Improvements in and connected with Mechanical Musical Instruments.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Aug., 1896-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Mechanical Musical
Instruments.
I, ALEXIS VERNAZ, of Sainte-Croix, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, Mechanician
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 refers to musical instruments of the kind in which reeds or
tongues are operated from a perforated note-plate or -disk by the mediation of
star-wheels or sprocket-wheels. My improvements in musical instruments of said
kind relate, first, to means for making each star-wheel or sprocket-wheel enter the
perforations of the note-plate or -disk, and, second, to means for damping the
tongues or reeds after they have been operated by their respective wheels. Said
first improvement consists in arranging each sprocket-wheel separately in an elastic
or yielding bearing that allows the sprocket-wheel to give way after ono or the
other of its teeth has left a perforation of the note-plate, or when the sprocket-
wheel is acted ou as a whole by a non-perforated portion of the note-plate or -disk.
The second improvement consists in combining each sprocket-wheel and its
respective reed or tongue with a damping-spring that is operated by the sprocket-
wheel, and operates in its turn the reed or tongue.
Referring to Figures 1-4 of the accompanying drawing, a a 2 are two
superposed plates, the lower of which is provided with a number of parallel
grooves a 4. The latter serve for holding the springs c which in their turn serve
for holding the sprocket-wheels i. The plates a a 2 are formed into combs by being
provided with parallel projections a' a 3, and the springs c are bent in such a
manner, that each of them not only tends to press its respective sprocket-wheel
upwards, but also presses the same against one of its two neighbouring projections
or, more precisely, pairs of projections at a 3. The sprocket-wheels are thus fully
bindered from making any undue movement.
n is the perforated note-plate which is held down upon the plate a and the
projections a' by any suitable meaus; in consequence of the note-plate being thus
kept depressed, the sprocket-wheels are also kept depressed, and the springs c are
thus put under tension (Figure 1). This is the case as long as there is a non-
perforated portion of the note-plate over the sprocket-wheel.
Supposed, the note-plate n moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, and
the perforation n¹ be the next to operate the sprocket-wheel i, the tooth i' of the
latter will euter said perforation as soon as this latter arrives over said tooth.
The tooth is pressed into the perforation n' by means of the spring c which had
been under tension up to that time. The sprocket-wheel i is now rotated by the
note-plate (Figure 2).
The tongue or reed o to be operated by the sprocket-wheel i, or, in the case
assumed, by the tooth i4 of the sprocket-wheel, is shaped in a particular manner,
in that its free end or top is formed into a sort of wodge o, Figures 5 & 6. Said
wedge-like portion takes through a slot 4 of the damping-spring r (Figure 7), the
free end of which takes helow the sprocket-wheel i, in such a manner, that said
damping-spring may be operated by said wheel. The end-portion of the
damping-spring is connected with the main portion by two ledge-like portions r2 r3
that are bent upwards, in such a manner, that they are able to catch, or hold, the
wedge of the tongue o; see Figure 5. The position shown in Figure 5

page_text: corresponds to the position shown in Figure 2, and the position shown in Figure 6
corresponds to the positions shown in Figures 1 & 3.
Shortly after the sprocket-wheel has commenced turning under the influence of
the moving note-plate, the damping-spring is depressed by the tooth i3 of said
wheel acting upon the end-portion of said spring. The tongue o thus being
freed is now operated i.e. strained by the tooth i4; the latter leaves the tongue in
about the same moment in which the tooth i3 of the sprocket-wheel, as well
as the eud-portion of the damping-spring, arrive in their lowest position, and the
tongue is now perfectly free to sound. The position of the tooth 3, Figure 3, is
then exactly the same as the position of the teeth i 4, Figure 1, and consequently
the position of the teeth i5, Figure 3, is exactly the same as the position of
the teeth i2, Figure 1. It is thus to be seen that the end-portion of the
damping-spring bas got its lowest position when tho sprocket-wheel has again been
depressed by a non-perforated portion of the disk n. The tougue remains thus
free of the damping-spring during the whole of that time, and is checked only
when the sprocket-wheel is again allowed to rise by a perforation of the diek n
arriving over the next tooth of the wheel.
1
Instead of letting the wedge o' extend directly from the main-portion o of the
tongue, may arrange a small and straight intermediate portion o2 between said
main-portion and said wedge, as shown in Figures 8 & 9. The position shown in
Figure 8 corresponds to that of Figure 5, and the position shown in Figure 9
corresponds to that of Figure 6. I prefer said other form of construction of the
tongues, because the play of the portions 2 r3 of the damping-springs is easier
and moro secure. Further, instead of letting the sprocket-wheels be pressed
against the projections a' a 3 of the plates a a 2 by the springs c, I may obtain the
saine result (bindering the sprocket-wheels from making undue movements) by
providing the pins o (Figure 11) of the springs with friction-disks s' (Figures 10
& 11) fixed to said pins. The sprocket-wheel may, of course, rotate between said
disks, but can rotate only if power is applied to it by the note-plate n.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manuer the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operating said
tongues, and a perforated note-plate or plates for operating said sprocket-wheels,
the combination with the said tongues, of damping-springs having bent off
portions r2 r3, and a slot r4 between said portions; the tongues taking through
said slots, and having each a broadened portion of adapted to bo caught up between
and by said bent-off portions r2 r3; said damping-springs being arranged so as to
be adapted to be operated by the said sprocket-wheels, for the purpose as
described.
2. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operating said
tongues, and a perforated note-plate
the combination with the said tongues, of damping springs having bent-
or plates for operating said sprocket-wheels,
off portions 2 r3, and a slot 4 between said portions; the tongues taking
through said slots, and having each a broadened portion o' adapted to be caught up
between and by said bent-off portions 2 r3; said damping-springs being arranged
so as to be adapted to be operated by the said sprocket-wheels, each of the latter
being supported by a spring c, for the purpose as described.
3. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operating said
tongues, and a perforated note-plate or plates for operating said sprocket-wheele,
the combination with the latter, of springs c, pivots provided one at each spring,
and being each adapted to support a sprocket-wheel; and means for supporting said
springe, for the purpose as described.
4. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operating said
tongues, and a perforated note-plate or plates for operating said sprocket-wheels,
the combination with the latter, of springs a pivots c' provided one at each spring,

page_text: and being each adapted to support a sprocket-wheel, and a plate adapted to
support said springs; said plate having projections taking each between two
of said sprocket-wheels; said springs being each beut laterally so as each to press
its sprocket-wheel against the respective projection of the said plate, for the
purpose as described.
5. In a musical instrument having tongues, sprocket-wheels for operating said
tongues, and a perforated note-plate or plates for operating said sprocket-wheels,
the combination with the latter, of springs c, pivots c provided one at each spring,
and being each adapted to support a sprocket-wheel; a plates or or plates
fixed to said pivot c', and adapted to press against the side or sides of the sprocket-
wheel, and means for operating said springs, for the purpose as described.
Dated this 28th day of August 1896.
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4 Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicant.