provements in the Construction of Organs.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 8th June, 1894-Accepted, 28th July, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in the Construction of Organs.
I, PERCY ROSS HARRISON of 87 Moray Road, London, N., Gentleman, 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:
The object of this invention is so to simplify the construction of organs, as
greatly to reduce their cost, without limiting their capacity as respects variety of
tone and sonorous power.
This I accomplish as follows:-
Supposing my keyboard to contain 56 keys, then I make each set of pipes
contained in the organ to consist of, say, 80 pipes which, by the means to be
presently explained, will furnish three complete registers or stops, viz., in some
cases registers of 16, 8, and 4 feet pitch, and in other cases registers of 8, 4, and
2 feet pitch. I may, in some instances, derive more than three registers from one
set of pipes, and in some cases only two, but, for general purposes, three is the
most convenient number.
In carrying out my invention, I group together the pipes representing the notes
of the same name in the various octaves, and bring them into connection with their
corresponding keys, in such manner that, by the depression of one key, one, two, or
three notes of the group may be sounded at the option of the player. Thus, each
set of pipes will form twelve distinct groups, each group consisting, for the most
part, of seven pipes. The pallets which control the several groups of seven pipes,
are five in number, and these I so arrange that, selecting the note C as an example,
the pallets connected with the keys C C, tenor C, middle C, treble C, C in. alt,
follow next each other in my sound-board, in the sequence stated. Likewise, the
several C sharps will follow each other in the same order; so also the several D's,
The
and so on, throughout the twelve semitones which complete the octave.
connection between the keys and the pallets is either by the ordinary roller-board
action, or preferably high-pressure tubular pneumatic action.
In order to explain the principle of construction of the organ whereby I am
enabled to secure the results above indicated, I will limit my description in the
first place to the accessories of a group of seven pipes, which may represent the
several C notes of the diapason, a diagram plan of which is shown in the accom-
panying drawings at Fig. 1, and I will then explain how, by the multiplication of
such parts, the whole range of the organ is built up.
In Fig. 1, a is a diagonally grooved board pierced with holes corresponding to
one of a series of groups of boles made in the table (which overlies the wind chest),
and forming vents for the passage of air from the wind chest, up to the group of
pipes connected with the grooved board.
Each group of holes consists of three parallel rows, there being five holes in each
row, or fifteen in each group. These holes I have numbered from one to fifteen,
for convenience of reference.
bbb3b are five pallets set at right angles to the rows of holes, and each
serving to cover one hole in each row, and thereby control three pipes.

page_text: c. c are diagonal slots formed in the board a, and into one or other of these
slots enter thirteen out of fifteen of the holes which correspond with the group
in the table below. Thus, the holes 1 and 15 are unconnected with the
grooves the holes 2 and 6, and 10 and 14, are respectively connected with
the shorter grooves; while the three longer grooves each connect with three
holes.
I have said that there are seven pipes which form the C group; of these,
the lowest C C, of eight feet speaking length will be connected with the hole 1,
and the highest in the set, viz., the C of 1 inches speaking length, will
be connected with the hole 15, which, like the hole 1, is outside the diagonal
grooves.
The remaining five pipes of the set are allotted one to each of the five diagonal.
slots c.
The holes in the table, it will be understood; take the place of the usual grooves,
which in my system are not required.
Overlying the rows of holes in the table, are the slides d d¹ d², representing
respectively the open diapason, principal, and fifteenth stops. These slides, in
their normal position, close the holes, and when drawn, open a passage for the air
to the pipes which they control, when, by the depression of the pallets, the wind is
allowed to issue from the wind chest.
Supposing these slides (which represent three stops) to be all open, as in Fig. 1,
the player, in depressing the lowest C key in the manual, will open the CC
pallet b, and thereby admit wind simultaneously to the pipes of 8 feet, 4 feet, and
2 feet speaking length, in connection respectively with the holes 1, 6 and 11.
