US1622005A - Phonograph - Google Patents

Description

March 22 1927' F. .1. SEABOLT HO OGRAPH Q Filed Aug. 2 1918' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 22 1927.

F. J. SEABOLT PHONOGRAPH Filed Aug. 2, 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1322,05 March 7" F. J. SEABOLT PHONOGRAPH Filed Aug. 2, 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 v Patented Map, 22, 1927.

K UNITED STATES y 1,622,005 PATENT OFFICE.

V FRANK J. SEABOLT, Oil SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE PHONOGRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PHONOGRAZPH.

Application filed August 2, 1918. Serial No. 247,908.

My invention relates to the control of phonographs and the like and has for its object the provision of means whereby a device of this character may be caused to automatically repeat its operation.

My invention is particularly applicable to phonographs in which the spring is electricall wound although it is not necessarily limite to this particular application. In my previous application, Serial Number 26,059, filed May 5th, 1915, I have described and claimed means whereby the spring motor of a phonograph is electrically wound whenever the spring motor is stopped, the

' entire control of both starting and stopping of the machine and the winding, of the spring being accomplished by manipulating the usual starting lever of the machine. One of the objects of my invention is to make the machine entirely automatic so that it will automatically wind, return the tone arm to its starting position, and repeat the record while at the same time preserving the control through the single lever.

As is well known, there are two distinct typesiof phonographs, one of which'is exemplified in the machine known as the Victrola, while the other is of the Edison type, In the Victrola type of machine the tone arm is moved forward by the engagement of the needle with the record and has no positive drive, while in the Edison type of machine the ,tone arm is driven forward positively by the spring motor. It is possible to positively drive thev tone arm of the Edison type of machine because the records'are all made with the same pitch: viz, the same number ot threads per inch, While in'the' Victrola type the records may, and in practice do,. have different pitches. The result is that the two types of machines require specifically different types of control for accomplish-,

r inglthe same purpose.

eferringto my above mentioned previous application, one of the characteristic features of the arrangement described therein lies in the fact that the motor winds the spring exactly the amount that it has run down. That is, assuming that inplaying a record there have been a certain number of turns made by the record, that same number of turns will be restored to the-sprin upon winding. I have conceived the idea of utilizing this characteristic in returning the tone arm since, assuming the pitch of all of the records to be the same, by properly gearing the motor to the tone arm, the latter will be returned exactly the distance which it has travelled. This would also be true of the Victrola type providing that a standard pitch were adopted for records, but under the present practice this simple arrangement will not be suitable.

In order to provide for diilerent pitches as used in the Victrola type of machine, I have provided a limit switch to stop the return motion of the tone arm instead of having it stop when the winding operation is completed. This limit switch interrupts the circuit to stop the winding operation and stop the tone arm before the circuit is broken at the contacts which normally control the winding and hence before the machine is completely wound, so that while the machine is repeating, it is under the control of the limit switch only. When the machine is stopped, however, the spring is wound completely. In order that this limit switch shall operate at the proper time for all records. regardless of their length or pitch, the position at which the limit switch will operate must be set for each record. One of the important features of my invention lies in the arrangement whereby this posit-ion is fixed automatically for each record without V eriorming any other o ';er:1- tion than merely moving the starting lever to release the machine. There are no more operations than in the case of simple phonographs, merely the shifting of the starting lever.

