Improvements in Organs or Wind or Steam Instruments for Music or Signalling.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 30th June, 1896
CAR
Date of Application, on June, 1990
Complete Specification Left, 29th Apr.; 1897-Accepted, 29th May, 1897
'PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Organs or Wind or Steam Instruments for Music
or Signalling.
I, ROBERT HOPE-JONES, M.I.E.E., of 55 & 57 Argyle Street, Birkenhead in the
County of Chester, Consulting Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
As the term organ is now so frequently applied to instruments that produce tone
for the purpose of affording musical pleasure, there is room for doubt as to whether
the titles of the Specifications of my Patents Nos. 22,414 of 1894 and 21,558 of 1895
will be held to be broad enough (as I originally thought they would) to cover the
application of my invention to organs that produce tone for other purposes, such as
signalling etcetera. The present application for Letters Patent is therefore made with
a view to remove any doubt on this point, and to cover an apparatus to be known as
a "diaphone" and consisting of a valve moved in a periodic inanner by a diaphragm
or its equivalent and governed by the application of a resonator or other form of
spring or regulator.
The aforesaid valve may be of any known form so long as it be capable of dividing
a stream of fluid into a series of puffs or of modifying it into a series of undulations.
The diaphragm or its equivalent which is used to set the valve into motion may be
made in an almost endless variety of ways. It may for instance consist of a simple
plate of more or less elastic material (either plain or corrugated) capable of being
deflected or stretched by pressure; or of a plate of thin and flexible material at the
edges and of more rigid substance in the middle; or of a piston working in a cylinder;
or of an ordinary bellows or "motor "; or of a collapsible deeply corrugated tube of
metal; or of a portion of the surface of the valve itself;-all that is required being
that through the instrumentality of this diaphragm or its equivalent variations in the
pressure of the fluid should so affect the valve as to reduce or increase the quantity of
fluid passed. The regulator which is used to control the movement of the valve may
conveniently be formed of a body or column of elastic fluid contained-within a pipe or
resonator; or it may exist in the natural elasticity of the aforementioned diaphragm ;
or it may take the form of a spring or of a weight attached directly or indirectly to
the valve or to the motor. It is immaterial how this resonator or other form of
spring or regulator be formed; so long as it ensures that the valve shall move
with regularity and at some approximately definite periodicity or periodicitie
previously arranged.
My invention is broadly speaking set forth covered and fully described in the above
specification. I will however by way of illustration only describe two or three of the
almost numberless forms that the diaphone may take.
I may admit steam under pressure into a vessel upon the top of which is fixed an
elastic diaphragm of thin metal. Above this diaphragm I may attach a strong
metallic tube of several feet length slightly tapering from the end near the diaphragm
outwards towards the upper end which opens into free air. I may fix to the centre
of the diaphragm the spindle of a double-seated equilibrium valve, which valve may
hang down into the above named chamber into which the steam is first admitted.
The valve seats and the delivery port communicating with them may be so arranged
that when the valve is lifted the steam' will be adinitted into the bottom of the conical
tube on the upper side of the diaphragm. Under normal conditions the weight of
the valve and the elasticity of the diaphragm will cause the valve to lie say open to

page_text: a very slight extent. When the steam is first turned into the above named chamber
it will press upon the under side of the diaphragm and will through its instrumentality
lift the double-seated valve and allow the steam to rush into the lower part of the
conical tube which is situated just above the diaphragm. The inertia of the column
of steam or air within the conical tube will cause a momentary compression to take
place at the lower end of the tube and this acting upon the diaphragm will cause it
to descend and to close or partially close the valve. The steam being now cut off
from the conical tube and the inertia of the column of air contained in the said tube
having been overcome and having been in fact followed by a rarefaction the
diaphragm will again rise, the valve will be lifted from its seat and the cycle
of operations will be repeated. This will result in the production of a musical
note.
If desired two such diaphones may be placed side by side and the conical tubes
may be of slightly different lengths. This will result in the production of an
undulating tone due to the interference of the soundwaves. At one moment the
sound waves emitted by one tube will tend to destroy those emitted by the other
tube and at the next moment the soundwaves emitted by the first named tube will
strengthen those emitted by the other tube; the result will be the production of an
undulating tone of peculiar significance that will penetrate to a greater distance
than a smooth and continuous tone.
