US1234140A - Xylophone. - Google Patents

Description

'1. C, DEAGAN.

XYLOPHONE. APPLrcATmN HLEDVFEB. 15i 1915..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. DEAGAN, OF CHICAGO. ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO J. C. DEAGAN MUSICAL BELLS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

XYLOPHONE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 24, 1917.

Applcaticn filed February 15, 1915. Serial No. 8,157.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN C. Duncan, citizen of the United Stat-es, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Xylophones, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to musical instruments, the claims herein relating to distinctions between the structure here disclosed and the structure disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 29,802, filed May 22, 1915 and in which co-pending application broad claims are being sought to cover .novel matter common to both applications.

One feature of my invention embraces a vibrating bar, a resonating tube disposed longitudinally of the bar and having an opening in its side that faces the bar and a valve within the tube for regulating the effective extent of said opening and accessible from the exterior of the tube.

In accordance with another feature of nay invention I employ a post for supporting the bar, which post passes through a hole in the bar that is formed to permit the bar to engage the post only at one end, preferably the front end, of the hole whereby the bar may have greater freedom in swinging. By limiting the post to engagement with the bar at the front end of the hole the desired freedom of swinging movement of the bar is afforded.

The preferred form of the invention is shown by the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a face view of a musical instrument composed of a. number of devices of my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional eleva-- tion on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. l is a sectional view on line l-t of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a tuning valve that is preferably employed; and Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the formation of av bar for its suspension.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the different figures.

Each sounding bar 1 has a resonating tube 2 longitudinally of which the sounding bar is disposed, the tube having an opening 3 desir-ably. extending longitudinally of the bar substantially from node to node and narrower than the bar and provided on the side of the tube which faces the bar. Each bar has an opening 4 extending from broad face to broad face thereof which is preferably reduced at one side or broad face of the bar there to form a shoulder 5 whose top is at the upper nodal point of the bar. This shoulder rests upon the sleeve 6, preferably of rubber, which surrounds a post T that is riveted at its lower end to the middle portion of a bridge 8 whose inturned ends are mounted upon the resonating tube. The outer end of the post is threaded to hold a nut 9 faced at its inner side by a felt washer 10 to which the sleeve 6 extends. The bar whose opening 4f is threaded by the pin or post 7 is interposed between the felt washer 10 and a body of felt 11 mounted upon the front face of the resonating tube 2. The lower ends of the bars are limited in their outward movement by means of felt washers 14 which surround the Shanks of screws 15 carried by the resonating tubes and covered by sleeves 1G of rubber.

It will be observed that the bar 1, when not in vibration, is free of engagement witl` the elements 13 and 14, there being sufiicient clearance between this bar and these elements so that the bar may swing toward and from the resonator pertaining thereto. The front end of the hole 4l is slightly larger than the aggregate thickness of the post 'T and its covering sleeve G so that the metal of the bar is clear of the post structure at the under side of the latter. The hole 4 is enlarged in its rear part to have cl arance that extends around the post structure that will permit the bar to swing with respect to its resonator but without bringing the rear portion of the bar into contact with the supporting post. The bar thus has a suspension upon the post at the small or front end of the hole and is permitted to swing clear of the post because of the enlarged rear end of the hole.

The effective length of the openings 3 in the resonating tubes 2 may be adjustably determined by means of sliding tuning shutters 17 which have channel ways 18 that receive the nuts 19 provided upon the bolts 20 whose heads are accessible from the exterior of the resonating tubes in order that the bolts may be turned to loosen and tighten the nuts thereon and to permit the shutters to be moved longitudinally of the tubes when the nuts are loose then to determine the efthe tubes to varying fective lengths of the openings 3. The shutters 17 have slots 171 through whichA the Shanks of the bolts 20 pass and which permit the adjusting movement of the slides. The openings 3 are desir-ably in the form of slots that extend longitudinally of the sounding bars. The slide shutters 17 tune the resonators which are initially approximately tuned by the plugs 21, adjustable longitudinally of the resonators, entering the bores of extents to perform their tuning function. The slots 3 may have varying marginal formations such as indicated at 31 in Fig. l, and may be also supplemented by minor openings 22, the function of these formations being to increase the air passage at the center of each resonating tube.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following 1. A. sound producing device including a Copies of this patent may be obtained for vibrating bar having through from the front to the rear face thereof; and a supporting post extending through the hole in the bar, said hole being small at one end where the bar engages the post and larger throughout the rest of its length;

2. A sound producing device including a vibrating bar; a resonating tube disposed longitudinally of the bar, there being an opening in the side of the tube facing Jthe bar; and a valve Within the tube and accessible from the exterior thereof for adjusting the effective extent of the opening.

1n witness whereof, 1 hereunto subscribe my name this 11th day of February, A. D. 1915.

JOHN C. DEAGAN.

Witnesses:

FRED WITTENBERG, G. L. CRAGG.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

a hole extending therc-

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