US2230698A

US2230698A - Spinet piano action

Info

Publication number: US2230698A
Application number: US228363A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schulze Carl
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-09-03
Filing date: 1938-09-03
Publication date: 1941-02-04
Anticipated expiration: 1958-02-04

Description

Feb. 4, 1941. c', SCHULZE SPINET PIANO ACTION Filed Sept. 3, 1938 Patented Feb. 4, 1941 2,230,698

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPINET PIANO ACTION Carl Schulze, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Application September 3, 1938, Serial No. 228,363

4 Claims. (Cl. 84-240) This invention relates to a spinet piano ac- In the drawing: tion, This type of piano is not well adapted for Figure 1 is a vertical section taken in a front employment with ordinary piano actions, beand reas: plane through the upper portion of a cause it requires the action to be located at or piano casing or boX of spinet type, the lower 5 below the level of the keyboard. Ordinary upportion of the casing being broken away. This right piano actions require a considerable space View shows the parts of the action in a posiin a front and rear direction, and this necessition of rest. tates a casing or piano box of very considerable Figure 2 is a fragmentary view showing some horizontal depth. of the parts illustrated in Figure 2, but in the In my prior application entitled Mechanical relation which they assume when the key is 10 action for musical instruments, filed March 21, struck and held down.

1938, Serial No. 197,061, I disclosed a piano ac- Referring more particularly to the parts I tion of simple construction, greatly reducing the indicates the casing or box of a spinet type number of parts that it is necessary to employ. piano including a front board 2 which, in the l5 The mechanical action disclosed Il my DIOI present instance, is substantially upright or verapplication is not immediately adaptable t0 an tical, and also including the keyboard 3, Which upright mechanical action. is substantially horizontal and extends back An object of the present invention is to profrom the front board in the usual manner. Be-

vde a mechanical action embodying the fealow the keyboard I provide a base board 4, which 2o tures of Simplicity and few parts, and particularly is also substantiauy horizontal, and located at 20 adapted fOl employment in a Spnet type piano. the level of the lower edge of the front board.

A further ObJeCt 0f the invention iS 'C0 PIO- Above the keyboard a key rail 5 is provided vide a mechanical piano action of very simple Carrying e, plurality 0f keys Such as the key 6, construction, involving few parts, and which and each of these keys is Supported on a, Suitcan be readily assembled into a relatively small able pivot to rock in a, vertical plane; in the 25 space at or below the level of the keyboard. This present instance, each key is supported on a enables the horizontal depth of the spinet to pivot pin 1 earried 0n an adjustable block 3 be greatly reduced. Also to provide a constructhat is damped in position by means of a Clamption in which the resistance of the keys when ing Screw 9 passing down into the rail 5,

struck by the lingers, will closely simulate those Supported ou the base board 4 I provide means 30 in a piano of horizontal or grand type. for imparting movement from the key 6 to the A fmt-hel Object 0f the invention S t0 Provide piano action, which is indicated generally by the a construction which will adapt the mechanical reference numeral In order to accomplish action disclosed in the said prior application, to this, 1 prefer to provide a Sub key At an inan upright type 0f design and t0 provide a con' termediate point on its length this sub-key is 35 struction which will enable the hammer head to Supported to rook on a fulorum l2, which fulrebound and be held a short distance from the Crum may be in the form of a rail or pad string' if the key struck is held depressed, and l2 of relatively Soft material, Such as rubat the same time, to construct the parts in such ber or felt. The Sub key is held in alignment 40 a way that as soon as the key is released the parts preferably by means of a vertical pin i3 that 40 of the mechanical action will place themselves extends up through a Slot M in the Suokov in a relation to permit a second depression of This slot tapers in Width in a from ,and real. di the key t0 dYVe the hammer against the String rection so that the slot at its lower end fits fairly to produce a repeat note. This enables repeat closely to the diameter of the prin |3 The upper 4' notes t0 be Struck in rapid Succession end of the slot I4 may be closed by a small cover 45 a Further objects of the invention Will appear pad I5 that is Slotted to permit the upper end herenafterof the pin I3 to move to and fro, and this pad The invention Consists in the novel parts and will exclude a considerable amount of dust from combination of parts to be described hereinafter, entering the sloth I provide another aligning 5o all of which contribute to produce an efcient pm l5 near the front end of the Subkoy, which 50 Spinet paIlO aCOH. pin projects up from the upper face of the base A preferred embodiment of the invention is deboard 4 and exi-,ends through a guide S101; l1, and scribed in the following specifica-tion, while the it may have a pad lining i3 if desire@ The blOad SCOPE 0f the nVerltOl'l iS pointed out in rear end of the sub-key normally rests on a soft the appended claims. pad or rail I9, and this end of the sub-key im- 55 partsmovement to the piano action I9 preferably through the agency of a capstan screw 2t, which is adjustably mounted in the upper face of the sub-key.

