Improvements in Mechanical or Automatic Musical Instruments.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1889-Accepted 18th Jan., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by ROBERT WILLIARD PAIN, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, Inventor.]
Improvements in Mechanical or Automatic Musical Instruments.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
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 :-
This improvement relates to musical instruments of the kind commonly known as
mechanical or automatic in which the sound producing devices are controlled by a
travelling music sheet, card or tablet commonly acting as a valve or operating a
series of valves to regulate the admission or exclusion of air for operating the
sound producing devices. In some such instruments electro-magnetic mechanism is
employed to operate or contribute to the operation of the sound producing devices.
My present improvement specially relates to instruments in which electro-magnetic
mechanism is employed.
My improvement consists in a number of contact pieces corresponding to a
number of sound producing devices and an opposite contact piece common to all the
contact pieces previously mentioned to move beneath the same. I have found it most
advantageous to make the opposite contact piece in the form of a rotary cylinder.
My improvement may be in an instrument comprising a number of sound pro-
ducing devices, a corresponding number of electro-magnets for effecting the
operation of the sound producing devices, electric circuits including the electro-
magnets, a number of contact pieces corresponding to the number of electro-magnets and
connected with said circuits, a rotary metallic cylinder arranged beneath the contact
pieces to constitute an opposite contact piece and connected with the electric circuits, a
number of pneumatic motors corresponding to the number of contact pieces and sound
producing devices and serving to cause the contact pieces to impinge upon the said rotary
cylinder, a tracker or rest having ducts communicating with the pneumatic motors
and a music sheet, card or tablet travelling over the tracker or rest and controlling
the operation of the pneumatic motors. Preferably, the pneumatic motors will be
arranged in a chamber or wind chest communicating with suction bellows and pins
will extend through the bottom of the chamber from the pneumatic motors to the
contact pieces, and, when this construction is adopted the motors will be expanded
upon the passage of air through the perforations of the music sheet and upon the
passage of imperforate portions of the music sheet over the ducts leading to the
pneumatic motors in such manner as to preclude the passage of air to the pneumatic
inotors, springs will collapse the motors and allow of the separation of the contact
pieces of the rotary cylinder.
An instrument embodying my improvement may also be adapted for manual
playing.
In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of a musical instrument
embodying my improvement, the front of the case being removed and certain of
the parts being omitted. Figure 2 is a vertical section of a portion of this instrument
upon a larger scale, the plan of the section being transverse to the length of the
instrument. Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both
figures.
A designates the strings of a pianoforte. B designate hammers for operating
upon the strings. C designate rods serving to actuate the hammers. These rods, C,
áre moved upwardly by keys D of ordinary, construction, fulcrumed between their

page_text: ends upon a rail D¹and held in position by pins D³. These keys are for operating
the instrument manually.
G designates a number of electro-magnets. Their armatures G₁are carried by
levers F, that are fulcrumed between their ends and at the rear ends serve to
transmit motion through pins E to the koys D, for the purpose of operating the
hammers. There is one of these electro-magnets for each note to be sounded.
Each electro-magnet G is connected by electric circuit wires W W W W4, with
contact pieces P1 P2. The connections between the electro-magnets and the
contact pieces are in multiple arc and the main circuit wires are in communication
with a battery W³. There is one contact piece P¹, for each electro-magnet G. The
'contact piece P2 is, however, common to all the electro-magnets.
As here shown, a wiro W extends from one pole of the battery W to a metal
brush Pimpinging upon a journal of the contact piece P³. A wire W extends
from the other pole of the battery to the coils of the electro-maguets G. From the
coils of these electro-magnets & a number of wires W extend to the contact
picces P₁ These wires may advantageously be rove or bunched together to form a
cable from a point somewhere near the part W₁, Fig. 2, to a point near the
magnets G.
The contact pieces P1 are pressed into contact with the contact piece P², by means
of pneumatic motors J, arranged in a chamber I. This instrument is intended to
operate in connection with oxhaust bellows O2, hence this chamber I is an exhaust
chamber. Internally the pneumatic motors J communicate through ducts a and
pipes a¹ with the ducts a² of the tracker or rest K. A perforated music sheet L,
passes over this tracker or rest and controls the admission of air to the motors.
