Automatic record reproducer apparatus

Claim 2

In record changer and cycling apparatus with which there is provided a record-support spindle means for supporting a plurality of records of permissively intermingled sizes in stacked relationship for individual release and playback by stylus means following release for support in a playback position upon a rotatable turntable having controllable speed drive means, the said spindle means and the turntable axis of rotation being substantially axially aligned, and in which the stylus is carried by an elevatable and arcuately movable pickup arm adapted in its active position to rest on and follow the grooving of the playing record, the combination comprising, a single control camshaft means, means to limit the said camshaft rotation to one rotational cycle preparatory to playing the lowermost record of the stacked plurality, the said single shaft controlling the complete sequence of the operational cycle, means operable during a selected portion of the rotation of the control camshaft for moving the said lowermost record of the stacked group along the spindle to a temporary support position between the record support means and the turntable, means also controlled from the control camshaft for moving the pickup arm arcuately toward the turntable axis to a position to abut the record held in the temporary supporT position for contacting the record edge and thereby sensing the record size, a further means operated from the control camshaft for retracting the support means holding the record in the temporary position for sensing to permit the record to move to the turntable, means also driven from the control camshaft for subsequently moving the pickup arm toward the turntable and locating the stylus carried by the pickup arm upon the deposited record, and means to interrupt rotation of the control camshaft during the record-play period.

Claim 3

The record changer claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for moving the pickup arm comprises a frictional drive means, and means to permit slip in the drive during the period within which record sizing occurs.

Claim 4

The record changer claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, a record-supporting spindle axially aligned with the turntable drive axis for supporting a group of records for play, said spindle including an internally positioned movable lever adapted for releasing records individually from the stacked plurality at times of lever movement, cam means on the control shaft for pivoting the internally positioned lever to arrest movement of each released supported record from the stack at a size-testing position following the initiation of rotation of the control shaft, and means for subsequently releasing the size-tested record to the record turntable.

Claim 5

The combination claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, follower means to elevate the pickup arm from the turntable surface during record-recycling operation.

Claim 6

The apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprising drive means associated with the driven turntable for driving the control shaft.

Claim 7

The apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, cam control means to release a size-sensed record to the turntable following size measurement, and means to delay return of the pickup arm to the plane of the record turntable for a time period sufficient to permit the size-sensed record to position itself upon the turntable.

Claim 8

The record changer claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, means to coordinate the substantially constant rotational speed of the control shaft to the rotational speed of the turntable.

Claim 9

Record changer apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inward drive means for the pickup arm comprises cam means supported upon the control shaft, and a frictionally engageable element carried upon the pickup arm support means which said cam means is adapted to engage for a selected angular portion of the shaft rotation and wherein slippage between the cam means and the frictionally engageable element is permitted during the period of angular rotation of the cam exceeding that required to bring the pickup arm adjacent to the record periphery.

Claim 10

The apparatus claimed in claim 8 comprising, in addition, a slotted stop means associated with the frictionally movable means, a movable arm adapted to engage the slotted member following slippage between the cam drive and the frictionally driven element thereby to limit the arcuate movement of the pickup arm and stylus toward the turntable axis following contact between the pickup arm and the periphery of the record next to be played thereby to gauge the record diameter, and cam means supported upon the control shaft for subsequently releasing the engagement of the arm within the slotted element to permit a movement of the pickup arm and stylus to a record-contacting position for the selected record size.

Claim 11

The record changer claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, a record-supporting spindle axially aligned with the turntable drive axis, said spindle including an internally positioned movable lever adapted for releasing records individually from the plurality at times of lever movement, and cam means on the cam control shaft for pivoting the internally positioned lever to release stacked records one by one from the plurality stacked to a size-testing position following the initiation of rotation of the control shaft.

Claim 12

The record changer apparatus as claimed in claim 10 comprising, in addition, means to align the record supporting spindle to one angular position only relative to the turntable.

Claim 13

The apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, record compressor means to hold the records closely stacked and substantially parallel prior to play.

Claim 14

The apparatus claimed in claim 12 comprising, in addition interlock means between the lever to control the repeat cycle and the movement of the record compressor means.

Claim 15

The apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, cam and lever means to control the repeat cycle.

Claim 16

The apparatus claimed in claim 14 comprising, in addition cam means to preclude initiation of the repeat cycle prior to repositioning the stylus member in the record grooving.

