US824315A - Self-playing musical instrument. - Google Patents

Description

fii). 324,315, PATEETED JUNE 26, 1906. H. w. SHGNNARB.

SELF PLAYING MUSICAL msmwmw.

APELIQATXON FILED HAS 2, 19GB.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l7 lREi-imeoaeo V 1530. 824,315. 7 PATENTBD JUNE 26, 1906 H. W. SHONNARD. SELF PLAYING MUSIGAL HQSTREMBBIT.

APPLIOATIOK FILED MAY 2. 35102.

5 snsmsanzm (inventor PATBNTED mm: 26, 1906.

x H. w. 3503mm SELF mama Mama, INSTRUMENT.

UNITED STATES HARULD 13'. SHiliNNARi SELF-PLAYING MUSigQA L WQQYQUWIENT,

Speeifieetion of Letters Potent i Patented June 26, 1965.

Appiieatio's sea May 2, 1902. Serial Bio. 195392.

To rail whmn 55 our son-sorry 7 Be it known that I, HARoLn W. 3110 HARD, a. citizen of the United States residing in the city, county; and Stem of New York, have invented a. oertsin new and useful 11nprovemont. in Seif-Plsying Musieni instinments, of which the foilowing is a specificatint).

My invention has reiation to seif-plsying musics} instruments, and more partiouisrly to eiectrieaiiy-operateiii attachments for pianos. r

The prineipai obieets of my invention are as follows:

The fisosision of means whereby i iie so nine of tone produced can be instsnti e een trailed by the performer over a Wide range and {wefersibiy in different parts of thefii zefboeri at wiii.

The psovision of improved means for i stsnteneeusiy controlling the tempo withoiit interference with other eieinenig s music-s 1 expression and without inip' eestsinty ofaeiiion in any case. r

The provision of means whereby seei= dental variations in position of tiieperforated music-sheet may be quiekiy and eesilv cempenssteci for. The pq'ineipie upon whieii tiie device is constructed is such that it iends itself to the production of changes of key where (iesirei The provision of improved means whereby the regular and uniform tension of the Innsie siieet is secured, this device involving no interference wish the free and rapid sewinding of" the v Theprfwisionof so operative attachment 7 espebie of being niifilied to on approgniae musiesiinstrument, so that when not in so t'ion sii pests of said attachment are invisihie, but nerrnittin' 'eertnin parts to be brought to view fihepiirpose of better controlling the device dining operation.

The provisionfof o foi in of eieetrioaily-opembed attachment 'foi' playing instruments" 7 7 isome'of the magnets with their transmissionof the j pianofoi'te zypewhez-ein are provided m niwed mechanical connections between imiifidnei operating-magmas and their con. respen ggsfsczhtatiiig the appiiestion of one ehinent to mstrumentspf rii'ii'eient interior srrengei'fiiit.

'iise provision of improved eonnsoting niesns for the contact-fingers useii in the type of sttsehment isst named,whereby their removai, insp'oiion,end repair are greatly 5a.-

cilitsied.

The provision of improved stopping on5" stariiiiigfinenns'for n seif-piaying attecknieni i of the type iest named, the said means ijfiifig segt ei fo? opeistion by an auxiliary automsfio's'iopping device. 7

Tire grovision in the type of atiaohment asses inscribed of an improveii means for proneri s piecing the music-drawer in two difierent positions, producing operative and inoperative arrangement, respeetiveiy, said siso contributing to lessen the dgnger sis-suits when the music-sheet is not 1 file girovision of an improved snsngement of'rnsgnets and armatures whereby e deviee of the gzpe above named may beaebominoiieiied within a very nerrowspeee wiiehin Eminent. to which it is snfiie, and in *si' the attainment of' ihe oose object s gs of'grsat oheapness ssdsiinpiicity, so with reliabiii y diimbility, and

