Floating Head Shell Tone Arm Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tangentially tracking tone arms, especially those with servo motor drives, suffer from tracking errors due to inward forces, leading to excessive record wear and sound distortion during playback, as they require initial deviation before correcting and 'crabbing' across the record.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a 'Floating Head Shell' and 'Cradle' components that eliminate tracking errors by utilizing frictional force between the stylus and record groove, eliminating the need for active servos and reducing the translation required for tangential tracking by approximately 50%, while the cradle and head shell combination uses inward force to drive the tone arm across the record.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If servo motor drive is used to control tone arm movement, then tracking accuracy can be maintained, but tracking errors still occur due to inward force causing the tone arm to crab across the record disk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the servo motor from the tone arm assembly, extracting the active correction mechanism that causes tracking errors. The tone arm is designed to be passively driven solely by the stylus grooving action, eliminating the servo's tendency to crab across the record while maintaining tracking accuracy through proper mechanical design.
Solution Approach 2:
The tone arm assembly is designed to be self-driven by the frictional force between the stylus and the record groove. The inward force generated by the offset head shell design provides the necessary driving force, allowing the tone arm to follow the groove without external active control systems that would introduce tracking errors.
2Force
If offset head shell design is used, then inward force is generated to drive tone arm, but excessive wear of record disk and distortion of sound occur
Solution Approach 1:
The head shell is designed to be movable relative to the tone arm body, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. This mobility enables the head shell to optimize its offset position to generate sufficient inward force for driving the tone arm while preventing excessive inward force that would cause record wear and sound distortion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adjusts the offset parameter of the head shell to an optimal value that generates adequate inward force for tone arm driving without exceeding the threshold that causes harmful effects. The movable design allows continuous adjustment of this parameter during operation to maintain optimal performance.
3Ease of operation
If active servo is used to correct tracking errors, then tone arm can be controlled, but the servo requires initial deviation before correction causing crabbing motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent completely removes the servo motor and active control mechanism from the tone arm assembly. The tracking control is achieved through passive mechanical design, eliminating the complexity of servo systems and their associated crabbing motion that requires initial deviation before correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The tone arm assembly uses the natural frictional force between the stylus and record groove to drive itself without active control. The inward force from the offset head shell design provides the necessary propulsion, allowing the system to self-correct tracking without requiring servo intervention that would cause crabbing motion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures precise tangential tracking without servo assistance, reducing record wear and distortion by allowing the tone arm to follow the groove accurately, maintaining the stylus in the ideal center position and minimizing the impact of inward forces.
Implementation Method 1
driven across said record disk solely by the frictional force between the stylus of said transducer cartridge and said modulated groove in said record disk
Implementation Method 2
The introduction of a 'Floating Head Shell' and 'Cradle' components that eliminate tracking errors by utilizing frictional force between the stylus and record groove
Data Source
AI summary
A pivoting, passive servo controlled, self propelled and tangentially tracking tone arm, featuring a floating head shell/transducer assembly that tracks the groove in a disk-record independently of the tone arm itself and utilizing the so-called inward force to propel the tone arm across the disk record.