US935775A - Mechanical musical apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

G. P. BRAND. MECHANICAL MUSICAL APPARATUS.

m m m I G. P. BRAND. MECHANICAL MUSIGAL APPARATUS. APPLIonIoN HLED .11111.11, 1904. nmmwm PEB. e, 1909.

Patented 0011.5, 1909.

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GEORGE P. EEAND, 0E NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEcHANrcAL MUSICAL APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. BRAND, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Musical Apparatus, of which the following is a specification sulficient to enable others skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to pneumatic apparatus used in automatic music playing devices, such as mechanical players and the like, and is designed to afford means whereby a so called normal tension or pressure in the wind chest with which the sound actuating pneumatics are connected, may be set and regulated, or varied temporarily, and whereby the degree of tension thus prescribed for the wind chest is maintained autoimitically with the minimum degree of fluctuation from normal. rlhis l accomplish by interposing between the wind chest and the exhaust means, a throttle valve controlled by a pneumatic communicating with the wind chest substantially as hereinafter set forth. y

My invention also includes certain minor features inthe construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed specifically.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l, is a sectional elevation of my improved variable tension regulator and connections, showf ing the regulator expanded, and set to afford a relatively low degree of tension; Fig. 2, a similar view of the parts, the regulator being shown as collapsed and set to afford a relatively high degree of tension; Fig. 3, is a detail view of the valve mechanism; Fig. t, a section upon plane of line 4%- Fig. l.

In the drawings `W represents .symbolically a wind chest of an automatic music player; the actuating pneumatics by which the notes are sounded communicating with said wind chest through suitable ducts or conduits in any usual or desired manner. ln like manner E represents symbollically any suitable form of exhaust mechanism, as au exhaust bellows or equivalent.

R is my tension regulator or variable expression device, consisting essentially of a pneumatic r, communicating through an open port fw, with the wind chest W7, and through one or more valve ports @,with the Specification of Letters Patent.

exhauster E.

Patented Oct. 5, 1909.

Renewed February 6, 1909. Serial-No. 476,481.

I, is an intermediate air chest used for convenience although not absolutely essential since my pneumatic tension regulator R may be arranged to communicate either directly oi indirectly with both the wind chest lV and the exhauster E in any manner which may be found expedient in adapting my tension regulating device to the requirements of use in different forms of pneumatic players,-the essential feature in ths respect being the interposition, between the exhaust mechanism and the wind chest, of a throttle valve actuated by a pneumatic controlled by the air tension in the wind chest. For this reason the particular form of throttle valve used is also of secondary importanee and l do not confine myself in this respect to the identical construction and arrangement of valve ports shown in the accompanying drawings since various modiications may obviously be resorted to with like result.

The intern'iediate chest l, is divided into two air chambers w, and c', by the partition z'. The upper chamber w, communicates through the duct L02 with the wind chest W, and through the open port fw, with the interior of the pneumatic r, thus insuring practically the same degree of tension in the pneumatic 17 that exists in the wind chest W. The lower chamber c communicates through the open port c2, with the space or chamber e3, into which the valve port or ports e, open and through which latter communication is had with the interior of the pneumatic The available `area of this communication through the valve port or ports c, is governed by the position of the valve blade or cut off e, pivotally supported at one extremity and connected by a link Z, with a slide S mounted upon the movable member r', of the pneumatic r, the slide itself being controlled manually or otherwise by means of a rod s or other mechanical expedient.

It is obvious that the thrust of the valve blade e with relation to the valve port or ports c `when the movable member r of the pneumatic fr is drawn inward, will bc governed by the position of this slide S upon such movable member. Thus if the slide is pushed downward the extent of available thrust will be diminished, and vice versa.

A buffer B is arranged to stop the valve blade fz), when the latter completely closes the port or ports c, as shown in Fig. 2, and a resilient spring or equivalent device T is arranged to tend constantly to expand the pneumatic r and torce its movable member outward against the resistance ot internal tension. lfhus the spring i or other retractile device tends constantly to retrairft the yalye blade /f away from theI Valve port or ports c, while the external itmoslviheric pressure tends to close the said port or ports owing to the partial Vacuum created internally by the exhaust mechanism through said ports.

lWhile l do not restrict n'uYS-iell to a spring as a means otl retracting the yalye blade o, l lind the use of a coiled conical compressiblo spring such as shown zulyantageous in that it altords a gradually increasing resistance to the closing olf the ports c.

