Patent GB-190428996-A (GB)
Title: Piano Player and Voluntary and Automatic Orchestrion Piano Attachment and Windtone Instrument.
Inventor: KNIGHT CHARLES SILVESTER
Filed: 1904-12-30
Granted: 1905-12-30
Abstract: 28,996. Knight, C. S., and Wright, F. M. Dec. 30. Automatic instruments pianofortes; harmoniums a nd like instruments.- A combined piano and reed instrument adapted for automatic or manual play is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 9 shows the pneumatic connections detached from the piano, Fig. 11 shows the wind-tone chamber and one of the operating-chambers, Fig. 20 shows the tune-sheet mechanism, and Fig. 28 shows the means for controlling the expression pneumatics. Power for operating the instrument is supplied from an electric or other motor. The bellows mechanism is placed away from the instrument, and is connected therewith by two pipes, one leading to an exhaust reservoir secured on the back of the instrument and having a conduit leading to the pneumatics, the other leading to a separate reservoir for the wind-tone devices. The chests 28 are divided into two compartments, the chamber 54 being open to the atmosphere. There are three valves on a stem, of which two work in seats, and the third or intermediate one, for obtaining a quick action, reciprocates in a passage between the seats, a flexible diaphragm operating this valve. When the rod 77 rises, by the collapse of the bellows 76, it also raises the valve 102, by means of the rods 96, 101, and allows five reed tongues to be vibrated, namely, the tongues 112, 312, 126, 326, 129. In the sound-box 99 the expression partition 106 is mounted on central trunnions, the partition 109 is fixed, and all the partitions extend the whole length of the sound-box. The suction chamber 100 is connected through the key bottom 306 with the bellows reservoir, having a less degree of suction than that used for operating the action. The passages to the reed tongues 112, 312, 126, 326 are closed, when the pianissimo effect is desired, by hinged shutters 307, 308 extending the length of the sound-box, and closed at the same time as the expression partition 106. The diaphragms above the suction chamber 100 form an exhaust reservoir for equalizing the exhaust in the intervals between successive notes. The chest 29 operates the tempo, the control of the tempo being effected by varying the opening from the chest 29 to a pipe connected with one of the reservoir boxes. On the underside of the chest 29 are three bellows 147, constituting a pneumatic motor for working the crank shaft 150. The position of the shaft 170 of the winding-roll 171 is adjustable, and, for automatic rewinding, the pivoted lever 196, which is connected with a bellows 208, causes the pinion 165 to impart rapid motion to the shaft 190. During rewinding, the aperture 50 in the box 48, from which a tnbe leads to the action chest, is closed, so as to stop the action. A lever 210 provides for the regulation of the tempo by hand. By stopping the playing altogether by this hand-lever, a switch cuts out the electric motor or other motor driving the feeding-bellows. Between the bellows constituting the pneumatic motor and that operating the rewinding mechanism is the bellows 213 for automatically stopping the instrument after rewinding. The tracker-board may be adjusted longitudinally by means of a screw. To control the expression, the bellows 221, 222, 223 are in communication with the ports in the rail 83 and therefore with the tracker-board, and are connected with the expression partition 106 within the sound-box or with the movable hammer rail. The apertured plate 229, when rocked, controls the mezzoforte bellows 232 or both bellows 232, 257 for forte effects. To operate the loud pedal automatically, the bellows 260 are controlled from the tracker-board, and are connected with the piano dampers. All of these bellows receive their suction from an exhaust chamber formed in line with the exhaust chamber for the tempo, and that for the rewinding and stop. To accentuate upper and lower notes, an octave is taken at each end of the keys operated by the tracker-board, and to each key is applied mechanism for duplicating the note in the octave above or below. This is effected by the key played raising a valve and allowing air to pass to a channel for operating an upper or lower pneumatic. To adjust the instrument for automatic play, after the reed instrument has been played by hand, hangers, which were engaged by knobs on the keys, are moved out of position by the shifting backwards of a channel piece. The instrument may be operated by foot, the folding treadles 292 being connected to the feeders 300, and the expression pneumatics may be controlled by hand-valves under the keyboard. The instrument may be played manually as a piano, as an automatic piano operated by foot or by motor, as a reed or wind-tone instrument operated manually or automatically, and as a combined instrument played manually or automatically. It can also be used in connection with trap movements for operating drums, cymbals, triangles, or the like.