Improvements in and relating to Auto-harps or like Musical Instruments.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 15th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 9th Feb.,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Auto-harps or like Musical
Instruments.
We, ALEXANDER GOVAN, of 346 Great Eastern Road, in the City and County
of Glasgow, Power Loom Tenter, and JOHN WORTON, Junior, of Whinstone
Villa, Tollcross, Lanarkshire, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of our
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to musical
instruments of the class known as auto-harps.
Our improvements relate to a new method of enabling any key of the usual
musical scale to be played on the instrument, and under one arrangement consists
in mounting the sound or vibration stoppers and those which produce harmony. on
endless or travelling bands which travel round at right angles or across the line of
parallel wires or gut strings used in the instrument. We string the instrument
with twelve semitone wires or strings in the octave, and the semitone wires which
are not in the key to which the instrument is set for, have their sound or vibrations
stopped by the stoppers on the aforesaid endless bands. The stoppers on the
endless bands are set or arranged on them to suit the musical scale, that is, to stop
the five semitones which are not used in the required key; and if an accidental
note come in the stoppers can be manipulated by traversing the band round to suit
same.
An indicator fixed board would be placed at the side of each travelling band
carrying the stoppers, and this board would be graduated, and a pointer would be
attached to the travelling band to come opposite the graduations on the board so
that if it was desired to play say on the key of G, the band would be moved round
until the pointer came opposite that letter on the graduated board; or vice versa
the band may be graduated and a fixed pointer be placed on the board.
To produce harmony in the instrument the endless travelling bands would be
fitted to carry stoppers instead of the stationary stoppers heretofore used, so that
when the key is shifted on one of the hands as previously described the stoppers
that produce harmony can be shifted by traversing the bands to give the chords of
the key to which the instrument is set; so that when the instrument is set to any
particular key on one of the bands the other bands can be similarly shifted either
separately or combinedly to give harmony on the same key.
By an alternative arrangement instead of using endless bands, the stoppers may
be mounted on bars which are carried in housings and are shifted horizontally
from side to side to suit the key and harmony desired, and have the scales on the
bars and pointers on the frames through which they slide or vice versa.
By another arrangement a transverse bridge would be used and have twelve
wires set in grooves in the bridge at right angles to the usual strings, so that by
pressing on these strings above any particular bridge wire the musical key can be
varied; and a sliding top bar would be used for pinching or bearing on top of
strings to change the musical key, said top bar being mounted to slide in guiding
slots in side brackets secured to the instrument. While an upper transverse bridge
may be mounted with vertical screw pin passing through centre to bear on top bar
and press it down on strings to determine the key. With this arrangement
ordinary stoppers may be used.
These instruments may be constructed to play on all or any number of keys in
the musical scale.

page_text: When the twelve semitones in musical scale are not used, the semitones which
are not put into the instrument may be obtained by having another bridge either
at top or bottom of instrument arranged at such a distance and height so that when
the strings press down on bridge mentioned the half tone desired will be
obtained.
By another alternative arrangement instead of employing endless bands to carry
the key and the harmony stoppers, a stopper may be placed over every wire of the
instrument, and these stoppers would be so constructed that they can be raised
from the wire, so that when making a key the stoppers of five semitones of the
octave would be left bearing on the wires and the remaining seven would be raised;
and accidental sharps or flats can be put in by ruising the stopper of the wire or
note wanted.
The instrument can be strung with double wires tuned in unison so that a
continuous sound may be maintained by passing the: plectrum rapidly backwards
and forwards over said duplex wires. The plectrum used for pinching or playing
this instrument would be formed of india rubber or like elastic or soft material, and
have a strip or strips of tortoise-shell, bone, metal, or other hard material, so that
the instrument may be played soft or loud by merely shifting the surface of action
of the plectrum.
Dated the 15th March 1894
Improvements in and relating to Auto-harps or like Musical
Instruments.
