Arrangement for chromatic and diatonic keys for carillon keyboards

An arrangement for chromatic and diatonic keys for a carillon keyboard is provided. A guide plate has key receiving slots located such that the natural, or diatonic, keys are in a lower row and the accidental, or chromatic, keys are in an upper row, the chromatic keys being placed between the diatonic keys. The pivots for the keys are staggered axially of the keys with the diatonic key pivots being behind the chromatic key pivots. The carillon actuating wires are connected to the keys in a staggered relationship, also, with the diatonic key wires being connected forwardly of the chromatic key wires. This arrangement provides a balance of force for all of the keys.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Field of application of the invention 
This invention relates to a device for guiding and the arrangement of keys 
and pedals on carillon keyboards and practice keyboards. 
With all carillon keyboards known, the planes of the guides of chromatic 
and diatonic keys are horizontally divided. By this, a relatively large 
difference in height between the chromatic and diatonic keys can be noted. 
Carillon keyboards are known where the guide of the two rows of keys 
consists of two wooden frames, one arranged over the other. 
The large difference of height between the chromatic and diatonic keys 
brings about an unfavorable influence upon the mode of playing of the 
carillonneur. 
Furthermore with the carillon keyboards known, the guide slots for 
chromatic and diatonic keys are made with the same length, whereby travel 
limits of equal dimensions will result for chromatic and diatonic keys. 
All known technical solutions have the common disadvantage that unequal 
forces are required for the sounding of neighboring tones and that the 
travels at the free end of the keys are of unequal dimensions. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of this invention to provide an optimal design of the 
carillon keyboard by the creation of a balance of force at all neighboring 
keys and pedals and by reducing the difference in height between the 
chromatic and diatonic keys, thus enabling manual play with virtuosity at 
a minimum expenditure of force. These and the other affects are achieved 
by means of slotted guideplates, wherein the guide slots are arranged 
horizontally in two rows which vertically overlap each other. 
A further feature of the invention consists in horizontally staggering the 
pivotal points at the end of the keys and the wire connection points of 
the chromatic tones relative to the keys of the diatonic tones, so that 
the directions of the stagger of the pivotal points and of the points of 
the wire connection are running in opposite directions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to FIG. 1, a guiding arrangement of the carrilon keyboard 
includes a guide plate 1. Guide slots 2 for the chromatic keys 4 and guide 
slots 3 for the diatonic keys 5 are formed in the guide plate 1 in two 
horizontal tiers. The two tiers of guide slots 2, 3 are overlapping 
relationship to each other in the vertical direction. This design will 
result in a substantial reduction in the difference of height between 
chromatic keys 4 and diatonic keys 5. 
The guide slots 2 for the chromatic keys 4 are longer than the guide slots 
3 for the diatonic keys 5. This results in a favorable influence upon the 
balance of forces between neighboring chromatic and diatonic keys. 
As can be seen in FIG. 1, the lower travel limitation of the chromatic keys 
4 will be between and below the upper travel limitation of the diatonic 
keys which will result in a considerable reduction of the difference in 
the height between the chromatic and diatonic keys. The longer guide slots 
of the chromatic keys have a favorable effect upon the balancing of forces 
between the neighboring chromatic and diatonic keys. 
FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view illustrating the positions of the 
chromatic and diatonic keys in the keyboard. Chromatic keys 4 which are 
located at the upper level of the guide plate 1 include pivoting points 6 
to pivotally connect the keys with a frame of the keyboard (not shown). 
Diatonic keys 5 are disposed in the slots 3 formed in the lower level of 
the guide plate and are pivotally connected to the keyboard frame at the 
pivotal points 7. Chromatic keys 4 have wire connection points 8 and 
diatonic keys 5 have wire connection points 9. 
The pivotal points 6 and the wire connecting points 8 for the chromatic 
keys 4 are horizontally staggered relative to the pivotal points 7 and the 
wire connecting points 9 for the diatonic keys 5. The direction of 
staggering of the pivotal points 6, 7 and of the wire connecting points 8, 
9 are running in opposite directions. By this, a balance of forces is 
achieved at the free end of the keys 4 and 5 and at the wire connecting 
points 8, 9 of neighboring diatonic tones. Furthermore, equal travels are 
obtained at the free end of the keys 4, 5 and the wire connecting points 
8, 9. 
By application of the lever principle in distribution of the forces acting 
on the keys disposed on the different levels a balance of forces will be 
achieved at the free ends of the keys and at the wire connecting points. 
The advantage of the invention over the conventional technical solutions 
is an essential reduction of the difference in height between the 
chromatic and diatonic keys resulting in equal forces and travels at the 
free ends of the neighboring chromatic and diatonic keys thereby providing 
a substantial reduction in expenditure of forces and physical exertion of 
a carillonneur playing the carillon.