US1424903A - Automatic musical instrument - Google Patents

Description

R. HEAD. AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10. l9l8- Patented Aug. 8, 1922.

EDI

UNITED STATES. PATENT.

BQBER'I HEAD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE .AEOLIAN COMPANY, A COR- -I'OBATION OF CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922.

Applicatiqn filedSeptember 10, 1918. Serial No. 253,446.

To all whom it may concern:

Be known that I, ROBERT HEAD, citizen of the United States, residingat 558 est 164th Street, New York city, N. Y., have. invented new and useful Improvements in .All tomatic Musical Instruments, of which the My present invention relates to automatic musical instruments and comprises means controlled from the tront-end or tab of the music-sheet to operate any desired mechanism in the instrument, such as an auto-f matic rewind mechanism, the latter being the kind of mechanism with which I have chosen to illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings;

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is afront elevation and diagrammatic view of the musicroll winding and rewindingymechanism of a player-piano embodying my invention; and Figs. 2 and 3. are respectively vertical sections partly in elevation on the lines 2fi2 and; 3.'3 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows Describing now the devices of the draw-- ings:.1isthe music-roll box containing as usual the end-bearings 23 for the musicroll 4:; tracker-bar 5; and take-up spool 6 se cured to the shaft or spindle 7 The periorated music-sheet is designated 4.

8 the usual pneum atic-motor which may be operatively connected in any suitable or wellknown manner through clutch mechanism so as either to drive the music-sheet in playing direction by winding it on the takeup spool; or reverselyto rewind it back upon the music-roll spool by driving the latter from the motor. Thus 9 is the clutchleverpivotally sup-ported at 10. Its lower lapsed at difierent times as will hereinafter appear- The upper-end of the clutchslever 9'works in an annularly grooved collar 18 secured to the eridwise slidable shaft 19 having its said endwise slidable shaft 19 and is chain connected to the sprocket-wheel 23 of the motor drive-shaft 2 1, 25 is another sprocketwheel loose on the endwise slidahle shaft so as to be free to turn thereon butis prevented from movement endwise of the shaft by the fixedfinger 26 projecting into the annularly groovedhub of said sprocket-wheel. Chain 27 connects this sprocket-wheel with sprocket-wheel 28 on the drive-spindle 3 for the musicroll.

The aforesaid collar 1.8 has clutclrpins and 80 projecting from its respective ends to engage respectively with the clutch-pins 29 and 30 on the gear-wheel 31 and the sprocket-wheel 25. v loose on the endwise-slidable shaft 19 so-as tobe free to turn thereon but is prevented Said gear-wheel 3 1 from movement endwise of the shaft bythc it operates the lever 12 and the connected parts into the position shown in Fig. 1

wherein the motor 8 drives the music-roll spindle 3 to rewind the music-sheet. Vice versa when the lower bellows '17 is momentarily collapsed, it operates thelevcr to swing the upper-end ot the clutch-lever 9. to the left to slide the clutch-collar 18 and shaft .19 also to the left so that its lefthand pin 29 now comes into clutch with the pin on the gear 31 with the result that the motor 8 thendrives the take-up spool and winds the nusicsheet in playing direction upon said spool.

34L is a duct in the tracker-bar with which the music-sheet perforation 35 registers when the end is reached either of the en tire composition or any earlier part of it, as

determined by the position of said perfora tion along the length of the music-sheet, This duct in turn is operatively connected to the upper bellows 16 via the usual valvebox 36 which latter in turn is connected to the suction at 37. It obviously :tollowsthat the upper bellows will be collapsed whenever and as long as said sheet-perforation opens said tracker-board duct 34; thereby throwing the clutch-parts into the position shown in Fig. 1 whereby the sheet is caused to be rewound.

Mounted on the side of the music-roll box is a bracket 38 which pivotally supports the valve-lever 39 at 410; and also supports a tubular-nipple ll whose mouth or port is kept normally closed by the valve-lever by virtue of the leafspring 4L2 acting against the opposite end of the valve-lever. The other end of this nipple 41 is tube-com nected, as will be understood from the drawings, with the lower bellows 17 via a valve box 43 so that whenever and as long as the port of the nipple is opened by the liftingof the valve-lever. said bellows will be collapsed to shift the clutch into reverse position from Fig. 1.

