Improvements in Reed Organs.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 23rd Jan., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Reed Organs.
I, MELVILLE CLARK, of 699 South Canal Street, Chicago, County of Cook,
and State of Illinois, in the United States of America, Manufacturer of Musical
Instruments, 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, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in
which:
-
Fig. 1 is a perspective of an entire organ embodying my invention, in position
for use.
Fig. 2 is a perspective of the same, showing the upper half turned back, the
case and action both being divided at the plane of the reeds which appear exposed
in the lower half.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the action, the case being stripped off.
Fig. 4 is a plan of the manual and valve action, part of the keys of the
manual being removed to show the action underneath.
Fig. 5 is a bottom plan of the storage bellows, the bottom plate thereof being
removed to show the mutes and their action, and certain interior springs termed
expression "springs.
"
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section at the line 66 on Fig. 3.
Figs. 7 and 8 are side elevations of a modified and preferred stop action, one
showing the mute closed and the other showing it open; both showing said
mechanism applied to the rearward of the two mutes shown in the principal
figures.
Figs. 9 and 10 are similar views of similar mechanism, with such addition as
necessary to adapt it to operate the forward mute.
Fig. 11 is a detail plan of a rock shaft in said mechanism and its connections,
being shown in the position corresponding to Fig. 8.
Fig. 12 is a plan of the pedal bellows showing its spring.
This invention belongs to the class of organs which have blast bellows, as
distinguished from exhaust bellows, that is, in which the vibration of the reeds is
produced by a blast of air force through the reed blocks by pressure, as diş-
tinguished from those in which the vibration is produced by air drawn through
the reed blocks by exhaustion or partial exhaustion of air from a chamber at one
side. It consists of improvements in the bellows, by means of which a better
"expression" is obtained from the reeds, improvements in the action by which
pitmen or plungers to actuate the valves are dispensed with and the action
simplified in other respects, improvements in the construction of the reed board or
base upon which the reed blocks are mounted and by means of which they are
rendered more readily accessible for tuning or repairs, and correlative improve-
ments in the action and case by means of which both are divided between the
plane of the reeds and the storage bellows, the portions of the action which are
respectively above and below the reeds being joined to the corresponding portions
of the case.
Other specific details of the invention are set forth in the claims.
The action of this organ is constructed so as to be supported independently of
the case.
A is the base or bottom plank, constituting the lower side of the blast
bellows, of which the upper sides A A¹ constitute the pedals in the usual position
of pedals in cabinet organs, A2 being the flexible back and sides of such bellows.
The bellows are held normally with the pedals in the highest position, as shown in
Fig. 3, by means of springs BB of any convenient form, but, as illustrated and
preferred, they are simple torsion springs made of heavy wire, having the end B¹
secured to the base near the inner edge of the pedal, and extending thence

page_text: outwardly along the forward edge to the outer corner, near which it is provided
with a bearing 6', and then bent around the corner of the bellows to form the
lever arm B2, which, in the normal position of the springs, extends upward from
the bend at a steeper inclination than the highest position of the pedal, so that
some torsion is given to the spring when the lever arm is pushed down and engaged
under the stop a' at the edge of the pedal, this torsion being sufficient by the
upward reaction which it causes to hold the pedal normally at the highest position,
and the further torsion experienced by depressing the pedal being sufficient to
restore the latter promptly to its highest position, the bellows drawing in air
through a suitable inlet valve. The base A is channelled on the upper side under
the bellows, and said channel a communicates at the ends with the lower ends
respectively of the tubular posts or legs CC, which are secured to the base and
extend up past the bellows and support the upper part of the action, communicating
at their upper eud with the compression chamber or storage bellows. D is the top
of the storage bellows or compression chamber and the bottom of the reed
chamber. D is the bottom of the storage or compression chamber. The walls of
said compression chamber comprise the rigid part D2 and the flexible or bellows
part D³, the latter being joined air-tight to the bottom D' and to the rigid
portion D of the sides. EEE E are springs which react upwardly against the
bottom of the storage bellows D', being stopped at their lower ends by ledges con
the legs C, and FF are springs within the storage bellows and which may be, as
illustrated, secured to the underside of the top D thereof, and which, when stopped
at their lower ends against the bottom of said chamber or any projection therefrom,
tend by their downward reaction to resist the collapse of the storage bellows by
the rising of the bottom D' thereof. These springs F are less powerful than the
springs E, the latter being strong enough to collapse the storage bellows notwith-
standing the resistance of the springs F, which, however, are preferably strong
enough so that at the limit of the upward or collapsing movement of the bellows,
bottom D', the springs E, in that movement steadily diminishing in pressure and
the springs F steadily increasing in resistance,--the two are properly balanced.