Other features of my invention, such as the arrangement ,for lifting and lowering the needle, the arrangement for throwing the stop and return mechanism into operation at the end of the record for varying lengths of records will appear in the course of the following specification in which I have shown my Invention embodied in concrete form for purposes of illustration.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of my invention partly broken-away to show the interior structure; Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same, also partly broken away; Fig. 3 isadiagrammatic view showingcthe relation of the Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the motor shaft and worm gear; Fig. 5 is an end View of the same; Fig. (5 is a top plan view of the clutch on the tone arm and the limit switch; Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the clutch; Fig. 8 shows a template for marking the records and Fig. 9 a diagram of a slightly modified form of my invention; Figs. 10 to show the arrangement used with the Victrola type of machine where records are used which have a standard pitch; Fig. 16 shows my invention applied to the Edison type of machine, and Fig. 17 shows a detail thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 9, I have shown my invention applied to a phonograph of the Victrola type where the records used have various pitches, consisting of the casing 10, tone arm 11, rotary table 12, and reproducer 13 pivoted at 14. I have not attempted to show the spring motor mechanism further than to illustrate the s ring drum 15 enclosing spring 16 which rives the gearing 17 which in turn drives the spindle 18 of the rotary table in a well understood manner. The spring 16 within the spring drum is wound through a shaft 19 either by the crank 20 or by the electric motor 21. The arrangement whereby the motor winds the spring is the same as that disclosed in my .previous patentapplication above referred to, the only difierence being that insteadof spur gearing for driving the motor and the sliding contacts, worm gearing is employed. It will therefore be unnecessary to describe the winding mechanism in detail. The motor 21 drives the spring shaft through a worm 22 meshing with a worm gear 23 which drives the shaft 19 through a slip connection in the nature of a ratchet 24.

This ratchet is for the purpose of enabling the machine to be wound u by the crank without affecting the electric motor. The shaft 19 extends through the drum and has at its outer end a worm oflarge diameter 25 and a worm of the same diameter25 is secured to the outside of the drum, so that as the winding takes place the worm 25 will turn, and as the spring motor operates the worm 25 will turn. The worm 25 drives a worm wheel 26 and the worm 25' drives a similar worm wheel 27 to which are secured vertical shafts 28 and 29 respectively. These shafts are mounted in a bracket 30 provided with suitable bearings and the upper ends of the shafts are provided with gears 31 and 32 respectively, the gear on the shaft 28 being loosely mounted by means of a sleeve 28'. The gear 32 is driven by the gear 31 through an idler gear 33 so as to give the gear 32 the same direction of rotation as theshaft 28 upon which it is mounted. There is thus shaft- 28 driven by the electric motor operating in one direction and the gear mounted upon the shaft and driven by the spring motor operating in the same direction. This arrangement will be better understood from Fig. 3 from which it will be seen that sliding spring contact 34 mounted on a conducting disk 36 secured to shaft 28 is driven by the electric motor and the eccentric rib 35 upon the conducting disk 37 driven by sleeve 28 is driven by the spring motor, both operating in the same direction. Thesetwo members, namely, the spring 34 and the disc 36 upon which it is mounted and the, rib 35 together with the conducting disc 37 upon which it is mounted, constitute the electric control described in my previous application above referred to. 38 represents the usual stop lever of the phonograph provided ,with contacts 39 which, when the phonograph is stopped, close the circuit of the electric motor through the contact spring 34 and the disc 37, as described in my previous application. Up to this point, therefore, the arrangement described is identical in operation with that disclosed in my previous application.

I shall now describe the novel features whereby the tone arm is returned, when the end of a record is reached, to the point from which it started regardless of the length of the record or the pitch (number of threads per inch). For this purpose, as shown in the drawing, I utilize the shaft 28 which, it will be remembered, is driven by the electric motor during the winding. Secured to the shaft is a bevel gear 40 which drives a gear 41 through shaft 42 and bevel gears 43. This gear 41 meshes with a gear 44' which is mounted'to be clutched to the tone arm so that when the clutch is operative the electric motor will drive the tone arm through the gears 41 and 44. This clutch is shown in dctailinFigs. 6 and 7. It has two functions, one of which is to clutch the gear 44 to the tone arm 11 while the other is to clutch a stop finger 45 so that it will move with the tone arm. therefore, the clutch is in reality a double clutch I have shown merely one winding While,

46 and a resistance 47 to be placed in circuit with it. The arrangement is such that when the winding 46 is in series with the resistance 47 only the magnetic disc 48Iupon which the stop finger 45 is mounted will. be clutched to the tone arm, whereas when the resistance is cut out of the coil circuit the energization will be suflicient to alsoclutch the gear 44 which, as shown, is of magnetic material. It will be understood, of course, that the magnetic casing 49 for the windingis permanently secured to the tone arm so that when the coil is energized the disc 48,- or the disc and the gear, as the case may be, will close the magnetic circuit through the casing 49 in a well understood manner. The stop finger 45 operates a limit switch 50 in one direction and a stop 51, which is rigidly secured to the casing 49 so that it always clutched to thetone arm, when the tone arm moves in one dlrection 1t will close the switch and when in the opposite direction it will open it. If, therefore, the stop finger is fixed to the tone arm at the proper pointto open the switch when the tone arm is at the beginning of its travel, it will of course open the switch when it comes back to that position. This I accomplish by merely operating the starting lever 38' as hereinafter described.

