US 4,361,880 AGranted

Programmable automatic record player

AssigneeVictor Company of Japan, Ltd.

InventorsMasatsugu Kitamura, Hideo Onoye, Tsuyoshi Ono, Fumiaki Ohno, Yukihiro Kishima, Yutaka Morita

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Abstract

A pickup arm is equipped with a photo sensor assembly for detecting non-recorded portions on a disk. The sensor is located in such a position that horizontal distance between the stylus tip and the detecting point of the sensor measured in the direction of the radius of the turntable is substantially constant throughout the possible rotational angle of the arm. The rotational angle of the arm is measured and is modified by a given angle corresponding to the above mentioned distance. When this distance deviates from a standard value on replacement of the same with another, the variation may be readily corrected by manipulating a potentiometer. Prior to performing an automatic playback, the disk is scanned by the sensor and signals indicative of the arm angles corresponding to the non-recorded portions are stored. After scanning, the arm is controlled by comparing the actual angle of the arm with the prestored angles, to place the stylus on a right position on the disk to perform automatic playback in accordance with programmed information.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A programmable automatic record player comprising:

(a) a turntable arranged to be rotated by a turntable drive motor;
(b) a tonearm equipped with a pickup having a stylus, a vertical position control motor and a horizontal position control motor for controlling vertical and horizontal angular displacement of said tonearm;
(c) a photo sensor assembly mechanically connected to said tonearm for sensing non-recorded portions on a phonograph disk placed on said turntable, said photo sensor assembly being positioned so that the point sensed thereby is slightly closer to the center of said turntable than is the tip of said stylus, and the locus of said sensed point substantially coincides with the locus of said stylus tip when said tonearm is moved horizontally, said photosensor assembly having an output signal;
(d) first means for detecting the horizontal angular displacement of said tonearm;
(e) second means for modifying the detected horizontal angular displacement by a predetermined angle corresponding to a predetermined distance between said sensed point and the tip of said stylus;
(f) third means for storing an output signal of said first means in response to the output signal of said photosensor assembly so that angle information data from said first means corresponding to said non-recorded portions are respectively stored;
(g) fourth means for selecting a datum prestored in said third means;
(h) fifth means for comparing the output signal of said second means with a selected datum from said fourth means, said fifth means having an output signal;
(i) sixth means for storing data related to programming of playback of recorded portions of the phonograph disk said data being read out for controlling of said fourth means;
(j) seventh means for producing driving currents respectively applied to said vertical position control motor and to said horizontal position control motor, said seventh means controlling said tonearm in response to the output signal of said fifth means;
(k) eighth means for controlling said seventh means so that said photosensor assembly scans the surface of said phonograph disk prior to programmably playing back the recorded portions of the phonograph disk, said eighth means reading said data from said sixth means for further controlling said seventh means so that said recorded portions of the phonograph disk are played back in the programmed sequence;
and
(l) ninth means for manually changing said predetermined angle corresponding to the predetermined distance when the actual distance between said sensed point and the tip of said stylus differs from said predetermined distance.

10 more elements

A programmable automatic record player comprising:

(a) a turntable arranged to be rotated by a turntable drive motor;
(b) a tonearm equipped with a pickup having a stylus, a vertical position control motor and a horizontal position control motor for controlling vertical and horizontal angular displacement of said tonearm;
(c) a photosensor assembly mechanically connected to said tonearm for sensing non-recorded portions on a phonograph disk placed on said turntable, said photosensor assembly being positioned so that the point sensed thereby is slightly closer to the center of said turntable than is the tip of said stylus, and the locus of said sensed point substantially coincides with the locus of said stylus tip when said tonearm is moved horizontally, said photosensor assembly having an output signal;
(d) first means for detecting the horizontal angular displacement of said tonearm;
(e) second means for modifying the detected horizontal angular displacement by a predetermined angle corresponding to a predetermined distance between said sensed point and the tip of said stylus;
(f) third means for storing an output signal of said second means in response to the output signal of said photosensor assembly so that angle information data from said second means corresponding to said non-recorded portions are respectively stored;
(g) fourth means for selecting a datum prestored in said third means;
(h) fifth means for comparing the output signal of said first means with the selected datum from said fourth means, said fifth means having an output signal;
(i) sixth means for storing data related to programming of playback of recorded portions of the phonograph disk, said data being read out for controlling said fourth means;
(j) seventh means for producing driving currents respectively applied to said vertical position control motor and to said horizontal position control motor, said seventh means controlling said tonearm in response to the output signal of said fifth means;
(k) eighth means for controlling said seventh means so that said photosensor assembly scans the surface of said phonograph disk prior to programmably playing back the phonograph disk, said eighth means reading said data from said sixth means for further controlling said seventh means so that said recorded portions of the phonograph disk are played back in the programmed sequence;
and
(l) ninth means for manually changing said predetermined angle corresponding to the predetermined distance when the actual distance between said sensed point and the tip of said stylus differs from said predetermined distance.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.