US1011568A - Tracker. - Google Patents

Description

T. P. BRUWN.

TBAOKER. APPLIoATIon num rms-.11, 19u.

Patnted Dec. 12, 1911.

. Lm, Mw.

STATES XTENT OFFICE.

"HEODRE iP. BRO'W'N, 0F VORCESIER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TD SIMPLEX PLAYER ACTION' (10.. OF VORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CURPORATION 0F MAS- SACEUSETTS.

TRACKER.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Applicatfon filed February 11, 1911.

Patented. Deo. 12, 1911.

serial No. 698,122.

To all 'whom 'it concern:

Ble it known that. l', Tnnononn P. B i:mvn, al citiaeiibf the United Stat-es, residing at TVorcesterg in tthfe 'county of Worcester and "Stateva not 'Massachusetts have invented a.

iew'andfu'sful Tracker, of which the fol- 16W ,ing 'is' anspeeitatifon.

" .Th'isfilv ventifirrel tes to that class of pnena'ticf'musical instruments in which e rforated niusid'sheet travels over a tracker avving' openings therein through which the 'riisfdirected'atki th Vpneumaticr for operilting instrument.

' "fAs'swfvellknorvn, owing to the contraction and' expansion of the sheet and other '(Sf'laiilses, ',the I'nusicV sheet frequently wanders tne side' or` 4they other f the line along "Ytrlldhit'is supposed to travel. This results in bringing the perforations in the -n'nlsiicV "Slieet'slif'gl1tly out of registration with the' holes in' the tracker and where the 'sheet Wanders'e great distance it results 'in Vrestrict.ingthe opening provided by the registration of .the music sheet perforations the tr'cler" ducts, thus interfering 'Y'vitlif the effect V"produced So far as l'. am `vaware: theonlyineans which has been profefatieae'sa Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompany ing drawing in whichn,

Figure l is a plan on enlarged scale of a musical instrument, tracker constructedin accordance with this invention showing how the musi-c .sheet travels thereover. Fig. 2 is a further enlarged plan of a portion of the tracker, and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic View on the same scale as Fig. 2 showingihe effect when the music sheet. wanders to one vside and also showing in dotted lines the position of ordinary tracker holes to illustrate the dillerence in effect when the sheet Wanders. The invention is shown as applied to van instrument hav-inge, tracker A overv which a music sheet B is adapted tortravel in a well known way. The music sheet is pro-y vided with the usual perforations B. The tracker instead of being provided with square ducts is shown as provided with openings or ducts A having a main portion of a width not less than the width of the music sheet perforations B and hav:` ing an extension A2 on each side projecting beyond the bod)v portion and adapted to be uncovered by the music sheet perforations :1s the same travels over ther tracker. 'l'hesc extensions of' each hole are shown as on the saine side of the tracker. This results in getting a maximum arca of tracker opening withoutincreasing the real space which the duets take up. lVliile this is a gei'ieral description of the shapeof the tracker ducts, it will be observed by inspection of the drawings that they preferably are made of the shape of a trapezoid and arranged so that the base of each one is arranged on the opposite side of the tracker from the base of the two adjacentopenings so that the tracker ducts are alternatelyar.- ranged valong tl e tracker.;. Eiinthgimre A were 'dubitare s een 's afft; higiene e case the long side of the trapezoidal o 4ening can be made substantially one-nint of In other words, it is substantially equal to the shortest distance between the two adjacent o enings on opposite sides thereof. The o -set will amount in these proportions to about one-sixtieth of an inch which will not affect the time of theV sounding of the notes sufficiently to be observed. To further explain the position and relative location of these openings, it may be said that the bridges or spaces A8 between them are obli ue to the direction of travel of the music si eet and that they are alternately arranged. They are of the same width as in the case of square ducts, that is, wide enough to provide room for the walls of the lead tubes C on the back of. the tracker. Thisgenerally is abouti/27' of an inch. From this arrangement it results that when the music sheet properly tracks, as is indicated in Fig. 1, the offsets A2 are not brou ht into operation but the instrument wili ge played with the same eifect as would be the case with the square tracker holes. If, however, the sheet wanders to one side as indicated in Fig. 3, which shows an amount of wandering greater than usually takes place, the extensions Azx will have the eii'ect of widening the openings which are -uncovered by the perforations so that a' more nearly perfect sounding of the notes will be the result. This is to be compared with the effect when square holes in the tracker are' used, as shownin dotted lines 'in Fig. 3. In thatncase, with the amount of wandering indicated in that figure, the width of the opening uncovered by the mu- -sic sheet perforations would be not over two-thirds of that uncovered in case of the present invention. On account of the tra ezoidal shape of the openings, and of tie fact that the extensions are on both sides of the center but on thesame side of the racket, it makes no diierenoe which way efsheet wanders. In either case the maxi- Enum duct opening is secured. This result obtained because the width of the duct at ,the wide part is substanti, yly equal tothe Shortest space between the two adjacent utzts.' Ili case the sheet w ders enough to alldtv each perforation B- to overlap the duct A at the side, itiwill 'let only a little air into .that channel and as these channels are bled anyway, it will practically not wish to be limited strictly thereto, butl/Vhat I doclaim is 1. A pneumatic musical instrument hav- 1ng a tracker provided with ducts over which a perforated musicsheet is adapted to pass, lsaid ducts having equal s aces between them, each duct having a imension longitudinally of the tracker substantially equal to the shortest distance between the two ducts on opposite sides of it. 2. A pneumatic musical instrument Yhavmg a tracker provided with ducts over which a perforated music sheet is adapted to pass, said ducts having equal spaces betweenthem, each duct having a wide and a narrow art in the face of the tracker, the wide part mg substantially as wide as the shortest distance between the two ducts on opposite sides'of it. 3. A pneumatic musical instrument having a tracker providedv with ducts over which a perforated. music sheet is adapted to pass, each duct having a main portion of a width not less than the width of the music sheet perforations and having a continuous extenslon on eachside, said extensions of each duct being. on the same side of .the tracker.

4. A pneumatic musical instrument havwhich a perforated music sheet is adapted to pass, each duct having a main portion of a width not less than the width of the music sheet perforations and having a continuous extension on each side, the extensions of each two adjacent ducts being on the opposite sides of the center of the tracker. 5. A pneumatic musical instrument havmg a tracker provided iwith ducts over which aperforated., music= sheet is adapted to pass, the 4spaces on the face of the tracker between said ducts being oblique and extending in directions, alternately to the right and left' of the direction of travel of the music sheet. i

(i. A pneumatic musical instrument having a tracker provided withfduct openings instrument` tracker having duct openings' 180 on its surface wider at one part than at therealong, each alternate one of said row another in the direction of the length of the being transversely offset with respect to the tracker. A others.

9. .A pneumatic musical instrument hav- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 15 5 ing a tracker provided with duct openings my hand, in the presence of two subscribing of trapezoidal shape, the Wide bases thereof witnesses. beingalternately arranged, and each alternateopening being transverse'ly'ofset.

10. AST an article of manufacture, a Witnesses: 10 tracker for a p eumatic musical instrument ALBERT E. FAY,

having in' its ace a row of duct openings C. FORREST WEssoN.

TIIEODORE P. BROWN.

Images