CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES AND ORGANS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Lloyd Burrowes, of St. Helens, in the
County of Lancaster, Professor of Music, and John Knowles, junior, of
the same Place, Mine Surveyor, for the Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE
Sealed the 7th June 1859, and dated the 9th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left-by the said Robert Lloyd Burrowes
and John Knowles at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 9th December 1858.
We, ROBERT LLOYD BURROWES, of St. Helens, in the County of Lancaster,
Professor of Music, and JouN KNOWLES, junior, of the same Place, Mine
Surveyor, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES AND ORGANS," to be as
follows:-
These improvements are designed for the purpose of eliciting the sound of
two notes simultaneously by the touch of one "key," whereby the increased
power of sound is obtained from the instrument with greater precision and
with less difficulty to the player, than when such double sound or octave is
The improvement.
produced by striking two keys in the ordinary manner.
consists in connecting each "key" (and its individual mechanism) to its corre-'
sponding unison "key or octave "above or below by means of a novel and
peculiar arrangement of mechanism; consisting of a series of a rectangular bell-
cranked levers, the ends of which are acted upon or struck by. a projection upon

page_text: the ordinary sticker," which is raised by each "key," and that the action of
each key struck is transferred to its octave above or below, and the two notes
are struck and the octave sound produced simultaneously. The apparatus is
divided at or near the middle of the "key board," and is controlled by pedals,
which are so applied that the performer may either use the bass in octaves,
and treble singly, or vice versa, or both entirely or partly combined, or it may
be entirely dispensed with when required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John Knowles in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 9th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
LLOYD BURROWS, of Saint Helens, in the County of Lancaster, Professor of
Music, and JOIN KNOWLES, junior, of the same Place, Mine Surveyor, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her- heirs and successors, give and
grant unto us, the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John Knowles, junior,
Her special license that we, the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John
Knowles, junior, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John Knowles, junior, our ex-
ecutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF PIANOFORTES AND ORGANS," upon the condition, amongst
that we, the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John Knowles, junior, by an
instrument in writing under our hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John
Knowles, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings
(that is to say)
―:
These improvements are designed for the purpose of eliciting the sound of
two notes simultaneously by the touch of one "key," whereby the increased
power of sound is obtained from the instrument with greater precision and
with less difficulty to the player than when such double sound or octave is
produced by striking two "keys" in the ordinary manner. The improvement
consists in connecting each "key" (and its individual mechanism) to its
corresponding unison "key" or "octave" above or below by means of a novel
and peculiar arrangement of mechanism, consisting of a series of rectangular
bell-cranked levers, the ends of which act upon or strike a projection upon the
ordinary "sticker," which is raised by each "key," so that the action of each
"key" struck is transferred to its octave above or below, and the two notes
are struck, and the octave sound produced simultaneously. The apparatus is
divided at or near the middle of the "key board," and is controlled by pedals,
which are so applied that the performer may either use the bass in octaves,
and treble singly, or vice versâ, or both entirely or partly combined, or it may
be entirely dispensed with, if required.
In order that the Invention may be more clearly understood and explained
in detail, we have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings made upon a scale
of about four inches to a foot, and having similar letters of reference marked
upon corresponding parts of the apparatus. Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the
interior mechanism of a pianoforte shewn as an example, in which one com-
plete action is shewn distinct in color; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same;
and Fig. 3 is a detached view of the lever and bearings for transferring the
action of one key to its octave. In Fig. 1 and 2, a, a, is the framing of the
pianoforte; and b, b, are the key levers; c, c, are the "stickers," having an
inclined projection formed upon them, and are connected at the top to the
hammers d, d; each of the "stickers" bear upon a sticker lever e, e, to which
motion is given from the key lever to which they are connected; f, f, are
extra stickers which when unaffected by the pedal assume an inclined position
similar to the "stickers" c, c, but when the pedal is pressed by the foot or
otherwise, the bell-crank levers g, g, force the extra stickers ff, on to the pro-
jecting ridge h, h, on the key levers by bringing forward the lower portion of
the frame (or the entire frame, if the hinge be placed at the top), and thus
place them in a position to become affected or raised by the "key levers,"
supposing the pedal to have brought the extra stickers from the inclined or
passive position to the vertical position on the top of the ridges h, h, as shewn;

page_text: if now a "key" be struck, the hammer corresponding to such key will strike
its note, and simultaneously the "extra sticker" will be raised, and motion will
be transferred to the hammer of the octave or unison note by means of the
bent wires k, k, which are caused to rock in the rail 1, 1, by the lifting of the
extra stickers, and by such lifting or rocking motion beneath the inclined pro-
jection on the sticker causes the sticker to lift the hammer and strike the note;
if the pressure be removed from the pedal, the "extra stickers" will be brought
into an inclined position, and be unaffected by the lifting of the key lever,
and single notes only will be sounded.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of performing the same, we wish it to be distinctly understood that we
do not claim the principle of the application of additional mechanism to the
key of a pianoforte, &c., for the purpose of striking an octave or chord above
or below, with the note of the key struck, nor do we claim the use or application
of additional or "extra stickers" when inclined in a diagonal direction; but
we do claim the novel and peculiar construction and arrangement of mechanism
for eliciting sound from an octave or chord by the touch of one key, precisely
and only as herein-before described and set forth, and distinctly shewn in the
Drawings attached.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Lloyd Burrows and John
Knowles, junior, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eighth
day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine.
ROBERT LLOYD BURROWS:
JOHN KNOWLES, JUN'.
L.S.)
(L.S.)