U.S. patent number 3,897,069 [Application Number 05/457,792] was granted by the patent office on 1975-07-29 for device for removing dust from a gramophone record.
Invention is credited to Michael Adrian Lee.
United States Patent |
3,897,069 |
Lee |
July 29, 1975 |
Device for removing dust from a gramophone record
Abstract
A device for removing dust from a gramophone record during the
playing thereof includes a support which is arranged to be attached
to the fixed base of a turntable of a record playing apparatus, and
a brush which is arranged to track across the upper surface of a
record mounted on the turntable, the fibres of the brush engaging
in the record groove. The brush is provided on a pick-up nozzle
which forms one end of an air duct means mounted on the support,
the other end of the air duct means being connected in operation to
a vacuum pump.
Inventors: |
Lee; Michael Adrian (Truro,
Cornwall, EN) |
Family
ID: |
10120287 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/457,792 |
Filed: |
April 4, 1974 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Apr 19, 1973 [GB] |
|
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18897/73 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
369/72;
G9B/3.089 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B
3/5845 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G11B
3/00 (20060101); G11B 3/58 (20060101); G11b
003/58 () |
Field of
Search: |
;274/47 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Aegerter; Richard E.
Assistant Examiner: Phillips; Charles E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kirschstein, Kirschstein, Ottinger
& Frank
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A device independent of a tone arm for removing the dust from a
gramophone record during the playing thereof, said device
comprising a support means adapted to have its bottom removably
attached to a reproduction apparatus for the record, a downwardly
directed dust pick-up nozzle, a brush mounted on the end of said
nozzle, which brush is arranged to bear in operation against the
upper surface of the record to support the nozzle, means for
creating a vacuum, air duct means extending from said pick-up
mozzle into and through said support means and thence from above
the bottom of the support means to the vacuum creating means so as
not to interfere with the removable attachment of the device to the
reproduction apparatus, said air duct means being mounted on said
support means in such a manner as to permit movement of said
pick-up nozzle across the upper surface of the record while the
nozzle is being supported by the brush, and the fibres of said
brush being of such cross-section that in operation of said device
the tips thereof engage in the groove of the upper surface of the
record and thereby bring about tracking movement of said pick-up
nozzle across the record as the record is played, said vacuum
creating means serving during such tracking movement to suck dust
from said surface of the record via said air duct means.
2. A device according to claim 1, in which said air duct means
includes a tubular shaft which is rotatably mounted in said support
means, and a flexible tube which forms part of said air duct means
between said pick-up nozzle and the tubular shaft, said flexible
tube being at least partly housed in an arm member which is
pivotally mounted on a support member secured to the tubular shaft,
the axis about which the arm member pivots being substantially
perpendicular to the axis about which the tubular shaft
rotates.
3. A device according to claim 2, including an adjustable collar
which tightly surrounds, but is slidable along, the tubular shaft,
the collar bearing against said support means and serving as a
bearing for the tubular shaft, permitting rotational movement of
the shaft relative to said support means, and also as a means for
adjusting the position of the tubular shaft relative to said
support means.
4. A device according to claim 1, in which said support means has a
permanently magnetized base.
5. A device according to claim 1, in which the fibres of said brush
have a diameter of approximately 0.025 millimetre.
6. The combination of a device according to claim 1, in which the
vacuum creating means is a vacuum pump, and in which the air duct
means includes a flexible tube.
7. The combination according to claim 6, in which the vacuum pump
is mounted in an enclosure adapted to attenuate the noise of the
pump in operation.
8. The combination according to claim 7, in which the vacuum pump
is resiliently mounted in said enclosure on spring means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to obtain high quality reproduction from a gramophone
record, care must be taken in cleaning the record so at to remove
as far as possible all dust which has accumulated on the playing
surface during storage and handling of the record. The present
invention relates to a device for removing dust from the playing
surface of a gramophone record during the actual playing
thereof.
