US2801371A - Automatic combination stop mechanism - Google Patents

Description

y 1957 P. RIONDEL 2,801,371

AUTOMATIC COMBINATION STOP MECHANISM Filed Nov. 25, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Pierre Piorcdel/ Arron/way 30, 1957 P. RIONDEL 2,801,371

AUTOMATIC COMBINATION STOP MECHANISM Filed Nov. 25. 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 m PM I 2% m N N H pg a "\Q c R N, 8 Q I G1 I- Q \A 0 KO INVENTOR Pierre IQp'ondeL.

BY M

AT ORNEY P. RIONDEL AUTOMATIC COMBINATION STOP MECHANISM July 30, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 25, 1952 V INVIEQNTOI'Z Pierre; RiOndeL 'IIIIIIl I ATTOR NEY July 30, 1957 I P. RIONDEL 2,801,371

AUTOMATIC COMBINATION STOP MECHANISM Filed Nov. 25, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTUR Pierre Rp'orcdel United States PatentO 2,801,371 AUTOMATIC COMBINATION STOP MECHANISM Pierre Riondel, Geneva, Switzerland Application November 25, 1952, Serial No. 322,445

Claims priority, application Switzerland November 30, 1951 8 Claims. (Cl. 317--123) My invention has for its object a selecting device, chiefly for organs, which allows recording a plurality of combinations of the locations of a number of elements and reproducing as desired in any selected sequence, any of said combinations.

In organs, for instance, arrangements are already known that allow selecting as a preliminary step a number of combinations of stops. Organs are, as a matter of fact, generally provided with knobs for controlling the selection of the different stop combinations which are used more frequently. If it is desired to provide knobs for the selection of all the possible combinations of the different stops, it would be necessary to increase the number of knobs in such proportions that the cost price of the arrangement would be prohibitive and the organist would have much difiiculty in remembering the different knobs to be actuated.

It has been attempted to remove this difficulty by resorting to perforated cards, each perforation of which allows controlling a stop. Such cards must, however, be perforated by special machines and this operation is long and tedious. Furthermore, if an error is made in the perforation, it is necessary to begin the operation over again with a further card, as it is hardly possible to close an erroneously produced perforation. In known arrangements of this type, the cards should always progress in the same direction, whereby the organist, if he is to use a number of times in succession the same combination, has to provide as many further perforation systems which correspond to the combination considered.

Organs have also been built wherein each stop-controlling knob is adapted to cooperate with one of a num ber of electroinagnet pairs through the agency of corresponding switches, whereby an armature common to the electromagnets of the pair may be shifted into a position corresponding to that of said knob. A further switch may then cause knobs controlling the stops to assume automatically positions corresponding to those of the armatures of the corresponding electromagnet pairs. In such an arrangement, the number of electromagnets is very large, since it is necessary to provide for each organ stop as many groups of two electromagnets as there are combinations to be recorded and consequently the price of the arrangements is very high.

The selecting device according to my invention has for its object to remove such drawbacks and to this end it includes, for each of the elements, a feeler adapted to cooperate with as many movable parts as there are different combinations to be recorded, each of said movable parts being adapted to be placed in two different positions so as to produce through cooperation with the feeler a different shifting of the latter for each of said two, positions, said shifting controlling the positioning of said elements in accordance with the location of said movable parts.

I have described hereinbelow and illustrated by Way of example in accompanying drawings a preferred em- 2,801,371 Patented July 30, 1957 bodiment of a selecting device according to my invention. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section through a part of the device showing in particular a feeler and a movable member;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the device;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through line III--III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sketch of a wiring diagram for the device.

The selecting device illustrated includes a frame constituted by uprights 1 connected with each other through an upper cross-member 2 and a lower cross-member that is not illustrated. The uprights 1 are provided with tapped bores engaged by threaded pivots 3 that are locked by means of counternuts 4. These pivots 3 carry horizontal rods 5 (Fig. 3) aligned therewith and carrying at each end a disc 6 provided with radial notches, say twelve notches, as shown at 7 in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows only two such horizontal rods 5, but the device actually includes a plurality of such rods in superposed relationship. Threaded rods 8 of which only two are illustrated in the drawings are secured inside said notches 7 in parallelism with each rod 5. Washers 9 provided with peripheral notches 10, 11 and 12 and with a central tapping are screwed over each of said rods 8 with equal spacings between said washers.