If, however, the slide d² is pushed in, the 8 feet and 4 feet pipes only (in con-
nection with the holes 1 and 6) will sound, and if the slide d' is also pushed
in, only the 8 feet C connected with the hole 1 will sound.
In like manner, the depression of the key connected with the ten. C pallet ¹
will, when depressed, cause one or other of the pipes which connect respectively,
with the holes 2, 7, and 12, to sound, according to the position of the slides.
From this explanation it will be understood how the sounding of all the pipes in
the group is controlled,-one, two, or three pipes of the group sounding on the
depression of the corresponding key, according to the adjustment of the slides, and
the effect required to be produced by the player.
The CC hole of the diapason, it will be seen, is not connected with a diagonal
groove, because the 8 feet pipe is not needed for either the principal or the
fifteenth stop.
For a similar reason, the highest C on the fifteenth is not connected with a
diagonal groove, but all the other C's are connected diagonally in the different
registers, so as to furnish sounds of the pitch required.
"
The construction, so far as illustrated at Fig. 1, having been fully explained, I
will now proceed to shew the application of the invention in the construction of an
organ having one manual, reference being had to Fig. 2. In this figure, the
table is shewn in plan view at e e as carrying the accessories for four sets of
pipes, each of which set is brought into communication with the wind chest by
twelve groups of holes or vents, as illustrated at Fig. 1. The twelve groups of
holes constituting one set, are arranged side by side in line, and the four sets
are arranged in couples, and parallel to each other. The left hand side of
Fig. 2 shews a portion of the so-called " veneer in which the pipes are to be
seated. Where this veneer is broken away, the diagonally grooved board is
brought into view. Further to the right, this grooved board is broken away to
expose the groups of holes in the upper board f, which overlies the slides d, d¹, d².
These slides, it will be seen, extend across the table, and command the twelve rows
of holes formed in the table, for the purpose of opening or closing one or more
stops formed out of the eighty pipes composing one set.
These slides are exposed
to view by the removal of a portion of the upper board f. Further to the right in
Fig. 2, the slides are broken away to expose a portion of the pierced table e, and in

page_text: order to bring the pallets 6 into view, a portion of the table, to the under face of
which they are hinged, is removed. It will be seen that these pallets extend across
two sets of groups of holes or air vents, and thus, by the depression of one pallet,
six pipes may be simultaneously sounded, if desired.
Moreover, by the appliances well known to organ builders, the pallets of the third
and fourth sets of pipes may be simultaneously opened by the depression of the keys
which open the pallets of the first and second set of pipes.
I have said that the pipes are seated in the "veneer," but, as the large pipes
cannot conveniently be so situated, because the holes in the table, slide, and upper
board are not large enough to supply sufficient wind to them, separate sound boards
are provided to receive them.
66
The pallets in these separate sound boards I operate by pneumatic motors
actuated by air supplied by tubes a leading off from the "veneer.' This will be
best understood by reference to Fig. 3, which is a vertical section of the organ,
taken in a line parallel with the playing keys, and illustrates also the manner in
which the movement of the keys is transmitted to the pallets underlying the table e.
Mounted in the usual manner is the key h, which, by means of a sticker,"
raises a valve 2 in a wind chest, and allows air to flow therefrom down a tube i to
a pneumatic motor k, which is coupled by an air pipe with a second pneumatic
motor. These pairs of pneumatic motors, which correspond in number with the
keys of the manual, are connected respectively by means of pull-down wires with
the pallets b, b, which command the sets of pipes before mentioned. As, therefore,
a key is depressed, representing, say, the note C, the pipes, or some of them, in the
four sets corresponding thereto, will be sounded, the limit of the number of octave
notes so sounded being determined by the position of the slides d d¹ d² which
command the several sets of pipes.
The tube g connects with a pneumatic motor k², which connects, like the motors k k¹,
with a pallet b, but within a wind-chest fitted to receive, say, an 8 ft. or a 16 feet
pipe.
As the action of these pneumatic motors is simultaneous on the depression of
their corresponding key, all the pallets of the pipes desired to be sounded will be
simultaneously opened.
