Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 15th July, 1895-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1895
טי
I, MELDRUM JAMES CHRISTIE of 29 Hornsey Park Road in the County of
Middlesex Pianoforte Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows
―
The invention relates to improvements in iron frame pianofortes and has for its
object to obtain a more reliable means than heretofore of sustaining the strain of
the strings and regulating the tension thereof, and the invention comprises various
details of arrangement of the parts as hereinafter described.
Iron frames of pianofortes, owing to the unequal cooling of the metal in casting
such a large surface are commonly of unequal texture throughout their body and
therefore liable to fracture and the strain of each string which is also more or
less unequal throughout the entire compass is borne directly by the top bar or
"wrest plank" of the frame and these causes commonly result in the fracture of
the frame which is thereby rendered wholly useless necessitating its removal and
replacing by a new frame.
Now according to one feature of the present invention instead of mounting the
"wrest pins" or regulating pins in a bar made integral with the frame they are
mounted in an independent bar of malleable cast iron or other metal which is hung
on the top of the frame, by which means the strain of the wires is equally
distributed throughout the frame and there is consequently little or no liability for
it to break whilst the hanging bar can be formed of such material and proportions
as to render the fracture thereof a practical impossibility.
The hanging bar which may be in one length or in sections is at its rear formed
with an overhang having a groove in its underside and the frame is formed to
more or less fit the groove whilst the hanging bar is extended downward beyond
the front side of the groove in order to afford a good bearing upon the frame.
o
but-
The front part of the hanging bar is provided with groups of vertical holes
therethrough to receive the strings and regulating pins and each group which
consists of three holes is arranged somewhat in the form of a .pyramid thus
every alternate pyramid is inverted thus ° ° and these groups are produced by
two parallel rows of holes the holes of one row being arranged intermediate of
those of the other row thus °
°
0
0
This peculiar arrangement of the holes is designed for a trichord pianoforte,
each group of three boles (that is three strings) constituting a note, and the object
of the arrangement is inasmuch as the regulating pins are arranged all on the same
horizontal plane to afford accommodation therefor and for the strings and cause
the latter to occupy their proper position in the same vertical plane at the top
bridge the hole representing the apex of each pyramid whether inverted or not,.
being that which receives the centre string of each note.
The strings are connected with and held by the regulating pins in the following
manner.
The regulating pins are formed with a vertical groove in each side and with
three transverse holes entering the grooves and the string is laid in the groove
below the lowest hole, then passed through such hole then laid in the groove on
the other side and passed through the second hole, then laid in the groove on 'the
first side then passed through the top hole and the end is then turned down to lie.
::
DO37

page_text: in the groove on that side and a tight connection is thus made between, the string.
and the regulating pin.
"
The grooves in the regulating pins are formed of a depth to receive about half
the diameter of the wire and corresponding grooves are formed in the walls of the
vertical holes in the hanging bar to receive the projecting wire which thus
constitutes a key or feather to prevent the regulating pin turning under the
influence of the tuning key.
The grooves in the holes of the hanging bar are formed, at the front and back of
each apex hole that is to say upon a horizontal line drawn transversely of the
hanging bar and passing through the centre of the apex hole, whilst in the other
holes constituting the base of the pyramid the grooves are arranged upon lines
drawn at an angle of about 45° to the horizontal line above mentioned and inter-
secting or passing through the centres or axes of the base holes and the regulating
pius are placed in the vertical holes of the hanging bar in such manner that cach
string below the lowest transverse hole of the pin occupies the inside groove or
that which is nearest to the centre of the pyramid and by these means the strings
are mechanically brought into the required position to fall into their place on the
upper bridge.
Each regulating pin is at its upper end formed with a screw thread to receive
a tubular nut, which at one end takes a bearing upon the top of the hanging bar in
order to strain the strings and at the other end is horizontally slotted to act in
conjunction with a simple flat portable and inexpensive form of key formed of
stamped or other metal with a butterfly top and feathers or projections at the bottom
to act in conjunction with the slots of the tubular nut.
