US1645048A

US1645048A - Tone control operable successively in a predetermined manner

Info

Publication number: US1645048A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1927-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1944-10-11

Description

Oct,

TONE CONTROL OPERABLE SUCCESSIVELY IN A PRBDETERMINED MANNER Filed May 5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g Tllll'lIllIllllllllllllllllllllll 15 1a 17 A 0 50 .2 I o l 45 4! 4 6 7 z; 37 54 J I l 23 J2 .33

I VENTOR FIWWJ ATTORNEY 1,645,048 Oct. 11, 1927' J H, HAMMOND. J

TONE CONTROL OPERABLE SUCCESSIVELY IN A PREDETERMINBD MANNER Filed May 5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5

INVENTOR Patented Oct. 11, 1927.

UNITED STATES JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, JR.. OF GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

TONE CONTROL OPERABLE SUCCESSIVELY IN A PREDETERMINED MANNER.

Application filed May 5, 1925.

This invention relates to improvements in musical instruments, and has particular reference to the control of tone shading and musical dynamics.

The principal object of the invention 1s to provide improved means for delicately shading the volume of tone produced by a musical instrument, and thus to permit a more accurate control of the expression im parted to the music being played.

In its broad aspect the present invention relates to the use of a plurality of mechanisms for reducing the volume of musical tone operated from a single device in accord ance with the will of an operator.

More specifically, there is provided a tone modulator which may beformed of sound insulating material for reducing the musical tone emitted, in combination With'additional means, such as a pianissimo action, which further reduces the musical tone emitted, and a single device operating both the tone modulator and the pianissimoaction successively at the will of an operator.

In carrying out the invention in practice I provide a musical instrument ofthe percussive type, such as a pianoforte, with two separate mechanisms for reducing the tone volume. The tone producing means include a plurality of tuned stringspand there is provided mechanism for initially control ling tone modulatorsfor reducing the-volume of sound emitted and subsequently op erating a pianissimo'action- Other objects will appear'from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which F igure 1 is a front elevation partly in section of one form of the inventlon as applied to a grand piano; v Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 9 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation partly in section of a modified form of the invention applied to a grand piano;

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line -'l-'1 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a detailedview partly in section of the pedal mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 3.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2, the system is shown as applied to a grand piano 10, provided with the usual plurality of strings 11 tuned to the notes of the musical scale and mounted in a framework 12. A conventional piano action Serial No. 28.163.

13 is provided for each of the notes of the piano arranged for percussion with the' strings tuned to the respective note and operating by means of a key forming part of a usual piano keyboard 14. The instrument includes a so-called pianissimo action for reducing the volume of sound produced by the percussion of the strings 11, and one form of such pianissimo action selected for illustration will now be described. The actrons 13 and the keys 14 are mounted in a keybed 15 which is slidably mounted in the framework of the piano so as to be movable with respect to the strings, and is normally maintained in the position shown in Figure 1, by means of a spring 16 positioned in a suitable recess in the casing of the piano. The keybed 15 is-provided with a notch 17, cuttherem, and there projects into this notchone end of a lever 18 having a pivotal connection at 19 with'th'e stationary framework of the piano 10. 'The opposite end of the lever 18 isprovided 'with'a roller 20 in roll ng contact with the -camface of an operating rod' 21. :Thecam face of the operati'ng rod. 21 includes a cam projection 22. The-lower endiof the'rod 21 is opera-- tlvelyconnected'to a controlmember such as 'a :pedal 23, whichtmay preferably"'be mounted' in apedal frame" 24'. depending from :the frameworliof the: piano upon rods 25-"and-26i-andwabracket 27 secured to theframeworkof the piano under the keyboard. The operating=rod=21 is provided with an ear or lug 30 in aniiintermediate portion thereof;"to' wl1i'ch is-secured one end of aspring' 31, the other-end of the spring: being attached to the-frame 24 so"- as to retract the operating rod 21 into'the position shown in the drawing; There are" referably mounted in the base" 24,' two additional pedals such as-32"and 33, which arewperatively connected to two additional:

operating rods

34 and 35 respectively and to any desired mechanism of the piano such as the sostenuto and loud pedal action.