The whole object being to maintain a prescribed degree ot working tension within the wind chest Y?, it is obvious that air admitted thereto through the note sounding pneumatics, be the saine more or less in quantity within a given time, should be withdrawn from said wind chest innuediately and automatically without increasing the working tension above that desired and prescribed by the operator. rllhus the slide S being set to represent a prescribed degree of tension in the wind chest, any excess of air admitted trom the note sounding pneuma'tics will intlate the pneumatic fr ot the regulator lt and thereby cause the valve blade to ogen the port or ports c more or less, to allow the exhauster ,E to quickly withdraw such excess ot air. fis the normal worl-:ing tension is thus restored in the wind chest the increase in tension in Vthe pneumatic yr causes the latter to partially collapse and close the port or ports c, more or less, according` to the di tlcrence in tension existing in the exhauster ll as compared with that in the wind chest Vil. Thus it the tension in the exhauster E is greater than that in the wind chest lill, the regulator will collapse su'tliciently to cause the yal'ie blade o to close the port or ports c, entirely until air admitted to the wind chest will as before stated again reduces the tension therein and permits the pneumatic r, to expand under the action of the spring T, and these operations Yill be repeated indefinitely and auton'ia'tically during the operation ot the apparatus,-the number and extent of the tluctuations being dependent upon the character and reeuiirements ci vthe music executed. illy regulator Yrt thus practically protects the -wind chest against an increase oft tension above the normal prescribed by the position oit the slide S, since the exhauster an only take through the .throttle the excess oit air admitted into the wind chest from the note actuating pneumatics.

Thilo do not wish to restrict myself to any particular throttle valve mechanism as bel'ore stated, l attain by that shown herein seusitiyeuess and delicacy o'l adjustment and operation that most desirable in practice.

lt is to be noted that l have hereinbetore described the use ot a single Valve blade i', and link t, which arrangement entirely practicable but is preferably duplicated as in the drawing-t; the Yalyc blades being coupled together by cross rods fu.

.lt will thus be seen thatI by my construction l am able to impart and control expression in the rendition ot a musical composition without restriction or limitation as to power or volume ot' sound.

lilhat l claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

l. ln pneumatic apparatus tor use in automatic players, the combination with the working tension wind chest and with the exhaust mechanism, ol a pneumatic and valve interposed between said wind chest and said exhaust mechanism, a slide on the movable member ot' said pneumatic, .means for connecting said. slide pivotally with the said valve, and means for adjusting said slide to vary the thrust oi.2 the valve with relation to the area ot connnunication hetween the said wind chest and the exhaust mechanism tor the purpose set torth.

ln pneumatic apparatus for use in automatic music players, the combination with a working tension chest and with the exhaust mechanism, ot' a tension regulator interposed between them, and comprising a pneumatic and contained means for prescribing the degree et tension in said regulator, and Ytor automatically maintaining such prescribed degree oit' tension therein, and sliding means within said pneumatic connected with said contained means for actuating the same.

In pneumatic apparatus for use in automatic music players, a regulator comprising a pneumatic, piyoted means within the pneumatic itor automatically retaining any prescribed degree oi tension, a slide movable within the pneumatic and connected with said piyotcd means for setting the same to any desired degree ol tension while the machine is in operation.

i. in pneumatic apparatus for use in automatic music players, a regulator, comprising a pneumatic., means within said pneumatic for automatically retaining any prescribed degrec oit tension, and means within said pneumatic cooperating with said alitomatic means and piyotally connected thereto tor setting the same to any desired degree ot tension while the machine is in operation.

5. In pnemnatic apparatus for use in automatic music players, a regulator, comprising a pneumatic, ports and controlling' means within said pneumatic for said ports, said controlling means being slidably movable relatiyely to said ports, and means pivlfl 5 otally connected 4with said means Within said pneumatic for setting the same to any prescribed degree of tension.

6. In pneumatic apparatus for use in music players, the combination with a Working tension Wind chest, of means under the control of the operator for producing` different degrees of tension While the machine 1s 1n operation, the same comprising a pneumatic GEO. WVM. Mm'r'r, D. W. GARDNER.

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