US566269A - Accordion - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

J. GALLEAZZI.

AGGORDION.

NO.v 566,269. Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH GALLEAZZI, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ACCORDION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,269, dated August 18,1896. l Application led J'une 1.5, 1896. 4Serial No. 595,695. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern,.-Y

Be it known that I, JOSEPH GALLEAZZI, of the city and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Accordions and Similar Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The present improvement has reference to the invention for which I have been granted Letters Patent of the United States, No. 517,648, bearing date April 3, 1894.

My object in making this improvement is to provide a novel and'superior meansv for effecting the change from major to minor chords in the class of instruments aforesaid, so that such change may be accomplished with greater accuracy and at the same time more rapidly and conveniently.

Referring tothe drawings hereto annexed, in which the same letters and numerals as in my said patent are used to designate the saine parts or corresponding details of construction, Figure l is a cross-sectional view indicating how'the major chords are produced in my improved accordion. Fig. '2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line 00x of Fig. l, looking to the left. Fig. 3 is a plan of the construction illustrated at Fig. 2, the top of the instrument being removed. Fig. 4 is a section similar tov Fig. 2, showinghow the change from a major to a minor chord is now effected; and Fig. 5 is a plan view simi'- lar to Fig. 3, with certain detailsadded and others omitted.

As in my said patent, the letter A represents the box or that end of the accordion containing the valves E E', that are used for producing the notes in the bass clef,with'har- Inonic relations, as also the major and minor chords.

The valves E E can be opened together, two at a time, by meansv of the studs or pistons F and the spring-pressed or spring-returned levers G, attached to the valves E, the levers G projecting under and being adapted to raise the hooks g, affixed to the valves E. The bass notes and harmonic relations are heard when the valves E F. are thus opened together. No illustration of the joint Work ing ofthese two sets of valves is here given, as such is illustrated fully in my said patent. It will be noted, however, that the hook g has been given a. better and more appropriate shape, as may be seen by reference to the accompanying drawings, which also represent a more solid and substantial construction of that particular part. v

` The valves E are opened three at a time, independently of the valves E, in order to obtain major and minor chords by means of the studs or pistons F and levers G, each adapted to raise one series or set of three valves and to effect a change in such series or set through the agency of four rods i, secured to rockshafts AII and running under double hooks j and supplementary hooks I7", which by preference are given the shape of a half-1noon or triangle, as shown.

The shafts I-I are laid in parallel grooves on a board I and suitably attached thereto, as in my said patent, but the board I is no longer made movable, it being now screwed firmly in place above the valves E', which are hinged so as to oscillate under it together with their closing springs e. Of the four rods i provided foreach rock-shaft one is made a little longer than the others, as heretofore, so n it may be met bythe inner end of Vthe lever G', that lies opposite and thereby caused to rock the shaft to which it belongs while lifting the hook j of the valve next under it and opening said valve. As before also, the three other `rods t' of each shaft H are brought into action, two at a time, with the longer rod to open the'two other valves required in each series for producing the major and minor chords', but there isa change in the manner in which they are Aconnected with the valveraising hooks. Theb'oard I and shafts II thereon being no longer slidable endwise, the position of the rods 1l becomes lixed or permanent with relation to the hooks upon which they operate, and therefore in changing from a major to a minor chord one of the rods is no longer drawn away from one of the hooks to leave out a valve and another rod brought under another hook to pick upa dierent valve and thus effect a change in the series previously opened. There are now only two of the rods t on each rock-shaft, instead of three before, that come or can come under the hooks j, the other two rods in each set passing under the supplementary hooks j', above referred to. A The hooks j are consequently IOO made shorter than in my previously-patented accordion, so as to cover but one rodi on each side, as will be understood by reference to the drawings. Their construction has also been modified in that they are provided with a semicircular head,as shown,and their stem, which is in one piece with that of the hooks g, is riveted to the valves E instead of being soldered as before. This makes a more solid construction. Contrary to the fixed hooksj, the supplemental hooks j" are made movable, that is, made'to be inclined to right and left, as may be required, in order to come into contact with either one or the other of the uplifted rods 'L' in each set that are beyond the ends of the fixed hooks, and in so doing to raise the third valve required to produce either a major or a minor chord. Then inclined as in Fig. 2, they will operate to give the major chords, and the minor chords when inclined as in Fig. 4t. The movable hooksj are rigidly secured to one end of wires or rods jz, passed through suitable holes in the semicircular heads of the fixed hooks j and in sin all bearin g-platesjresting upon the board I, and they are inclined one way or the other by oscillating or rocking said wires within said heads and plates. The wiresj2 are thus moved from side to side, to work the hooksj, by means of a slide l, having notches t" engaged by the ends j* of said wires, which are bent for this purpose. This slide is placed at 'a suitable height above the board I and is arranged to move endwise upon small blocks 'i2 under the heads of screws fis, passing through slots t4, with which said slide is provided, the screws t3 being adj usted to prevent lateral as well as upward displacement.

