Automatic Record Player

Abstract

An automatic record player capable of functioning with various capabilities, which essentially comprises a tonearm, a turntable, a turntable drive system for rotating the turntable at a predetermined speed selected by the setting of a speed control knob, an operational mode control including a control knob manually movable to any one of start, manual and stop positions and a record size selector for permitting the tonearm to be brought to the lead-in groove of a record of a predetermined diameter at the time of start of operation of the record player. The automatic record player herein provided is easily manufactured with a substantial reduction of the costs in manufacture.

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic record player and has for its object to provide an automatic record player having the following various capabilities:

1. Automatic individual performance of a plurality of records mounted on the multi-play turntable spindle in a stacked arrangement. In this case, only by setting the control knob to the START position, the various movable mechanisms of the record player can be set in operation and, after the last one of the stacked records has been played out, automatically return to their respective initial positions with the power source switched off.

2. Manual shift of the tonearm to the lead-in groove of the record on the turntable. In this case, only by setting the control knob to the "MAN" position, the tonearm can be conditioned so as to be manually shifted to anywhere on the record on the turntable and, after the record has been played out, the movable mechanisms of the record player can be automatically returned to their respective initial positions with the power source switched off.

3. Rejection of the record being played without permitting the next one of the stacked records to be fed down the multi-play turntable spindle on to the rotating turntable.

4. Interchangeability of the turntable spindle with any one of the multi-play turntable spindle and single-play turntable spindle.

5. Manual vertical shift of the tonearm shifting structure. This is possible by the provision of the cuing device. By operating the cuing device, the tonearm can be vertically shifted with the pickup stylus clearing the record and automatically, slowly returned to the downwardly shifted position.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a record player with the multi-play turntable spindle constructed in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the arrangement of various mechanisms of the record player, with a mounting panel removed,

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the record player shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a tonearm lifting structure combined with a cuing device, both being employed in the record player of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5(A) is a top plan view of a portion of the idler wheel and its support employed in the record player of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5(B) is a side sectional view of the structure of FIG. 5(A),

FIG. 6(A) is a schematic top plan view of a record size selecting control, showing the selector knob positioned at the "10"" position,

FIG. 6(B) is a similar view to FIG. 6(A), showing the selector knob positioned at the "12"" position,

FIG. 6(C) is a similar view to FIG. 6(A), showing the selector knob positioned at the "7"" position.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a portion of the arrangement of the various mechanisms of the record player, with the mounting panel and a base plate removed,

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a portion of a tonearm shifting device,

FIG. 9(A) is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of a transmission lever and a rejection link with the drive plate moved to one position,

FIG. 9(B) is a schematic side view of the arrangement of FIG. 9(A),

FIG. 10(A) is a similar diagram to FIG. 9(A), showing the transmission lever and the rejection link with the drive plate being moved towards the opposite position,

FIG. 10(B) is a schematic side view of the arrangement of FIG. 10(A),

FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B) are a schematic top plan view and side view, respectively, of a portion of a turntable spindle drive mechanism, showing the condition wherein the stacked records are supported above the turntable,

FIGS. 12(A) and 12(B) are similar views to FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B), showing the condition wherein the lowermost one of the stacked records is being fed on to the turntable,

FIGS. 13(A) and 13(B) are similar views to FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B), showing the condition wherein the downward shift of the inner shaft of the turntable spindle is obstructed by a barrier plate,

FIGS. 14(A), 14(B) and 14(C) are schematic diagrams showing a top plate in various sequential operation positions,

FIG. 15 is a similar view to FIG. 2, showing a portion of the arrangement in detail,

FIG. 16 shows the portion of FIG. 15 actuated when the control knob is moved to the "START" position,

FIG. 17 shows the portion of FIG. 15 actuated when the control knob is moved either to the "MAN" position or to the "STOP" position,

FIGS. 18(A) and 18(B) are a schematic top plan view and side view, respectively, of a portion of the turntable spindle drive mechanism showing the condition wherein the single-play turntable spindle is employed,

FIG. 19 is a similar view to FIG. 2, but showing another preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a portion of FIG. 19 actuated when the control knob is moved to the START position,

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the portion of FIG. 19 actuated when the control knob is moved to the MAN position,

FIGS. 22 and FIG. 23 are schematic diagrams showing the stop plate in different postures, and

FIGS. 24(A) and 24(B) are schematic diagrams of a modified cam member, respectively showing the tonearm shifting device in different operative positions.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a base plate 3 fixedly suspended from the undersurface of a mounting panel 1 by means of a plurality of suitable fixtures 2 spacing said base plate 3 from said undersurface of said mounting panel 1 rigidly carries a sleeve 5 upwardly extending therefrom through the mounting panel 1. This sleeve 5 has mounted therearound a thrust ball bearing 4 and rotatably carries a turntable 7 having a downwardly extending geared collar 6 secured to or integrally formed with said turntable in alignment with the center of said turntable and with the longitudinal axis of said sleeve 5. The thrust ball bearing 4 is, when the turntable 7 is mounted on said sleeve 5, sandwiched between the base plate 1 and the lowermost end face of the geared collar 6 for permitting the geared collar 6 and, hence, the turntable 7 to undergo a smooth rotation about the longitudinal axis of said sleeve 5.

The gear collar 6 has integrally formed thereon a projection 6a extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said collar 6, the function of which projection 6a will be mentioned later.

The turntable 7 can be rotated in one predetermined direction by a suitable electric motor (not shown) having a drive shaft rigidly connected with or integrally formed into a capstan 10 of any known construction having a plurality of, for example, three, different diameter portions 10a, 10b and 10c, as seen in FIG. 5B, the rotational force of said motor being transmitted to said turntable 7 in any known manner through a selected one of said different diameter portions 10a, 10b and 10c of said capstan 10 via an idler wheel 9 selectively engageable with the peripheral flange of the turntable 7 and said capstan 10. The idler wheel 9 is mechanically connected with a speed selector knob 119 through a turntable rotating speed control (not shown) of any known construction such that, depending upon the positioning of the speed selector knob 119 to any one of 331/3, 45 and 78 positions which respectively stand for the conventionally standardized speeds of rotation of the turntable 7 and are associated with the different diameter portions 10a, 10b and 10c of the capstan 10, the idler wheel 9 can be brought into register with the selected one of the different diameter portions 10a, 10b and 10c of the capstan 10 thereby to permit the turntable 7 to be rotated at a preselected speed.

The turntable rotating speed control may be of any known construction, for example such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,153 patented on Dec. 22, 1970. However, according to the present invention, the linkage between the idler wheel 9 and the speed control is modified as shown in FIGS. 5(A) and (B) thereby to permit the height of the idler wheel 9 to be manually adjustable with respect to any one of the different diameter portions 10a, 10b and 10c of the capstan 10. The linkage so far shown in FIGS. 5(A) and (B) comprises a first arm member 8 suitably pivotally carried by the mounting panel 1 and having one end slidably engaged with the caming structure (not shown) of the speed control and the other end formed with a threaded hole 8a and a bearing hole 8b adjacent to said threaded hole 8a. This first arm member 8 carries an adjustment screw 108 adjustably threaded into the threaded hole 8a of the arm member 8 and said adjustment screw 108 has integrally formed thereon a large diameter portion 108a adjacent to the head portion thereof, which has a diameter greater than that of the head portion of said screw 108.

A second arm member 109 has one end portion formed with an opening (not shown) of a diameter slightly greater than that of the head portion of the adjustment screw 108, but smaller than that of the large diameter portion 108a thereof, through which opening the head portion of the adjustment screw 108 extends with the end portion of said second arm member 109 resting on the large diameter portion 108a. Adjacent to this opening, the second arm member 109 is provided with a downwardly extending pin member 110 inserted in the bearing hole 8b of the first arm member 8 thereby to support the second arm member 109 in position. However, for preventing a possible separation of the second arm member 109 from the adjustment screw 108, the end portion of the arm member 109 adjacent to the opening is held in position by means of suitable fastening members, such as a snap ring 112 and a spring washer 111.

The idler wheel 9 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 18 which is in turn rigidly secured to a third arm member 130 pivotally carried by the second arm member 109. The pivotal connection between the second and third arm members 109 and 130 may be omitted if the fulcrum about which the first arm member 8 pivots is provided such that the idler wheel 9 can contact any one of the different diameter portions 10a, 10b and 10c of the capstan 10 and also the peripheral flange of the turntable 7 thereby to transmit the rotational force from said capstan 10 to said turntable 7.

From the foregoing, it has now become clear that, by turning the adjustment screw 108 in either direction, the height of the idler wheel 9 with respect to the capstan 10 can be varied.

It is to be noted that the idle wheel 9 is urged to contact both the capstan 10 and the peripheral flange of the turntable 7 by the action of a tension spring 9a.

A main gear 12 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 11 rigidly upwardly extending from the base plate 3. This main gear 12 has formed on its upper surface a link axle 13 on which a link boss 14 is rotatably mounted. The link boss 14 carries a friction link 17 rigidly secured thereto, on an upper portion of which a friction lever 15 and an actuating link 16 are relatively rotatably mounted. A tension spring 19 is disposed between said friction lever 15 and actuating link 16 so as to bias said lever 15 and link 16 in the opposite directions. However, since the friction lever 15 is, while relatively pulled by said spring 19, abutted against a stopper 16a formed in the actuating link 16, the pulling force of the spring 19 is transmitted to the boss 14 through said friction lever 15 and also through said actuating link 16 whereby friction is imparted between said actuating link 16 and said friction link 17 through said link boss 14.

It is to be noted that rotation of the actuating link 16 is through a predetermine angular distance defined by a cut-out portion 16c, formed in said link 16, in cooperation with a stopper pin 12e formed in the gear 12 and situated within said cut-out portion 16c of said actuating link 16. Another cut-out portion may be formed in the actuating link 16 as at 16d for restricting unnecessary rotation of the friction link 17 relative to the actuating link 16, in cooperation with a bent edge 17a formed in said link 17 and situated within said other cut-out portion.

In any event, the actuating link 16 and friction link 17 may be a one-piece construction in which case, the link boss 14 and other cut-out portion 16d may be omitted.

A tonearm 20 of any conventional construction having a pickup stylus 20c is horizontally rotatable about the axis of an upright stud 56 secured to the base plate 3 and also vertically pivotable about the axis of a transverse spindle 20b. The main gear 12 has a toothless portion, formed as at 12a, normally positioned in register with the geared collar 6 of the turntable 7, in which condition engagement between the geared collar 6 and the main gear 12 does not take place. The tonearm 20 is horizontally rotatably supported by a tonearm shaft 20d through said transverse spindle 20d, said tonearm shaft 20d rotatably extending through said upright stud 56 and having rigidly mounted thereon a positioning plate 21 rotatable together with said tonearm 20. The positioning plate 21 is secured to a boss 22, an auxiliary positioning plate 23 being rotatably mounted on the tonearm shaft 20d between said positioning plate 21 and said boss 22. The positioning plate 21 and the auxiliary positioning plate 23 are relatively biased in the opposite directions by a tension spring 24, connected therebetween, whereby a pin 25 formed in the auxiliary positioning plate 23 abuts against a stop 21a formed in the positioning plate 21.

