IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WOOLLEY, of Nottingham, Pianoforto Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of July
(One thousand eight hundred and forty-six), in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Woolley, my exois, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Woolley, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Woolley,
my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PIANOFORTES," in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso that I, the said Thomas Woolley, should cause a particular de-
scription of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear..
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Woolley, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,

page_text: Figure 1 represents a front view of parts arranged according to this part of
the Invention, Figure 2 is a back view of the same; Figure 3 is an edge
view; Figure 4 is a section through (1), 1), of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a
plan. The other views on the same Sheet shew some of the parts separately.
a, a, shew some of the strings which are affixed, as will be her cafter moie
fully described, to the bars b and c. These bars b and c have formed on or
affixed to them arms b¹, c¹, which receive the ends of the rods or bars d, d
(which when of iron, as shewn in the Drawing, I prefer to be tubular), by
which the bars b and c are kept distended. e, e, are rods which pass through
holes formed in the ends of the arms b', c¹, in order to draw the ends of those
arms towards each other, and thereby counteract the strain produced by the
strings on the bars 6 and c. Each of the rods e having a head formed at one
end and a screw and nut at the other, any degree of tension required from
time to time may be obtained. f.f, are rods which serve to prevent the tubes
d, d, being bent out of their proper position towards the sounding board; 9, 9,
are other rods secured by screw nuts, as shewn, to the arms b', c'. These rods
are for the purpose of sustaining the bellied form of the sounding board h,
there being pieces of wood or other suitable material h¹ between the sounding
board hand the rods 9. The edges of the sounding board are secured to the
bars b and c by screws.
And there are wooden bars d' across the instrument,
which, with the metal rod d², serve to prevent the tubes d, d, being bent side-
ways. The bars and the rod d² are fastened by screws to the tubes & and
to the framing. i are the hitch pins for the wires a, each of which is formed,
as is shewn separately at Figuio A, with a slit to receive the string which is
flattened at that part, and the two sides of the pin are kept closely pressed
upon the string by means of the nut . The end of the wire which is not
flattened prevents its being drawn through the slit in the hitch pin. i,j, are
the tuning pins, which are partly sustained by the bar 6 and partly by the
plate k, which is secured to the bar 6 as shewn, by which aangement I am
enabled to obtain a better support to the tuning pins. The arrangement of
framing above described is intended to be enclosed in a suitable case, with
parts for sustaining the keys and the action, all which will be well understood
by persons accustomed to this description of manufacture, and the arrange-
ment of framing to support the string and sound board of pianofortes above
described is applicable to those known as "upright" pianofortes, and to those
of the "horizontal" kind, the only difference being in the arrangement of the
plate k. That shewn at Figures 1, 3, and 4 is intended for an "upright"
piano, and in Figure 6 I have shewn on a larger scale a section of the bar b
which is slightly altered, as is also the form of the plate k when to be used

page_text: with an horizontal arrangement. I would remark with respect to the arrange-
ment of tuning pin herein described, I do not confine myself to the use of the
same when applied to an arrangement of framing such as above described, as
the same is equally applicable when other arrangements of framing are used,
and I have not been particular to describe how the frame shewn at Figures
1, 2, and 3 is to be affixed to the case, as that will depend upon the form of
the case and the arrangement of other of the parts, all which will readily be
understood by an intelligent workman, and the same may also be applied as
described with respect to the third part of my Invention.
I will now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention, which is
shewn applied, at Figures 7 and 8, to an arrangement of framing, for the
most part according to the first part of my Invention, but it will readily be
perceived that this part of my Invention is equally applicable to other con-
structions of framing, the object being so to apply springs in connection with
the strings that any alteration in the frame or in the length of the strings,
produced by the instrument being subjected to varying temperatures, may not
have the effect of putting it out of tune, and I would wish to state that I am
aware of its having been proposed to apply a spring to each individual string
of a pianoforte, and that such forms no-part-of-my-Invention, this part of my
Invention consisting in applying the springs to act upon a plate or plates to
which a number of strings are connected. 1, 1, are springs, the number of
which may be varied These springs are each fastened at one end to the bar
c, and at the other to the plates m, m, which carry the hitch pins, there being
holes m³, m³, to receive the spings 1, 2, and one end of each of the stungs
a, a, is attached to the hitch pins of the plates m, m, and the other end of cach
of the stings is attached to a tuning pin, which may be of the ordinary con-
struction, or such as is herein-before described In this Figure, as well as in
the others, only some of the stings a, a, are shown, to prevent complexity in
the Drawing
I will now describe the third part of my Invention. Figure 9 shews an
internal front view, and Figure 10 a sectional view, of so much of a pianoforte
as will enable me to describe this part of the Invention, which consists in
arranging the parts so that to accomplish a transposition the frame cariying
the strings, and also the sounding board, may be moved a number of semi-
tones higher or lower, according to the additional number of stings, whilst
the action and the keys at all times remain stationary. Figure 11 shews a
front view, Figure 12 a plan, and Figure 13 an end view, of the apparatus
(separately, and to a scale of half the real size) which I employ to move the
string frame
In each of these Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 18, the same

