Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 24th Oct., 1888
Complete necification Accepted, 7th Dec., 1888
I, FRIEDRICH ERNST PAUL EHRLICH of Gohlis near Leipsic in the Kingdom of
Saxony, German Empire Manager to the Fabrik Leipziger Musikwerke do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My Invention has for its objects diminishing the cost of manufacture of mechanical
or automatic musical instruments and enabling them to command a great or practically
unlimited range of airs.
These objects are attained by means of improved arrangements and combinations
of the mechanical parts acting upon the tongues reeds strings or other sound pro-
ducing agents and by an improved construction of the discs or music sheets as
hereinafter explained.
In a mechanical or automatic musical instrument according to my invention a
perforated disc or an endless or other tune band or sheet of paper card or other
material or any other suitably formed flat or curved surface provided with perforations
pins or other alternate depressions and elevations or a pin barrel or the like is
employed the perforations or their equivalents being arranged in accordance with the
tune or air that is to be reproduced as is well understood.
The said disc or its equivalent is caused to act upon levers or other mechanical
devices in such a manner as to place the said levers or their equivalents in a position
in which they engage with a continuously rotating or reciprocating tappet or other
moving part having a constant motion imparted to it and are thereby caused to act
upon the tongues or other sound producing agents at the proper intervals.
When a continuously rotating tappet is employed for example I use a lever pivotted
on an oscillating arm and connected to a rod provided with a projection which is
normally held out of reach of the tappet by a spring and provide this lever with a
finger or pin which bears against the surface of the perforated disc or music sheet.
When the pin encounters a perforation it engages with the disc or sheet and causes
the lever to move therewith until the projection on the rod is placed in the path of
the tappet. The tappet now engages with the said projection and causes the lever
"
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page_text: to act upon the tongue or other sound producing agent and at the same time
disengages the pin from the disc or sheet and then applies a damper which may
conveniently be made in the form of a woollen or other pad attached to the end of
the lever. The rotary motion of the tappet shaft may be conveniently connected with
that of a perforated disc for example by an endless cord or other gearing combined
with a spindle carrying an endless screw or worm gearing with a worm wheel on the
disc spindle and suitable guides and stops are provided to regulate the movements of
the lever and parts connected therewith.
Any other equivalent device such as a roller or rollers with roughened surface
acting on a corresponding bar or rod may be substituted for the tappet and projection
and a sliding or rectilinear motion may be employed in place of the oscillating or
vibratory motion of the arm and lever care being taken in all cases to so regulate the
action that the lever or its equivalent shall not act a second time upon the sound
producing agent in returning to its original or normal position after being operated
by the tappet or its equivalent.
I support and strengthen discs or music sheets used in combination with the afore-
said improved mechanism or otherwise by suitable supports at the parts where they
are pressed or acted on by the fingers, or pins connected with the mechanism and
stiffen the said dises or sheets by forming them with ribs corrugations or flanges or
by imparting to them a concave or convex or dished shape.
Dated this 24th day of January 1888.
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mechanical or Automatic Musical Instruments.
I, FRIEDRICH ERNST PAUL EHRLICH of Gohlis near Leipsic in the Kingdom of
Saxony, German Empire, Manager to the Fabrik Leipziger Musikwerke do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to improved arrangements and combinations of the mechanical
parts controlled by the music sheets, pin barrels or equivalent devices in automatic
musical instruments and it has for its object reducing the cost of construction and
increasing the capacity or efficiency of these instruments as hereinafter explained.
In the improved mechanical arrangements hereinafter described and which may be
combined with instruments in which the sound is produced by vibrating tongues or
reeds or by strings or chords or other suitable agencies the reciprocating motion
resulting from the action of the music sheet or its equivalent upon the pins or fingers
is transmitted directly or indirectly to the working levers or arms or parts carrying
the projections or fingers which pluck or otherwise act on the tongues strings or
other sound producing agents and has the effect of bringing the said parts carrying
the projections or fingers into contact with a continuously rotating tappet shaft or
other continuously moving or reciprocating part supplying the power required to
operate the said projections or fingers, means being also provided for returning these
projections or fingers to their original position without causing them to act a second
time on the tongues or strings or the like.