Toward the rear of the casing I Vand somewhat below the mid position between the keyboard3and the base board 44, I provide a hammer rail 2 i, and on this rail I mount back check levers such as the lever 22, each back check lever being pivotally mounted on a pin 23 carried by ablock 24 adjustably clamped on the upper face of the rail 2l 'by a clamping screw 25. The rail 2l has a downward extension or fiange 26 on which I attach a pivot block 21 corresponding to each hammer, and each of these blocks 21 pivotally supports on a pin 28, a jack lever 29. I prefer to mount the hammers directly on the upper sides of the back check levers 22, as this enables me to bring the center of gravity of the hammer and its shank out of linewith the hammer pivot 23.

, In order Ito accomplish this I provide the hammer with a head 39 of the usual construction, said head being attached at an angle (preferably slightly less than to the hammer shank 3i, the lower end of the hammer shank being carried in a block or hub 32 that is secured on the upper side of the lever 22. The

levers

22 and 29 are preferably wood, and also the block 32. This makes for lightness, and Ithe wood is also easily worked into the desired shape.

Above the location of the rail 2i I lprovide a return spring rail 33 provided with springs such as the spring 34, corresponding to each hammer; and the lower ends -of these springs are bent to form curved heads 35 that are received in notches 36 formed at the rear edge of `each block 32.

I provide contact means for imparting movement from the jack lever 29 to the h-ammer 32, and this means is preferably constructed in accordance with my prior invention disclosed in my said application, Serial No. 197,061. This contact means involves the use of :a roller on one of these

parts

22 and 29, and a spring-pressed rocker lon the other of these parts. In `the present instance, I have illustrated a roller 31 supported on bracket arms 38 extending down from the back check lever 22, 'and on the jack lever 29 I provide upwardly projecting bracket arms 39 that pivotally support a rocker 49, said rocker having a forwardly projecting stop end 4l carrying an adjustable stop 42 that normally rests .against a stop pad 43 secured on the upper face of the jack lever 29.

A coil spring 44 normally thrusts upwardly against a tail arm 45 projecting rearwardly on the rocker 40, and normally holds the rocker against the stop pad 43.

The upper portion of the rocker 40 is in the form of a cam 46 covered by a lpad I465a and shaped so that the pad presents `a substantially horizontal driving face 41, the function of which is to contact with the roller 31 and impart a striking movement to the hammer. Toward the forward end of the cam 45 it is cut away on an angle to form a relief face 43. When the parts are at rest as illustrated in Fig. 1, the driving face 41 is in contact with the roller, and the location of this face is on a vertical lline passing slightly to the left of the pivot 49 of the rocker 49. With this arrangement it will be evident that when the key 6 is depressed, the consequent upward swinging movement of the jack lever 29 will impart movement through the 4driving face 41 to the roller 31, and thence to the back check lever, 22 and the hammer, causing the hammer shank 3l to swing rearwardly and strike the hammer head 30 `against 'the string 59 that is mounted on the back board 5| of the casing.

