Year: 1886

page_text: "
I FRIEDRICH ERNST PAUL EHRLICH of Leipsic in the Kingdom of Saxony
German Empire Manager to the Actiengesellschaft "Fabrik Leipziger Musikwerko
vormals Paul Ehrlich & Co do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to mechanical stringed musical instruments or apparatus
in which the striking of tuned wires strings or chords in the order corresponding
with the piece of music or tune to be played is effected by means of music sheets,
bands, discs or plates provided with perforations or with elevations and depressions
or their equivalents acting on pins or fingers in such a manner that a certain
relative or proportional motion is produced imparted by the music sheet to the
said pins or fingers. The said pins or their equivalents which are normally pressed
against the music sheet are caused by the aforesaid relative movement to move
alternately towards and away from the music sheet and are combined with means
for transmitting motion to hammers or percussion instruments which are thereby
caused to strike the strings or chords in the desired order.
According to my invention the means for transmitting or converting the motion
consist of a lever having one or more arms and acted on by a spring, which lever
is connected by suitable rods or links in such a manner with the pins or fingers
acted on by the music sheet that the movements of the said pins or fingers are
directly productive of blows delivered by the hammers or their equivalents against
the strings.
"
The means employed for transmitting the motion may according to another
arrangement consist essentially of a sliding or moveable bar or rod provided with
or connected to a hooked or bent lever and acting in combination with a constantly
rotating cam or tappet shaft or a reciprocating cross or transverse bar the said
sliding rod being pressed by the said cam or tappet shaft or its equivalent against
the pressure of a spring or weight and when released or allowed to return directly
or indirectly causing the hammers or percussion instruments to strike the strings
or chords the action being controlled by the pins or fingers operated by the music
sheet as herein before described-When the notes are not to be sounded the lever
is held out of the path of the tappets or cams by means of a stop action which
releases the lever when the corresponding chords are to be struck.

page_text: A damping arrangement may be employed in combination with either of the
means herein before described for transmitting the motion of the pins to the
percussion instruments. In the case of the arrangement firstly herein before
described the said damping device consists of a lever carrying the damper and
which at the moment when the before mentioned lever with one or more arms
causes the hammer to strike the chord is caused to move away from the string by
the action of the lever operating the hammer as hereinbefore described and which
may be connected to the damper lever by a suitable link or other device-When
the arrangement for converting the motion as secondly herein before described is
employed I provide a pusher bar or rod in connection with the lever carrying the
damper so that the said pusher bar or rod is operated to remove the damper from
the strings by the device controlling the action of the before mentioned sliding bar
or bars operating the hammers.
I may employ any ordinary or suitable hammer action for striking the chords
but I prefer to use a hammer moving in a rectilinear path and receiving the
impulse against the wires directly and in the direction of its length. Such
a hammer which requires special guides is combined in particular in case its line
of motion is in a horizontal direction or in a direction forming an acute angle with
a vertical line with a spring or its equivalent for the purpose of ensuring its return
to its original position after striking.
I provide an arrangement for enabling the instrument to play either forte or
piano at will by means of an inclined or oblique bar which can be shifted by means
of a knob or handle on the exterior of the case. A jack jointed to the sliding
bar herein before described is acted. upon by the inclined bar so that by shifting
the latter in one direction or the other the jack will sooner or later be brought out
of engagement with the hammer (that is to say will be disconnected at an earlier
or later period of its stroke) thereby regulating or modifying the force with which
the hammer strikes the chords.
According to another arrangement the loudness may be varied by causing the
grating or grooved or other part supporting the music sheet or plate against
the pressure of the pins or fingers to press with varying degrees of pressure against
the said sheet or plate or by shifting the said grating or part upwards or sideways
at a greater or less distance from the series of pins. This has the effect of increasing
or diminishing the motion of the pins when brought into action and consequently
increasing or diminishing the force of the impulse transmitted by them to the
hammers or percussion instruments.
When the frame over which the wires or strings are stretched is made of metal
it is advantageous to imbed the metal frame in wood as the quality of the tone is
thereby improved.
In a musical instrument constructed according to this invention motion is
imparted to the mechanism by means of a crank handle worked by hand or the
said movements may if preferred be produced automatically by means of a spring
or other motor.