In Fig. 3, only one set of six such washers 9 has been shown, but in practice such sets of washers are provided throughout the length of the rod 8. A second rod 13 is mounted in parallelism with each rod 8 and may slide inside the notches 7 in which its ends of reduced crosssectional area are slidingly carried (Fig. 3). These rods 13 are submitted to the action of springs 14 which urge them against the edges of the notches 11 or 12 of the washers 9 according to the positions occupied by the latter so as to lock the washers in said positions.

Each rod 5 carries at one end a wormwheel 15 meshing with a worm 16; the different worms 16 may be driven into rotation by a common motor illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4, said motor controlling thus simultaneously the rotation of the different rods 5 together with that of the different parts carried thereby.

At the same level as the rod 5 and in parallelism therewith, are arranged slideways 17 the cross-section of which is U-shaped. The two flanges of the U are provided with perforations inside which may slide transversely pins 18. Each of the latter is submitted to the action of a spring 19 which urges it away from the washer 9. The number of the pins 18 is six times less than that of the washers 9 and the slideway 17 maybe shifted horizontally along its axis so that each pin may be positioned in front of any of the six washers of the corresponding set.

The slideways 17 are held at each end by guiding screws 20 passing transversely through them; furthermore, the different slideways are rigid with a vertical rod 21 extending through them in their middle and adapted to be shifted by a system of electromagnets located at each end of said rod 21 to either side thereof. This system of electromagnets is illustrated in Fig. 2 and includes three windings 22, 23, 24 carried by two bars 25 and 26 made of magnetic material and secured to the uprights 1. Discs 27-28 are provided at either end of the winding 22 which encloses the core 32, while the windings 23 and 24 are separated by a disc 30 and are bounded at their outer ends by discs 29 and 31 said windings 2324 enclosing corresponding cores 33 and 34. The core 32 is fitted inside one end of a tube 35 made of non-magnetic material and is rigidly secured to said core by means of a transverse pin 36. The core 34 is fitted into the other end of said tube 35 and is secured thereto by means of a pin 37. The intermediary core 33 is housed inside the tube 35 between the cores 32 and 34 and may slide freely therein. The tube 35 is provided with two elongated slots 38 shown in interrupted lines in Fig. 2 and engaging the rod 21 which is rigid with the core 33. A coil spring 39 operating against compression bears at one end against the disc 29 and at the other against the rod 21. The energy exerted by said spring is sufficient to produce a shifting of the slideways 17 carried by said rod 21. A second spring 40 which is also a coil spring operating against compression is held between the end of the tube which is flanged for this purpose and a washer 41 bearing either against the disc 28 or against a shoulder of the core 32, according to the relative position of the latter parts. The energy of this spring is higher than that of the spring 39, whereby the inoperative positions of the rod 21 and of the tube 35 are those illustrated in Fig. 2. As a matter of fact, if the tube 35 were shifted towards the left hand side of Fig. 2 with reference to the position illustrated, the spring would urge it back towards the right until the washer 41 is engaged by the shoulder on the core 32. If the tube 35 were shifted towards the right with reference to the illustrated inoperative position, the spring 39 would return it towards the left until the washer 41 engages the disc 28.

The normal distance separating the core 33 from the core 34 is defined by the location of the elongated slots 38 in the tube 35, and is equal to the distance separating two adjacent washers 9. The distances separating the core 32 from the disc 27 and also the core 34 from the disc 31, are twice larger.

This electromagnetic system allows positioning each pin 18 selectively in front of any washer 9 of the corresponding group of six washers. As a matter of fact, if the winding 22 is energized, the core 32 engages the disc 27, and the pins 18 are shifted by a length equal to twice the interval between two washers towards the left hand side. If, furthermore, the winding 23 is energized, the core 33 is urged against the core 34 and the pins 18 will be shifted towards the right hand side by the distance between two Washers. They will thus lie in front of the washers located on the left hand side of the inoperative washers in front of which the pins were located when none of the windings 22, 23 and 24 was energized.

