892-Accepted. 15th Oct., 1892
.COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Phonographs.
1, JOHN WILLIAM MACKINTOSH, of Brookline in the County of Norfolk and
State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, Managing Director
of Phonograph Companies, 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 :-
My invention relates to the simplification of the instrument known as the
phonograph for the purpose of making it commercially available not only as to
cost, but also as to durability and ease of manipulation, particularly when used in
dolls or other images to reproduce speech or other familiar sounds.
Heretofore in the construction of machines of this kind there has been difficulty
in so accurately adjusting the reproducing stylus with relation to the line of
indentations representing the sound-vibrations upon the record-plate, as to ensure
perfect coincidence between the point of the stylus and such line of indentations
upon each successive return of the stylus to the beginning of the record; also, on
account of the shallowness of the depression along the line of such indentations,
there has been the constant liability to imperfect operation in the reproduction of
sounds by reason of the stylus running upon the space between the lines of
indentations on the record-plate or partially upon such space, or of jumping across
such space from one part of the line to another, thus leaving a portion of the
indentations untouched by the stylus and causing a discontinuous or broken
reproduction of the recorded sound waves; and this difficulty was greatly increased
by even slight abrasions of the surface of the record-plate, or by accidental dents
or scratches therein.
One of the chief reasons why the reproducing stylus could not be adjusted and
controlled so as to drop upon the record of sound-vibrations in perfect alignment
with its line of indentations at the beginning of each successive repetition was,
because the operation of traversing the record-plate with the stylus was effected by
devices which acted upon parts of the inachine other than the record surface
itself, and my invention consists essentially in first forming a continuous groove of
substantial depth in the surface of the record-plate and then indenting, cutting or
otherwise producing at the bottom of such groove a record of the vibrations of the
recording diaphragm corresponding to the sound waves which it is desired to
reproduce by the phonographi.
The continuous groove may be cut directly upon a cylinder or disc the surface
of which has been covered with a suitable material to properly receive the record;
but preferably the groove should be cut in the surface of a.ring or disc such as has
been heretofore used and called a phonogram after the record has been applied,
which cau afterwards be secured to a supporting cylinder or disc contained in the
phonograph.
By cutting such a groove in the phonogram-blank and making the record in the
bottom thereof, several advantages are gained over prior constructions, namely:
the record is protected from injury by the ridges which define the continuous
groove, the reproducing stylus is directed to the record and guided thereon with
almost absolute certainty; the tops of the ridges are so narrow that the stylus will
not rest thereon and at the same time the upper portion of the said ridges can.be
utilized as a means for causing the reproducing stylus to traverse the record.
be
In the construction which I have illustrated in the drawings I accomplish this
last mentioned operation by providing a piece of metal, for instance, which
a concave strip, or a small cylinder, and preferably covered on its bearing surface
may

page_text: with raw-hide, or some other material which is softer than the top of the ridges on
the phonogram and which I call a feed-block. In this soft material 1 form grooves
the same distance apart as the tops of the phonogram ridges, and at the same angle
or pitch, but not so deep as the grooves in the phonogram; that is, the ribs upon
the face of the feed-block are not so high as the ridges of the phonogram and
therefore do not extend to the bottom of the groove therein and rub upon the
record also, as illustrated, the phonograin cylinder is supported upon a fixed axle
or shaft on which it may be turned by independent driving mechanism which
engages with the cylinder in such a manner as to control and regulate its rotary
motion only, the cylinder being free to slide longitudinally in either direction upon
the axle within described limits, except as it may be regulated in such movement
by the contact of the said feed-block with the ridges upon its periphery.
When the feed-block is in contact with the phonogram the interlocking of the
ridges upon their respective surfaces will cause the cylinder to move along upon its
axle whenever it is rotated, in the manner of the operation of a worm-gear and
co-operating rack, when the gear is free to slide and the rack is fixed. I have
found that when it is desired to slide a rotating cylinder longitudinally upon its
axle or shaft, that it is accomplished much more easily when the axle is still, or
has a rotation in the same direction, but of different speed from that of the cylinder,
than when the two are rotated at the same speed and in the same direction.
