IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1884

page_text: шрготощению ш шеспаписал писал потишеди.
»
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
a communication from James Morgan of Brooklyn, New York, United States of
America, Merchant, to be as follows:-
:
My improvements relate to mechanical musical instruments wherein the speaking
of the sound-producing devices is controlled by a travelling music-sheet.
I employ in my mechanical musical instrument a rest for the travelling music
sheet provided with air-ducts converging upwardly so that a very narrow music
sheet may be used.
I use over the reeds a mellowing or sound board and having an escape opening.
I combine with the mellowing or sound board movable sections of the case of
the instrument which may be opened or closed for varying the effects produced by
the instrument.
I combine in a mechanical musical instrument, a music sheet, a music roller upon
which the music sheet is normally wound, a take-up roller by which the music-
sheet is taken up during the playing of the instrument, a shaft for imparting
motion to the take-up roller and operating bellows, an auxiliary shaft adapted to
be engaged with, and disengaged from, the shaft employed to operate the take-up
roller and the bellows, and a pulley which is loosely mounted on said auxiliary
shaft and connected by a belt with a pulley serving to impart motion to the music.
roller and adapted to be engaged with the auxiliary shaft so as to derive a rotary
motion from the latter for the purpose of effecting the rewinding of the music
sheet. By shifting the auxiliary shaft longitudinally it may be used for winding
the music-sheet upon the take-up roller, or rewinding it upon the music roller
without turning it in reverse directions.

page_text: I also preferably combine with the parts named, means whereby the rotation of
the bellows-operating shaft will be stopped when the music roller is rotated for the
purpose of rewinding the music sheet upon it.
I also combine with a reed cell a valve consisting of a lever fulcrumed near one
end, a pneumatic motor over which the other end of the lever forming the valve
extends, and a music-sheet for controlling the operation of the motor.
I also combine with a reed cell, a valve for closing the opening to said reed cell,
a pneumatic motor for operating said valve, an opening at the hinged end of said
motor through which air confined thereby can escape, and a music sheet for
controlling the operations of the motor.

page_text: Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
"
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My improvements relate to mechanical musical instruments wherein the speaking
of the sound producing devices is controlled by a traveling music-sheet.
I employ in my mechanical musical instrument a rest for the traveling music
sheet provided with air-ducts converging upwardly so that a very narrow music-
sheet may be used.
I use over the reeds a mellowing or sound board of novel construction and having
àn escape opening.
I combine with the mellowing or sound-board movable sections of the case of
the instrument for varying the effects produced by the instrument.
I combine in my mechanical musical instrument, a music-sheet, a music-roller
upon which the music-sheet is normally wound, a take-up roller by which the
music sheet is taken up during the playing of the instrument, a shaft for imparting
motion to the take-up roller, and operating bellows, an auxiliary shaft adapted to
be engaged with and disengaged from the shaft employed to operate the take-up
roller and the bellows, and a pulley which is loosely mounted on said auxiliary
shaft and connected by a belt with a pulley serving to impart motion to the music-
roller and adapted to be engaged with the auxiliary shaft, so as to derive a rotary
motion from the latter for the purpose of effecting the rewinding of the music-
sheet. By shifting the auxiliary shaft longitudinally it may be used for winding
the music-sheet upon the take-up roller or rewinding it upon the music-roller
without turning it in reverse directions.
I also preferably combine with the parts named means whereby the rotation of
the bellows-operating shaft will be stopped when the music-roller is rotated for the
purpose of rewinding the music-sheet upon it.
I also combine with a reed cell a valve consisting of a lever fulcrumed near one
end, a pneumatic motor over which the other end of the lever forming the valve
extends, and a music sheet for controlling the operation of the motor.
I also combine with a reed-cell a valve for closing the opening to said reed-cell,
a pneumatic motor for operating said valve, an opening at the hinged end of said
motor through which air confined thereby can escape, and a music sheet for
controlling the operations of the motor.
In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a side-view of a mechanical musical
instrument embodying my improvement, having one side of the case, removed;
Figure 2 is a plan of the same with the cover removed; Figure 3 is a sectional.
elevation of the reed board; Figure 4 is a central transverse section of the reed-
board; Figure 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section of a pneumatic motor and
appurtenances comprised in the instrument; Figure 6 is an inverted horizontal

