US690618A - Automatic piano-player. - Google Patents

Description

No. 690,6l8. Patented Ian. 7, I902.

J. SAMPERE. AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER.

(Application filed Aug. 7, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Nodal.)

INVENTOR 'm: nqmus 9mm co, Pkorau mo" wAgmim-cu, aid:

Patented Ian. 7, I902.

.1. SAMPERE AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER.

" (Application filed Aug. 7, 1900.) (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY m: NORRIS perms co, moi-ammo" wAsv-lmdrokf b. c.

N0. 690,6!8. Patented Jan. 7, I902.-

' J. SAMPERE.

AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER.

(Ajaplication filed Aug. 7, 1900.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheet-Sheet 3.

\ ww g k 7 I o l INVENTOBY aw m "I, mm L 1' a4 yflgaj ATTORNEY- No. 690,6!8. Patented Jan. 7, I902.

J. SAMPERE;

AUTOMATIC PIANO PLAYER.

A lication fllei Aug. '1, 1900. (No Model.) 4 $haets$heet 4;

WITNESSES ATTOR N EY .U rTED STATES" PATENT @FFICE.

' JOSE SAMPERE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC PIANO-PLAYER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 690,618, dated January 7, 1902.

I Application filed August '7, 1900. $eria1No; 26,167. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSE SAMPERE, a sub ject of the King of Spain, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Piano- Players, of which the following is a specification.

My inventionrelates to mechanisnrf-or an.- tomatically playing a piano,"and more particularly to certain details of construction whereby improved operative effects are obtained in the arrangement and action of the.

small pneumatics which operate said hammers, and in the expression and tempo regulating mechanisms, and in the m usic-rollwinding and rewinding devices, and in other constructive details, the object being to provide a simple, compact, comparatively inexpensive, and practically automatic mechanism adapted to play a piano or other musical instrument which may be operated by its striking levers or hammers.

The invention will first be described and then will be particularly defined in claims hereinafter set forth.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of, this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional elevation of my auxiliary player as adjusted to a piano, the keys and loud pedal of which are indicated by dotted'lines.

upper part of the case at the motor-compartment being in section on the line at as in Fig. 7. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional plan View illustrating the air-passages and the valves of the pneumatics. Fig. 7 is a sectional plan View specially illustrating the motor and the tempocontrolling and musicroll operating devices as adjusted for playing the music,

and Fig. 8 is a detail vertical sectional view Fig. 2 is a reduced partial inner side view illustratingvershowing adjustments for rewinding the m usic-roll after playing and for recoiling the motor-spring.

The player-case has opposite ends 1 1 supporting it from the floor and connected below by a removable and preferably screw-fastened cross-bar 2. The ends fit at their upper parts within vertical guides in the main casebody 3. This body has a hinged top portion 4, giving access, when opened, to the motor, the music rolls, and the expression and tempo regulating devices and the musicroll winding and rewinding mechanism. The body also has a rear hinged leaf 5, which may be opened to permit projection of the leverhammers 6, which are fulcrumed at 7'to bear- These hammers 6 are adapted to operate the keys 8 of a piano, up to which the automatic player is'backed until said hammers overlie the piano-keys, which are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Most of the mechanism or appliances of the automatic player are sustained by cross-bars or shelves and partitions within the case-body cally to accommodate the hammers 6 to the height of the keys of any piano. Various devices may be adopted for vertically adj usting and then looking the case-body. For vertical adjustment 1 here provide screws 9,working in nuts 10, fixed to case ends 1 1, and impinging against lower cut-away portions of the ends of body 3, and for locking purposes I may use clamping-screws l1, entering the ends of body 3 and slipping in slots 1 of case ends 1 1, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 7 of the drawings. After-loosening clamp-screws 11 the adjusting-screws 9 may be turned up or down in nuts 10 until the protruding hammers 6 stand at proper height relatively to piano-keys 8, and the screws 11 then are tightened to clamp the adjusted case-body 3 securely in position.

I make the hammers 6 with a head portion 6, preferably of metal, and hinged at 12 to the main fulcrumed wooden part of the hammer, which carries a spring 13, hearing on either one of two flat surfaces of head 6- to hold it either projected from the case, as in Fig. 1, or swung down on hinge 12 to lie wholly within the closed case, as shown in ings on a cross-bar fixed in the case-body.-

3 and move with it as it is adjusted verti-.