Another feature of my invention is therefore to clamp the axle firmly to the frame
of the machine, and turn the phonogram cylinder thereon by an interlocking arm of
independent driving mechanism, which may be supported upon the same axle ; or,
to support and move the said cylinder upon a stationary sleeve, within which may
turn one end of the shaft that carries the driving mechanism.
The stationary axle is a benefit in the operation however the cylinder is rotated
thereon, or however it is caused to move longitudinally thereof, for it will be found
advantageous even when the phonograph cylinder is caused to slide longitudinally
of its axle by means of the feed-block applied to a screw thread cut upon the hub
of the cylinder as in some of the prior constructions.
I pivot the diaphragm-holder at one side, to the frame of the phonograph, and at
the opposite side of the said holder provide an adjusting screw, which by its
bearing upon the said frame will regulate and adjust the distance between the
.diaphragm and the surface of the phonogram, and thereby determine the pressure
of the diaphragm upon the stylus.
The arm which carries the reproducing stylus at one end, is also pivoted at the
same side of the frame as the diaphragm-holder, as is also the lever or arm which
supports the feeding device.
For convenience and economy of construction I attach two bearing lugs to the
upper side of the frame of the apparatus at a proper distance apart, and then with
a single pintle pivot the diaphragm-holder. the arm of the reproducing stylus and
that of the feeding-device, between these two lugs, the stylus arm occupying the
middle position while the feed-block arm and the diaphragm holder, each have two
bearings upon the pintle outside of the stylus bearing.
When the feed-block is to be used to co-operate with the surface of a cylinder,
the bearing surface of the block should be made concave to correspond with the
surface of the cylinder, and also in order to ensure perfect contact between the two
surfaces I hold the feed-block: by pivots, one at either end, which work in bearings
therefor in its supporting arm.
It will be readily understood that the diaphragm, the reproducing stylus and the
feed-block may be caused to move from side to side and thus traverse the stylus
across the record, by lengthening the pintle on which they are all pivoted, and
holding the deeply grooved cylinder rigidly upon the shaft by which it is rotated,
and thus the action of the interlocking grooves upon the cylinder and feed-block
will move the diaphragm and stylus upon their supporting pintle instead of the
cylinder upon, its axle. This arrangement of moving the stylus and diaphragm
across the record surface may also be employed when the record is upon a flat disc.

page_text: Or still further, the bearings for the ends of the said pintle may be secured to a
supplemental plate which is attached to the frame of the machine by a perpendicular
pivot upon which the said plate, the diaphragm, stylus and feed-block, can be
turned from side to side in the arc of a circle, and in a horizontal plane corre-
sponding to that of the diaphragm, whereby the reproducing stylus will be caused
to traverse the record in an arc of large radius.
This construction will operate to the best advantage upon a narrow ring or
record surface, as the path of the stylus across such surface when moved through a
small arc will be sufficiently near a straight line for practical operation.
By means of a lever, pivoted to the frame of the machine beneath the diaphragm,
one end of which bears upon the diaphragm-holder, the diaphragm is raised by a
Jug on the cylinder which acts upon the other end of the said raising lever after
the stylus has traversed the record. When the diaphragm-holder is thus raised, it
first acts upon the hinge end of the stylus supporting arm by the contact therewith
of a downwardly projecting piece at that end of the said holder, and raises the
stylus from the record, and then upon the arm of the feeding-device and lifts that
by means of the hooked end of that arm extending over the opposite edge of the
diaphragm-holder; thus the phonogram cylinder is left free to slide upon its
supporting axle, which it will do by its own weight in whichever direction the axle
is inclined. When the phonograph is to be used in a doll or other image, I place
it therein with the end of the shaft, to which the operating crank is to be applied,
at the back, and thus as the cylinder is turned to reproduce the sounds it will move
upon its axle from the back to the front of the image, and as an easy and natural
position of holding the image will be, inclined a little backward, as soon as the
stylus has traversed the record and the feed-block has been automatically raised by
the action of the lever as described, the cylinder will, by the aid of gravity alone,
slide back to its initial position; when, by means of a releasing finger, also
operated at the back of the image, the raising lever is turned so as to allow the
feed-block, the stylus and the diaphragm to drop back to their operative relation
with the cylinder again.