The communication of the tubular posts C with the storage bellows is made
through the end portions of the rigid part D' of said bellows.
G is a shallow chamber above the compression chamber or storage bellows,
serving merely to distribute the air from the storage bellows to all the reeds, and
it is partitioned as at G³ to form a separate compartment underneath each set of
reeds. Each compartment of this chamber receives air from the storage bellows
through separate openings gg, the mutes H H which muffle said openings being
connected to and operated by a separate stop for each compartment. As
illustrated, such mutes are hinged to the under side of the top D of the storage
bellows and close upward. The top of the chamber G is formed by the reed
board J. The marginal walls of said chamber and the partitions which separate
the several compartments of said chamber may be secured indifferently to the top
or to the bottom of said chamber, and their edges are covered with felt j, so that
when the reed board J covers the reed chamber, and especially when it is bound
down thereto as hereinafter described, air tight junctions are made by the felt-
covered edges of said walls and partitions, so that when the mutes which control
the openings from storage bellows into any compartment or chamber pertaining to
a given set of reeds are opened, air is thereby admitted into such compartment
only, which then constitutes practically a continuation of the storage bellows or
compression chamber. This chamber G may properly be named the reed chamber,
because it is the chamber in which the reeds are exposed to the air blast, and
each compartment, when in communication with the storage bellows by the
opening of the mutes, contains air at the same tension as that in the storage
bellows.
It will be observed that the action thus far described is divided at a plane
through the reed chamber G from the portion of the action above that plane,
to-wit, the plane of the felt-covered edges of the marginal walls and partitions of

page_text: the chamber G, and, as hereinafter described, the remainder of the action is
secured to the cover or top of this chamber, to wit, the reed board J. The
portion of the case which encloses the lower part of the action up to said
horizontal plane of division is secured to said lower portion and is also divided
from the upper portion of the case at the same plane, and the upper portion of
the case is secured to the upper portion of the action. The reed board J
constitutes the base of the upper part of the action which is mounted thereon so
as to be entirely independent of all parts of the action which are below the said
horizontal plane of division, so that the two parts of the action being separable
at the plane may be handled and manipulated with entire independence. It is not
material that the separation be made as in the drawings at the upper limit of the
reed chamber G. It may be anywhere between the storage bellows and the reeds.
It is preferably made between the board which forms the top of the storage
bellows and which has the air apertures controlled by the mutes H, and the board
in which the reeds are mounted, so as to separate the mute action from the reed
valve action as above described. The most convenient mode of connecting the
two parts of the action at this division plane is by hinging them at one side, and
since the portions of the case enclosing the divided portions of the action are
secured to their respective portions of the action and are divided at substantially
the same plane as the action, the hinging together of the action is most
conveniently accomplished by hinging together the parts of the case, and this is
the construction which is illustrated.
I will now describe the upper portion of the action. Upon the upper side of
the reed board J, there is mounted the manual frame, a rectangular frame com-
prising the front bar K, rear bars K' K', end bars K², bounding the intermediate
rectangular aperture K³. This frame is blocked up a short distance from the reed
board to allow room for the valve action under it and above the reed board. Upon
the upper side of the reed board under the manual frame there is secured the
rib L, the upper edge of which is preferably rounded-and-covered with felt. This
rih constitutes the fulcrum for the reed valve levers M M M etc. Said levers are
each apertured at the point at which they cross this fulcrum rib, and one end of
the valve spring in the form shown in Fig. 3 is inserted loosely through said
aperture m and rigidly into the rib L, and thereby causes the lever to fulcrum at
the point at which said aperture m is located. The other end of the spring rests
upon the upper surface of the rear end of the lever and reacts downward thereon
to seat the valves M which are secured to said levers underneath their rear ends.