Dated this 18th day of October 1894.
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27 Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.
I, MELDRUM JAMES CHRISTIE of 29 Hornsey Park Road in the County of
Middlesex Pianoforte Maker 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 invention relates to improvements in iron frame pianofortes and has for its
object to obtain a more reliable means than heretofore of sustaining the strain of
the strings and regulating the tension thereof, and the invention comprises various
details of arrangement of the parts as hereinafter described.
Iron frames of pianofortes, owing to the unequal cooling of the metal in casting
such a large surface are commonly of unequal texture throughout their body, and
therefore liable to fracture and the strain of each string which is also more or less
unequal throughout the entire compass is borne directly by the top bar or "wrest
plank" of the frame and these causes commonly result in the fracture of the frame
which is thereby rendered wholly useless necessitating its removal and. replacing
by a new frame.
66
"
Now according to one feature of the present invention, instead of mounting the
wrest pins or regulating pins in a bar made integral with the frame, they are
mounted in an independent bar of malleable cast iron or other metal, which is hung
on the top of the frame, by which means the strain of the wires is equally
distributed throughout the frame and there is consequently little or no liability for
it to break whilst the hanging bar can be formed of such material and proportions
as to render the fracture thereof a practical impossibility.

page_text: The hanging bar which may be in one length or in sections is at its rear formel
with an overhang having a groove in its underside and the frame is formed to
more or less fit the groove whilst the hanging bar is extended downward beyond
the front side of the groove in order to afford a good bearing upon the frame.
O. 1
The front part of the hanging bar is provided with groups of vertical holes
therethrough to receive the strings and regulating pins, and each group which
consists of three holes is arranged somewhat in the form of a pyramid thus
but every alternate pyramid is inverted thus ° °, and these groups are produced
by two parallel rows of holes the holes of one row being arranged intermediate of
those of the other row, thus O
o
° о
0
°
This peculiar arrangement of the holes is designed for a trichord pianoforte,
each group of three holes (that is three strings) constituting a note, and the object
of the arrangement is, inasmuch as the regulating pins are arranged all on the
same horizontal plane, to afford accommolation therefor and for the strings and
cause the latter to occupy their proper position in the same vertical plane at the
top bridge the hole representing the apex of each pyramid, whether inverted or
not, being that which receives the centre string of each note.
The strings are connected with and held by the regulating pins in the following
manner.
The regulating pins are formed with a vertical groove in each side, and with
three transverse holes entering the grooves, and the string is laid in the groove
below the lowest hole, then passed through such hole, then laid in the groove on
the other side and passed through the second hole, then laid in the groove on the
first side then passed through the top hole and the end is then turned down to lie
in the groove on that side, and a tight connection is thus made between the string
and the regulating pin.
:
The grooves in the regulating pins are formed of a depth to receive about half
the diameter of the wire and corresponding grooves are formed in the walls of the
vertical holes in the hanging bar to receive the projecting wire which thus
constitutes a key or feather to prevent the regulating pin turning under the
influence of the tuning key.
The grooves in the holes of the hanging bar are formed at the front and back
of each apex hole that is to say upon a horizontal line drawn transversely of the.
hanging bar and passing through the centre of the apex hole, whilst in the other
holes constituting the base of the pyramid the grooves are arranged upon lines
drawn at an angle of about 30° to the horizontal line above mentioned and inter-
secting or passing through the centres or axes of the base holes and the regulating
pins are placed in the vertical holes of the hanging bar in such manner that each
string below the lowest transverse hole of the pin occupies the inside groove or
that which is nearest to the centre of the pyramid, and by these means the strings
are mechanically brought into the required position to fall into their place on the
upper bridge.
Each regulating pin is at its upper end formed with a screw thread to receive a
tubular nut, which at one end takes a bearing upon the top of the hanging bar in
order to strain the strings, and at the other end is horizontally slotted to act in
conjunction with a simple flat portable and inexpensive form of key formed of
stamped or other metal with a butterfly top and feathers or projections at the
bottom to act in conjunction with the slots of the tubular nut.
