US1178618A - Air-governor and expression device for musical instruments. - Google Patents

Description

w. F. BAYER. MR GOVERNOR AND EXPRESSION DEVICE FOR MUSlGAL INSTRUMENTS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5.1913- 1,178,618. Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

INVENTEIR \A/iTNE'SEJEE 1 W W W N by ATTDRNEYFJ m COLUMBIA Pugmomrn 50., WASHINGTON n. c.

W. F. BAYER. AIR GOVERNOR AND EXPRESSION DEVICE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, I913.

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APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5. ISIS.

11 78,6 1 8 v Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

WITNEEIEEZ INVEN'TEIR M m 9 DY M L K THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. C

' .WILLIAM F. BAYER, or BUFFAIiO, NEW YORK.-

AIR-GOVERNOR AND EXPRESSION DEVICE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

A Application filed June 5, 1913.' Serial No. 771,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NVILLIAM F. BAYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York -have invented new and useful Improvements in Air-Governors and Expression Devices for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the air governors or tension regulating devices employed in pneumatic musical instruments for producing a uniform tension in the wind chest regardless of the quantity of wind consumed, and more particularly to governors of this character which are combined with expression mechanism for accenting certain notes or passages of a composition. In some devices. as hitherto constructed, where the accenting devices are associated with such an'air governor the governor-bellows has a tendency to flutter and' produce a disagreeable noise when the accent-valve is opened. i

One of the objects of my invention is'to improve the construction of such' governing and expression devices with a view of overcoming said objection by comparatively simple,- inexpensive and reliable means.'

A further object is to so combine the parts that the expression devices may be operated manually, or automatically by the customary tracker and perforated music sheet.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of "a player-piano embodying the invention, the lower front board of the case being removed. Fig. 2 is a sectional rear view thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical section on line 33, Fig. 6. Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of the governor on line 4-4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the governor detached from the main bellows. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a'sectional perspective view of the air governor. the expression valves and their operating devices. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary transverse section on line 8-8, Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the pneumatic action which controls the automatic accent valve. Fig. 10 is a horizontal section on line 1010, Fig, 9. v Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the v several VIGWS.

1 indicates the pumps of the main suction bellows of the instrument which in the confolding pedals 2.

8 indicates the reservoirs and 1 the lower 7 wind chest.

5 indicates a closed case secured to the front wall of the air reservoir. upper portion of this case is a valve chamher or box 6, preferably made separate from the case for convenience of manufacture. The lower portion or suction chamber 7 of this case not occupied by said box communicates by a port 8 with the airreservoir 4, which port is controlled by a sliding or other suitable valve 9 by which said case may be cut off from the main suction bellows during the rewinding of the usual music sheet (not shown in the drawings). 10 indicates the action'wind chest of the instrument which is connected by a trunk 11 with the valve box 6. This box connects with the interior of a governor bellows or pneumatlc 12 by a port 13 formed in the front wall of the box. while said pneumatic In the; I

communicates with the chamber 7 by a port 14 formed partly in the front wall of the case 5 and partly ina block 15 secured to the front side of said wall within. said bellows The front or movable board 16 of the governor bellows constitutes a'valve which" is adapted to'bear against or-approach more or less closely to the valve-seat formed by the outer face of said block, to equalize the air .tension'in the wind chest, as hereinafter more fully described. The governor bellows has the customary expansion spring 17 for resisting the inward movement of its movable board.

The upper port 13 is controlled by an automatic or check valve 18 which closes inwardly or toward the valve box 5 and which remains open during the ordinary operation of the air governor.

19 indicates an accent port connecting the valve box 6 with the suction chamber 7 and controlled by a manually operated accentvalve 20 The stem of this valve is suitably guided and extends to the side of the case 5. In the preferred construction shown, this valve is connected by a link 21 with a lever 22 which in turn is connected by a link 23 with the arm 24c of a rock shaft 25 provided at its outer end with a lever or 'key 26 for turning it, thisshaft being journaled on the'underside of the key table 27 of the instrument, as best shown in Fig. 8. Preferably this accent valve is constantly ur 'ed to its open position by a spring 28 surrounding a link 29 guided in a fixed bracket 30 and connected with an arm 31 of said rock shaft, this spring being interposed between said bracket and a collar or shoulder 32 of said link, as shown in Fig. 7. This arrangement is desirable in that it re quires the operator to hold the accent valve closed. 7

It will be noted that inasmuch as the wind passes through the case 5 from the wind chest to the mainsuction bellows, the valve box 6 constitutes an inlet chamber, while the remainder of said case constitutes an outlet chamber.

The operation of the parts so far described is as fol-lows: WVhen the instrument is at rest the governor-bellows 12 is expanded and the valve formed by its movable board'is wide open. When the instrument is to play in the normal manner, without the use of the accent or expression device, the cut-0H valve 9 is open and the accentvalve 20 is held closed by means of the key 26. Upon operating the main bellows, air is exhausted from the wind chest 10 through the trunk 11, valve box 6, port 13, governor bellows 12, port 14, suction chamber? and port 8, the governor bellows being collapsed more or less and the regulating port 14 cor-' respondingly restricted, according. to the resistance of the governor-spring17 and'the air tension produced by the main bellows. When the airtension in the wind chest increases, the governor bellows partlycuts oil' the passage of the air through the port-14, andwhen the tension diminishes, the spring 17 expands the governor bellows and opens said port wider, thereby equalizing the air tension in the wind chest and maintaining it practically uniform regardless ofvariations in the wind consumption. During this action, the check valve 18 is opened and held in that position by the air currentfiowing from the wind chest to the air reservoir 4, so long as the accent valve 20 remains closed.

