US2166202A - Electric organ - Google Patents

Description

July 18, 1939., H. F. WATERS 2,166,202

ELECTRIC ORG AN R Harry f1/'qkm BY ,f

ATTORN EY July 18, 193.9. H. F. WATERS ELECTRIC ORGN 2 sheets-sheet' 2 Filed Dec. 50, 1936 Illlllllllllllll MMMfLf/ @MMM/M f ATTORNEY Patented July 18, 1939 ELECTRIC ORGAN Harry F. Waters, New York, N. Y., assignor of fifteen per cent to P. R. Mallory & Co., Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application December 30, 1936, Serial No. 118,321

4 Claims.

This invention relates to electrical musical instruments.

An object of the invention is to improve electrical musical instruments, such as electric organs and the like.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings taken in connection with the appended claims.

The invention comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, arrangement of parts, and methods of manufacture and operation referred to above or which will be brought out and exemplified in the disclosure hereinafter set forth, including the illustrations in the drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a circuit diagram of a portion of a circuit of an electric organ;

Figure 2 represents a modification thereof;

Figure 3 illustrates a further modification;

Figure 4 shows another modification of the invention embodying a tone disc;

Figure 5 is a face view of the disc used in Figure 4; and v Figure 6 is a face view of the disc used in Figure 3. v

In electrical musical instruments, such as electric organs, it is desirable to simulate and, if possible, improve upon the results obtainable with the traditional mechanical instruments such as the conventional wind-operated pipe organs. Some pipe organ effects have heretofore been diicult, if not impossible, to attain in electric organs. For example, with a pipe organ as each new note is added to the organ output the volume is increased in proportion and as each individual note is cut off the volume is decreased proportionally. For such a result to be achieved with an electric organ of the types heretofore used, would require a very large number of individual oscillator circuits, a number practically impossible for standard vcommercial instruments.

According to one aspect of my invention this result is accomplished by generating in a single oscillator or sound frequency producing means a sound frequency of true pitch rich in harmonics and then filtering out the harmonics in various proportions to obtain the different tone qualities desired such as reed,.flute, string, or diapason quality. There may preferably be one oscillator for each pitch desired.

The variations in volume output for -eachquality arepreferably obtained according to the invention by varying the resistance or transmission efficiency in the secondary or output circuits individual to each tone. 'Ihe circuits may preferably be so arranged that only a small part of the oscillator output volume is utilized for each tone quality. For example, if it is desired to bring in a flute first .and later add reed quality the flute will only take a part of the oscillator volume, the rest being held in reserve. Then when the reed is brought in that quality adds to the total sound volume. Likewise as each tablet or switch on the organ is pulled a predetermined increase in volume is obtained.

The build up obtained in present types of electrical musical instruments is generally absent or is insufficient to obtain the natural reproduction of organ volume when several tones are combined to form an ensemble.

With the present invention it is possible not only to obtain volume build up as the various qualities are added to the output but it is also possible for the artist to vary at will the amplitude of each tone quality produced independently of the amplitude of the other qualities. This advantage is not obtainable with present types of musical instruments nor is it possible in pipe organ construction without special equipment, such as the Vox Hunana in a separate sound chamber.

Another feature of my invention involves the provision of unifying means whereby electric variations of a plurality of tone frequencies are unied and converted into audible musical notes.

A further feature of the invention comprises the selective or simultaneous reproduction of a plurality of sounds from a single record element and combining or unifying the sounds thus reproduced.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention is described herein, it is contemplated that considerable variation may be made in the method of procedure and the construction of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identied by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit.

Referring to the drawings Figure l shows a portion of an electric organ circuit embodyingv features of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the complete organ circuit is very complicated, involving many repetitions of the Vunit circuit illustrated. The vnumber of similar connected circuits Will depend upon the range of the organ and may comprise for example, twelve,

thirty-two, forty-nine or sixty-one circuits or over, each one representing a separate pitch. Thus there may be an oscillator for each individual pure pitch and keys individual to that pitch, and

where the tablet contacts are here shown as each being only a single contact pair, in fact each tablet controls a large number of contacts.

For a given pitch, then, there is provided an oscillator I radapted to generate audio-frequency electrical oscillations of a true pitch value and rich in harmonics. One type of oscillator which would be suitable for this purpose is shown in my Patent No. 2,070,344 wherein the condenser 3| and tube 38 comprise the principal parts of the oscillator and receive energy from battery 21 which corresponds to battery II in the present disclosure. With all the harmonics retained, tle oscillations would, upon conversion to audible sound, have a reed quality. The oscillator I0 receives its energy from a battery or other D. C. source II and supplies its oscillations to a loud speaker I4 through output transformer I2 and output amplifier circuit I3.