As illustrated, these valves are secured rigidly to the levers, but I do not limit
myself to this construction. The forward ends of the levers stand underneath the
keys of the manual respectively, the said keys N N₁ are provided with rigid
projections from their under side which reach the levers respectively near their
rear ends. The keys are pivoted in a customary manner upon the vertical studs k¹,
secured in the rear bar K of the manual frame and guided at their forward ends
by the studs in the front bar K of said frame.
O are the reed blocks having the vibrators or reeds O¹. I mount these on the
upper side of the reed board in the following peculiar manner. In said reed board
I form the channels for the reed blocks respectively, said channels being undercut
laterally, forming the lateral grooves j', which receive the edges of the blocks, the
center of said channels being open in the vertical plane of the reeds O to allow
ample room for them to vibrate. The reeds are designed to be arranged in double
rows point to point, that is, with the vibrating ends of corresponding reeds
toward each other, and the corresponding channels J' are accordingly cut back
from opposite directions toward each other and stop short of meeting and merging
only enough to leave standing between them and their ends enough wood to form
a stop for the reed block to permit it to be inserted just far enough to bring the
reed into proper position under the valve opening and to form a part of a partition
between the compartments which pertain to the two sets of reeds respectively,
the remainder of such partition projecting up from the top of the storage bellows

page_text: and contacting said portion of the reed block left standing between the rows of
reeds. This construction enables me to locate two sets of reeds and consequently
two openings very close together and still have them lead into their respective
reed chambers, so that the two valves for such corresponding valve openings, being
rigid on one lever and operated by one key, are nevertheless opened much more
nearly equally than if the construction were not such as to permit the valve
openings to be close together. In order to permit the insertion and withdrawal
endwise of the reed blocks the reed board is furrowed longitudinally on opposite
sides of each double row of reed channels, as at JJ, the width of such furrow
being substantially the length of the reed block except in the case of the furrow
for the last row of reeds next to either edge, where it is only necessary to cut back
the reed board to the edge to obtain the necessary opportunity to insert the reeds.
I have shown only two sets of reeds and corresponding mutes and stops, but any
number of sets may be located in the chamber G, limited only by its horizontal
extent; and the above-described mode of construction is applicable, whatever the
number of sets of reeds employed. It is not essential that the reed board or
board which forms the entire top of the chamber G should be integral, although
I have described it without regard to its being made in separate pieces or parts,
but it may be formed as the drawings indicate,-by gluing onto a thin board,
whose horizontal extent is sufficient to cover the whole chamber, ribs or longitudinal
blocks in which the channels Jare cut as described, the furrows J being formed
by space left between and at the outer sides of such blocks; but I do not limit
myself to this specific mode of constructing the reed board of several pieces. I
have shown the compartments for the different sets of reeds formed by a longitudinal
partition only, but the chamber G may be partitioned in any direction and at any
point necessary to set off a compartment for any reeds which it is desired to control
by a separate stop, and the term "set of reeds is here used merely with this
significance, i.e., a group of reeds controlled by one stop.
::
The stop rods H H which operate the mutes H H extend out through the
front of the storage bellows and through the front of the case to their operating
knobs which are outside of the case, and they actuate the mutes to open them by
means of the inclined portions HH, which engage the projections on the
free edge of the mutes respectively as the stops are actuated longitudinally.