A known device for removing dust from a gramophone record includes
a brush mounted on the end of an arm similar to a gramophone
pick-up arm, the arm being pivotally mounted on a support which is
arranged to be attached to the fixed base of a turntable of a
record playing apparatus. The brush is arranged to rest on a record
to be played, and as the record is played the brush tracks across
the record by virtue of the fibres of the brush engaging in the
record groove. One of the problems experienced with this known
device is that the pressure needed to be exerted by the brush on
the record in order to achieve satisfactory cleaning thereof is
such as to bring about a significant slowing down of the record,
with a consequent adverse effect on the quality of
reproduction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for removing dust from a
gramophone record during the actual playing thereof, the device
including a brush provided on a pick-up nozzle which brush is
arranged to track in operation across the upper surface of the
record. The pick-up nozzle forms one end of an air duct means
mounted on support means which is adapted for attachment to the
turntable base of the reproduction apparatus for the record, the
other end of the air duct means being connected in operation to a
vacuum pump.
In one embodiment of the invention, the air duct means includes a
tubular shaft which is rotatably mounted in said support means, and
further includes a flexible tube which is disposed between the
pick-up nozzle and the tubular shaft. The flexible tube is at least
partly housed in an arm member which is pivotally mounted on a
support member secured to the tubular shaft, the axis about which
the arm member pivots being substantially perpendicular to the axis
about which the tubular shaft rotates. With this embodiment, the
weight of the device supported by the gramophone record is only
about 0.5 gram, compared with about 3 to 5 grams with known
devices. As a result, it has been found that the present device
slows a record down by only about a quarter or third as much as a
known device. Moreover, in view of the lower force exerted by the
brush on the record, very fine fibres may be used for the brush of
the present device, which enables more effective engagement in the
record groove and thereby more efficient cleaning. It has also been
found that by applying suitable sound-proofing techniques to the
vacuum pump, e.g. by mounting it in a sound-attenuating enclosure,
the pump is sufficiently quiet as to be unnoticeable in operation
of the device.
In line with the above discussion, the principal object of the
present invention is to provide a device for removing dust from a
gramophone record during the playing thereof which does not bring
about any significant slowing down of the record.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for
removing dust from a gramophone record by means of a brush having
very fine hairs which make more effective engagement in the record
groove, and thereby effect more efficient cleaning, compared with
known brush devices.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent and fully understood from a reading of the
following description taken together with the annexed drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dust removing device in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a part sectional side elevational view showing the dust
removing device of FIG. 1 mounted on a record playing apparatus,
the section being taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a part sectional, side elevational view showing a vacuum
pump mounted in a sound attenuating cabinet, for use with the dust
removing device of FIGS. 1 and 2.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the dust removing
device includes support means 10 incorporating a cylindrical metal
member 11 having a permanently magnetized base 12 adapted to be
attached by magnetic attraction to a fixed ferromagnetic base 13 of
a turntable 14 of a gramophone record playing apparatus. It should
be understood that other means of attachment to the turntable base
13, such as for example a self-adhesive pad, could be used instead
of the magnetized base 12. The member 11 is provided with a
vertically extending bore 15, in the upper end of which is inserted
a vertically extending bush 16 of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),
the upper end of bush 16 being provided with a circumferential
flange 18 which abuts against the upper surface of the cylindrical
member 11. A stainless steel tubular shaft 20 is rotatably mounted
in the bush 16. The lower end of the tubular shaft 20 communicates
with a horizontally extending bore 22 formed in the lower part of
the cylindrical member 11. A metal connector tube 24 is mounted in
the bore 22, one end of the tube 24 projecting outside the
cylindrical member 11 and being adapted to be connected in
operation to an electromagnetically operated vacuum pump 26 (FIG.
3) by means of a rubber tube 28. An adjustable collar 30 of
plastics material fits tightly around, but is slidable relative to,
a portion of the tubular shaft 20 projecting above the support
means 10. The collar 30 grips the tubular shaft 20 with the lower
surface of the collar 30 bearing against the circumferential
shoulder 18 of the bush 16. It should be understood that the collar
30 serves both as a low friction bearing for the tubular shaft 20,
permitting rotation of the latter relative to the support means 10,
and also as a means for adjusting the height of the shaft 20
relative to the support means 10.
