US1296826A - Piano-action. - Google Patents

Description

F. A. UNGSCH.

PIANO ACTION.

APPLICATiON FILED IULY 7, 1917. l

l ,296,826 Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

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PIANO ACTION. APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, I9IZ.

Patented Mar. 11,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

rREDERIcK A. LINGSCH, oF NEW YORK, N. Y. i'

PIANO-ACTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11,1919.

Application tiled July 7, 1917. Serial No. 179,250.

To aZZ whom t may concern.

' Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. LINGSCH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Bronx, county of Bronx, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulPiano-Action, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a piano action and, more particularly, an action for upright pianos, being capable of use either through the manual actuation of keys or through the automatic operation of player mechanism.

The object of the invention is to greatly simplify and strengthen some of the operating parts of the action for the purpose of rendering them more ydurable and lasting, and more easily regulable.

A further object of the invention is to constructl each hammer so that, when a plurality of them are positioned side by side within a case, and the front of said case removed, said hammers will present a uniform and neat appearance.

Fea-tures of the invention, other than those speciiied, will be apparent-from the hereinafter detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one practical 'embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a unit of a piano action embodying the present invention, the parts being shown in normal, inactive position. d

Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to that of Fig. l, but with the parts shown in the positions of which they assume immediately after the key. is operated, and before the string is struck.

`Fig. 3 is a fragmental elevation showing, on an' enlarged scale, that portion of the unit embodying the hammer butt, the upper end of the jack or fly, and the appurtenances of said parts, and 'A 1,

Fig. 4 is a fragmental elevation showing the lpositions of the parts in check.

Referring to the drawings,A indicates a string of a piano, which piano is provided with the usual main action rail B, hammer rest rail C, and bottomor tongue rail D. The hammer butt E of the action carries the usual hammer E on a stem e and is supported by a flange e on the action rail,

as shown.- F is the jack, connected through a flange f with the wippen G, Vmounted 'by means of the usual iiange g upon the main actionr rail and actuated through an abstract H, the tongue ZL of which is pivotally connected to bottom rail D. I is the inner end of a key having an adjustable connection z' with the lower end of abstract H.

'J'. is the damper, which is operated from wippen G through damper lever j and intermediate spoon y", the damper being normally held in engagement with the string A by a leaf-spring jg, as is common. Hammer E is normally maintained in retracted position, Vwith its stem against hammer' rail C,

by means of a spring 0V mounted on a spring n rail c.

The jack is normally maintained in a retracted position -by means of a spring f p0- sitioned between a toe f2 on jack F and wippen Gr. Moreover, the upper face of the toe f2 coperaties with a stop m adapted for adJustment by an adjusting screw m threaded through a regulating rail M spaced from the action rail B by the usual spacing members m2, while threaded through the rigid stem Z of the lback check L is a similar vadjusting screw Z2, carrying at its lower end a stop Z3, yby which the rebound of the hammer, after being struck, is limited.

In accordance with this invention, the adjusting means for the checking of the hammer is mounted upon, and is movable with,

the jack, and, in the preferred form of the invention, this means is embodied in a rocker K pivoted' near the upper end of the jack, as at h. The rocker is provided with a depending portion or stem k', through which extends a screw 762 which threads into the jack and allows of pivotal regulation of rocker K. Said rocker is adapted to coperate with a back check L which, in accordance with this invention, is rigidly mounted with respect to the hammer butt E by means Aof a stem Z, and is provided with suitable cushioning means Z in the form of leather, felt, or both. The front face of rocker K is similarly cushioned, but is shaped eccentrically of the point of pivoting of Asaid rocker, so that the manipulation of the adjusting screw k2 will vary the distance between the nearest point of the front face of said rocker and the nearest point :of the cushioned face of the back check L.

