Improvements in Organs.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 8th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 8th Feb.,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Organs.
I, JOHN TURNELL AUSTIN, of 81 Lafayette Avenue, in the City of Detroit,
in the County of Wayne and State of Michigan, one of the United States of
America, Organ Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be
as follows:-
My invention has for its object to construct an organ having a universal wind
chest which is provided with an air tight door and of sufficient size so that a man
can easily enter the same to repair or adjust any of the working parts therein. The
wind chest contains the pumping bellows and also preferably some suitable
regulating apparatus to regulate the pressure in the wind chest.
The top of the wind chest is provided with a multiple series of apertures into
which the lower end of the pipes connect. These apertures are all controlled by
valves and each series of valves is provided with mechanism for throwing them in
and out of operative relation to the operating rods or tracker bars controlled by
the keys, the controlling mechanism for each series of valves being operated from
the stops. Thus I have a universal wind chest having a multiple series of valve
exits to the pipes, stops controlling each series of valves and keys operating the
tracker rods for actuating the valves of those series which are thrown into operative
position.
The invention also includes the construction of the passage-ways through the
top of the wind chest, so that the danger of leakage from the wind chest into the
pipes is materially reduced. This is effected by forming the passage wholly in
cross-bars or scantlings in the top of the wind chest and inserting the lower end of
the pipe directly in the passage, thus formed in the scantling, so that the only joint
in the passage is the one where the pipe connects into the passage in the scantling
or cross-bar.
The invention further relates to the peculiar construction of the stop actuating
mechanism for throwing in and out of operative relation the series of valves. This
is preferably accomplished by supporting the valve operating levers of each stop
upon a common swinging wing, which wing is moved in or out by the stop, and
arranging buttons or bearings on the trackers in such relation to the valve operating
levers that when the stop is not drawn the movement of the tracker effects only
such of the valve operating levers as have been thrown into operative relation to
the buttons on the tracker by drawing the stop.
With my construction all small air passages are avoided, there is no danger of
one set of pipes robbing another of wind as they are all subjected to the same
pressure in the same chest.
Dated this 95th day of Jonuarv 1894

page_text: Pros Organs.
I, JOHN TURNELL AUSTIN of 83 Lafayette Avenue, Detroit, in the County
of Wayne and State of Michigan, one of the United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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 object of my invention is to simplify the construction, reduce cost of
manufacture, to give more ready access to the valves and the other parts of the
nechanism and further to allow access to said parts while the organ is in use.
My invention consists in the peculiar construction, arrangement and combination
of the various parts, all as more fully hereinafter described.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section through my organ.
Fig. 2 is a cross section at right angles to Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a diagram of a modified form of chest.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of some of the parts shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the stop mechanism.
A is a wind chest preferably of rectangular form, above which are arranged the
pipes B. Where there is sufficient floor space the chest is preferably made
of a single casing having all the pipes above it, but where cramped for room
it may be built in sections or stories (as shown in Fig. 3), connected by a wind
trunk A¹.
C is a man-hole or entrance to the chest closed by an air tight door C' arranged
.preferably in one of the side walls.
Dis a vestibule chamber into which the door C' opens and D' is a second door
opening into the organ. I preferably-provide the walls of the chest with one or
more. transparent panels A through which light may be admitted.
Where an
electric motor is used electric lights may be employed for illuminating the interior
of the chest. E are feeders or pumping bellows and F a pressure regulating
bellows arranged within the chest preferably upon the side walls.
In the drawings, I have shown the bellows F hinged at the bottom and provided
with a weighted arm F' for holding it normally distended.
F is a check valve normally closed and adapted to be opened by striking
against the arm F to act as a safety valve. An electric motor E' is shown for
operating the feeders provided with a rheostat E controlled by the movement of
the bellows F.
Gare a series of bars extending across the upper part of the chest. The
pipes B are arranged in rows on the bars G, and I, are a series of parts of air
passages formed in said bars, one for each pipe. These ports are preferably formed
by first boring a hole a iu the upper edge of each bar, adapted to receive the
nose of the corresponding pipe, and then boring corresponding holes 6 in
the side of the bars joining the hole a, so as to leave a well or dust pocket c below
the junction.
Jare panels closing the space between the bars G, and together with said bars
forming the cover, of the chest. Kare valves, normally closing the passages b
secured to the upper end of the levers L which are pivoted on strips L' hinged
to the bars G preferably at the upper edge of a gain or notch in the lower edge
thereof, as shown in Fig. 4.
Each lever is provided with a spring M, preferably as shown, secured at one end
to the strip or wing L' bearing at its opposite end against the upper end of the

