WO2008050367A2

WO2008050367A2 - Tunable record player

Info

Publication number: WO2008050367A2
Application number: PCT/IT2007/000735
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luigi Pasqualini
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-10-26
Filing date: 2007-10-22
Publication date: 2008-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2009-04-26
Also published as: WO2008050367A3; ITMC20060142A1; EP2076902A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tunable record player (1) provided with a special platter (3) and a special arm (B) composed of a flexible bow (7) tensioned by means of a string (9).

Description

Tunable record player

The present patent application relates to a tunable record player provided with a special platter and a special support arm for the soundhead engaged to the needle that tracks on the record grooves.

The soundhead-holder arm is composed of a tensionable bow of the type that is commonly used to play string instruments, such as for example the violin.

The use of an elastically flexible tensionable arm allows the user to adjust the quality and tone of the sound produced by the soundhead, since the sound is affected by the harmonic characteristics of both the soundhead- holder bow and the tensioning string.

The peculiarity of the platter of the record player according to the invention consists in the fact that the upper surface of the platter is covered with one or more layers of shock-absorbing materials, in such a way that the vibrations of the platter, and in particular of its central pin, are not transmitted or are in any case absorbed before being transferred to the record.

In traditional record players the record is placed on the revolving platter, which is provided with a central protruding pin that is exactly inserted into a corresponding centring hole obtained on the record.

Evidently, because of the direct coupling between record and revolving platter, the record is inevitably affected by all the vibrations produced by the platter and its pin when they are driven into rotation by the motor.

Having devised the idea of a tunable record player with the adoption of a soundhead-holder arm obtained with a flexible tensionable bow, it was necessary to solve a series of problems arising from the fact that the position of the head changes uncontrollably when the tensioning of the bow changes, the deformation of the bow being proportional to the tension of the string.

In order to play the piece of music recorded on the record with a good quality level, the soundhead must be oriented with its longitudinal axis along a radial direction with respect to the record, and the inclination angle between the soundhead and the record, when the soundhead is lowered onto the record, must always have a predefined value, with very small tolerances.

Evidently, the said geometrical conditions cannot be respected if the soundhead-holder arm is flexible and tensionable - not rigid - and its spatial development changes when the tensioning changes.

Additionally, the flexural deformation of the bow following to the traction of the string may uncontrollably occur both on a vertical and a horizontal plane. Evidently, if the bending of the bow is maintained on a vertical plane, the radial position of the head with respect to the record is not altered, while the aforementioned inclination angle is varied, since the soundhead rotates downwards or upwards together with the point of the bow where it is fixed.

On the contrary, if the bow tends to bend sideways, the soundhead will be subjected to a corresponding lateral movement that will deviate it from the radial condition, beyond the minimum permitted tolerance.

The purpose of the present invention is to devise a tunable record player, in which the soundhead is fixed at the end of a flexible tensionable bow, by means of an articulated coupling device designed to prevent the alteration of the correct radial position and inclination of the soundhead with respect to the record during the adjustment of the tensioning of the bow.

The coupling device is composed of an articulated overlapped pair of plates, the upper plate being fixed under the point of the bow and the lower plate being designed to support the soundhead. The upper plate is fixed to the bow by means of an articulation pin with subvertical or vertical axis, which allows the said plate to maintain the correct position with respect to the record when the bow is subjected to bending variations on a horizontal plane.

The lower plate is hinged to the upper plate by means of a pivoting pin with horizontal axis, which allows the lower plate to maintain the correct inclination with respect to the record, when the bow is subjected to bending variations on a vertical plane. For more clarity the description of the present invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawings, which only have an illustrative, not limiting purposes, whereby:

- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic axonometric view of the record player of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the record player of the invention with a vertical plane passing through the rotation axis of the platter and the pivoting point of the head-holder bow;

- Figure 2A is the same as figure 2 except for the fact that the bow is lowered following to the tensioning of the string;

- Figures 3 and 4 are two enlarged sectional views of the point of the bow, showing the variation of the position of the said point according to the change of the tensioning of the bow;

- Figure 5 is an exploded axonometric view of the aforementioned articulated coupling device between the point of the bow and the head;

- Figure 6 is an axonometric view of the aforementioned articulated coupling device in assembled position;

- Figure 7 is an enlarged detail of Figure 2;

- Figure 7A is a transversal cross-sectional view of the bow showing the tensioning winch of the bow;

- Figure 7B is an enlarged detail of Figure 7;

