IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Cecil Collard, of Oval Road, Camden Town, in the
County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Cecil Collard at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th August 1881.
CECIL COLLARD, of Oval Road, Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES."
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of mechanism for obtaining at
pleasure in horizontal pianofortes a soft tone without the use of a shifting key
board. For this purpose it has been proposed to introduce between the hammers
and the strings a strip of cloth or other soft fabric for the hammers to strike upon,
and thereby what is known as the " celeste effect has been produced.
In applying my Invention to grand or semi-grand pianofortes I attach the
transverse lath which carries the strip of cloth, by means of links, to the upper ends
of a pair of vertical rock levers pivotted to the cheeks of the pianoforte case.
The
lower ends of these rock levers I connect by links to arms projecting from a
transverse rock shaft. A third arm on this rock shaft (near the middle) I connect
by a short vertical rod to a horizontal rock lever having its fulcrum underneath
the key bottom, and this lever I connect by a pendent rod to what is known as the
soft pedal. By depressing this pedal the transverse rock shaft is caused to rock
the vertical levers connected with the lath, and through those levers to lay the strip
of cloth between the strings and the hammers, so as to intercept and soften the
blow of the latter. When the pressure of the foot is removed from the pedal a
coiled spring connecting a moving portion of this mechanism with a fixed pin on
the case will come into action and restore the parts to their normal position. This
arrangement, it will be understood, is equally applicable to square pianofortes, the
action of the mechanism being modified to move the lath with its strip of cloth in
the opposite direction to bring it into use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Cecil Collard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th February
1882.
:
CECIL COLLARD, of Oval Road, Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex.
“IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES.'
"
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of mechanism for obtaining at
pleasure in horizontal pianofortes a soft tone without the use of a shifting key
board. For this purpose it has been proposed to introduce between the hammers
and the strings a strip of cloth or other soft fabric for the hammers to strike upon,
and thereby to produce what is known as the " celeste" effect, but the mechanical
arrangement adopted has not proved entirely satisfactory.
In applying my Invention to grand or semi-grand pianofortes I connect the
transverse lath which carries the strip of cloth to the upper ends of a pair of
vertical rock levers, which, when operated upon by the ordinary soft pedal, will
advance the lath without lateral motion, so that it shall interpose the strip of cloth
which it carries between the strings and the rising hammers.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a front view of a pianoforte with my
Invention applied thereto, the "action" and damper rail being removed in order
to expose to view part of the mechanism for operating the "celeste;" Fig. 2 is a
partial plan of the same; Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section taken in the zig zag
line 2, 3, and 4 of Figures 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 is a corresponding section of the
mechanism detached and drawn to full size.
A is the lath, made of light wood, and fitted at its front edge with an overlying
strip of fine cloth.
This lath is supported upon the damper socket rail B, and it is slotted longi-
tudinally, so as to permit of the damper wires passing up through the lath without
interfering with the traverse movements of the lath; C, C, is a pair of vertical
rock levers pivotted to the cheeks of the pianoforte case. To the upper ends of
these levers are pivotted arms A', A², made fast to and projecting forward from the
lath A. The lower ends of these rock levers are connected by links D to arms E¹
projecting vertically from a transverse rock shaft E, which lies near the back of
the key bottom, and is supported in the cheeks of the case. A third arm E*
standing out horizontally from the middle of this rock-shaft connects by a short
link E to a horizontal rock lever F having its fulcrum underneath the key bottom.
This lever connects at its forward end through a pendent rod F with the soft
pedal G. By depressing this pedal the transverse shaft E is caused to rock the
vertical levers C connected with the lath A, and through those levers to lay the
strip of cloth between the strings and the hammers, so as to intercept and soften
the blow of the latter. In order to return the lath to its normal position when the
pressure of the foot is removed from the pedal, a spring H is provided. This spring,
which is made fast to the underside of the key bottom, terminates in a hook which
engages with a stirrup F³ pendent from the rear end of the lever F. When the
pedal is depressed the spring yields to this movement of the pedal, but on the
pressure of the foot being removed the spring will come into action and restore
the parts to their normal position,
It should be remarked that as the space between the wrest plank and the belly
of the instrument gradually widens from the treble end to the bass, to provide
room for the free action of the hammers, it will be necessary to give the lath A a
traverse corresponding to this varied width, in order that it may so present its strip
of cloth to the hammers that they shall all strike fairly upon it when the notes
they respectively represent are required to be subdued in tone. To provide for