US1204679A

US1204679A - Automatic player-piano.

Info

Publication number: US1204679A
Application number: US66323411A
Authority: US
Inventors: Philip Jacob Meahl
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1911-12-01
Filing date: 1911-12-01
Publication date: 1916-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 1933-11-14

Description

P. J. MEAHL.

AUTOMATIC PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED Dec. 1. 1911.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

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P. J. MEAHL.

AUTOMATIC PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FI LED DEC. 1. 191:

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

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fiAtty P.L MEAHL AUTOMATIC PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I, Ian.

1 204,679. Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

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P. J. MEAHL. AUTOMATIC PLAYER PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED 020.1.1911. 1,204,679. Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

' W 6% AtifyJ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP JACOB MEAHL, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY.

' AUTOMATIC PLAYER-PIANO.

Application filed December 1, 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PHILIP J. MEAHL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Player-Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic player pianos, and the object of my invention is to provide a new and improved accenting device for player pianos whereby at the will of the operator certain notes may be struck with greater force than normal or with less force than normal in various gradations.

A further object of my invention is to provide a new and improved mechanism of this kind which is simple, strong, durable and reliable and effective in action.

In the accompanying drawings in which like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures: Figure 1 is an elevation of part of my improved accenting mechanism, parts being broken away and others shown in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical detail cross sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the valve box at the ends of the keyboard partly shown in vertical section. Fig. l is a perspective view of part of the key-slip in front of the keys and containing the controlling buttons and levers. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another part of the keyslip and push buttons and levers therein. Fig. 6 is a vertical elevation of one of the valve controlling boxes at the end of the keyboard, the front of this box being removed. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the keyboard and my attachment, and other parts of the piano and casing also shown in plan view. Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the movable board in an intermediate position.

The playing mechanism is contained in a box or compartment 1 in which the striker pneumatics 2 are arranged in two horizontal tiers, each striker pneumatic being provided at its rear end on its movable board with a toe or projection 3 which can act upon and raise an action abstract 4, which can also be actuated in the Well known manner by means of a key 5. As the two hori- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Serial No. 663,234.

zontal tiers of the action are alike it will only be necessary to describe one.

The fixed board 6 of a striker pneumatic is preferably arranged horizontally and while one half of this board forms the fixed board of the main striker pneumatic 2 the remaining or front half of the board forms the fixed board of a pneumatic 7 which is shown collapsed in the upper part of Fig. 2, and expanded in the lower part of Fig. 2. The

movable boards

8 and 9 of these two pneumatics 2 and 7 are made integral and as shown are at an obtuse angle to each other, so that when the pneumatic 2 is expanded the pneumatic 7 is collapsed and vice versa and when the pneumatic 7 is expanded the pneumatic 2 is collapsed. The movable board is thus angular, that is to say, its parts are in two planes at an angle to each other and hereinafter when I use the word angular in relation to the movable board of the bellows, I do not mean to define the outline such as quadrilateral, which is also angular, but intend to define the shape of the board as being one in which two of its planes are at an angle to each other. The movable board 9 of the pneumatic 7 also constitutes the movable board of a pneumatic 10, the fixed board 11 of which is beneath this pneumatic and it therefore will be seen that when the pneumatic 2 is expanded the pneumatic 10 is also expanded and when the pneumatic 2 is collapsed the pneumatic 10 is also collapsed and the pneumatic 7 is expanded. I thus have one fixed board and two united movable boards for the three pneumatics, but the attachmentfor operating the abstract or other part of the mechanism is connected with the movable board of the pneumatics 2 only. For each three pneumatics, such as above described, a flexible tube 12 leads from the tracker 112 of conventional construction and this tube 12 is connected with a vertical duct 13 leading to a double bellows 14 having the two

movable boards

15 and 16 respectively, the movable board 16 being of such length as to extend under the stem 17 of a double valve 1819 and the shorter and upper movable board 15 being beneath the stem 20 of a valve 21 which controls a duct 22 leading from the atmosphere or from the suction chamber 23 to the bellows 2. 116 represents a bleed hole which when the double bellows 1a is collapsed is closed by a valve 117 on the extended forward end of the movable board 16 of the double bellows 1 1. r

A passage 21- is connected either with the suction chamber 23 or with the atmospheric air accordingly as the valve stem 17 is lowerect or raised and this passage 2a: is connected by a tube 25 with an L-shaped duct 26 leading to the pneumatic 7. The lower part of the duct 13 is connected by a tube 27 with a recess beneath a pouch 29 in a chamber 30 and this pouch can lift the stem 31 of a valve 32 which controls the connection between the suction chamber 30 and a passage 33 leading to the pneumatic 10.

