US663118A - Pneumatic piano-playing action. - Google Patents

Description

No. 663,H8'. Patented Dec. 4,1900.

J. W. CR'OOKS.

PNEUMATIC PIANO PLAYING ACTION.

(Application led May 16, 1906.)

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PNEUMAT-IC PIANO PLAYING ACTIDN.

(Lpplicltion filed May 16, 1900.)

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PNEUMATIG PIANO PLAYING ACTION.

(Application filed May 165 1900.)

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PNEUMATIC PIANO PLAYING ACTION.

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PNEUMATIG PIANO PLAYING AcTmN.v

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEIcE.

'JAMES W. CROOKS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SAID CRCOKS, AND ERNEST M. SKINNER AND WINCHESTER VEAZE, TRUSTEES, OF SAME PLACE.

PNEUIVIA'l'lC PiAN'-PLAYHNG AQTEON.

.SPECIIEFICLA'LLION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,118, dated December 4, 1900.

Application tiled May 16, 1900. Serial No. 16,919. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. Cnoons, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain improvements in Pneumatic Piano-Playing Actions, of which the following is a specification.

To produce the best effects in piano-playing, it is often desirable to emphasize or give expression to the theme, melody, or other notes desired While the accompaniment remains normal oruuchanged. To enable this effect to be automatically produced with pneu matic piano-playing mechanism is the object of myinvention, Which consists in means controlled by the perforated music-sheet Whereby an increased degree of exhaustion or vacuum is produced in the Wind-chest of the keyoperating pneumatics at the instant when the theme-notes are to be played, thereby enabling them to be sounded with additional force, and thus emphasized or accentuated as desired. y

Myinvention also consists in certain novel combinations of parts and details of construction, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanyingY drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of one end of an automatic piano player having my improved pneumatic-action applied thereto, the side of one of the vacuum-boxes being removed to show the valve therein. Eig. 2 is a front elevation of that portion of theinstrumentshown in Fig. 1, the front ofthe outer casing being removed to show the interior construction. Eig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Eig. 4f is a vertical section on the line 4E 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is asectional elevation of a portion of the rear side of the instrument, parts being broken away to show the interiorconstruction. Eig. Gis a vertical section through the tracker-board and Wind chest and mechanism for actuating the levers by which the piano-keys are operated. 7 is a plan of a portion of the perforated music-sheet and the tracker-board beneath the same, showing the note and supplemental perforations arranged in accordance with my invention.

En the said drawings, l0 represents the cabinet or outer casing of a pneumatic pianoplayer, within which the operative mechanism is arranged, the back or rear of said cabinet being constructed, as usual, to admit the manual-breast of a piano or similar keyboard instrument, as shown in doti ed lines in Fig. 6. 12 represents the exhaust-bellows, arranged in the lower rear portion of the cabinet and operated, as usual, by a treadle 13 to produce a vacuum in the main exhaust-chamber'14, which communicates, as usual, through the medium of the regulating-bellows 16, regulator-valve 17, and passage 1S with the windchest 19, with which communicate all of the pneumatics 20, Eig. 6, which actuate the levers 2l 22, by which the keys of the piano are operated in the usual manner, it being understood that the degree of exhaustion or vacuum normally maintained in the \vindchest 19 is much less than that in the main exhaust-chamber let, Which difference is produced by exhausting the air from the said Wind-chest through the regulator-valve 17 and bellows 16 in the usual Well-known manneremployedininstruments ofthis character. 23, Figs. 3, 5, and 7, denotes the perforated 1n usic-sheet which is Wound from one roll onto another in the usual manner and passes over the tracker-board 2a, provided with the usual ducts or passages 25, communicating through pipes or passages 26 with the primary or controlling pneumatics 2S, which control the collapse or in fiation of the operating pneumatics 2O in accordance With the music-sheet perforations in the usual Welldznown manner.

The parts thus far described are all of the ordinary welhknown construction employed in instruments of this character and form no part of my present invention.

