Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
I, ANSELME ANDRÉ MARIE GAVIOLI, of the Firm of Gavioli & Compagnie,
Paris, in the Republic of France, Musical Instrument Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to mechanical organs and pianos and to similar instruments
in which pneumatic levers are employed for actuating the keys.
The invention comprises arrangements specially devised in view of the application
of the levers to mechanical organs and pianos operating by means of perforated
strips or bands, the said arrangements consisting principally in the combination
with the keys of several intermediate wind chests allowing of placing all the keys
in an exceedingly limited space.
The case which encloses the intermediate wind chests is provided at its upper
part with a roller preferably covered with india rubber and arranged in contact
with a similar roller carried in a bracket; the axle of the first roller carries a
pinion which gears with a similar pinion mounted on the axle of the second roller.
The bracket is fixed upon a lateral shaft the two cylindrical end portions of which
are placed in bearings which clamp it sufficiently tight to keep the bracket in any
suitable position, at the same time allowing it to be easily moved by hand; at its
free end the bracket is provided with a stud which can come into engagement with
a hole in a flexible strip fixed on the case for holding the bracket in a horizontal
position and thereby keeping the rollers in contact, which rollers are designed to
effect a regular travel of the perforated music strip or band.
The position of the lower roller can be adjusted by means of a set-screw.
The bracket is provided with a cylinder made with grooves which are uniform
and equi-distant, each of which grooves corresponds with one of the keys arranged
beneath the board which covers the case; this board is perforated to allow the
points of the keys to protrude through the same.
Over a toothed wheel mounted on the end of the axle of the lower roller is
passed a driving chain which receives its movement from a pinion upon the shaft
of which a crank handle can be applied.
At the lower part of the case is arranged a shaft which carries at one of its ends
the lever which operates the valve for admitting air into the case and at the other
end a lever which can engage with its free end in a notch in another lever which
is raised or lowered in order to open or close the inlet valve.
Within the case three wind chests are arranged parallel with one another and
communicating with the interior of the case by channels in which the valves are
mounted. These valves are respectively connected by means of rods with levers
forming valves which are constantly pressed upon by springs. At one of the ends
of the levers rest guide rods each of which supports a key terminated by a point
which projects from the case through one of the openings made for this purpose in
the top board or cover.
Each of the cavities or compartments of the wind chests communicates through
a tube of india rubber or other suitable material with a flexible diaphragm the
lower surface of which bears upon the guide-rod or stem of a valve, which, when
opened, causes communication between one of the compartments of the principal
wind chest and the corresponding reed-tube of the organ.

page_text: The rod or stem is provided with a collar on which rest the two branches of a
forked lever which allows of opening the valve by hand for tuning the organ.
The holes of the intermediate wind chests, corresponding to the valves and levers
thereof are arranged angleways and moreover the holes and the levers of the
different wind chests are not arranged opposite one another so that the keys are
placed as close together as possible.
The operation is as follows:-When the crank handle is operated the chain gear
communicates motion to the rollers whereby the perforated strip or band is caused
to travel along with a continuous and uniform movement and passes beneath the
grooved cylinder which is thereby revolved. When one of the perforations of the
music strip comes opposite one of the points of the keys the said point rises and
enters one of the grooves of the cylinder; the corresponding lever rocks; the
valve to which it is connected opens and the air introduced under pressure into the
case enters a compartment of one of the wind chests whence it is conducted by a
tube to the diaphragm which it depresses; the diaphragm, as it descends, carries
down the stem or rod of the valve in the principal wind chest whereby the com-
pressed air is allowed to pass into the said wind chest and is conducted to the reed-
tube corresponding with that of the key which has been lifted.
When the perforated strip or band has travelled a length equal to the length of
the perforation in question, the key is depressed and the valves are closed, whilst
the lever descends and opens the compartiment or intermediate chest for allowing the
air which acted on the diaphragm to escape; the compressed air will no longer
pass to the reed-tube.
I would remark that the crank handle which is rotated in order to supply the
wind to the organ can actuate the wheel which drives the conveying mechanism of
the perforated music strips or bands, by means of a pinion keyed upon its axis and
an endless chain or by other suitable means for transmitting movement.
In the application of the invention to mechanical pianos with perforated music
strips or bands the hereinbefore described arrangements are modified as follows.
The wind chests are superposed and arranged to occupy as small a space as
possible.