izy of action. ifsfoilowing speoifieaiion 1 have demy invention as sinsooiied in a 'pre ferred form suited to use with pianos; but certain features thereof will be recognised by those skilled in'this art as obviously usefui with certain ofliei' forms of self-playing insfimments, sndf do noglimitmyself as to these'to' their sp zriiostion to pianos. V In the'eeooin saying drawings, '1 is a. front View of my said preferred enifiofii? merit. showing the relation) ofto the keyboard. Fi 2iis a to}? Know of my ink proved musicrower end its supfort. 3 is a view iifmys ttsohment seen seizing passess keyboard, certain pert edffor greater cieamess. Fig. '*i one fiw of my preferfei drivingwhe'fe}. V Fig. 5 is a. rear view-offlie some remsefi ffinn its support. Fig. 6 is a plan of'the sliding guide-piste used with my p tempo-reguletor. Fig. 7 is a side iqew' of my attachment, showing certain psi-1.5 1s section) Fig; 8 is a. vres? view of roiisx is a sectional view of the prefei'fiii ssnsniission-disk used in eonneotion $1 iififiQ-Whfifli shown in =1 and 18 is a. longitudinai'se' ei ion through e-drswer and confiaio &ger snpport, 11%; the position assnni efciii? 'fl'ie former when the HififiiiFShfit is tobe adjusted. Fig.

L1 a sectional view thresgh the contacton, showing a form an the/mode of fifths tens sionspring. Fig. 12 is a side view of my starting and stopping means. Figs. 13 and 14 are partial bottom views of the two forms of contact-combs shown in Fi s. 11 and 10, respectively; and Figs. 15 and 16 are fragmenta top views of a modified arrangement 0 magnets and armatures.

The form of attachment shown in the drawings is that wherein the motive devices (motor, magnets, &c.) are arranged beneath the rear ends of the piano-keys, being concealed within the piano-c2 se, while the controlling means (fingers and music-sheet and roll) are secured outside of the C188 proper i nd beneath the keyboard. This is shown in ig. 7. i

In Fig. 1 the whole attachment is shown from the front, the piano-case being open and only a part of the total keyboard being shown. Here the ke s are shown at 1 and the keyboard at 2. here are two horizontal rows of magnets, (shown at 3 and 3'.) These operate, as hereinafter described, upon the keys 1 through upright rods, (omitted from Fig. 1- for greater clearness.) The current for operating the attachment enters by the wires 4, going to the socket 5. The magnets are supported under horizontal platforms 6 and 6, held between end pieces 7 of the main frame, attached to the inside of the keyboard, as by bolts 8. The top piece of this frame is seen from underneath at 9 in Fig. 3. Under the middle of this top piece the two supporting plates 10 are screwed, BS shown in Fig. 3.

The finger-support 1] is hinged at 12 (see Fig. 10) tp the plates 10 on the two sides of the rear end of srid support. The front of the support is secured under the keyboard by perforated cars 13. (See Figs. 2 and 3'.)

The musicdrawer 14 slides in ways 15, (see Fig. 10 so that it may be drawn out into the position shown in Figs. 10 and 2 to adjust the music-sheet or may be pushed back against the stops 16, Fig. 3, when not in use or when being used may be placed as shown in Fig. 3, when the frontpart of the drawer is preferably in sight of the performer, so as to expose the permanent roll and permit use of expression-marks on the perforated sheet. The last two positions named are shown in dotted and full lines, respectively, in Fig. 7.

The ,row of contact-fingers or comb is contained in a comb-carriage :zrrrnged to slide over and parallel to the contect-roller on the music-drawer. The preferred details of construction for carrying out this object are shown in Figs. 2 and 10 and are as.fol lows: The carriage 17 is placed, is shown in Fig. 2, so as to slide upon the floor of the contact finger support 11, being :pressed against the forward wall 18 thereof by the spring 19 or its equivalent. The carrir ge 17 I have termed the comb-carriage. At

20 is pivoted the lever 21, extending across the top of the-comb-ctrriege 17 and out in front of the contact-finger support, where it is provided with a handle or knob 22 to facilitate manipulation by a performer. The pin 23, fixed in the top of the carriage 17, passes through an appropriate slot in the lever 21, so'that is the knob 22 is pushed to the right or left a corresponding lllOVOll'ltIli is imparted to the carri: ge 17. The object of this arrangement is to permit the adjustment to right or left scross the music-sheet of the contact-fingers. This movement is for the purpose of :djustment to compensate for improper position of the music- 'sheet on its rollers, or this construction may, if desired, be used to change the key in which any piece is who played one or more semitones by causing each longitudinal row of apertures in the music-sheet to operate different contact-fingers at will.

