US798226A

US798226A - Automatic musical instrument.

Info

Publication number: US798226A
Application number: US24366204A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leon Stockes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1904-01-28
Filing date: 1904-01-28
Publication date: 1905-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 1922-08-29

Description

No. 798,226. l PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

- L. STOCKES.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED .IAN.28,1904. EENBWED FEB.1,1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

/ L. STOCKES.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

PATENTBD AUG. 29, 1905.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2B. 1904. BENEWED PEB. 1I 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 798,226. PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905. L.'STCCKES.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1904. BBNEWED FEB. 1. 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FMEA, Ik 1g* JV h WIM/Leases:

Nunn-a a GRAHAM co, Pmroimosmwans, wswxarun u c No. 798,226. PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

L. STOGKBS.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL NSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2B, 1904. RENEWED FEB. l, 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4,

z H3 H Witnesses: Inventor: mw. my@

PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

L. STOGKBS. AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. PPLwATIoN rum JAN. 2s. 1904. RENBWEDPEB. 1. 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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mouw c www1 no.. Pmmavwocmwlns. mswunvu u c No. 798,226. PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

L. STOCKES. AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1904. RENEWED FEB. l. 1905.

G SHEETS-SHEET 6.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented. Aug. 29, 1905.

Application filed January 28, 1904. Renewed February l, 1905. Serial No. 243,662.

To @il whom t 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, LEON STooKEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

lVIy invention relates to improvements in musical instruments, and particulary to automatic playing instruments.

The object of my invention is to make such improvements in the construction and arrangement of the different parts of the instrument that the same will operate effectively, not get out of order, to simplify the construction, and reduce the cost of manufacture.

A further object of my invention is to provide a revolving drum for carrying the perforated music-sheets so that several different tunes may be played by the instruments automatically.

A further object of my invention is to provide means of revolving said drum automatically after a tune has been played or to revolve said drum by hand, so that any tune may be played that is desired, and also to automatically stop the motor used for operating the parts at the end of each tune and to provide a dial on which is indicated the next tune to be played.

A still further object of my invention is to provide effective mechanical means between the music-sheets and the strings of the instruments to pick said strings and also to operate the neck-piece of the instruments so as to change the length of the open space on the strings for the purpose of making different notes.

A still further object of my invention is to couple two instruments together to increase the volume of music; but means is provided to throw one instrument out of action when desired.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a front elevation of my improved musical instrument. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view as on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. Sis alongitudinal sectional view as on line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view as on line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. is a longitudinal sectional view as on line 5 5, Fig. 1, on a larger scale. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view as on line 6 6, Fig. l, on a larger scale.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view as on line 7 7, Fig. 4, on a larger scale. Fig. 8 is a face view, full size, of the neck-piece of one of the instruments. Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view as on line 9 9, Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a diagrammatical view in perspective,showing the means for operating the frets on the neck-piece; and Fig.'1l is a View similar to Fig. 10, but showing the means for picking the strings.

Referring to the drawings, A and A represent mandolins, which are the kind of instruments used in this instance; but any other string instruments may be used instead. The mandolins are held by bolts c and a' to the casing B. On each instrument is a neck-piece A2, over which pass the strings A3, A", A5, and A, each consisting of three wires. rIhe neck-piece A2is more clearly shown in Figs. 5, 8, and 9. The strings are stretched from the fret A7 to the tailpiece AS, and when the string is picked one note will be produced. To produce a different note, the length of the string must be shortened, which is done by having a series of frets C under each string, as shown in Fig. 8. These frets when in their normal position do not touch the strings. Each of said frets C consists of a shaft c, as shown in Fig. l0, said shaft having ablade c/ and a segmental gear c2. The said shaftis piv- 'otally mounted in the neck-piece, and when turned to the position shown in Fig. l() the blade c will contact with the string and shorten the length of said string, and a clear tone will be produced when the string' is picked. A gear o, carried by a rock-shaft ci, engages the gear c2 and operates the same. Separate rock-shaft and segmental gear are provided for each fret, as shown in Figs. 2, 5, 8, and 9. Each rock-shaft o'L has an arm c5 thereon, to which is connected a wire c, the lower end of said wire being connected to a lever D, which is operated by the sheet of music D10. There is a row of levers D, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. They rest upon the sheet of music, which is of metal and of suflicient strength to support the levers. In the musicsheet are perforations, which pass under the levers as the music-sheet is turned and allow the levers to drop into said perforations and pull the wires c and operate the frets C. Four of the said levers, as shown at D/, D2, D3, and D4, Fig. 7, operate the mechanism for picking the strings, which is shown in Figs. 2, 6, 7, and 11. The said levers D', D2, D3,

IOO

and D`l are connected by wires d, di, (.23, and di to arms E on the rock-shafts E, F121, E3, and El; Each of said rock-shafts is provided at eithei` end with a segmental gear e, which engages the rack-bars F, F2, F3, and F". The rack-bars are provided with cam-surfacesf, which contact with similar cam-surfaces on the picker-hars G, Gi, G, and G", which are at right angles to the rack-bars. .lhe pickerbars carry the pickers G, which are of ieXible material, such as tortoise-shell. These pickers are drawn over the strings when the wires al', d, d, or Z1 are pulled downwardly, and when said wires are released the pickers are drawn back to their normal position by the springs g and f on the picker-bar and rack-bar, respectively.