page_text: Improvements in Mechanical Stringed Musical Instruments.,
.
I, FRIEDRICH ERNST PAUL EHRLICH of Leipsic in the Kingdom of Saxony.
German Empire, Manager to the Actiengesellschaft "Fabrik Leipziger Musik-
werke" vormals Paul Ehrlich and Company 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 stringed musical instruments or apparatus
in which the striking of tuned wires strings or chords in the order corresponding
with the piece of music or tune to be played is effected by means of music sheets
bands discs or plates provided with perforations or with elevations and depressions
or their equivalents and by pins or fingers, a certain relative motion being
produced between the music sheet and the said pins or fingers. The said pins or
their equivalents which are normally pressed against the music sheet are caused by
the aforesaid relative movements to move alternately towards and away from the
music sheet, and are combined with means for transmitting motion to hammers or
percussion instruments which are thereby caused to strike the strings or chords in
the desired order.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refor to
the several figures on the annexed Sheets of drawings, the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding figures.
Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings illustrate several combinations of
mechanism in which the pins or fingers operated by the music sheet act by the
intervention of combinations of levers and springs in such a manner that the
movements of the said pins or fingers are directly productive of blows delivered
by the hammers or their equivalents against the strings or chords.
Referring to Figure 1, a represents a portion of a perforated music sheet, and
b is a pin or finger carried by a lever c, and capable of entering the holes in the
said sheet. This finger is not necessarily attached to or made in one with the
lever c, and may be arranged simply in contact therewith, being supported in
suitable guides-The music sheet is supported at the back by a bar v, which, when
perforated sheets are employed, is provided with notches or recesses corresponding
with the rows of perforations. The lever c, acts through a jack q¹ on a lever r¹;
pivoted at r and acted on by a spring f. The stem or shaft of the hammer h,
which is employed for striking the strings or chords of the instrument indicated
at i, is arranged to move with as little friction as possible, and with this object, is
guided in a support 8, for example, which may also serve as a guide for the ends
of the levers r being provided for this purpose with suitable slots or openings 8'.
When the pin or finger b, meets a hole or depression in the music sheet a, the
spring f, acting upon the lever 1, gives the hammer a sufficient impulse to cause it
to strike the wires i, with the requisite force to produce the note.-At the same
time, the lever 1 lifts a damper k, by means of a jack t, and maintains this
damper out of contact with the wires so long as the pin or finger b, remains in the
hole or depression in the music sheet a, during which period, a pad u, on the
lever beats against a stop w. The hammer, after striking the wires, falls

page_text: back into the position indicated by the dotted lines and rests upon the lever -
The mechanisin hereinbefore described. may be greatly simplified by causing the
hammer to be moved directly by the lever c as in the arrangement in figure 2
where an ordinary hammer h is carried by a spring h¹ fixed to the lever c the
upward motion of which is limited by a stop w. With this arrangement, when
the pin or finger b enters a hole or depression in the music sheet a, the spring f
throws up the lever c which strikes the stop w before the hammer touches the
wires but the hammer continues its motion owing to the flexibility of the spring h
and delivers the required blow on the wires afterwards rebounding so as to enable
the wires to vibrate freely. A damper k is provided which is lifted by the action
of the spring h¹ on a jack 't.
!
Figure 3 illustrates a modified arrangement of this mechanism according to
which a motor spring f¹ is employed acting directly on the head of the hammer h.
The spring f plays in a slot h in the head of the hammer h and its upward move..
ment is limited by a stop w¹. The slot h³ allows the hammer to rebound or fall
after striking so as to enable the wires to vibrate properly and the spring prevents
the hammer from oscillating or striking the wires a second time.
с
According to another modification illustrated in figure 4 the lever c is provided
with a spring or extension c¹ carrying a head y situated under the hammer h and
the spring plays in a slot y¹ in the head y. In this case the spring f¹ operates
the hammer through the intervention of the head y as will be readily understood
by referring to the drawing.
Figure 5 illustrates a modified damping arrangement which may be substituted
for that shown in figure 1. According to this modified arrangement the dampers k
are attached to arms x fixed on the levers c. These arms may be flexible in order
to admit of all the dampers being thrown out of action by turning a lifter carried
on an axis. By this raising the dampers the lever c is pressed more forcibly
against the music sheet and the hammers are caused to act with more power.
Figures 6 to 9 illustrate arrangements wherein a constantly rotating cam or
tappet shaft is employed to operate the hammers or percussion instruments by the
intervention of mechanism controlled by the music sheet as hereinafter explained.
Figure 6 shows one arrangement of the apparatus in a side elevation partly in
section and figure 7 a portion thereof with the parts in a different position Figure 8
represents another arrangement with some of the parts in two different positions
Figure 9 is a section on line 1-2 of figure 6.
In Figure 6 in the wire or chord h the hammer employed for striking the
same is the perforated music sheet ca lever having a pin or finger b adapted to
engage with the perforations or depressions in the said sheet and which is pressed
against the sheet by a spring f' The said lever c has a vertical arm to which is
jointed a jack d having an adjustable knob or pad d capable of sliding upon the
inclined upper surface of a bar d' In suitable boles or guides formed in the bar d
and in a bar d² is mounted a sliding bar e pressed towards the hammer h by a
spring f and arranged to operate against the butt g of the hammer by means of a
jack or hopper es pressed upward by the spring f¹ and having an adjustable knob
or pad e capable of sliding upon an inclined surface on a bar d³ To the bar e are
pivoted a hooked lever or latch e capable of engaging with constantly rotating
cams or tappets n and a pawl'e having three arms the lower arm being provided
with a hook e arranged to engage with a projection e of the hooked lever e-The
horizontal arm is provided with a weight e pressing the lower arm against the said
projection and the upper arm extends into the path of the jack d.
Figure 6 shews these parts in the position they occupy when the horizontal arm
of the lever c is pressed down by an unperforated portion of the music sheet a
acting against the finger b and the hooked lever e² is raised and in engagement
with the hook of the pawl e¹ The cams n when rotated under these conditions do
not operate upon the hooked lever e' But when a hole in the music sheet has
come opposite to the finger b the lever c is brought by its spring into the position
indicated in figure 7 and during the motion of the lever the jack d strikes against.

