US936763A - Pedal for automatic pianos. - Google Patents

Description

LW. DARLEY, JR. PEDAL FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOSQ :APPLIOATION-IILED FEB.17,1908.

Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

wi lmwo awe/who's J. W. DARLEY, JR. PEDAL FOR AUTOMATIU PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED I'E'B. 17,1908.

Patented Oct. 12,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wibme/aoa I 1'0 all whom it may concern:

JOHN \V. DARLEY, 3., OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. v

PEDAL FOR AUTOMATIC PIANOS.

Specification of Letters ratent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

Application filed February 17, 1908. Serial No. 416,226.

' Be it known that I, J OHN \VIDARLEY, J r.,

i a citizen of the United States, residing at 1518 North Broadway, in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Pedals for Automatic Pianos; and I do hereby de- Glare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which pedalsfor automatic pianos, and the objects of my'iinvention are to simplify the general construction thereof, to avoid the necessity of forming small panels in the lower panel ofthe piano, and to avoid the necessity of having to open and close said small panel at the beginning and end respectively, of the opleration of playing the piano automatica y Heretofore, automatic pianos have been equipped with the usual loud and soft pedals for use in controlling the expression when the piano is being played manually, and with a pair of operating pedals which constituted the means by which the operator applied power to the mechanism when playing the piano automatically.

In carrying out my invention I dispense with the ordinary loud and soft pedals, and arrange the operating pedals so that they can be caused to perform either the functions of the loud and soft pedals, or the function of the operating pedals at the Wlll 'of the operator.

lVithout limitation to the particular illustrated construction, representing one form of .my invention, which is susceptible of many modifications, the said invention will I be described with reference to the accom- -panying drawings, forming a partof th s specification, and will then be pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1-is an end view looking toward the right, of a piano embodying my invention, the left hand side of the piano case being removed and parts being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 2 IS, a front ylew of same, some of the parts shown in Fig, 1

being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig.

3 is a fragmentary View, looking toward-the left of the piano, of some of the parts shown in- Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, looking in the direction of 'the arrow 4. Fig. 5' is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view along the line 5-6 in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow '7, of the bar 16, block 17 and guide 18. Fig. 6 is a view, similar to Fig. 5, of the bar 19, block 20, and guide 21. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view, looking toward the left,

of the righthand pumper and. some of the connected parts. 7 r 1 represents the right hand side of the piano, the left hand side 1 similar thereto being removed in Fig. 1, 2 the rear of the piano, 3 the bottom, 8 the pedal strip, 9 the lower panel, which'is removably supported in the position shown in Fig. 1. by a fastening, not shown. v

10 is the key bottom, the key'frame being omitted, and all parts of the keys, except the front of-one of the natural keys which is shown at 11 in Fig. 1.

12 and 12 are the left and right hand end brackets of the action, secured to posts fixed in the back 2 by screws 14 and 14',.one of said posts being shown at 13; the lower forward extremities of the- brackets 12 and 12" resting upon posts 29 and 2.9 secured in the key bottom 10. There may be as many intermediate brackets similar to 12, with its supporting parts, as is desired. The brackets 12, 12 and the intermediate brackets supportthe spring rail 70 carrying the hammer springs, not shown; the hammer restrail 23 in which are secured the wires 63 and 63 the latter having lateral extensions which pass into bushed holes 79. and 79 of the brackets 12 and 12 and thus cause the hammer rest rail 23 to move in acircular path. The hammer rest rail 23 is provided with a cushion 7 8 against which rest the shanks of the hammers 22.

Cushions 46 and 46*" attached to the brackets 12 and 12 serve to limit the downward movement of the hammer rest rail 23, and consequently, the greatest distance of the hammer 22 from the string 15. The brackets 12 and 12 also support the action rail 52, which supports the hammer 22, wippen -18, damper lever 78 and their cooperating parts. All of the aboveparts-being of the usual well known construction will not be further described.

the key 11 to thewippen 48 This mechanism, with the tracker, paper rolls-and means 'for winding and unwinding same, the equalizer, and the handles for controlling the various functions of the pneumatic mechanism not being part of the presentinvention will not be illustrated or described.

1n order to operate the pneumatic mechanism, I provide the following wind inducing means, in which 53 is a backboard supported on the bottom 3 by the knee pieces 56, and having secured near its top and running parallel thereto its whole length, the air trunk which communicates in any approved'manner with the pneumatic box 62 and the other pneumatic mechanism, which connections being old in the art will not be illustrated or described. Hinged to the bot tom of 53 as at 57 are the boards 54: and 5 1-,

each of said boards having secured to its edges a strip of leather or rubber cloth 58, which being of the proper shape, and extending to and being secured to the backboard 53, there are thusformed two pump'ers of a well known type, having for movable members the boards 51 and 54:", adapted to be operated by pedals 36 and 36 The mode of operation being similar in both cases will be described with reference to 5% only. T o the bottom 3 are securedtwo brackets 33, similar in front elevation to the two brackets 33, which are also secured to said bottom, and in said brackets are revolubly mounted the shafts 82 and 82 The said shafts have at one end rearwardly extending lever arms-31 and 31 respectively, for a purpose hereinafter described, and at the other end there are secured to said shafts the pedals-36 and 36 by pins, one of which is shown at 83. The pedals 36 and 36 are similar. The pedal 36 is provided with a rubber tread 37, and from its bottom side there extends downwardly and rearwardly the lever arm 15, which bends upwardly and rearwardly at 1% and terminates in an extension 35, provided at its upper end with a fork 38 in which is freely mounted the link 39 on the pin 10, the other end of said link being freely mounted on the pin &2 in a fork provided on the bracket 4:1, which is secured to the board 51 by the screws 13. A spring 59 having one end secured in the board 51 and the other' end secured in the block 60, attached to the and thus normally keeps the pedal 36 in theposition shown in Fig. '1, with the arm to therear of 44 resting against the pad 69.

which issecured in a groove provided in the pedal .strip 8. Felt Washers 34 and 3% prevent lateral motion of the shafts 82 and 82 in their hearings in the brackets 33 and 33,

and said bearings are hushed with cloth to obviate noise.

The stick 28 passes freely through a hole I in guide 18, provided with the bushing 77, and has its lower end attached to the lever 31 by the screw 30, a felt washer 32 being interposed. At its upper end the stick 28 is shod with the cushion 27, which rests under the arm 24 rigidly attached 'to' the hammer rest rail 23. The stick 28 in a similar manner is attached to the lever 31", passes loosely through the hole in the guide 21 provided with a bushing 77, and has its upper end shod witha cushion 72 which rests under the extension 71 formed integral with the damper lifter bar 81. Said lifter bar consists of the cylindrical portion 81 extending parallel to the action rail .52, but separated therefrom by the cushion 84. Short arms 79 revolubly support the bar 81 from bearings 80 attached tothe act-ion rail 52. The bar 81 being arranged in the ordinary manner, exceptthat the lever arm for the operation thereof is at the right hand side of the action" rail 52, and is provided with the extension 71.

The guides 18 and. 21 are attached respectively to the bars 16 and 19 by screws and (3 1, and said bars near said guides are supported in bearing blocks 17 and 20 provided with bushings 66 and 67, block 17 be ing secured to the key bottom 10 and block 20 to the side 1. The outer ends of the bars .16 and 19 are revolubly attached byscrews,

one of which is shown at 8 1*, to one end of the strip 50, which is foldably attached by the hinges 19 to the key bottom 10. Clearance-spaces 85 are provided in the ends of the strip 50 for, the bars 16 and 19. The strip 50 serves to driver the controlling handles mounted on the key bottom- 10. 'Said handles being of well known construction are not illustrated or described.

Holes 85 are-provided in the backboard 53 to vent the left hand pamper, and these holes are controlled by thevalve86 which is hinged to the strip 87 secured to the backboard 53, and said valve is pressed toward said backboard by the spring 88. Similar holes and a similar valve. are provided for the right hand pumper, see F 7. The pin 89 is fastened in the left hand valve 86, and a similar pin 9O is fastened in the right hand valve.

Y Vires 91 and 92 are secured inthe sticks 28 and 28 respectively, bend downwardly, and, passing in front of the pins 89 and 90, hold their respective valves in the open position as shown'in Fig. 1, Wl1811 the sticks 28 and 28 are in the position shown in full lines.

in tip position shown by full lines' in said sass-es and the are are arranged for 1a ing iiianually', tilts pedals 36-a'nd 36' taxi then many the ordinary soft and load pedals, fdi if 36 is depressed the stick 28 will ush the arm 24 upward, and thus more the aiih'mr 22 toward the string, thus shortthe st oke. The upward movement at the an 24 is limited by the ad-4,7, 'atiih'ed to the block 25. which is secured a ma bracket l2 b'y the screws 26; In the thereto shown the lat/er of the damper lever 7 8 toward the string and thereby lift the damper 93 attached to the block-+74 which is secured to the extension ofithe bracket 12 by the "screws 76. During this operation of the parts the exterior valves are held open by the Wires 91 and 92, and hence the pumpers are renderedinoperative as such. This retention of the. valves can be dis ensed with if desired, for the movement '01 the pedals is so slight that the'eflie'ct of the pumpers 1s almost negligible.