It is obvious, of course, that before the tone arm can be'turned the needle must be lifted out of engagement with the record. This I accomplish in a very simple Way by causing the shaft 52 of the electric motor to move longitudinally a slight distance upon the initial energization of the motor. The worm 22 is not rigidly secured to the motor shaftbut is driven through a lost motion connection. As shown, the shaft 52- is threaded at 52 into the worm and'the shaft.

drives the worm 22 through the pin 53 secured to the shaft and the pin 54 secured to the worm. The arrangement is such that the shaft makesapproximately one revolution before it turns the worm 22 and in that one revolution the shaft advances to the extent of the pitch of the thread 52 and places the spring 55 under strain. In otherwords, as the shaft 51 rotates the spring 55 is put under strain while the pin 53 travels around a revolution until it engages the pin 54 (on the opposite side from that shown) to drive the worm. After this engagement the shaft drives the worm through the pins 53 and 54. I utilize this longitudinal movement to lift the needle by means of a flexible connection, such as a wire 56, which, as shown, extends through the tone arm and is secured at 57 to the inside of the sleeve which forms the pivot 14 for the rcproducer. I also utilize this movement. to short circuit the resistance 4-7 outof the circuit of the clutch winding'46. This is accomplished by a lever 58 pivoted at 58', as shown. y

In order to cause the tone arm to operate the limit switch and start the winding operation when the end of the record is reached, I set the fixed stop 51 so that the limit switclu will be operated when the needle reaches a certain definite distance from the center of the record, which dlstance will be indicated by the circular groove 59, and I bring the needle over to this point quickly by running a groove 60, of a relatively steep pitch, from the last thread of the record over to the point which. in this case is a circle 59. In other words, when the needle reaches the end of the thread it will be suddenly thrown over to the circle 59 which will operate the switch. This will be done regardless of variations in the distances from the circle to the point at which the record ends.

I shall now describe the operation of the device as a whole and point'out the circuit connections. Assuming that the machine is .stopped and the record 61 placed upon the machine, thetneedle is placed in the usual way in the first groove before starting the machine. The lever 38 is then thrown to start the machine and in doing so closes contacts 62 as shown in Fig. 3 and opens the contacts 39. This energizes the winding 46 of the clutch coil from the positive side of the line through the contacts 62, through the resistance 47, through the clutch coil and back to the negative side of the line. The energizing of the winding 46 with the resistance 47 in series, clutches the stop finger disc 48 to the casing 49 so that the stop "finger will now move forward with the tone arm. Since the stop finger has been left in the position in which it operates the limit switch to open position, it will therefore operate it again in that position when it comes back. The machine has now been started and the tone arm goes forward in the usual way being entirely unimpeded but simply carying the stop finger 45 .with it.

When the end of the record is reached, the tone arm is suddenly shifted over to the circle 59 whereupon the fixed stop 51 operates the limit switch 50 to closed position into engagement with the. contact 63. A circuit will now be established as follows: From the positive side of the line, through the switch 50, contact 63, through the brush 64, spring contact 34, which is noW intontact with the disc 37, through the brush 65, through the motor 21 to the other side of the line. The motor now starts and at its first revolution the shaft 52 operates the opened by the contact spring 34 passing ofl of the rib 35, so that instead of opening the motor circuit at the spring contact 34, it will be opened at the limit switch 50. When therefore the tone arm reaches its initial position it opens the limit switch '50 and deenergizes the'motor. "The deenergization of the motor will allow the shaft 52 to return one revolution in response to the spring 55 which has been under strain and hence the needle will be allowed to return to the record since the wire 56 has slackened. The

- wire 56 will stop it.

resistance 47 is also inserted in the clutch coil circuit, so that the gear 44 will be released. The spring having been wound and the needle replaced,'the record will of course be repeated. This repetition can go on as long as desired.

