Improvements in Electrical Attachments for Playing Pianos.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 16th Nov., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Attachments for Playing Pianos.
I, GEORGE HOULETT DAVIS, of 333 West 36th Street, New York City,
United States of America, Attorney, 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 has for its especial objects-
First, to provide a construction which can be applied as an attachment to any
piano whatever without injuring it in the least or affecting its ordinary use, while
in applying other forms of attachments, it has been necessary to make numerous
alterations and use a large clumsy roller in front of the piano, requiring an expert
to apply it.
Second, to provide a music holder of extremely small dimensions which may be
placed entirely out of sight if desired, whereas the music drawers of other
attachments now on the market are so large as to interfere with the knees of the
performer, and furthermore to provide a music holder which can be placed at any
distance away from the piano.
Third, to provide an attachment which will repeat a particular note faster than
can be done even by an expert, performner, thus making it possible to give a
satisfactory reproduction of heavy classical music.
Fourth, to provide an attachment which can be manufactured to a comparatively
lower cost than any now on the market.
Sixth, to provide an attachment which is adapted to use very thin music paper
instead of heavy thick paper.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a piano having my attachment applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the same and also of the music
holder and key board.
Figure 3 is a detail front view of the friction roller, friction shoe, and magnet
bars.
Figure 4 is a view of the under side of the music holder, and
Figure 5 is a detail view of the pedal action.
Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of
the drawings.
I prefer to employ as a motive power an electric motor 1 located in the bottom.
of the piano (see Figure 1) having a cone pulley 2 giving motion to the driving
belt 3, the pulley 4 and the friction roller 5 bearing in the boxes 6 of the
suspension arms 6 rigidly secured to the wood support 7 which is itself detachably
secured to the under part of the piano and upon which nearly my entire action is
suspended. Upon the angle bar 9 are secured a series of electro magnets 9, the
armatures 9 of which are pivoted in the cleats 9 adjustably secured by the
screws 9 to the said angle bars 9 and to the free ends of said armatures are
pivotally secured a series of friction shoes 8 having the arms 8* to the ends of
which latter are pivotally secured the striker rods 12 which engage the rear ends
of the keys 27, which keys operate the upper action of the piano in the usual
ray.
Above the angle iron is located a smaller angle iron 13 holding the
adjustment or bumper screws. 28 regulating the upward movement of the
armatures 9. when drawn up by the spring 11 connecting it with the adjustment

page_text: screws 10; to the rear of said angle iron is secured a wood strip 13 upon the top
edge of which the wires 9 leading from the corresponding magnets 9 are joined
to the wires 23 leading from the music holder 22-23, said music holder consisting
of two parts, first the upper part having the wood piece 23 bound on either edge
by the metal strips 23, to the front ends of which are pivoted the swinging
arms 22 and the rear ends having a rod 23° connecting their upper ends and to
the centre of which rod is attached the draw bar 23d terminating in the hook 23º,
which upon being pulled forward disengages the latches 235 and allows the
lower part 22 to swing down and throws the roller 22° out of engagement or
contact with the metal contact fingers 23' to which the wires 23 are connected;
the swinging arms 22" also pivotally support the two music rollers 22 and 22°, the
latter having the music paper 22 permanently secured thereto, said paper
being provided at its free end with a loop 228 which acts over the pin 22
of the roller 22ª, the latter acting as what is known as a live roller and gradually
winds the music paper 22 upon itself when revolved by the cable 29 extended
to a pulley on the friction roller 5 and given motion thereby. The pedal
bars or dampers are actuated by simply extending the two bars 30, 31 downward
instead of upward from the ends 8 of the friction shoes and connecting said
bars to the regular pedal bars 30, 31, but as it requires some little power to
draw up the pedal bars and actuate the dampers, I prefer to attach the rods 30, 31,
each between two of the shoes 8 as shown at Figure 5.
The operation of the complete device is substantially as follows: First,
suppose the lower part of the music holder to be down, then the roller 22 holding
the music paper is set into the bearings 221, 22' of any suitable construction after
which the free end of the paper is carried over the roller 22 and the loop 228 set
over the pin 22, when the swinging armis 22ª are thrown up until engaged and
held by the latches 23b after which the electric current is turned on and the motor
started, whereupon the roller 5, the cable 29 and the roller 22d will be set in
motion and the music paper 22' slowly advanced and wound around the roller 22°
and in passing over the roller 22° it slowly revolves it, thus causing it to present
clean and new contact surfaces to the ends of the contact fingers 22' whenever
they project through their respective perforations; each finger 23' is connected
by the wire 23 and 9° to its corresponding magnet 9, which when energized by
its finger contacting with the roller, which acts as a ground or general contact, its
armature 9b carrying at its end the friction shoe 8 18 drawn down and the friction
shce thrown into contact with the friction roller 5 and is carried forward thereby
to the position shown by the dotted lines and at the same time the striker arm 12
is thrown up and acts against the rear of the key 27, which in turn actuates the
strikers or haminers of the piano in the usual way, each note being prolongated
according to the length of its respective perforation or slot in the music paper,
but immediately the finger comes to the end of the perforation the paper insulates
it from the roller, the magnet instantly becomes demagnetized, its armature 9b is
drawn up by the spring 11 and the friction shoe raised and allowed to fall back
into its normal position.
The pedal rods 30, 31 are actuated in precisely the same manner, it being
necessary under the arrangement shown to have the slots in the paper which
actuate the pedal magnets or dampers much longer than those which actuate the
uote magnets.
It is obvious that the music holder can be set at any distance from the piano by
baring a cable of wires run from it to the piano.
Various modifications can be made in the construction and arrangement of parts
herein shown without departing from the spirit of my invention.
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 an electrical piano the combination with a friction roller of a shoe, a rod

page_text: connecting said shoe and the strikers or hammers of the piano and an electro
magnet adapted whenever energized to throw said shoe into engagement with
said roller or motor.
2. In an electrical piano, the combination with a revolving roller or drum, of a
friction shoe pivoted above said roller and adapted to be brought into contact
therewith an electro magnet arranged adjacent to and having its armature
connected with the shoe, and a connection between the latter and the keys of a
piano, substantially as described.
3. In an electrical piano, the combination with a revolving roller or drum, of a
friction shoe pivotally mounted above said drum and provided with a forwardly
extending arm, an electro magnet located in front of and having its armature-
lever connected to the shoe, and a connection between the rearwardly extending
arm and the strikers or hammers of a piano, substantially as described.
4. In an electrical piano, the combination with means for electrically operating
the keys, of a rotary note sheet holder hinged at one end to the piano and adapted
to be swung down out of position, and catches secured to the piano and adapted to
support the sheet holder in operative position, substantially as described.
Dated this 17th day of September 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

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