US188175A - Improvement in octave and manual couplers for organs - Google Patents

Description

` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. D. PARKER.

OCTAVE AND MANUAL COUPLERS FOR ORGANS.

No. l88,175. Patented March 6,1377.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2..

W. D. PAR KER.

I 'OCFIIAM-EAAND MANUAL COUPLERS FOR ORGANS.

Patented March e, 1877.

UNITED STATES PATENT N E IMPROVEMENT IN OCTAVE AND MANUAL COUPLERS FOR ORGANS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patet No. 188, 175, dated March 6, 1877 application filed December 27, 1876.

To all whom it may conccw:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. PARKER, of Worcester, in the County of Worcester and State o Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in OctaVe and Manual Goupler for Organs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represent's a view in perspective of the key-board mechanism of an organ to which my improved coupler has been applied,

A many of the keys, valve-pitmen, and couplerlevers being removed or broken off in order to more clearly illustrate the working of the device. Figs. 2 and 3 represent detail sectional views taken through the coupler-platform and its supporting-board in a diagonal line parallel with the coupler-levers, Fig. 2, illustratin g the position of the coupler-platform and couplers when "on i. e., ready to produce two notes an octave apart by the touch of a single key; and Fig. 3, the same device when the coupler is offi Fig. 4 represents a detached View of the cam-slotted slide-bar which throws the coupler on or off; and Fig. 5, a view in perspective of the coupler mechanism with the key-board, reed-board, and sounding-board removed, in order to illustrate the internal Construction and arrangement of parts. Fig. 6 represents a view in perspective of my improved coupler applied as a manual coupler to two keys of a double-bank organ.

Heretofore several kinds of octave-couplers have been used for the purpose of causing, by the simple touch of a single key, a note an octave from the key struck to be sounded simultaneously with the note of the key struck; but these are so constructed and arranged as i to leave the weight of the wire or lever constantly testing upon the button of the pitm an, and hence rising and falling with it even when ofi'.

The main objects of my invention are: first, to give complete relief to the action when off; secondly, to keep all points of contact close and ready to move without slack or jarring; and, thirdly, to automatically assist in the opening of the valves in order to make the necessary touch lighter than in other couplers.

My invention for these purposes consists, first, in the use of two coupling-Ievers running diagonally between the key of one note and the pitman of the corresponding note an oc tave apart; secondly, in combining a spring with these levers in such manner that, as the slide-bar is moved in which the cam-groove is formed that operates the cam pin of the swinging platform in order to throw the coupler on, it will gradually depress the levers, so as to cause the inner end of the lower one to rest or bear firmly on the button of the pitman before the coupler is fairly on, and hence ready to move the latter without any slack the moment the key is touched and depressed, it by its pressure also lessening the power required to move the key; and, thirdly, in a novel arrangement and combination of the platform with respect to the levers and to the pitmen and their buttons, whereby, when the coupler is off the inner ends of the levers are kept raised above and free of the pitmen-buttons by the platform, and the pitmen thereby left free to rise and fall without being trammeled by the weight of the end of the levers. Thus the organ is made lighter of touch and free from jarring or other disagreeable noise.

To enable others skilled in the art to make, construct, and use my invention, I will describe its parts in detail.

The keys, key-board, or key-boards, as used in double-bank organs, valves, pitmen, and the Construction of the different parts of reedorgans generally, are the same as those in general use, and, therefore, require no partie ular description, as this invention relates to none of these individually, but is confined solely to the coupler and its adjuncts.

In Figs. 1 and 5 my improved coupler is represented as being applied as an octavecoupler, and in Fig. 6 as a manual coupler 7. e., key-board coupler.

The coupler devices consist of a platform, A, hinged at its front side instead of at its rear to the board B, as in other couplers, and which is provided with a pin, G, which takes into the cam-slot D, (see Fig. 5,) formed in the sliding bar E, and which may be operated in any suitable way known to organ-builders.

On the upper side --of the-rear end ot' the platform A, ear'its'rear edge, are secured the lower ends of a series of stud-pins, a, the upper ends of which are secured to and carry a cap-strip, F, there being one stud-pin for each pairof coupler-levers Gr G'.