The contact-fingers 24, Figs. 10, 11, 13, and 14,.are preferably of the well-known shape shown, having each a beak projecting through a slot 25 in the under side of the contact-finger support and dropping upon the contact-roller 26 to close a mrgnet-circuit in a well-known manner each time it is permitted to do so by arrival under it of en aperture in the music-sheet. As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, I prefer to provide pairs of fingers 24 each separated from the next pair by an insulating-prrtition 27, all of srid fingers in one comb being pivoted upon a single cord 28 or other common pivot extending the whole length of the comb-carriage. This cord should be of insulating materiel. This cord may be strung through holes in the rear ends of the fingers, as shown in Figs. 10 and 14; but I prefer the arrangement shown in Figs. 11 and 13, wherein each finger has a notch under its 'rear end which nny be dropped over the cord 28. This fiicilitites removal and replr cement of the fingers. As shown in Fig. 2, the connecting-holes 29 for the various fingers are staggered in two rows along one side of the comb-carriage to economize -room. From eech hole 29 two line wires 30 are carried to the corresponding peir of contrct-fingers 24, being connected thereto near the forward or berked end of se id fingers. This makes these wires more flexible than if they were attached to the rear or pivoted ends of seid fingers, thus lessening any tendency the wires 30 might have to interfere with the free movement of the fingers.

In Fig. 10 the wires 30 are shown extending from a connection under the holes 2*.) to points under the fingers, and this arrangw ment is within my invention. in this form the conductorsbringing current to the. Vtll'lllllS connecting points or holes are connected above thenrin any well-known manner. I prefer, however, the form shown in Fig. 11

of the fingers.

The music-drawer carries the metallic con tact-roller 26 between the feedroller on one side and the erme'nent roller 3st,. to which is attachedt 1e music-sheet, {shown in I dotted lines in Fig.2,) on the other. During dotted lines being can performance of a piece of music the sheet starts from the position shown in Fi 10' in lit by the hoo 35 on roller 33 an wound o ofroller 34 andonto said roller 33 by rotation of the latter. After a piece is finished the drawer is pulled out, as shown in Figs. 2 and 10, andis rewoundby means of the crank'36 acting throu h the multiplying- gears 37, 38, and 39, the est of which 1s fast on theshaft 40-, passing throu h the music-drawer frame and carrying on t e inside a brake-wheel 41 and a polygonal socket 42, adapted to receive one end of the shaft of the permanent roller 34. A light-carrier 43 is(pivoted on one side off the music-drawer an resting lightly upon the brake-whee 41 when the drawer is pulled out, as in Figs. 10 and'2.

' In thisposition this spring does not mute rielly'retard movement of the brake-wheel, and thus rewinding me be quickly. eeeom plished. At the same time a stop 48011 the carrier 43 preferably abuts upon the'musiedrawer and prevents accidental throwing back of the sprin 44. When the draweris gushed in for e ormance, as indicated by the arrow in F i0, the carrier 43 comes in contactwith t e fingersupport-ll and is forced under it, 'as shown in 1 1, whereby the spring 44 is pressed down erd upon the In this position the musicbrake-wheel 41. sheet is drawn off of the roller 34, and in this position the spring 44 retards rotation of said roller, thus producing a tension which holds the music-s eet taut and well in line at all times.

The performing osition; of the musicdrawer with relation to the finger-support is shown in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig. 7. i It is.'desi: 'pb1e, however, that when there is no musacesheet in place in. the drawer thelatter 'shonldbepushed back out of s' t and wlth the-roller 26 out of the line'of t a ii are 24, as shown in dotted lines in 'Fi 7. prefer to accompiishthis by the 0 owing simple means; In placing the pennanent roller 34,