As shown in F 6, the rack-bars are mounted in bearings F on the cross-pieces F, which support the rock-shafts E, Ei, Ef, and l. The picker-bars G', fr, G3, and G" are mounted in a square bar Gl, secured on an ornamental plate G7, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The ornamental plate G7 on one of the mandolins is pivotally mounted on a shaft G, which can be turned by means of the worn'rwheel G on said shaft, the worm G10 on a vertical shaft lu, the bevel-gears G1, and the longitudinal shaft G13, having a knob Gu on the front of the casing, whereby the said ornamental plate G7 may be swung away from the strings, so that the pickers will not act on said strings, thus preventing one of the mandolins from sounding. The said ornamental plate, however, is not moved sufliciently to disengage the rack-bars from the picker-bars. The said rack-bars may be drawn slightly forward without being disengaged from the segmental gears e.

The music-sheets which operate the levers D, as above described, are carried by rolls H, mounted in bearings /i on a drum I, which is carried by a vertical shaft mounted in bearings c" and f2. The drum I is revolved so as to bring any one of the music-sheets under the levers D, which said levers are operated by the music-sheet passingl under them, the perforations in said music-sheet allowing the said levers to drop. The rolls H, carrying said music-sheets, are turned by a gear-wheel /i on the shaft carrying said rolls. The said gear-wheel receives motion through the gearwheel h3 on the shaft 7i", having a pulley /t'l thereon, which is driven by a belt t from the motor lV. The rolls H are provided with an'- nular ribs H, as shown in Fig. l0, to support the music-sheet between the perforations, which are cut in rows. The end ribs H on the said rolls are somewhat larger than the inner ribs and are provided with teeth H3, which enter the perforations on the edge of the music-sheets and keep the same from slipping. The music-sheets are made of liexible metal, So that they will hang in a loop from the rolls H, which permits themusic-sheets to be of sufficient length to play a full tune.

The drum I is provided with radial partitions I, which keep the music-sheets from touching each other. The levers D are pivoted to a cross-piece (Z, and their free ends are held in a slotted plate D, which carries springs D to act upon each lever separately, which tend to hold them down upon the music-sheet. The drum l is revolved by the ratchet-wheel l( on the shaft vi, which is engaged by a pawl on the bar The said bar 1 has an eccentric ring /r formed therein, which encirclcs the cam L on the shaft L, so that upon every -revolution of the shaft L the drum will be turned a fraction of a revolution, according to the number of teeth in the ratchet-wheel K, which correspond to the number of musicrolls carried by the drum. To lock the drum in a position where the music-sheet will be under the levers l), a level' M is provided, which is pivoted at fm.. A pin M, carried by said lever, is adapted to enter holes in the bottom of the drum and keep said drum from turning. The cam L has a cam-surface f on the top face, which will raise the lever M and release the pin M on the opposite end of said lever from the drum. The shaft L may be operated by the handle J through medium of the shaft J and the bevel-gears J:s and J when it is desired to turn the drum to selecta particular tune, or said shaft may be operated automatically.

When a tune has been played, a perforation in the music-sheet will allow the lever Dx to fall, which by means of the pivoted bar N will separate the gear-wheels /zfi and 7L, which will stop the music sheet from revolving. The shaft carrying the said gear-wheel /z/i,

lis mounted in bearings 71, and lf, which are carried by arms extending from a shaft l/f", pivoted in a bearing 7L", which will allow the said shaft /t'i to oseillate. l/Vhen the said lever Ds has acted, the said shaft /o will move sufiiciently to bring the bevel-gear j in mesh with the bevel-gear J1 and turn the vertical shaft L.

Then the shaft L has been turned one revolution, a new sheet of music will be brought under the levers D. The motor is then stopped by means of the cam Ll on the shaft L. The arm P of the bell-crank lever P drops into the low place on the cam L, which causes the opposite arm P2 to strike the lever P3, which engages a toothed wheel w on the motor-shaft and stops said motor. A cam Q shifts the oscillating` shaft back into engagement with the gear-wheel 7b2 on the music-roll, so that the said music-roll will be ready to operate when the motor is again started. rlhe starting-lever R is carried bya bearing fr, which is pivoted to a fixed bracket fr. llo start the machine, the lever R is moved to the left, when its lower end R will strike the lever Pfand IOO IIO

IIS

release the wheel w on the motor-shaft and l male contact between the electrical connecl tions P1 and P, which will start the motor.