While in this arrangement, the pin 25 is, as the tonearm 20 is horizontally rotated with the pickup stylus 20c moving towards a center spindle 47 in a manner as will be described later, engageable with a bent edge 27a of an actuator lever 27, slidably mounted on a pin 26 and the top of the gear shaft 11, thereby to cause said actuator lever 27 to move in the direction towards the center spindle 47. As the actuator lever 27 is in practice moved towards the center spindle 47, a bent edge 17a of the friction link 17 is kicked by said lever 27 thereby causing the actuating link 16 to rotate about the axis of the link spindle 13 until an engagement portion 16b of the link 16 is brought into the path of travel of the projection 6a of the geared collar 6 of the turntable 7. Rotation of the main gear 12 takes place immediately after engagement between the projection 6a and the engagement portion 16b is achieved while the turntable 7 is rotating. It is to be noted that the engagement portion 16b that has been brought into the path of travel of said projection 6a can be moved out of the path of travel of said projection 6a shortly before one rotation of said main gear 12 in engagement with the geared collar 6 is completed. This is possible because, shortly before completion of each rotation of the main gear 12, the friction link 17 that has been rotated together with the actuating link 16 under frictional engagement is engaged as at 17c with the geared collar 6, thereby to pivot about the link axis 13, accompanying a corresponding rotation of the actuating link 16 with the engagement portion 16b mouving out of the path of travel of the projection 6a.

A drive plate 29 horizontally slidably suspended from the undersurface of the base plate 3 by means of a plurality of spacer fixtures 30 is provided with an upwardly extending drive pin 32. The main gear 12 has formed on its undersurface a substantially heart-shaped cam groove 12b in which the drive pin 32 is slidably engaged, said groove 12 being eccentrically arranged with respect to the center of rotation of said main gear 12. Accordingly, each rotation of the main gear 12 results in a reciprocal straight movement of said drive plate 29 in the opposite directions as indicated by the double-headed arrows A and B.

A cam member 33 having a downwardly inclined surface 33a is rigidly mounted on the drive plate 29 and, during one reciprocal movement of said drive plate 29, a lifting structure 35 having a construction as hereinafter described is vertically upwardly and downwardly shifted for vertically pivoting the tone arm 20 about the transverse spindle 20b.

Referring to FIG. 4, the lifting structure 35 comprises a lifting rod 35c having a lowermost end 35a slidably engageable with the inclined surface 33a of the cam member 33 on the drive plate 29, and the other end having formed therein a blind hole 35d, a substantially intermediate portion of which vertically and slidably extends through a sleeve 34 extending through and rigidly carried by the mounting panel 1. This lifting structure 35 further comprises an adjustment unit for adjusting the height of the pickup stylus 20c from the plane of the turntable 7, said unit including an adjustment cap 37 adjustably threaded on the upper end portion of the lifting rod 35c, and a pusher rod 38 slidably inserted within the blind hole 35d, an upper portion of which slidably extends through the adjustment cap 37 as shown while the other lower end portion thereof is confined within a space formed by the blind hole 35d and the cap 37. A compression spring 36 is interposed between the bottom of the blind hole 35d and the lowermost end face of the pusher rod 38 for upwardly biasing the latter. In this arrangement, by manually rotating the adjustment cap 38 in either direction, the height of the pickup stylus 20c from the plane of the turntable 7 or the record on the turntable 7 can be advantageously adjusted irrespective of the operation of the lifting rod 35c.

The sleeve 34 has a lower end portion 34a reduced in diameter and having a lifting collar 41 supported in position thereon as will be described later. A compression spring 39 is mounted on the lower end portion of the lifting rod 35c and has a lower end restricted by a snap ring mounted on said rod 35c as shown and the other upper end abutted through a washer 40 against a step formed in the lower end portion of the lifting rod 35c as at 35b. Another compression spring 42 is mounted on the reduced end portion 34a of the sleeve 34 between the upper end portion of the sleeve 34 and the lifting collar 41, thus acting to downwardly urge said lifting collar 41.

With the above in mind, it is to be noted that the reduced diameter portion 34a of the sleeve 34 and the compression spring 42 loosely extend through an arched slot 21b formed in the positioning plate 21 while leaving a clearance Z between said plate 21 and the lifting collar 41 when the lifting rod 35c is downwardly shifted. The resiliency of the compression spring 42 is slightly greater than that of the compression spring 39, but can be overcome by the resiliency of the spring 39 as the latter is compressed, the compression of the spring 39 being achieved as the lowermost end 35a of the lifting rod 35c slides over the inclined surface 33a of the cam member 33 on the drive plate 29. In other words, as the lifting rod 35c is upwardly shifted in the manner as hereinbefore described compressing the spring 35, the resiliency of the spring 39 as compressed becomes greater than that of the spring 42 whereby the lifting collar 41 is subsequently upwardly shifted compressing the spring 42 while narrowing the clearance Z. As the lifting rod 35c is further upwardly shifted, the lifting collar 41 finally contacts the positioning plate 21 thereby to produce a friction contact between said plate 21 and said collar 41. Upon friction being produced therebetween, subsequent rotation of the positioning plate 21 and hence the tonearm 20 takes place under frictional engagement with the collar 41, thereby to ensure a steady and smooth rotation of the tonearm 20 which is not affected by any possible vibration given to the record player during such rotation of the tonearm 20 about the tonearm shaft 20d.

The lifting rod 35c that has been upwardly shifted in the manner as hereinbefore described will not immediately descend after the cam member 33 moves away from the lowermost end 35a of the lifting rod 35c such as shown in FIG. 4, but slowly descends by the effect of the weight of the tonearm 20, the resiliency of the compression spring 42 as compressed and the resiliency of the compression spring 39 as compressed. This is possible because the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the lifting rod 35c housed in the sleeve 34 has silicon oil applied thereto. It is to be noted that the compression spring 39 as compressed will no longer act to downwardly shift the lifting rod 35c when the step 35b at the lower end portion of said rod 35c abuts against the washer 40.

In the record player as shown, a cuing device is provided for enabling a manual selection of a desired one of pieces of music or like recordings recorded on a record and also for enabling a repeated performance of a single record by manually shifting the tonearm, i.e., manually transferring the pickup stylus 20c to the lead-in groove of the record prior to its entry into the lead-out groove of the same record.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the cuing device comprises a cuing lever 113 manually pivotable a predetermined angular distance between an inoperative position and an operative position and, during the pivotal movement of said lever 113 to the operative position, the tonearm 20 is forcibly vertically rotated about the transverse spindle 20b so as to upwardly lift the pickup stylus 20c. The lever 113 has a shaft 114 rotatably extending through a suitable bearing, for example, a covering 116 mounted on the panel 1, and rigidly connected with a cuing cam member 115 through said shaft 114. The cuing lever 113 is normally urged to the inoperative position by a tension spring 117 having one end connected therewith and the other end connected with a pillar 116i a in the covering 116. The cam member 115 is positioned beneath an arm 118, either integral with or rigidly secured to the lifting structure 35, i.e., the lifting rod 35c, which slidably engages the arm 118 as the cuing lever 113 is manually pivoted to the operative position as indicated by the chain line in FIG. 4, thereby permitting the arm 118 and, hence, the lifting rod 35c to be upwardly forced. The cuing lever 113 having been pivoted to the operative position will not immediately return to the inoperative position. This is possible because, when the lever 113 is in the operative position, the cam member 115 stands upright, as indicated by the chain line in FIG. 4, with the tip of said member 115 receiving a downwardly acting force exerted by the lifting structure 35 and transmitted thereto through the arm 118 and, consequently, unless otherwise the downwardly acting force is removed, the cuing lever 113 can be temporarily locked in the operative position. Automatic return of the cuing lever 113 to the inoperative position by the action of the tension spring 117 can be achieved when the lifting structure 35 is completely upwardly shifted with the lowermost end 35a of the lifting rod 35c completing its slide over the inclined surface 33a of the cam member 33 on the drive plate 29.

From the foregoing, it has now become clear that the tonearm 20 can be manually moved in any direction as desired without causing the pickup stylus 20c to laterally skid on the record on the turntable 7, when the lever 113 is pivoted to the operative position. Furthermore, even after the lever 113 has been immediately returned to the inoperative position from the operative position by the action of the spring 117, the lifting rod 35c, for the reasons as hereinbefore described, slowly descends, while the cam member 33 is moved away from the lowermost end 35a, and consequently no shock is imparted to the pickup stylus 20c when the tonearm 20 is manually operated so as to engage the stylus 20c in the recorded groove of the record.

Referring to FIG. 7, the drive plate 29 carries on its upper surface a detector plate 43 slidably mounted on said drive plate 29 by means of a plurality of spacer fixtures 44 rigidly secured to said drive plate, said detector plate 43 being slidable thereon independent of the drive plate 29 a predetermined distance defined by a pair of slots 43a formed in said detector plate 43 and through which said spacer fixtures 44 extend. The detector plate 43 is normally urged by a tension spring 45 substantially towards the cam member 33 on the drive plate 29. This detector plate 43 is so mounted on the drive plate 29 that, during the movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A, the detector plate 43 moves a predetermined distance together with said drive plate 29 and, during the further movement of said drive plate 29 in the same direction, either of the first and second abutments, downwardly and upwardly formed in the detector plate 43 as at 43b and 43c, respectively, abuts against an inner shaft 46 of a turntable spindle as will be described later or a stop portion 50a formed in a rejection link 50 as will be mentioned later and, consequently, further movement of the detector plate 43 does not take place, but permitting the spring 45 to be pulled by the furher movement of the drive plate 29.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the drive plate 29 carries on one end thereof adjacent to the tonearm positioning plate 21 a hook member 51 slidably and pivotally mounted on an upwardly extending pin 52, said pin 52 being rigidly carried by said drive plate 29 and extending through a slot 51a formed in the hook member 51. This hook member 51 has formed at one end an enclosing member 51b integrally sinuously extending from the body of the hook member 51 via a curved portion 51d and at the other end a sliding surface 51c slidably engageable with a upwardly extending stud 55 rigidly carried by the detector plate 43. The hook member 51 is normally urged by a tension spring 53 such that, when the drive plate 29 is moved to the direction B, the enclosing portion 51b thereof rests on a counter-enclosing member 33b, which may be integrally formed with the cam member 33 on the drive plate 29, while the sliding surface 51c thereof is abutted against a rubber damper 51 secured to said cam member 33, the condition being shown in FIG. 7 and, when said drive plate 29 is moved to the direction A, the enclosing portion 51b substantially encircles the counter-enclosing member 33b engaged with the curved portion 51d, thus forming an engagement space in which a downwardly extending projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 is engaged, while the sliding surface 51c is abutted against the stud 55, this condition being shown in FIG. 8.