Fig. 5 of the drawings. After the case-leaf 5 is opened it requires but a few moments to swing up by hand all the hammer-heads 6 to operative position of Fig. 1, where they will be sustained by springs 13, and the automatic player is then backed up to the piano, and when the inusicis finished and the player is drawn away from the piano it requires but a few moments to press the hammer-heads 6 downward again by hand for folding them safe from harm within the case.

To accommodate the above-named vertical adjustment of case-body 3, I make the rods which connect the movable walls of the primary bellows 14 with the pedals 15 in two sections 16 17 relatively adjustable as to length and preferably telescoping one within the other and adapted for rigid fastening by screws 18 or otherclamping device. Forlike purpose I make the rod which directly actuates the loud pedal 19 of the piano in two relatively adjustable sections 20 21 with a clamp-screw 22. Said rod-section 21 has a foot-block 23, carrying pins 24, preferably three, which engage the end and opposite sides of pedal 19, so as not to slip therefrom. The connections to rod 20 21 for operating pedal 19 will be hereinafter described. To throw pedals 15 upward to close the bellows 14 after each opening of them by depression of the pedals by the performer, I prefer to use spiral springs 25, surrounding the pivots of hinges 26, which couple the pedals to the case cross-bar 2, and as will be understood from Fig. 1 of the drawings. I thus dispense with the ordinary \l-springs commonly used to close the bellows, and thus make the automatic player more com pact than others known to me.

It is obvious that the unfastened parts 17 21 of the telescoping rods may be folded toward the case-body 3, and the parts 16 may be folded in line with pedals 15, and the crossbar 2, having the attached pedals 15, may be separated from case ends 1 1, and said ends may be removed from body 3, and all separate or detached parts maybe laid up next the bottom or one side ofsaid body 3. This knockdown construction permits the whole player instrument to be packed into comparatively small space, but little larger than the casebody 3 alone, for cheap transportation or storage, and the simple connections permit easy and quick assembling of the parts without the aid of specially-skilled labor.

The bellows 14 exhaust air from a lower fixed wind-chest 27, with which collapsible air-reservoirs 2S connect in the usual manner. A box 29, containing a valve 30, communicates with chest 27 and also with a trunk 3i, through which air is exhausted by the bellows from an upper wind-chest 32, extending laterally across the player-case. All the small bellows 33, herein called pneumatics, communicate with wind-chest 32 and the atmos phere under control of puppet-valves shown with double disks 34 The operation of valve for controlling air-supply for producing low or soft tones will be hereinafter explained.

The pneumatics are held, preferably by screws 36, to transverse wood plates 37, having channels 38, connecting the interior of each pneumatic with a rubber tube 39, which is slipped at opposite ends upon nipples 40, one inserted in the plate 37 and the other preferably fixed to a wood plate or block 41, which is removably held, preferably by screws 42, to wind-chest 32. This detail construction permits each pneumatic 33 to be independently removed for repairs from its channel-plate 37 and also permits removal of each tube 39 and plate 41independently of the corresponding pneumatie to give access to or permit removal of valve 34 for examination or repairs. To the back of each plate 41 is fixed, preferably by a screw, an outer adjustable guide 43 for the stem of valve 34 35. An inner guide is provided for the valve-stem by the forked end of a spring 44, which is suitably fastened or supported within the windchest 32 and bears against a button 45 on the valve-stem. The valve-seat 46 is preferably turned from wood and is fitted into a round hole of the wind-chest, which communicates with a horizontally-enlarged chamber 47 in the front wall of the chest. This chamber 47 is covered by the above-named plate 41, which has one opening, 48, connecting chamber 47 with the tube 39,1eading to the pneumatic, and has another opening, 49, directly opposite valve-seat 46 and leading from chamber 47 to the atmosphere. The button 45 may be ad justed on a screw-thread of the valve-stem to delicately regulate the tension of spring 44 to cause prompt release of valve-disk 35 from plate 41 at opening 49 without offering excessive resistance to the forward throw of the valve to plate 41 by a flexible diaphragm 50. This diaphragm strikes a head on the valve-stem when it is bulged forward by pressure of air passing through channels 51 in the wall of wind-chest 32. The air enters channels 51 through tubes 52, leading from throats or openings 53 in the tracker-board 54, when perforations of the music sheet 55 register with threats 53, while the sheet is traveling over the tracker from the delivery-roll 56 to a take-up roll 57, operated, preferably, by a spring-motor, as presently described. The movable wall of each pneumatic 33 is coupled by a rod 58 to the front end of a hammer 6, the head 6 of which will strike a piano-key S. Fig. 3 of the drawings shows only a few of the pneumatics at each end of the player-case.