A plurality of lter circuits for obtaining the various tone qualities are adapted to be selectively connected between the oscillator and the output transformer by means of the organ keys and tablets under control of the artist.

Similar circuits for the remaining pitch values desired are connected to the battery and output transformer by conductors I5 and I6.

The orga'n controls for each pitch include a solo key I1, an accompaniment key I8, and a pedal I9. The controls also include tablets associated with each key and the pedal for each tone quality such as reed, string, ute and diapason. Each tablet controls a large number of contacts, such as one contact pair foreach note. In the drawings the contact pairs for the note generated by oscillator I0 are represented, it being understood that other contacts (not shown) are associated therewith so as to be operated at the same time when the tablet is pulled.

Tone tablet contactsV 20, 2I, 22 and 23 are associated with the solo key I1 and provide reed, string, flute and diapason, respectively. Tone tablet contacts 24, 25, 26 and 21 are similarly associated with the accompaniment key I8 and tablet contacts 28, 29, 36 and 3I are` in like manner associated with the pedal I9.

A coupler tablet having contacts 32 and a unifying tablet having contacts 33 are also provided.

For each tone quality a filter circuit is provided which filters out the undesired frequencies in the harmonics-rich note produced by oscillator I0 so as to leave only the oscillations necessary to give the desired quality. For reed quality little if any filtering will be necessary; for string, ute and diapason various proportions of the various frequencies need to be ltered out. Filter circuit 34 (if required) is connected between the tone tablet contacts representing reed quality and the output transformer I2. An adjustable resistance 38 is connected in series with it. Filters 35, 36 and 31 and associated resistances 39, 40 and 4I, respectively are similarly connected to the string, flute and diapason contacts.

Output amplifier I3 is provided with a volume control comprising variable resistance 42 controlled by pedal 43 for varying the output volume.

In the operation of the organ the artist may pull such tone tablets as are desired for the different manuals or for solo, accompaniment and pedal keys. Then on pressing the desired key, the oscillator output oscillations will be connected through the key, tablet contact, resistor and lter to the output transformer thus supplying a note of the desired pitch and tone quality to the loud speaker.

If the artist pulls the coupler tablet 32 the solo key Will be coupled with the pedal so that solo and pedal will be coupled and played together. If he operates the unifying tablet 33 string and iiute of the pedal circuits will be unified or coupled with the solo key.

In Figure 2 an arrangement is shown whereby considerably less power is required for the operation of the instrument. In place of an oscillator continuously operating during the entire selection for each note a normally de-energized electromagnetic reed vibrator 5I) is provided and has associated therewith an electromagnetic or microphonic pick-up 5I. Instead of an electromagnetically operated reed the reed can be vibrated by compressed air and the air valve controlled by the electromagnet. The pick-up device 5I is associated with the organ circuits in the same Way as oscillator I0. In this instance, however, the keys, for instance, solo key 52, in addition to connecting the oscillations through the tablet contacts and filters by key contacts 53 also connect a source of electric energy such as battery 55 to the electromagnetic vibrator through key contacts 54, thereby starting the reed into vibration. As soon as the key is released the circuits are disconnected and the vibrator stops.

Figure 3 shows a means for picking up a tone from a sound record, either artificially produced or recorded from a musically produced pure tone. While a photo'electric system is illustrated the invention is also applicable to pick-up from mechanical sound records or other oscillations. In the illustration a disc 66 of glass or other trans parent material is adapted to be rotated by an electric motor 6I in front of a plurality of light sources 62 and 63 energized by battery 64 through switch 65.

Disc 6D has a concentric series of photographic sound record tracks 66 thereon as illustrated in Figure 6. For example, each record track may represent a pure pitch or frequency.

A plurality of photoelectric cells 61 and 68 are positioned on the opposite side of disc 6I] from light sources 62 and 63 respectively. Electro-- magnetically actuated shutters 69 and 10 are positioned between the disc and the cells normally cutting off the light passing through the disc to the cells but allowing the light to pass in response to energization of the electromagnets 1I and 12 respectively. The electromagnets are controlled by switches such as 13 and 14, respectively and solo and accompaniment keys and 16 respectively. Thus it is possible, by actuation of the proper contacts to allow cell 61 to pick up the recorded sound waves or to actuate both cells 61 and 63 at once.

With switch 14 closed, for example, electromagnet 1I is connected so as to be actuated by either of keys 15 or 16. With switch 13 closed instead of 14 both electromagnet 1I and electromagnet 12 are connected so as to be operated simultaneously by either of keys 15 or 16.