I When only the winding 23 is energized, the tube 35 remains stationary and the core 32 abuts against the core 33, whereby the pins 18 come into register with the washe rs located on the right hand side of the inoperative washers. The energization on the winding 24 alone produces a shifting towards the right hand side of the tube 35, and the pins are shifted towards the right hand side with reference to the inoperative washer by twice the washer interval. Lastly, as apparent, the simultaneous energization of the windings 23 and 24 has for its result to shift the pins 18 by three times the washer interval towards the right hand side, starting from their inoperative position.

v For each of the six positions disclosed, each pin 18 is located in front of a member 42 carried at the end of a rod 43 slidingly engaging the carrier 44 rigid with the uprights 1. This rod 43 engages the core of an electromagnet 45 and cooperates with an elastic conductive blade 46 which is in contact, in the inoperative position illustrated in the drawings (Fig. l), with a contact-piece 47 connected with the positive terminal of a battery that is not illustrated. If the electromagnet 45 is energized while the washer 9 is in the position illustrated, the rod 43 cannot move by reason of the pin 18 abutting against the washer 9. in contradistinction, if the notch 10 in the washer lies in register with the pin 18, the rod 43 is allowed to move and brings the blade 46 in contact with the contact piece 48, which latter is connected with the negative terminal of the same battery.

Behind each blade 46 is positioned a further blade 49. The different blades 49 have a tendency to come into contacting relationship with the ends 50 of the corresponding blades 46, but they are prevented from doing so by an insulated bar 51 secured through each end to the core of an electromagnet 52. A further blade 53 is provided behind each blade 49 and has a tendency to engage the latter but is prevented from doing so by an electrically conductive bar 54 which holds the different blades 53 away from the blades 49. Said bar 54 is secured through its ends to the core of a further electromagnet 55.

The system illustrated in Fig. 2 also includes two further electromagnets 56, 57 the cores of which are shown at 58 and 59. The displacements of said cores act through the levers 60 and 61 on the rods 62 and 63 that are arranged vertically and have a triangular cross-section. These rods that are thus shifted through the action of the cores 58 and 59, engage the corresponding ends of the rods 13 locking the washers 9. The rocking movement imparted simultaneously to said rods, urges the rods 13 away from the notches in said washers against the action of the spring 14, whereby the washers 9 are allowed to revolve whenever the electromagnets 56, 57 are energized.

The wiring diagram shown in Fig. 4 is a simplified one corresponding to the operation with a single-stop organ. The stop is controlled by means rigid with an armature 64 adapted to be selectively attracted by two relays 65 and 66. When the armature 64 is attracted by the relays 65, it comes into contact with one terminal of the winding of the relays 66 the other end of which is connected with the negative terminal of the battery the terminals of which are connected with the contact- pieces 47 and 48 illustrated in Fig. l as cooperating selectively with the blade 46. When the armature 64 is attracted, on the other hand, by the relay 66, it comes into contact with one end of the winding of the relay 65 the other terminal of which is connected with the positive terminal of the battery. It is apparent that, if the armature 64 is connected with the positive pole or with the negative pole of the battery, this will correspondingly produce its attraction by the relay 66 or the relay 65.

The armature 64 is connected with the blade 49 which is controlled by the relay 52. When the later is energized, the blade 49 engages the blade 46, as already disclosed. The relay 55 controls the blade 53 through the agency of the electrically conductive bar 54. The blade 53 is connected. with one end of the winding of the electromagnet 45 and when the relay 55 is energized, said bar 54 mechanically engages the blade 49, the contact between the conductive bar 54 and the blade 53 being released. The conductive bar 54 is connected through a resistance 67 with the negative pole of the battery. Said resistance 67 may be shunted by a switch cooperating with a cam 68 which latter rotates in unison with a set of cams 69 to 73, under the action of the motor 75 controlling also the rotation of the worms 16. The transmission ratio is such that said cams execute one revolution while the worm wheel 15 engaging the worm 16 executes only of a revolution. A commutator 74 is adapted to revolve by the same angle as the worm wheel 15. The different earns 68 to 73 are connected with the negative pole of the battery feeding the relays.