The neck 34: projecting froni'the front of the casing 1 is connected by a transverse duct 35 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and located in the front wall of the box or chamher 1 with a series'of passages 36 in the front wall of the casing, which passages are substantially vertical and have their lower ends connected with'the chambers 30 of the lower series and their upper ends connected with the chambers 30 of the upper series of valve mechanisms, so that the air in the several chambers 30 connected with said neck may be exhausted or rarefied. The passages 36 are preferably divided into groups 1 of twelve corresponding to one octave. Of course they may be divided into groups of greater or less passages 36, but I prefer octaves'so that one neck is always provided for an octave or group and when such neck is connected by mechanisms to be described later on with the air exhausting means the air is exhausted from the chambers 30 of the valve mechanisms pertaining to one octave.

Each neck 3% is connected by a suitable tube or duct 134 with a neck 37 Fig. 3, projecting from a box orchamber 38 which is divided by partitions 39 into a number of compartments, namely one for each neck 37. As shown in Fig. 7 there are four such tubes 134 at each side of the tracker and therefore each box or chamber 38 lo- I cated at the end walls of the piano is divided into four compartments each. 7

Each neck 37 leads to a chamber i0, which is normally closed by a valve 11, the stem of which rests on a pouch 42, over a recess 43,

connected by a passage H with a primary valve mechanism to of conventional construction. Through ports 46 air is admitted into compartments 17.

keys. Each chamber is closed at the top by a spring-seated valve 59, the stem of which terminates in a button projecting from for the four lo'wer octaves, and the buttons 5, 6, T, 8 for the four upper octaves, and in this key-slip 58 a lever 161 is pivoted which may be used for controlling the expression device 'or for other purposes.

A horizontal sliding port rail 63, Figs. 1 and is provided with a series of ports 6a which can register with the duct 26, there being one such rail for each horizontal row of ducts 26. Each rail is connected at one end by a bar with a cross piece 66 in a box 67 and from said cross piece '66 a connecting rod 68 extends to and is attached to the movable board 69 of a bellows 70, which movable board is connected by a rod 71 with avertical rock shaft 72, from an arm of which a connecting rod 73 extends to the handle lever 62. Branch pipes 74 of the tubes may lead to a corresponding number of holes in the tracker 112, which may register with the corresponding slots in the music sheet in the well known manner, for automatical control of the divisions.

The'operation is as follows: Normally the valves 59 and a1 are seated, Fig. 3, and the necks 37are cut off from the air exhausting means. By means of the openings, Fig. 2 and ducts 33, the pneumatics 1O are'in communication with atmospheric air and can readily be collapsed when the corresponding bellows 2 are collapsed by exhausting the air from the latter. This condition prevails during normal playing. If now a music slot in the music sheet registers with a ductin the tracker, air passes through the duct in the tracker, through the corresponding tube 12 and duct 13, and expands thedouble bellows 11 whereby the two

movable boards

15 and 16 are raised. The corresponding valve '21 is raised and thereby the communication between the atmosphere and the striker pneumatic 2', through the channel 22 is interrupted and at thesame time communication between the striker penuniatic 2 and the suction chamber 23through the channel 22 is established, whereby the striker pneumatic 2 is instantly collapsed and the piano hammer operated in the well known manner. At the same time the movable board 16 of the double bellows 1% raises the stem 17 and thereby seats the valve 19and 'unseats the valve 18 permitting atmospheric airto pass throughthe tube 25 and duct 26, to the bellows 7 which is thereby expanded at the same time that the bellows 2 is collapsed and without offering any resistance to suchcolc'il lapsing. As soon as the corresponding duct the

movable boards

15 and 16 of the bellows 1 1 drop, the valve 18 is seated, the valve 19 is unseated and b means of the duct 26., tube 25, the bellows '7 is connected with the suction chamber 23, and at the same time the valve 21 is seated and the bellows 2 is connected with the atmosphere. Thereby the bellows 7 is collapsed and the bellows 2 expanded and the parts brought to their original positions and no spring is required to expand the bellows 2. The action of the bellows is'extremely rapid and there is practically no resistance offered. This permits of extremely rapid repetition.