When it is desired to play the piano automatically, the strip is folded to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.1, the strip 51 remaining in 3 place as a guard for the keys; this brings the stick 28 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the stick 2 8 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, thus allowing the springs 88 and 88 to force their respective valves against the backboard 53. Valves of the usual construction lead from the air trunk 55 into each pumper, and hence operation of the pedals can now move the boards 54: and 54: to their limit of out-- ward movement, and they being forced inward-by the springs 59 and 59, the ordinary operation of a pumper is obtained. The

downward movement'of the pedals is limited by pads 68 and 68 secured in slots provided in'the bottom 3.

While I have shown the slip 50 as the means for changing the pedals from pumping pedals to ordinary loud and soft pedals, I do not desire to be limited to this construction nor to any of the various details herein shown.

'What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an automatic piano, the combination ation of said pedals to produce a wind current in said pneumatic mechanism, a be to operate said devices; 2. In an automatic piano, the semtinatio with pneumatic mechanism including inducing: means and means for operating said wind inducin means, of a piano acacn including expression modifying means, and means for operating said expression means by said operating means. 3. In a piano, the combination with auto.-

as a source ofpower for said mechanism, means for operatingsaid means, a piano action including expression modifying means and means foroperating said expression modifying means by said-operating means. I

i. In a musical instrument, the combination with sound producing means, mechanism for modifying the o eratioaor said iron the string; The upper inoveinentof the extension 71 is limited bythe' pad 73 sound producing-means and means for applying power to said sound producing'means, of actuating means for said power applying means and means for operating said modifying mechanism by said actuating means.

. '5. In a musical instrument, the combination of sound producing means including modifying means, means for operating said. sound producing means mechanically and means for operating said sound producing 75 -mati'c playing mechanism of 'means acting a means manually, said first named operating means including means adapted to v apply power thereto or to operate said modifying means when said sound producing means is operated "bysaid second named operating. means. I

6. In an automatic piano, the combination of a pedal, a piano action, means for mechanically and manually operating said action and means for causing said pedal to transmit power to said action when operated mechanically, or to control the operation of said action when operated manually. 1 7. In an automatic piano, the combination with pumpers and means for operating the same, of a piano action including devices adapted for operation by said operating means, and means for limiting the movement of said operating means to either the movement required by said pumpers or by said devices.

8. In an automatic piano, the combination of pedals, a piano action including a damper lifter bar and a hammer rest rail, wind inducing means operated by said pedals, and means for operating said damper lifter bar and said hammer restrail, at will by said pedals.

9. In an automatic piano, the combination of pedals, a piano action including a damper lifter bar and a hammer rest rail, pneumatic mechanism including pumpers for inducing a wind current therein, and means forcausing at will the operation of said damper lifter bar and said hammer rest rail by said a wind curr it in said pneumatic mechanism by said pumpers.

10. In an automatic piano, the combination of pedals, a piano'action including a damper lifter bar and a hammer rest-rail, means for operating said damper lifter -.bar and hammer rest rail'by said pedals, pneuinatic mechanism including pumpers for inducing a'wind current thereirnand means for causing at will the induction of a wind. current in said pneumatic mechanism by the operation of said pedals, and for preventing the operation of said damper lifterbar and said hammer rest rail by said pedals.

11. In an automatic piano, the combination of pedals, a piano action including expression modifying means operated by said pedals, wi'nd inducing means connected. to said pedals and means for connecting or disconnecting at will said pedals and said eX pression modifying means.

12. In a piano, the combination with automatic playing mechanism of means acting eluding a damper lifter bar-and means for operating said damper liftei' bar by said operating means.

- 13. In a p ano, the combination with automatic playing mechanism, of means acting as a source of power for said mechanism, operating means therefor, a piano action including a hammer rest rail and means for operating said hammer rest rail by said op erating means.

sourceof power for said 'mechanism, .operatingmeans therefor, a piano action 1nl fl seams an air current by said pumpers when the modifying means is operated by said pedals.

16. In an automatic piano, the combination with pneumatic mechanism includlng Wind inducing means and a pedal for oper:--

ating said means, of a piano action including a device adapted to be operated by said pedal and means for causing-the operation of said pedal to induce an air current said pneumatic mechanism or to operate said device.

17. In an automatic piano, the combination with pumpers and means for operating the same, ofa piano action" including devices adapted for operation by said operating .means.

' In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. DARLEY, JR.

.iVitnesses Tnno. Sonnrrnn, Jno. I-I. STEVENS.

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