US352060A

US352060A - Combined organ and piano

Info

Publication number: US352060A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1886-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 1903-11-02

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. A. KEMP.

COMBINED ORGAN AND PIANO.

No. 352.060. Patented Nov. 2, 1886.

g MRI R s s. S I N 5 R I A R i m? i E a! Q} i 1 I q a 1 i fimeaaea 1%7/6712022 f JJYQZeTYE/ZIEmfi W7 2 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. A. KEMP.

COMBINED ORGAN AND PIANO.

No. 352,060. Patented Nov. 2, 1886'.

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ROBERT ALEXANDER KEMP, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

COMBINED ORGAN AND PIANO.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 352,060, dated November 2,1886. Application filed November 4, 1885. Serial No. 181,847. (No model.) Patented in England September 7, 1885, No. 10,574.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT ALEXANDER KEMP, musical-instrument maker, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of London, England, have invented new and use ful Improvements in and Relating to Oombined Reed and String Musical Instruments,

(for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 10,574, bearing date September 7, 1885,) of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Myinvention relates to musical instruments in which the mechanism of an ordinary pianoforte is combined with that of a reed-organ.

The objects of the said invention are to improve the quality of tone and obtain a compact and convenient form and arrangement of the parts or such instruments.

My improvements are applicable to upright or grand piano-fortes, either in the course of or subsequently to their construction,and also to old or existing instruments. In the case of ordinary upright piano-forties the said improvements can be applied without increasing the size of the instrument or altering its general external appearance.

In the accompanying drawings Ihave shown 110w my improvements may be conveniently and advantageously applied to an upright piano-forte.

Figure l is a vertical transverse section of the instrument. Fig. 2 shows a portion of Fig. 1 drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a plan of the air-chamber of the reed apparatus with some of the parts removed. Fig. 4 is a front elevation illustrating various details of construction. Fig. 5 is a plan showing parts of the reed-operating mechanism. Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the tremolo, hereinafter described.

(0 indicates the frame or case of the instrument. bisthesound-board. 00 are the springs. d d are the keys. These parts and the pianoforte action may be of any well known or suit able construction.

0 indicates the bellows of the organ, which in the instrument shown are exhaust-bellows.

f is the air-chamber.

g is one of a series of free reeds, secured in any suitable manner upon the top of the airchamber-jflin front of the sound-board b. Each reed is arranged above an aperture in the top of the air-chamber and within a reed chamber or cell, h. A valve, i, is hinged to the top of the air-chamber beneath each of these apertures, and isfacted upon by a spring, t,which tends to keep the said valve closed. These valves are arranged in combination with the mechanism hereinafter described, and with the keys (1, so that either of the said valves can be opened by depressing the corresponding key. This mechanism is, however so arranged that the organ can be either connected with the keys (I or thrown out of action, as desired. In combination with each valve *5, I provide a plunger, k, and a bent or' cranked lever, Z, oneend of which, when the parts are in the position shown, bears upon the top of the said plunger. A similar plunger, m, is provided beneath each key (1, and bears upon the other end of the corresponding lever, Z. The plungers k m are fitted to slide up and down in suitable guides in a wellknown manner. The bent levers Z are more clearly shown in Fig.5. They consist of pieces of wire bent to the required shape, and fitted in suitable bearings in the lugs or blocks 1, attached to the rail or table a. This rail or table is hinged or pivoted at a to the top of the ainchamber f, and under normal conditions occupies the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the organ mechanism being unconnected with the keys (1. The said rail or table is shown in full lines in this figure in the position which it occupies when the organ mechanism is connected with the keys (1. It is raised to and supported in this position by the following means, viz A series of levers, o, are pivoted at 0 to the front of the air-chamber f, and are connected bya rod or link, 0 A knee-lever, p, is pivoted at p, beneath the key-board,and is made with a fork at one end, which engages with the central lever, 0. By moving the lever 19 in one or the other direc tion the rail or table a can be very readily raised or lowered, as required.

When the rail or table a is in its raised position, the plungers m are in contact with the keys (I, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and if one of the said keys is depressed the corresponding valve,i,willbe opened by means of the corresponding plungersflc m, and lever Z. WVhen,

ICO

however, the rail or table a is lowered,the keys (I, when they are depressed, will not touch the plungers nz. Therefore the key-board of the pianoforte will be in its normal condition and entirely free from or independent of the organ mechanism.

The air-chamber f is made with two apertures, f f, to permit the passage of air from the said chamber to 'the bellows 0. Over the aperturef is fixed a box or casing, q, having an aperture, q, beneath which is arranged a tremolo, q, of the kind usually employed in organs. \Vhen this tremolo is in operation,it produces a wave-like motion of the air in front of the soundboard. A tremolando is thus imparted to both strings and reeds; but the tones of the strings and reeds are so blended that it is sometimes impossible to decide which tones are heardthat is to say, whether the sounds heard are produced by the vibrations of the strings or by the vibrations of the reeds.

