US880089A - Mechanically-playing keyed instrument. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908. I

F. MORITZ.

MEGHANIQALLY PLAYING KEYED INSTRUMENT.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 8, 1907.

WITNESSES INVENTOR A llama/.1

. nels in the tracker board require, in order to be the note band, as well as the time v a certain length and corresponding admismuch longer are the note holes in the music single notes, it is much more the case with a -nel openings to fill sufficiently and suddenly FRIEDRICH MORITZ, OF DORTMUND, GERMANY MECHANICALLY-PLAYING KEYED INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

Application filed March 8 1907- Serial No. 361.342.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH MoRITz, citizen of Germany, subject of the King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany, residing at Dortmund, in the Kingdom of Prussia and Empire of Germany, have invented certain new and useful Im rovnients in Mechanio ally-Playing Keyer Instruments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Piano playin apparatus, orchestrions and the like, when t ey work by air suction, draw the air through suitable channels in a tracker board, over which a slotted note band ora band provided with holes is led. The chanproduce the proper actionon the key board,

sion of air. The longer these channels are so sheet or band and also so much longer must occupied in striking a note, which must be made as short as possible. If thls is the case with series of notes following quickly one after the other, trills and the like, and on account of the large amount of air, which is necessary for wide channels, especially also with musical works having a large number of notes on a short stretch of the note band, The drawbacks brought about by channels with large outlets are obviated by the present invention.

Figure 1 is a top view of the device applied to a mechanical piano working by suction. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the device as applied.

.In the drawings f and y designate respectively the rollers upon which the perforated music sheet 6 is Wound,said sheet passing over the tracker board (1, which islocated between the rollers f and 5 the latter being up erated in the usual and well known manner.

The long channels of the tracker board (I are covered at the top with a metal plate (1., which has the same number of openings c as the tracker board although in the direction of the travel of the sheet e over the tracker board, they are kept as short as possible. In order to make it possible for these short chanwith air, so that a short powerful blow can be struck before each narrow channel opening a special inlet or preliminary opening 0 is provided. This opening 7) is only made so large that it alone, if the short channel opening is not yet uncovered by the holes in the note hand, does not allow enough air to enter to operate the playing mechanism. Nevertheless this opening fulfils the next condition, namely that a vacuum no lon er exists in the previously evacuated channe s.

When now the note holes come over the preliminary'opening b they come next over the short channel opening 0 and just at the time when the preliminary opening also is still free. If the preliminary air has already fulfilled the condition of the change of air, the

.short channel opening which can be made so short that it alone even with powerful tread movement hardly produces any playing, is in the position, in combination with the preliminary opening, to set the playing apparatus in motion.

When the stroke or blow has been completed on account of the two openings, preiminary air opening and short channel'opening becoming uncovered, the action thereby produced only lasts a short time, since the note band again covers the preliminaryair opening, and it of course results in withdrawal of the preliminary air, and also removal of the striking ower. These preliminary air openings and short channel openings arranged as above described make it possible to produce trills as well as soft playing exactly as with the powerful tread movement. Further by the provision of the preliminary air openings an economical consumption of the quantity of air produced in playing is brought about. All the variations, such as crescendo or decrescendo and toning of the single notes can be readily produced by the player. Moreover the player in working the treads has not to apply any special power. 1 Owing to the wide channel openings of the previous arrangements, the note band was sucked firmly on to the slide block and there by braked or retarded so that on operating the treads a great resistance had to be over come. In the present invention the powerful suction is completely avoided by the provision of preliminary air openings since these small openings only give a small engagement surface on the note band. The consumption of air is also more economical. I

By means of the device set outin the ab e description a further drawback is overcome,

which existed with the previous arrange-' ments, that the note band left the notes free to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tracker board having air channels and having a metal plate attached to said tracker board over its air channels, said plate having main and supplementary openings leading to the tracker board channels,a main and a supplementary opening leading to each tracker board channel,the main opening in the plate being slits of least dimension in the direction of travel of the sheet, and the supplementary openings in the plate being arranged in advance of the main openings.

2. A tracker board having channels and main and supplementary 0 enings leading to the tracker board channe sa'; main and a su plementary opening leading to each channel-the main openings being slits of least dimension in the direction of travel of the sheet, and the supplementary openings being arranged in advance of the main openings.

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

FRIEDRICH MORIT Z. Witnesses:

OTTO KoNIG,

J. A. RITTERSHAUS.

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