Claim 17

The drive means claimed in claim 1 comprising a gear means supported upon the driven control shaft and having one arcuate portion mutilated to preclude drive and means to drive the control shaft from the turntable drive through the said gear during periods of time within which unmutilated portions of the mutilated gear are moved to engage the turntable drive.

Claim 18

The drive means claimed in claim 16 comprising, in addition, cam-controlled spring-operated means driven from the control shaft for rotating the mutilated gear following a completion of an operational sequence for an angle such that gear reengagement is provided between the driving shaft of the turntable and the driving pinion of the control shaft.

Claim 19

The apparatus claimed in claim 17 comprising, in addition, cam operated lever means connected to rotate the pickup arm away from the turntable axis following a completion of record play.

Claim 20

The apparatus claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, cam-operated means driven from the control shaft for returning the pickup arm to a position toward the turntable center and means for temporarily interrupting the return path for a time period sufficient to test the diameter of the record next to be reproduced, and cam control means to return the pickup arm and stylus to the plane of the record turntable for record contact following record size testing.

Claim 21

The apparatus claimed in claim 19 comprising, in addition, cam-controlled means to place the pickup arm stylus at substantially the initiation point of record grooving at the time of return of the pickup arm to the plane of the last previous size-sensed record.

Claim 22

The apparatus claimed in claim 20 comprising, in addition, cam-controlled switch means to arrest operation of the cycling means following the completion of play of the lowermost stacked record.

Claim 23

The combination claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, trigger means to initiate operation.

Claim 24

The combination claimed in claim 22 comprising, in addition, spring-controlled trigger means to initiate operation.

Claim 25

The combination claimed in claim 22 comprising, in addition, manually operated trigger means for starting operation.

Claim 26

The combination claimed in claim 24 wherein manually operated trigger means comprises a releasable lever means, and means normally to hold the lever in a state of rest.

Claim 27

The apparatus claimed in claim 25 comprising, in addition, means driven from the turntable rotating means to control the trigger lever movement.

Claim 28

The apparatus claimed in claim 24 comprising, in addition cam and lever means to control the time period of reinitiation of the record play cycle.

Claim 29

The apparatus claimed in claim 27 comprising, in addition, switching means to control the drive period.

Claim 30

The apparatus claimed in claim 28 wherein the switching means comprises two switches parallelly connected, cam means to control one of the switches to close at a selectEd time and to hold the switch closed until the drive is again disengaged after recharge.

Claim 31

The apparatus as claimed in claim 28 wherein means is provided with the second switch means for closing the said switch while the pickup arm is operative, and means for reopening the said second switch when the pickup arm is in a rest position.

Claim 32

In record-changer apparatus wherein flat records of permissively different randomly chosen sizes are adapted to be stacked and moved one by one in stacking order from a record support means to a playing position on a rotary turntable where a stylus element carried upon a movable pickup arm is adapted to track the record grooving between the start and finish positions thereby to play back the recording thereon, the combination comprising, a single control camshaft, means to rotate the control camshaft through an angle of 360* within a selected time interval between a completion of play of one record and a start of play of the next record for conditioning the apparatus for the playback, elevating means driven from the control camshaft for raising the pickup arm and its stylus from a record-contacting position during the said selected time interval, means also driven from the control camshaft during its rotation following pickup arm elevation for moving the pickup arm and its stylus outwardly from the axis of the turntable to a position beyond the periphery of the largest diameter record to be played, means operated from the control camshaft at a time period when the pickup arm is positioned outwardly from the turntable axis for shifting the lowermost support record from its initially supported position to a second supported position between the initial position and the turntable, means driven from the said control camshaft at a time when the record is in the second supported position for moving the pickup arm in its elevated position inwardly toward the turntable axis with the stylus following approximately a radial path toward the turntable axis to a point of contact at the record edge to sense record diameter at which time the drive for said pickup arm temporarily slips and further movement of the pickup arm is arrested, means also operating under control of the control camshaft to release the sensed record from its second position of support during the period of arrest of movement of the pickup arm to place the record upon the turntable for reproduction, means also controlled from the control camshaft to move the pickup arm and its stylus to a contacting position on the grooved portion of the record following size-testing and then to free the pickup arm to permit the stylus to follow the record groove path, and means to interrupt rotation of the control shaft following stylus contact with the grooved portion of the record.