If desired the column of steam contained by the long conical tube may be altered
in length as is done in the case of the clarionet, the trombone or the cornet and the
note emitted by the diaphone may be thereby changed.
Two distinct notes may simultaneously be produced from one and the same
diaphone by properly proportioning the valves, motors and springs.
The above described form of diaphone may be varied in a hundred ways. A single
seated barrel, a roller or any form of valve may be used; the diaphragm or motor
may form part of the valve itself or may be placed so that one side is open to the
atmosphere and the other is influenced by the compressions and rarefactions that
occur in the conical tube resonator; the resonator may take the form of a box or
sphere or may be replaced by some other form of spring or weight regulator, or the
regulator may consist partly of a column of air and partly of a mechanical spring,
or the valve may rest normally full open and the diaphragm or motor be arranged to
close it directly the pressure within the resonator foot rises.
As another illustration of the way the principle of the diaphone may be practically
applied I will cite the following:-
A spherical resonator may be employed. This resonator may at one side open out
to the atmosphere through a tube and expanding bell. At the lower side it may
terminate in an open deeply corrugated tube of thin and elastic metal. Surrounding
this corrugated tube on the outer side may be a chamber containing steam under
pressure and there may be arranged at the lower extremity of the corrugated tube a
more or less fixed piece of metal to act as a valve. The pressure of the steam upon
the outside of the deeply corrugated tube will cause it to shorten in length and to
part company with the fixed piece of metal, vulcanised fibre, or other material acting
as a valve, thereby allowing steam to rush inside the corrugated tube and by
momentarily equalising the pressures within and without it to allow it again to come
in contact with its fixed valve.
Another method in which the principle of the diaphone might be applied would
be to employ an ordinary disc valve so much too large for actual requirements that its
central area would not act as a valve but would practically form the "diaphragm or
its equivalent" named above. This diaphragm would tend to hold the valve (say) on
its seat; a spring (either mechanical or pneumatic) would be provided to oppose the
action of the pressure on the diaphragm. The apparatus would work on the same
lines as those indicated for the foregoing examples.
As another illustration of a method of applying the diaphonic principle, I would
cite the following:-
A resonator tube, open at both ends, has one end enlarged into a bell for emitting

page_text: the sound. The other end is protruded for some inches into a reservoir containing
say compressed air. This latter end is fitted with a second tube which slides within
the first. This second tube is closed at the end. furthest from the enlarged end of the
resonator. A spring keeps the second tube drawn up to the end of the first or outer
tube. When the compressed air is admitted to the apparatus it drives the second
tube within the first till a number of slots or holes pierced through both tubes are
caused to coincide. The air pressure within the second tube then momentarily rises
and through: the action of the spring the tube is drawn out so that the holes no
longer coincide.
In order to help the diaphones to start promptly and with a drum like sound, or in
order to produce a drum like sound either in connection with a diaphone, a flue pipe,
or a reed pipe, or alone, a valve (preferably large and covered on its face with soft
material) may be arranged to stand between the resonator and the chamber containing
the fluid under pressure in such manner that when the fluid is first admitted it
shall rush directly into the resonator but in so doing shall cause the valve suddenly
to close with a bang and so for a moment set up a powerful sonorous vibration in the
resonator.
تيمم
1
1000
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Organs or Wind or Steam Instruments for Music
or Signalling.
I, ROBERT HOPE-JONES M.I.E.E. of 55 & 57 Argyle Street, Birkenhead in the
County of Chester Consulting Electrical Engineer, 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:-
As the term organ is now so frequently applied to instruments which produce tone
for the purpose of affording musical pleasure, there is room for doubt as to whether
the titles of the Specifications of my Patents No. 22414 of 1894 and No. 21558 of 1895
will be held to be broad enough (as I originally thought they would) to cover the
application of my invention to organs which produce tone for other purposes, such as
signalling etcetera. The present application for Letters Patent is therefore made with
a view to remove any doubt on this point, and to cover an apparatus to be known as
a "diaphone" and consisting of a valve moved in a periodic manner by a diaphragm
or its equivalent and governed by the application of a resonator or other form of spring
or regulator.
The aforesaid valve may be of any known form so long as it be capable of dividing
a stream of fluid into a series of puffs or of modifying it into a series of undulations.