The operation of the pneumatics is as follows: As each slot or perforation of the traveling music-sheet 55 coincides with a trackeropening 53, air is admitted through a tube 52 and corresponding channel 51 of windchest 32, which is under constant exhaust by or through the bellows 14. This air bulges forward a diaphragm 15 and moves the correvsponding puppet-valve forward from the.po-.

sition of Fig.5 to that of Fig. 6 of the drawings, thus cutting ofi by valve-disk 35 the communication of passage 49with the atmosphere and opening passages 47 48 and 39 38 to corresponding pneumatic 33 and causing instant exhaust of air therefrom, which collapses it and by rod 58 operates a hammer 6 to strike a piano-key 8 to play the piano. When the music-sheet perforation moves past tracker-opening 53, entrance of air at the tracker is cut off and the residual, air in tube 52 and passage 51 is instantly exhausted into wind-chest 32 through a small perforation 59, and then the valve-disk 35 is moved from plate 41 by spring 44 and atmospheric pressure fully back to close its disk 34 to seat 46 and again open passages 38 39 4O 47 49 to the atmosphere and permit the collapsed pneumatic 33 to refill with air and open and draw rod 58 down to lift hammer 56 from the piano-key. The valves being here arranged for horizontal movement, the spring 44 facilitates instant closure of the valve to the seat 46 by atmospheric pressure on the valve-disk 35,while at the same time the springguides the inner end of the valve-stem during all openingand closing movements of the valve and also permits convenient removal of the valve for examination or repairs. The piano tones are softened by varying the force of the blows of hammers 6 by controlling the air-exhausting force which collapses the pneumatics 33 and louder tones are produced by actuating the loud pedal of the piano. I specially arrange for controlling this tone modulation by a single conveniently-operated device acting independently of the main bellows or air-supplying means and having variable movements, whereby it is adapted to operate either the air-current controller for thepneumatics or the piano-pedal actuator alone and is also adapted to operate said controller and actuator together or simultaneously for so regulating expression of the music as to produce most desirable efiects well known to experts. v

I may make an operating device and attachments thereto capable of this threefold function in various ways within the scope of this important feature of my invention. I now prefer to use an operating device movable both laterally and vertically and coupled by two independent lever systems to the air-current controller and piano-pedal actuator, re-

spectively. In the drawings I show this manually-operative device in the form of a lever 60, which is shown fulcrumed at 61 to one end of a horizontal lever 62, presently described.

-Lever is coupled bya link63 to alever 64,

fulcrumed at 65 to case-body 3. Lover 64 at its lower forked end engages one arm of an angle-lever 66, the other arm of which is coupled to the stem 67 of the above-named valve 30,'fitted in a wind-box 29, and adapted to more or less close, a passage 68 connecting box 29 with primary wind-chest 27. Lever 62 extends along case 3 and is fulcrumed at 69 to a bearing on chest ,27. A link .70 couples lever 62 with the'front endof a lever 71, fulcrumed at 72 to chest 27 and coupled at 73 to the above-named loud-pedal rod 21 20. The

lever-and-rod connection at'73 has sufficient play to provide for practically universal horizontal adjustment of the foot-block 23 to the loud pedal 19 of any piano. If softer. tones are desired, the lever 60 is simply swung over sidewise on its fulcrum 61 to or toward the position indicated by dotted lines'60 in Fig. 3 of the drawings. This operates levers 64 66 and slides the valve 30 to more or less close passage 68,,and thus choke the exhaust to any desired extent to correspondingly lessen the force of air exhaust from Pneumatic 33, and thereby regulate the force of the blows of hammers 6 on piano-keys 8 to produce any desired low tones. If loud piano-playing is desired, the lever 60 will simply be lifted, as

indicated by dotted lines 60", thereby operating levers 62 71 and pressingdown on rod 21 20 to depress the loud piano-pedal to any ex tent to produce any desired louder tones.