page_text: letters are intended to indicate similar paits a, a, is the case of the instru-
ment. The red dotted line indicates an outline of the string frame, which I
prefer to be arranged as described with respect to the first part of my
Invention. To this fiame are affixed carrying wheels c, c, as shewn. These
wheels are formed with hollow surfaces to run upon the V-1ail d, and there
arc also other wheels e, e, e, at the upper part of the frame 6 These wheels
e travel on and are guided by the rail f, by which the upper part of the frame
bis kept steady in its case On the lower part of the frame b is affixed a
1ack g, into which takes the pinion h by which the frame b is moved, as I
will now proceed to describe. i, ¹, are pedal levers which are acted upon
by the feet to cause the transposition to take place either in one direction or
the other. These levers, when depressed by the feet, act upon the levers
1., whuch have clawkers k, '. The clawker takes into the ratchet wheel
e, and when acted upon by pedal lever i causes the string fiame to be moved
any number of semitones to the right while the clawker takes into the
wheel ', so that when the pedal lever is acted upon the string fiame 6 will
be moved any number of semitones to the left. The depressing of either of
the pedal levers or will cause the lever k or ', and consequently the
clawker or, to be acted upon to dive the wheel Zoi ; and these wheels
1, l', auc fixed together on the axis m, upon which is fixed the pinion h, which
takes into and drives the rack on the frame b. The clawkers k, k³, are kept
to their wheels by means of springs, . In using this apparatus care
should be taken to act upon the levers so as to press them down to the stop z
to shift the string fiame fully to the semitone required, and that this may
be clearly ascertained, I prefer to have a pointer o projecting out from the
front of the string frame and travelling with it, which pointer will travel in a
groove in any suitable part of the front of the instrument, which will be
marked with the semitones higher and lower to which the apparatus is capable
of being moved, so that a person looking at the front of the instrument may
at once see, by the position of the pointer o, the key to which the instrument
Is set.
Figure 14 represents a plan, Figure 15 an internal front view, and
Figure 16 a longitudinal section, of so much of a horizontal grand pianoforte
as will serve to shew the application of this part of my Invention to that form
of instrument. In this case I have only shewn an outline of the string frame,
and that by dotted red lines, b, a, being the case of the instrument, and c, c,
are the carrying wheels of the string frame, formed with hollow peripheries,
as shewn, to receive the angular rails f on which the string fiame travel.
These rails fare carried by the framing p, p, of the case, as shewn. In this

page_text: instance, instead of moving the string frame by means of pedal levers, as
described with respect to the upright action, I make use of a screw q, which
is formed with a square head q', to receive a suitable key, and it has a neck
formed on it which is embraced by plates r, so that it may turn fieely therein,
and at the same time be firmly secured to the caso a. s is a nut formed with
a female screw. This nut, which is shown separately at Figure 17, is
received between projecting stems t, t, formed on or affixed to the string frame
b, so that it may turn on the screw 9; but when the screw q is turned either
in one direction or the other, the string frame will be moved the required
number of semitones to the right or to the left. In this case there is a pointer
o which, by passing through a slot in the cover of the instrument, which slot
has a graduated scale at its edge, will indicate the particular key to which the
instrument is set; and when it is required to move the instrument any number
of semitones, the pointer will indicate when the instrument has been moved
to the required semitone. Figure 18 shews two views separately, on a larger
scale, of the screw nuts and guides t, t.
I will now describe the fourth part of my Invention. Figure 19 shews
a full-sized view of my improved action as applied to an upright piano.
The other views on this Sheet shew some of the details-separately.-a-
is the key bed, and b is a key, which is carried by the key frame, as
is well understood, the only difference being that, instead of the centre
key pin ordinarily used I employ a metallic spring c, preferting for that
purpose thin steel, according to the fifth part of my Invention. d is the
grasshopper, which is affixed to the piece d', and the piece d' is fastened to
the key b by screws d², d², there being a wedge-formed filling piece e between
the piece d and the key b, which is capable of being shifted, and secured at
any particular place by the screws d², d², so as to regulate the height of the
grasshopper which acts upon the lever f, and this lever f, according to my
improved arrangement, is extended backward beyond its centre of motion,
which is at f', in order to act upon some other of the parts, and equalize the
weight on the other end of the lever f. To the front end of the lever fis
connected the sticker g, as is well understood. The sticker 9 is connected at
the upper end to the butt of the hammer by the shifting piece h, which is
capable of being adjusted on the butt by the set screw h¹. The hammer head
2 is formed capable of being removed from the other part 1 of the hammer,
and secured so as to prevent turning by set screws or pins k, k, and although
I have shewn the hammer head in this Figure as circular, I do not confine
myself to that shape, as the same may be oval, as shewn in Figure 20, in
which is also shewn various details of the hammer head, and the mode of

