An Improved Mechanism for Mechanically Played Musical Instruments.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Mechanism for Mechanically Played Musical
Instruments.
I, PHILIPP VON HERTLING of Rolls Chambers Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil 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 :-
This invention relates to mechanism for actuating the steel sounding tongues of
music works of the kind that are operated by a travelling perforated note sheet and
renders practicable the use of note sheets provided with one simple form of
perforation. It consists in an arrangement of drivers or toothed parts driven by
the travelling note sheet, which drivers are mounted on a spindle to turn thereon-
with play, each of them being located opposite a small toothed wheel. Upon a
tooth of a driver passing through a perforation in the note sheet and upon the-
further progress of this latter the driver in revolving engages by a tooth, a tooth
of the small toothed wheel turning this round a certain distance so as bring another
tooth of the wheel into engagement with and thereby to actuate a sounding tongue,..
the driver then being upon the further travel of the note sheet, turned round so
as to come out of engagement with the small toothed wheel and with the note-
sheet until it is again engaged in one of the perforations in the same.
The mechanism of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in-
different positions, Fig. 1 shewing the position in which the driver rests against the
note sheet disengaged from the perforations, Fig. 2 that in which the driver is
engaged by the note sheet and is turning round the toothed wheel, Fig. 3 that in
which the sounding tongue has just been engaged and the driver disengaged from
a perforation in the note sheet.
a is a driver-in this case provided with three teeth-mounted to turn on
spindle 6 in such a way that it may be raised and lowered on its spindle by reason
of its bore being larger in diameter than that of the spindle. N is the perforated
note sheet, the toothed wheel and the sounding tongue, one of a number forming
a comb. In the position of Fig. 1 the driver a rests upon the note sheet disengaged
from the perforations and lifted up relatively to spindle b. When in the further
travel of the note sheet the tooth a' of driver a comes over a note perforation it
falls by its own weight and takes into the same and is carried along with the note.
sheet. In doing this it falls on its spindle b and is simultaneously turned round.
thereon to a certain extent upon which the tooth a¹ (Fig. 2) comes into engagement
with a tooth of wheel and upon the further travel of the note sheet turns it
round its axis so that tooth / engages sounding tongue . When the note sheet
comes into the position shewn in Fig. 3 the perforation in the same brings tooth a
of the driver out of engagement with wheel and also gradually draws it out of
the perforation, whereupon it is lifted up and again rests upon the note sheet
disengaged from the perforations. Upon the further travel of the note sheet the
tooth a of the driver falls into the next following perforation and comes as before.
into engagement with wheel and so on.
2°
Figs. 4 and 5 shew a somewhat modified construction of the mechanism the
driver a being mounted on point b of rod c so as to turn thereon without play. In
order that the driver may fall when one of its teeth becomes engaged in a perfora--
tion of the note sheet the rod c is mounted to slide either vertically in a guide
block f (Fig. 4) or to oscillate at its end farthest from the driver on a bearing g
(Fig. 5) so that it may, by its own weight or in conjunction with a spring h, keep.
the driver pressed against the note sheet. When a perforation arrives underneath.
the tooth a², for example, of driver a, this by reason of its own weight and that

page_text: of rod c falls into the perforation, or this action may be assisted
whereupon the driver comes into engagement with toothed wheel
round its axis a certain distance.
by a spring h
so as to turn it
The action is therefore similar to that described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An actuating mechanism for mechanically played musical instruments of the
kind referred to, in which a tooth or an arm of a wheel or driver a mounted on a
spindle to turn with play thereon, falls by gravity into a perforation in a note
sheet N upon the further travel of which said tooth or arm engages and turns a
sounding tongue striking wheel r and is then by the operation of the note sheet
itself removed from the perforation, whereupon the wheel or driver a is turned so
far round on its spindle that the next following of its teeth or arms may fall by
gravity into the next following perforation in the note sheet, substantially as
described and shewn, with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3.
2. A mechanism of the kind referred to, in which the wheel or driver a is
mounted to turn on a rod c which is so applied that either by gravity alone or by
gravity in conjunction with the force of a spring said wheel or driver is pressed
against the note sheet N so that when a perforation in the note sheet arrives
underneath a tooth or arm of wheel or driver a this falls into the same and upon
the further travel of the note sheet engages wheel r as rod e descends towards the
note sheet, substantially as described and shewn with reference to Figs. 4 and 5 of
the drawing.
Dat this 16th day of December 1809
CAPITAINE & VON HERTLING,
89, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.