While the hook member 51 is urged by the spring 53 such as hereinbefore described, the above mentioned conditions are alternately established in response to the reciprocal movement of the drive plate 29 in the following manner. Assuming that the drive plate 29 moves in the direction A, an engaging portion 33c integrally formed on the cam member 33 engages the projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 so as to rotate the latter in the direction as indicated by C in FIG. 7 about the tonearm shaft 20d and, at the same time, either of the first and second abutments 43b and 43c is engaged by the corresponding one of the inner shaft 46 and stop portion 50a thereby stopping the movement of the detector plate 43 while permitting the drive plate 29 to move further in the same direction. After the detector plate 43 has been thus stopped and during further movement of the drive plate 29 independent of the detector plate 43 against the force of spring 45, the stud 55 on the detector plate 43 is slidably engaged with the sliding surface 51c of the hook member 51. Consequently, at the time the one-way movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A is completed, the hook member 51 that has been positioned as shown in FIG. 7 is pivoted about the pin 52 by the engagement of the stud 55 with the sliding surface 51c so as to cause the enclosing portion 51c of said member 51 to substantially entrap the projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 in cooperation with the engaging portion 33c and the counter-enclosing member 33b, thereby to establish the condition as shown in FIG. 8.

While the above mentioned one-way movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A takes place during a first, substantially half rotation of the main gear 12 with the drive pin 31 on the drive plate 29 eccentrically guided along the substantially heart-shaped cam groove 12b of said main gear 12, return movement of said drive plate 29 in the direction B takes place during the latter, substantially half rotation of said main gear 12. During this return movement of the drive plate 29, the auxiliary positioning plate 23 accompanying the positioning plate 21 engaged therewith by means of the pin 25 on the auxiliary positioning plate 23 is rotated about the tonearm shaft 20d in the direction as indicated by D in FIG. 7 with the downwardly extending projection 23a thereof engaged in the engagement space defined by the elements 33b, 33c and 51b. This rotation of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 and hence the positioning plate 21 takes place through a preselected angular distance as will be mentioned later and, after said positioning plate 21 has been rotated the preselected angular distance, the projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 acts to pull the hook member 51 against the tension spring 53. As the drive plate 29 moves further in the direction B while in this condition, the hook member 51 is moved against the spring 53 so that the enclosing portion 51b slides over the counter-enclosing member 33b while said hook member 51 itself pivots about the pin 52, thereby to release the projection 23a from the engagement space and then to establish the condition as shown in FIG. 7 so far as the hook member 51 is involved. During this period, the view of the fact that the tension spring 45 has been expanded, the return movement of the drive plate 29 is accelerated by this spring 45 and thereafter the further return movement of said plate 29 accompanies the corresponding movement of the detector plate 43 until the main gear 12 completes its one rotation.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 6A-6C and 7, a record size selector comprises a selector lever 57 having arched and straight slots therein as at 57a and 57b, respectively, and slidably suspended from the undersurface of the mounting panel 1 by means of the corresponding spacer fixtures 58 and 58a respectively extending through the straight and arched slots 57b and 57a, the arched slot 57a having a plurality of, for example, three, detent recesses 57d, 57e and 57f into which the spacer fixture 58a is selectively engaged. The selector lever 57 also has integrally formed thereon or has rigidly connected thereto a selector knob 60 manually operable to any one of 12", 10" and 7" positions which represent the individually standardized diameters of commercially available three types of records, said selector knob 60 being, as shown in FIG. 1, exposed to the outside of the selector. It is to be noted that, as shown in FIG. 6, the detent recesses 57d, 57e and 57f correspond to the 7", 10" and 12" positions of the selector knob 60.

The selector lever 57 has one end adjacent to the arched slot 57a connected with one end of a tension spring 59 having the other end connected with the undersurface of the mounting panel 1, said tension spring 59 extending at right angles to the direction of movement of said lever 57 when said spacer fixture 58a is engaged in the detent recess 57e with the selector knob 60 positioned at the 10" position. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in that a pushing force required to move the selector knob 60 from the 10" position to either the 12" position to the 7" position is substantially equal to that required to move the selector knob 60 from the same position to the other position, i.e., the 7" position or the 12" position. To this end, the arched slot 57a is designed such that the center of curvature of said arched slot 57a is located on the imaginary line passing across the center of curvature of the detent recess 57e at right angles to the direction of movement of the selector lever 57 and on the side opposed to the pulling direction of the tension spring 59 with respect to said direction of movement of said selector lever 57, said pulling direction of said tension spring 59 being in parallel relation to said imaginary line.

With particular reference to FIGS. 6(A) to 6(B), in the condition wherein the selector knob 60 is at the 10" position as shown in FIG. 6(A), the tension spring 59 extends, as hereinbefore described, at right angles to the direction of movement of the selector lever 57 so that a pulling force exerted by the spring 59 merely acts on the lever 57 so as to laterally bias said lever 57 permitting the spacer fixture 58a to engage in the corresponding detent recess 57e. However, when the selector knob 60 has been moved to either the 12" position as shown in FIG. 6(B) or the 7" position as shown in FIG. 6(C), the tension spring 59 the lengthwise direction extends at a certain angle +.theta. or -.theta. with respect to that of the spring 59 while the selector knob 60 is at the 10" position as shown in FIG. 6(A) is, in either case, expanded with its pulling force acting on the selector lever 57 so as to return the selector knob 60 to the 10" position. While the selector knob 60 tends to be thus moved by the spring 59 with its pulling force transmitted thereto through the selector lever 57, the pulling force of said spring 59 also acts to permit the spacer fixture 58a to engage in the corresponding detent recess 57d or 57f and, therfore, only when an external force is applied to the selector knob 60 so as to move the latter to the 10" position, can the selector knob 20 be instantaneously returned to such position by the action of the spring 59. In addition, as hereinbefore described, the external force required to move the knob 60 to the 10" position from either of the other two positions is substantially equal to that required to move it to the same position from the other due to the fact that the angles +.theta. and -.theta. are the same. Furthermore, the external force required is small in value due to the fact that the slot 57a is arched as hereinbefore described. By way of example, if the slot 57a is straight, each of the detent recesses 57d and 57f on both sides of the detent recess 57e must be made large in depth to ensure a detent stop of the selector knob 60. In this case, it is evident that not only a relatively great external force is required for operating the selector knob 60, but also, during the movement of the selector knob 60 to any one of the three positions, it will move outwardly a relatively great distance in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said selector lever 57.

Still referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the base plate 3 carries a boss 61 rotatably upwardly extending therefrom and having an index plate 62 rigidly mounted thereon, an auxiliary index plate 63 being independently rotatably carried by the boss 61 immediately below said index plate 62. The both plates 62 and 63 are relatively biased in the opposite directions about the axis of the boss 61 by a tension spring 64 whereby a stop 62a extending downwardly from the index plate 62 is constantly engaged with an abutment 63a on the auxiliary index plate 63 to restrict the relative rotation between the plates 62 and 63. The auxiliary index plate 63 is provided with a downwardly extending engaging projection 63b (FIG. 3) alternately engageable with first and second edges 29a and 29b, both provided on the drive plate 29. On the other hand, the index plate 62 is provided with an upwardly extending engaging projection 62b engageable with stop 57c rigidly or integrally connected with the selector lever 57 for restricting the rotation of the index plate 62 together with the auxiliary index plate 63 as will be described hereinafter. It is to be noted, however, that the index plate 62 is provided for permitting the tonearm 20 to rotate about the tonearm shaft 20d to a preselected position above the record on the turntable 7 depending on the size of the record set on the record size selector of the construction as hereinbefore described. For this purpose, the index plate 62 has three stepped edges 62c, 62d and 62e respectively representing the records of 7, 10 and 12 inches in diameter and engageable with a restrictor on the positioning plate 21 as at 21c.

In operation, as the drive plate 29 moves in the direction A, the auxiliary index plate 63 is rotated about the axis of the boss 61 with the engaging projection 63b thereof in engagement with the first edge 29a of the drive plate 29 while the lowermost end 35a of the lifting rod 35c slides over the inclined surface 33a of the cam member 33 on the drive plate 29. Due to the fact that the plates 62 and 63 are connected to each other by the tension spring 64 in the manner as hereinbefore described, rotation of the auxiliary index plate 63 accompanies the corresponding rotation of the index plate 62, the rotation of the index plate 62 being subsequently restricted by the stop 57c in engagement with the engaging portion 62b of the index plate 62 with the result that a selected one of the stepped edges 62c, 62d and 62e depending on the positioning of the selector knob 60 is brought into the path of travel of the restrictor 21c of the positioning plate 21. The auxilliary index plate 63 further continues to rotate while expanding the tension spring 64, until the one-way movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A completed.

Upon commencement of the return movement of the drive plate 19 at which time the projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 has already been entrapped in the engagement space defined by the elements 33b, 33c and 51b as shown in FIG. 8, the auxiliary positioning plate 23 and the positioning plate 21 in engagement therewith through the pin 25 on the auxiliary positioning plate 23 are rotated together about the axis of the tonearm shaft 20d in response to the return movement of the drive plate 29. During this return movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction B, the restrictor 21c on the positioning plate 21 is, while the positioning plate 21 and the auxiliary positioning plate 23 are rotated together, engaged with the selected one of the stepped edges 62c, 62d and 62e whereby the both plates 21 and 23 are stopped in positions wherein the pickup stylus 20c is located above the lead-in groove of the record of a predetermined diameter on the rotating turntable 7. Thereafter, the projection 21c is released from the engagement space in the manner as hereinbefore described and the second edge 29b of the drive plate 29 subsequently abuts against the engaging projection 63 so that the auxiliary index plate 63 and hence the index plate 62 are rotated together so as to clear the selected one of the stepped edges 62c, 62d and 62e from the path of travel of the projection 21c. At this time, the pickup stylus 20c has been already downwardly shifted and engaged in the lead-in groove of the record of the predetermined diameter.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 7, 9A and 9B and 10A and 10B, a rejection link 50 is loosely mounted on a pin 3f on the base plate 3 with a conically wound spring 67 pressing said rejection link 50 towards the upper surface of the base plate 3. This rejection link 50 normally tends to rotate about the pin 3f in the direction as indicated by E by the action of a tension spring 68 disposed between it and the base plate 3, and has thereon as at 50b a slant edge slidably engageable with a slant side edge 65a on a rejection lever 65 rotatably mounted on a pin 66 secured to the base plate 3, said rejection lever 65 also being normally urged about the pin 66 by the action of a tension spring 70, disposed between it and the base plate 3, whereby the slant side edge 65a of said lever 65 is moved away from the slant edge 50b of the rejection link 50. The rejection link 50 has on its undersurface a shallow projection, as at 50e, downwardly extending therefrom and terminating in a shaped opening 3b formed in the base plate 3.

