Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 12th Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 13th May, 1887
of this Invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the class of mechanical musical instruments wherein reeds
are made to sound in the proper order required by the piece which it is desired to play
by means of easily removable or changeable perforated tune sheets, the holes in which
are arranged in concentric circles.
In instruments of this class as hitherto constructed a combination of levers is
interposed between the perforated tune sheets and the reeds for obtaining the required
rotary motion (the arrangement being such as to either keep the reeds at rest while
the tune sheet is turning or maintain the tune sheet stationary while the reed box is
made to revolve) which levers in the one case act in connection with the perforations
of the tune sheets while in the other case they cause the air valves to open and close
at the
proper time.
According to this Invention such combination of levers is entirely dispensed with.
A further distinctive feature of this invention is that unlike the mechanical musical
instrument wherein the sounds are produced by a circularly perforated tune sheet
conducted under an organ pipe sieve or board which is operated by a blast; and
unlike those wherein band shaped perforated tune sheets are guided over sound holes
the tones are produced solely by suction the exhausting current of air being admitted
direct through the holes of the circularly perforated tune sheet and conveyed by an
intermediate member consisting of a number of peculiarly converging pipes to the
chambers of the wind trunk.
These chambers may be so disposed (in one or more sets, above or behind each
other or above and behind each other) that the smallest possible division of the circles
of tune holes which the nature of the tune sheet may require will be available ;

page_text: thereby enabling a tune sheet containing as much of a piece of music as possible to
occupy much less space than heretofore.
Again in order to enable each tune sheet to be provided with as few circles of sound
holes as possible several reeds may be connected with one and the same air feed pipe a
method which however can only be adopted where such reeds connected each with one
air pipe are always to sound simultaneously.
The surface presenting the mouths of the air holes which are directly acted upon by
the tune sheet may be either plain or tapering. In the latter case a still greater
number of ranges of holes may be provided in the tune sheet in the same horizontal
plane of projection than in circularly perforated tune sheets lying in the plane.
A circular tune sheet perforated in circles is supported upon a disc provided with
driving pins and connected with a rotating shaft raceiving motion by means of a worm
and worm wheel from another shaft arranged outside of box or casing. This latter
shaft may be rotated by means of a crank handle or it may be worked by spring
mechanism arranged within the casing.
In the surface of the casing are mouths or air holes arranged in a row and
connected by passages or pipes with the reed chambers. These reed chambers open
into a common air tightly closed space from which the air is or may be exhausted by
means of bellows an air pump any or other convenient apparatus and which may be
operated by means of a crank and connecting rod from the shaft which carries the
disc upon which the perforated music sheet is placed.
In order to render the rarefaction of air as uniform as possible in the space into
which the reed chambers open I provide a reserve bellows for controlling the rare-
faction of the air in which bellows is an arrangement for opening the air inlet valve to
the said bellows whenever the admissible minimum pressure of air is exceeded.
By imparting rotary motion to the shaft carrying the disc with tune sheet thereon
a reduction in the air pressure in the air tight space hereinbefore referred to results as
the air therein is then in communication through the reed chambers and tubes with
the underside of the perforated tune sheet causing the tune sheet to be attracted
by the air in all its non perforated parts. As soon as a hole in tune sheet comes
opposite one of the tubes atmospheric air directly enters the said hole and passes
through the tube to the corresponding reed box and thus causes the corresponding
reed to sound. This reed becomes silent again as soon as a non perforated part of the
tune sheet covers the entrance to the tube and it will therefore be understood that the
length of the produced sound will be proportioned to the size of the opening in tune
sheet.
To substitute one tune plate for another it is simply necessary to remove the one
from off the driving pins and replace it by another.
In order to economise space the reed chambers may be arranged in two different
planes so as to enable the air pipes to be placed closer together than when arranged in
the same plane.
