US472109A - Piano-action - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. DE POE DIMIOK.

PIANO ACTION.

No. 472,109. Patented Apr. 5,1892.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. DE POE DIMIGK.

PIANO ACTION. No. 472,109. Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

/IQ\U Attestflflanzvr' ywfi W @Jkom UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS DE FOE DIMIOK, OF IVAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIANO-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,109, dated April 5, 1892.

Application filed October 13, 1891. Serial No. 408,600. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS DE Fon DIM- ICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wakefield, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention has for its object to improve the action patented to me July 22, 1890, in Letters Patent of that date, No. 432,516, with particular reference to the capability of the mechanism of the action for quick repetition of the stroke of the hammer.

In the present improvement I retain the sliding or endwise-movin g j ack,which is a feature of my former invention, and while the same general arrangement of the parts is preserved I have altered the construction and manner of actuating some of the parts, and thereby improved the operation of the same, increasing the general efliciency of the action, and especially as to its repeating qualities.

In the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations of the action, the parts being represented in different positions. Figs. 3 and 4 are details showing the parts in the same positions, respectively, as in Figs. 1 and 2, the arrangement of the hammer-check and buffer being slightly different from that in the other figures, and the manner of operating the damper-lever being also different.

Similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, A denotes the key, and B the hammer, the latter being pivoted to the action-rail O in the usual manner.

D indicates the jack, which is made substantially straight, and is arranged to slide or move endwise like the jack in my former patented action.

E is the damper-lever, pivoted between its ends on the action-rail. The construction and manner of mounting this lever are the same as generally employed in this class of actions, but the manner of actuating the lever hereinafter described I believe to be novel.

F and G denote,respectively, the hammer and damper check rails common to all actions of this sort, and f and g are the respective springs for the hammer and damper. The hammer has the ordinary butt I), shouldered and padded, as usual, and pivoted to the action-rail in the ordinary manner. The stem of the hammer, instead of being constructed of wood, as heretofore, is made of gutta-percha, hard rubber, celluloid, or other analogous substance not affected by changes in temperature. The connection between the key and the endwise-moving jack is a pivotal one, and is preferably made bya slip-joint to a rocker on the key; but it may be connected to the key by any other pivotal connection desired.

In Fig. 1,0, is a rocker seated upon a piece of hard wood let into the upper surface of the key. The rocker is made adjustable to accurately regulate the length of the jack by means of screws 0. A spring d is fixed upon the rocker and bears near its upper end against the front side of the jack to hold the same up to its work.

The jack-trip in the present improvement is carried by the key, and in the construction shown in the drawings I have represented it as composed of a post or rod J, rising from the key in rear of the jack and adapted to engage a stop on the jack at the proper moment to trip the latter. This stop may be of any form of construction preferred and may be adjustable or not. In the arrangement shown herein I make use of the ordinary regulatingbutton 8, passing through the jack. Although I have shown the stop or button on the jack, it is obvious that it might be located on the post or rod J.

As before described, the damper-lever is of the ordinary construction. Instead of operating it in the old way, however, I connect it with the endwise-moving jack, as shown in the several views, wherein I indicates a lever, which I term the damper-actuating lever. It is pivoted to the action-rail and either has an extension passing through a slot in the jack, as represented in Figs. 1 and 2, or has its front end arranged to bear upon a shoulder h, formed by cutting away the jack on the rear side, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where the lever-extension passes through a slot in the jack, a projection t is preferably formed on the front side of the jack for the purpose of securing as long a leverage on the actuatinglever as possible.

The method of operating the hammer is the same as in my former patent, except that in the present instance I provide a repeatingspring connection between the jack and the hammer-butt to prevent the hammer from falling while the jack is being restored to place. Any sort of spring connection may be used, though I prefer that shown in the drawings, and consisting of the bent -wire springr, secured to the upper end of the jack, and the flexible cord 25, connecting the free end of the spring with the hammer-butt.

My present improvement contemplates two ways of arranging the hammer-check, in each of which, however, the check is operated-by the sliding jack. In the form of damper-operating mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2 I mount the check L on the damperactuating lever, the wire.rod dot the leverI being bent upward in front of the jack into proper position relative to the hammer-butt to co-operate with the buffer. In Figs. 2 and 4, where the damper-operating lever has no extension through or past the jack, I mount the hammer-check directly on the jack, it being shown as fixed on the upper end of a pin or wire rod extending up from an olfset on the jack.

0 denotes the buffer, carried in each of the above instances by the hammer. In Figs. 1 and 2 it is mounted (adjustably, if desired) on the outer end of a projection P, and is arranged to act upon the rear side of the hammer-check, while in Figs. 2 and 4, though it is mounted on the same projection, it is differently shaped and is arranged, as shown,

so as to act on the opposite or-front side of the check.

The jack is provided near its upper end with a shoulder S, which co-operates with the shouldered butt of the hammer. The end of the jack is extended up in front of the butt, as shown, to afford a proper point of attachment for the spring connection between the jack and the hammer. A further object of this extension is to form a guide for the upper end of the jack, which is accomplished by slotting the extension, as indicated in dotted lines in all'the figures, and passing the projection P from the hammer-butt through the slot.