The rejection link 50 is operable in such a manner that, while the drive plate 29 is positioned as shown in FIG. 7, rotation of the rejection lever 65 against the spring 70, which is achieved in a manner which will be mentioned later, causes the slant side edge 65a thereof to enter between the base plate 3 and the slant edge 50b of the rejection link 50. As the slant edge 50b of said link 50 slides over the slant edge 65a of said lever 65, at least a portion of said link 50 in the vicinity of said slant edge 50b is, as shown in FIG. 9(B), upwardly biased against the conically wound spring 67 with the projection 50e climbing over an edge 3c of the shaped opening 3b. During this process, a side edge 50c of the rejection link climbs over the top of a bent edge 29c at the rear end of the drive plate 29. Therefore, it is clear that, upon completion of climbing of the side edge 50c of the rejection link 50 over the top of the bent edge 29c of the drive plate 29, the rejection link 50 is instantaneously rotated about the pin 3f by the spring 68 with a stop edge 50a thereof substantially intermediate the slant edge 50b and the side edge 50c being positioned in the path of travel of the second abutment 43c on the detector plate 43 as shown in FIG. 9(A). It is to be noted that, for restricting further rotation of the rejection link 50 by the action of the spring 68, a portion of the rejection link 50 as indicated by 50d is adapted to abut against a pillar 69, rigidly upwardly extending from the base plate 3, so that the positions as shown in FIG. 9(A) are established.

Although in FIG. 9(A) the rejection link 50 is shown as resting on the top of the bent edge 29c of the drive plate 29, a subsequent movement of the drive plate 3 in the direction A permits the rejection link 50 to rest on the upper surface of the base plate 3 as shown in FIG. 19(B) and the stop edge 50a of said link 50 subsequently restricts, as it comes into engagement with the second abutment 43c of the detector plate 43, the movement of said detector plate 43 accompanined by the drive plate 29, this condition being shown in FIG. 10(A).

While the condition of FIG. 19(A) is established and upon the return movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction B, the bent edge 29c slidably engages the side edge 50c causing the rejection link 50 to rotate in the direction as indicated by F against the spring 68 with the result that the shallow projection 50e falls into the shaped opening 3b, thereby to establish the initial condition shown in FIG. 7. It is to be noted that the rejection lever 65 after having been rotated in the manner as hereinbefore described is usually instantaneously returned to the initial position by the action of the spring 70, further rotation of said lever 65 by the action of the spring 70 being restricted by a stop 3a on the base plate 3 and engageable with a side edge of the rejection lever 65 opposed to the slant side edge 65a substantially as shown in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B, the base plate 3 carries a seesaw lever 72 pivotally supported by a shaft 71, both ends of which are respectively journalled in a pair of downwardly extending lugs 3d rigidly connected or integrally formed with the base plate 3. Adjacent to the free end of the seesaw lever 72 remote from the shaft 71, a pair of rollers 73 are rotatably mounted on said lever 72 on both sides thereof, which are in turn slidably accommodated in respective cam slots 74a formed in substantially triangular cam plates 74 rigidly secured to the drive plate 29, such that the reciprocal movement of the drive plate 29 causes the seesaw lever 72 to pivot about the axis of the shaft 71 with the rollers 73 being guided along the respective cam slots 74a.

The free end of the seesaw lever 72 is normally situated in substantial alignment with the axis of the center spindle and is provided with an adjustment screw 75 threadably extending therethrough in substantial alignment with the axis of said center spindle for enabling the position of the lowermost end of the inner shaft 46 to be manually adjusted, and also with a record feeder 76 pivotally carried thereby on a spindle 77, said record feeder 76 have integrally formed thereon as at 76a a hook portion selectively engageable in a notch 46a formed in the inner shaft 46 adjacent to its lowermost end. A tension spring 72c is interposed between a substantially intermediate portion 22a of the seesaw lever 72 and a lug of the record feeder 76 whereby the latter is urged to rotate about the spindle 72 with the hook portion 76a thereof engaged with the outer periphery of a tubular spindle housing 47 when the drive plate 29 is moved in the direction B as shown in FIG. 11(B), rotation of said feeder 76 by the action of the spring 72c being restricted by a stop 72b the free end of the seesaw lever 72, with which a portion of the feeder 76 being urged to rotate as hereinbefore described engages as shown in FIG. 13(B).

The center spindle interchangeably inserted in the sleeve 5 comprises the tubular spindle housing 47, the inner shaft 46 slidably accommodated within said spindle housing 47, a primary support generally indicated by 48 and operatively associated with the inner shaft 46 in such a way that, while said primary support 48 normally protrudes radially outwardly outside the spindle housing 47 under the action of a suitable spring member (not shown) housed within the spindle housing and acts to shift the inner shaft 46, upwardly said primary support 48 can be withdrawn within the spindle housing 47 as the inner shaft 46 is downwardly shifted in a manner as will be described later, and a secondary support generally indiclated by 49 and operatively associated with the inner shaft 46 as will become clear from the latter description.

It is to be noted that the center spindle shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B is of the type called a "multi-play turntable spindle," the fundamental operation of which is well known to those skilled in the art, whereas the center spindle shown in FIG. 18 is the type as called a "single-play turntable spindle." The record player constructed in accordance with the present invention can accommodate either to any one of these two types of the center spindle. However, details of the multi-play turntable spindle such as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B are disclosed in the pending Patent Application entitled "Turntable Arrangement With Automatic Record Changer Spindle" and assigned to the same assignee as the present application and, therefore, for the sake of brevity, they are herein omitted and reference may be made to the above mentioned pending patent application for them. In any event, the multi-play turntable spindle operates in the following manner: Assuming that one record is being played, a stack of the remaining records mounted on the turntable spindle is supported on the primary support 48. When the lowermost record in the stack is to be played, the secondary support 49 comes into action and supports all the records in the stack except for the lowermost one. The primary support 48 is then withdrawn within the spindle housing 7 so that the lowermost record that has been supported on the primary support 48 falls down the turntable spindle and on to the rotating turntable 7.

The above mentioned operation of the center spindle shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 11A, 11b, 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B is effected in response to the pivotal movement of the seesaw lever 72 in a manner as will be described hereinafter.

Refferning still to FIGS. 2, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B, the center spindle shown is rigidly locked in the sleeve 5 by means of a suitable key and groove engagement (not shown) with lower and upper end portions thereof respectively situated below and above the mounting panel 1. In this condition and while the main gear 12 is not rotated and, therefore, the drive plate 29 is moved to the direction B and the seesaw lever 71 is pivoted clockwise about the shaft 71 with its free end shifted upwardly as shown in FIG. 11(B), the inner shaft 46 is pressed upwardly a predetermined distance with the lowermost end thereof in contact with the adjustment screw 75, so that a plurality of supporting memers 48a constituting the primary support 48 respectively project radially outwardly outside the spindle housing 47 through elongated slots 47a whereas a plurality of clamping members 49a constituting the secondary support 49 are respectively radially inwardly withdrawn within the spindle housing 47 through short slots 47b. The center spindle with the parts thus positioned is ready to receive a plurality of records 28 in a vertically stacked arrangement supported on the primary support 48 as shown in FIG. 11(B).

Subsequent movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A in accordance with the first half rotation of the main gear 12 results in a downward shift of the free end of the seesaw lever 72, permitting the inner shaft 46 to be downwardly shifted a predetermined distance by the weight of the lowermost one of the records 28 transmitted thereto through the primary support 48 now supporting the lowermost record. Shortly before the lowermost record rests on the primary support 48, the secondary support 49 comes into action in the known manner thereby supporting the records 28 except for the lowermost one of them.

As the inner shaft 46 descends the predetermined distance, the notch 46a at the lower end of said shaft 46 emerges outside the spindle housing 47 from the bottom opening thereof. Immediately after said notch 46a has emerged outside the spindle housing 47 and during the continued movement of the drive plate 29, i.e., the continued downward shift of the free end of the seesaw lever 72 activated by the drive plate 29 in the manner as hereinbefore described, the hook portion 76a of the feeder 76 slides in contact with the outer periphery of the spindle housing 47 urged by spring 72c and finally instantaneously enters the notch 46a, thereby permitting the inner shaft 46 to be thereafter forcibly pulled downwards by the record feeder 76 until one-way movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A completed at which time the free end of the seesaw lever 72 simultaneously completes its downward shift, this condition being shown in FIG. 12(B). During a period in which the inner shaft 46 is forcibly pulled downwards by the downwardly shifting record feeder 76, the primary support 48 is gradually withdrawn within the spindle housing 47 in such a manner that the supporting members 48a are radially inwardly folded while simultaneously being pulled downwardly and finally permits the lowermost one of the stacked records 28 to fall down the center spindle on to the turntable 7 as shown in FIG. 12(B) in which the lowermost record released by the primary support 48 is shown as falling down the center spindle. The stacked records except for the lowermost one of them are, of course, held in position by the secondary support 49 now in operation.

On the other hand, after the inner shaft 46 has been shifted downwardly by the weight of the lowermost one of the stacked records 28 with the notch 46a emerging from the bottom opening of the spindle housing 47 as hereinbefore described, the path of travel of the first abutment 43b of the detector plate 43 is blocked by the inner shaft 56 and the path of travel of the second abutment 43c of the detector plate 43 is also, if the rejection link 50 is rotated so as to bring the stop edge 50a thereof into the path of travel of said second abutment 43c, blocked by said rejection link 50, whereby further movement of the detector plate 43 carried by the drive plate 29 does not take place while only the drive plate 29 is allowed to move further in the manner as hereinbefore described.

From the foregoing, it has now become clear that the record player is set to play the lowermost record now on the turntable 7 by means of the pickup stylus 20c that has been brought to the lead-in groove of said record in the manner as hereinbefore described. Thereafter, the drive plate 29 undergoes the return movement in the direction B and, after it has moved a predetermined distance, both the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 are moved together in the direction B in the manner as hereinbefore described. However, during the corresponding return movement of the detector plate 43 accompanying the drive plate 29, the hook portion 76a of the record feeder 76 engaged in the notch 46a pushes the inner shaft 46 upwards and finally disengages from said notch 46a by the action of the spring 72b. During this period, the record feeder 76 is shifted upwardly in accordance with the clockwise pivot of the seesaw lever 72 which is in turn effected by the return movement of the drive plate 29, thus establishing the initial condition as shown in FIG. 11(B).

It is to be noted that, where the multiplay turntable spindle is employed, the above mentioned operation is repeated until the uppermost or last record of the stacked records 28 is fed on to the turntable 7.

Referring still to FIGS. 2, 7, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B, a control for selecting a mode of operation of the record player is shown as comprising a control knob 78 slidably guided in a straight guide groove 79a of a guide plate 79 secured to the undersurface of the mounting plane 1 with said knob 78 positioned on the upper surface of said mounting panel 1. This control knob 78 is pivotally connected with one end of an operating rod 80 the other end of which is pivotally connected as at 83 with a substantially Y-shaped operating link 82 rotatably carried by the mounting panel 1 by means of a fixture 81, whereby a straight movement of the control knob 78 along the guide groove 79a causes the operating link 82 to pivot about the axis of the fixture 81. The operating link 82 is urged to rotate in one direction about the axis of the fixture 81 by the action of a tension spring 85 disposed between the tip of an arm 84 of said link 82 and a portion 86 of the undersurface of the mounting panel 1. However, the arrangement so far described is designed such that, when the spring 85 is not expanded, the control knob 78 always remains at a neutral position marked OFF.

