Improvements in Staff Bells.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 28th Apr., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 14th July, 1894-Accepted, 18th Aug., 1894
Improvements in Staff Bells.
I, FERDINAND SMITH, residing at Number 246 Lawrence Street, in the City of
Hartford, County of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, United States of
America, Musician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to the class of bells which are used for producing musical
sounds and for playing tunes, and more particularly to such bells as are known as
staff bells, that is, those which are held on a rigid frame and a bell played by
means of a hammer or tongue.
The object of my invention is to provide a device for controlling the duration
of the note sounded, as by a pull upon a cord which operates the striking device;
and to this end my invention consists in details of the several parts making up the
striking and muffling devices and in the combination of such parts with a bell as
more particularly hereinafter described.
In practising my invention I make use of a bell of ordinary form and con-
struction. A stem, which is preferably a casting provided with a shoulder at its
inner end, and a thread on its opposite end adapted to be extended through a hole
in the bell, and through a support to which the bell is attached, a nut on the
threaded end of the stem serving to secure the bell to the support. The stem
extends within the bell and supports a hammer, the lever of which is pivoted to
the stem and has an arm projecting into the path of movement of a nut which
rests on the arm so that a downward movement of the rod will cause the hammer
to be swung outward by the lever which rocks on its pivot and causes the hammer
to strike the sounding shell of the bell. A reciprocating rod is supported in arms
located on the stem and it has a limited lengthwise movement in the arms.
The
extent of movement may be controlled by nuts which may be moved on the
threaded stem to the proper position to determine the length of throw of the rod.
To the lower end of the rod a pull cord is connected.
If the bell is struck by pulling on the cord and the cord then released the
hammer dropping back from the sounding shell allows the musical note to be
prolonged and to diminish gradually until it dies away. It is desirable in using
a line of bells on a fixed support, called the staff, to be able to control the
duration of this sound of any note to prevent a discord. To accomplish
this a muffler is arranged with its felt normally pressing against the sounding
shell.
The pull cord is connected by links, which are jointed or otherwise flexible, to
the muffler lever or spring so that when the cord is pulled the muffler felts are
withdrawn from contact with the sounding shell allowing the note sounded by the
hammer to be prolonged. By slackening the cord the mufflers are at once pressed

page_text: again upon the shell by the spring and the note dampened or completely smothered,
depending on the force or degree of the contact.
In modified forms of the invention the bell is provided with a frame secured to
the stem and extending downward on opposite sides of the shell. On the lower
ends of these arms of the frame the muffler is arranged so that its felt is applied
to the exterior of the shell, the muffler on the other arm of the frame being
arranged to press its felt against the interior surface of the shell. Both mufflers
depend for their dampening effect upon the pressure of the spring which holds
them normally in contact with the shell.
The pull cord is connected to the mufflers so that when the cord is used to sound
a note by striking the hammer against the shell the mufflers are withdrawn and
held out of contact until the pulling strain is relaxed.
my
The several forms described are only a part of those in which
invention may
be embodied and it is present whenever the combination of parts is present which
permits and compels in use the effects and results described in such an arrangement
of mechanism.
Dated this Eighteenth dex of Anril 1904
FERDINAND SMITH.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Staff Bells.
I, FERDINAND SMITH, residing at Number 246 Lawrence Street, in the City
of Hartford, County of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, United States of
America, Musician, 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 :-
My invention relates to the class of bells which are used for producing musical
sounds and for playing tunes, and more particularly to such bells as are known as
staff bells, that is, those which are held on a rigid frame and the bell played by
means of a hammer or tongue. The object of my invention is to provide a device
for controlling the duration of the note sounded as by a pull upon a cord which
operates the striking device; and to this end my invention consists in the details
of the several parts making up the striking and muffling devices and in the com-
bination of such parts with a bell as more particularly hereinafter described and
pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the drawings:
Figure 1 is a detail view in central vertical section of a bell embodying my
invention.
Figure 2 is a detail view in central section of the bell showing the operative
parts in a plane at right angles to the plane of view of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a detail view in side elevation of a bell showing modified forms of
muffling devices.
In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes a bell of ordinary form and
construction, b a stem which is preferably a casting having a shoulder d', the
threaded end of the stem extending through a hole in the bell, and a nut c serving
to secure the bell to a support d. The stem extends within the bell and supports
a hammer e, the lever of which is pivoted to the stem and has an arm e³
projecting into the path of movement of a nut f which rests on the arm so that a
downward movement of the rod g will cause the hammer to be swung outward by
the lever which rocks on its pivot and causes the hammer to strike the sounding

page_text: shell of the bell. The reciprocating rod g is supported in the arms h, h¹, on the
stem and it has a limited lengthwise movement. The extent of movement may be
controlled by the nuts fand fl which may be moved on the threaded stem to the
To the lower end
proper position to determine the length of throw of the rod.
of the rod g a pull cord i is connected.
If the bell is struck by pulling on the cord i and the cord then released the
hammer dropping back from the sounding shell allows the musical note to be
prolonged and to diminish gradually until it dies away. It is desirable in using a
line of bells on a fixed support, called the staff, to be able to control the
duration of this sound of any note to prevent a discord. To accomplish
this a muffler k is arranged with its felt normally pressing against the
sounding shell.
The pull cord i is connected by links m, which are jointed or otherwise flexible,
to the muffler lever or spring so that when the cord is pulled the muffler felts / are
withdrawn from contact with the sounding shell allowing the note sounded by the
hammer to be prolonged. By slackening the cord i the mufflers are at once
pressed again upon the shell by the spring and the note dampened or completely
Emothered, depending on the force or degree of the contact.
In Fig. 3 of the drawings modified forms of mufflers are shown, the bell n
having a frame o secured to the stem and extending downward on opposite
sides of the shell. On the lower ends of these arms of the frame the muffler p
is arranged so that its felt pl is applied to the exterior of the shell, the
muffler on the other arm of the frame being arranged to press its felt
against the interior surface of the shell. Both mufflers depend for their
dampening effect upon the pressure of the spring which holds them normally in
contact with the shell.
The pull cords is connected to the mufflers so that when the cord is used to
sound a note by striking the hammer against the shell the mufflers are withdrawn
and held out of contact until the pulling strain is relaxed.
The several forms shown are only a part of those in which my invention may
be embodied and it is present whenever the combination of parts is present which
permits and compels in use the effects and results described in such an arrangement
of mechanisms.
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. In combination, a bell, a tongue lever and hammer, a muffler, means for
sounding the bell and flexible or jointed connections between such means and the
muffler, all substantially as described.
2. In combination, a bell, a tongue and hammer, a spring depressed muffler, a
flexible pull cord attached to the tongue and to the muffler, all substantially as
described.
3. In combination, a bell, a stem supporting a swinging tongue, a sliding rod
supported on the stem, an adjustable nut borne on said rod and arranged to engage
an arm on the tongue, a muffler having a felt normally held in contact with the
surface of the bell, a pull cord attached to the tongue and to the muffler, all
substantially as described.
Dated this 29th day T 1004
FERDINAND SMITH.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.