In a prior automatic player the soft and the loud tone controlling devices are actuated by two independent levers or stops which are intentionally placed close enough to each other to allow both to be manipulated at once by one hand of a skilfulperformer to produce peculiar musical effects by simultaneous emission of soft and loud tones. It is obvious that by my player I may produce those peculiar musical effects very much more conveniently and certainly by moving the single operating device or lever 60 sidewise more or less while simultaneously lifting it to any desired extent.

I control the tempo of the piano-playing by a friction device cooperatin g with a motor by which the music-sheet is moved over the tracker 54, and I also utilize this motor to rewind the music-sheet from roll 57 to, roll 56.

The motor is best shown in Figs. 5, 7, and 8' mally-separated ends of shafts 75 76 is loosely fitted a sleeve 77, carrying the driving-wheel 78 of a gear-train 79, the last member of which is a worm-wheel 80, which rotates a worm-81 on the shaft of a centrifugal ball-governor 82, thus revolving the governor. A pin 83 in the endwise-movable shaft 75 enters a slot of sleeve 77 and rotates this-shaft by and with the sleeve. On shaft 76 is loosely placed a sleeve 84, having a slot receiving a pin 85 in the shaft. To sleeve 84 is fixed the inner end of the coiled motor-spring 86, the outer end of which is held by a pin 87 to the gear wheel 78 on sleeve 77 to operate the gear-train 79 by uncoiling of the spring. A friction-disk 88, fixed to sleeve 84, is engaged by a springpressed cam-pawl 89, pivoted to the motorframe. This frictional detent 88 89 prevents backward rotation of sleeve 84, and thus prevents uncoiling of motor-spring 86 except as it may uncoil by operating the gear-train 79 andshaft75. The mechanism-actuatingshaft 76 for automatically winding or coiling spring 86 by operation of the pedals 15 will be hereinafter described. To the governor or its shaft is fixed a friction-disk 90, on which bears a leather or rubber head or wheel 91, carried by one end of a lever 92, which is fulcrumed at 93 for horizontal turning movement. For pressing lever-head 91 to governor-disk with varying force to control the speed of the motor and music-sheet and also for locking the brake when the desired speed is obtained, I use a device comprising a rod 94, having a left-hand screw-thread 95, fitting a nut 96, fixed to a case-partition to which an index-plate 97 is attached. At its outer end the shaft'94 carries an indicator-arm 98, which when turned also turns the shaft and moves it endwise forward or backward in nut 96. The plate 97 will preferably be marked to indicate varying time of the music. A specially good feature of the screw-shaft 94 95 is that it locks itself in the nut 96 at any position to which it may be adjusted, and consequently holds the friction-couple 90 91 at any desired pressure of contact attained by moving the indicator 98 to maintain any desired tempo of the piano-playing. The shaft 75 extends nearly to the alined shaft 99 of the take-up roll 57. Shaft 99 has a clutchpin 100, adapted to be engaged by a slot in a coupling 101, fixed to the extremity of shaft 75. On shaft 75 is placed a loose pulley 102, held against lateral movement by engagement of its annularly-grooved hub with a standard 103, fixed to the case. A clutch-pin 104 on the hub of pulley 102 is adapted to be engaged by a similar pin 105 at the outer face of duplex coupling 101, which coupling when disengaged from pin 100 will rotate freely on shaft 99 of roll 57. From pulley 102 a crossed belt 106 passes to a pulley 107, fixed to a shaft 108 of the primary or rewinding music-roll 56. I move shaft 75 endwise by a forked angle-lever 109, fulcrumed at 110 to a standard 111 and coupled at 112 to a link 113, connected to one rearwardly-extending arm 114 of a shaft 115, having a forwardly-extending arm 116, which may be depressed to rock the shaft 115 by downswing of the tempo indicator-arm 98. These parts 114 115 116 con stitute practically a rocking lever, of which the shaft 115 is the fulcrum. When the m0- tor-spring 86 is wound up and the coupling 101 of shaft 75 engages pin 100 of the shaft 99 and the clutch 104 105 is disengaged, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the take-up roll 57 is turned to wind music-sheet 55 upon it from the delivery-roll 56 and cause playing of the piano as the pneumatics are collapsed,as hereinbefore described. To change the tempo, the indicator 98 is turned for moving shaft 94 endwise, and thereby controlling frictional contact at the brake 90 91 to regulate the speed of the motor and control the speed of travel of the music-sheet to any desired degree. or if repetition of part of the music is desired, the indicator 98 is swung down to depress arm 116, thereby rocking shaft 115 and raising its arm 114 and causing lever 109 to move shaft 75 far enough endwise to disengage coupling 101 from pins 100, thus releasing shaft 99 of roll 57, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. shaft 75 engages the clutch 104 105 and causes direct rotation by belt 106 of the roll 56 to rewind upon it the music-sheet 55 from the now uncoupled freely-turnin g roll 57. This downswing of indicator 98 to strike arm 116 also relaxes or releases frictional contact at 90 91 to permit the motor to attain high speed for quickly rewinding the music-sheet on roll 56. The reverse movement of indicator 98 permits readjustment of all parts to the firstdescribed positions of Fig.7 bygravity, aided, it may be, bya spring 117 (shown in Fig. 5) and acting under arm 116,and also checks the speed of the motor by restablishing proper frictional contact at the brake 90 91.