I construct the bellows, both the blast bellows under the pedals and the storage
bellows, in a novel manner, as follows:-
I will describe the storage bellows. The flexible wall of these bellows is made
of a single piece d of rubber cloth or suitably flexible material impervious to
air, which I fold around all four sides of the bellows, joining the ends
together at any convenient point d'and preferably not at either corner, and to the
inner side of this integral piece of cloth I secure the stiffening boards or plates d³
of pasteboard or similar light and comparatively stiff material, two such pieces of
stiff material of equal width being secured at each of the four sides of the bellows,
said stiffening pieces being mitered at the corners of the bellows, so that when the
bellows is fully compressed these mitered edges will still just meet or perhaps not
perfectly meet. The cloth at the junction of the two stiffening pieces on each
side is thus left free to fold inwardly, and the portion of said cloth which is not
covered by the stiffening pieces, because the ends of said stiffening pieces are
mitered as described, is free to fold and collapse in any manner in which it may,
such collapse, however, naturally occurring in the form shown in Fig. 6,- that is to
say, along the lines ddd. This construction differs from the construction hereto-
fore employed in that it has heretofore been customary to form the collapsing
portion of the bellows of stiff pieces hinged together by flexible strips glued to
them at their folding points, the corner connections between such stiffening pieces
being formed by a diamond shaped piece of flexible character glued to the four
mitered edges which meet at the corner. My construction avoids the many glue
junctions which are liable to leak, and forms the entire collapsing sides of one
piece of collapsible material, and merely determines the folding lines for the

page_text: collapse by stiffening such material except at such folding lines. The blast bellows,
being wedge-shaped, have only two instead of four corners and the stiffening pieces
for the triangular sides are triangular instead of quadrangular, but otherwise the
construction is substantially as that described.
The value of the interior springs in the storage bellows consists in their capacity
to render the collapse of the bellows more gradual than it would be under the
action of the exterior springs alone. When only the springs tending to collapse the
bellows are employed, the volume of tone is maintained with scarcely any change
during the entire collapse or until very nearly the end, and at the completion of
the collapsing action the last remaining portion of air is expelled with a puff and
the tone ends abruptly with a sharply diminishing volume producing a very
unpleasant effect. When the springs which resist the collapse are employed in
addition to the springs which tend to cause the collapse of the bellows, the tension
of the former increases gradually after they come into action as the collapse of
the bellows continues, and so retards the collapse and causes the tone to diminish
gradually and imperceptibly; and this can be taken advantage of by the operator
to get finely shaded expression from the instrument, and for this reason I call
these interior springs "expression" springs. It is obviously immaterial whether
these springs are located inside or outside of the bellows except that the interior
location is a convenient one for the springs which resist the collapse, and the
exterior one is more convenient for the springs which cause the collapse. When
the storage bellows fully inflated, presumably the maximum power of the organ
is desired, and I prefer, therefore, to make the interior or anti-collapsing springs
not quite long enough to reach the bottom of the bellows when the latter is fully
expanded, so that for the first inch or thereabouts of the collapsing movement of
the bellows there will be no resistance to the power of the exterior springs, but,
as the collapse continues, as will be the case if the blast bellows are not operated
powerfully enough to maintain the tension of air in the storage bellows, the
graduated effect caused by the counter operation of the two springs will be
observed.
In view of the division of the organ between the plane of the reeds and the
storage bellows it is necessary that the junction of the division plane should be
made air-tight when the instrument is in use, and for that reason felt edges are
employed on the partitions or margins of the chamber G, as represented. But the
pressure of the air in the chamber will often be sufficient to lift the upper section
of the action enough to allow some escape if the two parts are not securely bound
together and to prevent this I provide the hooks SS at the front of the case,
by which the upper section is positively secured to the lower section; and in order
to draw the two forcibly enough to compress the felt at the junction and make the
said junction thereby perfectly tight, I make the hook eccentric to its pivot so that
as it is forced onto the stud S₁, it draws the top of the organ down forcibly. To
facilitate forcing the hook onto the stud, in view of the resistance which will be
experienced in compressing the felt by such action, I provide the hooks with thumb
and finger flanges S2 S² on opposite sides of its pivot.