At or an instant before the music-sheet perforations 29, Eig, 7, belonging to the theme or melody notes are brought over their respective ducts 25 in the tracker-boards the degree of exhaustion or vacuum in the Wind-chest 19 is suddenly increased by bringing it into direct communication with the exhaust-charm ber 14 through a separate or auxiliary passage commanded by a valve, thereby causing the pneumatics 2O of the theme-note levers IOD to be operated with a sudden and increased port 57, leading from the vaeuum-ehamber-lO force so to cause the corresponding notes to be emphasized or sounded with additional force. rlhis is accomplished in the following manner:

30 is a tight chest or vacuum-box which communicates through a large pipe 3l, Figs. l and 2, directly with the main exhaust-chamber l-lC and by means of another large pipe 32 directly with the wind-chest 19, the pipes 3l 32 in connection with the intermediate vacuum-box 30 forming a single direct passage from the exhaust-chamber to the Windchest. The upper end of the pipe 3l Where it enters the box 250 is provided with a valve 33, the stem 34. et' Which extends up through the top ot the box 30 and is secured to the movable board of a pneumatic 35, which when collapsed in a manner to be presently described serves to lil't the valve from the end of the pipe 3l against the resistance of a spring 27 in the said pneumatic, thus opening a direct comm unicatien between the main exhaust-chamber la and the wind-chest 19, causing the degree of exhaustion in the latter to be suddenly increased, so as to equal that in the exhaust-chamber llt, and consequently the theme-note pneumatics which are at that instant operated will be collapsed with additional force to emphasize said notes as desired.

88 is a box or casing containing' two vacuumchambers 39 il() and tivo chambers el 42, open to the outer air. rlhe vacuuni-chambers 39 and e0 are connected by a pipe L13, Figs. 2 and 4C, and shown dotted in Fig. 3, and the lower chamber e0 is connected by a pipe -llwith the vacuum-box 30, which is under constant exhaust from the wind-chest 19 through the pipe 32. ln the bottom of the vacuum-chamber 5S) is a flexible diaghragm e5, forming a primary pneumatic, beneath which is a recess connected by a passage llG, pipe e7, and passage e8 with a supplemental duct lll) in the tracker board 2e, adapted to register With supplemental pertorations 50, formed in the music-sheet, said perforatiens being arranged in line With or preferably slightly in advance of the theme-note perlorations 2) of the music-sheet in order to insure the desired increased suction in the wind-chest 19 bythe time that the thei'ne-note perforations are brought over their respective ducts in the tracker-board. As soon as the outer air is allowed to enter the supplemental duct e9 in the tracker-board it raises the diaphragm 45, which lifts a puppet-valve 5l, which closes a port 52, leading from the vacuum--chamber 39 into a passage 53 and opens a port 5e, leading from the open-air chamber el into said` passage 53, through which tneair then passes down under anether diaphragm 55 in the bottom of the vacuuiii-chamberd0, Which 'forms a secondary pneumatic. The air thus admitted beneath the dial'ihragm 55 raises it and lifts a puppet-valve 5d, which opens a into a chamber 5S and closes a port 5), leading from said chamber 5b into the open-air chamber 2. The chamberS communicates through a passage GO with the pneumatic E35, which pneumatic on the opening of the port 57 is thus brought into communication with the vacuum-chamber lll), When it will beinstantly collapsed by the pressure ol" the external air, causing the valve 353 to be lifted Afrom the end of the pipe 3l, thus bringing the main exhaust-chamber lll into direct communication with the Wind-chest 19 te increase the degree ol exhaustion therein, and thus cause the theme-notes to be sounded with increased force, as before described. As soon as the supplemental duet -lJ of the trackerboard has been closed by the passage thereover of an unperforated portion ol the musicsheet the parts instantaneously resume their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 3, ready for a repetition of the operation when succeeding theme-notes are to be sounded, the valve 3S having been closed by the spring 27 and the inilation ol' the pneumatic 55, causing the vacuum in the wind-chest l) to be reduced to its normal degree.

ln the music-sheet shown enlarged in Fig. 7. the accompaniment-note perl'oral.ions (il. are arranged a little in advance or the themenote perforations 29, so that they will have been sounded before the degree ot' exhaustion has been increased in the wind-chest l) for the theme-notes, While the supplemental per- `lj'orations 50 are, as before described, preterably arranged to register with the supplemental traclzer-board d uct el) an instant hefore the theme-note perforations reach their ducts in the tracker-board, and by this novel arrangement of the perforations ofthe musicsheet the desired eifees are produced in the most successful and harmonious manner.