A
They are similar in construction to those hereinbefore described. Each of them
comprises two compartments and a bellows. In the upper compartment enters
the air under pressure which acts upon a diaphragm which supports a lever. From
this lever is suspended a valve which on the one hand closes the opening into the
lower compartment which is designed to communicate through this opening with
the bellows and on the other hand cuts off communication between the bellows and
the outside air. A key of the key-board is connected by a rod to the bellows.
vacuum is created in the lower compartment, and when, as the perforated strip or
band passes along, the air compressed in the upper compartment raises the lever,
the valve follows the motion of this lever and the vacuum in the lower compartment
closes the bellows and the note is produced. The perforation having advanced the
lever is lowered and, by reason of the difference of pressure, the valve is closed.
The bellows opens and the note cease.
The essential feature of this arrangement therefore is the combination of the air
pressure and the vacuum for mechanically producing the notes through the medium
of the perforated strips or bands.

page_text: Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
I, ANSELME ANDRÉ MARIE GAVIOLI, of the Firm of Gavioli & Compagnie,
Paris, in the Republic of France, Musical Instrument Manufacturers, 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 :-
My invention relates to mechanical organs and pianos and to similar musical
instruments in which pneumatic levers are employed for actuating the keys.
The invention comprises arrangements specially devised in view of the application
of pneumatic levers to mechanical organs and pianos operating by means of
perforated tune-bands or cards the said arrangements consisting principally in the
combination with the keys of one or several intermediate wind chests allowing of
placing all the said keys in an exceedingly limited space. The invention also
comprises an arrangement whereby the tune-bands or cards can be employed for
playing a piece of music for any desired length of time.
In the accompanying drawings,-
Figure 1 is an elevation of the case enclosing the intermediate wind chests of a
mechanical organ constructed according to my invention :
Figures 2 and 3 are respectively a side elevation and a plan of Figure 1:
Figure 4 is a vertical section illustrating the wind chests of the organ:
Figure 5 is a view of part of Figure 4 illustrating the use of bellows in place of
diaphragms for the pneumatic action:
Figure 6 is an inverted plan of an intermediate wind chest:
Figure 7 is a sectional elevation illustrating the application of my intermediate
wind chests to existing barrel organs:
Figures 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the application of my intermediate wind chests to
mechanical pianos, Figure 8 being a vertical section on the line 1-2 of Figure 10,
Figure 9 a section on the line 3-4 of Figure 10, and Figure 10 a plan of the
pneumatic arrangement:
Figure 11 represents the arrangement whereby the playing of a piece of music
can be prolonged for any desired length of time :
Figures 12 and 13 represent respectively an elevation and a section of a box
adapted to receive the music strips or cards.
The perforated tune strip or card a supported by a board and guided by
a grooved roller c receives a regular forward movement by passing between feed
rollers d and d¹.
The board b is perforated as indicated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings in order
to allow of the passage of pins or points f¹ on the keys farranged beneath the
board in a case A.
The case A covered by the said board bencloses the intermediate wind chest or
chests. When several wind chests are employed as illustrated in the drawings, for
example, wherein three are shewn, these wind chests i, i, 2 are placed parallelwise
and communicate with the interior of the case A by means of passages i³, 13, 3 in
which are mounted valves k, k, k; these valves are respectively connected by
rods k', k', k with levers 1, 1, 12 forming valves acting against the pressure of
springs 1, P, P. At one end of each of the levers 1, 1, 12 rests a guide rod m and each
rod supports a key f terminated by the point which projects from the case A
through one of the openings made for this purpose in the top board or cover.b.
Each of the wind chests i, i, 12 communicates through a tube o of india rubber or
other suitable material with an elastic diaphragm p as shewn in Figure 4 or with a
bellows s as,shewn in Figure 5. The lower face of the diaphragm or the movable
side of the bellows bears upon the rod or stem p¹ of a valve q, which, when opened,

page_text: establishes communication between one of the compartments of the principal wind
chest S and the corresponding reed-tube.
Whenever a perforation in the card a comes opposite the pin or point f1 of a key f
that key will rise and the corresponding lever 1, 1 or 12 will rock and open the
valve k to which it is connected; the air under pressure in the case A will then pass
through the passage in one of the wind chests i, 1 or 2 whence it will be
conducted by one of the tubes o to a diaphragm p or to a bellows s; the diaphragm
or the movable side of the bellows will be consequently depressed and this will
cause the rod or stem p¹ and valve g to be lowered. Passage will thus be given to
the compressed air in the principal wind chest S and the said air will pass to the
reed tube which corresponds with the key that is lifted.
When the card a has been unwound to a length equal to the length of the
perforation in question the key is depressed, the valves k and q are closed whilst
the corresponding lever places its intermediate wind chest in communication with
the outside of the instrument and allows the air inflating the diaphragın p, or the
bellows s, to escape, and the compressed air ceases to pass into the reed tube.
To allow of tuning the organ, each rod or stem p¹ is provided with a collar p² on.
which rest the two branches of a forked lever which levers enable the valves
controlling the reed tubes of the organ to be opened by hand.