page_text: section of the instrument on the same scale as Figure 5; Figure 7 is a vertical
section taken at the plane of the dotted line xx of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a
vertical section of a pneumatic motor of modified form and of certain adjacent
parts; and Figure 9 is an inverted plan of the latter. Similar letters of reference
designate corresponding parts in all the figures.
manner.
A designates the case of the instrument. It may be made in any suitable
B designates one of a series of sound producing devices here shown in
dotted lines. These devices consist of reeds arranged in cells a. The cells a
communicate with a wind-chest C under control of valves D.
The wind-chest communicates with an equalizer E with which are combined
bellows F. The bellows F may be of any suitable construction. As bere shown
they are suction bellows. The equalizer E is, as usual, of bellows-like construction.
The valves D of the reed cells are arranged in the wind-chest C. Each valve
consists of a lever which may be made of wood or analogous material provided
with a face of sheepskin or like substance c, and fulcrumed near one end to a pin b.
It is preferably guided in its movements by a pin d extending through it. A
spring e holds it normally in position to cut off communication between the reed
cell and the wind-chest.
Each valve D extends over a pneumatic motor G arranged in line with it in the
wind-chest. The pneumatic motor consists of a strip of wood or like material
fastened by a flexible material to the upper wall of the wind-chest. At one end
the strip of. wood of the motor is fastened close to the wind-chest. The motor is
similar to an ordinary organ bellows, only very much smaller. Its strip of wood
swings on one end and hence is similar to a lever fulcrumed at one end. The
valve D extends well over the strip of wood comprised in the motor.
I will describe this pneumatic motor more in detail making particular reference
to Figures 5, 6 and 7.
The motor in operating to open it has therefore a very favorable leverage.
Owing to this the motor may be made very small. Indeed the valve and the
motor only occupy about the same space lengthwise of the instrument and no more
than the reed cell in conjunction with which they are used. This is very advan-
tageous for it enables compactness in the manufacture of the instrument to be
obtained without arranging the reed-cells and the pneumatic motors in two series
with those of each series opposite the spaces between those of the other series.
From the pneumatic motors G, ducts f extend to the apex of a rest H.
A per-
forated music-sheet I travels over the rest H and controls the passage of air to the
interior of the motors. These ducts f converge towards the middle of the rest as
they extend upwards, hence a music-sheet narrower than the range of motors can
be used.
When air is admitted to a pneumatic motor the latter is expanded and it then
opens the valve D with which it acts. On the entrance of the air a valve g
consisting of a resilient strip of metal is closed. When air is cut off the valve g
opens and the air within the motor passes to the wind-chest.
In Figures 8 and 9 the construction is similar to the motor already described
except that instead of the valve g, an opening is provided through which air
within the motor may pass out. This opening he is located at that end of the
strip of wood of the motor at which it swings. When air is admitted through the
duct fleading to the motor the motor will expand and operate the contiguous
valve D. After air is cut off from the duct by the music sheet the air within the
motor escapes through the opening ho, and the valve D moving under an impulse
from its spring e collapses the motor and thereby closes the opening hồ.
J designates a music roller upon which the music sheet I is wound preparatory
to playing. A flange h on the music-roller J serves to retain the music-sheet in
place on the roller. The journal h¹ of the music-roller extends for some distance
beyond the music roller, and its outer end is preferably shouldered to engage with
a corresponding shoulder on the outwardly extending end of a shaft h on which is
a pulley K. This engagement is effected within bearings in a bracket h³ erected on'