Discs or music sheets used in combination with the improved mechanism or
otherwise are supported at the part where they are pressed or acted on by the fingers
or pins connected with the mechanism and the discs or sheets are strengthened and.
stiffened by forming them with ribs corrugations or flanges or by imparting to them
a concave or convex or dished shape as hereinafter explained.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings illustrate mechanism controlled by
a perforated sheet S the power required for operating the mechanism being supplied
by a continuously rotating tappet shaft e carrying tappets which act on a projection d
on a rod b sliding vertically in a guide Z and connected to a lever a carried by an
arm c pivoted to the frame at c¹ the said lever a being provided with a pin or finger n
capable of engaging with the music sheet and also carrying a projection i and a
damper h acting on a tongue f. Figure 1 represents the parts in the normal position
the pin or fingern being disengaged from the perforations in the sheet S and the
As the music sheet or disc S is
projection d out of contact with the tappet shaft e.
drawn forward or moved in the direction of the arrow and a perforation is thereby

page_text: brought opposite to the finger n the weight of the lever a and rod b rocks the said
lever causing the pin n to enter the perforation. The sheet S continues its movement
and the parts now assume the position indicated in figure 2. The projection d on the
arm is thereby brought within the path of the tappet e and the projection i on the
lever a is brought over the tongue f. One of the tappets on the shaft e then pushes
up the rod rocking the lever a withdrawing the finger n from the sheet S and
causing the projection i to act upon and cause the tongue f to speak. A spring g
then pushes back the arm c and disengages the projection d from the tappet at the
same time pushing back the lever a to its original position without allowing the
projection to act a second time on the tongue f.
Figure 3 illustrates a similar arrangement according to which a continuously
revolving roller e¹ is substituted for the tappet shaft e in figures 1 and 2. This
roller e is provided with a roughened surface and an arm or rod k provided with a
correspondly roughened surface or covered with india rubber or otherwise prepared
so that it shall be capable of being pushed up without slipping when brought into
contact with the roller e¹ is substituted for the rod b and projection d. This rod k
is guided by a pin and slot 7. The action will be readily understood by referring to
the drawing being the same as in the arrangement illustrated in figures 1 and 2.
It is evident that all these mechanical arrangements may be controlled by music
sheets or discs of any suitable form. Figure 3 represents in full lines a music sheet S
provided with pins and in dotted lines a pin barrel S' which may be substituted for
the sheet. Figure 4 shows in dotted lines an endless music sheet S2 working on
guide rollers. This figure also illustrates a modified arrangement of the mechanism
the projection being carried by the rod k in place of by the lever a. Figure 4*
illustrates an arrangement in which the rod k is provided with a supplementary hook
or projection enabling the rod to act upon two strings f¹ƒ of a zither or other
like instrument.
Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a very simple construction of the rods or links b c for
example. This rod is stamped out of sheet metal in the form indicated in figure 6
and is then folded on the line x x to the form indicated in Figure 6 which represents
an end view of the rod with a joint pin e² in position.
According to the arrangements illustrated in figures 7, 8 and 9 the lever a is in the
form of a bell crank lever pivoted at a¹ and is jointed to the arm which is capable
of sliding on a support m. When the pin n engages with the music sheet $ the
lever a oscillates on the centre a¹ and pushes the arm towards the tongues or sound
producing devices and against the continuously rotating roller provided with a
roughened surface as in figure 7 or against a tappet shaft e (figure 8) or a recipro-
cating bar operated by an excentric c✶ figure 9 which causes the said arm to act
upon the said tongue f. This excentric is connected to the bar by an arm e³
jointed to a radius link . Cranks or other equivalent devices may be substituted for
the excentric. In the arrangement illustrated in figure 7 the arm bis provided with
a hook which engages with a spring hook t and holds up the arm in order to
prevent the projection i from dropping before the lever a has moved back sufficiently
to ensure that it shall not act a second time on the tongue.
When the pin n escapes from the sheet S the spring g causes the arm b to return
and disengage the hook u from the hook t thus restoring all the parts to their original
position without bringing i in contact with ƒ a second time.
The continuously rotating or reciprocating parts e e¹ e² are thus caused to operate
the tongues or sound producers only when the pin n engages with the music sheet
or its equivalent in accordance with the holes projections or the like on the latter.
According to the modification illustrated in figures 7, 8 and 9 the tappet shaft e
roller e¹ and excentric e* do not operate the lever a to disengage the finger n from
the sheet S and these fingers are consequently made with an incline on one side as
shown in the drawing to enable them to slip out of the perforations when brought in
contact with the back edge of the hole.