The casing of thepianois formed to in clude a layer 36 of sound insulating material i.n the walls thereof, as illustrated, sothat the sound produced within the casing may be effectively suppressed and prevented from being emit-ted. The casing is provided with two series of oppositely disposed controllable apertureseach series being positioned in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the strings 11 of the piano, and on opposite sides thereof. There is also provided means for controlling the extent of openingof these apertures, so as to reduce or otherwise control the volume of sound emitted from the casing. The operating means for controllin those apertures includes a roller 40 mounted for rotation upon a lever 41 pivotally secured at 42 to the bracket 27. The roller 40 is in rolling contact with the cam face of the cam 22. The lower or free end of the lever '41 is connected to a link 43 which includes an ear or lug 144 having attached thereto one end of a spring 145, the other end of the spring being secured to the bracket 27, so that the'link 43 and the mechanism associated therewith tends normally to assume the-position illustrated. The other end of the link 43 is pivotally secured to an arm 44 which is afiixed to a vertically extending shaft 45 mounted for rotation 'in

bearings

46,47 and'extending vertically through the casing of the piano.- The

bearings

46, 47 are secured to the walls of the piano casing 8116.78 COllaT-'-4:8'lSsfSCUI8d to the :shaft 45 immediately above the upper bearing 47'so asdolprevent: longitudinal movement of the shaft 45 inits bearings; An operating arm 50 is secured to the shaft 45 outwardly of andbelow the casing of the piano and a secand operating arm 51*is secured tothe shaft 45 outwardly of and'above-thepiano casing-.- The-arms 50-ai1d 51E are-connected 'respec tivelytofiipainof-links 52 and. 53 the. other ends of which .are-roonnedled'; to operating rods 154=and 55 respectively. ;Pivotally oon nectedto .the :operating= rod 54 at spaced P:0lntS,:l.3u} luralityof arms 56; and similarly,. i ivota y-.-connecfied. to the operating.

'rod 55.-atispac-edlpoints'.there is a pluraht of-arms q57a-z Each ofotliewarms '56- and- 5 has securedclzlieretooa tone.-;modulator gthu's. forming-1W0? sets -of= tone? modulator-$58 and P 59.respectively.=.which are mounted-for rotations-ntbouh-thein longitudinal axes, in. the oppositely disposed aperturesrespectively, and whicli;c ontrol--the.:.extent of; opening of the apertures: so; as toregulate theemission ofsound therethrough. l-

the1operati'on of theform ofthe invention shown .in'Figur'es-l and-2 when the foot pedal 23,-is depressed the rod 21 is elevated and-theiroller 40 rolls along the inclined sur- -:i faceZof-the cam 22, and-.in so doing, rotates the lever 41 ina clockwise direction about the point 42. Thiscauses. the link 43 to'be moved to the left,-thus rotating the arm 44, the shaft 45 and two

arms

50 and 51 in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Figure piano.

arm 18 in a clockwise direction about the point 19, which causes the keybed 15 to be moved to the right against the action of the spring 16, which causes the piano action 13 to be moved so that the hammers do not strike the full number of strings of each note, thus producing the piauissimo cll'cct in the piano.

\Vhen the pressure on the foot pedal 23 is released, the rod 21 will move downwardly under the action of the spring 31 and the roller 20 will move down the face of the cam thus allowing the keyhcd 15 to be moved to the left under the action of the spring 16, thus taking off the soft pedal action of the As the rod 21 continues to more downwardly the roller 40 will roll down the face of the cam 22. thus causing the modulators to be opened under the action of the spring 145.

It is thus seen that when the foot pedal is depressed, the modulators will be gradually closed and then the pianissimo action will be put on and whenthe footpedal is released the'soft pedal action willfirst be thrown off and then the modulators will be gradually opened. c 1

In' the modified form of the invention shown 1!]. Figures 3,4 and 5, the system is shown as applied to a-grand piano 70,-which is provided with the. usual keybed 71:slidabl v mounted-in the frame ofthe piano and held in the positionshown in Figure 3 by means of a spring 72. .The keybed 71 is provided with a-notch:73 into which fits one end of a bell-crank .74which is mounted for rotation upon a pivot. l5 which is secured to the framework of the piano 70. The otherend of the bell-crank 74 is in line with a rod 76 which is slidably mounted .in a bracket 77 supportedbythe framework of the piano. At its lower end the; rod 76 rests upon the rear end of a pedal 78 which is pivoted at 80 in a block 81 which'is supported from the bracket. 77 by means of two rods 82 and S3. The rod 76 is,providcd with :1 lug S4 to which is secured one end of a-spring 85 the other end of which is fastened to the block 81. Mounted in the hlock'Sl a.'.to t\-:o aslrlitional.,-pcdals SG and 87 which opera?

rods

90 and 91 which control the so and loud pedal action of the piano in a known manner;

Secured to the shaft 76 is a collar 92 which prevents-it being pulled below a certain predetermined height. Sc 'nvd to the nope? end of the rod 76 is a collar 93 upon which rests a member 94 which is rotatably mounted upon the rod 76. Connected to one end of the member 94 by means of a ball and socket joint is a link 95 the other end of which is connected also by a ball andsocket joint to a bell-crank 96 which is pivoted at 97 to the framework of the piano andis pro vided with a handle 98.

