Other

James T Dennis

George Kolomayets

An automatic changer for playing digital discs containing music or other digitally encoded information has a loading station, a play station and a discard station. A robot arm individually engages the top disc of a stack of discs stacked at the loading station through the center hole in the disc and lifts and transports the disc to the play station where it lowers the disc over a reading head for play. After play, the robot arm raises the disc from the play station and transports the disc to the discard station and releases it there. In an alternative embodiment, a carousel containing a plurality of discs rotates sequentially to position the discs over the reading head. When changing discs the carousel is lifted to raise a played disc from the reading head, rotated to position the next disc to be played over the reading head and lowered to lower the disc to be played into playing position.

Automatic changer for digital discs

Compact disc carousel

An improved automatic record player utilizes an integrally formed cam on the underside of the turntable in conjunction with a velocity trip mechanism to raise the tone arm from the record and move it up and over onto the rest post in one revolution of the turntable. An improved tone arm mount utilizes an integrally formed tone arm support shaft and trip finger assembly that is mounted from the underside of the base.

Record player

An auto return record player is provided which can be simply and economically adapted to function as an automatic set down player. Either the auto return player or the automatic set down player is capable of playing a record on the turntable twice and then returning the tone arm to the rest post and shutting the machine off, the tone arm being automatically set down on the lead-in groove of the record between the first and second playing cycles. The record player is of the so-called quarter panel sub base type and may be assembled in a main base or cabinet without removing the turntable from the quarter panel sub base. The record player also has a 45 rpm record adaptor which is provided with an integral stub centering spindle portion for small hole records which may be grasped to lift the adaptor to a 45 rpm large hole record playing position, the adaptor covering a separate inexpensive stub shaft which acts as a bearing for the turntable.

A 45 rpm record adaptor body is positioned at the center of the turntable and has a record supporting shelf on one side and a shoulder opposite said shelf. The distance from the inner edge of said shelf to the bottom of said shoulder is slightly greater than the hole diameter of a 45 rpm record so that one side of a stack of 45 rpm records placed on said body is supported on said shelf and the other side of the stack is supported on said shoulder. The shelf is undercut to a point at which the distance to the bottom of said shoulder is less than the hole diameter of a 45 rpm record to permit an ejected record to move off of said shoulder and onto the turntable.

45 RPM Automatic play adaptor

A tone arm moving mechanism is provided wherein the tone arm is normally moved over the lead in groove and lowered to the record during the last half of a normal record changing cycle. Means are then provided which are operative during a last record shut-off cycle for lowering the tone arm into a retaining means on the rest post, said retaining means being effective to restrain the tone arm from inward movement during the remaining portion of the last record shut-off cycle.

Automatic record player

An extremely simple record changer mechanism is provided wherein only two members interconnect the tone arm subassembly with the main cycling gear in the spindle area of the changer. One of these members is employed to lift and lower the tone arm and the other member is used for the dual purpose of moving the tone arm horizontally during the record changing cycle and also acts as a velocity trip actuating member during the playing cycle. Both members are designed to avoid damage to the mechanism if the tone arm is moved or restrained during the record changing cycle. The presence or absence of a record on the spindle shelf is sensed by blade means which is moved in the direction of the shelf during the initial portion of the record changing cycle. If no record is present on the shelf, the tone arm is lowered into engagement with a retaining notch on the rest post at a point somewhat before mid cycle and the turntable motor is turned off at the end of this last record shutoff cycle.

A phonograph record player mechanism is provided which includes a tone arm, means for mounting the tone arm for rotation about an axis, a cueing lever lift rod adapted to engage the tone arm at a point spaced from said axis, and a flat spring having one end thereof connected to said lift rod, means defining a fixed shoulder in engagement with one side of the spring and a cueing lever which is rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and has a portion which engages the other side of the spring between the lift rod and the shoulder when the cueing lever is rotated about said horizontal axis.

An extremely simple record changer mechanism is provided wherein only two members interconnect the tone arm subassembly with the main cycling gear in the spindle area of the changer. One of these members is employed to lift and lower the tone arm and the other member is used for the dual purpose of moving the tone arm horizontally during the record changing cycle and also acts as a velocity trip actuating member during the playing cycle. Both members are designed to avoid damage to the mechanism if the tone arm is moved or restrained during the record changing cycle. The control knob normally used for ON-OFF-REJECT functions, is provided with a 4th position in which the record changer repeatedly plays a record on the turntable without shutting off the machine. This REPEAT PLAY position is reached by first moving the control knob to the ON or REJECT position and then moving it back to a position between the ON and OFF positions. When so moved, a detent force is provided for the control knob and an audible click is produced to inform the operator that the REPEAT PLAY position has been reached.

A record changer mechanism is provided wherein an improved belt shifting arrangement is provided to change the speed at which the turntable of the mechanism is rotated.

Automatic record changer

An extremely simple record changer mechanism is provided wherein only two members interconnect the tone arm subassembly with the main cycling gear in the spindle area of the changer. One of these members is employed to lift and lower the tone arm and the other member is used for the dual purpose of moving the tone arm horizontally during the record changing cycle and also acts as a velocity trip actuating member during the playing cycle. Both members are designed to avoid damage to the mechanism if the tone arm is moved or restrained during the record changing cycle.

An automatic record changer is provided in which either 7-inch records or 12-inch records are supported at the edge thereof by an adjustable platform and at the center by a flat blade spindle having no moving parts, the platform being moved bodily toward the spindle in either the 7-inch or 12-inch position thereof to eject the bottom record from the flat blade spindle. The speed of the turntable is adjusted to 45 rpm in response to the positioning of a large hole record spindle at the center of the turntable in place of the flat blade spindle. Provision for automatic shut off is made either substantially instantaneously in response to movement of the tone arm beyond the rest post position during a playing cycle or at the end of an automatic record changing cycle if the control knob is turned to OFF during a record changing cycle. A spindle stub is provided at the center of the turntable which may be adjusted vertically to provide a manual speed control for the turntable, this stub also acting as a centering spindle stub for automatic playing of a single record which is deposited manually on the turntable with automatic shut off after the single record has been played once. In the alternative, the single record may be played repeatedly in response to the positioning of a hold down arm in a repeat play position.

The record changing cycle of an automatic record changer having an umbrella type centering spindle is modified so that a delay is provided at the appropriate point in the cycle when the bottom record is to be released from the record stack. This delay is sufficient that a thin, lightweight bottom record has time to become unstuck from the remainder of the stack and fall downwardly before the record changing cycle is resumed, thereby preventing malfunctioning of the record changer when changing thin, lightweight records.

Growing community of inventors

Oklahoma City, OK, United States of America

James T Dennis