It will be noted from the above that when the arm is returned and the'motor circuit is opened that the motor had not quite wound the spring to its original tension. Upon the stopping of the machine, however, by throwing the stop lever 38 to the stopping position, the contacts 39 will be bridged thereby completing a circuit from the positive side of the line, through contacts 39, brush 64, spring contact 34, brush 65, through the motor and back to line.

' The motor will now be wound up until the circuit is broken at the contact 34, that is, it will be wound up to its original point.

,- It will be noted that in stopping the machine the circuit of the clutch coil is broken at the cont-acts 62 so that whenever the machine .is stopped the stop finger 45 will be left at the point where it happens to be. Before stopping the machine, therefore, the needle should be lifted (which is usually done in phonographs) and the tone arm turned back (as is also usually done) as far as it will go, that is, until the stop finger 45 strikes the limit switch (see Fig. 6 By then stopping the machine the winding will be completed as above described and the stop finger will be in its proper v position.

- As soon as the stop lever is thrown to the stopping position, the tone arm will be free. If, however, the operator should neglect to lift the needle and turn the tone arm back no harm will be done. The record simply will not be repeated. \Vhat will happen will be thatthe needle will be carried beyond the record and released. The needle will not, however, drop to the table, since the The tone arm will simply swing free after it is released beyond the record. In this connection it should be noted that the wire 56 is always given enough slack when the needle is released to permit the reproducer to vibrate from the unevenness of the record or to the table being out of true. The slack, however, need not be sufiicientto allow the reproducer to drop far enough to let the needle strike the table.

Regarding the limit switch 50, it will be noted that I have shown a limit switch of the over center type which, when the arm is moved to a certain position, the spring will throw the switch arm over, and when the arm is thrown to the other position, the spring will throw the switch arm back. In Fig. 6 I have shown the switch in the open position with the operating arm against the spring butter 67. \Vhen the arm of the switch strikes this buifer'it has advanced just far enough to throw the switch arm to the off position, and the stop finger 45 should normally rest in contact with the arm in this position. In order to insure that the stop finger normally remains in contact, I may permanently mag netize the end of the stop finger slightly. Normally there is no tendency for the stop finger to leave the switch arm except possibly due to jars or vibrations, and if the stop finger is magnetized it should only have sufiicient strength to make it hug the switch arm closely during such jars or vibrations but not sutficient to prevent it leaving the switch arm when the tone arm moves forward.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a slight modification involving an additional feature which may be used if desired. It may be that the operator will not care to have the machine repeat, in which case I provide means for having it stop when the end of a record is reached instead of repeating. To this end I provide a winding 68 which when energized will throw the stop lever 38 to the off or stopping position and provide a switch 69 having two operating members 70 and 71 which may project through the top of the case as shown in Fig. 2. When the member 70 is pressed downward the stopping coil 68 will be short eircuited and when the member 71' is pushed down the 'stopping coil will be energized. It will be observed that the connections are substantially the same as in Fig. 7 3 with the exception of the modification necessitated by the use of the stop winding 68. It will be noted that when the member 70 is pressed the system will operate just as has been above described, that is, the machine will continue to run when the end of a record is reached, the tone arm will be turned back and the record repeated. The parts will be in the positions shown in Fig. 9 during the playing of the record, the clutch coil 46 being energized through contacts 39; but when the end of a record is reached the switch 50 ,will beautomatically closed thereby com].)leting the motor'circuitfrom the left hand ter'minal through the switch 50 to the contact 73, thence to the pivotal point of switch 69 and through wire 74 to the brushes 64 and 65 ofthe sliding contacts (see Fig. 3) and to the motor 20 and thence to the opposite side of the line. The winding 68 is now short eircuited from the contact 73 through the switch 69 to the conductor 74. When, however, ,the member 71 is pressed, the short circuit on the winding a record is reached through the winding 68 and conductor 74, through the brushes 65 and 64 and sliding contacts associated therewith, through the motor 20 to the opposite side of the line. When the stop lever is operated by the energization'. of winding 68 there will be a circuit from the limit switch to the contact 75, through the clutch coil 46 and out to the other side of the line. The result is-when the end of the record is reached the stop lever 38 will be thrown to the stop position thereby stopping the machine but the motor will wind the spring and turn the tone arm back to the starting position. When. the winding operation is completed the stop winding 68 will be dcenergized so that the stop lever 38 may be operated manually.