During rewinding of the music-sheet and reverse passage-of its perforations over the tracker-inlets 53 it is necessary that collapse of the pneumatics 33 be prevented to prevent striking of the piano-keys by hammers 6. To accomplish. this result, I have provided shaft 115 with an arm 118, to which is connected a rod 119, coupled below to a hinged valve 120, normally closing an opening 121 in windchest 27, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 7 of the drawings. When shaft 115 is rocked by striking of its arm 116 by the tempoindicator 98 the arm 118 will be swung. upward, thereby raising valve 120 and opening passage 121 "to the atmosphere and causing the bellows 14 to exhaust directly through passage 121 and not through the wind-chest 32 to an extent which would cause collapse of the pneumatics. The piano thus will not be played during rewinding of the music-sheet. Raising of the indicator 98 from arm 116 permits valve 120 to again close while the music-roll-driving mechanism is readjusting itself to positions of Fig. 7 of the drawings.

For recoiling the motorspring 86 during rewinding of the music-sheet 56 or afterward I provide the following devices: A spring 122 normally keeps a pin 123 in shaft 76 out of a slot 124 in a collar or hub 125,which, as shown, holds the spring 122 and may turn freely on shaft 76 when clutch 123 124 is uncoupled. Collar 125 has a suitable friction-disk 126, engaged by a spring-pressed pawl 127, pivoted to an arm or lever 128, hung in an annular slot of part 125. Arm 128 is coupled by a rod 129 to the movable side of one of the primary bellows 14, all as shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 7 of the drawings.

During playing of the piano the clutches 104 105 and 123124 are uncoupled, and lever 128 simply rises and falls with bellows-rod 129 as collar 125 turns freely on shaft 76,which Then the playing is finished,

This endwise movement of does not turn as spring 86 uncoils in driving the motor. When shaft 7 5 is moved endwise by lever 109 to cause rewinding of the musicsheet on roll 56, as above described, the shaftpin 83 moves along the slot in the sleeve 77 of motor-wheel 78 and as shaft strikes the end of shaft 76 and moves it endwise against resistance of spring 122 the clutch 123124 will engage, thereby causing pawl 127 to rotate shaft 76 intermittently as lever 128 rocks up and down, and thus will sleeve 84: be caused to carry around the inner end of motor-spring 86 to rewind this spring, while pawl 89, acting ondisk 88, retains the rewinding thus effected. By normally separating adjacent ends of shafts 75 76 the clutch 101 may be disengaged and clutch 104 105 be coupled by endwise movement of shaft 75 alone and without coupling clutch 123 124. This will allow rewinding of the music-sheet without causing recoiling of motor-spring 86 by pawl and lever 127 128, and,it' desired, the degree of movement of arm 98 to effect this partial clutch adjustment may be indicated by a special mark on the plate 97. I

The spring-rewinding operation may of course be continued after the music-sheet has been rewound on roll 56 by operating the bellows 14, to which rod 129 is coupled and while arm 116 of shaft is held down by indicator 98. Pawls 8.9 and 127 act noiselessly. Should recoilingof motor-spring 86 by a movement of'bellows 14: not be desired, the parts 122 to 129, inclusive, will be omitted, and the spring may be rewound by a key applied directly to shaft 76 and operating through an opening in the player-case.

The levers 6 or other connections to the pneumatic-rods 58 may be utilized to open the valves of a reed-organ or like instrument or to operate the valves or parts of any other music-producing device which may be played alone or in harmony with the piano.