Cells 61 and 68 pick up from the same sound pitch track and are so located as to be onequarter cycle out of phase whereby the two pitch waves will be combined in the output tor yield a wave of twice the former frequency.

In Figures 4 and 5 means are Vshown for selectively reproducing from a single sound record element, containing a plurality of sound recordings, the sounds corresponding to any one of said recordings or for simultaneously reproducing the sounds from a plurality of said recordings.

This means includes a sound record disc of transparent material, such as glass, upon which are several concentric rows of photographic tone recordings. Such a disc may be called a tone disc. Associated with the tone disc is a second. transparent disc having photographic impressions of slits arranged thereon.

This may be called a pitch disc. The two discs are mounted in parallel co-axial relation with the pitch disc arranged to rotate at various speeds with respect to the tone disc and a light source is arranged to project light through the discs.

The apparatus is arrangedto subject the entire pitch disc and tone disc to light issuing from one or more light sources and by providing a separate shutter mechanism, or multiple unit light-sensitive cell, for each individual row of sound representations on the tone disc.

In the drawings, wherein is shown for the purposeof illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, designates the tone disc of the improved apparatus, said tone disc being nonrotatably fixed in place in any suitable manner. Arranged adjacent to the tone disc |0| is a pitch disc |02 which is supported for rotation with respect to the tone disc |0| in any suitable manner, Said pitch disc being subjected to rotatory movement preferably by a electric motor |03 through the instrumentality of a transmission belt |04 which operates over pulleys mounted on shaft |05 of the pitch disc |02 and the armature shaft of the motor.

Arranged on the tone disc |0| are groups of representations of sound vibrations |20, said groups of representations preferably being in the form of a number of radial rows of representations as shown in Fig. 5. The sound representations may be impressed on the tone disc photographically or otherwise and the diiTerent groups of sound representations may represent tones of di'erent musical instruments, or the tone disc may be provided with representations which produce hitherto unknown tones. For the purpose of this disclosure it may be assumed that the various radial rows of sound representations correspond to stops of an organ as such assumption will simplify the description of the invention. It may be considered, therefore, that each radial row of sound representationsincludes twenty-six tones, and that each radial row of sound representations produce tones of a musical instrument diierent from the musical instruments the tones of which are produced by the sound representations of the other rows of sound representations.

The pitch disc |02 is provided with photographic or other sound producing impressions of n a large number of slits |2| arranged in concentric order; that is to say there are twenty-six concentric rows of spaced slits arranged one within the other on the pitch disc, the number and arrangevment of the slits being calculated in accordance with the known fact that the ratio of successive half tones in the even tempered scale is about 106 to 100. It willbe noted that each adjacent pair of slits in any of the concentric rows of slits on the pitch disc|02 are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the various radial rows of sound representations on the tone disc |0|.

Arranged in a horizontal plane and in alinement with each radial row of sound representations |20 on the tone disc IDI is a housing |06 which encloses a suitable electric lamp |01. This housing'is also provided with suitable condensing lenses |03 through which light rays from the lamp |07 pass. Interposed between the lamp housing |05 and the corresponding row of sound representations with which it is alined is a shutter nism referred to includes a plurality of shuttersv each individual one of which is arranged so that it covers a space on the pitch disc equal to the length and width of one sound representation in the radial row of sound representations with which the shutter mechanism is associated. In other words there are twenty-six individual shutters operable in a manner to cause the sound representations with which they are respectively related to be exposed or masked as desired. It is extremely important to note that each and every radial row of sound representations on the tone disc has a shutter mechanism and a light source associated therewith, hence any sound representation on the entire tone disc may be exposed by operating the associated shutter so as to permit light from the associated light source to passtherethrough.

In order to operate the individual shutters of the shutter mechanisms |09 associated with the various radial rows of sound representations |20 of the tone disc I provide a keyboard I0 provided with electrical contact elements and ||2 which are moved into contact with each other on depression of the keys of the keyboard. The

contact elements |i2 are connected by electrical* conductors H3 to electro-magnets, or other suitable means (not shown) one of which is associated with each individual shutter of the shutter mechanisms it. By depressing a key of the keyboard M0 the associated electro-magnet is energized..

sociated with it an amplifying means ||4a which;

amplies the rather feeble electrical values produced by the photoelectric cell to the desired point. As stated each and every radial row of vsound representations |20 on the tone disc |0| has a photoelectric cell '|4 and an amplifying means lila associated therewith, and leading from the amplifying means of each photoelectric cell are electrical conductors I5 which lead to a common amplier l E6. The amplifier ||6 is connected by electrical conductors to a suitable sound producing apparatus IIS such as a loud speaker.