The air pipes may be set still closer together so as to reduce to a minimum the distance
between their centres by arranging several groups of reed chambers behind each other
in addition to arranging them in different places and the air pipes may be arranged at
the part where they communicate with the passages leading to the music sheet so as
to incline to the right and to the left sides of the part of the cover which contains such
passages.
When it is desired to produce double tones or accords for the purpose of accompani-
ment the air pipes may be provided with a number of branch pipes leading to
separate reed chambers so that when the tune sheet admits air into the said tube the
several reeds in communication therewith will sound simultaneously.
When the tune sheet is made of so thin a material that it is liable to become injured
in its passage over holes the entrances to the air tubes may be first placed into a
stretching frame and be connected with shaft that imparts the motion thereto as
herein before described or it may be rotated in any other suitable manner for example
by means of a toothed ring and pinions.
It is not essential that the tune sheet with its concentric rows of holes should be

page_text: capable of a rotary motion as it may be stationary while the system of reed chambers
with their connecting air passages and pipes may be rotated with the same result. In
this case the tune sheet may be held in this position by suitable pins or by giving the
sheet a polygonal outline and providing a corresponding recess for its reception.
The air tight box and reed chambers which communicate by means of pipes with
the underside of the tune sheet may be fixed upon a shaft and receives a rotary
motion.
In this case it is desirable that this air box be at all times in communication with
another box attached to the wall or casing of the instrument in which latter box a
partial vacuum is maintained the said boxes communicating with each other by
circular slits which may be either continuous or interrupted by intermediate cross
pieces. On both sides of these slits annular pads of any suitable material such as
smoothened and hammered leather are arranged and suitably bolstered up if desired;
these pads during the rotation of the air box rub against each other and act as a
packing.
When the surface containing the mouths of the air tubes which are at first acted
upon by the tune-sheet is not plane but a rotating surface having a conical shape for
example the tune sheet will assume a corresponding shape say that of a hollow cone.
It will be understood that the diameter of the casing for a piece of a given length (the
arrangement in all other respects remaining the same) will thus be smaller than if the
tune sheet whether circular or annular, be plane.
In most cases it will suffice for ali the above described arrangements, that the air
tight closing of the entrance to the air tubes should be effected by suction through the
body of the tune sheet itself: but whenever increased security in this respect appears
to be desirable a suitable counter pressure arm is arranged above the row of such
entrances which arm may be readily removed out of the way for the easy exchange of
tune sheets.
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
I FRIEDRICH ERNST PAUL EHRLICH, of Gohlis near Leipzig Saxony German
Empire, Managing Director of Fabrik Leipzigu Musikurv formerly PAUL EHRLICH & Co.,
of same place 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 that class of mechanical musical instruments wherein reeds
are made to sound in the proper order required by the piece which it is desired to
play by means of easily removable or changeable perforated tune-sheets, the holes in
which are arranged in concentric circles.
In instruments of this class, as hitherto constructed, a combination of a system of
levers is interposed between the perforated tune-sheet and the reeds, which levers in
connection with the perforations of the tune-sheets, cause the air-valves to open and
close at the propre time. It being understood that for obtaining the required rotary
motion between the perforated tune-sheet and the reeds the arrangement may be such
as to keep the reeds at rest while the tune-sheet is turning, or such as to maintain the
tune-sheet stationary while the reed-box is made to revolve. According to this
invention such combination of levers as above mentioned is entirely dispensed with.
A further distinctive feature of this invention is that, unlike the mechanical musical instru-
ments wherein the sounds are produced by a circularly perforated tune-sheet conducted
under a reed-box or board which is operated by a blast, and unlike those wherein a
band-shaped or rectilinearly perforated tune-sheets are guided over sound-holes, the
tones are produced solely by suction, the exhausting current of air being admitted
direct through the holes of the concentrically perforated tune-sheet and conveyed by
a suitably arranged intermediate member, such as a number of peculiarly converging
pipes, to the chambers of the wind chest.
