US2469308A

US2469308A - Vertical piano action

Info

Publication number: US2469308A
Application number: US790991A
Authority: US
Inventors: Victor M Montoya
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-12-11
Filing date: 1947-12-11
Publication date: 1949-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 1966-05-03

Description

y 1949- v. M. MONTOYA 2,469,308

VER'I. I CAL PIANO ACTION Filed Dec. 11, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

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May 3, 1949. v. M. MONTOYA VERTICAL PIANO ACTION Filed Dec. 11, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /1 u Y m Nwv i QM, Sm MN WW m h 9 Wm p m M \vN. b NW u o 0 N v AN WMTRQNI \N ha --x-w J INVEN TOR Z2cf0r7/Z7/Z072 Z a MAW m mwm ATI'U RN EYE Patented May 3, 1949 -LUN. l-TED "ii-STAT ES PATENT O FFICE VERTICAL PIANO'ZACTION Victor 'M-IMontoya, Caracas; Venezuela Applicat-ioniDecember ill, -1947-",-Serial- No. 790,991

(Clv84,-240) Claims.

- This invention relates to: an improved? piano :action for upright pianos through-whichthe hamvmer, is actuated by a -k ey,.and ,inparticular an improvedbasefor-the impacting member-wherein thewbase is provided with three interactingsurfaces. facilitating the coaction thereofwith the impelling elements; an improved back icheck and wire post; animproved base :control lever,-. and also. the incorporation of an vimpelling member lcontrol lever.

The purpose :of this invention is to. provide an improved I piano, action which provides increased mechanical capacity thereby fulfilling:,mi-nute playing requirements.

Various combinations of levers and mechanical instrumentalities; have been provided for" transmitting the action-of a piano kevto a hammer and particularly. irrthe construction of .an upright -pian o,-,it. is necessary .thatthe operating, parts ,.--be i-ncorporated'therein in a definite relationsin orderv that the piano. will fulfill ,-certain.requirements andhavegood tonal quality. One.-of the essentials isthatthe key touch, which-is thenormall amount of force that the fingenot arplayer appliesto a key in order to obtainfrom-the-string I ,the desired vibrating power and resonance, should bev approximately two to three ounces which ,is

standard for. all pianos. Theleverage of the vkey 'levers'in modern upright pianos islsuch that a. key 1 lever will-lift one end of, :the wippenl operatively connected to its inner end, twoethirds of the. distance that-the keylever-is depressed, as this ratio has beenfound byyexperience togiveuthe most satisfactory results. Therelation of :the key lever .to the several.- parts .of the action. also must be ..maintainedwithscientific exactness to .enable such parts-to move relative to .one another with av minimum of friction and to-obtain the.. most satisfactory results with the modern requirements of keytouch; depth of tOllChy. key. lever leverage, and the amount of. force with which the hammer ,hitsthestring at itsstriking point,

.. .Wlththese requirements in mind this. invention ..contemplates anew. uprightpianohactionl with .increased. mechanical capacity realizedin. the effective hammer impact by. key impulse from any design and rearrange the elements of a piano action for upright pianos wherein greater efficiency and accuracyis-obtained between the key and the hammer.

. ,Another object of theinvention is ,to; provide,

. .in a, piano action,- increased mechanical" capacity ithat fulfills minute playing" requirements.

iA-furtherobject 'ofthe invention is to -provide "an 'improved-piano-action which is of a simple and economical construction.

(With these, and Lotherpbjects and advantages :;;in view .the invention-consists in the -newand ;novel..combmation, construction, and, arrange- :ment of-parts as hereinafter more fully described,

-: :set ,forth in the claims appended hereto, and. disclosed. in: the accompanying; drawings, iorming part. hereof, wherein:

-Figure Iris. a view showing, a sectionithrough an uprightpianowithpartsof-the pianowshown in section and theshammerand actuating...parts thereof shownin elevation,- illustrating the-hamme): in the position :of rest.

I Figure 2 is a similar view showing the position 110f thewelements-at the: point ofimpact ofsthe *hammerwith the Wire.

Figure 3 is. a similar view showingthe position of; the parts after the hammer rebound.

:. Figure 4is a also a similar view. illustratingthe :ipositionsi of the. parts at the time the key. is (re- .leased.

,--.Referring: now. to the drawings wherein. like i -reference pharacters indicate. corresponding .parts the improved a hammer action; of this invention includes ahammer butt or base 10, a Jack .I l, a

r 1 :Wippen; I 2, a jack control lever 3, a hammer. butt .controldever l4, aback clieckll5, and other asso- .ciated,instrumentalities.

:The hammer butt 10 is formed as illustrated in the drawings with a padded step] 6 positioned tOi coact with the-jack ll, a felt. knob 'Il.-posi- .ztionedltoengage. the. lever 14, and amend. l8 adaptedto be engagedby the pad 19 of theback zchecksl 5. The hammer butt is pivotally mounted ..-=on:the supportrail 20 by apin H m the end of a flange 22, and av hammer 23 is supported there on by a-post .24. .The post 24 rests .on a-pad 25 won aback rail 25 atthe completion of the stroke.

The..lower end of the .jack lL-is pivotally mountedby a. pin 21. in a socket 28in theupper .side of vthewippen l2. and .thewippen is carried by the lower edge of the support rail '20'through .a,flange29 and a pin30. The. wippen is provided with anarcuate boss 3!..having. a pad32 thereon bywhichitis engaged by, a screw/.133 vonthe end of a key 34 as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The end ofthe key rests upon a pad-35.0n a .base 36 and when. the. outer end. of the key is pressed downward this end moves upward forcing the Wippen upward, whichthrough the jack I Lforces the hammer butt upward wherein. thehammer is actuated .to istrikethe wire "31,. as shown in Figure .2.