As dirt and dust collect in the record groove of the cylinder, more or less of
which the reproducing stylus scrapes off each time that it is passed over the record,
and as this dirt upon the stylus, if allowed to accumulate, tends to interfere with
the clearness and loudness of the reproduction of the sound-vibrations, I attach a
small brush to the cylinder, preferably upon the back edge of the rim or that edge
at which the record is finished, so that as soon as the stylus has completely
traversed and passed off the surface of the cylinder the brush will strike across the
point of the stylus once or twice before it is raised with the diaphragm as described,
and to remove any dirt which may adhere to the brush, I attach a piece of wire to
the frame in such location that it projects into the path of movement of the said
brush when the cylinder is in its initial position, thus when the cylinder is rotated
there, the brush will strike the projecting wire, which will serve as a scraper or
wiper to clean it.
For a safeguard against injury to the reproducing stylus in the event of the
ridges of the feeding-device becoming thrown out of proper adjustment with
relation to the stylus by accidental jar to the machine, instead of making the stylus
arm in a single piece which is hinged directly upon the pintle as described, I hinge
a supplemental plate to the pintle and attach the stylus arm thereto by a
perpendicular pivot, so that the stylus may swing on this pivot in a limited are of
a circle in a plane parallel to the plane of the diaphragm, as well as tilt upon the
said pintle in a plane at right angles to that of the diaphragm; by this means the
stylus will readily follow the groove in the phonogram and properly reproduce
the sound-vibrations recorded therein, even when the feed-block is one or two
ridges out of proper adjustment with the stylus.
When the stylus is thus arranged with the double pivoting, I attach one end of
a small spiral spring to the end of the stylus arm opposite to the pivots, and the
other end of the spring to the hooked end of the feed-block arm or to the frame of

page_text: the machine in a position which will cause the spring to pull in a right line with
the length of the stylus arm and diametrically across the diaphragm.
This spring will hold the stylus firmly while the cleaning brush acts upon it, and
also hold it in proper adjustment with the feed-block when it first enters upon
the record groove in the surface of the phonogram at the beginning of the
reproduction.
Referring to the drawings in which I have illustrated the embodiment of my
improvements in specific form,
Figure 1, is a vertical section of all parts of the apparatus excepting the
cylinder, on lines 1-1 Figure 2, and viewed from the right hand side of said
Figure 2.
Figure 2, is an elevation of the apparatus viewed from the left hand side of
Figure 1 with the globular resonating chamber removed.
Figure 3, is a greatly enlarged view of a portion of the grooved record-plate or
ring, the feed-block and stylus, the record-plate being in section.
Figure 4, is a vertical section of the shaft and immediately surrounding parts on
line 2-2 Figure 1.
Figure 5, is an elevation of the cylinder and feed-block, the latter in the form of
a small cylinder or roll, and the lengthened pintle on which the diaphragm-holder,
etc., may slide.
Figure 6, is an elevation of a portion of the machine, with a portion of the
frame, the feed-block arm and stylus arm, in section, showing the stylus arm
pivoted on a vertical pivot to permit an independent movement in a horizontal
plane.
Figure 7, is a view of the cylinder showing a simple construction for giving the
shaft a slower motion than the cylinder by means of gears.
Figure 8, is a plan view, of the diaphragm-holder, feed-block and stylus arm,
pivoted upon a supplemental vertical pivot, permitting them all to swing in an arc
in a horizontal plane over the record.
Figure 9, is a vertical section of the parts of the machine immediately
surrounding the shaft, showing the stationary sleeve on which the cylinder may
slide and be rotated, and within which the shaft may turn.