The operation of the device as described will be clear to those skilledin the art, If

the parts are in the normal position shown wippen G is oscillated upwardly and shifts the jack F, which, being in engagement with l the forward, inclined face of the hammer butt, causes the butt to rapidly rotate about its flange e and throw the hammer E sharply against the string'A. Simultaneously with this operation, the rear end of the wippen, operating through spoon j', oscillates the damper lever j, thereby moving damper J freefrom the string, the damper being in this positionv when the hammer engages the string. About the time, or just before, hammer E strikes the string, as shown in Fig'. 2,'l the toe f2v of the jack engages with the stop` lm', thereby causing the upward movement of the jack to cease and changing said upward vmovement into a sharprforward movement of the upper end of thel jack to bring the cushioned face of rocker K into engagement with the cushioned face l of 'back check L, all as clearly shown in Fig. 2. `As ythe hammer rebounds from the string, the key I being held down momentarily, the jack retains'substantially the same position which it'occupied in Fig. 2, but the inertia offth'ejhammer causes the upper end of the jack and rocker to be wedged between the cushioned faces of the hammer butt and the back check, as shown in Fig. 4 in full lines, the Lipper end of the jack and the cushioned face of the rocker pressinginto the cushions w on `the hammer butt andthe back check, re-

spectively, as clearly shown.

The foregoing is the normal operation of thek action,.but, if the key isstruck an'exceptionally heavy blow, the rebound of 'the hammer will,l of course, be much greater than normally, and it is in order to pre-V clude the wedging of the jack and rocker withsuch tightness between the hammer butt and the back check as to unduly strain or break these` parts, that the stop Z2 and adjustingscrew. Z2 are provided. When such heavy blow is struck, the rebound of the hammer may cause said' hammer and its associated parts to assume the dotted line posi-A tionvof Fig, 4, inwhich event the cushioning stop Z3 will engage with the. upper portion of the rocker, as shown in the dotted line position, `thereby precluding lthe jack and rocker from becoming too tightly wedged between the hammer butt andthe back check and preventingbreakage or undue straining of the parts.- It will, of course, be linde- `stood that,'when the key is released,l it as-.

sumes its` normal position, allowing the jack tok dropback to theposition shown in Fig.;

l, andthe hammer stern e to yengage with the hammer rail C. By employing `the construction; described, the lparts ,are subjected to the least possible strain, andthe wedging actionvof 'the jack and rocker betweenl the hammer butt and back check.l cushions the adjustable.

parts against a too sudden stop, while the cushioning stop Z3 precludes this wedging action. from proceeding to too great an eX- tent.'

A piano made in Vaccordance with the present invention possesses many featuresof advantage. For example, the positioning of the regulating means, in the form of rocker K, on the jack assures, atall times, a true alinement ofthe back checks of the successive actions,so that, when=the -front of the piano case is, opened,all of these checks' arein'` perfect alinement, and a much neater andv more esthetic appearance results than .is possible wherethe regulating means is mounted upon the back check or the back check made bodily Moreover, a muchst-ronger 'constl'uctionresults fromfthemounting of the back check frigid-ly upon the hammer buttv E through the intermediate stem Z.- This is an importantconsideration, since the question of-cross-grains in the vwood 'from which the action :is formed does not varise in the rigid construction referred to. By mounting` the regulating means directly upon ther jack, the alinement is lpreserved* and a v much stronger and vmore rigid and durable construction results without, inthe least', sacriicing any degree of regulation.

Another advantage possessed by the present invention is that, by making fthe back check rigid and mounting Athe regulating means'on the jack, the depth of Vthe 'action is minimized so as to allow of more space in the case for player` mechanism, ,if the action-is to be used incombination therewith. I have shown the action as operated fronra key I, but its application -to player pianos will be Imanifest to those skilled in the art.

While I have shown and described; one embodiment of my invention, it is to Vbe understood that it is not limitedth'ereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures that comewithin the scope of the annexed' claim.

Having thus fully described thelinvention, what'I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A Vpiano-action embodying a hammer butt, aback check rigidly mounted on the hammer butt and placed forward thereof, a jack provided at its upper end withavhead to cooperate with the front face of the hammer butt, a block' pivoted to the jack at its upper end. and provided'with an eccentric face to engage theback check, and 'means mounted on the back check' for limiting the return movement ofthe hammer butt after the hammer is operated."

In .testimony whereof I have signed 'my name to this specification.

FREDERICK A. LINGSCH.'

Copies of this,- patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Gommisionel 0f Plllsf Washington, D. (2." i

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