Vhen it is desired to select a particular tune, the lever R is forced inwardly against the action of the spring R2, when the pin R3 on said lever will strike the free arm of the ratchet-pawl R4, which will release the ratchetwheel R5 on the shaft J2, so that said shaft may be turned by the handle J, and thereby turn the drum l until the desired piece of music Ais brought under the levers D. l/Vhen the lever R is thus forced in, it will also act on the bell-crank lever S, which through the medium of the bell-crank lever S/ and the connecting-rods S2 and S3 will raise the end of the oscillating shaft la* and separate the gears 7a2 and if, so that the music-roll will notturn. The said oscillating' shaft is not moved sufficiently to bring the bevel-gears j and J* into action. A friction-clutch (not shown) may be provided between the shaft J2 and the ratchet-pawl R4, so that the shaft J2 can be turned freely when driven by the motor without turning the handle J and so that said shaft J2 can only be turned by the handle J/ when the ratchet-wheel R is released from the ratchet-pawl R4. To allow the oscillating shaft to be thus moved, it is necessary to free the roller q on the bar q from the cam Q. This is done by having the bar Q pivoted to the bearing 7&7 and its lower end engaged by the connecting-rod S2, so that when said connecting'- rod is moved the roller q will be moved free of the said cam Q. After thelever R has been thus forced in and the drum I turned by the handle J and the proper musicroll brought into place the said lever R is forced to the left, as above described, when it will act upon the arm P3, which will release the motor, and also makes contact between the electrical connections and starts the motor. The said lever R is then released and forced out by the spring R2, which brings the gears 7b2 and la" together, so that motion may be communicated to the roll H from the motor.

A dial T (see Fig. l) is provided to indicate the next tune to be played. Each piece of music has a number corresponding to the number on the dial, the title of which is printed on a program. The indicator-shaft t has a bevel-gear t', (shown in Fig. 2,) which meshes with a bevel-g'ear 152 on a vertical shaft t3, having a toothed wheel tf, which is turned by pins t5, projecting' from the drum l. 'lhere is a pin for each piece of music, and the movements of the drum will be indicated on the dial.

Having' thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. T he combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a stringed instrument, a neckpiece, frets pivoted in said neck-piece, rockshafts, gears. between said roch-shafts, and said frets, an arm on said rock-shaft, a lever,

' a wire connecting said lever and said rockshaft, and a perforated music-sheet adapted to control and operate said lever, substantially as described.

Q. The combinationin an automatic musical instrument, of a plurality of stringed instru- Vments, roch-shafts extending between the same, pickers, picker-bars, means of communicating motion from said rock-shafts to said pickers, arms on said rock-shafts, wires attached to the same, levers to .operate said wires, and a perforated music-sheet to operate said levers, substantially as described.

3. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a plurality of stringed instruments, movable frets, rock-shafts, means of communicating motion from said rock-shafts to said frets, pickers, picker-bars, rack-bars contacting with said picker bars, springs, rock-shafts to operate said rack-bars, an arm on each of said rock-shafts, wires attached to said arms, levers to operate said wires, and a perforated music-sheet to control and operate said levers, substantially as described.

t. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, a drum, rolls upon said drum, a series of levers, and means of turning' said drum so as to bring the said rolls under said levers, substantially as described.

5. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a drum, .shaft carrying the same, means of revolving said shaft, radial partitions in said drum, rolls mounted in bearings upon the top of said drum, a perforated music-sheet carried by each of said rolls, and means of revolving' said rolls, substantially as described.

6. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a drum, rolls carried by said drum, a g'ear-wheel on each of said rolls, a gear-wheel upon an oscillating shaft, a motor for driving' said oscillating' shaft, and means of moving' said oscillating shaft to separate said gears, substantially as described.

7. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a casing, two stringed instruments secured in the same, neck-pieces, movable frets, rock-shafts connecting' the frets on either stringed instruments, levers controlling said rock-shafts, pickers, picker-bars, rackbars, rock-shafts, engaging said rack-bars, levers controlling' said rock-shafts, a drum, a plurality of In usic-sheets carried by said drum, means of rotating said music-sheets, and means of rotating said drum, substantially as described.

8. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a casing, a drum, music-sheets carried by said drum, levers operated by said music-sheets, stringed instruments, means of playing said instrument by said levers, adial, a shaft carrying an indicator, a vertical shaft IOO IIO

I0 said levers, an ornamental plate carryingsaid pickers and means of withdrawing said ornamental plate from the strings of said instruments so that said pickers Will not act on said strings, substantially as described.

In testlmony whereof I afix my slgnatu re 1n 1 5 presence of two Witnesses.

LEON STGCKES. WVitnesses:

E. D. PATTERSON, LLOYD BAILY.