IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Kenwrick Kevelin Bishop, of the Firm of Bishop
& Son, of 250, Marylebone Road, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS."
aled the 2nd February 1877, and dated the 15th August 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Kenwrick Kenelm
Bishop at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th August 1876.
CHARLES KENWRICK KENELM BISHOP, of the Firm of Bishop & Son, of 250,
“IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS."
Marylebone Road, in the County of Middlesex.
This Invention is intended to effect great economy of space and cost in the con-
struction of organs where it is necessary or convenient to apply a pneumatic action
to the key boards which should also act upon the manual couplers. The pneumatic
action may be placed either above or below the key board, as may be most con-
venient; or in the case of a long action, where the key boards are reversed or
at a distance from the organ, the valves may be placed with the former and the
pneumatic or motor bellows with the latter, connected with tubes of wood, iron, or
other material.
The position of the pneumatic action in organs is that in which all the most
important mechanical movements are collected, and from whence they separate each
to perform its separate function, and therefore it is the point where the utmost
amount of accessibility is required. The space taken by the ordinary pneumatic
action I am enabled to reduce to one-half or less by the use of the light form of
pneumatic bellows described in a former Patent granted to me, and by employing
two series of pneumatic bellows, one below the other, with each wind chest. To
allow of this the valves commanding the passage of compressed air from the wind
chest into the bellows are ranged in a row. Every alternate valve controls the
passage of air into the row of bellows nearest to the wind chest, whilst the other
valves control the passage of air into narrow passages which run parallel with the
bellows, and at their back end rise up and lead to the several bellows of the upper
row. By these means I am enabled to reduce the number of wind chests from 5,
as is now usual, to two, the wind chests being placed one below the other in the
ordinary manner, and thereby I obtain a very compact, portable, accessible, and less
expensive arrangement than heretofore..

page_text: In the case of large organs it is necessary to have more than one set of pneumatic
levers, thus doubling or tripling this large space, and thus, unless room is abundant,
interfering considerably with the freedom of access, and cramping the mechanism.
On my plan I am enabled to obviate this if necessary by using for the extra sets
required the same form of pneumatic action described in the Specification of the
Patent before mentioned, the set of pneumatics attached to the great organ being.
placed near the key board of the latter, and the manual coupling actions being
attached thereto. As a separate and higher pressure of wind is required for the
great organ action, similar to that used by the apparatus known as the "pneumatic
lever," I should also make use of this extra pressure for the pneumatic actions of
the other manual or manuals, a lower and separate chamber being attached to the
wind chest, in which are placed the valves, allowing the compressed air to inflate
the pneumatic bellows and draw down the pallets with which they are connected.
This plan will be particularly useful in cases where the key boards are separated
from the organ, it being of course necessary to keep the console to the sinullest
possible limits.
In the case of pneumatic tubular actions intended to take the place of the
troublesome long tracker actions, or the present unreliability of the magneto-electric
actions now generally employed, where the key boards or "console" of the organ
are separated from the instrument itself, the same form of apparatus is maintained,
and there is added thereto a pneumatic pipe leading from the air passage to each
bellows, and at the extremity of the pipe I place a duplicate bellows to actuate the
pallet in the main wind chest. The pneumatic motors or bellows in the console are
then only auxiliary ones to act on the manual couplers. The same supply and
exhaust valves serve for the two sets of bellows.
I also employ a pneumatic action for actuating the louvres or shutters of the
swell box. My method of effecting this is as follows:-I place a bellows within or
beneath the console, and connected with the swell pedal by a rod. On pressing the
pedal the atmospheric air is forced out of the bellows through a tube into a second
bellows attached to the swell louvres by a rod. The opening of the shutters.may
be graduated to any extent by this means, but if it is required to retain the swell
shutters open, the rod in connection with the pedal being forced down until it is
retained by the usual notch or catch comes in contact with a connection which
opens a valve allowing the compressed air from the bellows to enter the pipe con-
necting the two bellows, keeping the upper bellows inflated, and retaining the
louvres open until the pressure is removed from the pedal, when the louvres or
shutters close by a spring, and the compressed air being cut off by the release of the
pedal the air is forced from the upper bellows by the weight of the shutters back
into the first. There is a valve to replenish the lower bellows when required,
and it is usually necessary to attach a spring to the lower bellows to assist its
inflation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Kenwrick Kenelm Bishop in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th February 1877.
CHARLES KENWRICK KENELM BISHOP, of the Firm of Bishop and Son, of 250,
Marylebone Road, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS."
This Invention is intended to effect great economy of space and cost in the con-
struction of organs where it is necessary or convenient to apply a pneumatic action
. to the key boards, which should also act upon the manual couplers. The pneumatic
action may be placed either above or below the key board, as may be most con-
venient; or in the case of a long action, where the key boards are reversed or at a
distance from the organ, the valves may be placed with the former and the pneumatic

