US923094A - Metronome. - Google Patents

Description

G. A. WHITE & E. R. HUNTER.

METRONOME. APPLIGATION FILED 0GT.20, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

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I Inventors:

0. A. WHITE & E. R. HUNTER. METRONOME. APPLICATION FILED 001220, 1908.

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C. A. WHITE & E. R. HUNTER.

METRONQME. APPLICATION FILED 0UT.20, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. WHITE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND ERNEST R. HUNTER, OF SOUND BEACH, CONNECTICUT.

METRONOME.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OHARLEs A. WHITE and ERNEST It. HUNTER, citizens of the United States, residing at Boston, Suffolk county, State of Massachusetts, and Sound Beach, Fairfield county, State of Connecticut, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metronomes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in metronomes.

The object of our invention is to provide a new and improved metronome which is simple in construction, compact, composed of few parts, not apt to get out of order and can readily be adjusted to conform in its beats with the beats of a conductor or the time of a piece of music being performed and when so adjusted indicates the time at which the musical piece is performed, on a scale commonly known as the Maelzel metronome scale, that is, so many beats per minute.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures :Figure 1 is a face view of our improved metronome. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line '.t.r of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line y y Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line zz of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a side view parts being broken away and others shown in section. Fig. 6 is a detail view.

In the specific construction of the metronome shown in the drawings, for the purpose of illustrating the invention the metronome is made in the form of an ordinary watch and of the general appearance of a watch. The dial A is provided with a circle B of subdivisions from left to right from 40 to 208, these sub-divisions gradually increasing in size as shown. The dial is provided with four equi-distant marks on indicators O concentric with the circle B which indicators O are separated one quarter of a circlefrom each other. A hand D rotates over the circle containing the indicators 0 and a larger hand E rotates over the circle B.

The device is contained in a suitable casing like a watch case. The casing contains a spring barrel F provided with a key arbor F carrying a ratchet wheel F engaged by a spring pawl F. A cog wheel F on the rim Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 20, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Serial No. 458,731.

of this spring barrel engages a pinion F on the same shaft with a cog wheel F and this cog wheel F engages a pinion F on an arbor F to which is attached a disk F having upwardly extending pins F which extend into the underside of a disk G which is also held in place on the disk F by a central screw G A train of gearing Gr driven from the arbor F operates an escapement G of any well known construction, the particular construc tion of which forms no part of the present invention.

The plate G is provided on its upper surface throughout with a series of radial grooves or corrugations a which can be engaged by a toothed wheel H mounted to 1'0- tate with and to slide lengthwise on a squared shaft H the ends of which are mounted in bearings H slidably mounted in vertical guides H containing springs H" that press the shaft H downward and thus keep the toothed wheel H in contact with the grooved or corrugated surface of the disk G. The wheel H is provided with a grooved hub which is mounted in a lug or wing H" on one end of a bar J to slide in a suitable guide J this bar being provided with an upwardly extending rack J which is engaged by a toothed wheel J 3 on a shaft J suitably mounted and terminating in the crown J mounted in the conventional manner, as shown, for example in Fig. 1, so that by turning this crown the bar J can be moved -lengthwise in one direction or the other.

The bar J is provided with a horizontal rack J 6 as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, engaging a pinion K on a central arbor L supported at its lower end by a bracket plate L of the supporting frame J A toothed wheel M of less diameter than the wheel II is fixed on the squared shaft H and engages a toothed wheel N on the horizontal arbor N mounted in one of the guides H, which arbor N carries at its end a hub N provided with two diametrically opposite radial lingers N which can engage the four prongs O of a wheel 0 fixed on a sleeve O mounted loosely on the arbor L.

R is a push pin for lifting one end of the shaft H for the purpose of disengaging the wheel H from the disk G.

S is the stop pin and starting lever.

The operation is as follows:The movement is started whereby the disk G is rotated and by the engagement of the wheel H with the disk G the shaft H is rotated from it by means of the wheels M and N, the shaft N is rotated causing the fingers N on the hub N to rotate the sleeve 0 which carries the hand D thus causing the same to make beats equal to one quarter of a circle. H is nearer the circumference of the disk G it will be rotated at a higher rate of speed than when the disk H engages the disk G nearer the center and thus the beats of the hand D will be of greater speed when the disk H is nearer the circumference of the disk H than when it is nearer the center of the disk G. By turning the arbor J by means of the crown J the wheel H can be adjusted to be nearer the circumference or center of the disk G, as may be desired. Before making such adjustment however it is preferable to press the button R so that the disk II will be thrown out of engagement with the disk G while such adjustment is made. The user takes notice of the beats of a conductor of an orchestra or player and by turning the arbor J adjuststhe disk H on the disk G until the beats of the hand D coincide with the beats of the conductor or player. By turning the arbor Gr the bar J is moved lengthwise in one direction or the other as the toothed wheel J on the arbor J 4 engages the rack J on the bar J and as said plate is shifted lengthwise it turns the toothed wheel K on the arborL thus changing the position of the hand E on said central arbor L. When the operator thus adjusts the hand D so as to correspond to the beats of the conductor or player, he at the same time shifts the hand E and the hand E will point to a certain subdivision of the circle B indicating the time for playing ac cording to the numbers of the Maelzel metronome, for example, if the hand D has been adjusted to coincide with the beats of a conductor, the hand E will show at what speed according to the Maelzel metronome, the music is being performed. After the de sired information has thus been obtained, the movement can be stopped and can start at any subsequent time to verify the former observations or to obtain observations at some other time of playing.

Having described our invention what we hen the wheel claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a metronome, the combination with two scales, one having a uniform sub-division and the other having sub-divisions gradually increasing in size, of an indicator for each scale, a watch movement for moving the indicator that indicates on the equally divided scale, manually actuated mechanism for shifting the other indicator, and a connection between the manually actuated mechanism for shifting one indicator and the watch movement, which connection varies the speed of the watch movement while shifting the hand not operated by the watch movement, substantially as set forth.

2. In a metronome, the combination with a dial having two scales, of a movable indicator for each scale, a watch movement for moving one of the indicators, which watch movement comprises an escapement of conventional construction, and. which. movement has means independent of the escapement, for varying the number of its beats perminute, mechanism for adjusting said beat varying means and an indicator connected with the mechanism for adjusting said beat varying means, substantially as set forth.

In a metronome, the combination with a dial having two scales, of an indicator for each scale, a watch movement for moving one indicator over its scale, which watch movement comprises a conventional escapement an adjustable and varying beat producing means in such a watch movement, independent of the escapement, mechanism for adjusting said beat producing means, means for operating said adjustable mechanism from the exterior of the movement and a hand connected with the mechanism for adjusting the beat producing means, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 6th day of April, 1908.

CHAS. A. WHITE. ERNEST R. HUNTER. Witnesses T. H. HUGHES, A. W. SPENCE.

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