page_text: the upper arm or tail of the pawl c¹ and causes the hook on the lower arm
thereof to release the lever e' which consequently drops with its hook into the
path of the cams n The lever however is prevented from dropping beyond a
certain limit by a pin e' inserted into the bar e
One of the said cams n then
comes in contact with the hooked lever and pushes the sliding bar e together with
the jack backward against the stress of the spring f The jack or hopper es
sliding with its pad es on the inclined surface of the bar d³ is at the same time
pressed upward by the spring f' so that at the end of the retrograde motion of tho
bar e it will have engaged with the butt g of the hammer As soon as the cam n
leaves the hook of the lever e³ the spring pushes the bar e-forcibly forwards and
causes the jack e to impel the hammer h against the string or wire i the jack es
immediately freeing itself from the butt as in ordinary pian actions During the
forward motion of the bar e the lever e² slides with its downwardly projecting
portion or hook on the outer convex surface of the cam which is made sufficiently
long for the purpose and the lever is thereby raised and returned to the position
shewn in Figure 6 in which it is caught and retained by the pawl e' until the
jack d is again brought into action.
The said jack d is also made use of for operating the damper k―For this pur-
pose the damper is arranged to be fitted by an elbow or bell crank lever ¹ and a
pusher bar or rod k placed in a line with the jack d when the latter is in the
raised position.
When the jack d operating against the pawl e¹ as described slips past the upper
arm of the said pawl it strikes against a knob on the end of the rod pushes the
rod forward and thereby causes the lever k¹ to raise the damper k and to keep it
raised as long as the finger b is in the perforation of the sheet that had caused the
parts to operate. Subsequently the rod k is returned to its normal position by the
spring. By means of a lifter turning on a centre land arranged to be operated
by hand all the dampers may be raised simultaneously.
For varying the loudness of the notes produced the bar d³ on which slides the
shoulder or pad es of the jack is made movable or adjustable in a vertical direc-
tion by being fixed to two levers, such as m¹, pivoted at m³ and operated by a
rod m, a lever having a finger j registering with holes in the music-sheet and
a spring m―When one of these holes comes opposite to the said finger the lever j
and the tail ends of the levers m¹ are raised by the spring m and the bar d³ is
depressed I consequence hereof the jack e³ will slip off sooner from the butt of
the hammer and impart to the hammer a reduced impulse so as to cause the same
to strike the string more gently-If preferred the lever i may be omitted and the
rod lengthened (as shown by dotted lines) and arranged to pass by the side of the
music-sheet and to be operated by hand-The spring m will then keep the bar d³
in the position required for producing soft notes while a pressure exercised by
hand on the rod m causes the bar to be raised and the hammer to strike more
forcibly.
The frame of the instrument to which the strings are attached is made of a
metal part p Figures 6, 8 and 9 and a wooden part q the latter enclosing the
former except upon the portions to which the strings are fixed-With this con-
struction of frame the sound of the instrument is more sonorous than with frames
made of metal only.
In the modified arrangement of the instrument shewn in Figure 8 the sliding
bar e is placed in vertical position or perpendicular to the strings and it acts
without any intermediate part on a haminer h moving in a straight line in
guides 8-The same arrangement may however also be applied to an oscillating
hammer h³ swinging on a centre as indicated by the dotted lines For insuring
the proper action of the latch e the same is pressed towards the cams n by a
spring Moreover the weight et of Figures 1 and 2 is replaced by a spring.
If this arrangement is to be used in an instrument having vertical strings the
bammer must be provided with a spring o for returning it to its position of rest
and if in such case it.is moreover desired that the music-sheet be placed horizon-

