Improvements in and relating to Sounding-boards of Pianos.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Apr., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 9th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by FRIEDRICH KAISER, of Freiburg, Baden, in the
Empire of Germany.]
Improvements in and relating to Sounding-boards of Pianos.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of HASELTINE, LAKE & Co., Patent
Agents, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to sounding boards of pianos.
One of the chief defects in pianos as compared with other musical instruments, is,
that on the depression of a key the sound commences with a certain initial loudness
and decreases very rapidly, thus completely possessing the character of a sound
produced by a blow. In the case of high and treble sounds this defect is greater
than in that of bass sounds, for which the strings sustain the reverberations longer
by reason of their larger size. The inconvenience above referred to is reduced to a
minimum by arranging upon the rear side of the sounding board a strong bridge of
hard wood which is directly opposite to the bridge for limiting the length of the
string.
By this means the sound is not only deprived of its excessive loudness but its
volume is sustained for a greater length of time.
The sound can be further prolonged by providing the aforesaid bridge with
sounding-tubes which have a thin wall and are open on both sides, each of these
tubes being made of a length corresponding exactly to the length of wave of a sound.
For the bass sounds such tubes are superfluous.
Owing to the above described improvements a prolonged sound can be produced
on a small piano, the sound is rendered more uniform and the excessive initial
loudness is obviated.
Dated this 10th day of April 1800
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Sounding-boards of Pianos.
1, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of HASELTINE, LAKE & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 sounding boards of pianos.
One of the chief defects in pianos, as compared with other numerical instruments,
is that on the depression of a key the sound commences with a certain loudness and
decreases very rapidly, thus completely possessing the character of a sound produced
by a blow which becomes weak too soon. In the case of high and treble sounds
this defect is greater than in that of bass sounds, for which the strings sustain the
reverberations longer by reason of their greater length and size.
This blow becomes almost imperceptible and the sound is considerably prolonged
and becomes much stronger by arranging upon the rear side of the sounding board,
opposite to the bridge limiting the length of the string a strong bridge of hard
wood.

page_text: Ccompany mngning
Figure 1 is a front elevation and
Figure 2 a cross section of a sounding board with my improvement applied
thereto.
In carrying my invention into practice I arrange opposite the usual bridge 1 and
on the reverse side of the sounding board a bridge 2 of hard wood.
To produce the desired effect the two bridges 1 and 2 are firmly connected
together by screws passing through the sounding board 3 so that the said board is
clamped between the two bridges.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
For equalizing and strengthening the sound in pianos, the fixing of a second
bridge opposite the main bridge upon the under side of the sounding board so that
the said board is secured between the two bridges.
Dated this 9th day of January 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.