Claim 33

In record-changer apparatus wherein flat records of permissively different randomly chosen sizes are adapted to be stacked and moved one by one in stacking order from a record support means to a playing position on a rotary turntable where a stylus element carried upon a movable pickup arm is adapted to track the record grooving between the start and finish positions thereby to play back the recording thereon, the combination comprising, a single control camshaft, means to rotate the control camshaft through an angle of 360* within a selected time interval between a completion of play of one record and a start of play of the next record for conditioning the apparatus for the playback, elevating means driven from the control camshaft for raising the pickup arm and its stylus from a record-contacting position during the said selected time interval, means also driven from the control camshaft during its rotation following pickup arm elevation for moving the pickup arm and its stylus outwardly from the axis of the turntable to a position beyond the periphery of the largest diameter record to be played, means operated from the control camshaft at a time period when the pickup arm is positioned outwardly from the turntable axis for shifting the lowermost support record from its initially supported position to a second supported position between the initial position and the turntable, means driven from the said control camshaft at a time when the record is in the second supported position for moving the pickup arm in its elevated position inwardly toward the turntable axis with the stylus following approximately a radial path toward the turntable axis to a point of contact at the record edge to sense record diameter at which time the drive for said pickup arm temporarily slips and further movement of the pickup arm is arrested, means also operating under control of the control camshaft to release the sensed record from its second position of support during the period of arrest of movement of the pickup arm to place the record upon the turntable for reproduction, means also controlled from the control camshaft to move the pickup arm and its stylus to a contacting position on the grooved portion of the record following size-testing and then to free the pickup arm to permit the stylus to follow the record groove path, and means to interrupt rotation of the control shaft following stylus contact with the grooved portion of the record.

Claim 34

The record changing apparatus claimed in claim 31 comprising, in addition, a drive member supported for rotation with the turntable and turning concurrently with the turntable, a driven member supported upon the end of the control shaft and arranged for engagement with the said drive member thereby to be rotated, said driven member having a region wherein for a selected angle its rotation by the drive means is interrupted following engagement, and means to establish the engagement between the driving and driven means following each record play.

Claim 35

The record changer claimed in claim 32 which also includes means to produce an abrupt initial angular rotation of the control camshaft at time periods following completion of record play when at least one additional record is stacked for play, the produced rotation being of the order of 5 percent of one 360* cycle of rotation of the control shaft, and means to provide a substantially constant speed of rotation of the control camshaft for the remainder of the angle completing the full 360* rotation of a cycle.

Claim 36

The record changer claimEd in claim 31 which also includes means to provide an abrupt rotation of the initial angular movement of the order of 5 percent of one 360* cycle of rotation of the control shaft, and means to provide a substantially constant speed of rotation of the control shaft for the remainder of the angle completing the full 360* rotation of a cycle.

Claim 37

In record changer apparatus wherein flat records of permissively different randomly chosen sizes are adapted to be moved one by one from a stacking position on a record support means to a playing position on a driven rotary turntable where a stylus element carried upon a movable pickup is adapted to be supported to track the record grooving between start and finish positions thereby to play back the recording thereon, the combination comprising, a single cam control shaft positioned to extend in a plane substantially parallel to the record support, means to rotate the cam control shaft through an angle of 360* over a selected time interval for conditioning the apparatus for the record playback, cam means driven from the cam control shaft for elevating the pickup arm and its stylus from a record-contacting plane for the time interval between an end-of-play and a start-of-play position for playback, another cam means also driven from the cam control shaft during its rotation following pickup arm elevation for moving the pickup arm and its stylus outwardly from the axis of the turntable with the stylus following approximately a radial path relative to support of the pickup arm, a further means operated from the cam control shaft at a time period when the pickup arm is positioned outwardly from the turntable axis for shifting the lowermost supported record from its initially supported position to a second supported position between the initial position and the turntable, means driven from the cam control shaft at a time when the record is in the second supported position for moving the pickup arm in its elevated position inwardly toward the turntable axis with the stylus following the said approximately radial path toward the turntable axis to a point where the arm contacts the record edge in its inward movement, at which contact point the drive for said pickup arm temporarily slips and movement of the pickup arm is arrested, means to release the record from its second position of support following edge contact by the pickup arm when further movement of the pickup arm is arrested so that the record is adapted to fall gravitationally to the turntable, means provided by the cam control shaft and operative following the record drop for continuing limited movement of the pickup arm inwardly through its drive means with the stylus moving along the said approximately radial path toward the turntable axis to a temporary locking position coordinated with the diameter of the sensed record, said position being that which aligns the stylus with the outer edge of the grooved portion of the record, further cam means driven by the cam control shaft for subsequently disengaging the temporary locking means, means to permit the stylus carried by the pickup arm to move to a contacting position on the grooved portion of the record following said disengagement and then to free the arm for movement along the grooved path toward the final tracking position, means to interrupt rotation of the control shaft following stylus contact with the grooved portion of the record, and means for conditioning the control shaft during the period of its rotation for repeating the cycle following a movement of the pickup arm stylus to the innermost grooved portion of the record.

