US375531A - ghinnogk - Google Patents

Description

(N Model.) '2 sheets-sheen 1.

G. H. CHIIHWOCK'ZSLl H. S. TAYLOR.v MECHANICAL. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 375,531. Patented Dec. 27, 1887.

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(No Model.)

No. 375,531. Patented Dec. 27', 1887.-

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NITED STATES PATENT v OFFICE.

GEORGE H. oHiNNOok, OE BROOKLYN, AND HENRY s. TAYLOR, OE NEW YORK, N. Y.

p MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,531, dated December 27, 1887.

Application led January 3, 1883. Serial No. 80.837. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that we, GEORGE H. GHINNooK,

'of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings sic sheet, card, or tablet adapted to produce two tunes, andhaving the notes arranged so that the notcs of each tune are intermediate between the notes of the other tune, and so that one tune may be played by moving the sheet, card, or tablet in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved for playing of the other tune.

O ur improvement consists in various novel combinations of parts and details of construction, hereinafter described, whereby a change or repetition of tunes may be effected by the mere act of changing the direction of movement ofthe music sheet, card, or tablet.

lhe nature of our invention is clearly illus trated in the. accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan of an instrument embodying our invention, with the hinged cover of the case opened or turned back. Fig. 2 represents a detail sectional view of a portion of one of the-rollers and its driving mechanism. Fig. 3 represen ts a transverse section of the driving-shaft of the instrument and devices connected therewith. Fig. et represents a vertical section of the instrument in the plane in which the music-sheet travels, and Fig. 5 represents a side view of a portion of the inner frame of the instrument and adjacent parts.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the gures.

A designates the outer case of the instrument, which is provided with a cover hinged to itat a, so that it may be thrown back or opened. The cover is composed of two parts, A A, hinged together at a', so that when turned back the part A2 may serve as a leg for the part A.` In the part A2 may be formed a swell-opening, A3. To the under side of the part A of the cover are attached bearings B B', the latter of which is hinged, so that when it is desired to close the cover the bearing may be turned down, as shown in Fig. 4, and in dotted outline in Fig. 1. The purpose ofthese bearings we will describe hereinafter; but they may be dispensed with in some cases. l

C designates a frame, secured in the outer case, A, and containing or supporting the principal parts of the instrument, and D D designate two rollers supported and adapted to rotate in bearings in said frame.

The bottom ofthe frame C forms the fixed board of a wind-chest, E, to the movable board E of which the bellows E2 are attached. In thepresent example of our invention the instrument is adapted to operate with air-pressure, and the valves of the wind-chest and bellows are so arranged; but it might be constructed to Operate by exhaustion, so far as most features of our invention are concerned. The bellows Ff are operated by a connectingrod, b, deriving motion from a crank, b', on the end of the main driving-shaft F. Said shaft is likewise provided with a handcrank, F', for operating it.

The wind-chest E has an upwardly-extending portion, E3, the top of which forms arest, Et, over which the music sheet, card, or tablet G passes. Attached to the portion E3, at each end of the rest, are guards or cheek-pieces b2, between which the music sheet, card, or tablet passes, and -by which it is guided and held against lateral movement. rIhe music sheet, card;- or tablet G consists, in this example of our invention, of a sheet of perforated paper, the ends of which are attached to the rollers D D', and which is unwound from one roller and wound onto the other in the act of playing.

In order that the sheet G shall run true, it is ofthe utmost importance that the rollers should be exactly parallel, and to enable them to be readjusted, if they get out of parallelism from any cause, we make one side, C', of the frame f C in two pieces, as shown in Fig. 5, separately attached to the wind-chest E3. The pieces C are secured by screws c, which pass through slots c in said pieces, and said screws ICQ afford provision for adjusting the rollers into parallel positions and retain-ing them in such positions.

H designates a board hinged at d above the rest E, and which is held down while the instrument is operated by a hook or catch, d', engaging with a pin, d2, thereon. In the eX- ample of our invention the board H contains both air-duets e, reeds e', and the said airducts which communicate with or are coincident with a duet or slot, e2, in the rest E4. The music-sheet G passes between the reed-board H and the rest E4, and its perforations permit -the operation of the reeds in a well-known manner.