carries a. s ring e4, ii

carrying the rnusie-slnmt, the left-hand end of its shaft is inserted in the socket 4H3, sliding in a. sleeve 4?. (See Fig. 2.) Within the sleeve 47 there is a spiral or other spring, as shown in Fig. 2, tending to force said socket to the right. The length of the roller 34 and its shaft is such that when in place 1 he socket is pushed so for to the left as to protrude considerably, as at 48. Attached to the linger-support is u. fixed stop 4!), and this is so placed that with the socket prof rudingg'ns in stop, while with the roller 34 absent and the socket 46 pushed to the right by the spring the stop 48 Is not struck end the drawer can be pushed all the way in. (See Fig. I.) 'iile stop 4!) is'so placed as to arrest the drawer in the performing position. In this position the "ear-Wheel 50, Figs. 1 and 2, employed for (hiring the roller 33,'is brought into engagemeut with the stationary gear 51 directly. below it. (See Fig. 3.) This latter gear 51 is carried on a simi 'tyon the opposite end of which is third gear-wheel 52,.intended for driving said shaft. (See Figs. 3 and 7.) The gear 52 is driven bya wor1n53 on a shafte l, at the opposite extremity of which is the friction-wheel 55. Theshaft 54 is ourneled in a stationary bearing 56 and is ept fromlongitudinal movement by the wheel and the collar 57. The preferred construction of the wheel 55 is shown in Fig. 9, wherein the metal core 55 is surrounded by a leather or equivalent peripheral covering 55 fer deadefling noise and securing iriction. *This covering or tire is seemed in piece by the plate 59, secured, as shown, to'the face of thewheel55. i 1 Tlie'prime mover for the music-sheet is an electric motor 60, w 'ch may be of any appropriate form-or kind and is pivotally secured at 61. under the keys and preferably inside of the lane-ease. The armatureshaft of the 'me or 60 extends outside of the motor-easing, as shown at 62 in Fig. 4, the same'turning' in en appropriatei bearin i3 and c g at its extremit a riving is refer-ably ace 65 fastened thereto. The sprin ressing against thehub 64, takes up 0 udinaipley in the armature and shaft and keeps the drivingdace 65 against the friction-; tire v58 on thewiieel 55. In Fig. 5 is shown a .view of the rear of the friction piece 65,showing its surface of contact with thehnb or friction-piece 65 isn rablxstcd hole 6?, within Figs. 2 end Ii,tiae part 48' comes against. Reid its composedof a 1m 64 and frictionupper surface of the plate 71.

65 are tilted lone wa which is placed a loose metal piece 68, held in place by a circular flan'gc'impinging upon the rabbut of 67. The bottom of the piece (is slips upon the face of the' hub 64 and is affected only by a sli ht friction, so that. it has no driving ell'ect wlien brou ht into contact with the wheel 55. To enab e the performer to swing the motor about its pivotal support, 1 preferably employ'a lever 69, extending forward to any point convenient to the per-. foriners hand. For reasons hereinafter explained I prefer to construct this lever m two parts, the outer portion 70 bein made to slide on 69, asshown in' Fig. 3. T 1e lever 70 passe'sunder a plate 71, Figs. 3 and 6, and carries a recurv'ed .ointcr 72, which coopcrates with a suitable numbered scale on the Duringoperation oi a piece of music this plate s drawn forward on its supporting ways or slides 73, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the numbered scale is visible to the performer. When not in use,'however, the plate is pushed back out of sight, as indicated by the arrow in Figafi.

.The lever-section 70 is connected with the plate, (as by the pin 74, passing through a suitable slot in said plate,) so that it is pushed back out of sight at the same time as the plate 71. 7

From the construction described it is clear that the motor acts to drive the roller 33 to move the music-sheet by engagement betweenthe friction-surfaces and 58and consequent operation of the shaft 54, worm 53, and gears.,52, 51, and 50. The speed with which the roller 33 moves depends upon the distance ofthe point of contact between 58 and 65 from the center of 65, the farther this contact from said center the uicker the movement of 33, and vice versa. t is therefore clear that by moving the lever one way or the-other; as inchcated b o posed arrows inFig. 3, the motor 60 an wlieel64 or the other, var-yin the point of contact etwe'en '58 and 65 an modlf inamhe tempo of. the piece being playe en the motor is so tilted as to ring the center of 65 against 58, there will be no driving action and the music will cease. In order to avoid a grinding noise. and wear in'g-of the surface 58 by useless friction in this osition, the hole ;67 is provided. If. this ole were left unoccupied, the spring 66 would cause virtual entrance into said hole of a part of the surface 58-, and on starting again to drive this roller, 33 annoying effort would be caused, as well as noise and wear, when tion'shown in Fig. 1, the bar 79 is the wheel-surface 58 was made to climb out of the hole onto the e gement-surfaca To avoid this, 1 supply t e loosepiece 68, which supports the motionless wheel .58