In designating the several parts of the machine the same letters or figures are
used in each view.
A are the two side portions of the frame of the apparatus which support the
shaft or axle for the cylinder and driving mechanism; B the top part of the frame
upon which the diaphragm-holder, the arm of the reproducing stylus and of the
feeding-device are pivoted; C the grooved record surface or phonogram; c is the
phonogram cylinder; D is the shaft or axle upon which the cylinder is supported
and rotated; E the driving disc, which interlocks with the cylinder c by a hole f
in one of its spokes and causes it to rotate upon its axle ; F is the crank or key by
which the driving mechanism is turned.
As illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 4 the driving disc E is secured to a sleeve d,
by a set-screw t, which sleeve is turned by the engagement of the key F with a
projecting pin, (see Fig. 2). In this construction the sleeve d, turns upon the
shaft D which is held in a fixed position by the screws, and through the disc E
and its arme the cylinder c, is turned upon that shaft.
In the construction shown in Figure 9 the cylinder c, is supported upon a sleeve d¹
within which the shaft D turns, the disc E being secured directly to the shaft by
the set screw t. In this arrangement the phonograph cylinder is rotated and slides
upon the sleeve instead of upon the shaft.
In Figure 7, U, and V, are a small and a large gear, respectively secured to the
arme and shaft D, and by means of which the said shaft is caused to rotate at a
slower rate of speed than the cylinder, but in the same direction.
G is the diaphragm-holder or frame; g, the diaphragm; H is the stylus arm,
h, the reproducing stylus: 1, is the arm or lever which supports the feeding-device
or feed-block K, provided with a raw-hide covering & L, are the lugs secured to

page_text: the top B of the frame of the machine and in which the ends of the pintle M, have
bearings; the diaphragm-holder, the stylus-arm and feed-block lever, all being
pivoted upon that pintle; N is a lever pivoted to one of the side pieces A and by
the operation of which the diaphragm-holder is raised. In order to have this
raising lever act more uniformly upon the diaphragm-holder, its pivot O may be
extended across the space between the two parts A and the upper portion of the
raising-lever secured to the said pivot at a position as nearly in line with the
stylus-arm as the other parts of the apparatus will permit.
Upon the cylinder c is a projecting finger P (see Fig. 2) and when the cylinder
is revolved, as indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1, and advanced longitudinally upon its
axle, as indicated by arrow Fig. 2, in reproducing the recorded sound waves, this
finger will strike the lower end of the lever N and move it, as indicated by arrow
Fig. 1, thus causing the other end to raise one side of diaphragm-holder, turning
it upon the pintle M at the other side.
The lever N, is prevented from being thrown too far outward by the friction of
a spring Q. In a piece R which projects from the diaphragm-holder beyond the
pintle M is a screw S, which will strike upon the projecting rear end of the stylus-
arm when the diaphragm-holder is raised by the lever N as described.
And by adjusting this screw S the relative height to which the stylus will be
raised by the action of the diaphragm-holder can be determined. Also by extending
the feed-block lever and turning its end over the edge of the diaphragm-holder in
a hook the feed-block may be raised from contact with the cylinder by the same
upward movement of the diaphragm-holder, but this should occur after the stylus
has been disengaged from the record. Thus it will be seen that by the movement
of the lever N, in the direction indicated, the diaphragm. the stylus and the
feeding-device may be successively raised or moved away from the cylinder and
leave it free to slide longitudinally upon its shaft, and by the reverse movement of
the lever N which may be effected by the projecting releasing finger N1, the feed-
block, the stylus and the diaphragm will be successively lowered, but in the
reverse order.
A small piece of india rubber is attached to the center of the diaphragm
and immediately over the stylus, to provide an elastic contact between them, and
by means of a screw we, at the side of the diaphragm-holder, opposite the pintle on
which it tilts, the pressure of the diaphragm upon the stylus may be regulated.