We, ALEXANDER GOVAN, of 346 Great Eastern Road, in the City and County
of Glasgow, Power Loom Tenter, and JoHN WORTON, Junior, of Whinstone
Villa, Tollcross, Lanarkshire, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of our
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, that
is to say :-
This invention has reference to improvements in and relating to musical
instruments of the class known as auto-harps; and comprises an improved method
of mounting and operating the sound stoppers, and construction of devices connected
with these instruments.
And in order to enable others skilled in the art to which our invention relates to
understand how it may be carried into practice, we have hereunto appended two
sheets of explanatory drawings in which the same reference letters are used to
indicate corresponding parts in the several figures where shown.
Figure 1 is a plan view of an auto-harp as fitted with our improvements.
Figure 2 is a sectional elevation corresponding to Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a detached plan view of the stopper fittings.
Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified arrangement of the instrument from that
shown in Figure 1, and in which six stopper bands are shown as used.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation corresponding to Figure 4, and
Figure 6 is a detached sectional elevation showing the travelling bands carrying
the musical notes, and
Figure 7 is a view of the plectrum appliance.
Referring to these drawings -Our improvements relate to an improved method
of enabling the keys of the usual musical scale to be played on the instrument, and
consists in mounting the sound stoppers 6 on endless bands B which travel round at

page_text: right angles across the line of parallel wire strings e used in the instrument.
We
string the instrument with twelve semitone wires in the octave, and the semitone
wires which are not in the key to which the instrument is set for, have their sounds
stopped by the stoppers on the aforesaid endless bands B. The stoppers on the
endless bands are set on them to suit the musical scale, and to produce harmony.
When the instrument is set to any particular key on one of the bands the other
bands can be similarly shifted to give harmony on the same key.
Harmony bars C are fitted between the endless bands B, and are adjustably
mounted at their ends on vertical pins C¹ round which are coiled helical springs C³,
and the pulleys B' round which the endless bands B travel are loosely mounted on
pins C screwed to each bar C. As shown in Figures 4 to 6, a boxed cover D is
screwed to frame of instrument, and vertical stem rods d are secured one to each
band B and project up through slots D₁ formed in top of cover D. Key
graduations are formed at the sides of each slot D', so that if it is desired to play
on any particular key, the band can be moved round by the hand operated stem d
until said stem comes opposite the letter of that key on the graduated board.
Vertical stem rods c are fitted through holes in the cover D and have their
lower ends attached to the bars C so that when any band B is set to a particular key,
depression of the bar C (on which said band is mounted) by its stem rod c stops
out all the wires e excepting those wires necessary to produce the particular chord
in that key desired to be sounded. In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 3
without a cover, the bands B would be operated separately by a projecting stem d,
or combinedly by mounting a cap over these stems d. In the arrangement
shown in Figure 6 a similar endless band B carries the tickets d with the musical
notes so that these latter may project outside the cover D, and this band would
be operated to travel by a stem rod d' so as to be adjusted to indicate the notes
for each change of scale."
The plectrum used for pinching the wires or playing these instruments would
be formed, as shown in Figure 7, of india rubber or like elastic or soft material E,
and have a strip or strips of tortoise shell, bone metal or other hard material E¹
so that the instrument may be played soft or loud by merely shifting the surface
of action of the plectrum.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
First. In auto-harps, the method of mounting and operating the sound stoppers,
consisting in fixing them on endless travelling bands, substantially as set forth.
Second. In auto-harps, the combination comprising endless bands, stoppers
mounted on said bands, and depressable harmony bars having rollers mounted
on them over which the endless bands travel, substantially as set forth.
Third. In auto-harps, the combination comprising endless travelling bands
carrying the sound stoppers, vertical stem rods attached to said bands, and
graduated key boards past which the stem rods travel, substantially as set
forth.
Fourth. In connection with auto-harps or like musical instruments, the forming
of the plectrum of composite material consisting of india rubber or like soft
naterial on the one end, and a strip of tortoise shell, metal or equivalent hard
naterial on the opposite end so as to enable the instrument to be played soft or
loud as desired, substantially as set forth.
Dated the 14th December 1894.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.