The operational mode selecting control further comprises a switching lever 88 slidably suspended from the undersurface of the mounting panel 1 by means of pin members 87 extending through respective slots 88i formed in said switching lever 88 for slidable support of said lever 88. This switching lever 88 has integrally formed thereon as at 88a a projection loosely engaged in a slot 82a formed in the operating link 82 whereby, when the control knob 78 is manually moved to a position marked START, said switching lever 88 can slide in the direction as indicated by the arrow G whereas, when said knob 78 is moved to any one of positions marked MAN and STOP, said lever 88 can slide in the direction H opposite to the direction G.

It is to be noted that, as clearly shown in FIG. 7, the lengthwise direction of the slot 82a extends at an angle .alpha. relative to the imaginary line connecting the axis of the pivot 82 and the axis of the fixture 81 so that the movement of the control knob 78 in the direction towards the START position requires a relatively small pushing force.

One of the pin members 87 rotatably carries thereon a start lever 89 having integrally formed thereon an elastically deformable feeler 89a extending across the path of travel of an upward projection 27b of the actuator lever 27 for operating the latter so as to cause the main gear 12 to engage with the geared collar 6 of the turntable 7 in the manner as hereinbefore described. This start lever 89 is povotable a predetermined angular distance about the axis of the pin member 87 in the opposite directions as indicated by the arrows I and J in such a way that, when the switching lever 88 is moved in the direction G, a first kicker 88c on said lever 88 abuts the start lever 89 thus pivoting the latter in the direction I and, when the same lever 88 is moved in the direction H, a second kicker 88b on said lever 88 opposed to said first kicker 88c abuts the start lever 89 thus pivoting the latter in the direction J.

A barrier plate 93 is provided for interrupting the successive feed of the stacked records 28 when the control knob 78 is manually moved to either the MAN position or the STOP position, said barrier plate 93 being pivotally secured as at 90 to the undersurface of the base plate 3. While a substantially central portion of said barrier plate 93 is open as clearly shown, this barrier plate 93 has therein a curved slot 93c, opposed to the pivot 90, for restricting rotation of said barrier plate 93 about its pivot 90 in cooperation with a pin 91 rigidly extending from the base plate 3 through said slot 93c. The barrier plate 93 has integrally formed thereon an upwardly extending engagement arm 93a engageable with a downwardly extending protrusion 88d on the switching lever 88, and also with a barrier arm 93b. A tension spring 92 acts to urge the barrier plate 93 in one direction so as to cause the barrier arm 93a of said barrier plate 93 to engage in a second notch 46b in the inner shaft 46 substantially opposed to the first notch 46a, said second notch 46b being open to the outside through a rectangular opening 47c formed in the spindle housing 47. Engagement of the barrier arm 93a in the second notch 46a of the inner shaft 46 of the multi-play turntable spindle through the rectangular opening 47c of the spindle housing 47 actually takes place only when the control knob 78 is held at the MAN position or the STOP position, as shown in FIGS. 13 (A) and (B), thereby preventing the record on the turntable spindle from falling down said turntable spindle on to the rotating turntable 7. However, when the drive plate 29 is not operated, i.e., moved to the direction B, the barrier plate 93 is rotated against the spring 92 with the engagement arm 93a thereof in contact with the corresponding one of the cam plates 74 as at 74b and, consequently, the barrier arm 93b of said barrier plate 93 disengages from the second notch 46b of the inner shaft 46, as shown in FIG. 11(A), and, simultaneously therewith, the engagement arm 93a disengages from the projection 88d of the switching lever 88.

In any way, if the barrier arm 93b of the barrier plate 93 engages in the second notch 46b of the inner shaft 46 in the manner as hereinbefore described, not only no one of the stacked records 28 falls down the multi-play turntable spindle on to the rotating turntable 7, but also the first abutment 43b of the detector plate 43 is free to move, accompanied by the drive plate 29, across the path of travel of the lowermost end of the inner shaft 46 now retained by the engagement between the barrier arm 93b and the second notch 46b. Once this condition has been established, the aforementioned relative motion between the detector plate 43 and the drive plate 29 does not take place (unless otherwise the control knob 78 is moved to the MAN or START position thereby to bring the stop edge 50c into the path of travel of the second abutment 43c and, hence, the tonearm 20 is not rotated about the tonearm shaft 20d.

For enabling the stop edge 50c of the rejction link 50 to be positioned in the path of travel of the second abutment 43c of the detector plate 43 in response to the movement of the control knob 78 to the MAN or STOP position, a second protrusion is provided which extends downwardly formed as at 88e in the switching lever 88, which is engageable only with a wing portion 65b formed in the rejection lever 65 opposite to the slant side edge 65a as clearly shown in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 7 and 14a-c, a stop plate 94 is frictionally rotatably carried by a lug 43d on the detector plate 43 by means of a supporting pin 95 secured to said lug 43d of the detector plate 43. A compression spring 96 is loosely mounted on the supporting pin 43 between said lug 43d and said stop plate 94 for imparting friction during the rotation of said stop plate 94. This stop plate has a pair of first and second arms 94a and 94b integrally formed on both sides thereof with respect to the supporting pin 95. The stop plate 94 is operable in the following manner.

Assuming that the drive plate 29 is moved in the direction B together with the detector plate 43 as shown in FIG. 14(A), the stop plate 29 is rotated in the direction as indicated by the arrow K with the first arm 94a abutted against a first notched edge 3e of the base plate 3. Rotation of the stop plate 94 in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow L takes place only when the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 are together moved in the direction A without relative motion therebetween. At this time, the first arm 94a of the stop plate 94 is abutted against a second notched edge 3d of the base plate 3 opposed to said first notched edge 3e as shown in FIG. 14(C) in which condition the second arm 94b of said stop plate 94 obstructs the path of angular travel of an offset plate 103 as will be described later.

On the other hand, in the case where the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 undergo relative motion in the manner as hereinbefore described, no engagement of the first arm 94a of the stop plate 94 with the second notched edge 3d of the base plate 3 takes place as shown in FIG. 14(B) and, consequently, even if the drive plate 29 completes its movement in the direction A, the path of angular travel of the offset plate 103 will not be obstructed by the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94 in a similar manner as in FIG. 14(A).

As shown in FIG. 15, the offset plate 103 is rotatably carried by a supporting pin 104 rigidly secured to the mounting panel 1 and has a stop edge as at 103a, an upwardly bent piece 103b loosely accommodated in an arched slot (not shown) formed in the panel 1 for defining the angular distance through which said plate 103 rotates, and an engagement lug 103c engageable with the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94 only when said stop plate 94 is positioned as shown in FIG. 14(B). This offset plate 103 is normally urged in one direction by a tension spring 105 so as to bring the engagement lug 103c thereof into a position ready to engage with the second arm 94b of the stop plate.

For enabling the idler wheel 9 to be brought to a disengaged position, in which condition no rotational force of the capstan 10 is transmitted to the turntable 7 therethrough, upon rotation of the offset plate 103 against the action of spring 105 with the engagement lug 103 pushed by the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94, a transmission lever 100 is provided and is pivotally carried by a supporting pin 101 rigidly secured to the undersurface of the mounting panel 1. This transmission lever 100 has thereon a bent piece 100a engageable with the stop edge 103a of the offset plate 103, a retaining portion 100b, an operating edge 100c engageable with an actuator 106a of a microswitch 106 secured to the undersurface of the mounting panel 1, a slide pin 100d and a presser portion 100e engageable with the arm member 8 for selectively engaging and disengaging the idler wheel 9 as will be described later. This transmission lever 100 is normally urged by a tension spring 102 about the supporting pin 101 in one direction such that, so long as the control knob 78 is positioned at the neutral or OFF position, the operating edge 100c of said transmission lever 100 depresses the actuator 106a thereby to turn the microswitch 106 off, the bent piece 100a is disengaged from the stop edge 103a of the offset plate 103 and the presser portion 100e thereof presses the arm member 8 so as to disengage the idler wheel 9 from the capstan 10 and the flange of the turntable 7. At this time, the slide pin 100d of said transmission lever 100 is collapsibly engaged in a detent stop 88f formed in the switching lever 88, said switching lever 88 having a pair of first and second cam edges 88g and 88i which are positioned on both sides of said detent stop 88f, one of said cam edges 88i being stepped as at 88h.

The transmission lever 100 is operable in such a way that, when the control knob 78 is moved to either the START position or the MAN or STOP position, the slide pin 100d slides over the corresponding cam edge 88g or 88i from the detent stop 88f, causing the transmission lever 100 to rotate about the supporting pin 161 against the action of the tension spring 102. As said transmission lever 100 is thus rotated, the bent piece 100a thereof is engaged by the stop edge 103a of the offset plate 103 while the presser portion 100e thereof moves out of its engagement with the arm member 8 thereby to permit the idler wheel 9 to engage with the capstan 10 and the flange of the turntable 7. Simultaneously therewith, the operating edge 100c of said transmission lever 100 disengages from the actuator 106a of the microswitch 106 so that the actuator 106a that has been depressed is released thereby to turn the microswitch 106 on. It is to be noted that, once the engagement between the bent piece 100a and the stop edge 103a of the offset plate 103 is established, the transmission plate 100 is locked in position with the spring 102 expanded.

The step 88h on the cam edge 88i is provided for enabling the control lever 78 to be locked in the MAN position once it is moved thereto.

A gear setting lever 97 is rotatably carried by the mounting panel 1 by means of a supporting pin 98 secured to the undersurface of the mounting panel 1, for locking the main gear 12 in a position with the toothless portion 12a thereof in register with the geared collar 6 of the turntable. This setting lever 97 has a hill side, a detent recess and a cam edge respectively formed as at 97c, 97a and 97d and includes an elongated tongue 97b integrally formed therewith. This gear setting lever 97 is normally urged to rotate in one direction about the pin 98 by the action of a tension spring 99 such that the detent recess 97a thereof, when the main gear 12 is not rotated with the toothless portion 12a in register with the collar 6, receives therein a first pin 12c extending downwardly from the main gear 12. This gear setting lever 97 is rotated in the opposite direction against the action of the spring 99 only when the hill side 97c thereof engages with a second pin 12 d extending downwardly from the main gear 12, said second pin 12d being positioned forwardly of said first pin 12c with respect to the direction of rotation of said main gear. The setting lever 97 is operable in such a manner that, as the second pin 12d in the main gear 12 slidably engages to the hill side of said lever 97 during the rotation of the main gear 12, the top of the elongated tongue 97b engages with the retaining portion 100b of the transmission lever 100, causing the latter to rotate against the action of spring 102 with a clearance forming between the bent piece 100a and the stop edge 103a. Subsequently, the second pin 12d falls into the detent recess 97a and immediately escapes therefrom so long as the turntable 7 and hence the main gear 12 is rotated. Upon completion of one rotation of the main gear 12 at which time the toothless portion 12a thereof is registered with the geared collar 6, the first pin 12c is entrapped in the detent recess 97a of the gear setting lever 97 and, therefore, the main gear 12 is locked in one predetermined position.