It is not essential that the parts of the mechanism be formed and relatively arranged as shown in the drawings and hereinbefore described, as various modifications may be made in both form and arrangement, and some parts may be used without other parts within the scope of my invention and as indicated by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention- 1. 'An automatic piano-player having acase comprising floor-supports and a body portion adjustable thereon, combined with hammers and means including a bellows supported by the case-body and actuating the hammers for playing a piano or other musical instrument, pedals sustained from the casefioor supports,and lengthwise-adj ustable connections between the pedals and bellows. v

2. An automatic piano-player having a case comprising floor-supports and a body portion adjustable thereon, hammers, bellows, and a communicating wind-chest and tracker and music-.sheet-holding devices sustained by said case-body, valve-controlled pneumatics within the body and actuated by or from the bellows, connections between said pneumatics and hammers for .operating the latter for playing a piano or other musical instrument, pedals sustained from the case floor supports, and lengthwise-adj ustable connections between the pedals and bellows.

3. Apneumatically-operated music-producing instrument having a case made with opposite'end floor-supports and a body portion adjustable thereon and containing the musicproducing devices, a removable cross bar connecting said floor-supports, bellows sustained by the case-body and actuating said music-producing devices, pedals hinged to the removable cross-bar, and connections between the bellows and pedals.

4. Apneumatically-operated music-producing instrument having a case made with opposite end floor-supports and a body portion adjustable thereon and containing the music- 'producing devices, a removable cross-bar connecting said floor-supports, bellows sustained by the case-body and actuating said music-producing devices, pedals hinged to the removable cross-bar,connections between the'bellows and pedals, and springs at the pedal-hinges normally closing the movable walls of the bellows.

5. An automatic piano-player having a case comprising opposite ends forming floor-supports and a body portion adjustable thereon, a lower removable cross-bar connecting said supports, pedals hinged to said cross-bar, bellows in the case-body, connections between the pedals and bellows, springs at the pedalhinges normally closing the movable walls of the bellows, and hammers and means actuating them supported in the case-body for playing a'piano or other musical instrument; the case and pedal connections having a knockdown construction, substantially as described.

6. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with the main wind-chest having valve-chambers within its wall and inner valve-seatsat said wall, of plates each having one opening to the corresponding pneumatic and another opening to the atmosphere and also having an outer valve-seat, said plates being held directly and removably' to the chambered main wind-chest wall, guides arranged within the wind-chest and on said removable plates, and two-faced valves sustained by said guides within the valve-chambers in the main wind-chest wall and controlling the pneumatics.

7. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with the main wind-chest having valve-chambers within its wall and inner valve-seats, of plates each having one opening to the corresponding pneumatic and another opening to the atmosphere and also having an outer valve-seat, said plates being held directly and removably to the chambered main wind-chest wall, two-faced valves arranged within the chambers of the main windchest wall and having stems each provided with a button or shoulder, springs held to and within the main wind-chest and having openings at their free ends which receive and guide the valve-stems while the springs bear on the stem buttons or shoulders to assist pneumatic action of the valves, and outer supports for the valve-stems on the removable plates which are held to the main windchest wall.

8. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with the main Wind-chest and coinmunicating pneumatics, and valve-seats at openings of the chest giving communication between the wind-chest and pneumatics and between the pneumatics and the atmosphere, of valves adapted to the valve-seated openings and each having a shoulder on its stem, and springs within the wind-chest having openings at theirfree ends which receive the valvestems while said springs bear on the valvestem shoulders, whereby the springs guide the movements of the valves and also facilitate closing of the valves by atmospheric pressure for quickly cutting off the pueumatics from the wind-chest and opening them to the atmosphere.

9. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with the main wind-chest and communicating pneumatics, and valve-seats at openings of the chest giving communication between the wind-chest and pneumatics and between the pneumatics and the atmosphere, of valves adapted to the valve-seated openings and each having an adjustable button or shoulder on its stem, and springs within the wind-chest having openings at their free ends which receive the valve-stems while said springs bear on the adjustable valve-stem button or shoulder, whereby the springs guide the valves and also facilitate closing of the valves by atmospheric pressure for quickly cutting off the pneumatics from the wind-chest and opening them to the atmosphere and whereby provision also is made for regulating the tension of the valve-springs.

