Record player program selector

Claim 2

Program selector apparatus for a record player of the type having a turntable supported on a movable carrier which is actuable to move the turntable into and out of a housing, and having a tone arm which is movable across the surface of a record on said turntable and controllable to play back a selected one of plural programs recorded on said record in separate segements spaced apart from each other by respective inter-program gaps, said apparatus comprising: inter-program gap detecting means for detecting the location of each inter-program gap on said record and for producing an inter-program gap signal representing said location as said turntable is moved into said housing; selecting means for selecting a program to be played back, said selecting means selecting an inter-program gap signal representing the location on said record of said selected program; tone arm position detecting means for detecting the position of said tone arm as said tone arm moves across the surface of said record and for producing a tone arm position signal representing the position of said tone arm along said record; and control means for comparing said tone arm position signal to said selected inter-program gap signal and for producing a control signal in response to said comparison to cause said tone arm to play back the selected program.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said inter-program gap detecting means comprises counting means for generating counts as said turntable is moved into said housing; sensing means for sensing the inter-program gaps on said record; and storage means for storing the count generated by said counting means when an inter-program gap is sensed; the stored count representing the location of a respective inter-program gap.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising reference means on said carrier and sensible by said sensing means when said carrier moves said turntable to a reference position; and reset means for resetting said counting means to a predetermined count when said reference means is sensed by said sensing means.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said sensing means comprises photodetecting means fixedly mounted on said housing for discriminating between recorded program information and inter-program gaps on said record, and for producing a sense signal when an inter-program gap is sensed.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said photodetecting means further produces a sense signal when the leading edge of said record is sensed thereby as said carrier moves said turntable into said housing.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said counting means comprises an index having indicia thereon; pick-up means for sensing said indicia and for generating a counting pulse in response to each sensed indicium; one of said index and pick-up means being mounted on said housing and the other being mounted on said carrier so as to be relatively movable with respect to each other; and a pulse counter coupled to said pick-up means for counting the count pulses generated thereby.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said pick-up means comprises an optical pick-up for optically sensing said indicia.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said tone arm position detecting means comprises an index having indicia thereon; pick-up means for sensing said indicia and for generating a count pulse in response to each sensed indicium; one of said index and pick-up means being coupled to and movable with said tone arm and the other being fixed with respect to said tone arm; and a pulse counter coupled to said pick-up means for counting the count pulses generated thereby to provide a tone arm position signal.

Claim 10

Program selector apparatus for a record player of the type having a turntable supported on a movable carrier which is actuable to move the turntable into and out of a housing, and having a tone arm which is movable substantially radially across the surface of a record on said turntable and controllable to play back a selected one of plural programs recorded on said record in separate segments spaced apart from each other by respective inter-program gaps, said apparatus comprising: a sensor fixedly disposed relative to said carrier for sensing said inter-program gaps on a record as said carrier moves said turntable into said housing; first count pulse generating means for generating first count pulses as said carrier moves said turntable into said housing, each first count pulse representing a predetermined distance of movement of said turntable; first counter means for counting said first count pulses to produce a changeable count representing distances along a radius of said record on said turntable; storage means for storing the count of said first counter means when each inter-program gap on said record is sensed, each stored count representing the radial location of a respective inter-program gap; selecting means for selecting a program to be played back by selecting a stored count; second count pulse generating means for generating second count pulses as said tone arm moves across said surface of said record, each second count pulse representing a predetermined radial distance of movement of said tone arm; second counter means for counting said second count pulses to produce a changeable count representing distances along a radius of said record; and control means for detecting when the count of said second counter means corresponds to said selected stored count to produce a control signal for causing play back of the program recorded at the location on said record which has been reached by said tone arm.

Claim 11

Program selector apparatus for a record player of the type having a turntable supported on a movable carrier which is actuable to move the turntable into and out of a housing, and having a tone arm which is movable substantially radially across the surface of a record on said turntable and controllable to play back a selected one of plural programs recorded on said record in separate segments spaced apart from each other by respective inter-program gaps, said apparatus comprising: a sensor fixedly disposed relative to said carrier for sensing said inter-program gaps on a record as said carrier moves said turntable into said housing; first count pulse generating means for generating first count pulses as said carrier moves said turntable into said housing, each first count pulse representing a predetermined distance of movement of said turntable; first counter means for counting said first count pulses to produce a changeable count representing distances along a radius of said record on said turntable; storage means for storing the count of said first counter means when each inter-program gap on said record is sensed, each stored count representing the radial location of a respective inter-program gap; selecting means for selecting a program to be played back by selecting a stored count; second count pulse generating means for generating second count pulses as said tone arm moves across said surface of said record, each second count pulse representing a predetermined radial distance of movement of said tone arm; second counter means for counting said second count pulses to produce a changeable count representing distances along a radius of said record; and control means for detecting when the count of said second counter means corresponds to said selected stored count to produce a control signal for causing play back of the program recorded at the location on said record which has been reached by said tone arm.