A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Friedrich Carl Glaser at the Office
of the Commissioners, of Patents,on the 19th October 1882. A communication
to him from F. Steinbrecher residing at Kirn an der Nahe-in the German
Empire
FRIEDRICH CARL GLASER of Berlin, in the Kingdom, of Prussia and Empire of
Germany, Engineer and Patent Solicitor "A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF
STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS" [A communication to him from F. Steinbrecher
residing at Kirn an der Nahe in the German Empire]
This invention relates to the construction of musical instruments having strings
and a key-board similar to that of a piano, but in which the sounds are produced
by a stroking action resembling that of the bow of a violin.
The construction is shewn at Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings; a is a
horizontal metal plate or bar which, during the playing receives a continuous to
and fro motion by means of a fly wheel concealed in the framework of the
instrument and rotated by a treadle or by a spring or small motor engine. In the
bar a are mounted the cranked ends of vertical rods b carried just below their
cranked ends in a beam underneath the plate a while at their lower ends they are
held by loops formed on springs c fixed with their ends in the framing and passing
through slits in the upper ends of levers f These levers are pivotted at their
middle to a fixed bar and are connected at their lower ends by pins to a bell crank
lever g, the one arm of which rests upon the tail ends of the finger-keys. On the
rods are-fixed discs d of horn or other suitable material the periphery of which
is coated with resin.
The sounds are produced as follows: By a pressure on the finger-keys the
levers g and f are made to rock on their pivots whereby the looped ends of the
springs c and with them the lower ends of the rods b will be moved to the right
until the edge of the disc d comes in contact with the string e of the instrument.
As the rod band with it the disc d is continually rotated by the crank motion of
the plate a, the rotation of the disc while in contact with the string will produce a
sound similar to that of the violin, and which will be varied in strength according
to the pressure exerted upon the finger key. The lever falso carries a damper h
which is in contact with the string e when the disc d is removed therefrom and is
moved away by the motion of the lever on bringing the disc in contact.

page_text: The sounding board i is considerably arched, but otherwise similar to that of an
ordinary piano.
Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 shew a modified construction of the instrument. The plate
or bar a receives a continuous to and fro motion as before, but the rods bare not
permanently geared thereto, but carry above the platen in which they are
mounted, star wheels m (shewn in plan at Fig. 4), which when the rods bare
raised somewhat, are made to goar with pins p on the underside of tho, bar a so as
to be rotated thereby. For imparting this upward motion to the rod and at the
same time advancing it towards the string of the instrument when this is to be
sounded, the spring arm c carrying the lower end of the rod b.is fixed in an inclined
position to the beam l, as shewn inore clearly by the section Fig. 5, and the bar f,
which has a pin passing through the spring and rests with its lower end directly
upon the tail of the finger key, in being raised by the depression of the latter, both
raises the looped end of the spring and with it the rod b, and at the same time
causes the spring to move towards the string c.
On releasing the finger key, the rod.b is lowered out of gear with the pin p so
as to cease rotating, and at the same time moves the disc d out of contact with the
string c.
A tremolo action is produced as follows. The discs & have prismatic extensions d'
against which can be made to bear rods g fixed to a bar that can be inoved
longitudinally so as to bring g in or out of contact with d. When in contact, the
rotation of d causes d to be alternately brought in contact with and moved away
from the string e, thereby producing an intermittent or tremolo sound.
The sounding boards ii Fig. 3 aro in this case minde hollow and similar in
construction to those of a violin, the strings being also stretched over bridges kas
in the latter instrument.