hen the blow to be delivered is to be softer than normal, the port rails 63 are so shifted as to partly close the ducts 26, that is to say, the ports 6 1 in said rails are brought partly out of register with the ducts 26, the

reduced passes thus formed offering resistance to the entrance of atmospheric air into the bellows 7 and thus weaken the power of the collapsing bellows 2. By means of the handle lever 62 the operator can at any time shift the port rails 63 more or less, thereby reducing the velocity of the throw, and thus the power effect of the collapsing bellows 2, more or less.

When it is desired to play fortissimo in any one octave or section the corresponding button is depressed or air is admitted autom atieally from the note sheet through the branch tube 7% whereby the corresponding

valves

59 and 41 are raised and t ie air is exhausted from the corresponding chambers 30, and the corresponding valves 82 are raised by the atmospheric airpassing through the tubes 12, the ducts 1 3, and tubes 27, so that now air is also exhausted from the bellows 10 at the same time that it is exhausted from the corresponding bellows 2, and thus the force of the blow is increased or substantially doubled.

Having described my invention what i.

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a pneumatic piano player, the combination of two fixed boards and a movable board between the two fixed boards and three sets of flexible folding walls uniting the movable board to the two fixed boards to constitute three bellows, substant'ally as set forth.

2. In a pneumatic piano player, the combination of a fixed board and a movable board which has an angle between two edges and three sets of flexible folding walls connecting the angular movable board with the fixed board to constitute three bellows, sul stantially as set forth.

3. In a pneumatic piano player, the combination with two fixed boards and a movable board between the fixed boards and three sets of flexible folding walls uniting the movable board with the two fixed boards,

thus forming three bellows, of means for ex hausting the air from two of the three bellows and at the same time admitting air into the third bellows, substantially as set forth.

at. In a pneumatic player piano, the combination with two fixed boards and a movable board between the two fixed boards and three sets of flexible folding walls uniting the movable board with the two fixed boards, thus forming three bellows, of means for exhausting air from the two bellows on opposite faces of the said movable board and at the same time admitting air into the third bellows, substantially as set forth.

5. In a pneumatic player piano, the combination of a fixed board and a movable board hinged to each other, between the ends of said boards, two sets of flexible folding walls uniting the movable and fixed boards at opposite sides of he hinged connection between the boards, means for exhausting ir from one bellows thus formed, and for admitting air into the other bellows thus formed at the same time, and means for ad justing the size of the opening for admitting air into one of said bellows of said pair, formed between the fixed and movable boards, independent of the other bellows, substantially as set forth.

6. In a pneumatic player piano, the combination of a fixed board and a movable board hinged to each 0th r at a point between the ends of said boards, two sets of flexible folding walls, uniting the movable and fixed boards at opposite sides of the hinged connection between the two boards, means for exhausting air from one bellows thus formed and for admitting air into the other two bellows thus formed at the same time, and means for adjusting the size of the opening for admitting air into the one of said bellows formed between the fixed and movable boards, independent of the other bellows, and devices for operating the means for varying the size of said ducts from the front of the piano player, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with a series of bellows, divided into sets of three cooperating bellows, a tracker having ducts, a connec tion for each set of three bellows with a single tracker duct, valve mechanism controlled from the tracker duct for controlling the admission of air into or the exhaustion of air from the said bellows, and means for varying the size of the duct leading to one bellows of each set, substantially as set forth.

8. A player piano having a series of striker pneumaties, and bellows cooperating therewith arranged horizontally above and behind the keys, valve mechanism and compartments for the same adjacent to said bellows, the valves of the striker pneumatic being sub-divided into groups, boxes located Signed at N eW-York city, in the county at the end of the keyboard transversely to of New York and State of New York, this said keyboard, air exhausting means con- 29th of November, A. D. 1911.

neoted with the said boxes and pneumatic PHILIP JACOB MEAHL. connections between said boxes and the WVitnesses:

groups of valves for the striker neumatics, OSCAR F. GUNZ,

substantially as set forth. M. E. MONINCH.

Cogiies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington; D. 0.