US1340019A - Expression mechanism for mechanical pianos - Google Patents

Description

C. CONTAL AND E. REQUILLART. EXPRESSlON MECHANISM FOR MECHANICAL PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1915. 1 ,3540,01 9. Patented May 11, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- C. CONTAL AND E. REQUILLART.

EXPRESSION MECHANISM FOR MECHANICAL PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1915.

Patented May 11,1920

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ram E23 UNITED STATES PATENT orruon.

CAMILLE GON'IAL, F SEE-CLOUD, AND EDOUARD REQUILLART, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

nxrnnssron MECHANISM roa MECHANICAL rIANos.

Application filed May 22,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CAMILLE CONTAL, engineer, of 6 Avenue 'Magenta, of St.- Cloud, Seine Department, and EDOUARD Ricourrnanr, engineer, of 39 Rue Lemours, of Paris, in the Republic of France, and citizens. of the Republic of France, have invented certain new and useful Expression Mechanism for Mechanical Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for an object to pro vide a device whereby expression may be produced in mechanical pianos.

A further object is to provide expression producing mechanism so fitted as to allow a performer to regulate at will the intensity of the differentnotes which may be played simultaneously, both in the treble and in the bass, so that he may at any moment increase or decrease'the sound of either a single note or a group of single notes comprised in a given interval, or notes distributed on the whole length of the key board.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprehends a relatively large number of movable members placed in front of the piano hammers and serving to move the same to a greater or less distance from the strings of the piano so as to reduce more or less their travel and consequently the intensity of the sounds produced when striking the strings. The invention also. comprehends an auxiliary key board operatively connected with said movable members which may vary in number as required, whereby the performer instantly can actuate one or more of such members either independently of one another or conjointly.

While any suitable power transmitting means may be employed for connecting the key board with the movable expression members, preferably mechanical transmissions are to be used, that is to say transmissions composed exclusively of rigid or inextensible transmitting elements, which permit imparting. more readily to the movable expression members movements exactly proportional to those of the controlling elements carried by the keyboard.

In the accompanying drawings illustrate ne embo im n HM i nt Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a partial front elevation and a plan view of the invention.

F g 3 is a vert cal e ti n a n. n, the

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

1915. Serial NO. 29,797.

line 33 of Fig. 4 showing the expression keyboard.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of such keyboard.

Fig. 5 represents such keyboard partly in elevation and partly in section, taken on line 55 of Fig. 4:.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the movable expression members.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a modified form of the keyboard, and

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a modified form of movable expression member and mounting thereof.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the expression members 1 are mounted on a shaft 3 mounted in supports 4 on the upper face of the hammer rest rail 2, which is located behind the usual pianissimo rail 29, said members 1 being so mounted on the shaft 3 that they may swing forwardly or rearwardly. Each member 1 is cam shaped the active face of which is curved and projects toward the hammers 5, such face being covered with felt; the members 1 are subjected to the action ofa spiral spring 6 mounted on shaft 3 in such manner as to normally hold the cam face against the hammers in such manner as to force the hammers near the piano strings, so that weak sounds only will then be produced when the hammers are actuated.

Each member 1 is pulled in the direction of the arrow C (Fig. 7) by means of'a steel ribbon or tape 7 which is attached at one end to a stepped pulley 8 rotatably mounted on the front face of the rail 2, the other end of said ribbon being secured to the inactive part of the cam shaped member 1. Rotary movement is given to the stepped pulley 8 by another steel tape or ribbon 9, one end of which is secured to the periphery of the smaller step of such pulley, the ribbons 9 then extending along the front of the rail 2 to and around idler rollers 10 grouped together thence downwardly and around another group of idler rollers 11 beneath the keyboard of the piano, then passing horizontally to the expression keyboard 15 then passing and engaging other idler rollers 11 12 and'12 and finally'attached at their other end to the cross bar 13. As all the rollers 10 and 11 are arranged in a group following closely a vertical line, the ribbons 9 form together a cluster of relatively slight width whereby they can easily be located across the mechanism of the piano.

The expression keyboard comprises a plate 14: which is secured beneath the keybed 15 and carries a frame 16 in which are mounted the rollers 12 (see Fig. 3); the frame 16 also carries lugs 17, 18 which serve to support rigidly two lateral arms 21 by means of studs 19, 20; to the arms 21 is jointed at 22 a yoke 23 which carries the cross bar 13 which lies in front of, and below the keyboard of the piano. On the arms 21 are secured the curved ends of a flexible strip or plate 24: which extends transversely across the steel ribbons 9 and above the same.

A series of keys 25 having fork shaped or bifurcated rear ends are pivotallymounted on the studs 20, the forked or bifurcated end of a key straddling a ribbon 9.

The parts of the ex ression keyboard are so arranged that a per ormer can easily press on the keys 25 and on the flexible strip or plate 24 with his fingers and upon the trans verse member of the yoke 23 with the palm of the hand. If a single key is lowered the lowering of the corresponding ribbon 9 causes the corresponding member 1 to move to an extent roportional to the lowering of the key. f required, several keys can be lowered simultaneously, the same or different distances, as for instance, to increase diflerently the different parts of a musical selection.

When it is desired to increase the intensity of the sounds of a set of notes comprised in any one of several groups, the performer may lower either a set of keys 25, or a greater or less portion of the flexible strip or plate 24, which will cause traction of a group of consecutive ribbons 9 moving the corresponding and correlated expression members 1.