.. .1! well Cooperating with the other end of the member 94 is a bell=crank 100 which is pivoted at 101 to the bracket 77. At its lower end the bell-crank 100 is provided with a hole through which slides a rod 102 to which is secured a collar 103. To the end of the rod 102 is fastened a second collar 104 between which and the bell-crank 100 is a. spring 105. The rod 102 is provided with a lug 106 to which is connected one end of a spring 107 the other end of which is securedto a bra cket 108 mounted upon the framework of the piano. The other end ofthe rod 102 is connected to an arm 110 which is rigidly secured to one end of a shaft 111.. Rigidly secured to the shaft 111 is an arm 112 to the end of which is connected a link 113 the other end of which is connected to a rod 114. To the rod 114 is pivoted a plurality of arms 115 which are mounted upon an equal number of tone modulators 116 mounted for rotation about their longitudinal axes in the framework of the pianof jlo. .The upper end of the shaft 111 operates a tone modulator mechanism .similar tol that 'described in connection with F 1 and 2.

In the operation of, thenioditied form oi the invention shown in Figures 3, ,4 aiid 5, when the pedal 78 is depressed the rod 76 will be elevated and thejinenibert i engaging the bell-crank 100 willc ause itlto be r0 tated ina eounterclockwise directiomithus moving its lowerfend to the-rightiwhichwill act upon the spring 105 causing itgto' push the collar 104-to the right, therebyn'ioying the rod 102 to the righti Thi's caiises the arm 110,"the shaft-111 and the 112 t0. be rotated'in a counter-clockwise" direction, thus moving the link 11 3 'find t lie,rod ll to the right which causes the tone modulators 116 to be closedf A simil'aij;;action takes place with the tone modulators {onfth'top of the piano. When fth tOnq iriodulators have become entirely 'clos'edi and the, foot; pedal 78 is depressed further'ltlie bell-crank 100 will continue tobe rotatedfandfwillcompress the spring'105. At the same time 'the end of the rod 76 will engagethebell crank' 74, thus rotating it in aclockwise direction about the PiX'Ot 7 5 This f will' causefthe' upper end of this bell-"crankjto b'e'moved to the right, thus moving thekejbed 71 to the right and throwing err-the pianissim'o' action of the piano in a well-known manner.

If it is desired to operate'thes oft pedal action entirely independent offthetone modulators leaving themflwide open, the handle 98 is moved to therightlthereby rotating the bell-crank 96 in a' clockwise direction about the pivot 97 which by means of the link 95 causes the member 94 to be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction on the shaft 76. This will cause the member 9'7 to be moved out of alignment with the bellcrank 100 so that when the pedal 78 is depressed and the rod 76 elevated it will not operate the bell-crank 100 but will only engage the bell-crank 74. The tone modulators 116 will therefore remain in the open posit-ion as shown, while the pianissimo action will be thrown on as previouslydescribed.

The invention upon which this application is based is broader than the specific embodiment shown and described for the purpose of illustrating at least one of the ways in which it may be employed. The scope of the invention is therefore to be understood as not being limited by the present specific description. I intend no limitations other than those imposed by the claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A tone modulating system for a pianoforte, comprising a tone modulating pedal, means effective for suppressing the musical sound emitted from the pianoforte, a pianissiino action forcontrolling the initial volume of musical sound produced by the strings of the pianoforte, a'nd means operatively interconnecting the pedal, the sound suppressing means and the pianissimo action arranged so that actuation of the pedal first operates the sound suppressing means and thereafter the pianissimo' action.

,2.. Atone control-system for a piano, comprising. a pedal, sound suppressing means operable upon the initial movement of the pedal, and means for controlling the'volume of musical sound initially'produced by the strings ofthe .piand operable upon additional movement of the pedal.

