AN IMPROVED PIANOFORTE ACTION
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Eugene Iliff and John Rintoul, both of Little
Crescent Street, Euston Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Pianoforte Manufacturers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
PIANOFORTE ACTION."
Sealed the 3rd November 1874, and dated the 20th May 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Eugene Iliff and John
Rintoul at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 20th May 1874.
We, EUGENE ILIFF and JOHN RINTOUL, both of Little Crescent Street,
Euston Square, in the County of Middlesex, Pianoforte Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PIANOFORTE ACTION," to be as follows:
The object of this Invention is to provide an action for upright
pianofortes of a more simple construction, and therefore less liable to get
out of order than those heretofore employed. To this end we make the
sticker (which in ordinary actions with the assistance of the hopper)

page_text: transfers the motion of the key to the hammer) perform that office
without the aid of the hopper. The sticker is attached at its upper end
by a leather or equivalent hinge to the hammer butt, and it works in a
check guide rail which has an inclined under surface. The bottom of
the sticker is covered with felt or leather, and it rests upon the top of an
incline formed on or in the inner end of the key lever. This lever is
provided with a stop to arrest the back motion of the sticker when
sliding on the incline of the raised lever. The sticker is fitted with a
regulating pin carrying a button which is padded with felt; this pin
stands at about a right angle with the inclined face of the check guide
rail, and as the sticker is raised (by the depression of the key) to throw
up the hammer against the strings, the padded button will advance.
towards the inclined face of the check guide rail, and striking it
immediately the hammer has acted, will trip the sticker and release the
hammer from the strings. This may be further assisted by the use of a
light hooked spring attached to the rear of the sticker, and catching in a
loop made fast to the check guide rail.
The regulating pin besides checking off the sticker serves also to
11
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Eugene Iliffe and John Rintoul in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 18th November 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EUGENE
ILIFF and JOHN RINTOUL, both of Little Crescent Street, Euston
Square, in the County of Middlesex, Pianoforte Manufacturers, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Eugene Iliff and John Rintoul, Her
special licence that we, the said Eugene Iliff and John Rintoul, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Eugene Iliff and John Rintoul, our executors, administrators, and

page_text: assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED PIANOFORTE ACTION," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Eugene Iliff and John
Rintoul, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Eugene Iliff and John Rintoul,
do hereby declare the nature of our said 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 had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to provide an action for upright
pianofortes of a more simple construction, and therefore less liable to get
out of order than those heretofore employed. To this end instead of
using a "hopper" to assist the "sticker" in transmitting the motion of
the key to the hammer, we cause the sticker to perform that office
without the aid of the hopper by the arrangement which we will now
proceed to explain.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews in sectional elevation an
"action" constructed according to our Invention. A is the key fitted as
usual to the key frame; B is the sticker; C, the hammer; D, the string
to be sounded; and E, the damper. The sticker B is attached at its
upper end by a leather or equivalent hinge to the hammer butt c, and it
works in a check guide rail F which has an inclined under surface.
The bottom of the sticker is covered with felt or leather as at 6, and it
rests upon the top of an incline a formed on the inner end of the key A.
The key A is provided with a shoulder for receiving a regulating pin
which carries a stop or button a¹ for arresting the back motion of the
sticker when sliding on the incline a when the key is struck. The
sticker is fitted with a regulating pin carrying a button b' which is

page_text: padded with felt or leather; this pin stands at about a right angle with the
inclined face of the check guide rail, and as the sticker is raised (by the
depression of the key) to throw up the hammer against the strings,
the padded button will advance towards the inclined face of the check
guide rail, and striking it immediately the hammer has acted will ensure
the tripping of the sticker (by throwing it off the top of the incline a),
and release the hammer from the strings. To restore the sticker to its
normal position a light hooked spring 62 is employed. This spring is
attached to the rear of the sticker, and catches into a loop made fast to
the check guide rail; while therefore the spring yields to the back thrust
of the regulating pin it will, on the key being released from the pressure
of the player's finger, force back the sticker into its normal position, and
allow the hammer to fall back into the rest rail. The adjustable
button 6¹ besides checking off the sticker serves also to adjust the force
of the blow of the hammer. The damper E is set in action as heretofore
by reason of its connection through the rod e¹ with the sticker. G is the
hammer rail, and H is an adjusting screw fitted to the inner end of the
key A, for the purpose of regulating the height of the key.
Fig. 2 shews in sectional elevation a modification of our improved
pianoforte action, the key and sticker being somewhat simpler in
construction. In this example the key, instead of having an incline a
applied to its inner end, as in Fig. 1, is simply notched as at a* to allow
the sticker to drop out of action. The shoulder fitted with the stop or
button a is also dispensed with, and the sticker, instead of being made.
with a thick butt end as at b, Fig. 1, terminates in a straight piece with
parallel sides. The comb of the check rail is also dispensed with, and in
lieu thereof pins fare used to separate the stickers from each other. These
pins f carry the loops into which the springs 6* are hooked for putting a
slight back pressure on the rear end of the sticker. In other respects
the two arrangements are substantially the same, and the same letters of
reference being applied to like parts, no further description will be
required.
.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "An Improved
Pianoforte Action," and explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, we wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent we claim, the arrangement and construction of
parts as above described for transmitting the motion of the keys of

page_text: upright pianofortes directly through the stickers to the hammers
thereof.
In witness whereof, we, the said Eugene Iliff and John Rintoul,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Sixteenth day of
November, in the year of Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-four.