US2482619A - Piano keyboard and soft pedal action - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 20, 1949. A. H. HOWE PIANO KEYBOARD AND SOFT PEDAL ACTION Filed Oct 27, 1945 In 0 anion Patented Sept. 20, 1949 7 UNITED STATESPATENT oFncE PIANO KEYBOARD AND SOFT PEDALACTION Alfred H. Howe, New York, N. Y. j Application October 27, 1945, Serial No. 624,959

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in piano keyboards and, more particularly, to means for improving the balance and guides of the keys and, to provide means for adjusting the keys in conjunction with the soft pedal action of the piano.

Conventional forms of keyboards were designedas a primitive expedient when keys were straight and needed little guidance, but the system persisted when curved keys came into mode. Therefore, the wearing qualities of such keyboards are far from desirable and the resulting depreciation of the action bafiles the musician in his performance.

Likewise, the type of soft pedal action, which functions by lifting the hammers nearer to the strings, leaves a space between the parts which the keys sometimes follow in various degrees and heretofore no provision has been made to improve this feature of the action.

It is, accordingly, the object of the present invention to provide an element between the keyboard and action which avoids such objectionable structural features and thus improve the results obtained during the playing of the piano.

I call this element the mediator, because it performs a two-fold office, while filling the space between key and wippen, it changes the relative motion between key and hammer travel, preserving the whole keydip proportionally in all degrees of hammer lifting.

A further object of the invention is to provide parts which may be substituted in rebuilding keyboards, making them more durable and pleasing to play upon: Parts which are easy to manufacture.

Other objectsand advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the action of a grand piano partially in section illustrating the component parts in their'normal relation to each other;

Figure 2 shows a sectional view of the key balance on line 2--2 of Figure 3;

Figure 3 shows a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 shows an enlarged vertical section view of themediator.

In Figure 1 are shown the action of a grand piano showing the component parts in normal relation to each other. Incorporated into the action of the piano isa device which I shall refer to as the mediator I 0. One of the principal functions of the mediator I is to transmit movement from the keys I I to the hammers I2 while at the same time maintaining a constant key dip.

As shown in the drawing, the mediator It) is positioned between the key H and the wipren I3. The mediator I0 itself, as illustrated in Fig. 4, consists of upper and lower elements 14 and I5 which are hinged to each other on a pin I6 located at the front end. The front end of the upper element M is equipped with a U-shaped member I! that straddles a center flange I8 that is attached to the lowerelement I5 and projects upwardly into the U-shaped member H. A flange I9 is provided having one end pivotally connected to the pin, I6 andits opposite end adapted to be secured'to' the mediator rail 26. The upper and lower, elements I4 and I5 of the mediator ID are likewise 'pivotally mounted on the pin I6 to which ,the flange I9 is attached, At the rear, the lower surface 2| of the upper element I4 and theiup'pefsurface 22 of the lower element are tapered inwardly forming a conical shaped openingxor cavity 23. Positioned centrally in the opening 23 is a center pin 24 having one end secured to the flange I8 and its opposite end being equipped with a conical shaped nut 25. Extending from the top surface of the upper element I4 around the front of the mediator it! through an opening 26 in the flange I9 to the lower surface of the lower element I5 is a tension spring 21 that tends to maintain the upper and lower elements I 4' and I5 in contact with each other. By adjusting the position of the nut on the centervpin 24, it is possible to securea desired spacing between-the upper and lower elements and thereby furnishing an additional means for adjusting the action of the piano. At the rear portion of the mediator I!) both the unper surface of the upper element I4 and the lower surface of the lower element I5 are equipped with arcuate shaped projections 28 and 29 respectively. .5

As mounted in the action the flange mem er I9 is secured tothe undersurface of the mediator rail 20 through screws or other similar me ns. The mediator I0 is positioned between the kev I I and'the wippen I3 so that the wiopen I 3 is 50 supported by the upper projection 28- and the lower projection 29 rests on the inclined projection '30 that is secured to the upper surface of thekeyII. 9

The principal objective, of apianissimo device 5 is to soften the tone effect Without changing the stroke of the key. Through the mediator I which is always in contact with the Wippen l3 and key H the resistance of the keys II to the touch of the pianist remain the same, whereas in a conventional piano action utilizing a capstan screw in place of the mediator, there would be no resistance in the keys to the touch of the pianist on the first portion of the downward stroke when the soft pedal was being utilized. However, by maintaining the mediator in constant contact with the key and Wippen this disadvantage is overcome and a constant resistance of the keys is obtained.

