An Improved Attachment for Stringed Musical Instruments.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct.,
1895
[Communicated from abroad by FLAGG MANUFACTURING Co., of No. 122 Lincoln
Street, Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, United
States of America.]
An Improved Attachment for Stringed Musical Instruments.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Attachments for harps and other instruments with many strings have long been
known, and one class of such attachments consists of what is called a bridge
extending across and above the strings and divided into a number of grooves,
commonly six in such wise that a pick, commonly of hard rubber, can be drawn
along any groove of the bridge so that it will sound only certain of the strings,
there being a hole through the bridge for each string to be sounded; and these
holes are usually arranged to produce one chord of a key when the pick is drawn
along one groove, and another chord of that key when the pick is drawn along
another groove; as will be well understood by all skilled in this art. Moreover
these bridges have heretofore been made so that chords of different keys can be
sounded when the bridge is moved end wise; one of its positions enabling, chords of
one key to be readily sounded, and other chords of another key, and so on.
My invention consists of a bridge with a plurality of rows of spring hammers in
slots in the bridge and held normally by their springs above and clear of the
strings, but projecting so far above the upper surface of the bridge that each
hammer is also a key, that is has a finger piece by which it can be moved on its
axis against the force of its spring by a motion of the finger of the player, so that
when released, its inner end will strike a blow upon the string under it, and its spring
will draw it back from the string as soon as it strikes its blow.
The simplest construction and arrangement of the keys is to notch or groove
each one to receive a strip of rubber by which it is secured to the bridge.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of a harp with a portion of my attachment
in place;
Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a perspective of one of the keys and of the strip of rubber by which
it is held and which serves as a spring;
Figure 4 is a plan of a smaller scale illustrating the attachment in place
on a harp.
In the drawings I have shown the bridge as composed of a number of parallel
bars a, connected at their ends by cross-pieces a¹ a². The keys bare connected to
the bars a by the strips of sheet rubber, which not only holds each key securely
in its place, but is also an admirable spring for causing the key to strike its string,
as will be clear from the dotted lines in Figure 2, one of the keys being shown by
dotted lines in the position to which it is brought by the player, and another being
shown also in dotted lines in the position to which it is brought by the resiliency of
its spring at the instant it strikes its string. Of course the key after giving
its blow at once assumes its normal position.

page_text: The relative arrangement and the number of the keys depend upon the number
of the strings, and the different musical effects desired; as also means for shifting
the bridge end wise, and other details of construction, some of which are shown in
the drawings, but which are not here described as they have no necessary relation
to my present invention, which is a keyed bridge, whether of six or other number
of rows of keys, and whether adapted for end wise movement across the strings for
change of key or not.
Bridges embodying my invention are applicable not only to harps so called, but
also to instruments with strings arranged as in a piano, and generally to all stringed
instruments, although mainly useful with instruments having many strings.
The keys are best made as clearly shown in Figure 3, and of wood or hard
rubber. The rubber strip 6" when extended will become thin enough to readily
enter the groove in the key and will theu expand to fill that groove; and this is
the simplest way of connecting the keys and the rubber strips.
The strips are then secured to the bars a of the bridge, by tacks or otherwise.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. The attachment for stringed instruments above described consisting of a
bridge with a plurality of rows of keys, each key consisting of a hammer extending
below the bridge, and a finger piece projecting above the bridge, and each provided
with a spring by which it is held normally above and clear of its string in
" position to strike a blow on its string when moved on its axis through the finger
piece against the force of its spring and then released, rebounding by the force of
its spring when it strikes its blow, all substantially as described.
Second. The key b, composed of a hammer and finger piece, notched as shown,
in combination with the spring strip b', substantially as set forth.
Dated this 17th day of September 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.