US560152A - William a - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

W. A. BEIN.

DAMPER FOR PIANOS.

No. 560,152. Patented May 12, 1896.

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ANUN-W u GNAHAM mow-mm WASNINGTDNDC UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

IVILLIAM A. BEIN, OF NEIV IIAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SI'IONINGER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

DAM PER FOR PIANOS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 560,152, dated May 12, 1896.

Application filed November 5, 1895. Serial No. 568,020. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. BEIN, of Newllaven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Dampers for Pian os and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, iii- Figure 1, a detached view, in inside eleva tion, of a damping device constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, an enlarged view thereof in transverse section; Fig. 3, a broken view showing a modified form which the treble portion or portions of the felt strip may assume.

My invention relates to an improvement upon the damper for pianos for which United States Patent No. 5i2,132 was granted July 2, 1.895, upon my application, to The 13.811011- iuger Company, the object of this present invention being to improve the damper disclosed in the said patent by modifying it so as to combine with its damping action an ef feet which may bc'utilized musically if desired.

'With these ends in vicw my invention consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention, as herein shown, I employ a sheet-metal lip-tube A, having a lip A extending throughout its length, which provides for the attachment, by screws 1), of a wooden felt bar 13, the outer edge of which is longitudinally rabbeted, as at b, to receive the upper edge of the felt mufflerstrip,which consists, as herein shown, of two bass sections C and C and two treble sections C and C these several sections constituting the felt strip. The ends of the liptube A receive wooden plugs A one of which is shown in Fig. 2, the said plugs reinforcing the tube for the attachment of the arms A A, bymeans of which the device is pivotally connected with the inner faces of the ends of the piano-case. These two arms A A are alike except for the provision of one of them with a coupling-arm A, through which the muffler-sticlgwhich is not shown, acts for the operation of the device in the manner set forth in my prior patent. The lower edges of the bass sections C and C of the felt strip are made continuous, those portions of the strip being designed to have full muffling or damping action; but the sections C and C of the said strip are divided into a series of fingers C of which there is one for each string, whether the same be a simple or a compound string, and the string-face of the lowerend of each finger is hardened,while the opposite or hammer face is untouched, and therefore composed of soft felt. The hardened face maybe hardened either by the application of small squares D of paper or other suitable material or by applying a coating to the said edge of shellac or other substance which hardens when dry. As shown in Fig. 1, the fingers are made by forming transverse slits in the portions 0 and C of the muffler-strip. If desired, however, they may be made as shown in Fig. 3, in which the strip E is fashioned upon its edge to form scallops E, the string-faces e of which are hardened. If desired, the fingers might be made independent of each other, though that construction will probably be less convenient than either of the constructions shown.

In the use of a damper constructed in accordance with my invention the bass portion or portions of the felt muffler-strip have a marked muffiing action, the same as provided for in my prior patent referred to, but the muffiing action of the treble section or sections is modified, so that although it is markedly muffied it has yet more differentiation of tone than when the treble portion or portions of the muffier-strip are continuous. This modified tone in the treble combines with the muffled tones of the bass in the production of effects which may be utilized in the performance of some compositions with pleasing effect, the tone of the piano being reduced from its grand orchestral tone to a tone re.- sembling that of some light stringed instrument.

It is apparent that in carrying out my invention some changes in the construction set forth may be resorted to, and I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exact form shown, but hold myself at liberty to make such alterations as fairly fall Within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described myinvention,w11at I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Adamper'having its felt strip composed of one or more continuous bass portions and one or more treble portions, the latter being divided into fingers having hardened stringfaces and soft hammer-faces, substantially as described.

2. In a piano-damper, the combination With a long, sheet-metal lip-tube having a depending lip extending throughout its length, of a Wooden felt bar secured by its upper edge to the lip of the said tube, and having its opposite edge longitudinally rabbeted, and a felt mufller-strip secured to the feltbar by the insertion of its upper edge into the abbet thereof, and comprising one or more continuous bass portions and one ormore treble portions, the latter being divided into fingers having hardened string-faces and soft hammer-faees.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WM. A. BEIN. \Vitnesses FRED. C. EARLE, Giro. D. SEYMOUR.

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