In order to prevent leakage of air, we form in the rest E4, on opposite sides of the slot e2, grooves e3, which communicate with the interior of the wind-chest, as shown in Fig. 4, and which are covered with sheep-skin, c, or other` flexible material. This flexible material is puffed up by the air-pressure and makes a tight joint upon the sheet G. The duct or slot a2 is formed in rigid material, and will preserve its form without being distorted.

Ve will now describe how the rollers D D are operated from the shaft F.

Upon the shaft of each roller are mounted loosely a wormwheel,f, and a wheel,f, having a notched periphery or a circular series of holes. In a recess in each roller and its shaft is a pin or bolt, g, the end g of which is bent so as to project outward from the roller, as shown in Fig. 2. Vhen not otherwise actuated, the pin or bolt is forced out by a spring, h, so that its end g will engage with the notches or holesin the wheel or disk f, thereby locking the wheel fand the wheel or disk f fast to the roller and causing the roller to rotate with them. Vhen the bolt or pin g is pushed inward sufficiently to disengage its end g from the wheel or disk f, the said wheel or disk can rotate with the worm-wheel f independently of the roller.

In Fig. l the roller D is free from its wormwheel f, while the roller D is locked fast to its wheel. The construction just described constitutes a clutch; but a clutch of any other form might be substituted therefor. Upon the driving-shaft F are two worms or screws, i, which gear into and rotate the worm-wheel f. The reed-board H is susceptible of a slight movement endwise, or transverse to the direction in which the music-sheet G travels. It should be capable of being shifted a distance equal to the distance between the rows of perforations j' j in the music-sheet G, which is half the distance between the reeds e from center to center. On the end of the reedboard or chest H is a downwardly-projecting hook, k, which is connected with a lever, I, fulcrumed at 7c.

J designates another lever fulcrumed at Z and having its ends opposite the ends of the roller-shafts, so that it is adapted to push in either of the pins or bolts g and to simultaneously release the other pin or bolt and allow it to move outward.

Upon the drivingshaft F is fitted a collar, K, which may have a lining of leather, m, to enable it to tightly hug the shaft. The said collar may be with advantage made in two pieces, as shown in Fig. 3, and a screw, n, or other means provided to enable it to be more tightly clamped on the shaft. The collar should hug the shaft so tightly that friction will cause it to move with the shaft until a considerable resistance is offered to its further movement.

The collar K is connected `by a pin, a, with the lever Land by a link or rod, n2, with the lever J. The music sheet G has two series of perforations, and those of one series, j, which are designed to produce a tune when the sheet is moved in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l, are arranged intermediately between those of the other series, j', which are. designed toproduce a tune when the sheet is moved in the opposite direction. Now, it is obvious that by simply shifting the reed-board H its reeds may be brought opposite the perforationsjj, as maybe desired, and if the direction of the movement of the sheet be reversed the change from one tune to another, or to a duplication of the same tune for repeat ing, can be made instantly and without delay. A duplication of a tune is, in effect, a second tune within the spirit of our invention and the meaning of this specification.

As the instrument is shown in Fig. 1, the

ldriving-shaft is to be turned toward the right and the sheet is moving in the direction of the arrow, the reeds being controlled by the perforations j. If the shaft F now be reversed and turned toward the left, the collarK would turn with the shaft a sufficient distance to shift the reed-board toward the right to bring the reeds opposite the perforations j and to move the lever J so as to release the roller D and connect the roller D with its driving mechanism. The musicfsheet would then be moved in the contrary direction to that indicated by the arrow, and a different tune played or the same tune repeated. The levers I and J and the collar K therefore constitute a system of levers which are operated to reverse the motion of the rollers and to shift the reedboard by reversing the crank-shaft F. In this example of our invention the rollers are in xed bearings and cannot be readily removed from the instrument when it is desired to change the music. We therefore provide a separate roller, L, which may be placed in the bearings B B to introduce a music-sheet into the instrument or remove a sheet therefrom. If a sheet is to be introduced into the instrument, the roller L, having the sheet wound upon it, is placed in the bearings B B. The end of the sheet is passed under the reedboard H and attached to the roller D, and by turning the shaft F in the proper direction the sheet will be drawn into the instrument and tunes played meanwhile. Vhen it is de- IOC IIO

sired to remove the sheet, its end is detached from the roller D and attached to the roller L, and when the roller D is released so as to turn freely the sheet may be wound ofil on the roller L.