To prevent the escape of air from one compartment to another when the pressure
in the reed chamber is great, the partitions between said compartments may be
provided with a groove gl in the edge, which will extend to the end of the partition
and there communicate through the unpacked joints of the case with the outer
air, and if the air pressure in one compartment should be enough to force the air
past the felt on one side of the groove, it will find relief as soon as it reaches the
groove and will not be forced past the felt on the other side of the groove.
In Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 1 have illustrated a modification of a stop action
which I prefer to the conventional action which is shown in the principal figures
and hereinabove briefly mentioned. This modified and preferred action consists of
a rock shait H2, which is journaled in a simple manner upon the upper side of the
board D, and is therefore within the air-distributing chamber G. Said rock shaft
has at one end a lever arm H, which is, in position to engage laterally a rigid

page_text: pin 20, which projects from the mute through one of the apertures g in the board D.
Said rock shaft extends out through the end of the chamber C, and outside of
said chamber it has the lever arm H. To the inner end of the stop rod H', there
is pivotally connected the upper end of a lever H3, whose fulcrum is supported
rigidly above the reed board, the lower end of said lever being adapted to engage
the lever arm H2, in case of the rear mute, or, in case of the forward mute, a
lever H similar to the lever arm H2, suitably fulcrumed on top of the board D
outside the chamber G, and connected by a link H³ to the lever arm H. The
lever arm H, pertaining to the rear mute, and the lever arm H pertaining to the
forward mute, have cach a curved end portion ', as shown in the drawings, so that
the end of the lever H³, when the stop is pulled out to its limit, engages said
curved portion at such an angle as to lock the lever and hold the mute open, but
upon the stop rod being partly pushed in from its extreme outward position, the
point of engagement of the lever arm H³ with the said curved end is shifted, so
that the lever arm, having said curved end, is no longer locked, but tends to react
against the lever H³, under the force of the spring which operates the mute, and
fully withdraws the stop.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An organ having the action divided at a plane between the reeds and the air
chamber by which the reeds are vibrated: substantially as set forth.
2. An organ having the action divided at a plane between the reeds and the air
chamber by which the reeds are vibrated, and having the case also divided and
secured part to the upper and part to the lower of said divided portions of the
action, whereby the case and action may be parted at such division plane to give
access to the reeds substantially as set forth.
3. An organ having the action divided at a plane between the reeds and the air
chamber by which the reeds are vibrated, and having the case also divided and
secured part to the upper and part to the lower of said divided portions of the
action, whereby the case and action may be parted at such division plane to give
access to the reeds, and having the two parts of said action and case hinged together
at one edge substantially as set forth.
4. An organ having the action divided at a plane between the reeds and the air
chamber by which the reeds are vibrated, and having the mutes mounted with
the portion of such divided action which comprises said air chamber and the
manual valves and levers mounted with the portion having the reeds substantially
as set forth.
5. An organ having the action divided at a horizontal plane through the reed
chamber and having the contacting edges of the divided vertical walls of the air
chamber provided with yielding packing to make said junctions air-tight: substan-
tially as set forth.
6. An organ having the action divided at a horizontal plane through the reed
chamber and having the contacting edges of the divided vertical walls of the air
chamber provided with yielding packing to make said junctions air-tight; said
divided portions of the actions being hinged together at one edge and provided
with clamping hooks at the opposite edges, whereby the packed junctions of the
divided walls of the reed chamber may be forced tightly together: substantially as
set forth.
7. In a blast organ, the reed chamber bounded above by the reed board and
below by the top of the storage bellows or compression chamber, and provided
with vertical partitions dividing said chamber into compartments corresponding
to and enclosing the different sets of reeds, the top of the blast bellows
being provided with apertures leading into the said compartments respectively;
mutes mounted on the compression chamber and controlling the apertures into
the several compartments respectively; stops which actuate said mutes; and

page_text: manual valves mounted upon the upper side of the reed board: substantially as
set forth.