page_text: or motor bellows with the latter, connected with tubes of wood, iron, or other
material.
The position of the pneumatic action in organs is that in which all the most
important mechanical movements are collected, and from whence they separate each
to perform its separate function, and therefore it is the point where the utmost
amount of accessibility is required. The space taken by the ordinary pneumatic
action I am enabled to reduce to one-half, or less, by the use of the light form of
pneumatic bellows described in a former Patent granted to me, and by employing
two series of pneumatic bellows, one below the other, with each wind chest. To
allow of this the valves commanding the passage of compressed air from the wind
chest into the bellows are ranged in a row. Every alternate valve controls the
passage of air into the row of bellows nearest to the wind chest, whilst the other
valves control the passage of air into narrow passages, which run parallel with the
bellows, and at their back end rise up and lead to the several bellows of the upper
row. By these means I am enabled to reduce the number of wind chests from five,
as is now usual, to two, the wind chests being placed one below the other in the
ordinary manner, and thereby obtain a very compact, portable, accessible, and less
expensive arrangement than heretofore.
In the case of large organs it is necessary to have more than one set of pneumatic
bellows or levers, thus doubling or tripling this large space, and thus, unless room is
abundant, interfering considerably with the freedom of access and cramping the
mechanism. On my plan I am enabled to obviate this if necessary by using for
the extra sets required a modification of the form of pneumatic action described in
the Specification of the Patent before mentioned, the set of pneumatics attached to
the great organ being placed near the key board of the latter, and the manual
coupling actions being attached thereto. As a separate and higher pressure of wind
is required for the great organ action, similar to that used by the apparatus known
as the "pneumatic lever," I should also make use of this extra pressure for the
pneumatic actions of the other manual or manuals, a lower and separate chamber
being attached to the wind chest, in which are placed the valves, allowing the
compressed air to inflate the pneumatic bellows and draw down the pallets with
which they are connected. This plan will be particularly useful in cases where the
key boards are separated from the organ, it being of course necessary to keep the
console to the smallest possible limits.
A, A, are chambers or wind chests containing compressed air; B, B, are valves
commanding the entrance to the pneumatic bellows or motors; C, C, are the
pneumatic motors, the lower series of valves and motors being shown closed and
the upper series open; D, D, are exhaust valves; E, E, are tubes conveying the
compressed air to the upper series of motors above the two wind chests A, A;
F, F, are back falls, to one end of which is attached the mechanism set in motion
by the organ keys, and to the other a flexible tape G, G, connected with the exhaust
valves. When the back fall F is pulled down by the rod H into the position shown
at F it carries with it the valve B', which has hitherto been retained in its position
by the spring J, J, J, J. This allows the compressed air to enter the opening I, I,
and inflate the motor C, C, into the position shown at C, C¹, which conveys the
motion of the key to the rod K, or any other rods that may be connected to the
arms L, L, L, L. The position of the back fall F¹ also relaxes the tape G¹, and
permits the exhaust valves D¹, D¹, to close by their springs. On releasing the key
the back fall returns to the position shown at F, the spring J returns the valve B
to its seat and opens the exhausts D, D, by which, and by the pressure of the spring
of the organ pallet with which the rod K is in connection, the motor C, C², is
exhausted and falls to the position indicated at C. In the series of motors above
the wind chests A and A¹ the wind instead of passing direct through the passage I, I,
passes through the openings I, 1', e, e¹, E, E¹, e, e¹, e, e¹. This it will be seen from
the front section is necessary by reason of each motor occupying the width of two
of the valves B.
"
In the case of pneumatic tubular actions, intended to take the place of the

page_text: troublesome long tracker actions, or the present unreliability of the magneto-electric
actions now generally employed where the key boards or "console" of the organ
are separated from the instrument itself, the same form of apparatus is maintained,
and there is added thereto a pneumatic pipe M leading from the air passage to each
bellows, and at the extremity of the pipe I place a duplicate bellows to actuate the
pallet in the main wind chest. The pneumatic motors or bellows C, C, C¹, C¹, in the
console are then only auxiliary ones to act on the manual couplers. The same supply
and exhaust valves serve for the two sets of bellows.
I also employ a pneumatic action for actuating the louvres or shutters of the
swell box. My method of effecting this is shown at Figure 3. It is more especially
useful when the console is separated from the organ, but may be utilized under any
circumstances. I place a bellows A within or beneath the console, and connected
with the swell pedal by a rod B. On pressing the pedal the atmospheric air is
forced out of the bellows through a tube C and C¹ into a second bellows D attached
to the swell louvres by a rod E. The opening of the shutters may be graduated to
any extent by this means, but if it is required to retain the swell shutters open, the
rod B in connection with the pedal being forced down until it is rotained by the
usual notch or catch, comes in contact with a connection F, which opens a valve G,
allowing the compressed air from the bellows to enter the pipe connecting the two
bellows, keeping the upper bellows D inflated, and retaining the louvres open until
the pressure is removed from the pedal, when the louvres or shutters close by a
weight or spring, and the compressed air being cut off by the release of the pedal
and the consequent closing of the valve G, the air is forced from the upper bellows
by the weight of the shutters back into the first bellows A. Thero is a valve J to
replenish the lower bellows when required, and it is usually necessary to attach a
spring to the lower bellows to assist in its inflation.
the
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of performing
I would have it understood that I claim,-
same,
First. The combined arrangement of pneumatic action for organs, substantially
as herein-before described.
Second. Actuating the louvres or shutters of the swell box of organs by a
pneumatic action, substantially in the manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Kenwrick Kenelm Bishop, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
STAA