when centralcontactis made while avoiding wear, since said piece 68 stands still under these circumstances. This construction makes instantaneous tempo control possible between rxlrenupositions. since it avoids the loss of l imo required for ('llzlllg'es in molor speed. ll also perniilsof lem un-onlrol indepeudenlfv of any 01 her changes in file operation of the device.

it is within the scope of this invenlion to swing the driving disli (35 independenll v of movement of the motor (ill; bul i prefer the cause the change. in point of engagement described without departing from my invent ion.

The movement of the individual keys of the instrument is produced by corrcs nnu'ling individual electroma nets, and this I prefer to accomplish in the following manner, it being understood that each magnet is connect ed with its corresponding pair of contact-lingers 24 in a manner hitherto familiar in this art: The magnets 3 are arranged in a row over a like row of magnets 3', and, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 8, they are placed so that each magnet in the upper -row comes over the space between two magnets in the lower row. This arrangement is old in this art and is resorted to to economize room. Over each magnet is placed a rocker-armature 74, 'whose forward end is drawn downward when its magnet is energized for the purpose of raisingt'he inner or rear end of its appropriate key, as hereinafter described. At the rear end of each key 1 there is a liftin -rod 75, intended to impinge on the under si e of the key to push it u ward in producing the required tone. The ower end of each rod is provided with an enlargemcnt 76, resting upon the extremity of an adjustinglever 77, supported by a pivot 78 under the expression bar 79.

This ar extends within 7 results. The rocker-armature of each magnet 3 in 'the upper row carries a noise-deadening pad 84, upon which the corresponding lever 77 rests between its pivot 78 and-the extremity which carries the lifting-rod. The armatures in the; lower row carry eirtensionthe frame 7 over allthemagnets, as shown in i so feas esd'of the armature 74 remsinsgun rods 85; hearing similar pads 86 for supportiFI g the; lei ers I? which they actuate. (See 1 7; i ffihe use of extension-rod for transmitting ower from the iower row of magnets is ounci preferable to carrying down theiriiris 75 to said row, because in the former arrengement rv erieti'ons in key-spacing existing in: difierent pienos are allowed for by eppr o iriete de srtures from verticai arrangement of the re s 75 oniy, the rods 85 being eh es}. This tilting of the roots Ya? err above the rnegnets 3 is perfeetiy preetieehie; whereas if these rods extended pest the up-' per magnets and downward between them 7 said magnets would prevent such it g' thereof. By use of this fore, an attachment ofthistyise 7 1 commode-ted or edj'usted to any pisno even efter the magnets are all ifiplaoe.

C onsidering new the'expression deifiee, it may be stated in edvenee that the feri'ifhere-r inshown operates by produoing'ehsrrges in -the totei throw or travel of the lifting har without ehengingthe total movement oi the actuating-armature. Since the upperlin it of movement of each key 1 end lifting-ind E is fixed in any given case, it is sheer that Yaristions in the travel of any one iiftinlgered must be produced by thestsrtingpoint or iower limit of travel It is'hy doing this that I produce changes of striking force for rnoduietion'of tones in givingXBE$5ion to a piece of music. As shownjn Figfl, the pad 86 is the fulcrum of the lever 37; iv 'hereon said lever is sup orted. Evidentiyz therefore, the higher the her Y9 and pisot'i the lower will be the rear extremity of 77- when the iifting-rod is at its lowest point, asshown in said figure. With the expression-bar 79 and pivot 78 at their highest a maximum part of the movement of the armature 14, is devoted to idle iifting of the rod 75 before it strikes the key 1; In this osition oithghsi 7 9, therefore, the tone pro need'will heseteits softest. In proportion, however; 791$ depressed farther and farther theieseeet point of the iiftiog-rod is eorpesp'ontiingiy raised, whiie the lowest point reached hy the V "eheog'ed. Consequently the lower thsjhsr i is "pressed'the sooner does the rod 3'5 touch the'key iefter the armature starts to move and the iouder is the toneproduoed. By 'iowefing the bar- 79 as for as, ossihie, therefore, the ioudest tonepossihefis erodueed, while oppositeehenge of position of the her iessensthe vohime of'tofle. ,itwillfheseen ,thstethese efieets are quite insisses 9f peeder piaying and of the use of pedals on a, piano when desirable. 1 Chen as is position of attain in a variety oirwa ;het i oreisr the following construction. e-two ievers 87 and 88 are pivoted undertheheyboard' at 89 thefhai Whig; be