8. In a blast organ, the reed chamber bounded above by the reed board and
below by the top of the storage bellows or compression chamber and provided
with vertical partitions dividing said chamber into compartments corresponding to
and enclosing the different sets of reeds, the top of the blast bellows being pro-
vided with apertures leading into the said compartments respectively; mutes mounted
on the compression chamber and controlling the apertures into the several compart-
ments respectively; stops which actuate said mutes; and the manual valves mounted
upon the upper. side of the reed board; said reed chamber being divided horizontally
throughout and the divided parts being separably secured together, whereby the action
may be divided between the compression chamber and the reeds substantially
as set forth.
4
9. In an organ, a reed board provided with vertically open channels J', having
laterally undercut grooves j', to receive the edges of the reed blocks, and having
the valve openings through the board in a position corresponding vertically to the
said channels: substantially as set forth.
10. In an organ, a reed chamber comprised between the reed board upon one
side and the air chamber, the condition of whose air contents produces the vibration
of the reeds upon the other side, said reed board having the reed valve openings
and having on the side within said reed chamber the channels Jopen in said
chamber toward the air chamber and provided with laterally underent grooves to
receive the edges of the reed blocks, said chamber being partitioned vertically into
compartments enclosing respectively each of the reeds pertaining to one stop:
substantially as set forth.
11. In an organ, a reed chamber bounded at one side by the reed board and at
the other side by the apertured wall of the air chamber, the condition of whose
air contents produces vibration of the reeds, such reed board being provided on
the one side within said reed chamber with channels J' open toward the air
chamber and arranged in double rows end to end respectively and provided with
the laterally undercut grooves to receive the edges of the reed blocks; the opposite
wall of said reed chamber,-to-wit, the apertured wall of the air chamber,
having ribs which contact the line between the rows of grooves and which with
the material left standing between said rows constitute vertical partitions in the
reed chamber, the apertures in said air chamber wall being between such par-
titions; combined with mutes which control said apertures and stops which actuate
the mutes pertaining to the compartments of said reed chamber respectively: sub-
stantially as set forth.
12. In combination, substantially as set forth, the reed board and the manual
frame supported thereby, the keys pivoted to said manual frame, and the manual
levers underneath the keys respectively and fulcrumed on the reed board, the keys
having each a rigid projection extending from its under side downward to its
corresponding lever.
13. In combination with the reed board having valve apertures leading to the
reeds respectively, the rib L projecting upward from the reed board, the valve
levers extending transversely across such rib; and the springs having one end
inserted loosely through said levers and rigidly into said rib and the other ends
reacting against the levers to force their valve ends down onto the reed board to
close the valve opening: substantially as set forth.
14. In a blast organ, in combination with the blast bellows and an air conduit
from the blast bellows into the storage bellows; springs which resist the expan-
sion of the storage bellows and springs tending to resist the collapse of said
bellows, the reaction of the latter springs when the collapse of the bellows com-
inences being less than that of the former springs, but the tension of said springs
being approximately equal when the bellows is fully collapsed substantially as
set forth.

page_text: 15. In an organ, a bellows having collapsing sides all in one piece and provided
with stiffening parts whose edges determine the lines of folding in the collapse of
the bellows substantially as set forth.
;
16. In an organ, in combination with the chamber through which the air reaches
the reeds, a mute which controls access of air to said chamber having a pin which
projects rigidly into said chamber through an air aperture which the mute closes
and a rock shaft in said chamber protruding through one end thereof and having
an arm within the chamber which engages the pin, and an arm outside the chamber
adapted to be engaged by stop mechanism: substantially as set forth.
17. In combination with the mute and the spring, which closes it, a lever arm
located outside the chamber which the mute controls and connected to the mute
in such manner that the closing movement of the mute under the action of its
spring operates the lever and that the lever is adapted to operate the mute in the
reverse direction, said lever arm having a curved end; a stop rod, and a lever
actuated thereby having one end engaging said curved end of the lever arin: sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated thin 17th of No 1001
MELVILLE CLARK,
By Herbert & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents to Applicant.