10. In an automatic piano-playerhaving an air-currentcontroller for the pneumatics and a piano-pedal actuator, a device operative manually and independently of the main bellows or air-supplying means and coupling devices connecting said device with said controller and actuator to operate either of them separately or both together for regulating expression of the music.

11. In an automatic piano-player having an air-current controller for the pneumatics and a piano-pedal actuator, a manually-operative device coupled with said controller and actuator and having both lateral and vertical movements for operating the controller or actuator separately or both together for regulating expression of the music.

12. In an automatic piano-player having an air-current controller for the pneumatics and a piano-pedal actuator, a two-motion manually-operative device and two systems of 1evers coupling said device to the controller and actuator respectively for operating either of them separately or both together to regulate expression of the music.

13. An automatic piano-player having a case comprising floor-supports and a body portion adjustable thereon, combined with hammers and means pneumatically operating them to play a piano or other musical instrument and supported by said case-body, and expression-regulating devices comprising an air-current controller for the hammer-operatingpneumatics and a piano-pedal actuator, a device operative manually and independently of the main bellows or air-supplying means and coupling devices connecting said device with said air-current controller, and coupling devices also connecting said devices to the piano-pedal actuator by parts including a lengthwise-adjustable connection; said manually operative device therebyoperating either the controller or actuator alone or both together for regulating expression of the music.

14. The combination of a base, an action vertically, adjustably supported on the base, a bellows movable within the action, pedals on the base and an adjustable connection between the bellows and pedals.

15. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with the two music-rolls and their shafts, of a motor having one gear-train adapt ed to operate both the take-up and delivery rolls and normally operating the take-up roll during playing of the music, a friction-brake adapted to control the speed of the motor and music-sheet, devices adapted to release the motor-shaft from said take-up roll and engage said shaft with the delivery-roll, means for adjusting the friction-brake including an arm or lever, a rocking shaft having an arm in the path of said brake-adjusting arm orlever, and connections from said rocking shaft to the rewinding mechanism adapted to release the take-up roll from the motor and operatively engage therewith the delivery-roll, thereby causing rewinding of the music-sheet while automatically relaxing or releasing the motor friction-brake device.

16. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with the tWo music-rolls and their shafts and the m usic-sheet, of a tracker, hammers, valved pneumatics connected to said hammers, air-current devices adapted to actuate the pneumatics and hammers for playing the piano, a valve controlling the air-current through the pneumatic wind-chest, a motor normally operating the take-up roll, a friction brake adapted to control rotative speed of the motor and music-sheet, devices adapted to release the motor-shaft from said take-up roll and engage said shaft with the delivery-roll, means for adjusting the friction-brake including an arm or lever, a rocking shaft having one arm in the path of said brake-adjusting arm or lever and having an- IIO other arm and connections therefrom to the pneumaticwind-chest air-current-controlling valve, and connections from said rocking shaft to the rewinding mechanism adapted to release the take-up roll from the motor and operatively engage therewith the deliveryroll, thereby causing the rewinding of the music-sheet while automatically relaxing or releasing the brake device and also automatically opening the pneumatic-wind-chest controlling-valve and preventing operation of the pneumatics or playing of the piano during rewinding of the music-sheet.

17. In an automatic piano-player, the combination, with a main shaft adapted to rotate the music-rolls, of a motor having one geartrain adapted to operate both the take-up and delivery rolls and adapted to rotate said main shaft and having an auxiliary alined shaft, a sleeve or part revoluble with the auxiliary shaft, a spring held to said sleeve and to a rotating part of the motor, a collar normally loose on the auxiliary shaft and adapted for clutching thereto, a lever hung on said collar and carrying a pawl adapted to engage the collar for winding the motor-spring when the collar is clutched to the auxiliary shaft, aircurrent devices actuating the music-producing devices and including bellows and pedals, and connections from said pawl-carrying lever operating it to wind the spring from the player-bellows or pedals.

18. The combination, with the player-floor supports 1 and the case-body adjustable thereon and sustaining the bellows, of the crossbar 2, pedals 15 held to said cross-bar, and a lengthwise- adjustable connection 16, 17, between the bellows and pedals.

. 19. An expression-regulating mechanism for automatic piano-players, comprising a Valve 30 controlling the air-current, a lever 64 fulcrumed to the player-case and connections between lever 64 and valve 30, a rod adapted to actuate the piano-pedal, a lever 62 fulcrumed to the player-case, another lever 71 fulcrumed to the player-case and coupled to the pedal-actuating rod, connections coupling the levers 62, 71; a lever pivoted to lever 62, and a link 63 coupling the levers 60, 64, substantially as described, whereby the air-current controller and the piano-pedal actuator may be operated either alone or together by duplex movements of the lever 60, as and for the purposes set forth.

