US964955A - Mechanically-operated piano. - Google Patents

Description

F. vsRm-"m- MEGHANIGALLY OPERATED PIANO APPLICATION EIL ED TEE. 7, 1910.

Patented July 19,

UNITED STATES PATENT orricn.

FRANK V. CROFUT, OF DERBY, CONNECTICUT, .ASSICNOR TO THE STERLING COL, OF

' DERBY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

MECHANICALLY-OPERATED PIANO.

T 0 all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK V. Cnorur, a citizen of'the United States, residing at Derby, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut-,'have' invented a new and useful Improvement in Mechanically- .Operated Pianos; and I do'hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying'drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be 'a full, clear, and exact. description of, the same, and which said drawings const tute .iiart of this specification, and represent, 1n

Figure l a front View of a portion of a a pneumatic conductor" for mechanically operated instruments embodying my invention. Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view of the same, showing the upper series of passages open and the lower series closed. Fig. 3 a simllar view showin the u er assa 'es closed h 111g. 4: a

switch block. Fig. 5a front View of the same illustrating he operation of the slide switches. i

This invention relates to an improvementin .11 echanicallyoperated pianos, that is,

pianos in which mechanism adapted to be operated mechanically is arranged to play the instrument through the medium of a perforated roll. As constructed for a number of years devices of this character were arranged to play sixty-five notes, and music was written and rolls made within that scope. have been arranged to play eighty-eight notes, and music has been prepared accordingly; but obviously music written for a player with sixty-five actions will not operate with a roll prepared for an instrument with eighty-eight actions, and vice versa. Accordingly. it has been necessary to arrange a tracker'with .two sets of openings to register with the two styles of rolls, and meanshave been provided for closing one set of openings.

The object of this'invention is a simple arrangement of means for closing one set of openings and opening the other, and to generally simplify the construction of the apparatus; and the invention consists in the construction'and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter described'and particularly recited in the claims.

The operation of pneumatically operated Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 7, 1910. Serial No. 542,587.

More recently, however, devices Patented July 19,

pianos is so well known as not torequire illustration or description here, as the pneu ma-tics and the means of operation form no part of the present inventlon.

In carrying out my invention I employ the usual tracker 2 over which a perforated roll passes as it is drawn onto the winding roll 3. This tracker is provided with alower series of perforations. 4 and an upper series of perforations 5. The perforations 4; are like the perforations previously employed, being sixty-five in number, While the upper series are'somewhat smaller and eighty-eight in number. Notwithstanding the fact that there are more of them they are arranged closer together so that they do not occupy as much space as did the sixty-five perforations. I

At a point 'in rear of the tracker is a switch block 6 having a series of horizontal passages: 7 which connect through tubes 8 with the perforations 1,, and with an upper series of passages 9 which connect by tubes 10 with the upper perforations 5. These,

horizontal passages 7 and 9 are connected with vertical passages 11 which lead to the pn'eumatics' not shown. Mounted in the switch block 6 for longitudinal movement therein is an upper slide 12 provided with a series of perforations 13 cor-respondingin number-to the number of passages 9 and ar ranged to register with, orclose these passages which, it may be noted in passing, are staggered. Also mounted in the switch block 6' is a lower slide 1 1 also mounted for longitudinal movement and -formed with perforations '15 adapted to register with or close the passages -7. These slides or switches 12 and, 14: project beyond one end of thevswitch-block, and the switch 12 is formed with a notch 16 and the 'switchql witha notch 17 to receive the opposite ends of a lever 18 which may be mounted on a shaft 19 to be turned by an arm 20 through a horizontally arranged slide 21 at some point convenient for the player and so that by moving the slide 21 the switches or slides 12 and 14 may be turned so as to move-one in and the other out accordingly as it is desired to open or close the passages 7 or It will be noted that this switching mechanism', as it may be called, is extremely simple and lends itself particularly to a. vent, such, for instance, as shown in Patent No. 849,303 granted January 1, 1907, to

Q eeaeee the'assignee of this invention. Asshown; in the previous patent it-is' desirable to obtain a quick re-action'in order to sound the same-key in rapid succession when that is desired, and particularly in the case where the openings in the tracker are of difi'erent size it is apparent that the action of the pneumatics would vary. To overcome anydiflicultyin the reaction, I provide a vent rail 22 which I mount on the frame above, and in line with the switch-block 6 and in this vent-rail I arrange a series of vertical passages 23 which are connected with tubes 24 with the vertical passages 11 leading tov the pneumatics. These passages 23 open into a chamber 25 which chamber communicates through a pipe 26 with one of the chambers of the instrument in which an exhaust is maintained so thata constant pressure is applied to the tubes 24 for the pur-v pose of exhausting the primary pneuma 'tics to assist in returning them to an operative position after a note has been struck. This vent is readily accessible so that if one of the vent holes becomes stopped, the cap 27 w of the vent may beremoved when access to register with said openings, and means for moving said slides horizontally whereby when the upper passages are opened the lower'passage's will be closed, and vice versa.

2. In a pneumatically operated instrument, the combination with a tracker having two series of openings, a switch block in the rear of the tracker and formed with a series of vertical passages, upper and lower horizontal passages intersecting thevertical passages and connected with the openingsin the tracker, an upper and a 7 lower switch slide mounted in the switch block and intersecting the horizontal passages therein, said slides tormed with perforations adapted to register with said openings, a lever arranged'between the ends of said slides and adapted when turned to move one slide in and the other slide out, whereby one series of openings is closed and the other opened. 1

In a pneumatically operated instrument, the combination with the tracker, of

a switch block arranged in rear thereof, said switch block formed with vertical passages and with upper and lower horizontal passages intersecting the same, said upper and lower passe es connected with the tracker, longitudinal y movable slide switches mounted in said switch block and intersecting the horizontal passages therein and so as to open or close the same, a vent block mounted above thefswitch'block and comprising a chamber from which air may be exhausted and passages from said chamber connecting with the vertical passages in the switch block.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrib v ing witnesses.

I F. V. CROFU'I.

Witnesses J. T. BREWSTER, J. R. MASON.

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