IMPROVE- MENTS IN NOTATORS FOR MUSIC
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
I, BRUNO GREINER, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN NOTATORS FOR MUSIC" and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to an apparatus connected to the piano or organ and
especially intended to aid composers of music for printing upon a strip of paper
the improvisations at the time that the same is played upon the instrument.
The apparatus is designed to be removably attached to a piano or organ and is
operated by suitable connecting rods or wires, which transmit the movement of the
keys to levers, at the ends of which recording pins or points are attached. Below
the recording pins or points a strip of paper or other suitable material is moved
forward either by hand, clock work or other suitable mechanism upon which the
pins or points will mark a dot or a line according to the length of time the said
key is held down, a short touch being represented by a single dot while a longer
note will be recorded by a more prolonged line.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig I represents a plan of part of the apparatus.
Fig II is.a longitudinal end view of the same.
Fig III is a side view of the machine.
Fig IV is a side view of the mechanism for recording the beginning and end of
the tact.
Fig V shows a portion of the strip of paper having a record of notes played on
the instrument in connection with a frame to facilitate the copying of the notes
upon the usual note paper shown in fig Va.
Fig VI is a modification of the general arrangement.
Similar letters represent similar parts in all the figures.
The mechanism is arranged in a suitable frame or box a easily attached to the
underside of the instrument. At the forward part of the frame a, a board g is
attached, upon which the several supports of the levers are fastened.
Below each key A of the instrument a lever h is arranged, turning in a suitable
support and provided with a wire rod i which enters freely a corresponding hole
in the underside of the key A, arranged in such a manner that when the key A is
pressed downwards, the wire rod i will come in contact with the bottom of the
Posing Cl

page_text: hore and through which this downward motion of the key is communicated to this
lever h.
The other end of the lever h is connected at 7 to a lever h¹ turning in a
support attached to the plate g and carries at its other end the recording pin or
point m.
n is a roller removeably journaled in the frame or box a. b is a roller covered
with india rubber, journaled in the frame a and provided with a crank s to
communicate motion to the same, or a clock work or other suitable mechanism
may be attached to the axle of said roller b to turn the same.
c is a roller journaled in the frame a placed directly above the roller b in a
slotted bearing and acted upon by suitable springs o, regulated by the cross pin o'
to produce the desired pressure upon the paper passing between these rollers b and c
and insure thereby the regular motion of the paper when the roller b is turned.
e is a cross bar situated below the recording pins or points m over which the
paper passes, serving as a table for the paper during the action of the recording
points m.
g are spring levers attached at one end to the plate g outside of the levers
carrying at their other ends a recording point m.
and
2 is a shaft journaled in the frame a and provided at one end with a crank r'to
turn the same.
This shaft is connected through straps p' with the spring levers q.
d is a roller at the end of the frame or box a to guide the recording paper after
passing between the rollers b and c.
The levers are placed as close to each other as possible to. reduce the required
width of paper and the levers h are arranged running diagonally to the required
position at the end of each key. The relative proportions of the levers h and h¹
are such that the motion at the outer end of the levers and of the recording
pins or points m are all alike.
The recording paper fis wound upon the roller n, and passes over the top of the
cross bar e and between the rollers 6 and c.
Whenever the musician touches a key of the piano, the same will come in
contact with the wire thereby communicating the required motion through the
levers h h¹ and causing the descent of the corresponding recording pin or point m,
which will make a dot or line on the paper ƒ made to pass at a regular speed over
the cross bar or table e either by hand power applied to the crank 8 or by a
suitable mechanism. According to the lengths of time the key is held down, the
mark made by the pin or point m will be longer or shorter, a short touch being
represented by a dot while a longer note will be recorded by a more prolonged line.
The length of the. mark indicating therefore if the note is for one
whole of a tact. At the completion of each tact the shaft p is turned, whereby
the pins or points m¹ are moved downwards to make a mark upon the paper ƒ and
indicating thereby the completion of the tact as well as the number of keys or
notes touched in one tact.
To move the levers h and h¹ back again into their normal position as soon as the
pressure upon the key is removed and consequently move the pin or point m clear
of the paper f, one end of the lever h¹ is loaded as shown at h¹ fig 3, or a suitable
spring may be arranged on each lever for that purpose.
When the music piece is finished the paper fis removed from the apparatus and
the marks made upon the same can be copied or written in the usual manner upon
note paper.
To facilitate the copying of these marks an open frame F fig V is arranged. The
long sides of this frame have marked on them a representation of the keys of the
instrument. Threads x are stretched from one side to the other. A suitable slot
is made in these sides through which the marked paper fis passed, and by the
representation of the keys divided by cords or threads, the marks on the paper can
easily be read and according to the length marked upon the note paper as shown
in fig V

page_text: The above described apparatus is arranged for square or grand pianos where
sufficient space can be obtained to place the levers one before the other.
For upright pianos or organs the mechanisin is arranged as represented in fig VI,
where the levers h h¹ are placed below each other and where, instead of the cross
bar or table e a roller e¹ is employed. The pin i is likewise in this case attached to
the key A and works in a suitable hole in the end of the lever h.
.
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 In combination with the keys A of a keyed instrument, the levers h h¹,
wire recording pin or point m and recording paper f, substantially as specified.
Second: In a keyed instrument the combination with the keys A the recording
pins or points m and the levers for operating them, of the paper f, roller m,
roller b, with spring roller c and operated by a crank s or other suitable mechanism,
substantially as specified.
Third: The combination with the keys A of a keyed instrument, the recording
pins m, the levers for operating the same, the paper fand cross bar e arranged to
operate as described, the shaft p with crank r connecting straps p³, spring levers q,
and recording pins m¹ substantially as specified.
Fourth: The frame F having a fac simile of the key of a keyed instrument
marked on one or two sides, and dividing threads x, arranged to operate with a
marked paper f, as and for the purpose specified.