IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL BOXES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, PAUL LOCHMANN, of Gohlis-Leipzic, in the Kingdom of Saxony, do hereby
declare the nature of my said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL BOXES,"
to be as follows:-
'
The invention forming the object of the present application for Letters Patent
consists of an improved construction of musical box or mechanical musical instru-
ment. In musical boxes of. the ordinary construction the notes are sounded by the
projecting points on the pin drum catching the teeth of the stationary comb when
the said drum is rotated. In the improved system about to be described, the comb
or combs are caused to rotate, and the ends of the teeth impinge upon projections
fixed on a flat circular pin plate, preferably fixed to the inside of the box lid.
Upon a steel axle fixed centrally on the bottom of the box is suspended the
sounding comb divided into two or more parts so that the comb or combs can be
rotated by suitable gearing actuated by a spiral spring placed within the box.
Instead of the pin roller hitherto employed for the purpose of causing the teeth
of the comb to vibrate and consequently to sound the notes impinging upon them
in revolving, a pin plate is employed which is simply fixed upon the inner side
of the lid which turns back by means of the hinge.
The pins are inserted in niches according to the notes of the piece to be played,
so that those on one half of the plate circle only are struck by the corresponding
half of the comb, whilst the pins of the other half of the circle plate avoid the teeth
of the first mentioned comb and correspond to those of the other comb.
1
i
The number of combs may be increased say to 4 or 8 by placing them radially'
around the axis at different positions with regard to the fixed peg plate.
The music can be stopped immediately at any time by raising the lid and be
altered by replacing the peg plate by another. It is obvious, that the combs
might be fixed and the pin plate arranged to rotate, without departing from the
principle of this invention.

page_text: I, PAUL LOCHMANN, of Goblis-Leipzic, in the Kingdom of Saxony, 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 forming the object of the present application for Letters Patent
consists of an improved construction of musical box or mechanical musical instru-
ment. In musical boxes of the ordinary construction the notes are sounded by
the projecting points on the pin drum catching the teeth of the stationary comb
when the said drum is rotated. In the improved system about to be described,
the comb or combs are caused to rotate, and the ends of the teeth impinge upon
projections fixed on a flat circular pin plate preferably fixed' to the inside of the
box lid.
"
Upon the steel axle A placed centrally on the bottom of the case G the sounding
combs divided into two parts is placed so that the same can be set in rotary
motion by the driving wheel r by means of a spiral spring placed in the box h.
Instead of the studded roller hitherto employed for the purpose of actuating
sounding combs, which causes the notes to be sounded by impinging upon the
teeth of the comb in revolving, a note peg plate p is employed, which is simply
placed upon the inner side of the lid & which folds back by means of the hinge c.
The pegs are inserted in niches according to the notes of the piece to be played
so that the half of the plate circle only can be reached by the corresponding half of
the comb, whilst the pegs of the other half of the circle plate avoid the teeth of that
comb and correspond to those of the other comb.
In the drawing-
Figure 1 shews the left side of the comb, struck by the various pegs corre-
sponding to it.
The pegs visible between the teeth of the comb of the second half of the plate
will come in contact with the teeth of the other comb on the completion of a half,
turn of the peg plate.
The number of combs may be increased say to 4 or 8 by placing them radially
around the axis at different positions with regard to the fixed peg plate.
The musie can be stopped immediately at any time by raising the lid and be
altered by replacing the peg plate by another. It is obvious that the combs might
be fixed and the pin plate arranged-to-rotate, without departing from the principle
of this invention.

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. The musical box mechanism with interchangeable pin plate p, whose comb 8 8
is disposed in two or more pieces radially around the central axis a so that by the
rotation of the same, certain notes are sounded by contact with the pegs fixed to a
circular pin plate preferably secured to the underside of the lid.
2. The modification of the above described mechanism arranged so that the comb
or combs are fixed and the pin plate is caused to rotate.