A music sheet, card, or tablet having two tunes arranged as herein' described might be employed for operating ngers or jacks which are connected with valves for controlling the speaking ofsound-producing devices, andthe fingers or jacks would then be arranged in a frame susceptible of being shifted in the same manner in which the reed-board H is shifted.

Ve do not claim, broadly, herein a musicsheet provided with perforations representing two different times and so arranged that one tune is played by moving the sheet in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved for playing the other tune. Such a musicshect forms the subject of an application filed by George H. Chinnoek February 29, 1884, and of which the Serial number is 122,416; nor do we claim as our invention,in a mechanical musical instrument,the combination, with a reed-board, of a transposing mechanism consisting of a removable or adjustable key slip or slips operating with said reed-board, wherebythe scale or key of a tune may be changed or transposed to a different scale or key by closing all the passages of said reed-board eX- cept those belonging to the desired scale or key of ak tune; nor do we claim any invention in the changing of the key of a tune to a higher or lower key.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mechanical musical instrument, the

' combination, with sound-producing devices, a

controlling music sheet, card, or tablet having two sets of perforations, a rest for the music sheet, card, or tablet, rollers for moving the sheet, card, or tablet over the rest, and guides for preventing lateral movement of the sheet, card, or tablet, of a board containing duets for the passage of air to operate the sound-producing devices, and mechanism, sub- 'stantially as described, for moving or shifting said board in a direction transverse to the directions of movement of the sheet, card, or tablet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

sound-producing devices, mechanism, substantially as described, for moving or shifting said board in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the sheet, card, or tablet, and stops for limiting the movement of said board, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

,3. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination,with amusic-sheet provided with perforations representing two different tunes, arranged, as described, so that one tune is played by moving the sheet opposite to that in which it is moved for playing the other tune, a rest for said sheet, and sound-producing devices, of rollers for moving the musiesheet over the rest, guides for preventing lateral movement of the sheet, a board arranged above the rest, constructed with ducts for the passage of air to operate the sound-producing devices, and mechanism, substantially as described, for shifting or moving the board in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of said sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with a music sheet provided With perforations representing two different tunes, arranged, as described, so that one tune is played by moving the sheet in a direction opposite to that in which it is moved for playing the other tune, a rest for said sheet, and sound-producing devices, of meehanism for moving the music-sheet over the said rest, guides for preventing lateral movement of said sheet, a boardarranged above the rest and constructed with ducts for the passage of air to operate the sound-producing devices, and levers connected together and serving to simultaneously reverse the direction of movement of said sheet and shift said board in a direction transverse to the length of said sheet, substantially as herein described.

5. The combination, with a rest for a travleling music-sheet and sound-producing devices, of a board arranged opposite said rest and containing ductsfor the passage of air to the sound-producing devices, rollers for said music-sheet, guides for preventing the lateral movement of said sheet in its passage over the rest, a crank-shaft for operating said rollers to move the music-sheet in either direction over said rest, and levers operated by reversing said shaft to shift said board in a direction transverse to the length of said sheet, substantially as herein described.

6. The combination, with a rest for a traveling music sheet, card, or tablet and soundprod ueing devices, ofa board containing ducts for the passage of air to operate said soundproducing devices, a driving-shaft for impartin'g motion to said music sheet, card, or tablet, a collar having a frictional engagement with said shaft, and a lever connected with said board and collar, whereby the board will be shifted when the direction of rotation of said shaft is reversed, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

7. The combination of the rest E, the board H, containing air-ducts, the rollers D D', the driving-shaft F, clutches through which motion is transmitted to said rollers, and levers connected, substantially as described, and adapted to be operated by reversing said shaft ICO to shift said board and clutches, substantially Y S. The combination, with the rollers D D', of the shaft F, provided with Worms or screws z', the Worm-Wheelf, and clutch-Wheel f', turning loosely on the shaft of each roller, the slid- 5 ing clutch-pins g, the lever J, and the friction-collar K, all substantially as described.

9. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination, with the case and its hinged cover, of rollers mounted in fixed bearings in 1o said case, bearings on the cover, and a roller, to be mounted in the lastmentioned bearings when the cover is opened, substantially as and and for the purpose described.

GEO. H. CHINNOCK. HENRY S. TAYLOR.

\Vitnesses:

FREDERIK BERNUOCA, J oHN W. KONVALINKA.

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