Figure 10 illustrates an arrangement of the mechanism according to which an
arm k carries the pin n as well as the acting projection being guided by a radius

page_text: link . The action is similar to that of the arrangements described with reference to
figures 1 to 4 as will be readily understood by referring to the drawing. The arm k
which is gently pressed against the sheet S by a spring g¹ just strong enough to
overcome the weight is moved in the direction of the arrow p at its upper end when
the pin meets a hole in the sheet and its lower end is moved in the opposite direction
so as to bring the projection i over the end of the tongue f. At the same time the
side of the arm is brought in contact with the continuously revolving roller e¹ whereby
the arm is pulled down and the part i acts upon the tongue after which when the
pin n is disengaged from the sheet S the arm is returned to its original position, or
that indicated in the drawing.
The mechanism. illustrated in figures 1, 4 and 10 present the advantage of not
requiring any counter pressure on the sheet at the part where it acts on the pins n.
When such pressure or support is required it is sufficient to provide on the edge of
the box at this part that is to say along that radius on which the pins n are situated,
a fixed or removeable support o figures 11 and 12 under which the edge of the disc
is laid when placing the disc in position on the driving pins 7 these pins being also pro-
vided for the sake of additional security with hooks q. By making the holes in the
disc which engage with these hooks in the form of slots of sufficient length and
placing the overhanging part of the pins or hooks in the direction in which the dise
is required to rotate the hooks hold down the disc securely at the forward edges of
the slots when the disc is rotating and effectually prevent it from rising in the
middle.
In order to further stiffen or strengthen the music sheet itself so as to enable it
to withstand the pressure of the pins n in arrangements such as those illustrated in
figures 7, 8 and 9 in which the said pin is pressed with considerable force against the
sheet, the latter is made with an annular bulge or convexity figure 13 or with a
central bulge or convexity s figure 14. The resistance of the sheet may also be
increased by corrugating or forming a depression on the edge as indicated at s² in
dotted lines or by making it somewhat in the form of a dinner plate also indicated by
dotted lines in figure 14 these forms being readily obtained by pressure. To enable
these sheets to work the mechanism it is evidently necessary to make the pins n of
unequal lengths corresponding to the shape of the sheet in section.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The arrangements and combinations of parts constituting improvements in
mechanical or automatic musical instruments and in which mechanism controlled by
a music sheet or disc or a pin barrel or the like is operated intermittently by
a continuously rotating or otherwise moving port in combination with means for
returning the parts to their normal position without acting a second time on the
tongues or other sound producing agents all substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments operated by a music sheet or
its equivalent the rods 6 provided with projections d and operated by tappet shafts e
or the arms k provided with projections i and operated by roughened rollers e¹ the
said rods 6 and arms & being caused to engage with the tappet shafts e and rollers e¹
respectively at the proper intervals by the action of a lever a provided with a pin n
engaging with the music sheet or its equivalent substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in figures 1 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.
3. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments operated by a music sheet or
its equivalents the arrangements whereby the projections i after acting upon tongues f
or their equivalents are returned to their original position without coming a second
time in contact with the said tongues or the like substantially as herein before described
and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
4. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments operated by music sheets or
their equivalents the arrangement in which the parts i acting directly on the tongues

page_text: or sound producing agents receive motion at the proper intervals from a reciprocating
box operated by an excentric e* substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to figure 9 of the accompanying drawings.
5. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments operated by music sheets or
their equivalents the arrangement in which the part i acting directly on the tongues
or sound producing agents are directly attached to or formed on the arm k or part
which also carries the pin acted on directly by the music sheet or its equivalent
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in figure 10 of the accompanying
drawings.
6. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments a circular perforated music
sheet or disc stiffened by a dishing s¹ or a bead flange or depression s² at its outer
edge or by an annular corrugation or corrugations the said disc being supported
opposite the place where it is pressed or acted on by the pins or projections n by
supports o at the edge or circumference and by hooked driving pins q₁ at the centre
whereby it is maintained in the required position relatively to the said pins or pro-
jection n substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in figures 11 to 14 of
the accompanying drawings.
7. In musical boxes or automatic stringed instruments the mechanism arranged
and operating as herein before set forth for actuating the strings or sound producing
agents in combination with readily exchangeable circular music sheets provided with
concentric rows of holes depressions or concentric rows of pins or projections
substantially as hereinbefore described.
8. In mechanical or automatic musical instruments operated by music sheets or
their equivalents the levers and links composed of sheet metal stamped or cut out
to a suitable shape or pattern and bent or folded along a central line (xx)
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in figures 5 and 6 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated the out
1000