When the motors are expanded by the entrance of air, their movable boards operate
through pins P³ extending through the bottom of the chamber I to the contact
piecos P, to press the contact pieces P¹ down upon the contact piece P2, thus
completing the circuits in which the magnets G are arranged and causing the latter
to oscillate the levers F and keys D in such way as to effect the operation of the
hammers.
The bellows O2 are operated by an electro-magnetic engine, Q, through a belt R,
transmitting motion to a crank-shaft O³, connected by pitman O, to the bellows O³.
A wire W extends from the battery W to one of the binding posts of this engine.
The other binding post of the engine is connected by a wiro with a switch lever W³.
A wire We extends from the battery W to a contact piece s, with which the switch
ever co-operates.
S designates resistance coils connected to a number of contact pieces s³¹. The
switch lever may be adjusted into contact with any of the contact pieces s¹²³ss, to
ntroduce more or less resistance into the circuit of the engine Q, for the purpose of
the latter.
The bellows O communicates with an equalizer 0¹. This is connected by a pipe 0³,
with a chamber I', which communicates with the chamber I, under control of a
valve I. The valve I² is connected with mechanism for reversing the music sheet so as
to effect the rewinding of it. Whenever the mechanism is reversed so as to effect the
rewinding of the music sheet, the valve 12 is shifted so as to cut off communication
between the bellows and the chamber I, and render the pneumatic motors J inoperative.
Thus the speaking of the sound producing devices during the rewinding of the music
sheet will be prevented.
The equalizer O¹ is also connected by a pipe O with a wind motor consisting of a
number of bellows-like chambers M, and a crank-shaft N, connected to their movable
boards.
The crank-shaft N, of the wind motor, transmits motion through a belt N¹ to a
shaft N, serving to impart motion to the music sheet. A valve O serves to control
the passage of air through the pipe O, and so regulate the speed of the motor.
My present improvement resides in the contact piece P³. This consists of a cylinder
made of or faced with metal. In the present instance it is represented as made of

page_text: metal and journalled in bearings P³, affixed to the underside of the chamber I. When
made of metal, the brush P may impinge upon one of its journals. Rotary motion
is imparted to this contact piece P2 by means of a belt P, receiving motion from a
pulley on the shaft N, and transmitting motion through a pulley affixed to one of the
journals of said contact piece.
I have found that by this improvement I can maintain a uniformity of action in a
mechanical musical instrument, and avoid the tendency to fuse and adhere by sparking
when separating the contact pieces. The contact pieces are not apt to stick together
or become liable to damaging sparking.
"
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is:
1. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a number of electro-
magnets for causing the operation of sound producing devices, electric circuits or
branch circuits comprising these electro-magnets, a number of contact pieces corre-
sponding to the number of magnets, pneumatic motors for operating these contact
pieces, a music sheet controlling the pneumatic motors, a contact piece opposite the
contact pieces aforesaid and consisting of a rotary cylinder, and mechanism, sub-
stantially such as described for rotating the said cylinder, substantially as specified.
2. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a number of electro-
magnets for causing the operation of sound producing devices, electric circuits
or branch circuits comprising these electro-magnets, a number of contact pieces
corresponding to the number of magnets, pneumatic motors for operating these contact
pieces, a music sheet controlling the pneumatic motors, a contact piece opposite the
contact pieces aforesaid and consisting of a rotary cylinder, mechanism substantially
such as described for rotating the said cylinder, and a metal brush impinging upon
said cylinder, substantially as specified.
3. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a number of electro-
magnets for causing the operation of sound producing devices, electric circuits or
branch circuits comprising these electro-magnets, a number of contact pieces corre-
sponding to the number of magnets, pneumatic motors for operating these contact
pieces, a music sheet controlling these pneumatic motors, rollers upon which the music
sheet is wound and rewound in reverse directions, a valve operated when the music
sheet is moved backwards to render the pneumatic motors inoperative, a rotary cylinder
forming a contact piece and arranged opposite the contact pieces aforesaid, and
mechanism substantially such as described for rotating this cylinder, substantially as
specified.
4. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a number of electro-
magnets for causing the operation of sound producing devices, electric circuits or
branch circuits comprising these electro-magnets, a number of contact pieces corre-
sponding to the number of magnets, pneumatic motors for operating the contact pieces,
a music sheet controlling the pneumatic motors and a movable contact piece common to
all the contact pieces above mentioned and arranged opposite the same, substantially
as specified.