It will be that by this arrangement I may obtain either full automatic operation or.

semi-automatic operation, that is, operation in which the record will not be repeated but the machine will be stopped.

With the above described arrangement it is immaterial what the pitch of the record may be or its length. It is only necessary to put the needie on the record, throw the stop lever to starting position and the machine will continue to run, wind up, turn the tone arm back and repeat as long as is desired, or if the repeat is not desired, the

machine may be stopped at the end of a record.

niay be used for applying the groove at the end of a record to records which are already in existence or, in fact, are in the hands of the users. This template may be of any thin material conveniently of celluloid since this is transparent. The template is simply placed on a record with the central spindle of the machine in the slot 76. A. pointed instrument is placed in the groove 7 7 and at its outer end. The template can then be moved by reason of the slot 7 6 until the pointed instrument engages the end of the thread on the record. The template is then held in place and the pointed instrument moved inward to the end where it will reach the groove 60 (Fig. 3). It is intended, of course, that this groove will be made on rec- J ords in the course of manufacture, that is,

while the reproducing is being done on the blank this groove may be added as a continuation of the main thread. I have simply shown this template to indicate how records may be cared for which are already in exist- In Fig. 8 I have shown a template whichmotor and thetone arm may be calculated exactly when the number of threads per inch on the record is known. In this arrangement, instead of bringing the lever to a definite point (59 on Fig. 3) the needle is thrown over a predetermined amount from the end of the record. As shown in Fig. 14 for instance, a spiral of about 4" pitch (a movement inward of X in one turn) would probably take care of the records as made today, that is, in difi'erent records the needle is carried to different distances from the center of the record and the maximum difference between these distances would not exceed /4. In computing the gearing, therefore, between the motor and the tone arm, this constant distance must be reckoned with. In other words, the tone arm is always returned a distance which is the sum of a fixed distance (the final quick movement of the tone arm) and a variable distance which will depend upon the length of the record.

In Fig. 10 I have not attempted to show all of the construction, since up to the gear 78 the construction is the same as that in the previous drawing (Figs. 1 and 2). The gear 78 meshes with the gear 79 which is clutched .to the tone arm just as gear 44 is clutched in Figure 1. It will be noted from Figure 11 that the circuit of the motor is closed at the end of a record by stationary spring contacts 8Q between which the contact 81' on may'only move a short distance between thecontacts or it may move the full length of the contacts, but it will reach its final positlon between the spring contacts quickly and before the needle is lifted. To insure this, it

may be desirable to have a resistance 82 in 1'15 circuit with the motor initially so that its initial movement which lifts the needle will be slow and this resistance as well as the contacts 80 and 81 will be short circuited at the switch 83 operated by the motor which corresponds to switch 5 8 (Fig. 3). 0