3. A tone control systein for a piano, comprising a. pedalrsound suppressing means operable upon the initi al movement of the fiedah. and a piani'ssimo action for control ling the volume of musical sound initially produced by the strings of the piano operable upon additional movement of the pedal. ,4. Ina musical instrument, a plurality of tuned stringsfor producing musical tones, a casing including substantially sound proof material around said. strings, percussive means within the casingand movable-with respect to the strings to cause a striking contact with the strings, keys for initiating the striking movement of the percussive means, means to adjust said percussive means with respect to the strings, a plurality of modulators positioned in the casing for controlling the volume of musical sound emitted therefrom, and a pedal operatively connected toimpart movement initially-lo said modulators and to impart movement subsequently to the adjusting means. i

In a musical instrument having a percussive action for producing musical sound. a pianissimo mechanism for controlling said percussive action to vary the amplitude of sound produced thereby, a pedal for controlling said pianissimo mechanism, a tone modulator for varying the volume of musical sound emitted from the instrument, and means interconnecting said modulator and said pedal for actuating said modulator in advance of said pianissimo action. i

6. In a musical instrument of the percus sire type, a plurality of hammers, strings arranged to be set into vibration by impact. thereon of said hammers, a plurality of keys for actuating said hammers respectively, a plurality of tone modulators for varying the intensity of musical sound emitted from the instrument, means for variably positioning the hammers with respect to the strings to modify the intensity of sound producedby said strings upon the impact of' the hammers thereon, and means initially efi'ective for operating the tone modulators and for subsequently operating the hammer 'positioning means. I

7. In a musical instrument of the percussive type, the combination of a casing having oppositelyv disposed, controllable aper- Lures, means positioned within the casing for producing musical tones by percussion, a manual or actuating said percussive means, means for controlling the extent'of opening of said apertures for varying the i'iiten sity of musical sound emitted from 'th iiistrument, means acting onsaid percussion means to modify the intensity of 'sound produced thereby, and means connected to actuate opening control means initially and sai'd intensity modifying means subsequently.

8. In a musical instrument of the percus sive type, a plurality of hammers, strings arranged to be set into vibration by impact thereon of said hammers, a plurality of keys for actuating said'hammers respectively, a plurality of tone modulators for varying the intensity of musical sound emitted from the instrument, means for variably. positioning said hammers with respect to said strings to modify the intensity of musical sound produced by said strings by the impact of the hammers, a sound intensity control pedal, and means operatively connecting said pedal to said tone modulators and said hammer positioning means effective initially for operating the tone modulators and effective thereafter for operating said hammer positioning means.

9. In a musical instrument having a pencussive action for producing musical sound, a tone modulator for varying the volume of musical sound emitted from the instrument, a pianissimo mechanism for the percussive action to vary the amplitude of musical simo mechanism until the modulator has been actuated.

10. A tone modulating system [or a pia'n'otort'e comprising a tone modulating' pedal, means ell'ective for'suppressing the musical sound emitted from the piauolorte, a pianissimo action for controlling the in itial volume of musical sound produced by the strings of the pianoforte and means operati vely interconnecting the pedal, the sound suppressing means'an'd the pianissimo action arranged to render said pedal inetl'ectzve foractuating said sound suppressing means] i @Aftone control system for a piano comprising a; pedal, sound suppressing means operable upon movement of the pedal, means independently operable upon move meat of the pedal for controllin the volume of musical sound initially prod uced bv the strings of the piano and' means for rendering saidsound'suppi 'essing means inactive with respect to; movement of the pedal..

"-121A1toii"control system for a piano QQmP 1$l g. edelmsa nd upp meanspperable upon moven' ent of the pedal, a1 pianissimo action' for controlling the volumeof musical'sound initially produced by thestrings of ,the piano, and means for renderingf's aid" sound suppressing, means inactivejw lthrespect to said pedal.

" 13.'.In"a' musicalfinstrume'nt, a plurality of tuned strings 'for'producing musical tones a casingiincluding substantially soundproo material around said strings, percussive means within the casing and movable with respect tothe strings to cause a striking cont'actyvith the strings, keys for initiating the striking movement'o f the percussive means, means to adjust said percussive means with respect to the strings, a plurality of modulators positioned within the casing for controlling the voluine of musical sound emitted therefrom, a. pedal operatively connected to impart ,movement to said modulators and to said adjusting means and a manually controlled device for rendering said modulators inactive with-respect to said pedal.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New York this 4th day of May, A. D; 1925.

JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, Jn.