Near the front edge 'and upperside of the platform A are seoured a corresponding series of stud-pins, b, the upper ends of which carry another cap-strip, H.

Upon these stud-pins a and b are mounted, in pairs, the respective ends of the couplerlevers G G' in the following manner: The front ends of one pair ot' levers Gr Gr' are upon one ot' the stud-pins b, and the rear ends of the same pair upon that one 'of the'stud-pins a which corresponds to the key of a pitman and valve an octave apart. For this purpose a slot is cut near the front end of the upper lever G, and a simple hole through the lower one G', for the reeeption ot' the studpin b, these openigs being reversed at their rear ends-that is to say, a simple opening in the upper one G, and an' elongated opening for the lower one G', so as to allow free play on the stud-pins to the noving ends of` both levers. These levers are arranged upon these guide-pins between the hingedplatform A and the cap-strips F and H.

To the front end of each of the uppe; levers G is appled a regulating-screw, c, it being so arranged as to stand in a line with the v center of its corresponding key.

Each of the lower levers G on its upper side is made to gradually taper from near its middle toward each of its ends, and is provided with a raised portion, d, at or near the middle, to form a fulcrum, upon which the upper lever G bears.

To the upper side of cap-strip F is secured one end of a series of springs, e, there being one for each pair of levers G G', the free ends of each of which bear upon the upper side of its corresponding lever G, there being a depression formed on the upper side of each of these levers for their reception, so as 'to keep them constantly in place.

These springs are made suffieiently long to bear upon the levers Gr at a pointin front of the i'ulcrum D, thereby exerting a constant pressure upon the rear end of lever Gr', so that the latter shall always tend, when free to do so, to bear upon its corresponding pitman-buttonf.

I represents the pitnen, which operate the valves that admit the air to the reeds, and may be coustructed, arranged, and operated in the ordinary way. frepresent-s the buttons s'ecured thereto, through which motion. isimparted to the pitmen and valves by the coupler-levers G', whenever it is 'desired to connect two octave notes together, as represented in Fig. 2.

The slide-bar E, which,'through its camslot D and the pin G, raises or lowers, as desired, the platform A, may be operated in' any known and suitable manner. A plan of doing this is illustrated in the drawing, Fig.

`5,wherein a pin, J, is represented as being applied to its upper side, and'working in a slot, K, for that purpose. In that'figure, and also in Fig. 2, the coupler is represented as being on, and the levers G and G', ready' -when key K is touched or depressed it not only depresses its own pitman I, and which stands in a line with'and under it, bt at the same time, through its corresponding regulatin g-s'crew c, depresses its corresponding diago nally-,arranged lever Gr, and through it depresses the rear end of its corresponding lever G', which, in turn acting on the buttonf of the pitman I of the key L, opens its valve, thus sounding the two notes simultaneously (and which, as before stated, are an octave apart) by the simple depressiou of the single key K. i

In Fig. 3 the coupler is represented as being ofi'-- that is to say, the platform A has been raised by its pin O being forced, by the movement of slide-bar E, into the upper end of its cam-slot D, the effect of which is to force up the rear and tip down the front ends of the levers Gr and G', and in so doing removing the regulating-screws c from the sphere of action of the keys. This movement also holds the rear end of the lower levers G' in a plane above the normal position of the buttons f ot' their corresponding pitmen I, thereby leaving the latter free to rise and fall accordin g as the action of their keys and valve's may impel them-a point of great practical importance, as'it entirely removes all the jarring and other disagreeable noises incident to the instrument from the use of other styles ot' couplers.

The great practical importance of the springs e in this connection, as arranged, will also be apparent, as the moment the sliding bar commences to move, and the platform Ato descend in order to throw the coupler on, the springs e, acting on the levers Gr, cause the latter, asthe platform yields, to depress the rear ends of levers Gr', until they rest firmly upon the buttons f of the pitmen, and which is accomplished before the coupler has been fully thrown on. For this reason there is never any slack to take up when any of the keys begin to move, but on the contrary both notes commence and end simultaneously with every touch of a key.