L, so that the hooks j" will normally be inclined all in the direction indicated at Fig. 2 and in the right position to secure the major chords. The hooks j will be reversed, that is to say, inclined the opposite way, as in Fig. 4, by pushing the slide I back against its spring, which is effected by means of a lever M, having one end engaged in a slot Z, in the slide I and its other end projecting outside the box A under a thumb-piece N. Pressing upon the piece N causes the lever M to retract the slide I' and incline the hooks j' into the position required to obtain the minor chords,which are produced by pushing on the same pistons and levers as for the major chords, like in the accordion heretofore patented to me, the chords being varied by the reversible hooks j sliding off one of the free rods t' and ascending upon another one instead, thereby dropping one valve and taking up another.

One of the illustrations given in explaining the operation of my said patent accordion will likewise make the working of the improved inst-ru ment clear. Thus,supposing that'lever G No. 2 be worked, by pushing on the piston F', connected therewith, the long rod 'L' opposite will be raised and with it` valve E No. 2,

through its fixed hookj. Shaft H No. 2 being rocked upon the raising of the long rod fz', one of the three shorter rods carried by said shaft will open valve E No. l by lifting the fixed hook j, under which it is passed, and still another of the two remaining rods will raise valve E' No. l0, provided the slide I and hooks 7" be in the position represented at Fig. 2, for then the shiftable hook j,connected with the fixed hookgl of the latter-named valve, can be reached and acted upon. This will give, say, the chord of F sharp major. The minor chord is had through the same agencies, excepting the lever M is depressed by the thumb-piece N to move out the slide I' and have the hooks j in the position illustrated at Fig. at. In that case two of the rods vi will still raise the saine valves Nos. l and 2 through their fixed hooks, but the rod that previously lifted valve No. l0 being or getting out of reach of the adjacent hookj will leave or let the latter valve down, whereas the fourth rod, before free, will meet or be met by the hook j' next to it and raise valve E No. Then is had the chord of, say, F- sharp minor. If other pistons and levers be worked, other series of valves will be opened in the same mannerby other rods,rockshafts, vand hooks, and different chords may be had, with similar variations; but it will be noted that in this new construction, as well as in the older one,both the major and minor chords are obtained always by pushing the same piston and working the samelever.

Thepeculiar advantage of the construction hereinabove set forth over that disclosed in my said patent consists in that the change from the major to the minor chords can now The slide I is pressed forward by a spring be effected without regard to the order in which the pistons or the slide-shifting lever are worked.

It will be observed that in my patent accordion the valve-raising rods c' must all be down when shifting the board that carries the rock-shafts, so as to properly come under the valve-hooks, and consequently the pistons must not be worked before the thumbpiece is depressed when it is wanted to vary a chord. Otherwise some of the rods will fail to perform their work and false notes are likelytobeheard. 0f course a trained player will not make a mistake, but in the handsof the inexperienced it is preferable to place an instrument requiring as little attention as possible in regard to the way the pistons and thumb-piece are to be relatively manipulated. Hence my present improvement. Vith my improved accordion it matters not which of the thumb-piece or a piston is worked first or last when varying a chord, since theposition of the valve-opening rods does not change, and the inclined hooks will perform their functions just as well whether the rods i are up or down or in the act of being raised and lowered.

To avoid confusion, I have shown in the annexed drawings but one shaft Il as being pro- IOO IIO

vided with rods z'. It will be understood, however, that they are all provided, as in my said patent, with four rods each, two of which now come under fixed hooks j and the other two pass by or within reach of shiftable hooks .7. I have shown the said shafts Hin the same order as they appear in said patent, bearing the same numbers, &c; but this arrangement inay be changed or modified, if desired, the only requisite being that the rods i' be of the proper length to reach the hooks and valves upon which they are to operate. For the sake of clearness also I have dispensed with showing all the valves and operating-hooks and connections to be found in the complete accordion, only those parts necessary to understand the drift of my improvement having been illustrated.

Having now described my new improvement, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of a valve operated by lever or key, auxiliary valves connectible therewith in different sets, valve raising hooks and connections, and means for reversing certain hooks whereby the valve connections are changed and variations in the sets of auxiliary valves effected, substantially as set forth.

2. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of a valve operated by a lever or key, auxiliary valves, fixed and movable hooks and rods uniting one set of said auxiliary valves with said first-named valve, and a shifter for said movable hooks making a change in said set, substantially as described.

3. In an instrument of the character described, the combination of a series of valves, fixed and reversible hooks connected therewith, operating-pistons,levers connected with said pistons, a series of rods engaging over lsaid levers and also under said hooks and con- J. GALLEAZZI. [L s] Vitnesses:

CHAs. D. WHEAT, A. H. STE. MARIE.

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