page_text: a fixed portion of the instrument. By this means a clutch connection is effected
between the music roller and the pulley K. I may, however, use any other
suitable form of clutch. The outer end of the shaft h² may be supported in a
bearing secured to the side of the casing.
I have shown a spring-actuated catch i, on the bracket by which the music-
roller is secured in place. By moving said spring-actuated catch outwards the
music-roller may be readily removed and inserted. The pulley K receives an
endless band L.
M designates the take-up roller of the instrument. It is at one end journalled
in a bearing j which may be located in a bracket extending from the rest H of the
instrument and may be secured to it by screws or otherwise. A similar bearing ja
supports the other end of the roller M. The bearing j is elongated horizontally so
that the roller M may be moved horizontally.
Flanges on the ends of the take-up roller serve to retain the music-sheet in
its proper position on said roller. Contiguous to said flange I have arranged a
gear-wheel k upon the journal k² of the take-up roller. This gear-wheel is fast on
said journal and meshes with a gear-wheel or pinion l, mounted on a shaft S
which, as shown, is journalled in the same bracket as that in which the bearing j
is comprised. A belt S¹ passes around a pulley S2 affixed to the said shaft S and
also around a pulley S³ mounted on a shaft N. The shaft N has at the end which
is the nearer to the pulley S³, a sleeve 1. The outer portion of said sleeve
extends into and through a bearing 12 in a bracket m affixed to the wind-chest of
the instrument. Thus the sleeve supports one end of the shaft N. A collar n on
said sleeve serves to prevent movement of the shaft endwise in one direction. In
the outer end of said sleeve is a notch o.
The notch o is adapted to receive a pin p upon a shaft O. The pin p extends
through the shaft O in a direction at right angles to the axis of said shaft and
protrudes for a considerable distance upon each side of the shaft. The pin may be
engaged with and disengaged from the notch of the sleeve by moving the shaft Ọ
longitudinally. When said pin bas been moved into the notch o it operates to
form a clutch whereby motion may be transmitted from the shaft O to the shaft N:
The inner end of the shaft O fits loosely in the outwardly extending portion of the
sleeve l'. Obviously I may dispense with the sleeve and in lieu thereof extend
the driving-shaft N into the bearing 12 in the bracket m. In that case the form of
the clutch may be varied, for instance as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings.
Mounted loosely upon the shaft O is a pulley P. Upon the inner side of said
pulley is arranged a pin q. This pin is arranged in such position upon the pulley P
that it will engage with outwardly extending ends of the pin p when the latter
shall have been moved out of the notch o. The pulley P receives the endless
band L.
Pins on the bracket m and a bracket R extending from the case prevent the
pulley P being carried in the direction of the length of the shaft O when the
shaft O is shifted longitudinally and thereby prevent the pin 9 from coming into
engagement with the pin p when the latter is in engagement with the notch o.
-
The outwardly extending portion of the shaft O is journalled in bearings in the
bracket R affixed to the case of the instrument. The end of the said shaft is
adapted to receive a crank S³. As here shown engagement is effected between said
crank and shaft by means of screw-threads.
U designates links which are, at one end, pivotally connected to the bellows F;
and its outer end to cranks V on the shaft N. By this means the bellows may be
operated.
}
On the shaft a grooved collar W is affixed. A lever W₁ fulcrumed to a
bracket W2 shown as affixed to the case of the instrument, has one end forked to
embrace the collar W and carries pins at such end which engage with the groove of
the pulley without interfering with its rotation. When the shaft O. is moved
longitudinally this lever will, therefore be rocked. The other end of the lever is
connected to a cam slide W³ which, when the lever is rocked, acts upon and shifts