The sliding contact arrangement is somewhat modified in this form of my invention to insure that if the-starting lever of the machine should be moved to stopping position just after the circuit is opened at the sliding contacts upon the return ofthe tone arm. or. in fact, at any time upon the return movement prior to the closing of the sliding contacts, the tone arm will be returned. In other words, after the circuit 1s opened at the sliding contacts it does not close again until the machine has run some distance, perhaps half a record, depending upon the length of the rib 88. 'In order to overcome this difficulty I provide an auxiliary contact 84 which engages with a short rib 84' in addition to the contact 85 which corresponds With contact 34 and the rib 38 which corresponds with rib (Fig. 3). This auxiliary contact 84 continues to make contact when the motor has finished winding but will open circuit upon a very slight further movement. The circuit to the motor is closed through this auxiliary contact only when the stop lever 86 is thrown to the stopping position whereas the circuit through the motor is closed at the main contacts when the tone arm reaches a proper position. The result is that as the tone arm is being returned, the motorcircuit is closed at the main contacts and is opened when the contact 85 passes off rib 88 but the contact 84 is connected with the motor and remains so connected when the main contacts separate sinceit does not pass off its rib 84' and on to the insulation. The circuit at 84 will open upon a very slight movement beyond the point where the main contacts open to stop the motor. Therefore if. after the main contacts open, the starting lever should be thrown to stop the machine and bridge "the contacts 87 the motor will be again energized to wind the machine and return the tone arm, the circuit being from the upper terminal through the contacts 87 and contact 84, to the metallic disk 97 thence to the motor and the other side of the line. It will be understood that the parts 84 and 84 will operate in the same manner as the parts and 88, the only difference being that the'rib 84' is a very short one. The spring contacts 84 and 85 must, of course, be insulated from each other, and to this end they are mounted on separate disks 98 and 99, insulated from each other by the insulating plate 100. The tone arm may, therefore, in some cases return slightly beyond the point where it started although the added distance will be so slight that it will scarcely be noticeable. The mode of operation is otherwise the same as in the arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In Fig; 13 I have shown a modification in which a stopping winding 89 is employed. This winding corresponds with winding 68, Fig. 9, and may be thrown in and out of circuit by a switch 89'. Otherwise the arrangement is the same as that shown in Fig. 11.

In Fig, 16 I have illustrated my invention in connection with an Edison type of machine. In this type of machine, as above pointed out, the tone arm in playing a record, is driven by a worm 90, meshing with a worm wheel segment 91. instead of being driven by the record. The segment 91 is pivoted at 92 so that'in order to return the tone arm it is only necessary to lift the segment 91, out of engagement with the worm and into engagement with another worm 93 driven by the motor and controlled by the sliding contacts. When the winding motor is energized at the end of a record,.

the lever 94 is turned on its pivot so as to pull the wire 95 which is attached to the sector 91 and is also attached to the needle. The operation of. the lever 94 is the same as that of lever 58 (Fig. 3). The energization of the motor, therefore, connects the motor to the tone arm so that the latter will be driven backward and also lifts the lever off the record. The circuit of the motor is closed at the contacts 96 (Fig. 17), which will be closed when the' needle reaches the end of the record and moves out of the groove. As soon as the motor starts, however, the circuit will be closed at the contact 83 (Fig. 11) and will be opened at the sliding contact 85 when the motor has completed the winding. The gear relation between the worm 93 and the sector 91 will be such as to bring the tone arm to its original position when the winding is completed. The arrangement whereby the circuit is closedwhen the end of a record is reached is the same as that now furnished With Edison machines for energizing a coil tostop the machine. It is a standard device and requires no detailed description. It will be understood, of course, that these standard contacts will correspond with contacts 8081 Fig. 11 and will only make the circuit of the motor but not maintain or break it:

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in a specific manner in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, it should be understood that I do not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. The combination with a spring operated phonograph for playing disc records of different diameters of means for automatically winding the same when the end of a record of any diameter is reached, and means for simultaneously returning the tone arm to its starting point.

2. The combination with a spring operated phonograph for playing disc records no I of difi'erent diameters, of an, electric motor for automatically winding the same, means whereby when the end of arecord of any diameter is reached the J electric motor is started to wind the spring and means whereby the said operation of the motor returns the tone armto its starting point after whic operation the'motor is stopped.

3. The combination with a spring operated 4. The combination with a spring operated phonograph, of means whereby when the tone arm reaches the end. of a record the spring is incompletely'wound and the tone arm returned to its starting position, and means whereby when the machine is stopped at any time the spring is wound to its starting condition.

5. The combination with a spring operated phonograph, of an electric motor for wind ing the same, means whereby when the end of a record of any length is reached the winding operation of the motor takes place and the tone arm is simultaneously returned to its starting position and means for insuring that the spring is wound to its starting condition whenever the machine is stopped.