And in order that the said invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully
to describe the same.

page_text: gure 18 plan thereon:
66
Figure 4 is an underside; view of a portion of the hanging bar or wrest
plank.
$$
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the hanging bar or wrest plank."
Figure 6 is a plan thereof.
" wrest
Figure 7 is a horizontal section of a portion of the hanging bar or
plank showing the form of the slotted hole therein and taken transversely
thereof, and
Figure 8 is a vertical section thereof.
Figure 9 is an elevation of one of the wrest pins.
Figure 10 is an underside view thereof.
Figure 11 is a similar view to Figure 9 but taken at right angles thereto.
Figure 12 is an elevation of the tuning key.
Figure 13 is a vertical transverse section taken through the hanging bar or
"wrest plank" and connected parts illustrating a slight modification.
In the several figures in which like parts are indicated by similar letters of
reference Figures 3 and 4 and 7 to 11 and 13 are drawn to an increased scale with
respect to Figures 1, 2, 5, 6 and 12 and Figures 5 and 6 are drawn to a reduced
scale with respect to the other figures of the drawing.
Referring to Figures 1 to 12 a represents the cast iron frame of the instrument,
b represents the hanging bar and e represent the wrest pins or regulating pins.
The wrest pins or regulating pins c instead of being mounted in a bar made
integral with the frame a as heretofore are according to the present invention
mounted in the bar which is an independent bar cf malleable cast iron or other
suitable metal hung on the top of the frame a by which means the strain of the
wires is equally distributed throughout the frame a and there is consequently little
or no liability for such frame to break whilst the banging bar b can be formed
of such material and proportions as to render the fracture thereof a practical
impossibility.
The hanging bar which may be in one length or in sections as may be found
most convenient in practice is at its rear formed with an overhang or hook b¹
having a groove & in its underside and the frame a is at a' formed to more or less
fit the groove whilst the hanging bar bis extended downward beyond the
front side of the groove 2 in order to afford a good bearing upon the frame a.
°
The front part of the hanging bar bis provided with groups of vertical holes ba
therethrough to receive the strings d and regulating pins c and each group which
consists of three holes 63 is arranged somewhat in the form of a pyramid thus
and as shown more particularly at Figure 6, but every alternate pyramid is
inverted thus ° ° and these groups are produced by two parallel rows of holes,
the holes of one row being arranged intermediate of those of the other row
thus-
0
o
o
This peculiar arrangement of the holes is designed for a trichord pianoforte
each group of three holes (that is three strings) constituting a note, and the object
of the arrangement is inasmuch as the regulating pins c are arranged all on the
same horizontal plane to afford accommodation therefor, and for the strings d and
to cause the latter to occupy their proper position in the same vertical plane at
the top bridge a², the hole representing the apex of each pyramid, whether
inverted or not, being that which receives the central string of each note.
The strings d are connected with and held by the regulating pins c in the
following manner :-
The regulating pins c are formed with a vertical groove c' in each side thereof
and with three transverse holes c² entering the grooves c' and the string d is laid in
the vertical groove c¹ below the lowest hole it is then passed through such hole c
it is then laid in and carried upward in the vertical groove c' on the other side of
the pin c and passed through the second hole it is then laid in and carried
upward in the groove c on the first side of the pin e then passed through the top
hole c² and the end is then turned down so as to lie in the groove c' on that side of

page_text: the pin cand a tight connection is thus made between the string d and the
regulating pin c.
The grooves c in the regulating pins c are formed of a depth to receive about
half the diameter of the wire d and corresponding grooves 64 are formed in the
walls of the vertical holes in the hanging bar b to receive the projecting wire d
which thus constitutes a key or feather to prevent the regulating pin c turning
under the influence of the tuning key.