Although l have described my invention as applied to an automatic piano-player or instrumentadapted to be moved up to a piano lor the pu pose ol' playing the same, it is obvious that my improved pneumatic-action may be applied to a self-playing piano or other keyboard musical instrument without departing from the spirit oll my invention.

vWhat l claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, irsl. A music-sheet l'or self-playing musical instruments having openings therein for notes to be accented, openings therein for notes which are not to be accented, and su pplemental openings therein l`or controlling the accent of the notes to be accented, the front edges of the openings for the notes to be accented lying` in or nearly in a direct tranverse line with the trout edges otl said supplemental openings and slightly to the rear of the front edges of the openings lor the notes which are not te be accented, the said supplemental openings being designed to communicate with a supplemental passage in IIO the tracker-board of the instrument through which the mechanism for operating the keys for the notes to be accented is controlled.

2. In an automatic piano-player, the combination With the tracker-board having a series of main passages therein communicating With the air or vacuum chambercontaining the primary 0r key pneumatics and having a supplemental passage therein through which the tension in said chamber may be varied, of a music sheet traversing said tracker-board having openings therein for the notes to be accented, openings therein for the notes Which are not to be accented and supplemental openings therein for controlling the accent of the notes to be accented, the front edges of the openings for the notes to be accented registering With the main passages in said tracker-board simultaneously with the registration of the front edges of said supplemental openings with the supplemental passage in said tracker-board and slightly after the registration of the openin gs Vfor the not-es Which are not to be accented with said main passages.

3. In a pneumatic piano-playing action controlled by a perforated music-sheet, the combination With the Wind-chest of the keyoperating pneumatics, the exhaust-chamber connected with said Wind-chest, and means for normally maintaining a lesser degree of exhaustion in the Wind-chest than in the exhaust-chamber, of an auxiliary or independcnt passage directly connecting the Windchest with the exhaust-chamber, a valve inI said passage for closing the same, a pneumatic for opening said valve to increase the degree of exhaustion in the Wind-chest at the instant that the theme-notes are to be sounded, a tracker-board provided with a supplemental duct, pneumatic devices connected with said supplemental duct for controlling the action of the valve-opening pneumatic, and a music-sheet having supplemental perforations arranged to register with the said supplernental duct of the tracker-board, said supplemental perforations being arranged in or nearly in a transverse li ne with the theme-note perforations, substantially as described.

a. The combination With a tracker-board having a supplemental duct connected with pneumatic mechanism for emphasizing or accentuating the theme-notes of a piece of music, of a music-sheet having the accompaniment-note pertorations arranged slightly in advance of the theme-note perforations, and provided With a series of supplemental perforations adapted to register with the supplemental duct of the tracker-board, said supplemental perforations being arranged substantially in a transverse line with the theme-note perforations and in the rear of the accompaniment-note perforations, substantially as described.

5. ln an automatic piano-player, the combination with a main passage connecting the wind-chest of the key-pneumatics with the main exhaust-chamber, a second orindependent passage also connecting said Wind-chest`V with the main exhaust-chamber, a valve 'for` normally closing said second or independent passage, and a tracker-board having in addition to its main passages, a supplemental duct or passage, of an independent box or chest located outside of the Wind-chest of the key-pneumatics and connected with said independent passage and with the supplemental duct of the tracker-board, said independent box or chest containing governing-pneumatics controlled by said supplemental trackerboard duct and acting through intermediate mechanism to actuate the valve of the said independent passage and thereby vary the degree of exhaustion or tension in the windchest of the key-pneumatics, substantially as described.

6. ln an automatic piano-player, the combination with a main passage connecting the Wind-chest of the key-pneumatics with the main exhaust-chamber, a second or independent passage also connecting said Wind-chest with the main exhaust-chamber and provided with an intermediate vacuum-box 30 containing a valve for normally closing said second or independent passage, and a trackerboard having in addition to its main passages a supplemental duct or passage, of an independent box or chest located outside of the Wind-chest ot the key-pneumatics and connected With said independent passage and with the supplemental duct of the trackerboard, said independent box or chest containing governing-pneumatics controlled by said supplemental tracker-board duct and acting through intermediate mechanism to actuate the valve of the said independent passage and thereby vary the degree of exhaustion or tension in the Wind-chest of the key-pneumatics, substantially as described.

Witness my hand this 15th day of May, A. D. 1900.

JAMES lV. CROOKS.

In presence of- P. E. TESCHEMACHER, LILLIAN I. BAsFoRD.

IOO

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