New or Improved Apparatus for Moving and Guiding in a Rectilinear and Positive Manner Long and Endless Music Sheets for Mechanical Musical Instruments.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Mar., 1895-Accepted, 27th Apr., 1895
New or Improved Apparatus for Moving and Guiding in a
Rectilinear and Positive Manner Long and Endless Music
Sheets for Mechanical Musical Instruments.
I, FRIEDRICH ADOLF RICHTER of Rudolstadt, in the Empire of Germany,
Manufacturer, 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 :-
The present improvement has for its object to effect the advance of, and to guide
rectilinearly with certainty, long and endless music sheets from the middle thereof,
by means of two toothed wheels arranged one behind the other.
Heretofore wide long music sheets could only be moved over the tripping
apparatus with any amount of certainty, by arranging the two rows of driving
holes for the two toothed wheels mounted on cne shaft, either at the outermost edges
of the music sheet outside of the line of notes, or to a certain extent within the line
of notes. But with this arrangement the driving holes had to be made of rather
great width, in order to ensure a certain engagement of the teeth of the two wheels
therein, in case of alteration of the paper or cardboard music sheets, such as
The greater the width of a
shrinking and expanding, resulting from the weather.
music sheet of this kind, the greater must be the space or play in the driving holes.
With an arrangement of this kind there is no guarantee for proper rectilinear
movement; on the contrary, the sheet in its forward-movement will be shifted to
and fro, by the entrance of the tripping points or pins in the notes of music holes;
the amount of such shifting being proportionate to the amount of play in the driving
holes.
It has been attempted to obviate this drawback by providing special side guiding
devices, but in this case also the contraction or shrinking and expansion of the
music sheets have been found inconvenient. In the case of side guiding devices
the maximum width of the music sheet, resulting from the action of the weather,
must be taken into consideration, because if this is not done, side friction is
produced, which will interfere with the proper forward movement.
Now the present invention completely obviates all these drawbacks. The
alterations (such as the shrinking and expansion) of the music sheets resulting
from the weather, can no longer injuriously affect the rectilinear motion of the
music sheet. According to this invention the driving holes are arranged in the
middle of the music sheet (a Fig. 2), and two tooth wheels (b and c, Fig. 1) are
provided at a suitable distance apart one behind the other, of which the front
wheel, that is to say the wheel b, which is driven by the motive mechanism serves
to effect the forward motion of the music sheet, whilst the rear wheel, that is to
say, the wheel c, is actuated by the music sheet, and serves exclusively for guiding
the music sheet in a straight line. With this arrangement the driving holes of the
music sheet need not be wider than is necessary for the proper engagement of the
teeth of the two wheels, and since both wheels serve for guiding the music sheet
positively in a straight line, it cannot be shifted laterally. Furthermore this
apparatus has also the advantage that it requires considerably less power for
operation, because all friction and irregularity of motion resulting from the
expansion of the music sheets, is excluded.
In order to enable the herein before described apparatus to be used with very
wide music sheets, the two toothed wheels must be each provided with two or more

page_text: separated rings of teeth (a³, Fig. 2). This is necessary in order to make the con-
necting portion between the driving holes of sufficient strength, by leaving also a
longitudinal connecting piece between the said holes (a¹ Fig. 2).
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :
1. In mechanical musical instruments, the arrangement of two toothed music-
sheet-driving wheels, one behind the other, for the purpose of ensuring a proper
rectilinear motion of the music sheet, by driving the latter from the centre of the
line of notes, substantially as described.
2. The construction of the driving wheels as referred to in Claim 1, with two
or more rings of teeth, arranged side by side with intervals between the rings, for
the purpose of leaving one or more connecting portions in a longitudinal direction
in the music sheet, so as to impart greater strength to the driving portion of the
sheet, substantially as described.
Dated this 21st day of March 1895.
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for Applicant.