Claim 38

In record changer apparatus wherein flat records of permissively different randomly chosen sizes are adapted to be moved one by one from a stacking position on a record support means to a playing position on a driven rotary turntable where a stylus element carried upon a movable pickup is adapted to be supported to track the record grooving between start and finish positions thereby to play back the recording thereon, the combination comprising, a single cam control shaft positioned to extend in a plane substantially parallel to the record support, means to rotate the cam control shaft through an angle of 360* over a selected time interval for conditioning the apparatus for the record playback, cam means driven from the cam control shaft for elevating the pickup arm and its stylus from a record-contacting plane for the time interval between an end-of-play and a start-of-play position for playback, another cam means also driven from the cam control shaft during its rotation following pickup arm elevation for moving the pickup arm and its stylus outwardly from the axis of the turntable with the stylus following approximately a radial path relative to support of the pickup arm, a further means operated from the cam control shaft at a time period when the pickup arm is positioned outwardly from the turntable axis for shifting the lowermost supported record from its initially supported position to a second supported position between the initial position and the turntable, means driven from the cam control shaft at a time when the record is in the second supported position for moving the pickup arm in its elevated position inwardly toward the turntable axis with the stylus following the said approximately radial path toward the turntable axis to a point where the arm contacts the record edge in its inward movement, at which contact point the drive for said pickup arm temporarily slips and movement of the pickup arm is arrested, means to release the record from its second position of support following edge contact by the pickup arm when further movement of the pickup arm is arrested so that the record is adapted to fall gravitationally to the turntable, means provided by the cam control shaft and operative following the record drop for continuing limited movement of the pickup arm inwardly through its drive means with the stylus moving along the said approximately radial path toward the turntable axis to a temporary locking position coordinated with the diameter of the sensed record, said position being that which aligns the stylus with the outer edge of the grooved portion of the record, further cam means driven by the cam control shaft for subsequently disengaging the temporary locking means, means to permit the stylus carried by the pickup arm to move to a contacting position on the grooved portion of the record following said disengagement and then to free the arm for movement along the grooved path toward the final tracking position, means to interrupt rotation of the control shaft following stylus contact with the grooved portion of the record, and means for conditioning the control shaft during the period of its rotation for repeating the cycle following a movement of the pickup arm stylus to the innermost grooved portion of the record.

Claim 39

The record changer claimed in claim 39 comprising, in addition, means to coordinate the substantially constant rotational speed of the cam control shaft to the rotational speed of the turntable.

Claim 40

The record-changing apparatus claimed in claim 36 comprising, in addition, A worm drive member supported for rotation with the turntable and turning concurrently with the turntable, a driven pinion supported upon the control camshaft and arranged for engagement with the said worm thereby to be rotated, said pinion having an absence of pinion teeth for a selected angle of its periphery, whereby rotation of the pinion by the drive worm is interrupted due to the absence of driving pinion teeth following engagement of the teeth and the worm through a selected angle, and means to establish the engagement period between the worm and driven pinion following each record play.

Claim 41

The record-changing apparatus claimed in claim 37 wherein the driven pinion is supported upon the end of the controlled camshaft adapted for engagement with the teeth of the driving worm for the turntable.

Claim 42

The record changer claimed in claim 35 wherein the means to drive the camshaft control includes means to produce an abrupt initial angular shaft rotation at time periods following completion of record play when at least one additional record is stacked for play, the produced rotation being of the order of 5 percent of one turning cycle of rotation of the control shaft, and means to provide a substantially constant speed of rotation of the control shaft for the remainder of the angle completing the full cycle of rotation.

Claim 43

The record changer claimed in claim 39, including, in addition, means to store mechanical energy during the driving period of the control camshaft rotation for release at selected time periods, a yoke means connected for driving the energy storing means, a cam means on the cam control shaft for shifting the position of the yoke means between limits for energy storage and for triggering for energy release, and means operated under the control of the pickup arm movement at the end of record play during which high pitch grooving on the record produces rapid movement of the pickup arm for releasing the stored energy under control of the yoke thereby to jog the control shaft through a limited angle of turning to reengage the drive member with the driven control shaft.