1
On replacing one card by another when the playing of a piece of music has been
finished all the keys frise simultaneously. If the instrument were not provided
with a proper arrangement of mechanism a very disagreeable noise would result in
consequence of the simultaneous emission of a sound from each reed tube of the
organ. To obviate this objection I employ the following arrangement illustrated
in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.
At the lower part of the case A is arranged a shaft / carrying at one of its ends
a lever h¹ which controls the valve for admitting compressed air into the case A,
and at its other end a lever h² which can engage in a notch in another lever h³ which
can be turned by hand or automatically upon its pivot pin /*.
When the lever /²
is hooked into the lever ³ the lever h¹ presses upon the stem or rod of the air
admission valve and the air enters the case A. When requiring to replace one card
by another at the end of the playing of a piece of music the lever h² is first
disengaged by hand or automatically; the valve then rises under the.action of the
air pressure and closes the passage for the said air in the case A so that the keys
can then rise without actuating the corresponding reed-tubes.
I therefore
I can convert existing barrel organs into organs operated by perforated cards but
in the application of the pneumatic arrangement the intermediate wind chests
cannot be placed above the compartments of the principal wind chest.
employ the arrangement shewn in Figure 7. The compressed air coming from one
compartment of the intermediate wind chest passes through a passage o' into
a second wind chest g where it acts upon a diaphragm m (or a bellows) which_by
acting upon the arm of a lever j, controls the movement of such lever. The
axes of oscillation of the levers j, are supported by the case of the wind chests g
and the arm of each of the said levers bears at the required moment upon the rod
or stem e of a valve q' which being thereby opened, establishes communication
between one of the compartments of the principal wind chest S and the corresponding
reed-tube.
The wind chests g and the levers j, j are arranged so as to occupy as small
a space as possible. The lengths of the lever-arms jare therefore unequal as shewn
in the drawing, the points of action of the levers upon the valve stems or rods being
all in a line at right angles to the levers and the points at which force is applied to
the tails of the levers being all in a line oblique to the former. The fulcrum will
also lie in a straight line incliued to the levers and meeting the point of intersection
of the two former lines. In this manner the relation between the two arms of each
lever will be constant and for a single lifting of all the diaphragms or bellows m
there will be a single depression of all the valve rods or stems e and opening of the
valves g¹.

page_text: In order that the pressure of the levers upon the valve stems or rods shall take
place under the most advantageous conditions, that is to say, in the axial line of the
said rods the points x at which the levers are hinged are as high as possible, that is
to say, at the tops of the said levers and their ends j' acting upon the rods are cut
with a bevel. By this construction during the descent of the rod e, the head
of which is rounded, the bearing face of the lever will become horizontal and will
then incline in the opposite direction, but very slightly, so that the force will
be almost constantly directed through the axis of the rod, and friction of the said
rod in its guides will be almost entirely avoided. A spring r, by closing the
valve g', lifts the rod e up as soon as the action of the lever j, j ceases. In each
wind chest g is arranged a push piece n provided with a stem which extends outside
the wind chest and is terminated by a head n' to allow it to be operated by hand, a
leather or india rubber washer n² serving to render each_push_piece air-tight.
These push pieces are for the purpose of allowing the organ to be tuned. To this
end the heads n¹ are pushed successively upwards, whereby the corresponding
diaphragms or bellows are lifted and the corresponding reed tubes are opened
through the medium of the levers j, j', rods e and valves q'.
In applying my invention to mechanical pianos operated by means of perforated
tune-strips or cards the hereinbefore described pneumatic arrangements are
modified as follows, reference being had to Figures 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings.
The compressed air allowed to pass by the intermediate wind chests whenever
a perforation comes opposite a key, is conducted by means of a tube o² into a second
wind chest placed beneath the first and of similar construction. These wind chests
are arranged to occupy as small a space as possible.
Each lower wind chest comprises two compartments and t¹ and a large
bellows u.
The air under pressure entering the compartment acts upon the
diaphragm u (or the bellows) which supports a lever u². From the lever u² is
suspended a valve us which in its lower position closes the aperture forming com-
munication between the compartment t¹ and the large bellows u and which in its
upper position cuts off communication between the said bellows and the
outer air.
To each bellows u is connected a key of the key board through the medium of
the rod u and a vacuum is constantly caused in the compartment t¹.
During the passage of a perforation of the music card the compressed air is
forced into the compartment t, lifts the lever u² and consequently the valve u³ ;
communication is established between the bellows u and the compartment t¹; the
air is exhausted from the bellows which therefore closes by lifting its movable
side; the rod u transmits this movement to the corresponding key of the keyboard
and the desired note is produced.
