US279933A - g-ally - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. GALLY.

MEGHANGAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. No. 279,933.. fggpmed June 26, 188s.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. GALLY.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 279,933. Patent'eddune 26, 1883.

Wrzen@ amg@ (No Model.) v3 sheets-sheen s. M. GALLY.

MBGHANIGAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

UNITED STATES PATENT vrrlcn.

MERRITT GALLY, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 279,933, dated June 26, 1883.

Application filed October 9, 188i'. (No model.) Patented in England July 1l, 1892, No. 3,291.

.To all whom, it may concern,.-

' York city, in the county and State of New .reed-tubes, wind-chest, &c.

York, have invented a new and useful Improved Mechanical Musical Instrument, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent of Great Britain, through Mr. v George Downing, No. 3,291, A. D. 1882, July 11,) of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a small and compact mechanical musical instrument, easily portable, possessing a good quality of tone, with great volume and power.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the instrument, the construction of the case, the bellows, wind-chest, reed-pipe, reflector, the operating music-sheet, with its rollers, and the driving motor-shaft and connections of the instrument. Fig. 2 is a side view of the rolls, with j ournal-bearings and the driving-crank of the instrument.` Fig. 8 is a perspective of the comb of pipes, connected together to facilitate adjustment and removal. Figs. 3 and 3" are modificationsof form of pipes shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 4t is a sectional view, showing construction of double Fig. 5 is a plan ofthe upper part of the instrument; and FiO. 6 is a longitudinal section of the wind-chest and pendent reed-tubes.

. Small mechanical musical instruments as ordinarily constructed. are veryi defective as to volume, power, and sustaining quality of tone, especially in performing music in slow time, as with the ordinary construction of the reedaction the necessarily small bellows is entirely inadequate, unless operatedV so rapidly as to give the music a jerky and improper rendering. The instrument shown in the drawings is not necessarily larger than an ordinary orguinette, and yet its peculiar and novel construction secures a tone of at least fourfold volume and power, a sustaining-power sufficient for the performance of any kind of music, and the carrying quality of a large pipeorgan. It also possesses a much more desirable and pleasing quality of tone than can be secured by the ordinary use of reeds. The instrument represented in the drawings is a reed-pipe organetto operated by means of a perforated musie-sheet, and on account of its powerful and peculiar tone may properly be called a clarioneello.

In Fig. 1, C D E represent the bellows of the instrument, which are operated by means of an .and air-chest is shown in Fio. 1, and also in Fig. 4, the ordinary construction being shown in Fig. 4 in dotted lines for illustrating the comparative action ofthe two systems and the improvement ofthe new over the old.

In ordinary manual reed-organs the tubes for the reeds are much shorter than thereedblocks to which the tongues are attached, the butt of the reed being allowed to project beyond the mouth of the tube. By this con struction the air is brought to the tongue in a direction at an angle to the plane of the reed, which secures'the best tone. rIhis feature of construction and its advantages have been overlooked by those making instruments to be operated by perforated music-sheets passing over the end of the reed-tubes, and the tubes have been elongated to cover the entire reed, as shown by the dotted lines, Fig. 4L, thus producing a harsh and unpleasant tone. In my improved construction (shown by the seotionlines) I make the tube c of as near regular organ length as possible, and eut away the butt of the reed to allow the music-sheet to pass over ltheopening of the tube without obstruction. I then enlarge the tube c internally and contract the outlet more than its moutlropening, in order to break the tension of the current of air and allow the tongue'of the reed free opportunity for vibration. A In the old construction (shown by the dotted lines) the opening through the reed into the air-chest S is from the line 1 2 to the end of the reed, nearly the entire length of the tongue, producing great waste of air and holding the tongue in a constant tension-current, unfavorable to good results as to character of tone. I confine the current of air to the extreme end of the vibrat- IOO ing tongue. I then place behind the reeds a second set of tubes, c, similar to tubes c, and contract their outlets a. The current ot' air t-hrough the reeds is thus detlected, taking the direction shown by the curved lines, and thus reacting upon the reed-tongue secures the best results with a small consumption ot' air.

In order to economize s pace and secure as large an air-chest as possible, and to still t'urther improve the quality ot' the tone of the reed, I hang the compound tube-board within the chest S l, surrouiuling the tube-board with air which is under tension by the action ofthe bellows. In order that the tension ot' the air in the chest S T shall remain as even as possible and not be disturbed by the movement of the exhansters ot' thebcllows, I give the chest as large capacity as possible and contract as much as practicable the trunk 7, leading to the bellows. In the drawings the reed is shown in position l'or exhaust-bellows, but the construction equally valuable with reversed reed and pressure-bellows.