In the operation of my improved apparatus the iight sources i0? associated with all of the radial rows oi" sound representations |20 on the tone disc are lighted and the pitch disc is rotated and when the apparatus is silent all of the individual shutters of the various shutter mechanisms |09 are in the positions where they prevent passage of light through the corresponding sound representations ili5 on the tone disc. With the apparatus in the conditions described a key of the keyboard is depressed with the result that the shutter corresponding to said key is operated to unmask the sound representation associated with said shutter thereby permitting the slits in the rotating pitch disc to intercept the light from the associated light source and sweep said light across the associated sound representation, the light from one slit of the pitch disc commencing its passage across the sound representation just as the preceding slit moves away from said sound representation. In this manner one of said slits is always carrying light across the associated sound representation while the associated shutter is in an open condition, hence, the sound produced will be continuous and unbroken. The light which passes through the sound representation falls into an associated photoelectric cell I I4 which translates the particular light value into corresponding electrical Values, and the amplifying means associated with the photoelectric cell amplies the feeble electrical values to the desired extent. These electrical .values are then conducted to the amplifier IIS where theyV are amplied and pass then to the loud speaker where said electrical values are translated into sound. This procedure is followed as each shutter is operated hence any tone whose representation appears on the tone disc IUI may be sounded at any time and as many of said tones as desired may be sounded simultaneously.

It is apparent, therefore, that my improved apparatus is capable of very complete operation inasmuch as any tone may be reproduced at any time or as many of said tones as desired may be reproduced simultaneously in the operation of the apparatus.

If the keyboard of my improved apparatus included a separate key for each tone represented on the tone disc an arrangement would be present similar to that in connection with the use of a straight organ. However, this may not be desirable at all times, hence, I intend under certain circumstances to unify the keyboard mechanism of my improved apparatus in the manner in which a modern pipe organ is unified. In other words the keyboard mechanism of the improved apparatus will be provided with an electrical Wiring system which renders possible the sounding of more than one tone on depression of a single key, or the sounding of a certain tone on depression of different keys. Also such unifying electrical system renders possible the operation of various other combinations which are very well understood by persons familiar with the pipe organ art, hence, such operations need not be described in detail herein.

In Figure 4 I have illustrated diagrammatically and in the simplest possible form the arrangement of unifying the keyboard mechanism of my improved apparatus and in this view III) designates the keyboard mechanism While H9 designates generally the well known system of unifying a keyboard mechanism.

While the present invention, as to its objects and advantages, has been described herein as carried out in specific embodiments thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereby but it is intended to cover the invention broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electric sound producing system, a sound record element carrying a record path of a 5 sound wave of uniform pitch, means for scanning said record path and electrically producing sound therefrom and a second means for scanning said same record path at a different phase from said rst scanning means but at the same scanning 10. speed and means for electrically combining the resulting energy whereby a frequency is reproduced different from that produced by a single scanning means.

2. An electric organ comprising a generator of 15 electric current having the frequency characteristics of a musical note rich in harmonics, a sound output system for converting sound-frequency electric energy into audible sound, and means for supplying sound-frequency electric energy from` 20 said generator to said sound output system comprising a plurality of electric circuits, a filter in each of said circuits, each of said lters transmitting the fundamental note produced by said generator, said individual lters having respectively diierent transmission characteristics for the harmonics produced'by said generator whereby a different organ tone quality will be transmitted by each of said circuits, and organ controls for optionally connecting each of said circuits between V said generator and said sound output system individually or a plurality in multiple.

3. An electric organ comprising a generator of electric current having the frequency characteristics of a musical note rich in harmonics, a sound output system for converting sound-frequency electric energy into audible sound, and means for supplying sound-frequency electric energy'from said generator to said sound output system comprising a plurality of electric circuits, a filter inI 40 each of said circuits, each of said filters transmitting the fundamental note produced by said generator, said individual filters having respectively different transmission characteristics for the harmonics produced by said generator whereby a diiferent organ tone quality will be transmitted by each of said circuits, current limiting means in each of said circuits for limiting the amount of electric sound frequency energy transmitted thereby to a small fraction of the total energy output of said generator, and organ controls for optionally connecting each of said circuits between said generator and said sound output system individually or a plurality in multiple, the energy volume of the fundamental note transmitted being greater when a plurality of tones are transmitted than when one tone is transmitted.

4. In an electric organ, a source o f sound-frequency electric energy capable of being changed into a multiplicity of tone qualities, an output device for converting said energy into audible sound, and a plurality of channels for transmitting respectively different tone qualities to said output device from said source, and a means Within a channel for limiting the amount` of energy transmitted thereby to a portion of the total energy produced by said source.

HARRY F. WATERS.

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