- Figures 8 and 9 are two slightly different constructive versions of the revolving platter sectioned with a vertical axial plane;

- Figures 10 and 11 are two additional slightly different constructive versions of the revolving platter sectioned with a vertical axial plane;

With reference to the aforementioned figures, the record player (1 ) of the invention traditionally comprises a base (2) that supports a revolving platter (3) and a rocker arm (B) that is pivoted at the top of a point (4) with vertical axis and supports the revolving platter (3) and the soundhead (5) at the upper end, while the other end of the said arm (B) is provided with sliding counterweights (6) used to balance the pressure of the said soundhead (5) on the record. As mentioned above, one of the main peculiarities of the record player of the invention consists in the fact that the rocker arm (B) is obtained with a flexible tensionable bow (7), of the type used to play string instruments.

As shown in fig. 2, the flexible bow (7) is fixed at one end on a saddle (8) that is laid, with possibility of swinging, astride the said point (4), while the soundhead (5) is applied under the other end (7a) of the bow (7).

The bow (7) is tensioned by means of a string (9) with the end (9a) tied under the point (7a) of the bow (7), and the other end (9b) wound around the pin (10a) of a winch (10) externally fixed on the saddle (8), as shown in fig. 7. The winch is similar to the winch used in violins or other string instruments to tension the strings.

The soundhead (5) is fixed under the point (7a) of the bow (7) by means of a coupling device composed of an articulated overlapped pair of plates (11 and 12), the upper plate (11 ) being fixed under the point (7a) of the bow (7), and the lower plate (12) being designed to support the soundhead

(5).

The upper plate (11 ) is fixed to the point (7a) by means of an articulation pin (13) with subvertical axis that allows the plate (11) to have a different longitudinal direction from the direction of the point (7a) based on the higher or lower bending of the bow (7).

The articulation pin (13) is inserted through a hole (11a) obtained in the centre of the plate (11) that is provided on the back with a parallel pair of ears (11 b) with corresponding holes (11c) designed to engage the pivoting pin (14) used to couple the lower plate (12) with the upper plate (11), as shown in figs. 5 and 6.

The lower plate (12) is provided with holes (12a) for the fixing screws of the soundhead (5) and a square (15) shaped as an overtuned "L" in central position on the rear side.

The top of the vertical wing (15a) of the square (15) is provided with a hole (16), and a second hole (17) is obtained in the proximity of the point of the horizontal wing (15b) of the square (15).

The connection between the plates (11 and 12) is obtained by inserting the vertical wing (15a) between the two ears (11b) and then inserting the said pivoting pin (14) through the aligned holes (11c and 16).

In this way, the said horizontal wing (15b) protrudes on the back of the ears (11 b) in such a way that the hole (17) can be used to tie the end (9a) of the tensioning string (9).

As shown in figs. 3 and 4, when the bow is subjected to low tensioning, the overlapped pair of plates (11 and 12) has a very diverged position due to the fact that the lower plate (12) tends to oscillate downwards, rotating around the pin (14) under the weight of the soundhead (5). When the bow (7) is subjected to higher tensioning, the divarication angle (α) tends to decrease because the upper plate (11) starts rotating around the pin (14) to follow the downward rotation of the point (7a), while the lower plate (12) and the soundhead (5) are not affected by the said rotation and maintain their inclination angle practically unaltered with respect to the revolving platter (3), due to the fact that the axis (9c) of the string (9) intersects the axis of the pivoting pin (14).

On the other hand, the tension of the string (9) continuously brings the plate (11 ) back to its correct radial position by means of a rotation around the subvertical pin (13). In other words, the longitudinal axis of the soundhead (5) is always maintained on a vertical plane that also contains the tensioning string (9), while the bow (7) can be bent also outside of the said vertical plane.

Finally, attention is drawn on the constructive detail shown in fig. 7, according to which the saddle (8) is provided with a fork-shaped shelf (8a) that houses the pin (1 Oa) of the winch (10).

With reference to fig. 7B, the lower branch (8b) of the fork-shaped shelf (8a) has a graduated scale (8c) provided on the front with a vertical needle (8d) fixed to the tensioning string (9), in such a way that the user has a reference measurement of the tensioning imposed from time to time on the bow (7).

In order to additionally adjust the sound according to the different tensioning of the string (9), the point (4) is of "UNIPIVOT" type and can be adjusted in height by means of a knob (4a).