page_text: tally the lever c is centered at c² and formed with a finger b' as indicated by the
dotted lines on the right hand side of fig. 8.
The the purpose of enabling the instrument to play forte or piano at the proper
times a more simple arrangement than that hereinbefore described may be
employed. This arrangement illustrated in figures 10, 11, and 12 is applicable to
the apparatus illustrated in. figures 1 to 5 and consists in providing ineans for
adjusting the position of the support at the back of the sheet relatively to the
'row of pins or fingers b. The effect of this is to regulate the movement of the
said pins or fingers when they engage with the holes in the sheet and conse-
quently to modify the force of the impulse transmitted to the hammers or
percussion instruments.
Figures 10 and 11 are views partly in section and taken at right angles to each
other showing this arrangement of apparatus and figure 12 is a plan of the same.
The bar or support vin place of being fixed directly to the cover D of the
instrument is pivoted to a plate S either in the form of a spring or mounted on a
hinge and acted on by a spring v₁ By pressing on a knob K on the end of this
plate or by tightening a thumb-piece F the plate S can be readily adjusted so
as to move the support v towards or away from the music sheet a and thereby
regulate the power of the hammers.
In musical instruments constructed according to this invention the mechanism
can be operated either by a crank handle or by a spring or other motor. The
music sheet may be arranged to move or travel forwards the strings or chords and
mechanism operating the hammers being stationary or the music sheet may be
stationary and the said mechanism be arranged to travel bodily.
The music sheet may be in the form of a rotating disc or plate of circular or
other suitable form or in the form of a band moved forwards in a straight line or
travelling over rollers or any other suitable form or arrangement of the said sheet
or controlling surface such for example as a cylinder or cone may be employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
.I claim is
First In a mechanical stringed musical instrument, the hammer h, tuned wires i,
music-sheet a having perforations or its equivalents, pin or finger ba lever c with
or without a lever and spring f arranged to press the fingers b against the music
sheet a the said parts being so combined that, when the pin b drops into a hole or
recess of the sheet a the spring f will cause the hammer to be impelled against the
string i substantially as herein before described with reference to the figs. 1 to 4 of
the accompanying drawings.
Second The combination with the hammer h music sheet a provided with
perforations or its equivalents and lever c having the finger b, of the sliding bar e
spring, continuously moving cams n latch e and pawl e¹ both pivoted to the bar e,
jack d pivoted to lever c and having the pad or shoulder d³ and bar d¹ having an
inclined surface for the said shoulder to slide on substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.
Third The combination with the hammer h music sheet a lever c having the
finger b sliding bar e spring f cams n latch e pawl e jack d with pad or shoulder d³
and bar d of the jack e pivoted to the bar e and having the pad or.shoulder es and
bar d³ having an inclined surface against which the shoulder es bears substantially
as hereinbefore described with reference to figs. 6 & 7 of the accompanying drawings.
Fourth The combination with the hammer h music sheet a lever c having the
finger b sliding bar e spring f cams n latch e², pawl c, jack d with shoulder d³ and
bar d of the damper lever and rod k² substantially as herein before described
with reference to fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings.
Fifth The combination with the hammer h sliding bar e spring fand jack e³
having the shoulder e of the bar and means for raising and lowering the said
bar das and for the purpose substantially as set forth.

page_text: Sixth The combination with the hammer h music sheet a sliding bar e spring f
jack e having the shoulder es of the bar d³ having arms m¹ pivoted at m³ lever j
having a pin or finger j¹ capable of engaging with the perforations or their equiva-
lents in the said music sheet and means for transmitting motion from the lever j to
the arms m¹ substantially as and for the purpose described with reference to fig. 6
of the accompanying drawings.
Seventh In a mechanical musical instrument in which the notes are produced by
the impact of hammers against tuned strings, the construction of the fraine to which
the strings are attached of an inner part p made of metal and an outer part q con-
sisting of wood the latter enclosing the former except upon the portions to which
the strings or wires are fixed as and for the purpose specified with reference to
figs. 6 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.
Eighth In combination with a mechanical stringed musical instrument constructed
and operating as herein before described and claimed a hammer guided so as to move
in a straight line and which, after having been impelled against the string is
returned to its position of rest by gravity or by the force of a spring, substantially
as herein before described with reference to figs. 1 and 8 of the accompanying
drawings.
Ninth In a mechanical stringed musical instrument the combination with a
music sheet a of a bar v serving as an abutment for the sheet a and attached to
another barg provided with means for adjusting the bar v perpendicularly to the
sbeet a substantially as and for the purpose set forth with reference to figs. 10, 11
and 12 of the accompanying drawings.
Tenth The general arrangements and combinations of parts constituting the
improved mechanical stringed musical instruments substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
noted thin 15th JNT L 100