page_text: a lever W which impinges against the journal of the roller M. A spring W
bears against the opposite portion of the journal k¹. When the shaft O is moved
outwards the lever W₁ will be so rocked as to shift the cam-slide inwards. The
cam-slide will then release the lever W. and the spring W' will force the roller M
horizontally in such direction that the gear wheel / will be separated from the
pinion. When the shaft O is moved inwards the lever W₁ will be rocked so as
to shift the cam slide in such direction that it will actuate the lever W' to shift
the roller M so that the gear-wheel k will engage with the pinion l.
When the instrument is to be operated the pin 2 is brought into engagement
with the notch o in the sleeve by moving the shaft O inwards as before explained.
The crank S may then be operated to rotate the shaft O and through it the
shaft N so as to cause the music-sheet to be wound upon the take-up roller.
When, upon the contrary, it is desired to re-wind the music-sheet upon the music-
roller the shaft o is moved outwardly until the pin is free from engagement with
the notch o. If then the shaft O be rotated the pin p will be brought into
engagement with the pin g on the pulley P, the latter will be caused to rotate,
motion will be transmitted by means of the endless band L to the pulley K, the
music-roller J is caused to rotate and the music-sheet is thus rewound upon said
music roller. During this operation no motion will be imparted to the shaft N,
hence the bellows will remain idle. . .
It will be observed that the shaft.O may be moved freely through the pulley P
and that the said shaft O is always rotated in the same direction either to wind or
rewind the music-sheet.
I do not limit myself to the particular form of clutch shown, nor to the identical
means for operating the pulley P as the same may obviously be varied.
I may omit the collar W, lever W₁, and cam-slide W³, and shift the lever W', by
hand to move the roller M. Then means will be used to retain the lever W' in
position, or this lever will be so constructed as to remain in any position into which
it may be adjusted.
In order to soften and mellow the sound of the reeds I arrange a mellowing
board B' over the fronts of the reed cells. This mellowing board extends up from
the top of the wind-chest C and over the board in which the reed cells are formed.
The front of this board in which the reed-cells are formed is oblique owing to the
fact that the reed cells are all in line at the rear end and only as long as is requisite
to contain the different sizes of reeds which are used for different notes. I do not,
however, make the upright portion of the mellowing board parallel with the front
of the board in which the reed cells are formed but parallel with the rest H and
front of the instrument case. I have found this productive of the best results.
An opening b¹ preferably located in the upright portion of the mellowing board,
emits the sound. On the mellowing board is an upwardly extending rib B². The
case A has a hinged cover A¹ which, when shut down, rests upon this rib B². It
also has a hinged cover A³ which, when closed, rests against the front of the rib B³.
Either cover of the case may be opened and closed at pleasure.
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 a mechanical musical instrument the combination of a music-sheet, a
take-up roller, a music roller, a shaft from which motion is transmitted to the
take-up roller, an auxiliary shaft adapted to be engaged with and disengaged from
said shaft from which motion is transmitted to the take-up roller, a pulley loosely
mounted on said auxiliary shaft and adapted to be engaged with the auxiliary
shaft for imparting a rotary motion to the music-roller to rewind the music-sheet,
substantially as specified.
Second. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a music-roller,
a take-up roller, a shaft from which motion is transmitted to said take-up roller, ant
auxiliary shaft adapted to be engaged with anḍ disengaged from the aforesaid shaft

page_text: from which motion is transmitted to the take-up roller, a pulley mounted on said
shaft, a pulley on the music roller or a music-roller shaft, and means, substantially
such as described, whereby the auxiliary shaft is rotated in the same direction both
to wind and rewind the music-sheet.
Third. In a mechanical musical instrument the combination of a music-roller, a
pulley whereby motion is imparted to said music-roller, a clutch connection between
said pulley and said music-roller, and a spring i, substantially as specified.
Fourth. The combination of a roller J, a roller M, a driving-shaft for imparting
motion to the roller M, a sleeve ♫ on the driving-shaft having the notch o, a shaft Ŏ
provided with a pin p, a pulley P, provided with a pin q, an endless belt L, and a
pulley K, substantially as specified.
Fifth. In a mechanical musical instrument the combination of a music-roller, &
take-up roller, a shaft for imparting motion to said take-up roller and operating
the bellows, an auxiliary shaft adapted to be engaged with the driving-shaft for
the purpose of operating the take-up roller and transmitting motion to the bellows,
and disengaged from the bellows-operating shaft for the purpose of releasing the
latter and operating the music roller, substantially as specified.
Sixth. The combination with a reed-cell, of a valve consisting of a lever
fulcrumed near one end, a pneumatic motor over which the other end of the lever
forming the valve extends, and a music-sheet for controlling the operation of the
motor, substantially as specified.
Seventh. The combination of a reed-cell, a valve D, and a motor G, substantially
as specified.
Eighth. The combination of a reed-cell, a valve for closing the opening to said
reed-cell, a pneumatic motor for operating said valve, an opening at the hinged end
of said motor through which air confined thereby can escape, and a music-sheet for
controlling the operations of the motor, substantially as specified.
Ninth. In a mechanical musical instrument the combination with a range or
series of sound-producing devices, and a rest for a traveling music-sheet having
upwardly converging ducts through which air passes for effecting the operation of
the sound-producing devices, substantially as specified.
Tenth. The combination with the reed-cells of a musical instrument ending at
an oblique line of the mellowing board, substantially as specified.
Eleventh. The combination of the mellowing board B¹, its rib B³, and the
covers A¹ A2 of the case, substantially as specified.
Dated this 17th day of August 1885.