The perforation having advanced, pressure ceases in the compartment t, the
lever is depressed and through the difference of pressure the valve u³ is
firmly applied upon its lower seat, the bellows immediately opens and the note
is stopped.
The essential feature of this arrangement, applicable to mechanical pianos, is
therefore the combination of the compressed air and the vacuum for mechanically
producing the notes through the medium of the perforated tune-strips or cards.
Whatever may be the instrument operated by means of perforated tune-strips or
cards and provided with my pneumatic arrangement, I can apply thereto au
arrangement which will allow of a piece of music being played for as long a time
as may be desired without any appreciable stop.
Referring to the diagrammatic view, Figure 11, y is the board which supports
the tune or music card or strip; y', y' are the feed rollers. y2 is the roller with
parallel grooves placed above the perforations of the board through which the
points or pins of the keys project; ww are the sides of the organ case and v, v two
identical but independent boxes placed one on each side of the instrument.
Each box is open upon one of its sides and is provided at its ends with hinged
covers v¹, v fastened by suitable catches.

page_text: When the hoxes are in use the upper cover is lifted as indicated in Figure 12
whilst the lower cover is closed. The tune strip or card folded as shewn at v
is introduced into the left hand box v through the open side which is towards
the front.
The front end of the strip or card is passed through a guide-slot v made in the
side of the organ case and the card is unfolded over the board and passed between
the feed rollers and falls in folds into the second box v.
As soon as all the music card has passed through the case the cover of the
right hand box is closed, and the box turned half round so as to bring its other
cover upwards. This cover which has previously formed the bottom of the box
and is now at its upper part is opened, and the positions of the boxes are changed,
that which holds the card being therefore at the left hand side of the organ. The
card, as will be easily understood, is then ready and suitably arranged in this hox
for the playing of the piece of music to recommence, the card always travelling
from left to right, and so on during as long a time as may be desired and with only
an insignificant stoppage at the end of each passage of the card.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a mechanical organ operating by means of perforated tune-strips or cards
an arrangement for rendering practical the employment of a pneumatic lever and
allowing of placing all the keys in a very limited space, the said arrangement
consisting in placing in a compressed-air case or chamber, and in combination with
the keys, one or several intermediate wind chests which admit the compressed air
from the case or chamber by an arrangement of valves cach time a key is lifted
and allow it to pass to a diaphragm or to a small bellows so as to open a corre-
sponding valve in the principal wind chest and allow the compressed air in the said
wind chest to pass to the corresponding reed tube, the passage to the tube being
stopped, directly the key is depressed, by a reverse movement of the valve of the
intermediate wind chest, substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In a mechanical organ operated by means of perforated tune-strips or cards
and provided with pneumatic levers and intermediate wind chests, an arrangement
for preventing the disagreeable noise produced when replacing one strip or card
by another, the said arrangement consisting of a series of levers so arranged as to
press down the air inlet valve in the casing of the intermediate wind chests and
consequently allow the passage of the air whilst the instrument is playing, but to
allow the said valve to close and render any emission of sound impossible directly
one of the levers is turned by hand or automatically, upon its pivot whereby a
second lever directly controlling the said valve is disengaged, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
3. The arrangement allowing of the application of pneumatic levers and inter-
mediate wind chests to barrel organs converted into organs operated by means of
perforated tune-strips or cards, such arrangement comprising a second series of
wind chests placed underneath the first named intermediate wind chests and
receiving compressed air from them at the required moment, each being in relation
with one of the compartments of the principal wind chest through the medium of a
diaphragm or a bellows, a lever and a stem or rod and its valve, substantially as
herein before described.
4. The arrangement allowing of the application of the pneumatic lever and
intermediate wind chests to mechanical pianos operated by means of perforated
tune-strips or cards, such arrangement comprising a novel series of wind chests
having two compartments placed beneath the intermediate wind chests the first
compartment receiving the compressed air from the intermediate wind chests so as
to establish communication at the required moment between a bellows connected
to a key of the key board and either the second compartment in which a

page_text: vacuum is constantly caused or the atmosphere, substantially as hereinbefore.
described.
5. The combination with mechanical organs or pianos of the kind described in
the preceding claiming clauses of the herein described means for allowing of
prolonging the playing of a piece of music, practically without stopping such means
consisting of two identical boxes with movable bottoms and placed one on each
side of the instrument, the strip or card being placed in a folded condition in one
of them and opening out and passing over the keys and being refolded in the
second box, the positions of the boxes being then changed after having been turned
over in the required direction, so that the strip or card will travel in the same
direction and under the same conditions as before, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Dated the 7th day of February 1896.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.