IMPROVEMENTS IN REEDS FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, JAMES BAILLIE HAMILTON at present of Boston, Massachusetts do hereby
declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REEDS FOR MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS" to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the construction of reeds for Musical Instruments in
which two or more tongues are arranged side by side and connected at their
vibrating portions by a rigid or elastic connection which I termed a "unison bar "
so as to attain the vibration of all the tongues in unison.
My present invention relates to a more convenient, economical and improved
method of effecting this result. According to my present Invention I make the
" unison bar" out of the substance of the metal forming the reed tongues. The
métal or other reed plate is formed with the necessary alots for the passage of the
air and the free vibration of the tongues of the compound reed tongue which is
secured at its base to the plate by any of the usual means. The tongues are united
by a coalescing web which forms the unison bar this web being stamped out or
otherwise formed in one with the metal of which the tongues consist. This unison
bar or connecting piece preferably extends backward to the roots of the reed
tongues, the tongues thus having a common stem.
The strip of metal in the reed plate lying between the slots in which the tongues
vibrate may be indented or cut out immediately below the unison bar or connecting
strip in order to allow of the necessary vibration of the compound reed A part of
the elastic plate of metal of which the tongues are formed may be partly separated
and made longer than the tongues, the prolonged end being rivetted by preference
in a groove or opening formed in the rigid metal frame of the reed and to the
opposite end portion of this frame is rivetted the clastic plate.
By this arrangement the vibration of the entire elastic plate from the point where
it is rivetted or otherwise secured to the frame is restricted at one point only that
is where the tongues merge into the plate the elastic prolonged strip being the
restricting medium, its junction with the plate forms a connection between the
tongues, and this connection is the equivalent of the unison bar hereinbefore
described.
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the said James Baillie Hamilton.

page_text: "
I, JAMES BAILLIE HAMILTON, at present residing at Boston Massachusetts United
States of America do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN REEDS FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
In a former invention of mine of a reed for musical instruments, for which
I obtained British Letters Patent No 5630 dated 23rd December 1881, I employed
two or more reed tongues side by side and connected their vibrating portions by a
rigid or elastic connection, which I termed a "unison bar," the object being to
_construin the rcs and cause the vibration of both or all these tongues in unison.
My present Invention has for its main object economy in the manufacture of the
reeds, one of the principal features of improvement consisting in making the
"unison bar" or constraining ligature out of the substance of the metal forming
the reed tongues, as more fully described hereafter.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1, is a perspective view of the simplest form of my improvement.
Figure. 2, is a longitudinal section.
Figure. 3, is a transverse section, and
Figure 4, is a plan view of a three tongued reed.
Figure 5, is a perspective view of a modified form of compound tongue, detached
from the reed plate or frame.
Figure 6, is a perspective view of the corresponding reed plate.
Figure 7, is a plan view of this tongue and reed plate, and Figure 8 is an inverted
plan view of the same.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, A is the reed plate of metal or other material,
formed with the necessary slots for the passage of the air and the free vibration of
the tongues, and B is the compound reed tongue which is secured at its base b to
the plate by any of the usual means. In the form shown in Figures 1, 2 & 3 there
are two tongues b₁, b¹, united by the coalescing web d which forms the unison bar,
this web being stamped out or otherwise formed in one with the metal of which the
two tongues consist.
This unison bar or connecting piece preferably extends backward from the point
where the unison bar in my old form of compound reed would occur, to the roots of
the reed tongues, and the two tongues thus have a common stem.
The strip of metal in the reed plate lying between the two slots is indented or cut
out, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, immediately below the unison bar or connecting
strip in order to allow of the necessary vibration of the compound reed.
In Figure 4 I have shown my Invention as applied to a compound reed having
three tongues and it will be understood that I do not limit myself to any specific
number of reed tongues.
In the modified form of the reed shown in Figures 5, 6, 7 & 8, I combine with
the tongues b', 6', and the coalescing web or unison bar d, an intermediate central
strip also forming part of the metal from which the tongues and unison bar are
formed, the central strip being longer than the tongues.
The reed plate A in this case has a single slot for the compound reed, and to one
end of this, is rivetted or otherwise secured the base of the compound reed, while
the outer end of the central strip h is secured to the end f of the reed plate, which
is preferably grooved to receive the end of the said strip. This strip h at the same
i

page_text: time that it constrains the reed, serves the same purpose as the portion of the reed
plate lying between the two slots in the construction shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
It will be seen that the vibration of the entire elastic reed from the point where
it is rivetted or otherwise secured to the plate is restricted at one point only, that
is where the slits y, y, terminate, and the coalescing web or unison bar & begins.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is :-
•
First. A reed provided with two or more tongues arranged side by side and
having their vibrating portions united by a unison bar made out of one piece of
metal with the tongues, substantially as herein beforo described.
Second. A reed provided with two or more tongues, arranged side by side and
having their vibrating portions united by a unison bar, made out of one piece of
metal with the tongues, the connection extending backwards to the roots of the
tongue, substantially as herein before described.
Third. The combination of the reed plate with the compound reed, secured at its
base to the said plate, and having tongues b', 6', and unison web or bar and an
intermediate strip / extending from the said web and secured to the reed plate
at f, substantially as herein before described.
יה-ימ
Mayo ay 1000,
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
Agent for the said James Baillie Hamilton.