s handlesfifiiri of the levers S? SS,

one 98 end extend to the front of the keyboard, srhere they may be moved with or against 'theeri'ows shown in Fig. From the inner ends'oi these levers extend tie-rods er 9:2 eoneeeted to said levers, orefemhiy by nuts sorrwing onto the rods, as shown to 3?!- m t of ii'oper adjustment i ortting toget lei. The tie iod 91 extends and is iiesteneii to the nose? en of the ivoted motive ieses 825mm the rm 92 exten s and i; tester 1'- ts Vniotive lever 81. V Th iosr'ei @QQKS of gs'si and 82 are se shspsjiiii these leere so inclined thsttheggisfssdspull of the springs 80 acts, through the 79,11) prodeee ise seid levers a, tendeneyfte tiisewey iroinleeeh other, thus drawing apart also the 3. The assesses of this position eerrespon s to the softest tone produced by the magnets, as he- 7 foredeseribed; To increase the tone oiume over the whole register, the handles 93 94 are drawn to ether, as indicated by the arrows in V V Fig. 3. his acts, through the rod 91 92sn i levers 81 82, to lower the two ends of the be '29. The amount of effect upon the tone pee: 9e 7 wiii 7 rees either npperor'iowarrg isterinsyjhe' eontrolled by itselfi'i'i" 7 instrument! w 1 V v The levers 3? 88 may, if desired he nlede eapehie of being fixed in any desirefi positisgend this music of the desiregifiegree'of loudness may be played without theneeessity of shyperformerremainin ettheirnstrurrieiit.

I prefer to aoco'mp ish'fh eanhiief' a. e1; erg 9;; end screw 96 under the igirfer to start my attache; mid ts}; it either by hand orenteexm t fgiii, as lie sired, by substantially the mesns;

i I refer to mount on oii'e enii of the eoliteetiger support. I'nFi'g; l is sheen; V a diagram of enough of one '5 eiectnc circuits to make eieer tho'generel V 7 electrical reistions of the various-hens fifhe lever 97 is effeetedi by e; spring 97f, Figs. 2 andif; tenin'g to heid' said lever in the position shown in Fig. 12; The said lever remains in eleetric connection with a conductor 98, leading toQon'e'side of the operatin -eirunit. The of: ositesitie of said circuit eads by wireQQ through motor 60 to the insu lated spring lgfijii'st over the lever 9F, fin 5 pushing the 7 piece 101 on the side of the; I eonteet fin p i o the strewn 12 the eetch 102 is re a. d theierei' e? is bree'ght up into? with the sprihg 19%, starting the motor 60, $3

on in the direction ilag 7 V s which runs the music-sheet. held in this operative position (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 113) means of the pivoted armature Ill-i. which is pushed outward by the spring ItI-i. so as to catch over the lower end ol' the lever ttT. as shown. and hold it down. .\o\\' supposing contact made at t)? and HM and the music-shcet to be running and suppose it to he desired to stop the mu sic-sheet. By pushing the push-putton 105 a branch is closed through the coils of the magnet ion. w hich attracts the armature 103 and liberates the lever J7. so that the spring 97" is l'ree to open the motor-circuit and stop the motor. it is obvious that. where a stop ping-magnet HHS is thus used it may be employed to stop the motor automatically at the end of a piece of music by provision of a special circuit-closing finger in the comb, as set forth in my pending application for Patent, Serial No. 723.171. filed July H, 1899. This arrangement of starting and stopping, devices brings the operat ing means namely,

the buttons 101 and. ltl5- within convenient reach oi the performer and renders unnec essary any mutilation ot' the instrument itself for insertion of pushbuttons or the like.