In Fig. 6 my improved coupler is represented as being applied as a manual or keyboard coupler, where two banks of keys are used, as in double-bank organs. The only difierence between the two plans is that the levers G and G' instead of running diagonally across from the key of one note to the pitman of a key an octave apart, as in the one case, in this case run parallel with the key, their construction and the mode of operating them in all other respects being the same-that is to say, the front end of the upper lever G is operated by its key acting on the screw c. Lever G in turn acts upon lever G', depressing its rear end, and causing it to depress the pitman l through its button f of the corresponding note of the key of the bank of keys immediately above it.

Various modes of arranging the springs e, so as to act on the levers G, could be described, as, for instance, by sccuring them at one end to the cap-strip H, but it is not deemed necessary so long as they are made to produce the efi'ect, substantially as hereinbefore described.

The regulating-screws c, if desired, may be secured to the under side of the keys, instead of to levers G, but the latter mode is preferred 5 and so with the levers G and G'. They may be modified in various ways, so far as their peculiar Construction, arrangement, and mode of applyin g them is concerned but, as such would not change the principle of my invention, these modes are not deemed unprotected by this patent, so long as the pitmen of the valves, when the couplers are oi, are left entirely free and untrammeled from the action of the couplers. And when the couplers are on, all points of contact between the levers and the pitman-buttons are kept closethat is to say, without slack-and, lastly, so that the touch required to operate the instrument may be lessened by the aid of automatic pressure brought to bear upon the pitmen through levers when the coupler is on.

v Having described my invention, What 1 claim as new in octave or manual couplers of organs, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of two levers, G and G', arranged to operate in the manner substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of a spring, e, with two levers', G and G', arranged to operate in the manner substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of two levers, G and G', arranged to operate snbstantially as described, with a platform, A, hinged at its front side, for the purpose set forth.

4:. The combination and arrangement, substantially as described, of' two levers, G G', with a valVe-pitman, I, and a platform, A, hinged at its front side, so as to act on the ends of said levers which adjoin the pitman, for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination and arrangement, snb-` stantially as set forth, of levers G and G' with a pitman, I, button f, or equivalent device, and a platforn, A, hinged at its front side, so as to operate in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination of a spring, e, and levers G and G', arranged to operate substantially as described, with a pitman, I, and its button f, for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination of a spring, e, two levers, G and G', and a platform, A, all arranged to operate in the manner substantially as described, with a pitman, I, and its tappet or button, f, for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination of the levers G and G with a platform, A, and actuating slide-bar E, the whole being arranged to operate in the manner substantially as described.

9. The combination of a spring, e, levers G and G', with a platform, A, and actuating slide-bar, all being arranged to operate in the manner substantially as set forth.

10. Tle combination of two levers, G and G', arranged to operate substantially as described, a platform, A, hinged at its front side, and its actuating slide-bar with a pitman, I, for the purposes set forth.

ll. The combination of a spring, e, and levers G and G', arranged to operate as described, with a pitman, I and a platform, A, hinged at its front side, and its actuating slide-bar E, for the purposes set forth.

12. In combination with levers G and G', arranged to operate as described, the regulating-screw o, pitman I, slide-bar E, and platform A, hinged at its front side, for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination of a key, k, and its pitman I, with a stud or pin, c, and two levers, G G', arranged to operate upon the pitman I of another key, as L, located an octave apart from the other, in the manner substantially as described.

14. In an octave or manual coupler for an organ, the combination of the following instrumentalities: A key, K, and its pitman, I; two levers, G G', arranged to operate substantially as described; a stud, c, through which the latter are acted upon by the key; a spring, e, so arranged as to constantly tend to depress the lever G upon the tappet or button of its corresponding pitman, a frame or platform, A, hinged on its front side; an actuating slide-bar, E, arranged to operate platform A in such manner that the latter acts on the rear instead of the front end of lever G' and lastly, a pitman, I, of a key, L, an octave apart from the former or actuatingkey, K, s ubstantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM D. PARKER.

Witnesses:

G. W. NGALLS, DAVLD MANNING, Jr.

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