From the foregoing description the operation of the mechanism will be readily understood. The first position, or the position of rest, is illustrated in Fig. 1, and the position of the parts immediately after a stroke is shown in Fig. 2. The depression of the key causes the jack to slide or move endwise, as in my previous invention, freeing the damper from the string and throwing the hammer forward to deliver the blow. At the same time the jack carries the hammer-check into posi-.

key is released, the jack falls and the spring d acts on its front side to restore its shoul dered upper end to place under the shoulder of the hammer-butt. The jack-spring is assisted in this action by the spring connection r t between the upper end of the jack and the hammer-butt.

Were not some provision made to hold the hammer up and prevent it from falling as the jack is restored to place, it would drop back onto the check-rail and prevent the quick repetition of the stroke. The repeating-spring connection rt etfectually prevents this and holds the hammer balanced While the key goes down and thejack is being returned to place for another stroke, permitting great rapidity in the repetition of the stroke of the hammer with a half or less than half dip of the key.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the details herein shown, nor to the use of the whole number of parts, as obviously changes may be made in the. construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and some of the parts used without others.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a piano-action,the combination of the key, a sliding or endwise-moving jack pivotally connected therewith at its lower end, and a jack-spring fixed at its lower end on the key and bearing at its free upper end on the jack, substantially as described.

2. In a piano-action,the combination of the key, an adjustable rocker thereon, a sliding or endwise-moving jack pivotally connected thereto, and a jack-spring fixed upon the rocker and bearing at its free end on the front side of the jack, substantially as described.

3. In apiano-action, the combinationof the key,an adjustable rocker thereon,an endwisemoving jack pivotally connected at its lower end with the rocker, a jack-spring fixed upon the rocker and hearing at its free end upon the front side of the jack, and a jack-trip carried by the key and co-operating with an adjustable stop on the jack, substantially as de scribed.

4. In a piano-action, the combination of-the key, the hammer, an endwise-moving jack having an extension at its upper end in front of the hammer-butt and being pivotally connected with the key at its lower end and free at its upper end, a pivoted damper-actuating lever, and a connection between the latter and the jack, substantially as described.

5. In a pianoaction,the combination of the key, an endwise-moving jack, ahammer, and a pivoted hammer-check actuated by the jack, substantially as described.

6. In a piano-action, the combination of the key, an endwise-moving jack, a hammer having a buffer projecting from its butt, and a pivoted hammer-check actuated by the jack, substantially as described- 7. In a piano-acti0n,the combination of the key, an endwise-moving jack pivotally connected with and supported by the key, a pivoted dam per-actuating lever, a hammer-check carried by the lever, and a connection between the jack and the lever, substantially as described.

8. In a piano-action, the combination of a sliding or endwise-moving jack, a pivoted hammer check, and a connection between them, whereby the check is operated by the jack, substantially as described.

9. In a piano-action, the combination of the key, the hammer, an endwise-moving jack, and a spring reacting between the hammer and the jack to prevent the hammer from falling while the jack is returning to place.

10. In a piano-action, the combination of the hammer having a shouldered butt, an endwise-moving jack having a shoulder at its upper end, an extension of the jack in front of the hammer-butt, and a guide projection from the hammer-butt acting on the exten sion, substantially as described.

11. In a piano-action, the combination of the hammer having the shouldered butt, an endwise-moving jack having a shoulder and an extension in front of the butt, and a spring connection between the ham mer-butt and the extension, substantially as described.

12. In a piano-action, the combination of a pivoted hammer, a sliding or endwise-moving jack, and a repeating-spring connection between the hammer and the jack, arranged and operating as and for the purpose described.

13. In a piano-action, the combination of the hammer, a projection from the hammer-butt carrying a buffer, and a hammer-check pivoted to the action-rail and actuated by the jack, substantially as described.

14. In a piano-action, the combination of a pivoted hammer, a sliding or endwise-nlovin g jack, a repeating-spring carried by the jack, and a flexible connection between the spring and the hammer, arranged and operating substantially as described.

15. In a piano-action, the combination of the hammer, a jack for operating the same, and a repeating-spring connection between the jack and the hammer-butt for preventing the hammer from falling while the jack is being restored to place and facilitating repetition of the stroke, substantially as described.

16. In a piano-action, the combination of the hammer, the sliding or endwise-moving jack, and a guide for the jack projecting from the hammer-butt to support the upper end of the jack and to prevent a sidewise movement of the same, substantially as described.

17. In a piano-action, the combination of the hammer having a shouldered butt, a sliding or endwise-moving jack having a shoulder near its upper end, a hammer-check operated by the jack, and a buffer carried by a projection from the hammer-butt, said projection acting as a guide for the upper end of the jack, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in presence of two Witnesses.

AUGUSTUS DE FOE DIMICK.

\Vitnesses:

J. A. GoLDsBoRoUeH, PERCY B. IIILLS.

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