These chambers may be so disposed (in one or more sets above or behind each other,
or above and behind each other) that the smallest possible distance between the circles
of holes on the tune-sheet will be available, therby enabling a tune-sheet containing
as long a piece of music as possible to occupy much less space than heretofore.
Again, in order to enable each tune-sheet to be provided with as few circles of
sound-holes as possible, several reeds may be connected with one and the same air feed-
pipe, a method which, however, can only be adopted where such reeds connected each
with one air-pipe, are always to sound simultaneously.
The surface presenting the mouths of the air-holes, which are directly acted upon
by the tune-sheet, may be either plane or conical. In the latter case, a still greater
number of ranges of holes may be provided in the tune-sheet-in the same horizontal
plane of projection-than in circularly perforated tune-sheets lying in the plane.
On the accompanying one sheet of drawings an instrument comprising my inven-
tion is shown in two different arrangements.
Fig. 1 represents the first arrangement in a sectional side clevation; Fig. 2 shows,
as a modification, the reed-chambers disposed in two sets above each other; Fig. 3 is

page_text: a plan view thereto; Fig. 4 is the plan of another modification showing the reed-
chambers disposed as well above each other as behind each other. Fig. 5 illustrates
a modified mode of annexion of the air-pipes or passages to that part of the lid of the
instrument which contains the row of air-holes. In Fig. 6 an air-pipe is shown from
which emanate several branch pipes leading to separate reed-chambers. Fig. 7 is a
sectional side elevation showing a modified arrangement of an instrument constructed
according to my invention. Fig. 8 shows the upper part of an instrument provided
with a conical lid, the tune-sheet having a corresponding form.
Referring to the first part of this invention shown in Fig. 1, a indicates a circular
tune-sheet perforated in circles, which is supported upon a disk b provided with
driving pins and connected with a rotating shaft c receiving motion by means of a
word d and worm-wheel from another shaft e that extends to the outside of box or
casing G. This latter shaft may be rotated by means of a crank-handle, or it may be
worked by spring-mechanism arranged within the casing.
I
In the surface of the casing are mouths or air-holes farranged in a row and connected
by passages or pipes with the reed-chambers h. These reed-chambers open into a
common hermetically closed space i provided in the casing G from which space the air
is or may be exhausted by means of bellows k, an air pump or any other convenient
apparatus and which may be operated by means of a crank and connecting rod from
the shaft e.
h
In order to render the rarefaction of air as uniform as possible in the space i into
which the reed-chambers open, I provide a reserve bellows m for controlling the
rarefaction of the air, in which bellows is a projection m' for opening the air inlet-
valve m² to the said bellows whenever the admissible minimum pressure of air is
exceeded.
By imparting rotary motion to shaft e and respectively to shaft c carrying the tune-
sheet a, the bellows will produce a reduction of the air pressure in the air-tight
space i hereinbefore referred to and as the rarefied air therein is in communication
through the reed-chambers h, tubes g and holes f with the underside of the perforated
tune-sheet, a, this tune-sheet is pressed down by the outer air on those mouths of the
air-holes that are covered by the non-perforated parts of the tune-sheet. As soon as
a hole in the tune-sheet comes opposite one of the holes f, atmospheric air directly
enters the said hole and passes through the tube g to the corresponding reed-box /
and thus causes the corresponding reed to sound. This reed becomes silent again as
soon as a non-perforated part of the tune-sheet covers the entrance to the tube, and it
will, therefore, be understood that the length of the produced sound will be pro-
portioned to the size of the opening in tune-sheet.
To substitute one-tune-sheet for another, it is simply necessary to remove the one
from off the driving pins on disk and replace it by another.
In order to economise space the reed-chambers may be arranged in two different
planes so as to enable the air-pipes g to be placed closer together than when arranged
in the same plane, as clearly show Figs. 2 and 3, * being tubular projections of the
reed-chambers to connect these to the pipes g.