The microswitch 106 operated in the manner as hereinbefore described is connected in series with the motor (not shown) having its drive shaft rigidly mounted or integrally formed with the capstan 10, as hereinbefore described, for rotating the turntable 7 through the idler wheel 9 when it is in the engaged position.

The record player thus constructed as hereinbefore fully described functions as follows.

Assuming that a plurality of records 28 are mounted on the multi-play turntable spindle and when the automatic performance of thes records one after another is desired, what is necessary is to manually move the control knob 78 to the START position. If the control knob 78 is thus moved to the START position, the switching lever 88 is moved in the direction G as shown in FIG. 15. In this condition, not only is the idler wheel 9 is brought into the engaged position, but also the switch 106 is turned on thereby to rotate the capstan 10, the rotational force of said capstan 10 being transmitted to the turntable 7 through said idler wheel which is in the engaged position. Simultaneously therewith, the retaining portion 100b of said transmission lever 100 is brought into position to permit the gear setting lever 97 to freely pivot about the supporting pin 98 without the tip of the elongated tongue 97b contacting said retaining portion 100b.

The control knob 78 can be automatically returned to the neutral or OFF position by the action of the tension spring 85. Even though the control knob 78 has been returned to the neutral or OFF position, neither the switch 106 is turned off, nor the idler wheel 9 is brought back to the disengaged position. This is because, as shown in FIG. 16, the bent piece 100a of the transmission lever 100 is engaged with the stop edge 103a of the offset plate 103, thus preventing the transmission lever 100 from pivoting about the supporting pin 161 so as to permit the slide pin 100d to engage in the detent stop 88f of the switching lever 88.

On the other hand, as the control knob 78 is moved to the START position, the start lever 89 is pivoted in the direction I with the free end of the feeler 89a thereof pushing the actuator lever 27 in the direction towards the geared collar 6 of the rotating turntable 7, thereby causing the engagement 16b on the actuating link 16 on the main gear 12 to be brought into the path of travel of the projection 6a of the geared collar 6. Subsequently, the engagement between the geared collar 6 and the main gear 12 takes place and a rotational force of the turntable 7 can be, therefore, transmitted to the main gear 12, thus rotating said main gear 12 about the gear shaft 11 in the direction opposite to the rotational direction of said turntable 7.

Upon commencement of the rotation of the main gear 12, the first pin 12c on the main gear 12 escapes from the detent recess 97a, during which the gear setting lever 97 is pivoted against the force of spring 99 about the supporting pin 98 with the elongated tongue 97b thereof being moved to a position such as indicated by the chain line 97b' in FIG. 15.

During one rotation of the main gear 12, the drive plate 29 undergoes one reciprocal movement in the opposite directions A and B as hereinbefore described. HOwever, in view of the fact that, at the time the control knob 78 has been moved to the START position, the rejection lever 65 is rotated against the force of spring 70 with the slant side edge 65a thereof causing the rejection link 50 to pivot about the pin 3f with the result that the stop edge 50a of the rejection link 50 is brought into the path of travel of the second abutment 43c of the detector plate 43, the relative motion between the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 takes place in the manner as hereinbefore described during the movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A.

After the drive plate 29 has been moved a predetermined distance in the direction A accompanying the detector plate 43, the second abutment 43c of the detector plate 43 abuts against the stop edge 50a of the rejection link 50 as shown in FIG. 10(A) and, at the same time, the first abutment 43b of the detector plate 43 abuts against the lower end portion of the inner shaft 46 that has emerged from the bottom opening of the spindle housing 47 under the effect of the load of stacked records 28 resting on the primary support 48. Thereafter, the relative motion takes place between the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 in such a manner that the latter is held stationary while the drive plate 29 moves further in the direction A. On the other hand, incident to the commencement of the movement of drive plate 29 in the direction A, the seesaw lever 72 pivots about the shaft 71 with the record feeder 76 shifting downwardly to permit the inner shaft 46 to descend with the stacked records 28.

Immediately after the inner shaft 46 has been shifted downwardly, the secondary support 49 comes into action to support the stacked records 28 except for the lowermost one of them which rests on the primary support 48.

With the above in mind, as the drive plate 29 moves further in the direction A independent of the detector plate 43, the lowermost end of the lifting rod 35c slides over the inclined surface 33a of the cam member 33 on said drive plate 29 thereby to shift the tonearm 20 upwardly about the transverse spindle 20b while the downward projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 is entrapped in the engagement space defined by the elements 33b, 33c and 51b in the manner as hereinbefore described. Along therewith, the downward shift of the record feeder 76 continues until the drive plate 29 completes its movement in the direction A, during which the hook portion 76a of said feeder 76 engages in the first notch 46a of the inner shaft 46 and then forcibly pulls said inner shaft 46 downwardly thereby to permit the primary support 48 to be withdrawn within the spindle housing 47, with the result that the lowermost one of the records 28 falls by gravity down said spindle housing on to the rotating turntable 7.

It is to be noted that, as the drive plate 29 moves in the direction A, the barrier plate 93, urged by the spring 92, rotates about the pivot 90 with the engagement arm 93a thereof in contact with the portion 74b of the cam plate 74 carried by the drive plate 29. However, this rotation of the barrier plate 93 is subsequently restricted by the first protrusion 88d of the switching lever 88 with which said engagement arm 93a is engaged and, accordingly, the barrier arm 93b of said barrier plate 93 does not enter the rectangular opening 47c of the spindle housing 47.

During the return movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction B, the tonearm 20 is rotated about the tonearm shaft 20d, the angular distance of rotation of said tonearm 20 being defined by the setting of the record size selector knob 60, in the manner as hereinbefore described and, simultaneously therewith, the record feeder 76 is shifted upwardly with the hook portion 76a being subsequently disengaged from the first notch 46a of the inner shaft 46 with the result that the primary support comes into action to support the remaining records while the secondary support is withdrawn within the spindle housing 47.

As hereinbefore described, the return movement of the drive plate 29 does not cause the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94 to engage with the engagement lug 103c of the offset plate 103, but merely causes the rejection link 50 to pivot about the supporting pin 3f until the shallow projection 50e thereof falls into the shaped opening 3b in the base plate 3, thus clearing the stop edge 50a from the path of travel of the second abutment 43c of the detector plate 43.

For a certain period of time thereafter, the lowermost record that has fallen on to the rotating turntable 7 is played. The rotational speed of the turntable proper for the type of the stacked records 28 is defined by the setting of the speed control knob 119 in any known manner.

After the lowermost record has been played and as the pickup stylus 20c enters the lead-out groove of the record, the pin 25 on the auxiliary positioning plate 23 pushes the actuator lever 27 in a similar way to the way said lever 27 is pushed by the start lever 89, whereby engagement between the geared collar 6 of the turntable 7 and the main gear 12 again takes place in the manner as hereinbefore described.

During the subsequent rotation of the main gear 12, a similar operation as hereinbefore described takes place. In other words, it is clear that, during the movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A, the tonearm 20 is shifted upwardly and then brought back to the initial position where said tonearm 20 rests on a tonearm rest 20e while the record next to the lowermost one of the stacked records 28 is permitted to fall on to the rotating turntable 7 and, during the return movement of said drive plate 29 in the direction B, the tonearm 20 is rotated about the tonearm shaft 20d until the pickup stylus 20c is positioned in the lead-in groove of the next lowermost record now on the rotating turntable 7.

Although the subsequent rotation of the main gear 12 is effected by the pivotal movement of the tonearm 20 in the manner as hereinbefore described without the control knob 78 being again moved to the START position as required at the time the record player is initially set in operation, the relative motion between the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 takes place due to the fact that the first abutment 43b of the detector plate 43 is engaged with the lower portion of the inner shaft 46 as hereinbefore described.

Assuming now that the last one of the stacked records 28 has been fed on to the rotating turntable 7, and after the last record has been played out, no load is accordingly imposed on the primary support 48 of the multi-play turntable spindle. Therefore the lowermost end of the inner shaft 46 remains in the spindle housing 47, thus permitting the passage of the first abutment 43b of the detector plate 43 without engaging with the lower end portion of the inner shaft 46. Due to the fact, no relative motion takes place between the drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43 and, accordingly, at the time of completion of the movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A together with the detector plate 43, the stop plate 94 is, as shown in FIG. 14(C), pivoted about the supporting pin 95 in the direction L with the first engagement arm 94a restricted by the notched edge 3d of the base plate 3 while the second engagement arm 94b thereof is conditioned so as to engage with the engagement lug 103c of the offset plate 103.

As hereinbefore described, the engagement between the second engagement arm 94b of the stop plate 94 and the engagement lug 103c of the offset plate 103 causes the offset plate 103 to pivot about the supporting pin 104 against the force of spring 105, with the result that the stop edge 103a thereof disengages from the bent piece 100a of the transmission lever 100. Upon disengagement of said stop edge 103a from the bent piece 100a, the transmission 100 is urged to pivot about the supporting pin 161 by the action of the spring 102. However, at this time, the second pin 12d on the main gear 12 slides over the hill side 97c of the gear setting lever 97, causing the latter to pivot about the supporting pin 98 against the force of spring 99 with the elongated tongue 97b pushing the retaining portion 100b of the transmission lever 100, thus forming the clearance between the bent piece 100a and the stop edge 103a which is now moved away from the path of travel of said bent piece 100a by the engagement between the second engagement arm 94b and the engagement lug 103c. Thereafter, the pivotal movement of the transmission lever 100 about the supporting pin 161 under the force of the spring 102 slowly takes place with the retaining portion 100b thereof in contact with the tip of the elongated tongue 97b until the first pin 12c on the main gear 12 falls in the detent recess 97a of the gear setting lever 97 while the second pin 12d slides down the cam edge 97d of said gear setting lever 97 past the recess 97a.

At the time of completion of one rotation of the main gear 12 in which condition not only the pin 12c is engaged in the detent recess 97a, but also the toothless portion 12a of said main gear 12 is registered with the geared collar 6 without receiving the rotational force of the turntable 7, it is clear that not only the switch 106 is turned off, but also the idler wheel 9 is brought into the disengaged position, thus permitting the various mechanisms of the record player to return to the initial conditions as shown in FIG. 2.

From the foregoing, it has now become clear that, not only a plurality of records mounted on the multi-play turntable spindle in a stacked arrangement can be automatically played, but also the record player can be automatically set to the initial condition after the last one of said records has been played out.

However, if the operation of the record player is desired to be interrupted during the automatic play of any one of the stacked records, what is necessary is to move the control knob 78 to the STOP position past the MAN position. The control knob 78 that has been moved to the STOP position is, upon removal of an external pushing force applied thereto, automatically returned to the MAN position. This is possible because, as the control knob 78 is moved to the STOP position, the switching lever 88 is moved in the direction H while permitting the slide pin 100d on the transmission lever 100 to pass over the step 88h of said switching lever 88 and, upon removal of the external pushing force applied to said control knob 78, said switching lever 88 automatically moves in the direction G by the action of the spring 86, said movement of said switching lever 88 in said direction G being subsequently restricted by the slide pin 100d upon engagement of said pin 100d with said step 88h as shown in FIG. 17, in which condition the control knob 78 is stopped at the MAN position.