My invention covers a modified arrangement of magnets and armatul'es whereby with a given length of armature the attach ment can be located within a shallower space than is otherwise possi'nle. This is an important point. as many pianos are made with very little room between the wires and the trout board. As shown in Figv '15, this Inodilitation consists in'placin the magnetsii so that the line joining the center of the opposite poles is placed obliquely with respect to the front of the piano. The armatures 74 will then lie as indicated in the drawingsflhe adjusting lcvets 77 still heingplaceable parallel to the piano lieys, as shown. it is obvious that as thus arranged a given length of armature can be accommodated within a narrower space measured at right angles to the front of the piano than would be rerpiisite in the case of the arri'mgcmcnt shown in Figs. 1 and T. The degree of inclination which may thus be given to the magnets when placed as close together as they must be in a piano is limited. since the coiis of successive magnets will soon touch and 1J1OVOI1tfllTtllQI" inclination. in Fig. Hi I have shown an arrangement whcrehv a greater narrowing of the space 00- cupied is accomplished than in the arrange-- .mentsbown in Fig. 15." Herethc median line of each armature 74 isnot parallel to thatjoininn the magnet-poles; but each armature is given an added inclination in the same direction as the magnet under it. The two inclinations are thus added in their effect and the space occupied is reduced to a minimum.

My invention is capable of receiving many The lever 97 is i skilled in this art besides those suggested in modifications within the judgment of those the above specification without departing from the scope tht' reot, and l am therefore not to be understood as limiting myself to the details herein shown and descrihed.

What i claim is 1. In a sell playin; musical instrument. a key, an adjusting-lever under the key, a motive device supportinf said lever between its ends, a transmittii g means between one end of said lever and said key and means adapted to act upon the opposite end of said lever to raise and lower said end.

2. In a self-playing: musical instrument, a key an adjustingdever under the key, a ma;:- net. a rocking armature over said magnet the end of which armature supports said adjusting-lever between its ends, a lifting'rod between one end of said lever and the inner end of said key and means for raisinp and lowerin; the opposite end of said lever.

3. In a self-playing musical instrument, a row of magnets and arna'ttnres. a row of adjusting-levers over said armatures. transmitting means operated by movement of said adustitur-levers, a common bar to which said levers are pivoted and means available to a performer for raising and lowering said bar.

t. In a self-playing musical instrument. an expression device operating by movement up or down and an ot'ierating-le er pivoted over said device and bearing theredn; in combination with means accessible to a performer for tilting said lever to control the po ition of said expression device.

5. in a self-playing I'DUSlCttliHRtItUllPllt. a row of motive devices for the keys, an expression device extend in parallel to Said nio tive devices and adapted to operate by mov ing nearer to or farther from said motive devices, a spring at each end of said expression device for its support and a separate level at each end thereof for separately operating each its own end of said expression device.

6. In a se|t"'-pla vin; musical instrument. an expression device operating by movement up or down, a spring for supporting said device, a pivoted lever hearing on said device and adapted to push downward upon it when tilted inone direction. a device for manually operating said lever and means for securing said last device in any desired position for adjusting said expression device 7. In a selfplaying musical instrument. an expression device, two levers for separate movement of the two ends thereof, a separate handle for operatingeach lever and a separate spring at each end of the expression device tending to support said ends.

8. In a self-playing keyed musical instrument, two rows of motive devices one above the other, a lifting-rod connecting each motive device in the upper row directly with ccrtein nl the lreys of the instrument, lifting- V the level of the upper row of motivedevices second slidmg support under said kc board brought into view at will While the musicdescribed.

- strnment, an insulating-pivot and e sensor ntedi side terminals and fingers connects rods eictending from the other keys down to and hetween them, and an extension-rod from each motive device in the lower rovv' joining each to one of the last-named sets? lifting-rods, substantially as described.