page_text: lever, acting to close the valve. All the valves of a single register with their
actuating lever and spring are carried upon one of the wings L. This wing at
its lower end is connected by the toggle levers M¹ (Fig. 5) with the rod M' by
means of which the wing and its levers may be swung into and out of operative
position by the stop knobs, as will hereafter be more fully explained.
N are trackers arranged below the levers L having buttons N¹ adapted to
strike the said levers (when in their operative position) of all the valves
controlled by a single key. These trackers are secured at one end to spring
hangers N2 and at the other end to pneumatic motors 0 preferably of the
following construction.
d is a bellows secured to the board e forming a part of the side walls of the chest.
To this bellows air is admitted or exhausted through ports f in the board e and
the inclined passages g joining the ports f.
stem i.
hare valve discs arranged on a common stem i, the one on the outside and
the other on the inside of the chest. jis a spring holding the valve / normally
closed and the valve open. is a smaller bellows having arm secured to the
o is an
m m² are supply and exhaust passages leading to the bellows l.
armature controlling said passages and p an electro magnet for operating said
armature connected in an electric circuit with one of the keys of the key board
of the organ, not shown.
The rods M² are connected to pneumatic motors S, similar in construction and
operation to the motors O, and controlled, through suitable electric connection by
the stop knob of the organ.
The operation of the parts is as follows: Air is supplied to the chest through
the pumping bellows E operated by the motor E' and is kept at uniform pressure
by the regulator bellows F which alternately collapses and expands as the air is
supplied or exhausted from the chest.
When the stops of the organ are closed all the valves K are maintained in their
inoperative position by the springs M³ which draw the rods M² to the position
shown in Fig. 5. This draws the wings L', and the levers L beyond the limit of
travel of the buttons N¹ on the trackers N as shown by the position of the parts in
the register at the right hand of Fig. 4. If one or more of the stop knobs be
drawn, the pneumatic motor S will actuate the rod M², throwing the wings out,
and moving the rods into their operative position as shown by the position of parts
in the register at the left hand of Fig. 4.
Now if any key of the organ is depressed its corresponding tracker N will be
drawn by the operation of the pneumatic motors O in the manner before described
the buttons impinging against such levers L as are in their operative position, and
rock the levers upon their pivots, opening such valves as are in their operative -
position, but in no wise affecting those registers not thus arranged.
It frequently happens during an organ recital that one of the valves become
inoperative, owing to the lodgement of dust on its seat, or from some other like
cause. This causes the performer a great deal of annoyance as he is obliged to
shut off the whole register, to prevent the sounding of this one pipe, which he
cannot use again during the performance. With my construction, a defect of this
kind can be at once remedied even while the organ is in use, as access to the
interior of the chest may be had at any time without exhausting air pressure, by
entering through the vestibule chamber D. It is only necessary to press the
valve C2 in the door C₁ allowing whatever air pressure there may be in the vestibule
to exhaust, and then the door may be opened. When once in the vestibule and
the outside door is closed the valve D in the inner door D' may be opened to
equalize the pressure in the chest and vestibule after which access may be had, to
the interior of the chest.
It is obvious that where the chest is divided into two or more separate
compartments in which the air is maintained at different pressures, access may be
had from one compartment to the other by providing a vestibule entrance similar
to the vestibule D.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In an organ, the combination of a wind chest having portions of the outer
wall formed of a single plank on edge, and air passage therethrough, the pipes
secured directly in the outer end of said passages, a valve at the inner end thereof,
whereby there are no joints in the passage between the valves and pipes.
2. In an organ, the ceiling formed of bars or planks arranged on edge, and
extending to the outside, of connecting strips between the bars, but not extending
across the same, air supply passages from the wind chest, formed entirely in said
bars, and the pipes connected directly into the outer ends of the passages.
3. In an organ, the combination of a universal wind chest, the pipes, passages
extending from chest to the pipes, a valve controlling each passage, connection
from the stops controlling each register of said valves and connection from the
key for actuating the same.
4. In an organ, the combination of a wind chest, the pipes, passages from the
chest to the pipes, a valve controlling each passage, a lock for said valve
controlled by the stop and mechanism controlled by the keys to actuate the
unlocked valves.
5. In an organ, the combination of an accessible wind chest common to a number
of registers of pipes and having inlet and outlet door, passages from the chest to
each pipe, a valve controlling each passage controlling devices for all the valves
of each register of pipes actuated by a stop, and key actuated devices for all
the corresponding valves in each register, these parts being located in the wind
chest.
6. In an organ, the combination of the wind chest, the pipes connected there-
with by passages, valves controlling said passages, a lock for said valves
controlled by the stop, a tracker, and a spring arm through which the tracker
operates the valves.
7. In an organ, the combination of the wind chest, the pipes connected therewith
by passages, valves controlling said passages a lock for said valves controlled
by the stops, a light spring acting to hold the valves closed, a tracker and a
spring arm, of greater power than the closing spring through which the tracker
operates the valves.
8. In an organ, the combination of the valves, the lock therefor, a spring
acting to normally apply said lock and a motor controlled from the stop for
releasing said lock.
9. In an organ, the valve actuating mechanism comprising a pneumatic motor
located on a plank forming a portion of the wall of the wind chest, a passage
leading from said pneumatic motor to a second passage formed through said plank,
a valve stem having valves controlling the ports inside and outside the chest and
means for actuating said valves.
10. In a pipe organ, the combination of a series of register of pipes, a valve
for each pipe, valve controlling mechanism and an accessible universal wind chest
therefor, in which the valves and valve controlling mechanism are contained and
provided with an inlet and outlet door.
11. In an organ, the combination with a wind chest, common to a number of
registers of pipes, and having an inlet and outlet door, pipes, passages from the
chest to the pipes, a valve controlling each passage, key actuated mechanism for
the like valves of each register of pipes and mechanism for setting said valve
in operative or inoperative position controlled by a stop, all located within the
wind chest.
12. In an organ, the combination with an accessible wind chest common to a
number of registers of pipes and having an inlet and outlet door, pipes, passages
from the chest to the pipes, a valve controlling each passage, of key actuated
mechanism for the like valves of each register of pipes, mechanism cominon to

page_text: each register of pipes for setting the valves of such register in operative or
inoperative position all located within the wind chest and stops for controlling the
setting mechanism.
13. In an organ, the combination with an accessible wind chest common to all
the pipes and having an inlet and outlet door, key and stop actuated valves and
actuating mechanism all contained within the chest.
Dated this 8th day of November 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.