The diaphragm or its equivalent which is used to set the valve into motion may be
made in an almost endless variety of ways. It may for instance consist of a simple
plate of more or less elastic material (either plain or corrugated) capable of being
deflected or stretched by pressure; or of a plate made of thin and flexible material
at the edges and of more rigid substance in the middle; or of a piston working in
a cylinder; or of an ordinary bellows or "motor" or of a collapsible deeply
corrugated tube of metal; or of a portion of the surface of the valve itself ;-all that
is required being that through the instrumentality of this diaphragm or its equivalent
variations in the pressure of the fluid should so affect the valve as to reduce ór
increase the quantity of fluid passed. The regulator which is used to control the

page_text: movement of the valve may be conveniently formed of a body or column of elastic
fluid contained within a pipe or resonator; or it may exist in the natural elasticity
of the aforementioned diaphragm; or it may take the form of a spring or weight
attached directly or indirectly to the valve or to the motor. It is immaterial how
this resonator or other form of spring or regulator be formed, so long as it. ensures
that the valve shall move with regularity and at some approximately definite
periodicity or periodicities previously arranged.
My invention is broadly speaking set forth covered and fully described in the above
specification. I will however by way of illustration only describe two or three of the
almost numberless forms which the diaphone may take.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which-
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are sectional elevations of varied forms of what I call a
diaphone.
}
Figure 6, is a sectional elevation of a device for promptly starting the sounding of
a pipe or diaphone."
In Figures 1 and 2 which give two different views of the same diaphone, steam
under pressure is admitted through the pipe A into the cylindrical vessel B. The
steam (or compressed air) pressure immediately raises the flexible metal diaphragın E
and in so doing opens the valves (and D which are rigidly connected to it by a
spindle d. The steam is thus allowed to escape through the steam ports Fff into the
foot of the conical tube G on the upper side of the diaphragm. The inertia of the
column of steam or air within the tube or resonator G will cause a momentary
compression to take place at the lower end of the tube and this acting upon the
diaphragın will allow it to descend and close or partially close the valves C and D.
The steam being now cut off from the tube G and the inertia of the column of air
having been overcome and having in fact been followed by a rarefaction, the
diaphragm will again be raised, the valves C and D will be lifted from their seats and
the cycle of operations will be repeated. This will result in the production of a
musical note practically governed in pitch by the length of the tube G.
If desired the column of steam contained by the long conical tube or resonator
may be altered in length as is done in the case of the clarionet, the trombone or the
cornet, and the note emitted by the diaphone may be thereby changed.
The above described form of diaphone may be varied in a hundred ways. A single
seated barrel, a roller or any other form of valve may be used; the diaphragm or
motor may form part of the valve itself or may be placed so that one side is open to
the atmosphere and the other is influenced by the compressions and rarefactions that
occur in the conical tube resonator; the resonator may take the form of a box or
sphere or may be replaced by some other form of spring or weight regulator, or the
regulator may consist partly of a column of air and partly of a mechanical spring,
valve may rest normally full open and the diaphragm or motor be arranged to close
it directly the pressure within the resonator foot rises.
or the
As an example of one of the many forms of diaphones mentioned above, I would
refer to Figure 3 in which A is a pipe conveying steam or other fluid into a
cylindrical chamber B, thence through the valves to outer chamber K
opening out into a conical tube or resonator G. CD are two valves rigidly
connected to the centre of an elastic metal diaphragm E, one side of which is open to
the atmosphere.
The action of this diaphone is as follows:-
Steam under pressure enters the pipe A and in escaping into the chamber K forces
open the valves CD owing to the unbalanced pressure on the excess of area in
valve D over the area of valve C deflecting the diaphragm E inwards at the same
time. The compression caused by the inertia of the column of air in the resonator G
assists the diaphragm E to return to its normal tension thereby closing or partially
closing the valves C and D. The steam being now cut off from the chamber K and
the momentary compression being followed by the complementary rarefaction, the

page_text: steam pressure will again force open the valves CD and the cycle of operations
will be repeated resulting in a series of periodic puffs of steam being delivered into
the tube Ġ forming a musical note.
As another illustration of the way in which the principle of the diaphone may be
practically applied I will cite the following:-
In Figure 4, A is a pipe conveying steam or other gaseous fluid under pressure into
a cylindrical chamber B in the middle of which is placed a deeply corrugated tube
made of thin and elastic metal I rigidly fixed at one end to a conical tabe or
resonator G and resting at the other end upon a more or less fixed seat J.