9. A self-playing musical instrument having it keyboard, a, 1nusic-sl1et,n sliding sn 1- port for the some, means for controliing the s eed of movement of said sheet, an extensih e swinging lever for adjusting said means, a

to which said lever is attached movah e independently of said first ienieri sliding support and an indicatoron said second sliding su port over which the end ofsaid swinging lever moves, whereby the indicator and lever can be sheet support is out of sight, substantially as 10. In an electric self-playing rnusicaii instrument, a contact-finger su port, a combearrings within it, a, spring 'hol ing said combccrriage against a straight edge on said support, a pivoted lever over said comb the end of which is accessible to a performer, a connection between said lever and comb-carriage for sliding the letter along said straight edge.

11. In an electric self-playing musical instrument, an insulating-pivot and a series of conducting contact-fingers all supported in common side by side on said pivot. 7

12. In the comb of an electric self-playing musical instrument, a series of parallel insuletting-partitions; a pivot of insulating material threading seid partitions and 21. contacts" finger between ench two partitions, all of said fingers being pivoted in common side by side: on'suid pivot. V v i 13. In en electric sel playing musicel'in conducting contectiingers side by side each having an open notch near one end fitting over said common ivot. 7 2;" V

14 in an electric self-pinging musical in strumcnt, a series of conducting-fingers pivside, terminals in front of said oonnecting'wires betweeii' 's szid dtciififififiif b fingers end near their rear ends.

ectric seif-pieying mnsicsl inernrnon insnlstingivot, a se ries of conducting-fingers remove ly pivoted side by side on said pivot, on insulating-platform in Erm'at of said lingers, removable terminals in said platform end connecting-wires between said lingers and terminals,

Hi. In an electric seli-plnying musical in- 7 s1 rumont, n music-drawer adopted to slide from a, positionbchind the operating position to one in front oi the operating position, en"

offset on said drewer movable inward and outward thereon and a. fixed'stopin the psth stop the drawer in its operative msitien'.

strsincnt, n music-(lower edsg'iicai to slide fironi a position behind the opdrnting position to one'in from oi the operating position, a socket for one and ol' the permanent musicroller "adapted to be pressed outward when said roller is in place, it spring tending to press the socket'inwerd end a fixed stop so placed as to strike the socket when extended, and stop the drawer in its operative posltlon.

strument, a row of o crating-magnets, eech magnet being set oh iqnely to the direction of the row as a whole, ernmtures also set obliquely to the direction of the row in the seine sense and means for transmittingpower from said armatures to operate the instrument.

19. In an electric seli pleying musical in struinent, a row of operating-magnets, each magnet being set obliquely to the direction of the row es s 'ivhole, errnuturcs also set obliquely in the some sense but inclined less than their respective magnets and means for transmitting 'power from said annaatures to operate the instrument.

2i In s self-plaving musical instrument, a key, en udjustingdever under the key, it metive device engaging said lever between its ends, a transmitting mccnsbetween one end of said lever and said key, and means adapt ed to set u 39H the opposite end of said lever to raise and lower sold end.

21. In a self-playing musical instrument, on expression device 0 crating by movement on or down, 3, spring or supportin said device, s. pivoted lever ads ted to push one end of said device downward when tilted in one direction, and means accessible to e performer for tilting said lever. r

22- In a device for automatically playing keyed musical instruments, s prime rnever ior each key, e. pivoted lever operated by said j prime nievcr and fonning'pnrt of the transmissionsystem iietween the some and said ing operation formpidly changing the posimission system between the sameend said key and n eeeeeuy movable controller for rapidly chsngingithe normed distance be tween the oprntivc end of said pivoted lever andits appropriate key, substantially as de- "sessee. V r V 5 nssetn W.SHONNARD.

Witnesses'z V K t Ems; HALSTED,

of movement of said oilset when extended HAROLD S. MACKAIE.

18. In an electric self-playing musical inkey and a controller mo voble during the playmotive device and forming pert of the trans outward, so placed as to strike the some and 7 1?". in on electric s ll-playing.musical iu- 1 IIO tion of said lever so that it occupies a difier-

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