In Figure 5, is illustrated a construction whereby the diaphragm, its holder, the
feed-block and stylus are traversed across the surface of the record cylinder. The
pintle M, is lengthened as shown at the right hand side; the feeding-device is in
the form of a small cylinder or roller K¹; and the cylinder c, being securely
fastened upon its shaft D, will, when it is rotated to produce the recorded sound
vibrations, cause the diaphragm, feed-block, stylus and their connected parts, to
move to the right across the face of the cylinder.
As shown in Figure 8, T is a supplemental frame which supports the diaphragmn-
holder, the feed-block and the stylus, and which is pivoted to the top portion B of
the frame of the apparatus by a vertical pivot r, upon which the said supplemental
frame T, with the several parts wbich it supports may be swung across the face of
the record cylinder where it is rotated by the action of the interlocking ridges
upon the feed-block and the said cylinder.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a is a small brush attached to the edge of the cylinder c, near
its periphery, in such a position that it will strike across the point of the stylus
after it has completely traversed the record surface and passed off the edge of the
cylinder.
This brushing will clear from the point of the stylus any dust and dirt which it
may have scraped from the grooves of the cylinder.
And when the cylinder has been returned to its initial position this brush a,
will be cleaned by striking across the projecting wire y, during the first revolu-
tions of the cylinder.

page_text: In Figure 6 is illustrated the construction whereby the stylus has an inde-
pendent lateral swing, the stylus arm being held by a pivot p, in the supporting
piece W, which turns upon the pintle M, in the same manner that the stylus-
arm does in the constructions previously referred to. Y is a spiral spring with
one end attached to the stylus-arm opposite to the pivot p, and the other end to
the hooked portion of the feed-block arm, and by this spring the stylus will be
properly held while being cleaned by the brush a and also will be started into the
record groove in a proper manner.
For the purpose of conveniently oiling the shaft D, it is slightly flattened or
grooved for a short distance inward from the end at which the key is applied, as
indicated at m, Fig. 4.
In Figure 1, &, is a resonating chamber and Z a supplemental chamber over
the diaphragm.
The construction and arrangement of the shaft D and its supporting parts
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 4 will be found very simple and convenient for
the purpose of removing and replacing the cylinder e, when it is desired to renew
or change the record ring, for by loosening the screws, the shaft may be pushed
through the sleeve d, sufficiently far to allow the cylinder c to slip off the end
the horizontal portion of the arm e, from which it can
and be turned down then constructed with a sleeve as shown in Figure 9.
be readily removed.
both the screws s, and t, should be loosened when the cylinder is to be removed.
The form of the ridges and grooves in the record-plate and the feed-block, and
the manner in which they are interlocked, is clearly shown in the enlarged view
Figure 3, and will not need further explanation.
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. In a phonograph, a phonogram-cylinder, a fixed bearing therefor upon which
it is adapted to be rotated by independent driving-mechanism, and to be moved
longitudinally by external mechanism engaging with the said cylinder substantially
as described.
2. In a phonograph, a record-cylinder and driving-mechanism therefor, both
supported by and rotated upon a fixed axle, and a feeding-device which will cause
said cylinder to move longitudinally on said axle when rotated thercon sub-
stantially as described.
3. In a phonograph, a phonogram-cylinder which may be moved longitudinally
of its supporting shaft and mechanism for giving the said cylinder and its shaft
differential rotary motion for the purpose substantially as described.
4. In a phonograph, a cylinder normally free to slide and to rotate upon its
shaft and provided with a spiral groove of substantial depth upon its periphery,
and a record of sound-vibrations within said groove, a feeding-device which
engages with the ridges between the cylinder-grooves to control its sliding-
movement upon the shaft, and driving-mechanism to rotate the cylinder thereon,
substantially as described.
5. The combination in a phonograph of a phonogram-cylinder which has a
spiral-groove in its periphery, a stationary axle therefor, driving-mechanism to
turn the cylinder thereon, and a grooved feeding-device which engages with the
grooved surface of the cylinder and gives it an advancing motion longitudinally
upon its axle, substantially as described.