On the other hand, upon the movement of the switching lever 88 in the direction H in response to the movement of the control knob 78 to the STOP position, the first kicker 88b of said lever 88 rotates the start lever 89 about the supporting pin 87 so as to cause the actuator lever 27 to move in the direction towards the geared collar 6. Accordingly, it is clear that the engagement between the geared collar 6 and the main gear 12 subsequently takes place in the manner as hereinbefore described. Furthermore, the movement of the switching lever 88 in the direction H permits the first protrusion 88d to move away from the path of travel of the engagement arm 93a of the barrier plate 93 and, therefore, the barrier arm 93b thereof engages in the second notch 46b of the inner shaft 46 through the shaped opening 47c of the spindle housing 47 thereby to restrict the inner shaft 46 from descending in response to the downward shift of the record feeder 76 so that no one of the remaining records in the stacked arrangement will be fed on to the rotating turntable 7.

With the above in mind, during the rotation of the main gear 12 effected after the control knob 78 has been moved to the STOP position, the resultant movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction A causes the tonearm 20 to return to the resting position in such a way that the engaging portion 33c of the cam member 33 pushes the projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 to rotate the latter and the positioning plate 21 about the common tonearm shaft 20d in the direction C. During this process, since no relative motion takes place between said drive plate 29 and the detector plate 43, the hook member 51 does not operate while the stop plate 94 is rotated in the manner as hereinbefore described to establish the condition as shown in FIG. 14(C) at the time of completion of the movement of said drive plate 20 in the direction A accompanying the detector plate 43.

The return movement of the drive plate 29 in the direction B causes the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94 to engage with the engagement lug 103c of the offset plate 103 and, accordingly, it is clear that the various mechanisms of the record player can be restored to the initial conditions as shown in FIG. 2.

It is to be noted that the control knob 78 that has been positioned at the MAN position can be automatically moved to the OFF position. This is possible when the clearance is formed between the bent piece 100a and the stop edge 103a, at which time the slide pin 100d disengages from the step 88h of the switching lever 88, thus permitting the latter to move in the direction G by the action of the spring 85 with the control knob 78 positioned at the OFF position. It is further to be noted that, due to the fact that the transmission lever 100 slowly rotates with the retaining portion 100b in contact with the tip of the elongated tongue 97b of the gear setting lever 97 rotating about the supporting pin 98 urged by the spring 99, the slide pin 100d correspondingly enters the detent stop 88f while the operating edge 100c depresses the actuator 106a of the switch 106. This is advantageous in that no incomfortable noise is generated upon entry of the slide pin 100d into said detent stop 88f of the switching lever 88.

In the foregoing description, the operation of the record player constructed in accordance with the present invention has been described with respect to the plurality of stacked records 28. However, it is to be understood that, even if a single record is mounted on the multi-play turntable spindle, the various mechanisms of the record player individually function in substantially the same manner as hereinbefore described. In the case where only one record is to be played, the use of the single-play turntable spindle inplace of the multi-play turntable spindle is recommended.

The use of the single-play turntable spindle in place of the multi-play turntable spindle shows the utility of the MAN position of the control knob 78 as will be described later. If the multi-play turntable spindle is replaced by the single-play turntable spindle such as indicated by 107 in FIG. 18B, the movement of the control knob 78 to the MAN position from the OFF position enables the tonearm 20 to be manually operated so that the pickup stylus 20c can be brought to anywhere on the single record on the turntable 7 and, after such record has been played out, the various mechanisms of the record player will be returned to the initial conditions.

More specifically, assuming that a single record is mounted on the turntable 7 in alignment with the single-play turntable spindle 107 having, as shown in FIG. 18B, an upper end portion extending through the center hole of said record and the other lower end portion situated within the sleeve 5 and if the control knob 78 is moved to the MAN position where said control knob 78 is temporarily locked by the engagement between the slide pin 100d and the step 88h of the switching lever 88, only the transmission lever 100 is operated such that the switch 106 is turned on and the idler wheel 9 is brought to the engaged position. No engagement between the start lever 89 and the upward projection 27b of the actuator lever 27 takes place and, therefore, no engagement between the geared collar 6 and the main gear 12 takes place. In other words, only the turntable 7 is rotated by the capstan 10, the rotational force of said capstan 10 being transmitted to said turntable 7 through the idler wheel 9 in the engaged position.

Accordingly, the tonearm 20 can be manually operated in any desired manner. However, after the record has been played out and upon approach of the tonearm 20 to the single-play turntable spindle 107, the actuator lever 27 is moved towards the sleeve 5 in the manner as hereinbefore described. Engagement between the geared collar 6 and the main gear 12 subsequently takes place, thus rotating said main gear 12 in the predetermined direction. The subsequent operation is substantially similar to that occurring after the control knob 78 has been moved to the STOP position, as has been described above.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 19 to 23 wherein the transmission lever and the switching lever are respectively modified. FIG. 19 shows the condition wherein the control knob 78 is positioned at the OFF position and, hence, the slide pin 100'd of the transmission lever 100' is engaged in the detent stop 88'f of the switching lever 88' whereby the switch 106 is turned off and the idler wheel 9 is in the disengaged position. FIG. 20 illustrates the condition wherein the control knob 78 is moved to the START position. In this embodiment, the control knob 78 once moved to the START position can be temporarily locked thereat by the engagement of the slide pin 100'd and another step 88'j formed in the switching lever 88'. More specifically, as the control knob 78 is moved to the START position, the first kicker 88'c pushes the start lever 89 causing the latter to rotate in the direction I and is then moved backwards by the action of the spring 85, moving said lever 88' a predetermined distance in the direction H until the slide pin 100'd engages with the step 88'j in which condition the first kicker 88'c separates from the start lever 89 thereby to prevent the feeler 89a from obstructing the path of travel of the upward projection 27b of the actuator lever 27 while said control knob 78 is temporarily locked in the START position. It is to be noted that, due to the fact that the tension spring 102 ensures a firm engagement of the slide pin 100'd with the step 88'j, the movement of the switching lever 88' in the direction H urged by the spring 85 so as to position the control knob 78 in the OFF position can be prevented. During this condition, the record on the turntable 7 can be automatically played.

After the record mounted on the single-play turntable spindle or the last one of the stacked records mounted on the multi-play turntable spindle has been played out, the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94 positioned as shown in FIG. 14(C) in the manner as hereinbefore described pushes the bent piece 100'b of the transmission lever 100' causing the latter to rotate against the force of spring 102 about the supporting pin 101. As the transmission lever 100' is thus rotated to a position as indicated by the chain line 100'd' in FIG. 20, the slide pin 100' d disengages from the step 88'j, thus permitting the switching lever 88' to move in the direction H under the action of the spring 85. Immediately thereafter, the second arm 94b pushing the bent piece 100'a enters a bay 100'b in the transmission lever 100' and, simultaneously therewith, the first arm 94a abuts against the first notched edge 3e of the base plate 3 so that the stop plate 94 is positioned as shown in FIG. 23. Upon the establishment of the position as shown in FIG. 23, the transmission lever 100' is instantaneously rotated by the action of the spring 102 until the slide pin 100'd is entrapped in the detent stop 88'h of the switching lever 88' in which condition the switch 106 is turned off and the idler wheel 9 is brought to the disengaged position while the control knob 78 is returned to the OFF position.

FIG. 21 illustrates the condition wherein the control knob 78 is moved to the MAN position. The control 78 once moved to the MAN position is similarly temporarily locked thereat by the engagement between the slide pin 100'd and the step 88'h of the switching lever 88' in which condition the switch 106 is turned on and the idler wheel 9 is brought to the engaged position. Return of the control knob 78 to the OFF position takes place in a substantially similar manner as described with reference to FIG. 21.

In this embodiment shown in FIGS. 19 to 23, in addition to the automatic return of the control knob 78 to the OFF position, the control knob 78 that has been locked at the START position or the MAN position can be manually returned to the OFF position during the play of the record in which case the slide pin 100'd slides over the step 88'f or 88'h. Accordingly, it is clear that interruption of the play of the record can be achieved only by moving the control knob 78 to the OFF position from either the START position or the MAN position, without returning the tonearm 20 to the tonearm rest 20e.

In the case where the interruption of the play of the record and simultaneous return of the tonearm 20 to the tonearm rest 20e are desired, what is necessary is to move the control knob 78 to the STOP position. If the control knob 78 is moved to the STOP position, the engagement between the geared collar 6 and the main gear 12 takes place in the manner as hereinbefore described and, accordingly, it is clear that, upon completion of the rotation of the main gear 12, the transmission lever 100' can be operated by the second arm 94b of the stop plate 94 in the manner as hereinbefore described, whereby the switch 106 is turned off and the idler wheel 9 is brought to the disengaged position while the control knob 78 resting at the MAN position is returned to the OFF position. The rotation of the main gear 12 in this case causes the tonearm 20 to be automatically returned to the tonearm rest 20e.

A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 24(A) and (B). In this embodiment, one surface of the engaging portion 33c which faces the projection 23a of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 and which contacts said projection 23a when the tonearm 20 is to be shifted to the tonearm rest 20e is inclined at a certain angle .theta. with respect to the imaginary line passing at right angles to the direction of movement of the cam member 33 and, hence, the drive plate 29. The purpose of making the surface of the engaging portion 33c inclined is to slowly rotate the tonearm 20 at the beginning of rotation of said tonearm 20 in the direction C and to rapidly rotate the tonearm 20 at the end of rotation of said tonearm 20 approaching the tonearm rest 20e.

In this arrangement, at the beginning of return of the tonearm 20 to the tonearm rest 20e accompanied by the rotation of the auxiliary positioning plate 23 in the direction C, as shown in FIG. 24(A), the point T of the projection 23a of said plate 23 which is the farthest from the axis of rotation of said plate 23, i.e., the axis of the tonearm shaft 20d, is first contacted by the inclined surface of the engaging portion 33c as the drive plate 29 moves in the direction A and said plate 23 is then rotated in the direction C with said point T in sliding engagement with said inclined surface so that the rotational speed of said plate 23 and, hence, the tonearm 20, is lowered by relation to the speed of movement of the drive plate 29 in an amount corresponding to the angle .theta. of the inclined surface of said engaging portion 33c. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 24(B), at the end of the return of the tonearm 20 to the tonearm rest 20e, the point S of the projection 23a which is the shortest distance from the axis of the tonearm shaft 20d is contacted by the inclined surface and, though the rotational speed of the tonearm 20 is therefore accelerated, the speed of movement of the projection 23a is advantageously lowered so that the tonearm 20 slowly approaches the tonearm rest 20e with no substantial shock generated between said tonearm 20 and said tonearm rest 20e.

Accordingly, from the foregoing, it has now become clear, that, by suitably selecting the shape of the engaging portion 33c, the optimum speed of return of the tonearm 20 to the tonearm rest 20e can be obtained irrespective of the speed of movement of the drive plate 29 which is determined by the shape of the cam groove 12b. This is particularly advantageous in that no impairment of the pickup stylus 20c occurs.