In Fig. 1 I show the conventional pitman 3| which is connected, to the soft pedal which is not shown, in the normal manner so that when pressure is applied to the pedal the pitman 3| raises the hammer rail 32 causing the hammers l2 to move nearer the strings. However, in addition I have provided a crank arm 63 which is pivotally connected to the frame of the piano at point 33 and which has one leg pivotally attached to the pitinan 3| at point 34 and its other leg pivotally attached to a connecting rod 35 at point 36. The connecting rod 35 is attached to the mediator rail 20 which is mounted on the upper end of rod 31 that is pivotally connected at its lower end to the key frame 38 at point 39. Through this mechanism it can be seen that when the soft pedal is depressed the hammer rail 32 will rise in the conventional manner to bring the hammers l2 nearer the strings and at the same time the mediator rail 20 will be moved forward by the action of the crank arm 63 and connecting rod 35. The path of the mediator rail 20 during this movement will be slightly arcular due to the pivotal connectlon at the bottom of the rod 31. As the mediator rail 20 moves forward the mediator l9 will be brought forward with the lower projection 29 on the mediator riding up on the incline 3B of the key I I. This will result in the leverage between the key II and the action being altered as the lower projection 29 of the mediator will engage the key II at a point nearer the key fulcrum or balance 40 while the upper projection 28 will engage the wippen l3 at a point further from its fulcrum 38. This not only takes up the lost motion that would otherwise exist where the conventional capstan with a fixed position is utilized, but it lessens the distance that the action and hammer will move on the stroke of the key. It can readily be seen that the soft pedal may be depressed to any position which will result in a graduated change of relation between the key dip and the hammer blow giving the pianist full control without changing the resistance of the keys.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I have also provided an improved key balance 40 which consists of a triangular piece of metal 4| having a ball 42 on the apex or upper portion. The lower portion of the triangular piece of metal 4| is equipped with a pin 43 that is secured to the key frame 38. The keys will be equipped with triangular shaped cavities 44 extending from the upper to the lower surface of the key into which the triangular piece of metal will extend. The upper opening of the cavity 44 is equipped with a wooden bushing 45 surrounding the steel ball 42. Attached to the upper surface of the key will be a fiat plate or cleat 46 which will be secured to the keys H through screws 41. The center portion of the plate 46 will be equipped with a threaded aperture 4 48 into which a specially designed bolt 49 is adapted to fit. The lower surface of the bolt 49 will have a concave cavity or socket 50 adapted to conform to the shape of the ball 42. The lower portion of the plate 4| is equipped with a felt bushing 5| to take up any wear that the triangular plate might cause when in contact with the key. In operation, the key H may be placed over the triangular plate so that the plate enters the cavity, and the ball 42 engages the lower concave surface 50 of the bolt 49. Normally a thin felt disc 52 will be placed between the ball and the concave surface of the bolt. It can be seen that the weight of the key II will be supported by the round surface of the ball 42 thereby furnishing an improved balance over the conventional balance rail pin now in use. As additional means for maintaining the key I l in position, the front portions of the keys will be provided with key guide pins 53 which will engage in slots 54 of the body of the key. Not only will this balance result in a new and improved key balance, but it will also simplify the leveling of the keys which heretofore has been an involved and tedious operation. Instead of it being necessary to remove the keys and place the required number of felt washers underneath the keys as when the conventional guide pin is being utilized, it is now merely necessary to adjust the bolt 49 in order to raise or lower the key to obtain the desired position.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a present preferred form which it may assume, it is not to be limited to such details and form since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence, it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a piano action having a wippen, a hammer and a key, a mediator positioned between the key and the wippen for transmitting a graduated movement from the key to the hammer, said mediator including upper and lower elements pivotally connected to each other, arcuate projections on said upper and lower elements adapted to slidably contact the wippen and key respectively, a rail, and a connecting arm, and a rod having its lower end pivotally secured to the key frame and its upper end supporting said rail, one end of said mediator being pivotally attached to said rail, and said arm having one end connected to the rail and its opposite end connected to the soft pedal through a linkage, whereby gradual depressing of the soft pedal causes the mediator to move forward thereby shortening the leverage between the key and the mediator while simultaneously lengthening the leverage between the mediator and the wippen.

2. In a piano action as set forth in claim 1 in which the upper surface of the key has an inclined member on which the arcuate projection of the lower element rests.

3. In a piano action as set forth in claim 1 in which the upper and lower elements have diverging tapered surfaces forming a. conical shaped cavity, a threaded pin centrally positioned in said cavity and a conical shaped nut threaded on to said pin whereby varying the position of the nut alters the degree of separation of the elements.

4. In a piano action as set forth in claim 1 in which a spring yieldably urges said upper and lower elements toward each other.

5. For cooperation with a wippen and a key of a piano action, a pianissimo device comprising pivotally connected upper and lower elements having rounded portions for slidably contacting the wippen and key respectively, resilient means constantly urging said elements towards each other, and means for adjusting said elements toward or away from each other about their pivotal connection, subject to the action of said resilient means, for the purpose of changing the leverage points of the wippen and key with respect to each other.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 5, wherein said adjusting means is arranged between said elements and comprises a screw threaded member having one end secured to one of the elements, and a conical nut in threaded engagement with the other end of said member and contacting corresponding surfaces of said elements.

ALFRED H. HOWE.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 647,289 Blondel Apr. 10, 1900 922,828 Wheeler May 25, 1909 1,289,449 Hussey Dec. 31, 1918 1,403,401 George Jan. 10, 1922 1,435,442 Abendschein Nov. 14, 1922 1,826,848 Victor Oct. 13, 1931

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