Claim 44

In record changer and cycling apparatus with which there is provided a spindle having means for supporting a plurality of records of permissively intermingled sizes in stacked relationship for individual release and playback by a stylus following release to a driven rotary turntable for support in a playback position, the said spindle means and the turntable axis of rotation being substantially axially aligned, and in which the stylus is carried by an elevatable and arcuately movable pickup arm and is adapted in its active position to rest on and follow grooving of the playing record, the combination comprising, a single control camshaft means adapted to make one rotational cycle following the playing of a record and preparatory to playing the next record of the plurality, the said control camshaft having thereon a multiplicity of cams for controlling the complete sequence of the change cycle, one cam means operable following a rotation of the control shaft means to a selected angular position within its complete rotational cycle when the pickup arm is moved away from the record turntable for moving a portion of the spindle means to transfer the said lowermost record of the stacked group along the spindle to a temporary support position upon the spindle between the record support means and the turntable, contact means for moving the pickup arm from its position away from the turntable arcuately toward the turntable axis to a position to abut the edge of any record held between the initial support position and the turntable for contacting the record edge and thereby sensing the record size, further means operated from the control camshaft for retracting the support means holding the record in the sensing position to permit the record to fall gravitationally along the spindle to the turntable for the remaininG distance between the sensing position and the turntable surface during further control shaft rotation, means driven from the control camshaft for continuing the inward arcuate movement of the pickup arm toward the turntable axis following record drop for locating the stylus carried by the pickup arm directly above an outer grooved area of the deposited record following movement of the record to the turntable, means for moving the pickup arm downward in the last-named position until the stylus contacts the grooved record surface, and means to interrupt rotation of the control camshaft during record-play period.

Claim 45

In record changer and cycling apparatus with which there is provided a spindle having means for supporting a plurality of records of permissively intermingled sizes in stacked relationship for individual release and playback by a stylus following release to a driven rotary turntable for support in a playback position, the said spindle means and the turntable axis of rotation being substantially axially aligned, and in which the stylus is carried by an elevatable and arcuately movable pickup arm and is adapted in its active position to rest on and follow grooving of the playing record, the combination comprising, a single control camshaft means adapted to make one rotational cycle following the playing of a record and preparatory to playing the next record of the plurality, the said control camshaft having thereon a multiplicity of cams for controlling the complete sequence of the change cycle, one cam means operable following a rotation of the control shaft means to a selected angular position within its complete rotational cycle when the pickup arm is moved away from the record turntable for moving a portion of the spindle means to transfer the said lowermost record of the stacked group along the spindle to a temporary support position upon the spindle between the record support means and the turntable, contact means for moving the pickup arm from its position away from the turntable arcuately toward the turntable axis to a position to abut the edge of any record held between the initial support position and the turntable for contacting the record edge and thereby sensing the record size, further means operated from the control camshaft for retracting the support means holding the record in the sensing position to permit the record to fall gravitationally along the spindle to the turntable for the remaininG distance between the sensing position and the turntable surface during further control shaft rotation, means driven from the control camshaft for continuing the inward arcuate movement of the pickup arm toward the turntable axis following record drop for locating the stylus carried by the pickup arm directly above an outer grooved area of the deposited record following movement of the record to the turntable, means for moving the pickup arm downward in the last-named position until the stylus contacts the grooved record surface, and means to interrupt rotation of the control camshaft during record-play period.

Claim 46

In record changer and cyclicing apparatus with which there is provided a spindle having means for supporting a plurality of records of permissively intermingled sizes in stacked relationship for individual release to a support position in which playback by a stylus occurs following release and wherein a record-supporting turntable is driven at a chosen speed, the stylus member being adapted in its active position to rest on and follow the record grooving and being carried by an elevatable and arcuately movable pickup arm, the combination comprising a single control camshaft means adapted to make one rotational cycle during the period between completion of one record play and that of the next record of the stack and during the rotation to release the lowermost record of the stack, a plurality of cam means on the said control shaft and follower means for each cam for collectively controlling the complete sequence of the cycle in which the record play is initiated, follower means operated from one of the cams on the shaft for controlling the removal of the lowermost record of the supported and stacked group to transfer the said record to the turntable as the next record to be played, cam-controlled follower means operable at a selected angular position in the complete rotational cycle of the camshaft for moving the lowermost record of the stacked group to a temporary support position between the position of stacking and the turntable, means for moving the pickup arm arcuately toward the turntable axis to a position temporarily to abut the record held between the stack position and turntable for contacting the record edge and thereby sensing the record size, means operated from the control shaft for retracting the support means holding the record in the sensing position to move the record along the spindle to the turntable for the remaining distance between the sensing position and the turntable during further control shaft rotation, means for moving the pickup arm substantially vertically downward following record size-sensing until the stylus contacts the record surface grooving, means to interrupt rotation of the control shaft and associated cams during a record-play period, and means normally to reinitiate the control following the play of all records until such time as the last record of the stack has been played.

