GB299334A - Phonographic apparatus for the purposes of foreign conversation or language teaching - Google Patents

Abstract

299,334. Cioffi, E. April 19, 1927. Apparatus specially designed /or purposes of conversation or language teaching; raising, positioning, and lowering sound-boxes; multiple machines.-Consists in phonographic apparatus which is intended for the purpose of enabling a conversation to be carried on between two persons who have no knowledge of each other's language, or which may be used for teaching languages. The apparatus comprises a dial bearing a vocabulary of words or groups of words in one language, a pointer movable over the dial, and mechanism whereby the movement of the pointer suitably positions the sound-box of a gramophone or phonograph upon a special record having the words of the vocabuary as translated into the second language recorded therein in proper order, so that the translation of the word or group of words indicated by the pointer may then be reproduced phonographically. For the purpose of conversation it is proposed to use two such appliances (which may be contained in a single box), each provided with a vocabulary in the user's language, and corresponding translation records. As shown, the lid of a box containing the two gramophones, only one of which is shown in Fig. 1, carries dials a, b on which words are inscribed in two languages, one: dial for each language. A pointer 1 is pivoted in the centre of each dial on a spindle carrying a wheel 2. This gears with a wheel on a worm 4 adapted to engage, when the lid is closed, with a worm-wheel 5 on the tone-arm 11 of the corresponding gramophone. The tonearm is normally held up by a spring 7, but when the sound-box has been suitably positioned, by turning the pointer, it is depressed on to the record by means of a button 8, acting on the tone-arm through a lever 9 pivoted on the lid. Other kinds of mechanism, such as parallel linkwork, may be used for transmitting the movement of the pointers in the required manner to the tone-arms. The words in the vocabularies may be arranged in columns, instead of on circular dials. Modifications are described in which each machine has several turntables, over which the tone-arm can travel successively, to enable larger vocabularies to be used.