y means of the construction thus lar described I secure a full, clear, and sustaining tone to the reeds, and the next thing desirable is to increase the power and volume ot' tone and secure the carrying quality ot' an ordinary pipe-organ. The pitch ot' an ordinary organpipe is determined by its length, the (fi-pipe, beginning the diapasoill range, being four or eight vl'cet long, which would make the pipe for the lowest note ot an organetto, adding the necessary length ot' foot, nearly three t'eet in length. A regular reed-pipe ot' an organ corresponds in pitch-length to the pitch ot' the reed, and requires a still longer foot. Such pipes could not be used on an ordinary organetto. By means oi a novel construction shown in Fig. 1, I preserve the pitch oli' the reed without a corresponding pitch-length to the pipe, and at the same time secure the desired volume, power, and carrying quality of tone. In an ordinary reed-pipe the reed is inclosed within the foot ofthe pipe, and the pipe speaks only through its bell end, like an ordinary trumpet. Instead ol" this construction, I open a mouth, fr, at the i'oot ot' the pipe and divide the vibrating air, one part passing through the pipe and the other part coming dircctlyi'rom t-hc reed. In this respect my invention differs materially, not only from the ordinary reed-pipe with incl osed reed, butalso from the devices ot' Goodman, Patent No. 138,851, and Vogel, No. 147,202, the one iutentionally avoiding the division ot' air necessary to the results produced in my invention, and the other preventing such results by the' use of a covered pipe. In. my invention I use a pipe with open liuc an d place the reed-cell in such position in respect to the tine and make the opening at the l'oot ot' the pipesmall enough to secure a positive division ofthe Avibrating air, which produces not only a peculiar tone, but the carrying 7 effect ot' aregul ar liuto-mouth organ-pipe. 3y this means I preserve the pitch ot' the reed without a corresponding pitch-length of pipe, and :find that a very small pipe, It, will produce the proper modifying ett'ect as to volume, power, and carrying quality. As the iloot of the pipe is open, it enables me to pass the music-sheet through the opening between the reed and pipe proper.

W'ith this construction I also find that either pressure or exhaust air can be advantageously used.

In order to make the construction as compact as possible, I make a comb ot' these small pipes, as R, Fig. 8, and, anypair o t' the reeds ot' the range Seldom, it' ever, speak together, I use only one pipe in this particular instrument to each pair of reeds. In instruments where s pace is not limited I use a pipe l'or each reed. To secure a proper speaking ol' the reeds should any pair speak together, I open the side equally with the 'l'ront ot' each pipe, which enables the reed to speak into the next tlue. l imitate the tone ot' dilterent instruments with these short pipes by varying their shape very much .in the same manner as with the .regular reed-pipe. For example, the trumpet tone is secured by the shape shown in Fig. il, and the clarionette by the shape shown in Fig. Il".

I make dilterent combs composed ot' pipes ol` these or other sha-pes l'orimitating any desired instrument, and with the end ilanges, t, made to iit slide 'ays in the fr'amewm'k ol' the instrument, as shown in Fig. 5, I can intcr change the combs at will, thusproducing a vari ety in kind ot` music with very l ittle expense.

In connection with the comb ol.` pipes It, l also use the compound reflector Y l'or modil'v ing and varying the quality ot' tone at will. Tones vary in quality as reflected from planes placed at different angles, and combined retlections give the most pleasing results. I therct'orc use for this simple instrument a hinged reflector with compound reflecting faces, as shown, which in different positions produces different and desirable .results as to quality of tone.

In operating thisinstriunent, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the musi c-sheet 'b is rolled from roller IL onto take-up roller Il. by means ot' crank K, which also works the bellows ol' the instrument. rIlhe roller I-Iis mounted in bear ings which bring its gear directly in. connection withthe (Iriver ofthe driving crank-shaft J, and is driven by either friction or toothgear, as desired. Roller II is i'urnishcdwith two sets oijournal-bcarings, N and I. Then the journals a e in the bearings I? the roller is in driving position as to the driving-shalt .T5 but when the roller is lil'ted into its bearings N it moves ireely, and the music-sheet may be rcwound by means oif crank L and removed from the instrument to be replaced by another piece of music. The 'flanges of roller I are permanently attached to the journals ot' the instrument, as shown in 5, and the roll is removed by drawing one ol" these flanges to one side against the action ot' spring Q.

Th e

TOO

IIO

rollers fit into the ianges, which are supplied l connect with the wind-chest placed at a diswith splines for turning the roll..

A sectional plan of the com-pound tubeboard and wind-chest is `shown in Fig. 6. The double tube-board@ a is formed of two ordinary tube-boards, glued back to back, with a thin partition between them, through which partition are cut the openings for the air-passages through the reed.

In constructing the instrument, the bellows, reed-chest, and all the working parts are attached to the top piece, A, which piece is screwed to the body of the case.

By removing the screws of the top piece it can be lifted from the case with the entire instrument intact for repairs or adjustment. rlhis construction is of great utility.

In the foregoingv specification I have described only what was necessary to the proper construction of the little instrument shown, reserving a theoretical exposition of the principles introduced in the construction and operation of thel reed-chest, reed-pipe, Sac., and their general application for another specification.

I claim- 1. rThe reed-cells, in combination with'supplemental cells, the latter for deiiecting the operating currents of air, the supplemental cells having an opening for the passage of air through the reeds, and another constricted opening connecting directly with the windchest of the instrument.`

2. The combination, with the reed-cells, of supplemental cells having their ducts which tance from the outer wall of the supplemental cell, to produce a reflex movement of the operating current of air.

3. The reed-pipe with open flue provided with a mouth or opening, of a size substantially as described, at or near the junctionr of the pipe proper with the reed-cell, for dividing the tone of the reed, so that a part of the tone shall pass directly to the open air and a part through the pipe.

4. rPhe combination, with the reed-chest, of an independent comb of pipes constructed to be readily removed and adjusted in position, substantially as specied.

5. The combination, with the soundproducing devices of a musical instrument, of a compound reiiector vhaving two or more reflecting-faces', located to receive and reflect the sound, substantially as described, to give to the tone a combination of reflections.

6. The combination, with the soundproducing devices of a musicalinstrument, ofthe compound reflector, located to give to the tone a combination of reflections, and made adjustable for 'changing the angles of reiiection.

7. The combination, with short reed-cells,

over or outside of which a perforated musicl sheet passes, of reeds having short butts, or having the ordinary reed-butts cut away, substanti ally as 'and for the purpose speciied.

MERRITT GALLY.

Vitnesses:

L. H. EssnX, Jrivrns YVHITFORD.v

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