Claim 47

In record changer and cyclicing apparatus with which there is provided a spindle having means for supporting a plurality of records of permissively intermingled sizes in stacked relationship for individual release to a support position in which playback by a stylus occurs following release and wherein a record-supporting turntable is driven at a chosen speed, the stylus member being adapted in its active position to rest on and follow the record grooving and being carried by an elevatable and arcuately movable pickup arm, the combination comprising a single control camshaft means adapted to make one rotational cycle during the period between completion of one record play and that of the next record of the stack and during the rotation to release the lowermost record of the stack, a plurality of cam means on the said control shaft and follower means for each cam for collectively controlling the complete sequence of the cycle in which the record play is initiated, follower means operated from one of the cams on the shaft for controlling the removal of the lowermost record of the supported and stacked group to transfer the said record to the turntable as the next record to be played, cam-controlled follower means operable at a selected angular position in the complete rotational cycle of the camshaft for moving the lowermost record of the stacked group to a temporary support position between the position of stacking and the turntable, means for moving the pickup arm arcuately toward the turntable axis to a position temporarily to abut the record held between the stack position and turntable for contacting the record edge and thereby sensing the record size, means operated from the control shaft for retracting the support means holding the record in the sensing position to move the record along the spindle to the turntable for the remaining distance between the sensing position and the turntable during further control shaft rotation, means for moving the pickup arm substantially vertically downward following record size-sensing until the stylus contacts the record surface grooving, means to interrupt rotation of the control shaft and associated cams during a record-play period, and means normally to reinitiate the control following the play of all records until such time as the last record of the stack has been played.

Claim 48

The record-changer apparatus claimed in claim 42 comprising, in addition, manual means to recycle the selection means and camshaft rotation thereby to omit from the automatic cycle manually selectable records.

Claim 49

The record player claimed in claim 42 wherein the intermingled records are each of a character to be reproduced at like speed; and means to change the turntable drive speed selectively.

Claim 50

A record-cycling apparatus for controlling the reproduction of prerecorded messages by a stylus element tracing into the groovings on a record element, where the stylus is carried upon a movable arm controllably adapted to contact a range of selected character on the record between its edge and center regions under conditions where the record and stylus are supported for relative movement with respect to each other upon a turntable, which comprises, in combination, means to rotate the turntable and, with it, the supported record, a control shaft and means associateD therewith to drive the record-supporting turntable, a plurality of cam elements secured to the control shaft and to turn therewith under preselected conditions, a cam follower means for contacting each separate cam element, control means for initiating camshaft rotation at selected time periods and, with it, rotation of the cam elements, a pickup arm and reproducing stylus element supported to be positioned substantially adjacent to the turntable, means provided by one of said cam follower means to bring the stylus into contact with the record surface from an elevated position of the pickup arm at a selected position in its grooves and at a selected time and record groove position of the record upon the turntable, a further cam follower means for elevating the arm and stylus above the record following a selected period of contact, and means to reproduce the recording on the contacted grooved record portion.

Claim 51

A record-cycling apparatus for controlling the reproduction of prerecorded messages by a stylus element tracing into the groovings on a record element, where the stylus is carried upon a movable arm controllably adapted to contact a range of selected character on the record between its edge and center regions under conditions where the record and stylus are supported for relative movement with respect to each other upon a turntable, which comprises, in combination, means to rotate the turntable and, with it, the supported record, a control shaft and means associateD therewith to drive the record-supporting turntable, a plurality of cam elements secured to the control shaft and to turn therewith under preselected conditions, a cam follower means for contacting each separate cam element, control means for initiating camshaft rotation at selected time periods and, with it, rotation of the cam elements, a pickup arm and reproducing stylus element supported to be positioned substantially adjacent to the turntable, means provided by one of said cam follower means to bring the stylus into contact with the record surface from an elevated position of the pickup arm at a selected position in its grooves and at a selected time and record groove position of the record upon the turntable, a further cam follower means for elevating the arm and stylus above the record following a selected period of contact, and means to reproduce the recording on the contacted grooved record portion.