Mechanical Musical Instrument with Music-discs Interchangeable by Hand.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 17th Dec., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Mechanical Musical Instrument with Music-discs Interchangeable by
Hand.
I, EDUARD BRESLAUER, of 7, Goethestrasse, Leipzig, in the German Empire,
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 ;
In those mechanical musical instruments which have automatically inter-
changeable music-discs, a pointer or handle is moved to one part of the music
programme and the particular music-disc inside the musical instrument is
thereby exchanged for the one which was previously used for playing. The
mechanical contrivance for effecting this "interchanging" involves a more or
less complicated arrangement and the interchanging capacity of such musical
instruments is therefore often called in question. The present device is intended
to obviate this disadvantage and effects its purpose by omitting the transmission
or transferring apparatus and having the music-discs interchanged in the same
manner from the outside, but direct and by hand.
For this purpose, a contrivance is employed in which each of the music-dises
is rotatably attached to a special music-disc bearer, or carrier, as applied in
connection with my Patent Application No. 9308 of 22nd April 1898, all music-
disc carriers, however, being arranged rotatably and adjustably in a row on an
axis or shaft. If, now, each of these music-disc carriers be furnished with an
arm extending beyond its axis of rotation, such arm projecting from the case
of the musical instrument, the music disc carriers can be adjusted or moved, at
will from the outside, so that each of the music discs can be brought within
the scope of the driving apparatus. If now, the piece of music which is played
by means of the corresponding music-disc, be indicated on the handle or pointer
of the music-disc carrier then, without its being necessary to open the case, but
merely by manipulating the projecting handle, a piece of music, according to
the programme may be brought into play at will.
Fig. 1 is a front view of the musical instrument-open.
Fig. 2 is a side view of the same-closed.
On the axis or shaft A of the musical instrument a number of music disc
carriers T T etc. will be arranged in order. Each of these music-disc
carriers is extended beyond the axis and at its free end, which projects from
the case of the musical instrument is furnished with a handle G¹G etc. By
means of these each of the music-disc carriers can be moved on the axis inde-
pendently of the others, by making use of the corresponding handle.
In the position assumed by the music disc carrier T the free ends of the
music discs bearer move in the slot S¹ of the musical instrument case, so that
the music-discs with their upper edges are underneath the axis A¹ of the driving
mechanism. In this position, there is no hindrance to the pushing of the music
discs one against the other. In order now to bring any desired music disc
into engagement with the driving mechanism, it is necessary that it should be
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page_text: brought over the axis A¹ of the said mechanism. For this purpose the slot St
can be made so wide that the free end of every music-disc carrier is far enough
under to be pressed in such manner that the music disc is brought to the desired
height. A slot S may, with advantage be arranged branching off at a suitable
point from the slot St, so that the only music-disc carrier which is pushed in
the slot up to this spot can be brought to rotate or swing on the axis A, as its
free end is pressed down in the slot S2 and the music-disc raised in front of the
axis A of the driving mechanism. The music-disc carrier T3 is shewn in this
position in the drawing Fig. 2.
For the complete "pressing in" of the raised music-discs it is sufficient to
furnish the slot S2 at its deepest part with a recess S³, so that it is possible to
push the music disc carrier a little side ways. The music-disc is thereby brought
over the shaft of the driving mechanism and into engagement with the same.
If in a musical instrument of the kind each of the handles G¹G³ . is
furnished with a small detachable plate, on which is named the piece of music
which is actually on the particular music-disc carrier; the handles thus enable
the whole programe that can be played off by means of the mechanical musical
instrument to be recognised and any one of the pieces of which the programme
consists can be brought into play as desired.
In order that no unnecessary expenditure of labour may be involved in the
pushing and raising of the music-disc carriers with their music-discs, the music-
disc carriers may be counter-balanced. For this purpose the free arms would
be furnished with counter-weights CC. . . large enough to balance the
weight of the particular music disc.
It may be of advantage, in order to protect the interior of the musical instru-
ment against dust, to provide a partition or casing W by means of which an
outer chamber is formed within which the counter-weights move.
The musical instrument is operated as follows:-
The music disc carrier, which carries the fitie of the piece to be played is
pushed so far, with the help of its handle, into the slot S that it stands over
the slot S3, it being of no consequence what position the other music disc carriers
take on the axis. By pressing down the particular handle, the desired music-
disc comes in front of the axis A¹ of the driving mechanism, and by pushing
sideways the music disc carrier into the recess S³, the music-disc is brought
into engagement with the shaft A¹. The disengaging is effected in the same
fashion but in the reversed order.
A musical instrument of this kind has the great advantage that no damage
can arise either in putting in or taking out the music-discs, because the posi-
tions of the slots S1 and S2 enforce the exact guiding of the music-disc carrier
or, rather, of their respective music discs.
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:-
are
1. A mechanical musical instrument with interchangeable music-dises, in
which, as in the Patent Application No. 9308 of 22 April 1898, each of the
music discs is seated on a special music-disc carrier and the several music-disc
carriers are each arranged adjustably and rotatably on a common shaft, the dis-
tinguishing feature of which is that the music-disc carriers T¹ T
furnished with arms extending beyond the axis A, the ends of these arms pro-
jecting from the case of the musical instrument, with the object that each
individual music-disc may be brought into engagement with the axis of the
driving mechanism by the displacement or movement of its music-disc bearer
on the axis and its rotation on the same.
2. A mechanical musical instrument with interchangeable music discs,
according to Claim 1, the distinguishing feature being that the free end of each
music-disc carrier TT2 is furnished with the indication of the piece of music

page_text: which its music disc can reproduce, for the purpose of bringing into play any
desired piece belonging to the programme without its being necessary to open
the instrument case.
3. A mechanical musical instrument with interchangeable music discs
according to Claims 1 and 2, the distinguishing feature being that the free
ends of the music-disc carriers TT are guided in a slot S¹ in the case, from
which slot S¹ another slot S2 branches off vertically in order that the putting
in and taking out of each music disc is ensured in a positively certain or deter-
mined way (or is enforced by a positively prescribed path or way) and that
thereby any damage to the musical instrument may be avoided.
Dated thin l
1000
For the Applicant,
GEDGE & FEENY,
60, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Chartered Patent Agents.