The action of this form of diaphone is as follows:-
Steam under pressure is admitted through the pipe A into the chamber B. The
pressure bearing upon the exterior surface of the corrugated tube I will cause this.
tube to shorten in length and as it is rigidly fixed at one end to the resonator G, the
lower end of the tube I will be raised from the valve seat J upon which it rests.
Steam will immediately rush inside the corrugated tube I and the pressure being
momentarily equalised, the tube will again become lengthened and the lower end will
again come into contact with the valve seat J. The cycle of operations will be
repeated and a musical note will be produced governed more or less in pitch by the
length of the resonator.
Another method in which the principle of the diaphone might be applied.would be
to employ an ordinary disc valve so much too large for actual requireurents that its
central area would not act as a valve but would practically form the "diaphragm or
its equivalent" named above. This diaphragm would tend to hold the valve (say) on
its seat; a spring (either mechanical or pueumatic) would be provided to oppose the
action of the pressure on the diaphragin. The apparatus would work on the same
lines as those indicated for the foregoing examples.
Figure 5 shows another of the various forms of diaphones alluded to. Here G is
the conical tube or resonator and B is a cylindrical chamber supplied with compressed
air or steam through the pipe A. L is a small tube closed at one end acting as a
sliding barrel valve and fitting closely within the outer tube M and held in the
required position by a spring N. Both the inner barrel L and the outer barrel M are
pierced with a number of slots or holes O and P in such a manner that when the inner
barrel is pushed a short distance up the outer barrel, these openings all coincide and
a free communication exists between the chamber B and the resonator G, when the
barrel L is again withdrawn this communication is cut off..
The action of this form of diaphone is as follows:-
Steam under pressure enters the pipe A, raises the pressure in the chamber B and
acting upon the closed end and the flange of the harrel valve L forces it into the
tube M in spite of the tension of the spring N.
The small slits or openings in the movable barrel L now correspond with the similar
openings in the fixed tube M. The steam rushing simultaneously through all the
small slits or openings seeks to escape through the resonator G to the atmosphere but
as the column of air which already fills this resonator has weight and consequently
inertia the escape of the steam is for a brief instant checked and the pressure inside
the barrel valve L rises. The spring N now overcomes the pressure on the under side
of the movable barrel L, and it promptly returns to its normal position and closes all
the slits. When the pulse of pressure within the barrel has subsided and is followed
by the complementary rarefaction, the barrel is again acted upon by the pressure in
the chamber B and the above operations are repeated. This of course results in the
admission of a series of puffs of steam governed as to frequency by the sympathetic
period of the resonator G thus producing a musical note.
In order to help the diaphones to start promptly and with a drumlike sound, or in
order to produce a drumlike sound either in connection with a diaphone, a flue pipe,
a reed pipe or alone, a valve (preferably large and covered on its face with soft
material) may be arranged to stand between the resonator and the chamber containing
the fluid under pressure in such a manner that when the fluid is first admitted it shall
rush directly into the resonator but in so doing shall cause the valve suddenly to closo

page_text: with a bang and so for the moment set up a powerful sonorous vibration in the
resonator.
As a simple illustration of one of the ways in which this device may be used
I would refer to Figure 6, where it is adapted to an open flue pipe Q. In this case
air under pressure upon being admitted into the pipe foot R would rush on to the back
of the valve S and close it instantly with a bang, thus setting up immediately a
powerful sonorous vibration in the pipe Q, which vibration or note would be prolonged
by the pipe speaking in the ordinary way until the wind is cut off, when the valve S
will again fall open by the action of its own weight.
In this invention I do not in any way bind myself to these particular designs of
diaphone, for it is clear that they may be considerably multiplied without departing
from the principle of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that I make no claim for anything covered by my aforesaid former patents but that
I declare that what I claim is
1. The application of the diaphone to signalling, warning and the like purposes.
2. A diaphone or device for signalling or warning purposes, in which a valve or
valves controlling the admission of fluid under pressure to a pipe or resonator, is
thrown into vibration by a motor or kindred device substantially as described.
3. The various forms of diaphone substantially as described and illustrated in the
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
4. A self-acting drum or device for promptly starting the sounding of a musical
pipe or diaphone substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 6.
Dated this 28th day of April 1897.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester; Birmingham, and London, Patent Agents.