When it is desired to accent one or more notes or. passages, the accent valve '20 is allowed to open-to a greater or less extent under the action of the spring 28, whereupon the main suction bellows acts upon the wind chest directly through the valve box 6, accent port 19, an'dthesuction chamber 7, subjecting the wind chest for the time being to more or less of the high tension in the air reservoir 4, according to the position of the accent'valve. A musical composition can thus be accented or shaded in accordance with the expression marks onxthe music sheet or the fancyofthe performer.

Immediately upon opening the accent valve 20, the valve-l8 closes against its seat and the governor-bellows collapses, its movable board coming in contact with the face of the ported block 15 and remaining against it, so long as the accent valve is kept open, thereby avoiding fluttering or vibration of said board and the objectionable noise incident thereto. Upon closing said accent valve, the governor-spring 17 tends to expand the governor bellows, withdrawing its movable board from the face of the block 15 and opening the port 14. The wind or air current now again passes from the action wind-chest through the valve box 6, port 13,- governorbellows, port 14, chamber 7 and port 8 to the mainbellows, the automatic valve 14 being opened by said current and remaining open until said accent valve is again opened.

In addition to the manually-controlled accent valve 20, the instrument ispreferably provided with an automatic accent-device under. the control of the usual music sheet and tracker. The mechanism shown in the drawings for this purpose is constructed as follows: 33 indicates a supplemental accentport preferably arranged in the bottom of the valve box 6 and adapted to connect said box directly with the suction chamber 7. This port isnormally closed by a supplemental accent valve 34 which in the construction shown, opens upwardly or toward said box. The stem of this valve is guided in bridges 35 and 36 and rests by means of its button 37 upon a pouch or pneumatic 38 covering a chamber 39. arranged .ina board 40 separated from the bottom of the box 6 and said chamber is alternately flushed and exhausted to actuate said pneumatic to open or close said supplemental accent valve, in a manner common to such pneumatic actions. A duct or tube 41 connects said chamber 39 with a chamber 42 formed in a valve-block 43, arranged at one side of the case 5. The chamber 42 is connected-bya port 44 With a flushing passage 45 leading to the atmosphere, and by an opposing port 46 with a suction channel 47 which communicates with the air reservoir 4 by-ports 48 and 49. The flushing and suction ports 44 and 46 are controlled by a doubleheaded valve 50 actuated by a diaphragm 'orzpneumatic 51. The latter covers a chamconnecting it'with the suction channel 47 The pneumatic 38 which controls the sup- This chamber is i plemental accent valve 34 is therefore allowed to remain in its depressed position, as shown in Fig. 4, keeping said valve closed. When an accent perforation of the music sheet registers with the tracker duct leading to the tube 53, the incoming atmosphere raises the pneumatic 51 and the valve 50, cutting off communication between the suction channel or chamber 47 and the pneumatic 38 and flushing the chamber under the latter. The atmosphere entering the'flushing port 44 now raises the pneumatic 38,

opening the supplemental accent valve 34 and admitting the high air tension in the chamber 7 into the valve box 6 with which the wind chest is connected, thereby accenting the notes, as hereinbefore described in connection with the opening of the manually-operated accent valve 20. During the use of this automatic accenting device, said hand operated accent valve is kept closed.

A cut off valve 54 is applied to the port 49, so that this port as well as the other cut off port 8 may be closed during the rewinding of the music sheet. The two cut off valves 9 and 54 are preferably operated simultaneously from a rock shaft 55 similar to the shaft 25, by suitable intermediate connections. c

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a case having inlet and outlet chambers adapted to be connected with a wind chest and an exhaust device,

respectively, said chambers being separatedby a wall containing an accent port, a valve controlling said port, a governing pneumatic communicating with said inlet and outlet chambers and controlling the passage of the air therethrough, and means for automatically shutting off communication between said inlet chamber and said pneumatic when said accent valveis opened.

2. In a device of the character described,

the combination of a case having inlet and outlet chambers adapted to be connected with a wind chest and an exhaust device, respectively, said chambers being separated by a wall containing an accent port, a valve controlling said port, a governing pneumatic communicating by inlet and outlet ports with said chambers and controlling said outlet port, and an automatic valve controlling said inlet port and arranged to open toward said pneumatic.

3. The combination of a wind chest and an exhaust device, of a case having an inlet chamber connectedwith the wind chest and an outlet chamber connected with the exhaust device, said chambers being separated by a wall containing an accent port, a valve controlling said port, a governing pneumatic communicating with said inlet and outlet chambers and controlling the passage of the air therethrough, and automatic means for shutting off communication between said inlet chamber and said pneumatic when said accent valve is opened.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a case having inlet and outlet chambers adapted to be connected with a wind chest and an exhaust device, respectively, said chambers being separated by a Wall containing an accent port, a valve applied to said port, automatic means controlling said accent-valve, a governing pneumatic communicating with said inlet and outlet chambers and controlling the passage of the air therethrough, and an automatic valve arranged to shut off communication between said inlet chamber and said pneumatic when said accent valve is opened.

Witness my hand this 2nd day of June,

WILLIAM F. BAYER. Witnesses:

O. F. GEYER, E. M. GRAHAM.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Wuhington, D. O.

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