Improvements in Organs, Harmoniums, and similar Instruments.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 11th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 7th Dec., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
"Jan
Improvements in Organs, Harmoniums, and similar Instruments.
I, ROBERT HOPE-JONES M.I.E.E. of 55 and 57 Argyle Street, Birkenhead in
the County of Chester, Consulting Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to methods of regulating and supplying wind for use in
connection with organs and the like. The bellows, reservoirs and feeders
commonly in use in organs and such instruments for supplying wind under pressure
or maintaining a partial vacuum, have, in practice, many disadvantages, and
defects, more especially in regard to cost of manufacture and maintenance when
heavy wind pressures have to be used. In fact up to the present time these defects
and disadvantages have proved so serious as to limit organ builders to the use of
wind pressures not exceeding about 30" of water.
According to this invention, instead of making use of the ordinary, bellows
having movable parts or reservoirs similar in principle to those commonly used
for storing gas in our large towns, I pump the air into a more or less perfectly
rigid compression chamber of considerable capacity, making use where necessary
of an automatic reducing valve of common construction and a second compression
chamber or small ordinary intermediate reservoir.
As an example of one application of this invention, but without in any way
limiting myself to this single application, which is here mentioned by way of
illustration only, I will suppose that we desire to supply with wind of very heavy
pressure a set of pipes known as a "Tuba Mirabilis" stop. These pipes may be
screwed or otherwise fixed into a metal or wood sound-board or valve chest fitted
with small equilibrium valves capable of being opened through mechanism by the
moving of the fingers or feet of an organist. The wind supply for this sound-
board or valve box may be obtained directly from a metal cylinder or chamber
supplied with air through an automatic reducing valve which ensures the pressure
of air in the said chamber remaining at all times practically constant. The said
chamber may be supplied with air through this automatic reducing valve from a
second and preferably larger chamber of a similar, description, and this larger
chamber may be supplied with air, at a pressure which need not remain at one
constant value, by an air pumping apparatus of any known description.
The air compression chamber first before mentioned may with advantage have
one or more thin sides in order that vibrations resulting from the movement of
the reed tongues of the "Tuba Mirabilis." pipes may be passed readily from the
inside of the compression chamber to the atmosphere surrounding it.
1004

page_text: +
Improvements in Organs, Harmoniums, and similar Instruments.
I, ROBERT HOPE-JONES, M.I.M.E. of 55 and 57 Argyle Street, Birkenhead in
the County of Chester, Consulting Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:--
This invention relates to methods of regulating and supplying wind-for. use in
connection with organs and the like. The bellows, reservoirs and feeders
commonly in use in organs and such instruments for supplying wind under pressure
For maintaining a partial vacuum, have in practice many disadvantages and defects,
more especially in regard to cost of manufacture and maintenance when heavy
wind pressures have to be used. In fact up to the present time, these defects and
disadvantages have proved so serious as to limit organ builders to the use of wind
pressures not exceeding about 30% of water.
4
.1.
According to this invention, instead of making use of the ordinary bellows
having movable parts or reservoirs similar in principle to those commonly used for
storing gas in our large towns, I pump the air into a more or less perfectly rigid
compression chamber of considerable capacity, making use where necessary of an
automatic reducing valve of common construction and a second compression
chamber or small ordinary intermediate reservoir.
Referring to the drawings
A is an air pump to which the supply of motive power may be regulated by the
rise and fall of pressure in the rigid chamber B, having a safety valve C which
prevents the pressure in the chamber B rising above that to which the valve C
is set, from this chamber B the air passes through the automatic reducing
valve D into the chamber E and from this chamber to the pipes, etcetera, of the
organ.
-
It will be seen that by this arrangement a more or less constant pressure will be
kept up in the chamber E, for as the air is supplied from this chamber to the
pipes etcetera of the organ, the pressure is slightly reduced, but the valve D
immediately opens and admits a fresh supply of air until it has again reached its
normal pressure.
As an example of one application of this invention, but without in any way
limiting myself to this single application, which is here mentioned by way of
illustration only, I will suppose that we desire to supply with wind of very heavy
pressure a set of pipes known as a "Tuba Mirabilis " stop. These pipes may, be
screwed or otherwise fixed into a metal or wood sound-board or valve chest, not
shown in the drawings, fitted with small equilibrium valves capable of being
opened through mechanism by the moving of the fingers or feet of an organist.
The wind supply for this sound-board or valve box may be obtained directly, from
a metal cylinder or chamber E supplied with air through an automatic, reducing
valve D which ensures the pressure of air in the said chamber E remaining at all
times practically constant. Another arrangement the said sound-board or valve
chest may be supplied with air through this automatic reducing valve from a
second and preferably larger chamber B of a similar description, and this larger
chamber may be supplied with air, at a pressure which need not remain at one
constant value, by an air pumping apparatus of any known description.
The air compression chamber E first before mentioned may with advantage
have one or more thin sides in order that vibrations resulting from the movement
of the reed tongues of the "Tuba Mirabilis" pipes may be passed readily from
the inside of the compression chamber to the atmosphere surrounding it.
It will be obvious that in place of chamber B an accumulator such as is used in
steel works can be used, also that where the reducing valve is of capacity

page_text: that the pressure beyond it is not materially altered by the action of the pipes, the
chamber E need not be used but the pipes can be connected directly to the valve,.
or the chamber can be made very small or a strongly made small ordinary organ.
wind reservoir may be made use of.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The improvement in or relating to organs, which consists in the combination of
a high pressure air chamber of substantially constant capacity, a reducing valve
and a second chamber in which the air is maintained at a substantially constant.
pressure substantially as described.
Deted this 10th dox of September 1895.
Deted this 10th dox of September 1895.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.