From the foregoing description it will be understood, that any desired note in
selected octaves, may be sounded by the depression of one key, and that from one
or all of the sets of pipes contained in the organ.
The effects thus obtained may be duplicated in organs provided with two manuals,
but when constructing organs of this class with independent manuals, and designated
by preference "Choir Organ" and "Swell Organ," I propose to place between
these manuals a third set of keys, which will represent the "Great Organ." This
Great Organ, however (represented only by keys), will have no stops or action of
its own, but will have the Choir and Swell organs coupled to it in the way well
known to, and practised by organ builders, but in this case the coupling will be
permanent.
It should be remarked that the pallets are long and narrow, and cover, say, six
holes of in. diameter.
The slides are similar to the ordinary slides, but narrower, being only about one
inch in width, with bearers only between, say, sets of three slides. The holes in
the slides are at a uniform distance, say or 1 in. apart, and corresponding to the
holes in the upper board.
The pedal organ may be constructed in the same way as the manual departments,
but in instruments of only two independent manuals, I prefer to carry the sound
board of one, or the sound boards of both manuals, down to the lowest pedal note
(CCC), and then, instead of an independent pedal organ, would merely furnish
a manual to pedal coupler of C C C pitch, as well as the ordinary coupler of C C pitch.
Stops of a similar quality could, if thought desirable, have a common bass for all
those notes, the pipes of which exceed, say, 4 ft. or 6 ft. or 8 ft. tone, as the case
might be.
"

page_text: The following specification for a small organ containing 640 pipes, will show how
comprehensive an instrument can be built according to my invention at no greater
cost than an ordinary organ of ten or twelve stops.
1. Choir to Pedal CC C.
2. Choir to Pedal CC.
3. Swell to Pedal CCC.
4. Swell to Pedal C C.
Here we have 23 speaking stops, including a four rank mixture, all formed from
640 pipes, the number ordinarily found in an organ of ten or twelve stops. In
addition, we have a remarkably powerful pedal organ, equal to the largest made,
having, besides the ordinary CC couplers, a perfect 16 ft. bass to every manual

page_text: combination, and, in effect, a pedal organ possessing the following powerful
specification.
1. Sub-bass
-
2. Contra gamba
3. Dulciana -
4. Open diapason
5. Gamba
6. Bourdon
7. Violon
-
8. Double flute
9. Dulcet
10. Principal
11. Gambette
12. Flute
32 ft.
13. Stopt flute
32 ft.
14. Violoncello
16 ft.
15. Great quint
16 ft.
16. Fifteenth
16 ft.
17. Flute
16 ft.
18. Viola
-
16 ft.
19. Mixture -
-
16 ft.
20. Contra fagotto
->
8 ft.
21. Oboe
-
8 ft.
22. Clarion
-
8 ft.
-
8 ft.
23. Choir to pedal coupler.
24. Swell to pedal coupler.
8 ft..
8 ft
10% ft*
4 ft..
4 ft.
4 ft..
IV ranks..
32 ft.
16 ft..
-
8 ft..
suppose the 32 ft. stops to cease at CC, on account of the great expense of the
lowest octave of pipes, but the latter could easily be added at any time, if the
funds permitted, making as comprehensive a pedal organ as has ever been built.
The pneumatic action for the larger pipes is nothing more than is now general in
most organs, partly because many of the large pipes of an organ are already brought.
into view in the front casing, and partly because the largest pipes are often too.
large to stand upon the sound board, particularly in the swell department.
From the foregoing description it will be understood that, by the use of my
invention, an instrument with three manuals, including 23 speaking stops, and its.
elaborate pedal department, may be constructed at a saving of some 40 per cent. of
the present cost, and that for larger organs a similar economy in building will be
secured.
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 :-
The means above described whereby, from a single set of pipes, two or more:
sounds in intervals of octaves may be produced by the depression of one key.
Dated this 8th day of June 1894.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.