The upper part of the tubular shaft 20 passes through, and is
secured by means of a connector member 34 to, the base 36 of a
horizontally extending metal channel member 38. The upper end of
the shaft 20 communicates via the connector member 34 with a short,
horizontally extending connector tube 40 mounted within the channel
member 38. A generally horizontally extending, rigid arm member 42
of plastics material is pivotably mounted on the channel member 38
so as to extend along, and project beyond both ends of, the channel
member 38. Two resilient stop members 44 are secured to the base of
the channel member 38. The members 44 provide a cushioned support
for arm member 42 when the dust removing device is removed from the
record playing apparatus, the members 44 being respectively adapted
to engage with the lower side edges of the arm member 42 and
thereby prevent those edges from hitting the base of the metal
channel number 38. The arm member 42 is pivotably mounted on the
channel member 38 by means of a horizontal stainless steel pin 46
which extends between the sides of the channel member 38; two PTFE
bushes 48 which are inserted in cylindrical recesses in the arm
member 42 and which are rotatably mounted on the pin 46 serve as
bearing means for the arm member 42. One end of the arm member 42
is secured by means of a connector tube 50 to one end of an
aluminium tube 52 which is bent in such a manner that the end
remote from the arm member 42 projects generally vertically
downwards. The connector tube 50 is connected to the connector tube
40 by means of a flexible tube 54, e.g. of rubber. The flexible
tube 54 is partly housed in a recess 56 extending along the major
part of the length of the arm member 42. A stainless steel
counterweight 58 is secured to the lower surface of that end of the
arm member 42 remote from the aluminium tube 52.
A nozzle member 60 of plastics material is secured to the
downwardly projecting end of the aluminium tube 52. The nozzle
member 60 is provided with a brush 62 formed by nylon fibres
secured to and projecting downwardly from the nozzle member 60, the
fibres being disposed round the whole circumference of the nozzle
member. The fibres have a diameter of approximately 0.025
millimetre.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the vacuum pump 26 is of the reciprocating
type and of conventional design and is enclosed in a wooden cabinet
64, the pump 26 being resiliently mounted on springs 66. The
cabinet 64 serves to attenuate the noise of the pump 26 in
operation and is designed so that the pump 26 is inaudible at a
distance of two metres from the cabinet 64. The outlet 68 of the
pump 26 is connected by means of a flexible tube 70 to an outlet
tube 72 extending through the wall of the cabinet 64. An inlet
orifice 74 in the wall of the pump 26 communicates with the
interior of the cabinet 64 which in turn communicates via an air
filter 76 with an orifice 78 in an inlet means 80 mounted in the
wall of the cabinet 64. The orifice 78 is adapted to be connected
in operation via the flexible tube 28 to the connector tube 24 of
the dust removing device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The pump assembly is provided with an electrical supply lead 82, an
on-off switch 84, and an indicator lamp 86 for indicating when
electrical power is being supplied to the pump 26.
It should be understood that a vacuum pump of the centrifugal fan
type could be used instead of the reciprocating type pump 26.
In operation of the dust remover device, the support means 10 is
attached by means of its magnetic base 12 to the base 13 of the
turntable 14 of the gramophone record playing apparatus, a record
88 to be played and cleaned being in position on the turntable 14.
The mode of attachment of the dust remover device to the record
playing apparatus is such that the nozzle member 60 is disposed
immediately above the record 88 with the brush 62 lightly resting
thereon. The brush 62 is movable across the upper surface of the
record 88, from the periphery of the record to the centre thereof,
by virtue of the rotational mounting of the stainless steel tubular
shaft 20 in the support means 10. Further, by virtue of the
pivotable mounting of the arm member 42 in the channel member 38,
the nozzle member 60 is free to move in operation in a generally
vertical direction and can thereby follow any slight undulatory
movement of the upper surface of the record 88.
Prior to the record 88 being played, the nozzle member 60 is
positioned adjacent the periphery of the record, and the vacuum
pump 26 is switched on. During the playing of the record 88, the
nozzle member 60 tracks across the record towards the centre therof
by virtue of the fibres of the brush 62 engaging in the groove in
the upper surface of the record, and in the course of such tracking
movement the upper surface of the record 88 is cleaned by the brush
62 and by the vacuum pump 26 sucking dust from this surface via the
flexible tube 28 and connector tube 24 and the air duct means
formed by the nozzle member 60, the aluminium tube 52, the
connector tube 50, the flexible tube 54, the connector tube 40, the
stainless steel tubular shaft 20, and the connector member 34.
The apparatus enables the accomplishment of the objects and
advantages mentioned above, but variations of the embodiment of the
invention disclosed herein may occur to those skilled in the art.
It is contemplated that all such variations, not departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention hereof, are to be construed in
accordance with the following claims.
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