Improvements in or relating to Stringed Musical Instruments.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 28th May, 1-95-Accepted, 29th June, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Stringed Musical Instruments.
We, DANIEL MAYER, Pianoforte Maker, and WILLIAM ROBINSON Pianoforte
Maker both of 18 Great Marlborough Street, in the County of London, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to stringed musical instruments particularly pianofortes,
the object we have in view being to improve the quality and volume of the tone.
In carrying out this invention we take the sound-board of an ordinary pianoforte,
whether in a vertical or horizontal plane, and connect with that, at a suitable
distance from and preferably to the frame-work of the instrument, a plate of
suitable material provided with a convenient number of tongues or equivalent
formed in the plate itself or connected thereto, and these tongues we connect with
the sound-board or belly by strings or equivalent of any suitable material,
preferably gut. These tongues and more or less the whole plate vibrate in
sympathy with the belly or sound-board and we find by experiments that where gut
is employed as the connecting medium the harmonics are reduced to a minimum.
The plate may be made of various materials, but we find a mild quality of steel
to give excellent results; nevertheless we do not bind ourselves only to use steel or
even metal, as other materials-wood for example-may be employed.
Aluminium and other metals would suit but it is desirable that the material used
should have good vibrating qualities.
The gut may be secured by loops or equivalent in the belly bars, and at the
other end to holes in the tongues; a screw or other device may be employed for
adjusting the tension of the gut if desired. The tongues preferably have their
edges turned over so as to make the tongues or gongs hollow leaving one end or
part open or flat for the more satisfactory development of the tone.
Dated this 30th day of October 1894.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Stringed Musical Instruments.
We, DANIEL MAYER and WILLIAM ROBINSON, Pianoforte Makers, both of
18 Great Marlborough Street in the County of London, 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:-
This invention relates to stringed musical instruments particularly pianofortes,
the object in view being to improve the quality and volume of the tone.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings in which we have as an example shown how our invention may be applied
to a pianoforte,
Figure 1 being a vertical section and
Figure 2 a view of the underside of as much of a grand pianoforte as is necessary.
to illustrate the application of our invention thereto.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

page_text: A is the pianoforte case or frame and B the belly or sound-board secured therein
in the usual manner. C is the plate or "resonator" which, in accordance with our
invention, we connect with the belly or sound board B by strings or equivalent D.
The plate C may be made of various materials, but we find a mild quality of
steel to give excellent results; nevertheless we do not bind ourselves only to use
steel or even metal, as other materials-wood for example-may be employed.
Aluminium and other metals would suit but it is desirable that the material used
should have good vibrating qualities.
The plate or resonator C may be connected to the frame A in any desired
manner preference however being given to means whereby the tension on the plate
may be increased or decreased, and an open space is left between its edge and the
frame A as for example at G Figure 2 to admit of the free egress of the sound
from the interior of the instrument. A. convenient way of carrying this into
practice is to rivet or otherwise secure bolts E to the edge of the plate and pass
these through bridge-pieces or yokes F secured to the frame A, two nuts E' being
provided on each bolt to enable its position to be adjusted and lock it in the yoke.
It will be readily seen that by adjusting the nuts on the bolts E the resonator C
may be tightened or slackened.
The edge of the resonator C may however be secured to the frame A by
ordinary wood screws in which arrangement the resonator would be approximately
of the same size as the frame A instead of as shown in the drawings, smaller,
washers or equivalent being preferably interposed between the resonator and the
portion of the frame overlapped by it so that its vibrating properties may be
interfered with as little as possible.
The strings D are of any suitable material, preferably gut; they may be passed
through eyes or equivalent secured to or provided in the belly B or in the bars or
ribs thereof and through holes formed at any desired parts of the resonator the
two ends of each string being connected together conveniently by a right and left
handed screwed nut or other device whereby its effective length may be adjusted
and consequently its tension or the strain exerted by it on the resonator regulated.
To improve the tone-developing properties of the resonator C we prefer to
provide it with a convenient number of vibratory tongues or gongs C₁ each of
which at its free end may have its edge turned up or over so as to make it hollow
and take somewhat the form of a spoon the part near its root being left flat 80
that its vibrating properties may not be interfered with. When these tongues C¹
are provided we prefer to connect the strings D directly to them, for which
purpose one or more holes C' may be formed in each of them to admit of the
adjustment of the point of attachment of the string with the tongue, it being found
that the nature of the tone-improvement may be modified by changing this point
of attachment.
The strings D may be attached to the resonator C or tongues C¹ by means other
than the holes C previously described.
In an instrument constructed as before described the tongues C³, and more or
less the whole plate or resonator C vibrate in sympathy with the belly or sound
board B and we find by experiment that where the strings D are of gut the
harmonics are reduced to a minimum. If desired any connection other than gut
and capable of transferring the vibrations of the sound board to the resonator so
as to cause the latter to vibrate in sympathy with the former may however be
employed the word "string" herein used including all such connections.
The resonator C may if desired, be provided with holes as represented in dotted
lines at Cin Figure 2 to give freer egress to the sound, and it may be fitted in
any convenient part of the instrument.
The plate or resonator C may have a number of comparatively large perforations
which would as it were cause it to take the form of a frame; for example, in the
arrangement wherein the tongues are provided only sufficient material may be left
for properly supporting the tongues, the word "plate" or "resonator" herein used
including all such arrangements.

page_text: Although we have illustrated our invention as applied to a grand or horizontal
pianoforte we wish it to be understood that it may equally well be applied to a
vertical one and to other musical instruments in which bellies or sound-boards are
employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
-
1. The combination with the belly or sound-board of a musical instrument of a
plate or resonator and strings connecting the belly and resonator together.
2. The combination with the belly or sound-board of a musical instrument of a
plate or resonator secured to the case or frame of the instrument and connected by
strings to the belly substantially as described.
3. The combination with the belly or sound-board of a musical instrument of a
plate or resonator connected to it by strings and perforated or having a space
between its edge and the instrument frame or having both this space and the
perforations substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. The combination with a musical instrument of a resonator having vibratory
tongues.
5. The combination with the belly or sound-board of a musical instrument of a
resonator having vibratory tongues and strings connecting the resonator with the
sound board.
6. The combination with the belly or sound-board of a musical instrument of a
resonator having vibratory tongues and strings connecting the tongues with the
sound board.
7. The combination with the belly or sound-board of a musical instrument and a
resonator having vibratory tongues and secured to the frame of the instrument
and strings connecting the resonator or the tongues with the sound-board of means
for adjusting the tension on the resonator or the effective length of the strings.
8. The combination with a grand pianoforte of the complete resonator
attachment substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
DANIEL MAYER.
WILLIAM ROBINSON.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.
DANIEL MAYER.
WILLIAM ROBINSON.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.