From the foregoing full description of the present invention, it has become clear that the record player constructed in accordance with the present invention has the various capabilities as hereinbefore described. In view of this, none of the of different preferences need to be omitted since the present record player meets the requirement that the various types must individually have.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, such changes and modifications being understood to be within the scope of the present invention unless otherwise they depart therefrom.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic record player, the combination which comprises a tonearm including a pickup stylus interchangeably carried thereby; a turntable; a turntable drive system comprising an electrical motor for rotating said turntable in one predetermined direction when said motor is operated; an operational mode control including a control knob manually movable to any one of start, manual and stop positions; an electrical switch for connecting a suitable power source to said motor; means rotatable between first and second positions and including a spring element for normally urging said rotatable means to said first position in which condition said switch is opened, said rotatable means being rotated to the second position when said control knob is moved either to the start position or to the stop or manual position to close said switch thereby to operate said motor; pivotable means rotatable together with said tonearm connected therewith by means of a tonearm shaft and having a projection; a drive plate reciprocatable and including a cam member rigidly carried thereby at one end thereof; transmission means for transmitting a rotational force of said turntable to said drive plate for causing said drive plate to move in one direction during a first portion of an operation of said transmission means; a lifting rod having a lower end slidably engaging said cam member and an upper end for supporting said tonearm and operable in such a manner that, when said drive plate is moved in said one direction, said lifting rod shifts said tonearm upwardly and, when said drive plate is moved in said opposite direction, said lifting rod is allowed to downwardly shift; a record size selector comprising a selector knob movable among first, second and third detent stop positions, that are respectively associated with standardized diameters of 7, 10 and 12 inches of commercially available records, and at least one positioning plate having stepped edges corresponding to said detent stop positions of said selector knob, said positioning plate being pivotable in response to the movement of said drive plate in said one direction thereby to permit any one of said stepped edges, selected by the setting of said selector knob to the corresponding one of the detent stop positions, to be positioned in the path of angular travel of said projection of said pivotable means for enabling the pickup stylus to be automatically engaged in the lead-in groove of a record to be played; a detector plate relatively slidably carried by said drive plate, said detector plate being movable together with said drive plate when said control knob is moved to the stop position past the manual position and capable of undergoing a relative motion with respect to said drive plate, when said control knob is moved to the start position, in such a way that, after said drive plate is moved in a predetermined distance in said one direction, said detector plate is held stationary and said drive plate is permitted to further move in said one direction, said detector plate including a spring element for urging said detector plate in one direction whereby, after said drive plate has been moved a predetermined distance is said opposite direction said detector plate commences to move together with said drive plate further moving in said opposite direction; escapement means operable, when the control knob is moved to the start position to cuase said transmission means to undergo one cycle of the operation thereof, to rotate the tonearm in one direction from the resting position to another position immediately above the lead-in groove of the record to be played in response to the relative motion of said detector plate with respect to said drive plate, said tonearm after having played said record being returned to the resting position by said escapement means when said drive plate is moved in said one direction during a subsequent cycle of operation of said transmission means caused upon entry of the pickup stylus in the lead-out groove of said record, said escapement means being operatively carried by said drive plate adjacent to said cam member and also operable, when the control knob is moved to the stop position past the manual position while the record is being played, to immediately return said tonearm to the resting position in response to the movement of said drive plate in said one direction caused through said transmission means by manually moving said control knob to said stop position; means for causing the relative motion between said detector plate and said drive plate only when said control knob is moved to said start position; means for locking said rotatable means in said second position when said rotatable means is rotated to said second position; and a stop plate carried by the detector plate and frictionally rotatable between first and second positions, said stop plate being normally maintained in the first position when the relative motion between the detector plate and the drive plate does not take place and rotated to the second position when said relative motion takes place, said stop plate in said second position being capable of engaging with said locking means upon completion of the movement of said drive plate in said opposite direction thereby permitting said switch to be turned off with said rotatable means rotated to said first position.

2. The record player as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lifting rod includes means for giving contact pressure to said pivotable means, when said lifting rod is in the upwardly lifted position with said lower end thereof sliding over said cam member, thereby to prevent said pivotable means and, hence, the tonearm, from fluttering during rotation thereof.

3. The record player as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lifting rod further includes an adjustment device for adjusting the height of the tonearm with respect to the plane of the turntable.

4. The record player as claimed in claim 1, wherein said turntable drive system further comprises an idler wheel, a capstan rigidly mounted on a drive shaft of said motor and having at least three different diameter portions and a speed selector knob manually movable among first, second and third detent positions which respectively correspond to said three different diameter portions of said capstan and represent the standardized speeds of 331/3, 45 and 78 round per minute of rotation of the turntable, said idler wheel capable of being brought into an operative position by said rotatable means, when said control knob is moved either to the start position or to the manual or stop position, thereby to transmit the rotational force of said capstan to said turntable and brought back to an inoperative position when said rotatable means is rotated to said first position.

5. The record player as claimed in claim 4, wherein said idler wheel is provided with an adjustment device for manually adjusting the height of said idler wheel with respect to any one of said different diameter portions of said capstan.

6. The record player as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a cuing device for manually forcibly bringing the tonearm to the upwardly shifted position, said cuing device comprising a pivotably lever pivotable between operative and inoperative positions, a tension spring for urging said pivotable lever to said inoperative position a guide member having one end rigidly connected with the lifting rod, said pivotable lever having one end formed as a handle and the other end slidably engageable with the other end of said guide member whereby, only when said lever is manually pivoted to the operative position against the tension spring with said other end thereof lifting said guide member, the lifting rod is forcibly upwardly lifted and, when said lever is allowed to return to the inoperative position with said other end thereof separating from said guide member, said lifting rod is allowed to downwardly shift.

7. In an automatic record player, the combination which comprises a tonearm including a pickup stylus interchangeably carried thereby; a turntable; a turntable drive system comprising an electrical motor for rotating said turntable in one predetermined direction when said motor is operated; an operational mode control including a control knob manually movable to any one of start, manual and stop positions; an electrical switch for connecting a suitable power source to said motor; means rotatable between first and second positions and including a spring element for normally urging said rotatable means to said first position in which condition said switch is opened, said rotatable means being rotated to the second position when said control knob is moved either to the start position or to the stop or manual position to close said switch thereby to operate said motor; pivotable means rotatable together with said tonearm connected therewith by means of a tonearm shaft and having a projection; a drive plate reciprocable and including a cam member rigidly carried thereby at one end thereof; transmission means for transmitting a rotational force of said turntable to said drive plate for causing said drive plate to move in one direction during a first portion of an operation of said transmission means; a lifting rod having a lower end slidably engaging said cam member and an upper end for supporting said tonearm and operable in such a manner that, when said drive plate is moved in said one direction, said lifting rod shifts said tonearm upwardly and, when said drive plate is moved in said opposite direction, said lifting rod is allowed to downwardly shift; a record size selector comprising a selector knob movable among first, second and third detent stop positions that are respectively associated with standardized diameters of 7, 10 and 12 inches of commercially available records, and at least one positioning plate having stepped edged corresponding to said detent stop positions of said selector knob, said positioning plate being pivotable in response to the movement of said drive plate in said one direction thereby to permit any one of said stepped edges, selected by the setting of said selector knob to the corresponding one of the detent stop positions, to be positioned in the path of angular travel of said projection of said pivotable means for enabling the pickup stylus to be automatically engaged in the lead-in groove of a record to be played; a detector plate relatively slidably carried by said drive plate, said detector plate being movable together with said drive plate when said control knob is moved to the stop position past the manual position and capable of undergoing a relative motion with respect to said drive plate, when said control knob is moved to the start position, in such a way that, after said drive plate is moved a predetermined distance in said one direction, said detector plate is held stationary and said drive plate is permitted to further move in said one direction, said detector plate including a spring element for urging said detector plate in one direction whereby, after said drive plate has been moved a predetermined distance in said opposite direction said detector plate commences to move together with said drive plate further moving in said opposite direction; escapement means operable, when the control knob is moved to the start position to cause said transmission means to undergo one cycle of the operation thereof, to rotate the tonearm in one direction from the resting position to another position immediately above the lead-in groove of the record to be played in response to the relative motion of said detector plate with respect to said drive plate, said tonearm after having played said record being returned to the resting position by said escapement means when said drive plate is moved in said one direction during a subsequent cycle of operation of said transmission means caused upon entry of the pickup stylus in the lead-out groove of said record, said escapement means being operatively carried by said drive plate adjacent to said cam member and also operable, when the control knob is moved to the stop position past the manual position while the record is being played, to immediately return said tonearm to the resting position in response to the movement of said drive plate in said one direction caused through said transmission means by manually moving said control knob to said stop position; means for causing the relative motion between said detector plate and said drive plate only when said control knob is moved to said start position; means for locking said rotatable means in said second position when said rotatable means is rotated to said second position; a stop plate carried by the detector plate and frictionally rotatable between first and second positions, said stop plate being normally maintained in the first position when the relative motion between the detector plate and the drive plate does not take place and rotated to the second position when said relative motion takes place, said stop plate in said second position being capable of engaging with said locking means upon completion of the movement of said drive plate in said opposite direction thereby permitting said switch to be turned off with said rotatable means rotated to said first position; a multi-play turntable spindle a tubular spindle housing a having a lower end portion formed with an opening, an inner shaft having a lower end portion formed with first and second notches, the first one of which is in register with said opening when said inner shaft is upwardly shifted within said spindle housing, a primary support operatively carried by said inner shaft and operable in such a manner that, when said inner shaft is in the upwardly shifted position, said primary support comes into action to support a plurality of records to be played mounted on said turntable spindle and a secondary support operatively associated with said primary support and operable in such a manner that, when said primary support is withdrawn within said spindle housing, said secondary support comes into action to support the stack of records except for the lowermost one of them which is then permitted to fall down said turntable spindle on to the turntable; a spindle drive mechanism including a seesaw lever having one end pivotally connected with a fixed framework and the other end carrying thereon a record feeder, and at least one cam plate rigidly secured to the drive plate and having a substantially arched slot along which said other end of said seesaw lever is guided in response to the movement of the drive plate so as to selectively upwardly and downwardly shift said record feeder, said record feeder having a pivotable hooking member engageable in said second notch of said inner shaft during the downward movement of said record feeder thereby to forcibly lower the inner shaft whereby the lowermost one of the stacked record mounted on the turntable spindle is permitted to fall down said turntable spindle on to the turntable with said primary support withdrawn within said spindle housing and said second support in position to support the stacked records except for the lowermost one of them; and a barrier means for restricting the inner shaft from downwardly shifting when the control knob is moved to either the manual position or the stop position past the manual position while permitting the record feeder to undergo idle operation.

8. The record player as claimed in claim 7, wherein said record feeder includes an adjustment device for manually adjusting the positioning of the inner shaft within said spindle housing to ensure that, when said feeder is upwardly shifted, said inner shaft is upwardly shifted with the secondary support withdrawn within the spindle housing whereby insertion and removal of the records can be facilitated.