The grooves in the holes of the hanging bar bare formed at the front and
back of each apex hole or intermediate hole 6 of the groups of holes that is."
to say such grooves are formed upon a horizontal line drawn transversely of
the hanging bar and passing through the centre of each apex hole 6** whilst in.
the other holes 3 constituting the base of the pyramid the grooves b* are arranged
upon lines drawn at an angle of about 30° to the horizontal line above mentioned
and intersecting or passing through the centres or axes of the base holes 68 and
the regulating pins c are placed in the vertical holes 68 of the hanging bar bin
such manner that each string d below the lowest transverse hole c³ of the pin <
occupies the inside groove or that which is nearest to the centre of the pyramid,.
and by these means the strings d are mechanically brought into the required position
to fall into their place upon the upper bridge a².
Each regulating pin c is at its upper end formed with a screw thread c³ to receive
a tubular nut which at its lower end takes a bearing upon the top of the
hanging bar in order to strain the strings d and at the other end is horizontally
slotted at to act in conjunction with a simple flat portable and inexpensive form
of key e as represented at Figure 12 and which is formed of stamped or other
metal and provided with a butterfly top e and feathers or projections at the
bottom to act in conjunction with the slots of the tubular nut c¹, and by the aid
of which the strings d may be regulated as desired.
In the example given at Figure 13 the device is slightly modified that is
to say
Instead of forming the hole 63 in the hanging bar of the same diameter from
end to end as represented in the previous figures the lower part thereof is in the
present example formed of smaller diameter than the upper part and the
grooves are only co-extensive with the lower part by which means the labour of
cutting the grooves 6 is materially reduced.
Furthermore the string d after it has passed through the second transverse
hole of the regulating pin c instead of being carried upward as represented
at Figure 1 is turned down into the groove c' and by this arrangement the third
transverse bole c² is dispensed with, whilst in practice it is found that this fastening
of the string is sufficient for all practical purposes.
By the arrangement of parts hereinbefore described iron frame pianofortes are
rendered much more durable and easy to repair than heretofore, whilst the
tuning is more readily effected and there is no possibility of the strings running
back.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
clain is:-
"
1. In an iron frame pianoforte a wrest plank" of suitable metal formed
separate from the iron frame and in one or more lengths adapted to be supported
by the iron frame substantially as herein shown and described.
2. In an iron frame pianoforte the combination of a "wrest plank" of suitable
metal formed separate from the iron frame in one or more lengths at the rear
provided with an overhang and an iron frame shaped to fit such overhang and
support the "wrest plank" substantially as herein shown and described.
66
23.
3. In an iron frame pianoforte the combination of a wrest plank" formed with
a number of vertical holes therethrough, a corresponding number of "wrest pinsi
adapted to loosely fit such holes, longitudinal half round grooves in the "
wrest.

page_text: pins" corresponding grooves in the walls of the holes of the "wrest plank" so
arranged that the wire will lie partly in the grooves of the regulating pin and
partly in those of the "wrest plank" and thus form a key between those parts,
means for fixing the wire with the "wrest pin" and means for traversing the
same substantially as herein shown and described.
66
"
4. In an iron frame pianoforte the combination of a wrest plank" formed with
a number of vertical holes therethrough, a corresponding number of "wrest pins
adapted to fit such holes, longitudinal half-round grooves in the "wrest pins
corresponding grooves in the walls of the holes of the "wrest plank" so arranged
that the wire will lie partly in the grooves of the regulating pin and partly in
those of the "wrest plank" and thus form a key between those parts, transverse
holes in the wrest pins" for permitting the passage of the wire from one side of
the pins to the other and fixing the wire, screw threads upon the "wrest pins'
corresponding tubular nuts for engaging such threads and taking a bearing upon
the top of the "wrest plank" and a notch in the top of each nut adapted to engage
a tuning key, and a tuning key adapted to fit the notch substantially as herein
shown and described.
Dated this 18th day of July 1895.
"
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27 Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.