6. The combination with a phonograph or the like, of means for causing a return movement of the reproducer upon the completion of arecord and limiting-means automatically preset upon the placing of the reproducer on the record and the starting of the machine for stopping the return movement of the reproducer at its starting point.

7. The combination with a spring operated phonograph or the like having a member for starting and stopping the same, of an electric motor arranged to wind the spring when the starting member is moved to stop the machine or when a record is completed and means whereby the operation of the motor at the completion of a record lifts the needle and returns the tone arm.

8. The combination with a spring operatedphonograph or the like having a member for starting and stopping the same of an electric motor controlled thereby for winding the same, means for returning the tone armfitoward its starting position during operation and means preset by the starting of the phonograph for causing the return movement to stop at various starting positions of the tone arm.

9. The combination with a phonograph or Y the like, of means for causing a return movement of the needle when the end of a record of anyv length is reached and means controlled by the starting member for stopping the return movement at the starting point to repeat the record.

10. The combination with a spring operated phonograph and an electric motor for winding the same, of means whereby the motor winds the spring incompletely and simultaneously .returns the tone arm to its starting position when the tone arm reaches a predetermined position and means whereby the motor Windsthe spring completely when the machine is stopped.

11. @T he combination with a spring operated phonograph and a controlling member for stopping and starting the phonograph, of an electric motor arranged to wind the spring and return the tone arm when the end of a record is reached, a member carried bv the tone arm and movable with reference thereto for stopping the movement of the tone arm and means for fixing the member with reference to the tone arm when the controlling member is operated to start the phonograph. a

T2,. The combination with a spring operated phonograph, of an electric motor for winding the same, a controlling element for stopping and starting the phonograph, a controlling member for the motor circuit associated with the tone arm and means whereby the said member is fixed with relation to the tone arm by the movement of the controlling element to start the phonograph.

13. The combination with a phonograph and a control member therefor, of means whereby the tone arm is returned when the end of a record is reached, a switch for stopping the return movement of the tone arm and means whereby the positionof the tone arm at which the switch'is operated is fixed by the movement of the control member to starting position. I

14. The combination with a phonograph orthe like, of means for automatically returning the reproducer when the end of a record is reached and means preset by the starting of the phonograph for stopping the return movement of the reproducer at its starting point. I

15. The combination with a phonograph .01- the like, of means for winding the spring and returning the reproducer when the end of a record is reached, and means preset by the starting of the phonograph for stopping the return movement of the reproducer and the operation of the winding motor at the starting point of the reproducer.

16. The combination with a spring operated phonograph or the like ofan electricmotor for winding the same, contacts controlled by the spring and the motor itself for controlling the motor circuit and a contact in series with said contacts controlled by the movement of the tone arm. c

17.. The combination with a phonograph or the like ofan electric motor energized to return the tone arm when theend of a record is reached and means automatically set by the operation of the starting lever of the' machine and the placing of the needle upon the record for stopping the return movement of the tone arm at the position it occupied when the mach ne was started,

18. The combination with a phonograph or the like of means for automatically returning the reproducer when the end of a record is reached, a device for limiting the return movement of the reproducer, and means for automatically setting said device upon the starting of the machine so that the reproducer will be stopped at its starting position.

19. The combination with a phonograph or the like, of means for automatically returning the tone arm when the end of a record is reached, and means automatically set when the machine is started and including a switch mechanism for controlling the returning means to stop the return movement in various positions depending upon the diameter of the record. 1.

20. The combination with a phonograph or the like, of means for automatically returning the tone arm when the end of a record is reached, switch mechanism for controlling the return movement and means operated by the tone arm and automatically set when the machine is started for actuating said mechanism at various positions of the tone arm depending upon the diameter 01 the record. i

21. The combination with a phonograph, of an electric motor associated therewith, connections whereby the electric motor in its operation returns the tone arm towards starting position and means normallyindependent ofthe tone arm but secured so as to move with it when the machine is stal'tctL for controlling the circuit of the motor.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of July, 1918.

FRANK J. SEAB 0LT.

Images