As mentioned in the premise, another peculiarity of the record player (1 ) of the invention consists in the fact that the upper surface of the revolving platter (3) is covered with one or more layers of shock-absorbing materials, in such a way that the vibrations of the revolving platter (3), and in particular its central pin, are not transmitted or are in any case absorbed before being transferred to the record.

With reference to fig. 8, the revolving platter (3) is formed of a lower platform (30) and an upper platform (300), with circular shape and same diameter.

The circular platform (30) is directly coupled with the rotational shaft (A), not shown, designed to drive the platter (3) into rotation, while the upper platform (300) is fixed above the platform (30) with an intermediate layer (400) made of anti-vibration material. The upper platform (300) is centrally provided with a pin (500) for the record that protrudes from a small plate (500a) inserted in the platform (300).

As shown in fig. 9, the platform (300) can have a multi-layer structure, in which the various layers (300a) are separated by thinner intermediate layers (400) made of different material. Figures 10 and 11 show two additional constructive versions of the revolving platter (3), which differ from the versions shown in figs. 8 and 9 only in the fact that the platform (300) has a central cavity (600) closed by the small plate (500a) from which the centring pin (500) protrudes.

The cavity (600) is designed to house corresponding interchangeable inserts of different material, whose different harmonic characteristics will produce minimum, yet perceptible, alterations of the sound generated by the record player, with the same record, in such a way that the user can select the preferred sound.

The said layers (300, 300a and 400) can be made of anti-vibration materials, such as silicone, rubber, neoprene, plastic fibres, vegetal fibres, and fabric.

Claims

1 ) Tunable record player of the type composed of a base (2) that supports a revolving platter (3) and a rocker arm (B), obtained with a flexible bow (7) for music instruments tensioned by a string (9), which is mounted on a saddle (8) pivoted at the top of a point (4) with vertical axis and supports the revolving platter (3) and the soundhead (5) at the upper end, while the other end of the said arm (B) is provided with sliding counterweights (6); record player characterised by the fact that it comprises a device designed to fix the soundhead (5) under the point (7a) composed of a plate (11 ) fixed under the point (7a) of the bow (7) by means of an articulation pin (13) with vertical axis, it being provided that one end (9a) of the string (9) is tied to the fixing device, while the other end (9b) of the string (9) is wound around the pin (10a) of a winch (10) externally fixed to the saddle (8).

2) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the said articulation pin with vertical with vertical axis (13) is inserted through a hole (11 a) obtained in the centre of the plate (11 ).

3) Tunable record player as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the plate (11) is pivoted to a lower plate (12) by means of a pin with horizontal axis (14) and the lower plate (12) is provided on the back with a hole (17) where the end (9a) of the string (9) is fixed, whose longitudinal axis (9c) intersects the axis of the pivoting pin (14).

4) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the said plate (11 ) is provided on the back with a parallel pair of ears (11b) with corresponding holes (11c) where the pivoting pin (14) of the lower plate (12) is engaged, which is provided with a square (15), shaped as an overturned "L" in central position on the rear side, whose vertical wing (15a) is provided with a hole (16) where the pivoting pin (14) is engaged, while the hole (17) is obtained in the proximity of the point of the horizontal wing (15b) of the square (15).

5) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the lower plate (12) is provided with holes (12a) for the fixing screws of the soundhead (5).

6) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the saddle (8) is provided with a fork-shaped shelf (8a) that houses the pin (10a) of the winch (10). 7) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the lower branch (8b) of the fork-shaped shelf (8a) has a graduated scale (8c) provided on the front with a vertical needle (8d) fixed to the tensioning string (9).

8) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the point (4) is of "UNIPIVOT" type and can be adjusted in height by means of a knob (4a).

9) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that the revolving platter (3) is formed of a lower platform (30) and an upper platform (300) with an intermediate layer (400) made of anti-vibration material.

10) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the platform (300) is centrally provided with a centring pin (500) that protrudes from a small plate (500a) inserted in the platform (300).

11) Tunable record player as claimed in the preceding claim, characterised by the fact that the platform (300) has a multi-layer structure, in which the various layers (300a) are separated by thinner intermediate layers (400) made of different material.

12) Tunable record player as claimed in claims 10 and 11 , characterised by the fact that the platform (300) has a central cavity (600) closed by the small plate (500a).

13) Tunable record player as claimed in claims 10, 11 and 12, characterised by the fact that the lower platform (30) and the upper platform (300) have a circular shape and the same diameter.