page_text: fixing the part i The object of making the parts of the hammer so that one
head may be removed, and another substituted (which would have a different
clothing, or clothing differently applied), is to produce a different quality of
tone to that previously obtained, for which purpose I clothe the hammer
heads i with various materials, such as woollen or other yarns, or strips of felt,
or other material, which, instead of being glued on, as is now commonly the
case, I wrap round and round till the required quantity is applied, when
the end may be secured by glueing or other wise. On the back end of the
leverf is formed a hook f*, which receives the bent end m³ of the wire stem
m, which at its upper end is bent to receive the button n, which acts upon the
projection o¹ of the damper o. p is the damper spring. 9 is a rod carried by
the key, the upper end of this rod passes through a slot in the front end of
the lever f, and it has buttons r, r, which are capable of being screwed higher
or lower on the rod q. The upper of these buttons r acts when producing
rapid repeats to bring the leverf down quickly, and consequently the hammer
from the strings, and when during such quick repetitions the hopper is
removed from its rest f under the lever f, the lower button r serves to act
upon the lever f, to raise it and act upon the hammer.
Figure 20 shews the action arranged for a horizontal pianoforte, but as the
parts are for the most part similar, I have made use of similar letters to those
used with respect to Figure 19, and the description given thereof will apply in
Figure 20. The spring centre c to the key is slightly different to that shewn
at Figure 19, but it is evident that the form of the spring centre may be
varied without departing from the fifth part of my Invention, which consists in
applying plates of thin elastic metal to parts such as the keys and other of the
levers in the "action," instead of other hinges or other centres of motion, and
in Figures 19 and 20 I have shewn these springs applied to the lever f. I
employ steel, which I have found to answer the purpose most effectually. It
should be plated, or otherwise coated, to prevent oxidation. As in carrying
out the fifth part of my Invention, with respect to the keys, they would be
fixed to the key frame, and could not readily be removed if the key frame
were of the ordinary construction, I therefore employ a series of slips of wood
or laths, each carrying one of the keys, as is shewn at Figure 21, in which B
is one of the laths B, B, which support the keys. In placing a key into the
pianoforte the lath B is passed under the top B', and secured at front by a
screw at C, as shewn.
I will now proceed to describe the sixth part of my Invention, which is
shown in section at Figure 22 to a scale of half the ical size. a is one of the
stings; b and c are the upper and lower main bars of the string frame, d, d,

page_text: are the sounding boards, which are, according to this part of my Invention,
formed double, one behind the other, and "bellied," the degree of bellying
being regulated by the sciew nuts =, z, on the ends of the rod y. The upper
and lower degrees of the sound boards d, d, are received on to the plates a, x,
which may extend the whole width of the instrument, and have holes formed
through them for the ends of the rods y to pass through at suitable distances,
say a distance apart equal to an octave, the ends of the rods y being formed
with screws to receive the nuts. By tightening the nuts the plates will
be forced against the edges of the sound boards d, and they being compressed,
will be forced to bulge out, assuming a "belly," according to the tightening
employed.
I will now describe the seventh part of my Invention. Hitherto in forming
what are called "belly" bridges of pianofortes it has been usual for the
"belly" bridge to be securely fastened by glueing to the sounding boards, so
that its whole inner surface was in contact with the sounding boards. But I
have discovered that by arranging the belly bridge so that it only touches the
sound board at intervals, a much more free vibration of the strings takes place,
and-the-sound board is not so likely to crack.
Figure 28 shews a section of part of a sounding board, and with part of the
belly bridge applied according to this part of the Invention.
Figure 24 shews, in plan, part of the belly bridge. a is the sound board,
and 6 the belly bridge, which is secured to the sound board by screw bolts, but
the belly bridge does not touch the sounding board, except by the rings c, c, at
intervals of about an octave.
I will now describe the eighth part of my Invention. By the present
arrangement of upright pianofortes that part of the frame which serves to
support the keys is a fixture, so that, supposing the instrument arranged as a
semi-cabinet, a vertical ground action could not be applied without correspond-
ing alteration of the other parts of the instrument. Now one object of this
part of the Invention is so to arrange the case of upright pianofortes that that
part of the frame (commonly called the key bed) which supports the keys
may be shifted, and the adaptation of different actions may readily be
effected
Figure 25 represents a front view, partly in section, and Figure 26 is a
section of so much of the case of an upright pianoforte as will serve to
illustrate this part of the Invention. It will be seen that that part of the
frame which supports the keys, and which is called the key bed (a), with the
cheeks, is capable of being moved to the position indicated by the red lines
(or other suitable place), there being set screws c, c, which pass through plates