Six switches C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 forming combination switches allow positioning the pins 18 in front of any one of the washers 9 of the corresponding sets of washers. As a matter of fact, these combination switches provide for the control of the electromagnets 22, 23 and 24 through the agency of the relays 76, 77 and 78, one end of the winding of each of the latter being connected with the negative pole of the battery, while the other ends of said windings are connected through a normally inoperative contact-piece controlled by a holding relay M with a number of contact-pieces of the switches C1, C2, C3, C C5, Ce, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

A combination relay C includes two energizing windings and is actuated each time one of the combination switches is closed by depression of a corresponding knob. This relay C has a delayed action and is provided with two contact-pieces of which one allows connecting with the positive terminal of the battery, one end of the winding of each of the relays M, 55, 45, 52 and also the second winding of the relay C, of a relay E and of a relay I. The other winding of the relay E or recording relay is connected with a switch Ce forming the recording switch.

Twelve series switches of which only one, -1, is illustrated in the drawing, are provided in order to control, as desired, the positioning of the corresponding rod of the set of twelve threaded rods 8 carrying the washers 9 in register with the pins 18 (Fig. 1).

These switches S allow acting through the relay 80, 81, 82 and 83 on the motor 75, the energizing winding 84 of which is inserted in series. The switch S-l allows applying a positive voltage to a brush 85 cooperating with the commutator 74. In the position illustrated in Fig. 4, said brush 85 lies in front of an insulating segment 86 of the commutator. The latter includes also two conductive segments 87 .and 88 which are insulated with reference to each other and cooperate with further brushes 89 and 90. The eleven other series switches that are not illustrated are connected each to a brush similar to the brush 85, these diiferent brushes being distributed uniformly round the commutator 7 4.

The position of the commutator illustrated in Fig. 4 corresponds to that it should assume when the rods controlled by the switch S-l are positioned as desired.

' In order to disclose the manner of operating the motor 75, I will first suppose the commutator is not in the position illustrated, but that the segment 86 is in a location facing the lower side of said Fig. 4. When the switch S-l is actuated by its control knob, the relay 80 is energiz ed through a circuit passing through the inner contact of the relay I, the outer contact-piece of the relay E, the brush 89, the segment 87 and the brush 85.

The expression inner contact-piece of a relay should be construed as meaning the contact-piece which is the nearest the winding of the relay in the diagram of Fig. 4, while the outer contact-piece is that which is the remotest.

The relay 80,. as it closes, provides for the energization of the relay 82 which connects one end of the motor winding 84 with the negative terminal of a supply of voltage, the other end of said winding being connected with one brush feeding the motor 75 the other brush of which is connected with the positive terminal of the same voltage supply. The motor 75 begins revolving and controls t-he clockwise rotation of the earns 68 to 73 and also of the commutator 74, said rotation continuing until the segment 86 lies in register with the brush 85 whereby the energization of the relay 80 and consequently of the relay 82 is switched ofi.

If, in contradistinction, the commutator had been positioned at the start in a manner such that the segment 86 was lying in a position facing the upper part of Fig. 4, the relay 81 would have been energized, its circuit being closed by the brush 85, the segment 88 and the brush 90 on one hand and by the inner contact-piece of the relay E on the other hand. The closing of the relay 81 would have energized the relay 83 and consequently the other end of the winding 84 would have been connected with the negative terminal of the corresponding voltage supply, which would produce a rotation of the motor 75 in a direction opposed to that referred to hereinabove.

. If, at the moment of the stoppage of the motor the sets of washers are not accurately positioned, the cams 68 to 73 assume positions that are different from those illustrated. One of the earns 71 or 72 lies therefore in contact with the corresponding brush. If the cam 72 is in contact with its brush, the winding of the relay 83 is energized because it is connected with the negative terminal through the inner contact-piece of the relay 80 and the cam 72; consequently, the motor will revolve anticlockwise until thecams assume the positions illustrated in the drawing. If, on the contrary the cam 71 is in contact with its brush, its negative potential will be transmitted to the relay 82 through the inner contact-piece of the relay 81, and the motor Will revolve clockwise.