6. In a phonograph having a phonogram-cylinder which is normally free to move
longitudinally upon its supporting shaft, a feeding-device which is caused, auto-
matically, to engage with the grooved periphery of the phonogram whenever
the reproducing-stylus is in contact with the record thereon, substantially as
described.
7. In a phonograph, having a diaphragm for reproducing sound-waves, a cylinder

page_text: which carries a phonogram provided with a spiral groove with a record of sound-
vibrations in the bottom thereof, a ribbed feeding-device held between the said
diaphragm and cylinder and adapted to engage with or be disengaged from the
ridges on the said cylinder, and a reproducing-stylus normally held in a position
with relation to the ribbed feeding-device which will locate the point of the stylus
and the apex of one rib of the said feeding-device in a single plane which is perpen-
dicular to the diaphragm, substantially as described.
8. In a phonograph for reproducing sound-vibrations a diaphragm held in a
hinged frame, a reproducing point attached to a pivoted lever and supported
thereby between the phonogram and the diaphragm, but unattached to the latter ;
a ribbed feed-block which co-operates with ridges upon the phonogram and an
automatically operated disengaging lever by. which the diaphragın-frame is first
raised and the reproducing point and feed-block are successively disengaged from
the phonogram, when it is to be returned to its initial position, substantially as
described.
9. In a phonograph, a record-plate provided with a continuous groove of sub-
stantial depth in its surface and a record of sound-vibrations in the bottom of said
groove, a stylus which substantially fits the record portion of the groove and a
feeding-device which engages with the ridges which define the groove and thereby
causes a traversing motion between the stylus and record-plate when the phono-
graph is operated.
groove
10. In a phonograph, a record-plate which has in its surface a continuous
of substantial depth and a record of sound-vibrations in the bottom of said
groove, a stylus which substantially fits the record portion of the groove and has
a pivoted support substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
11. In a phonograph, a phonogram containing a record of sound-vibrations in a
groove thereon, and a stylus supported upon an arm held by a pivot upon which it
is adapted to swing in the arc of a circle in a plane parallel to the surface of the
diaphragm, substantially as described.
12. In a phonograph, which has a phonogram or record of sound-vibrations and
a reproducing-stylus, and the operation of which causes the stylus to traverse the
said record, a stylus-cleaning brush which is automatically caused to strike across
the point of the said stylus after each complete traversing of the record thereby,
substantially as described.
13. In a phonograph, having a record of sound-vibrations and a reproducing-
stylus, and the operation of which causes the stylus to traverse the said record, an
automatically operating stylus-cleaning brush and a scraper therefor, substantially
as described.
AL
14. In a phonograph, provided with a record-plate containing a record of sound-
vibrations in a groove thereon, reproducing-stylus supported upon an arın held
by a pivot upon which it is adapted to swing in the arc of a circle in a plane
parallel to the surface of the diaphragm, a stylus cleaning-brush, and a spring
to hold the stylus in position for the action of said brush, substantially as
described.
15. A phonogram or record-plate for a phonograph which has a spiral groove of
substantial depth in the surface thereof, and a record of sound-vibrations
impressed or cut in the bottom of said groove for the purpose substantially as
described.
16. In a phonograph, which has a record cylinder provided with a spiral groove
for giving it motion longitudinally on its shaft, a ribbed feeding-device which
has a cylindrically concave contact surface and is supported by pivots which
are parallel to the axis of the said cylinder, whereby the concave surface of
the said feeding-device will automatically adjust itself to the spiral grooves on
the cylinder substantially as described.
17. The combination in a phonograph of a record cylinder provided with a
spiral groove and a feeding-device provided with a ribbed surface which is the
counterpart of a section of the grooved surface of the cylinder, a stationary

page_text: shaft on which the cylinder may ture and slide, a diaphragm-holder hinged
to the phonograph frame and adapted to be automatically raised by the movement
of the cylinder and thereby successively raise the reproducing stylus and the said
feeding-device, substantially as described.
Dated this Twenty-ninth day of July 1892.
JOHN WILLIAM MACKINTOSH.