The tremolo is governed or controlled by the following means, viz: A valve,r,is hinged or pivoted to the air-chamber over the air-passage f A rod, 1-, is coupled to the said valve, and is arranged to be raised and lowered to open and close the valve by means of a bent wire or lever, r operated by aknee-lever, 19 By opening the said valve and permitting the air to pass to the bellows through the passage f the vibratory motion of the tremolo can be instantly arrested when not required.

The swell consists of a valve or swell-shutter, 8, arranged to be opened and closed by means of a bent wire or lever, s, operated by a knee-lever, 19*.

t is a pedal or foot-lever,which is connected with the bellows e by a cord or chain, t, passing over a wheel or pulley, t and which is preferably placed on the right-hand side of the ordinary piano-forte pedals. The bellows are provided with springs e eflwhich by their reaction assist in operating the said bellows.

In using the instrument as a simple pianoforte, it is only necessary to play as on an ordinary instrument, holding down the soft or loud pedal at pleasure. In using it as an organ or harmonium without the piano-forte accompaniment, the left-hand or soft pedal must be held down, the knee-lever p pushed to the left into the position indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, and the pedal tworked like the ordinary blow-levers of an organ. Then by playing softly, any legato or sustained music can be ex ecuted without the sound of the stringsbeing audible. In using the instrument as a piano forte and organ combined, a melody may be sustained on the reeds and apianissimo or soft accompaniment produced at the same time from the strings. Both strings and reeds can thus be used without making any change in the stops or pedals. The tones of the pianoforte can in this case be augmented and sustained or prolonged by the continued vibration of the reeds, and the tones of the organ and those of the piano-forte will, as above stated, be so intermingled or blended that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish the sounds of the reeds from those of the strings, notwithstanding the fact that in one case the sounds are produced by percussion, while in the other case they are produced by wind. By releasing the soft pedal the piano-forte can be made to dominate the organ. The center pedal is the ordinary-forte pedal for raising the dampers from the strings.

The reeds which I prefer to use for thepurpose of my invention are those commonly known as American organ-reeds, and I prefer to use exhaust-bellows,a-s shown; but where greater power of tone is required I use the free reeds, termed harmonium-reeds, the action of the bellows for which must be the reverse of that above indicatedthat is to say,the air must be forced outward or expired instead of being drawn inward or inspired. These two forms of reeds and bellows are equally applicable for the purpose of my invention, the only difference being an increased power and a more reedy quality of tone in the case of the harmonium-reeds and the expiratory bellows. In both cases the sound-waves from the reeds are directed against the sound-board of the piano-forte,:thereby improving the quality of tone of the reeds,and,as above stated ,prolonging the vibrations of the strings.

The reed-organ may be of any compass from one to eight octaves, according to the extent of the key-board or the will of the maker.

The chief advantages afforded by my inventionare as follows, viz: The perfect blending of the tones of the organ with those of the piano-forte obtained, as above described, by placing the reeds in front of and across the sound -board; also, the prolongation of the sounds produced by the piano-forte beyond their ordinary duration, by the continued vibration of the springs in sympathy with the vibratory action of the reeds; also, the power to produce a tremolando in the tone of the piano-forte in addition to that obtained on the organ by reason of the transmission of vibratory motion from the reeds and bellows to the sound-board and strings; also, the power to apply reed-organs to upright piano-fortes without increasing the size of the instrument or altering its external appearance.

It is obvious that the construction of the in strument may be somewhat varied without departing from the nature of my said invention.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with a piano-forte, of the bellows c, the air-chamber f, having the apertures f f, and the tremolo (f, the reeds g, and the reed-cells h, the valves t, and springs i, the plungers hm, and levers Z, mounted upon the pivoted rail or table a, and means for raising and lowering the said rail or table to put the organ mechanism in or out of action, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a combined reed and string musical instrument, the combination of the soundboard b, the strings c, the air-chamber f, reedcells 71, reeds g, valves 6, having springs 2 IIO cranked levers Z, plungers k m, and keys d, substantially as described. 3. The co mbination,with the strings c, reeds g, air'chamloer f, and valves '5, of the table n, 5 pivoted to the top of the air-chamber and provided with blocksl, the levers l, plungers km, and keys d, substantially as described.

l.- The combination, with the strings 0, reeds g, valves 1, and keys d, of the table a, levers 1o 0, connecting rod or link 0 forked knee-lever p, levers Z, and plungers k m, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the bellows e, the airohamberf, having apertures f J, the casing 15 1, having an aperture, q, the tremolo q, valve '1', rod r, and levers 1 12, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a piano-forte, of the bellows e, the air-chamber f, having the apertures f f, andthe tremolo q", the reeds 9, 2o

,RoRERr ALEXANDER KEMP.

Witnesses:

HERBERT E. DALE, ARTHUR R. SKERTEN, Both of 17 Gracechurch St, London, E. C.