When .this action takes place the hammer rebounds from the spring and is back-checked in the manner indicated in Figure 2. In order to accomplish this I provide a back check pad 52 supported on the forward end of the jack lever 29 and a cooperating back check pad 53 carried at the forward end of the back check lever 22. The cooperation of these pads is fully illustrated in Figure 2. Of course, they will only operate if the key 6 is held down after being struck. When the key is struck and held down in this way, the rocker 49 will assume the relation to the roller indicated in Figure 2; that is to say, the roller will move out of Contact with the driving face 41, and the spring 44 will hold the relief face 48 against the face of the roller. However, if a repeat note is to be struck, as soon as the key 6 is released. it will return to its elevated position through the agency of a spring lto be described hereinafter, and when .this occurs the jack lever 29 will swing down slightly and the spring 44 will then rock the rocker 40 toward the left sufficiently to bring the driving face 41 under the roller again. The immediate depression of the key 6 for a repeat note, will then operate .to drive the hammer head 39 against the string 59, and repeat the note.

Any suitable means may be employed for normally holding the key (i in its elevated position. I prefer to employ a coil spring 54 to accomplish this, said spring being carried in spring sockets 55 formed by drilling into the adjacent faces of the base board 4 and the sub-key l l. The movement from the key to the sub-key il may be imparted in any suitable manner, but preferably through the agency of a push rod 59, the upper end of which is held against the under face of the key 6 near its forward end, and the lower end of which thrusts against the upper face of the sub-key il at its forward end. If desired, an anchoring pin 51 may be provided on the lower end of the push rod, and this pin is preferably in line with the spring sockets 55 so that it assists in holding the spring 54 in place.

lThe sub-,key l l is constructed and mounted on the pin I3 like an ordinary piano key, with the forward end of the sub-key located directly under', and in line with, the forward end of the keyboard key 6. When the key E5 is depressed, the force exerted by the fingers of the players is transmitted to the forward end of the sub-key, and as the sub-key is mounted like an ordinary keyboard key, its resistances in the striking movement simulate very closely the resistances encountered in striking and depressing an ordinary piano key. The action mechanism proper, that is to say, the parts of the hammer action operated by the rear end of the sub-key, are so constructed as to prevent the development of any sudden resistance `as ordinarily takes place where a jack driving the hammer is set off to terminate the driving action of the hammer.

The upper end of the push rod 56 is preferably guided through an opening 58 in the keyboard 3.

The damper 59 may be controlled by the cam post 69 extending up from the tail end of the jack lever 29, which engages the tail end of the damper lever 6i, which lever is mounted on a pivot 62 at the rear end of the block 33 clamped on the upper side of the rail 2i. The damper is normally held against the string by a bow spring 63. The free end of this spring engages a wire shank 64 that supports the damper 59. The damper may be adjustable on the shank 64 through the agency of a set screw 65.

In the position of rest of the hammer, the

. shank 3l rests against the pad 66 on the face of an inclined rest rail or back stop 61.

The casing I may be provided with the usual hinged cover S8, the rear end of which is attached by a hinge 69, and the forward end of which is provided with the keyboard section 'I0 connected to the body of the cover by a hinge 1|. This is the usual arrangement enabling the keyboard to be exposed when desired, without rai-sing the entire cover.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

1. In a spinet type piano action, the combination of a sub-key, a fulcrum for supporting the sub-key at an intermediate point on its length, means for imparting mo-vement to the sub-key operating to elevate the rear end of the subkey when the same is actuated, a hammer having a head and a downwardly extending shank, a back-:check lever carrying the said hammer shank, means for pivotally supporting the said lever toward the rear of the piano action, a jacklever with means for pivotally supporting the same toward they rear of the pianoy action so that the jack-lever extends toward the front of the piano below the back-check lever, contact means between the jack-lever and the back-check lever including a roller on one of the same, and a rocker pivotally mounted on the other of the same, a stop for the said rocker, and a spring for urging the rocker to engage the stop, said rocker having a driving face for imparting movement to t-he hammer to swing the same rearwardly to strike the string, a return spring for the hammer, and back-check pads carried by the jacklever and the back-check lever cooperating with the said return spring to hold the hammer with its head near the string when the sub-key is held depressed after the same has `been actuated, said rocker having a relief face in contact with the roller when the back-check pads are in contact, said relief face being held against the roller by the said rocker spring.