The air-pipes, however, may be set still closer together, so as to reduce to a minimum
the distance between their centres, by arranging several groups of reed-chambers
behind each other in addition to arranging them in different planes (see Fig. 4), and
the air-pipes g may be arranged at the part where they communicate with the passages f
leading to the music sheet a, so as to incline to the right and to the left sides of the
part of the cover or lid which contains such passages (Fig. 5).
When it is desired to produce double tones or accords for the purpose of accompani-
ment, the air-pipes g may be provided with a number of branch pipes 91, 92, 93
leading to separate reed-chambers h³, 12, h³. so that, when the tune-sheet a admits
air into the hole fand tube g, the several reeds in communication therewith will sound
simultaneously.
When the tune sheet is made of so thin a material that it is liable to become injured
in its passage over holes f, it may be first placed into a stretching frame and be
connected with a shaft like c (Fig. 1) that imparts the motion thereto as hereinbefore

page_text: described, or it may be rotated in any other suitable manner, for example by means
of a toothed ring and pinions.
It is not essential that the tune-sheet with its concentric rows of holes should be
capable of a rotary motion, as, without departing from this invention, it also may be
stationary while the system of reed-chambers with their connecting air-passages
and pipes and f may be rotated with the same result. In this case, which is
illustrated by Fig. 7, the tune-sheet a may be held in position by suitable pins
provided at a¹, a¹ ... or by giving the sheet a polygonal or rectangular outline
and providing a corresponding recess for its reception in the lid of the casing G.
The air-tight box i, in which are disposed the reed-chambers in quite the same
manner as above described with reference to Figs. 1-4, the connecting-pipes g and
the mouthpiece containing the holes f may be fixed upon a shaft c¹ and receive a
rotary motion by means of worm d gearing together with a worm-wheel mounted on
said shaft c. This arrangement necessitates the said air-box i to be at all times in
communication with another box attached to the wall or casing G of the instrument
in which latter box a partial vacuum is maintained in the manner above described,
or in any other well known manner. The said communication of the boxes i and i
being effected by circular slits n, v, which may be either continuous or interrupted
by intermediate cross-pieces. On both sides of these slits annular pads of any suitable
material, such as smoothened and hammered leather, are arranged, and suitably bolstered
up if desired, these pads during the rotation of the air box slide one upon the other
and act as a packing.
a,
When the surface containing the mouths of the air tubes which act together with
tune-sheet is not plane, but of a conical shape, the tune-sheet will assume a cor-
responding shape, say that of a hollow cone. It will be understood that the diameter
of the casing G for a piece of a given length (the arrangement in all other respects
remaining the same) will thus be smaller than if the tune-sheet, whether circular or
annular, be plane.
In most cases it will suffice for all the above described arrangements that the air-
tight closing of the entrance to the air-tubes should be effected by the body of the
tune-sheet itself in consequence of the surplus of pressure on the upperside of the
tune-sheet, but whenever increased security in this respect appears to be desirable, a
suitable counter-pressure arm is arranged above the row of such entrances, which arm
may be readily moved out of the way for the easy exchange of tune-sheets.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :
1. In a mechanical musical instrument the combination with a concentrically
perforated tune-sheet a so arranged as to be easily interchangeable, of a row of holes f
forming the mouths of air feed pipes or passages g, of reed-chambers h extending in a
space i, of bellows to maintain in said space a pressure below that of the atmosphere,
and of means to produce a rotary sliding motion between the said tune-sheet and air
passages f, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. In a mechanical musical instrument the combination with a concentrically
perforated tune-sheet a, of a row of holes f, air feed pipes g, and reed-chambers h
disposed in one or more sets above or behind each other, or above and behind each
other, substantially as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and for the purpose specified.
3. In said instrument the combination of air feed pipes or passages g with two or
more branches g¹, 9², g³.... (Fig. 6) leading to separate reed-chambers ², 12, 1
h³...
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
n
1 1
A
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