20. An expression-regulating mechanism forautomatic piano-players, comprising a valve 30 controlling the air-current, a lever 64 fulcrumed to the player-case and connections between lever 64 and the valve 30, a lengthwise- adjustable rod 20, 21 adapted to actuate piano pedals of varying relative heights, a lever 62 fulcrumed to the playercase, another lever 71 fuicrumed to the playercase and coupled to the pedal-actuating rod 20, 21, connections coupling the lovers 62, 71; a lever 60 pivoted to lever 62, and a link 63 coupling the levers 60, 64, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

21. The combination, wit-h the player-case, hammers, pneumatics, air-current-prodncing devices, a valve 30 controlling current to the pneumatics, a coupled lever system 64, 66, 67 connected to valve 30, and a lever system 62, 71. coupled to the piano-pedal actuator, of a two-motion device 60 coupled to both levers 64, 62, and adapted to operate either the valve 30 or the piano-pedal actuator alone or both together at the will of the performer.

22. The combination, with the wind-chest 32 having chamber 47 with openings at valveseat 46 and at 48 49, of the pneumatics 33 communicating at 48 with the chamber 47, the pn ppet valves adapted to close the openings at 46, 49, and having stems each provided with a shoulder, and springs 44 within the wind-chest and having openings at their free ends which receivethe valve-stems while said springs bear on the stem shoulders, whereby the springs guide the valves and facilitate opening of the pneumatics to the atmosphere.

23. The combination, with the wind-chest 32 having chamber 47 with openings at valveseat 46 and at 48, 49, of the pneumatics 33 communicating at 48 with the chamber 47, the puppet-valves adapted to close the openings at 46, 49, and having stems provided with adjustable nuts 45 and springs 44 within the wind-chest and having openings at their free ends receiving the valve-stems next said nuts, whereby the springs guide the valves and facilitate opening of the pneumatics to the atmosphere while the nuts provide for regulating the tension of the valve-springs.

24. The combination with the wind-chest 32, having valvechambers within its wall, the pneumatics and their communicating passages and the controlling-valves located with in said chambers of the main wind-chest wall, of plates 41 having air- passages 48, 49, and held removably to the wind-chest to give access to the valves without necessarily removing the valves from the main wind-chest.

25. The combination, with the wind-chest, the pneumatics and their communicating passages and controlling-valves,of puppet- valves 34, 35, springs 44 within the wind-chest and guiding the valve-stems and quickly opening the pneumatics to the atmosphere, remov-' able plates 41 held to the wind-chest andhaving air- passages 48, 49, and supports 43 held to plates 41 and guiding the outer ends of the valve stems and removable with said plates.

26. The combination,with the endwise-movable main shaft 75 normally having clutch connection at with the music take-up roll 57 and also having a clutch at 105, of aloose pulley 102 having a clutch at 104, a pulley 107 on the shaft of music delivery-roll 56, belt 106 connecting pulleys 102, 107, a motor havin g 'revoluble friction-brakedisk 90, a brakelever 92 hearing on said disk, a screw-shaft 9 1, 95, an operating-arm 9S turning" said shaft, an armed lever 11 1, 115, 116, operative by arm 98, and clutch connections to part 11 1 adapted to move shaft 75 endwise to cause rewinding of the music-sheet on thedeliveryroll while also effecting release of the motorbrake.

27. The combination, with the music-rolls and the motor, the neumatics, the air-currentproducing devices, and mechanism adapted to uncou ple the take-up r011 from the motor-shaft and couple the delivery-roll thereto, of a brake device at the motor, a lever bearing thereon, ascrew- shaft 94, 95, an arm 98 actuating said brake-lever, a rocking'lever 114, 115, 116, operative by arm 98, connections from part 114 to effect the abovenamed mechanical uncoupling and coupling; of the music-rolls, a valve 120 at the Windchesl, and connections 118, 119 from said valve to part 115, whereby playing of the music is prevented during rewinding of the music-sheet.

JOSE SAMPERE. Vitnesses:

THOMAS HENRY WOOD, ALVIN K. GOODWIN.

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