When one of the combination switches C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 is operated through depression of the corresponding knob, the energizing windings of those relays 76, 77 78 that are selected by this combination switch are connected with the positive pole of the battery through the inner normally inoperative contact-pieces of the holding relay M and at the same time, this produces the closing of the delayed action combination relay C. This closing produces, in its turn, the energization of the relays M, 45 and 52. The holding relay M, when energized, switches off the windings of the relays 76, 77 and 78 with reference to the combination switches C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 and connects the windings of said relays with their own inner contact-pieces whereby the energized relays remain operative. The pins 18 remain thus in register with the washers 9 corresponding to the desired combination.

On the other hand, the relay 45 is also energized as stated, whereby the pins 18 engage said washers 9. When the washer positioned in front of a pin is in the position allowing the pin to engage its notch 10, the blade 46 corresponding thereto engages the contact-piece 48 which is connected with the negative terminal of the battery and consequently, a negative voltage is supplied to the armature 64 of the corresponding stop. If, in contradistinction, the washer is angularly shifted, so as to prevent the pin 18 from engaging its notch, the blade 46 and consequently the armature 64 are connected with the positive pole of the battery.

Thus, according to the position of the washers cooperating with the pins 18, the corresponding stops controlled by the armatures 64 are in their operative position or are released.

The duration of operation of such relays is short and consequently, the organist may select the desired combination of stops within a very short time, of the order of A of a second through mere depression of the knob acting on one of the combination switches.

For each piece of music he wishes to play, the organist may previously select the stop combinations he intends to use. To this end, he acts manually on the knobs of each stop he requires for obtaining the desired combination, whereby the difierent armatures 64 of the selected stops are shifted in the same direction. To make things clearer to the reader, it will be assumed hereinafter that the position of the armature 64 illustrated in Fig. 4 corresponds to the actual use of the stop it controls. After actuation of the knobs controlling the stops in order to obtain the desired combination, the organist depresses the knob controlling the recording switch Ce so as to energize the recording relay E and while said switch Ce is still held closed, he depresses one of the combination switches, which also produces the closing of the delayed action relay C. The relay 45 of each pin 18 is thereby energized without the relay 52 being energized by reason of the operation of the relay E. Furthermore, the relay 80 is also energized, which starts the motor and causes the clockwise rotation of the cams 68 to 73 and of the rods 5 (Fig. 1) with the washers 9 carried thereby. The rotation of the cam 68 has for its result inserting the resistance 67 in series with the relay 45, the energizing current of which is thus reduced in a proportion such that those relays 45 which have been capable of operating completely because a notch 10 is located in front of their pin 18, remain attracted while the others are released, the reduced energizing current being insufiicient for holding them in their operative position by reason of the gap being larger in the case of these last-mentioned relays than in the first case referred to wherein the pin has entered a notch 10.

The rotation of the cam 72 has for its result to close the circuit of the second energizing winding of the relay E whereby the switches Ca and the combination switches may be released without this producing a release of the relays C and E. The rotation of the cam 69 produces the energization of the relay F which controls the electromagnets 56 and 57 (Fig. 2), whereby the rod 13 is urged away from the washers which allows thus the free rotation of the latter. The washers 9, the notches in which are engaged by the corresponding pins 18, are returned into the position thereof with reference to the disc 6 which is illustrated in Fig. 1. At this moment, the cams 68 to 73 have revolved clockwise by about one quarter of a revolution and the cam 68 short-circuitsagain the resistance 67 so that all the pins 18 re-engage the notches 10 in the washers 9. The cam 70 provides for the energization of the reversing relay I and of the relay 55. The outer contact-piece of the relay I keeps the latter energized, while its inner contact-piece switches off the energization of the relay 80 and this in its turn energizes the relay 83 and produces a reversed rotation of the motor 75 and consequently, of the cams 68 to 73.

The energization of the relays 55 produces the contacting between the blades 53 and the blades 49, while switching off the connection between said blades 53 and the rod 54. One end of the winding of each relay 45 is thus connected with the positive terminal of the battery while the other end is connected with the corresponding armature 64. When the latter is in the position illustrated in Fig. 4, the relays 45 and 66 are connected in series with the battery and the reduced current passing through them is sufficient for holding the relay 45 in its operative position in which it is already positioned, while said current is insufficient for producing the operation of the relay 66.

