IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ACTION "OP" PIANOPORTES
Year: 1842

page_text: NUMS
TION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WORNUM, of Store Street, Bedford Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Pianoforte Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty, by Her Letters Patent
ander the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster, the
Fifteenth day of February, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Wornum;
Her especial licence; full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Robert Wornum, my exors, admiors, and assigns, or such others' as I,
the said Robert Wornum, mỹ exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time*
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention-of: "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ACTION "OP" PIANOPORTES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a" proviso, that T, the' said Robert Wörnum, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
mariner the same is 'to be performed; to be inrolled in Her 'said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six 'calendar months next and inimediately
after 'the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto' had, will more fully and at large appear. .

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the snid
Robert Wornum, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the snid
Robert Wornum, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:
My Invention relates,―
First, to a mode of applying a spring to return the hammer after it has been
enused to strike.
Secondly, my Invention relates to an improvement in the arrangement of
the action of pianofortes, where the hammers strike downwards.
And thirdly, my Invention relates to improved modes of applying and work-
ing the dampers of upright pianofortes.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents the action of a pianoforte where the hammer strikes
downwards. a is the key; b, the hammer. The hammer butt moves on an
axis at c, and is operated on by a spring d, which is carried by the hammer
butt, and consequently the spring with the hammer butt moves on the axis c;
and it is important to call attention to this peculiarity of arrangements, as this
part of my Invention relates to so applying a spring to return the hammer that
the instrument to which it is attached shall move on an axis, in order that one
end of the spring used may be free to move on an axis. The spring d is affixed
in the hammer butt, and forms a coil at d, and then the other end of the
spring is attached by a strap of leather, or other suitable flexible material, to
the rail e, the consequence of which will be that the hammer having mado a
blow will be returned by the spring. At the same time, the spring in its
action will not prejudicially affect the playing, because the player will not,
when touching the key, perceive that there is a spring.
I would here state, that the mode of applying a spring, according to this
part of my Invention, may be varied as to the position of placing, and also in
the shape of the spring d, so long as the arrangement of the spring used is
such as to be free at one end to move on an axis; and in order to shew that
such is the case, I have in the Drawings annexed shewn Figures 2, 3, and 4,
where this part of my Invention is carried out by differently arranged actions
for pianofortes. Thus, in Figures 1 and 2, the spring is affixed to and carried

page_text: by the hammer butt; and the only difference in the arrangement of these two
Figures is the shape of the spring, as is clearly shewn in the Drawing.
It will, however, be evident that in both cases the end of the spring d, which
is affixed in the hammer butt, moves freely on the axis c with the hammer
butt; but it will be found that it is not necessary that the spring & should
be fixed to the hammer butt. On the contrary, the operating of the spring d
used on the hammer may be effected by intermediate means, and the
spring & be applied at a distance from the hammer butt; but, whatever be tho
arrangement of the parts of the action of a pianoforte having this part of my
Invention applied thereto, the spring must at one end move on an axis, which
peculiarity of arrangement and application of a spring to return the hammer,
as before stated, constitutes the novelty of this part of my Invention; and I
would remark that I am aware that springs have before been used for return-
ing the hammers, but in such cases the spring is not so applied to a hammer
as to move on an axis.
Figure 3 shows another action of a pianoforte, where the hammer strikes
downwards, and it will be seen that in this arrangement the spring d is at a
distance from the hammer butt, and is connected in its action by means of a
sticker f, such sticker being connected to the lever g, the lever 9 moving on an
axis at g', the other end of the lever being operated on by the hopper, as is
shown. The lever g has one end of the spring d affixed thereto, as is shown,
and the other end of the spring is connected to the rail i by means of a leather
strap, or other suitable flexible material; hence the spring d in this case will
move on the axis g', and produce the desired effect of returning the hamnier
after it has given the blow, and without prejudice to the general operation of
the pianoforte's action when playing.
Figure 4 shows another action of a pianoforte, where the hammer strikes
downwards. The spring d moves on an axis at j, the end of the spring being
inserted into a short lever K, which moves on the axis j. The hammer butt is
attached by a strap of leather, or other suitable flexible material 7, to the spring d,
as is shown, and the other end of the spring d is attached by means of a strap
of leather, or other flexible material, to the rail m, as is shown. Thus, it will
be seen that in whatever manner the spring d is applied, it is to be mounted on
an axis, such axis being either for the purpose of carrying some part of the.
"action" of a pianoforte, to which one end of the spring d is affixed, as in
Figures 1, 2, and 3, or otherwise the axis of the spring d is simply used for.
the spring d, as in Figure 4. And I would state in respect to this part of my
Invention, that I make no claim to any parts of the actions of pianoforte's

page_text: shown and described, nor do I confine myself to the arrangements shewn when
using a spring to return the hammer, according to this part of my Invention. :
Figure 4 also shows the second part of my Invention. n is a rocking lever,
moving on an axis at o. This lever has a projection p, which is acted on by
the key a; and the lever n works the hopper 9, which is in a nearly horizontal
position, the lever n being vertical; and it is the peculiar arrangement of the.
parts 1, 0, p, and q, for giving motion to a hammer which strikes downwards,
which constitutes the second part of my Invention. is the check; and s, the
damper wire, which are carried by the lever n, as is shewn; the damper being
lifted by the wire t, which is affixed to the lever v, which moves on an axis
at w, consequently, when the key is acted on to give motion to the hammer, it
will, by the wires, push the lever u, and cause it to move on its axis, and thus
lift the damper.
. I will now describe the third part of my Invention, which relates to in-
provements in the action of upright pianofortes, and which improvements
consist of connecting the hammer butt with the lever action of the damper, as
is shown in Figure 5, and also consist of a mode of connecting the damper
nction with an upright fixed to the key, as is shown in Figure 6. 1 will first
describe the mode of connecting the damper with the hammer butt.
Figure 5 shows the action of an upright pianoforte, and it will be seen that
the damper, which is connected to a lever (moving on an axis at y) is attached
by a strap of leather, or other suitable flexible material, to the bammer butt, so
that when the hammer butt moves on its axis of motion to give a blow, the
damper will be removed, and the spring will return the damper when the
hammer goes back.
Figure 6 shews another arrangement of the action of an upright pianoforte
where the damper moves on an axis at A, which is carried by the hammer
lutt, and there is a spring at B which tends at all times to press the damper
towards the strings. The hammer butt moves on an axis at C, and the damper
is drawn from the strings by means of a tape or leather strap (or other suitable
material) connection, between it and the upright D, which is affixed to the
key a, as is shown.
'
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I would have it under-
stood that what I claim is,
'
First, the mode of applying a spring to return the.hammer of a pianoforte
action, such spring moving on an axis, as.described.
4
Secondly, I claim .the mode of actuating the hammer of a pianoforte action:
where the hammer strikes downwards; by the arrangement of the parts i, o, T,
and 9, as above <lescribed.

page_text: And thirdly, I claim the mode of connecting the damper with the hammer
butt, as described in respect to Figure 5, and also as described in respect to
Figure 6.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Wornum, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.