,Thejack. control lever I3 .is, pivotally mounted .,.by,a pin 38 onthe lower. end ofthe jack H and .thenouter end..39. thereof .is resiliently held out- ,.wa1-d. by. a spring 40 on. a. screw. 4! which is gthreadedninto the lower end of. the jack. 'The inner end ,of the. lever 13 is, provided, with, a knob 42 that is positioned to contact a, pad'43fof a stop .rail Men the rail 20 as the jack moves upward.

. Thehammer butt control lever I4 is also pivot- '..;allymountedhonthelack II with .the inner .end

thereof held by a pin 45, and on the upper surface of the lever is a projection 46 that engages the knob ll of the hammer butt, as shown in Figure l. The lower surface of the lever I4 is provided with a clip 4'! that holds the upper end of a spring 48, the lower end of which is pivotally mounted on the jack l l by a pin 49, and the spring is resiliently held upward by a screw 50 which bears against an extension of the lower end. The tension of the spring is adjusted by the screw 50.

The outer end of the lever 14 is provided with a fork 5! in which a wire 52 is positioned, and the back check l5 which has a pad thereon is mounted on the upper end of the wire. The lower end of the wire is held in the end of the wippen and as the wippen is actuated the back check also moves upward so that it is positioned to engage the end l8 of the hammer butt after the hammer rebound as shown in Figure 3.

The hammer is resiliently urged backward by a spring 54 mounted in a rail 55 and held with the lower end of the spring bearing against the hammer butt 5% between ears 56.

With the parts arranged in this manner the impulse from the piano key 34 actuates the wippen l2 wherein the wippen forces the jack upward impacting the hammer butt and driving the hammer against the wire. The lever 13 governs the jack action and this is controlled by the combination of the stop 44 with the spring 49. In this movement the upper end of the jack slides along the inclined surface of the step l6, as shown in Figure 3, and in the rebound the knob l? contacts the projection 46 of the lever M with the back check l5 stopping the hammer butt at half recoil. By this means increased mechanical capacity of the piano action is accomplished as in releasing the key lever, the parts descend accordingly except the lever M, which reacts, retaining the hammer butt [0, permitting the jack H to gain attack position though key is at half up course.

The improved piano action of this invention, therefore, includes the five basic features, such as the new and improved shape of the impacting member base, wherein the base is provided with three interacting surfaces which facilitate the coaction therewith of the impelling member and the associated parts, the improved back check and wire post, the improved base control lever, and also the addition of a control lever for the impelling member. With these improvements the piano action fulfills minute playing requirements.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the details of the improvements without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An upright piano action, comprising a hammer having a butt, a jack positioned to impact the butt of the hammer in the upward movement thereof, a wippen positioned to be engaged by a piano key and adapted to actuate the jack, a back check carried by the wippen positioned to contact the hammer butt, a support rail on which the hammer butt and wippen are pivotally mounted, a jack control lever pivotally mounted on the jack with one end extending toward the support rail, said rail having a stop thereon positioned to be engaged by the extending end of the said control lever, and means adjusting the position of said control lever.

2. An upright piano action, comprising a hammer having a butt, a jack positioned to impact the butt of the hammer with upward movement thereof, a wippen positioned to be engaged by a. piano key and adapted to actuate the jack, 2. back check carried by the wippen positioned to contact the hammer butt, a hammer butt control lever carried by the jack and pivotally attached thereto, said hammer butt control lever having a projection on the upper surface and a fork in the outer end in which the back check is positioned, a knob on the hammer butt positioned to contact the projection of the control lever, a spring on the jack urging the said control lever upward, and means adjusting the tension of said spring.

3. In an upright piano action, the combination, which comprises, a hammer having a base, a jack positioned to actuate the hammer through the base, a wippen positioned to be engaged by a piano key, a support rail carrying the hammer base and wippen and having a stop thereon, a jack control lever pivotally mounted on the jack having a knob on one end positioned to contact the stop on the rail, means adjusting the position of the control lever, a control lever pivotally mounted on the jack positioned to be contacted by the hammer base, means resiliently urging the control lever and the base upward, and a back check carried by the wippen and positioned to be contacted by the hammer base.

4. In a piano action including a supporting rail, a hammer, a base pivotally mounting the hammer on the rail, 2. jack, a wippen, and a key, the combination, which comprises, five basic features including a plurality of interacting surfaces on the base, one of said surfaces positioned to contact with the jack in the impelling action, a back check, a wire post supporting the back check from the wippen positioning the said back check to coact with one of the surfaces of the base, a base control lever pivotally mounted on the jack and positioned to coact with one of the surfaces of the base, and a control lever also pivotally mounted on the jack and positioned to coact with a stop on the rail to limit the operative travel of the jack.

5. A piano action for upright pianos comprising improvements in five basic features including an impacting member base having a plurality of interacting surfaces facilitating the coaction thereof with associated elements, a wippen, a back check carried by the wippen and positioned to be contacted by a surface of the base, a first control lever positioned to coact with another surface of the base for controlling the action of the said back check, an impelling member on which the control lever is pivotally mounted coasting with still another surface of the base, a second control lever for the impelling member pivotally mounted on said impelling member for limiting the operative movement thereof, and means for adjusting the second control lever.

VICTOR M. MONTOYA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 896,763 Schimmel Aug, 25, 1908 1,126,931 Abendscheim et a1. Feb. 2, 1915 1,301,908 Clutsam Apr. 29, 1919 2,273,789 Prevost Feb. 1'7, 1942