If the armature 64 is in the other position, the corresponding relay 45 is no longer operative, as the two ends of its winding are now connected wtih the positive terminal of the battery. Thus, for each engagement of a stop, the corresponding pin 18 remains engaged in the notch 10 during the return movement of the rods 5 and of the system carried thereby, which produces a rotation of the corresponding washers.

When the disc 6 has again entered the position illustrated in Fig. l, the cam 72 controls the release of the relays 83 so as to switch off the energization of the motor 75 and of the relay E, the release of which produces in its turn that of the relay C, which thus switches off the energization of the relays I, 55, 45 and M. The return into its inoperative position of the relay M produces the release of those relays 76, 77 and 78 which were operative and controlled by the corresponding electromagnets 22, 23 or 24.

The organist may thus record, before playing, six stop combinations for a predetermined position of the rods 5 and of the system carried by the latter. These six combinations are sufiicient for most of the pieces of music that are to be played, but obviously, it is possible to privide an arrangement for recording more than six stop combinations. As it is possible to make the pins 18 cooperate twelve series of washers 9, the organist may record six stop combinations for each of twelve successive pieces of music.

Obviously, it is possible to bring numerous modifications to the above described apparatus. It is possible in particular, to provide a switch system for connecting all the armatures 64 to the positive terminal of the battery in order to allow positioning all the stops together in their inoperative positions. It is also possible to cut out the relays 76, 77 and 78 by connecting directly the combination switches C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, with the electromagnets 22, 23 and 24, the latter being provided with an encrgization-upkeeping contact-piece.

Obviously, the washers 9 may be replaced by other suitable movable parts and the control of the motor 75 may be advantageously associated with an automatic brake locking the motor as soon as the latter is no longer fed.

The device described hereinabove isintended moreparticularly for the control of the stops of an organ, but obviously such apparatuses may be used for further applications, e. g. for the execution as desired of different illumination combinations for theatres and the like entertainment halls or for luminous advertisements.

I claim:

1. In a selecting apparatus, chiefly for organs, for allowing the recording of a plurality of combinations of the positions of a plurality of elements, chiefly organ stops, and reproducing, as desired and in any selected sequence, said combinations of the positions, the improvement which comprises a plurality of armature elements associated with and included in said former elements, each of said armature elements being capable of assuming two positions, a plurality of feeler rods, each being associated with each of said armature elements and capable of assuming two different positions corresponding to the two positions of each of said armature elements, a group of movable notched washers corresponding to each feeler rod, means for positioning each of said feeler rods opposite to one washer of the group of movable notched washers, and means including electrical circuit means operatively connected to said armature means for causing each of said feeler rods to assume a position corresponding to each of the respective armature elements and for causing each of said feeler rods to place one of said movable washers of the group corresponding thereto in the predetermined one of the two positions.

2. The selecting apparatus of claim 1, including a plurality of groups of movable notched washers, each of said groups consisting of a plurality of notched washers, and a means for positioning each of said feeler rods opposite to a predetermined group of movable washers.

3. The selecting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the electrical circuit means includes a switch system operatively connected ot each of the said feeler rods, means for controlling said system in accordance with the location of said feeler rod when it has moved towards the movable notched washer registering therewith.

4. The selecting apparatus of claim 1, including a first electromagnet and a second electromagnet each positioned on one side of each of said armature elements, whereby each of said armature elements can be attracted by one of said electromagnets, a movable contact operatively connected to said armature, two fixed contacts operatively connected to said movable contact, a source of power having a positive pole and a negative pole, the first electromagnet being operatively connected to said positive pole, the second electromagnet being operatively connected to said negative pole, and said two fixed contacts being operatively connected to said positive pole and said negative pole, respectively, whereby, when one of said electromagnets is energized, said armature is attracted by said electromagnet being connected to one of said poles and said movable contact is connected to the other of said poles.

5. The selecting apparatus of claim 1 including a plurality of threaded rod members positioned on a cylindrical plane, whereby said rods are positioned to assume the configuration of a drum, each of said rods having a plurality of groups of movable notched washers threadedly positioned therearound, each of said feeler rods being positioned on a plane parallel to said threaded rods and being perpendicularly positioned with respect to said threaded rods, whereby each of said feeler rods may engage one of said notched washers at the notch thereof and whereby the said rods in the shape of a drum may be moved in the said cylindrical plane thereby causing angular displacement of said notched washers on their respective rods when the end of a feeler rod engages a washer at its notch without changing the position of the notched washers not so engaged by feeler rods.