page_text: projecting from the part a, through which the set screws pass into tapped
plates projecting from the sides of the case at d, d, and there are other plates
at e, e, suitable to the height to which it may be desirable to raise the part a.
In constructing the instrument so that the part a may be raised, the front
frames and g may either be formed in two pieces, and so that the part from
the upper part may be used to fill up the space below, or the parts ƒ and g
may be removed altogether, and others substituted adapted to the altered state
of the piano, and when the part a of the instrument is raised to the position
indicated by the red lines, a platform must be used to raise the seat of the
performer, as is indicated by the red line h, and otherwise some of the paits
will be readily understood by an intelligent workman. Although I have
descubed the part a as capable of being removed to receive different actions, I
do not confine myself to that arrangement, as I also construct upright piano-
foites of the larger kind (and from which a much finer tone is capable of being
produced than from small upright instruments) with the part a at the upper
part of the instrument, as is shewn by a side view at Figure 27, by which I
am enabled to introduce a description of action such as is employed with giand
pianofortes, whereby a much finer tone is obtained than can be obtained with
the present arrangement of pianofortos, where the part a is near the upper
part of the instrument; and by reference to the Drawing it will be seen that
the pianoforte stands upon a part of the platform by which the performer is
elevated, or the platform may be a part of the pianoforte case, so that the
performer, being elevated, may be seen over the instrument, and if she is
using it as an accompaniment to her voice, her voice may be more distinctly
heard, and the so arranging the platform serves to facilitate the diffusion of
the tone of the instrument.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, I would have it
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein described,
so long as the peculiar nature of either part of my Invention be retained. But
what I claim 15,-
First, the mode of combining the parts d, e, f, and 6', c, as herein described,
for forming a frame for the strings, and resisting the tension. I also claim
the mode of retaining the sounding boards in a bellied form, by means of the
rods g
And I also claim the plate k for the tuning pins, and mode of con-
structing hitch pins, as herein described
Secondly, I claim the mode of applying springs with plates m, m, to com-
pensate for varying temperatures to which a pianoforte may be subjected.
Thirdly, I claim the causing of the frame which carries the strings to traverse,
so as to produce a transposition in respect to the keys of a pianoforte. And I

page_text: also claim the means herein described of moving the frame carrying the strings
of a pianoforte.
Fourthly, I claim the application of an adjusting wedge e for regulating the
height of the hopper. I also claim the extending of the lever f beyond its
axis of motion, so as to balance its parts. I also claim the mode of applying 5
the parts q, r, r, in combination with a quick "repeat." And I also claim the
mode of arranging the damper apparatus, and giving motion to it by the back
end of the lever f, as herein described. And I also claim the mode of
clothing hammer heads of pianofortes, as herein described.
Fifthly, I claim the application of metal springs as the axes of motion 1
of the keys, and also as the axes of motion of the levers used in the "action"
of a pianoforte.
Sixthly, I claim the mode of sustaining and regulating the bellied form of
sounding boards of pianofortes.
Seventhly, I claim the mode of attaching of the sound boards to belly bridges 1
of pianofortes, as herein described. And,
Eighthly, I claim the mode of constructing upright pianofortes with
moveable-key-beds, and also the raising of the key beds, and applying
"actions" similar to those of grand pianofortes, together with platforms-for-
raising the performers, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Woolley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of January, in the year of our Loid
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
2
THOMAS (LS.) WOOLLEY.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of January, in
the year of our Lord 1847, the aforesaid Thomas Woolley came before our
said Lady the Queen in Пer Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.