Finally by lowering the yoke 23, the per former may produce a pull simultaneously on all of the ribbons as they are attached to the cross bar 13, and hence will increase the intensity of the sounds of the notes produced in the keyboard to the full extent of the other.

In effecting these different motions the performer will be guided, either by ear, if the piece of music is known, or by reading the perforated sheet. If, by mistake the performer does not act on the part of the keyboard corresponding to a determined note which must be struck by one of the hammers, such mistake will be noticed because there is no reaction when the hammer moves away from the string; for since the hammers each time the move away from the strings impinge against or come in contact with the respective members 1 connected to the ribbons 9, any reaction will be transmitted, by the ribbons to the expression keyboard and so be perceptible to the fingers located above the corresponding points.

The expression keyboard mechanism herein shown is so fitted as to be folded underneath the keyboard 15, and to accomplish this horizontal slots 26 are provided in the arms 21 to permit a horizontal sliding movement of the studs 20 by means of which the arms 21 can be pulled outwardly and out of connection with the studs 19, and then lowered in the direction of the arrow D (Fig. 3.) The effect of such movement is to simultaneously pull on all the steel ribbons or tapes 9 and therefore cause all the members 1 to swing upwardly and forwardly to a vertical position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 7, so that the pianissimo rail 2 can be then made use of in the usual manner.

The modified form of keyboard shown in Fig. 8 differs from the one just described in that the keys of the former are replaced by a very flexible strip 25 which renders the fingering much easier and also allows the ribbons or tapes to be brought closer together, and hence the width of the expression keyboard reduced. A fabric or felt band 27 is preferably interposed between the blades 25 2 1, and ribbons 9 in order to avoid the noise and transverse slipping of the ribbons against the deflected portions of the strips 25 And such slipping is further guarded against by means of projections or lugs 28, located on the band 27 at the front of the spaces between the ribbons.

In the modified form of expression members shown in Fig. 9, the member consists of a roller 1 made of felt or other suitable material, so mounted as to revolve freely in a swinging frame 1' the latter being actuated in the same manner as the member 1 shown in the other figures of the drawing.

The mechanism hereinbefore described may be further simplified by eliminating the ribbons 7, and the ribbons 9 can extend to and be connected. directly to the expression member 1. The arrangement described is advantageous on account of its compactness.

lVe claimed on said support, a yoke jointed to said arms, flexible connections having one end secured to such yoke and the opposite end operatively connected with a movable member whereby a swinging motion of the yoke actuates all of said movable members simultaneously, and a set of keyboard levers jointed on one of said studs adapted for pressing on said flexible connections respectively, whereby each movable member may be actuated independently of the others.

2. A device for producing expression in mechanical pianos, comprising a plurality of movable members positioned in such a way that the hammers are between them and the piano strings and adapted for limiting the travel of said hammers, an auxiliary keyboard including levers the same in number as that of the movable members, flexible connecting elements located beneath such levers and operatively connected with said movable members, and at least one flexible strip located on the keyboard and disposed transversely above said flexible connections, adapted to be lowered by the finger against said connections to actuate varying numbers thereof according to the amount of depression of the transverse flexible means.

3. Mechanism for producing expression in mechanical pianos comprising in combination a plurality of movable members positioned in such a way that the hammers are between them and the piano strings and adapted for limiting the travel of said hammers, a plurality of tapes or ribbons operatively connected at one end to said movable members, means for depressing said ribbons individually, means for depressing simultaneously a plurality of said ribbons, and means for simultaneously depressing all of the ribbons.

at. In a device for producing expression in mechanical pianos, the combination with a support, of studs mounted on said sup port, slotted arms slidably and rotatably mounted on said studs, means for maintaining said arms in front of said support when in a substantially horizontal position, a plurality of movable members positioned in such a way that the hammers are between them and the piano strings and adapted for limiting the travel of said hammers, a yoke jointed to said arms, a plurality of ribbons or tapes attached at one end to said yoke, extending parallel above said studs and substantially horizontal when the aforesaid arms are in a horizontal position and connected at the other end to said movable members, means mounted on said studs and on said arms causing longitudinal movement of said ribbons, said arms and yoke mounted to permit a pendent position thereof and of that portion of the ribbons attached to the said yoke, when said arms are lowered, means for depressing one ribbon, means for depressing a plurality of said ribbons and means for depressing all the ribbons, the function of said ribbons being to actuate the movable members.

5. In a device for producing expression in mechanical pianos, the combination with the hammer rest rail of the piano, of a plurality of spring-controlled movable members pivotally mounted on said rail and adapted for limiting the travel of the hammers, said members having a pulley shaped portion, ribbons or tapes having an end secured to the pulley shaped portion of the movable members, a support, studs mounted on said support, a series of keys pivotally mounted on said studs and adapted to move said tapes longitudinally, and pulleys on said hammer rest rail guiding said ribbons from! said members to said keys.

6. In expression mechanism for mechanical pianos, in combination a series of movable members adapted for limiting the travel of the hammers, a support, studs mounted on said support, a series of keys pivotally mounted on said studs, a series of transmission members connected at one end respectively to said movable members, arranged in a transverse row, connected at one end to said movable members, adapted for actuating them, connected at the other end to said keys, a flexible strip extending transversely of and above the row of transmission members, said fl xible strip adapted to be deflected at different portions of its length and thereby actuate the transmission members respectively placed therebelow.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we have signed our names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CAMILLE CONTAL. EDOUARD REQUILLART.

Witnesses EUGiiNE WATTIER, DnlV. C. PooLn, J r.

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