The means for thus lifting the valve is operatively related to the tab 44 or frontend of the music-sheet and comprises the following: 45 is a finger projecting downwardly at right-angles from a rock shaft 46 supported under the tracker-bar. This rockshaft projects ro'tatably through the righthand cheek of the music-roll box; and outside said box is provided with another finger 47 substantially parallelingthe first-named finger. At its left-end said rock-shaft has a bearing in the part 48 secured to underside of the tracker. 4i94l;9 are a pair of spaced stops or lugs on said bearing part which loosely straddle the finger 4:5 and act as extreme inner and outer limits to its swing. 6" is the annular recess ordinarily found in take-up spools wherein the hook 6 is recessed below the peripheral surface of the spool for engagement with the ring or eye 4 of the music-sheet tab. The aforesaid finger 4-5 during the playing; and rewind, yieldingly rests upon the music-sheet at the place where it is winding about the take-up spool over its aforesaid annular recess 6', due to the action of a spring 50. This condition is shown in Fig. 1 wherein a rectangular opening has been on t out of. the musicsheet to illustrate it. The same is shown also by the sectional view in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows the position at this time of the other finger 47 at the opposite end of the rockshaft wherein it will be noted it is out of contact with the valve-lever so that the spring 42 is able to keep said valve-lever seated on and closing the mouth of nipple 41. All these figures show the sheet at the end of the rewind with the finger 45 about to ride off the edge of the tab let into the recess 6 of the take-up spool. hen this" happens, the end of said finger swings into said recess 6 impelled by the aforesaid sprii'ig 50 which simultaneously swings the other finger (t7 against the valve-lever 39 lifting its valve off the nipple. This instantly admits atmospheric air to the related valve-box and operates its valve to connect the bellows 1.7 with the exhaust, thereby collapsing said bellows and reversing the clutch so that the motor now drives the take-up spool and again begins to wind the musicsheet in playing direction. The playing then continues until the rewind-perforation is reached whereupon the clutch is again shifted as previously described to ef fect rewinding and so on, the automatic rep etitions continuing indefinitely until purposely stopped by the operator.

The end of the finger 41.5 is made so broad that it cannot enter the music-perforations in the music-sheet.

Of course changes and modifications will suggest themselves which will nevertheless be within the spirit of my invention and of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with an automatic musical instrument using a music-sheet, the front end of the music sheet having an imperforate portion; a take-up spool to which the front end of the musicsheet is attachable and which is adapted to be rotated to take up said sheet, said spool having an. annular peripheral recess; a finger at the take-up spool yieldingly tending to move into said recess but being prevented by the said imperforate portion of the sheet when the sheet is wound around said spool; and pneumatic means comprising a controll ng port and valve therefor, said valve being operated from the aforesaid movement of the finger relatively to said recess when the latter is uncovered by said imperforate por tion of the front end of the music sheet.

2. In combination with an automatic musical instrument using a music-sheet,a take-up spool to which the front-end of the music-sheet is attachable and which is adapted to be rotated to take up SELICl sheet, said spool having an annular peripheral recess; a finger pivoted on a fixed ELEKIS ad acent to the take-up spool and yleldingly tending; to swing into said recess but belng prevented by the sheet when it is wound around said spool; a port with a normally seated valve thereon, said finger when swung within said recess acting to unseat said valve; and means pneumatically controlled from the opening: and closing of said port.

3. In combination with an automatic musical instrument using a music-sheet,-a take-up spool to-which the front-end of the music-sheet is attachable and which is adapted to be rotated to take up sald sheet, said spool having an annular peripheral recess; a finger at the take-up spool yieldingly tending to swing by a pivotal movement into said recess but being prevented by the sheet when it is Wound. around said spool; a port with a normally seated valve thereon; a rock-shaft supporting the aforesaid finger and rotatable by the pivotal movement of the latter; and another finger supported on said rock-shaft at the valve, so as to operate said valve when the first named finger swings into the recess in the take-up spool and the rook-shaft is thereby caused to r0- tate.

In testimony whereof, I, said ROBERT 10 HEAD have signed my name to this specification, this seventh day of September, 1918.

ROBERT HEAD;

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