US1331258A - Plug for organ-pipe feet - Google Patents

Description

E. B. HEDGES.

PLUG FOR ORGAN PIPE FEET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 1919.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

mfiih inn WITNESS:

A TTORNE Y.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN B. HEDGES, 0F WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB. TO SAMUEL PIERCE ORGAN PIPE COMPANY, OFEREADING, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS.

PLUG FOR ORGAN-PIPE FEET.

"Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

L7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN B. Hnnens, a citizen of the United States of'America, and a resident of \Vestfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have inventedm new and usefulPlug for Organ Pipe Feet, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in adjustable regulating devices for the .air which passes through the feet of organ pipes, and consists of a metallic screw plug tapped into and through one side of such afoot, and provided with means for engaging therewith a wrench or other tool or implement for the purpose of turning such plug in or out, all as hereinafter set forth.

This plug is intended more especially for the foot of a manual organ pipe. 'The manual feet extendthrough the rack-board and stand on top of the wind-chest of the organ, said feet extendin some five inches below the top of said oard. Any airregulating device for these feet, if adjustable, must be accessible above the aforesaid rack-board. Furthermore, the unoccupied space around saidfeet is'so limited thatno considerable projection from the feet is practicable if possible, Wherefore the means for adjusting the plugsmust not occupyor require much space. One object of my invention, therefore, is to provide plugs for organ-pipe'feet, and especially for'the feet of manual pipes,'which lugs'are'capable ofbeing and adapted to" e adjusted inthe space availablefor such operation.

The pipes to which this invention ap-, pertains are. made of wood which, as a matter of course, swells and shrinks under different atmospheric conditions. And another object is to provide a plug which, not only can be adjusted to advantage and with the greatest degree of accuracy, for the purpose of permitting with exactitude'the correct volume of air to pass through the foot that is equipped with such plug, but is not itself appreciably afiected by atmospheric conditions, and is practically unaffected by any changes that the wood of said foot may undergo as the result. of such conditions.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain the objects and secure the advantages of my invention by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure 1 iswhat may be termed a front elevation of an organ-pipe foot which is equippedwitha practicalform of my plug; Fig; 2, a side elevation of said foot and gate; Fig. 3, a central, vertical section through such foot and plug; Fig. 4, a front elevation of another and smaller organpipe foot which is equipped with a slightly modified form of plug; Fig. 5, aside elevation' of said last-named foot and plug; Fig. 6, a central, vertical section through the smaller foot, with its plug inelevation, and Fig. 7, a cross section through a smaller foot, the plug being left in elevation.

Similarreference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

The feet of the pipes of an organ vary in size, like the pipes to which they are attached, and in the drawings I have shown a foot 1 of the larger size, and a foot 11 of the smaller size. 'These feet areof wood and have passages 2 and 12, respectively, extendingthrough them from endtO end. A shoulder 3 is-formed on the foot 1a short distance below the upper end thereof, and the foot 11 hasa similar shoulder 13. It isthe parts of the 'feetabove theshoulders 3 and'13 which are received'inthe pipes of the organ, 'with said shoulders abutting the bottom ends ofsaid pipes. 1

Metallic plugs 4. and 1 1 are fitted to the feet 1 and 11, respectively, such plugs being located a little way'below the shoulders 3 and 13, and'projecting into the passages in said feet. The axes of theplugs -4- andl l are at right-angles to the axes ofthe feet 1 and 11, respectively.

'Theplug 4 is convex at its inner end, as represented at 5, and'the body of said plug is externally screw-threaded to engage an internally screw-threadedopening 6 in one side of the foot 1. Similarly the plug 14 has a convex inner terminal 15, and its body is externally screw-threaded to engage an internally screw-threaded opening 16 in one side of the foot 11.

Each foot, 1 or 11, is annular in cross section, and each plug a or 14, is cylindrical in cross section, the former having the shape of a hollow cylinder, as will presently more fully appear. The diameters of the plugs are less than the diameters of the passages into which said plugs extend, as is clearly shown in the case of the plug 1 1 and the passage 12 in Fig. 7, it being understood that the same thing is true of the plug 1 and the passage 2.

It is now clear that either passage 2 or 12 may be choked to a greater or less extent by screwing in or out the plug which projects into such passage. But the plugs can never completely close the passages into which they extend, even though they should be screwed in far enough to contact with the walls opposite to the openings 6 and 16, owing to the fact that the diameters of said plugs are less than the diameters of said passages. The convex ends 5 and 15 permit the plugs to be advanced farther than would be the case if the inner ends of said plugs were flat, inasmuch as said convex ends conform more or less closely to the concavities of the adjacent portions of the walls of the passages, consequently a greater range of adjustment is made possible. The volumes of air that pass through the feet 1 and 11 are, of course, increased or decreased accordingly as the plugs 4L and 1a are adjusted to position them farther out or farther in, as will be plainly seen. In practice, each plug must be set to permit of the passage through its foot of the required amount of air, being adjusted from time to time as may be necessary in order to obtain the best results.

The plugs 4L and 14 must not project too far outside of the feet 1 and 11, for the reason previously given, wherefore it is necessary to provide means whereby they may be rotated for adjustment, with the aid of a wrench or other suitable implement that can be introduced into the limited space available. To this end, therefore, the larger plug has an interior, integral cross-piece or web 7 and the smaller plug has an exterior, integral nut 17 p The plug is made hollow, a chamber 8 thus being provided which opens at the outer end of said plug. The web 7 is at the inner end of the chamber 8 and extends transversely across said chamber. The plug 4 is adjusted by introducing into the chamber 8 the jaws or equivalent members or member of a wrench or other implement and engaging the web 7 therewith, and by this means turning said plug in or out, accordingly as to whether it be desired to decrease or increase the volume of air which passes through the foot 1, and to whatever extent it may be necessary in order properly to implement which is adapted to engage said nut, in a similar manner to that in which the plug at is adjusted.

The plugs being of metal do not shrink or swell, and being tapped into the feet have sufficient frictional engagement therewith to prevent them from becoming too loose and working out of place. Obviously the plugs can be adjusted with a great degree of accuracy, and without fear that they will get out of adjustment.

I am aware that wood plugs have been provided to fit plain holes in organ-pipe feet, which plugs have exterior handles of sufficient length to be grasped in the hand for adjustment purposes, and do not seek to claim such a plug. This old type of plug is not only defective because it is made of Wood and has no screw-threaded engagement with the foot, but is not available for the feet of manual organ-pipe feet, owing to the presence of the handle.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a wooden organ-pipe foot, of a metallic plug tapped into and through. one side of said foot, said plug having a convex inner end to cooperate with the inner surface of said foot, and being provided with means which is accessible at the outer end for the engagement therewith of an adjusting implement.

2. The combination, with a wooden organ-pipe foot, of a metallic plug tapped into and through one side of said foot, said plug having means accessible at the outer end for the application thereto of an adjusting implement,- and being of less diameter than the passage which it intersects.

EDWIN B. HEDGES.

Witnesses I C. D. MONROE, F. A. CUTTER.

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