6. The selecting apparatus of claim 1 including a plurality of threaded rod members positioned on a cylindrical plane, whereby said rods are positioned to assume the configuration of a drum, each of said rods having a plurality of groups of movable notched washers threadedly positioned therearound, each of said feeler rods being positioned on a plane parallel to said threaded rods and being perpendicularly positioned with respect to said threaded rods, the number of washers on each rod being a multiple of the number of said feeler rods positioned opposite to each rod, whereby each of said feeler rods may engage one of said notched washers at the notch thereof and whereby the said rods in the shape of a drum may be moved in the said cylindrical plane thereby causing angular displacement of said notched washers on their respective rods when the end of a feelerrod engages a washer at its notch without changing the position of the notched washers not so engaged by feeler rods.

7. In a selecting apparatus for recording a plurality of combinations of the positions of a number of elements, chiefly organ stops, and reproducing said combinations, when required, in any desired sequence, the improvement which comprises a plurality of parallel feeler rods lying in a common plane and supported by a slideway, each feeler being associated respectively with one of said elements, groups of washers corresponding to each feeler, each Washer being provided with a peripheral notch, a shaft carrying said groups and the axis of which lies in the plane of the rods and is perpendicular to said rods, means for shifting the slideway in parallelism with said shaft by a predetermined number of washer intervals, to make each feeler rod register selectively with a washer in the corresponding group, said washers being adapted to assume two angular positions for which the notch therein lies in and outside the plane of the rods respectively, electromagnetic means adapted, when energized, to urge the corresponding feeler rod towards the washer registering with it to move to an extent depend ing on the angular position of the latter and means controlling the positioning of the element corresponding to each feeler rod in either of two positions according to the extent of movement executed by said feeler rod.

8. In a selecting apparatus for recording a plurality of combinations of the positions of a number of elements, chiefly organ stops, and reproducing said combinations, when required, in any desired sequence, the improvement which comprises a plurality of feeler rods, each associated respectively with one of said elements, a group of shiftable parts for each feeler rod, said group comprising as many shiftable parts as combinations are to be considered, each shiftable part being adapted to selectively register with a corresponding feeler rod and to assume selectively two differently spaced positions with reference to said feeler red when registering therewith, means for urging said teelcr rod towards the shiftable part registering with it to move to an extent defined by the spacing of last mentioned part with reference to said feeler rod, and electrical means for controlling the positioning of the element corresponding to each feeler rod in either of two positions according to the extent of movement executed by the said feeler, said electrical means comprising a source of electric energy including a negative and a positive terminal, two electromagnets, an armature located between said electromagnets, said armature being operatively connected to one of said elements and adapted to be attracted by either of said electromagnets, whereby it controls the position of the one of said elements corresponding thereto according to the position into which it is attracted, circuit elements connected respectively with one of the terminals of the source and passing through one of the two electromagnets respectively and each of which is connected with the armature when the latter is attracted by the other electromagnet, two further circuit elements connected with the positive and with the negative terminals respectively, a switch operatively connected to and controlled by each feeler rod when it is moved towards the shiftable part registering therewith, a circuit means operatively connected to and controlled by said switch for providing a connection between the armature and either of last mentioned further circuit elements, according to the location of the feeler when it has moved towards the shiftable part registering therewith by an amount corresponding to the spacing of the latter with reference to the feeler rod, the connection thus provided being adapted to energize the electromagnet in the circuit element of the first mentioned two circuit elements connected with the armature whenever the terminal connected with said circuit element is different from that connected with the further circuit element connected with the armature by said switch-controlled circuit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,930,613 Gordon Oct. 17, 1933 2,258,714 Pitman Oct. 14, 1941 2,606,244 Johnson et al. Aug. 5, 1952 2,612,810 Kent Oct. 7, 1952 2,641,897 Maas June 16, 1953 2,706,079 Connolly Apr. 12, 1955

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