2. In a spinet type piano action, the combination of a sub-key, a fulcrum for supporting the sub-key at an intermediate point on its length, means for imparting movement to the sub-key operating to elevate the rear end of the subkey when the same is actuated, a hammer having a head and a downwardly extending shank, a lback-check lever carrying the said hammer shank, means for pivotally supporting the said lever toward the rear of the piano action, a jacklever with means for pivotally supporting the same toward the rear of the piano action so that the jack lever extends toward the front of the piano below the back-check lever, contact means between the jack-lever and the back-check lever including a roller on one of the same, and a rocker pivotally mounted on the other of the same, a stop for the said rocker, and a spring for urging the rocker to engage the stop, said rocker having a driving face for imparting move-, ment to the hammer to swing the same rearwardly to strike the string, a return spring for the hammer, and back-check pads carried by the jack-lever and the back-check lever cooperating with the said return spring to hold the hammer with its head near the string when the sub-key is held depressed after the same has been actuated, said rocker having a relief face in contact with the roller when the back-check pads are in contact, said relief face being held against the roller by the said rocker spring, said rocker spring operating when the sub-key is released and reactuated, to move the rocker into a position to hold the said driving face of the rocker in driving contact with the roller.

3. In a spinet type piano action, the combination of a sub-key, a fulcrum for supporting the sub-,key at an intermediate point on its length, means for imparting movement to the sub-keir operating to elevate the rear end. of the sub-key when the same is actuated, a hammer having a head and a downwardly extending shank, a backcheck lever with means for pivotally supporting the same toward the rear and so that the lever extends forwardly from its pivotal support, a jack-lever with means for pivotally supporting the same toward the rear so that the jack-lever extends forwardly under the back-check lever, a roller carried by the back-check lever, a rocker pivotally mounted on the jack-lever, a stop for the same, and a spring urging the rocker toward the stop, a return spring for the hammer, backcheck pads carried by the jack-lever and the back-check lever cooperating with the said re-l turn spring to hold the hammer near the string when the sub-key is held depressed after the same has been actuated, said rocker having a driving face through which the striking move, ment is imparted from the jack-lever to the hammer to swing the same rearwardly to strike the string, said rocker having a relief face held against the said roller by the rocker-spring when the back-check pads are in contact and holding the hammer head near the string.

4. In a spinet type piano action, the comb-ination of a casing having a substantially upright front board, a substantially horizontal keyboard back of the same, a key supported on the keyboard, a base board located below the keyboard, a sub-key located in line with the key and below the same, a fulcrum for supporting the sub-key on the base board at an intermediate point on the length of the sub-key, a push rod guided through the keyboard with its upper end in contact with the under side of the key, means for supporting the push rod on the outer end of the sub-key, said push rod operating when the key is depressed to elevate the rear end of the sub-key, a hammer having a head located at about the level ofthe key and having a downwardly extending shank, a back check lever with means for pivotally supporting the same toward the rear of the piano action, a jack-lever with means for pivotally supporting the same, contact means between the jack-lever and the backcheck lever for imparting lstriking movement from the jack-lever to the hammer to swing the same rearwardly to strike the string, a return spring for the hammer, and back-check pads carried by the jack-lever and the back-check lever cooperating with the said return spring to hold the hammer with its head near the string when the key is held depressed after the same has been struck.

CARL SCHULZE.