An Improved Means of, or Improvements in Apparatus for, Producing Musical Tone.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 17th June, 1898-Accepted, 23rd July, 1898
An Improved Means of, or Improvements in Apparatus for,
Producing Musical Tone.
I, ROBERT HOPE-JONES, M.I.E.E., of 55 & 57, Argyle Street, Birkenhead,
in the County of Chester, Consulting Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention to which I have given the name of the valvular reed relates to
an apparatus for dividing into a series of puffs a stream of air or other fluid.
In the beating reed hitherto used for organs, fog horns etc. a curved tongue has
been caused to strike and unbend itself upon a flat seat, or a flat tongue has been
caused to strike and bend over a curved seat, the tongue being so arranged as itself
to fill the double office of a valve and a spring.
Now in carrying out this invention the spring (or at any rate the active part
thereof) is not made to act as a valve and the valve is not made to bend itself and
act as a spring. The offices of valve and spring are kept distinct the one from the
other.
By way of illustration only and without in any way limiting myself to these
particular forms, I will describe one or two manners in which valvular reeds may
be constructed.
A circular valve may be made of metal, wood or any other fairly rigid material,
such valve may be covered on its active face with leather or other soft substance
if desired.
This valve may be more or less rigidly attached to a long spring (preferably flat)
and the other end of the said spring may be rigidly attached to the reed block or
any convenient stationary part of the apparatus.
The spring and valve may be enclosed in a chamber containing compressed air
and the valve may be so placed that it shall be driven by a stream of air against
a level reed or face in such manner as to close an opening through which the
compressed air is escaping into an organ pipe or resonator.
If the elasticity of the spring, the weight of the valve and its distance from its
seat and the length of the pipe or resonator be correctly proportioned the valve will
be caused to vibrate, the stream of air will be divided into a series of puffs and a
musical note will be produced.
The valve may be circular, rectangular or of any other shape.
If desired, a tuning wire or other device may be applied to alter the length of
the free part of the spring; or the parts may be so arranged that the distance of
the valve from its seat may be conveniently altered.
*
By gradually increasing the diameter of the valve the above apparatus will
become merged into that described in my former patents as a diaphone," for the
centre portion of the valve will cease to act as a valve but will perform the office
of a
"motor."
.

page_text: Or a valvular reed may be made as follows:-
An oblong or rectangular valve of fairly rigid substance may be mounted on a
spring and enclosed in a chamber of compressed air. Opposite to the valve a hole
may be cut in the wall of the chamber through which the compressed air can
escape till on account of the pressure of the air the valve closes and for a moment
interrupts the flow. If desired, a resonator may be placed so that the resulting
puffs of air shall enter it or a box or cavity or trumpet mouth may be used
instead, or the puffs may be allowed to escape direct into the atmosphere.
Valvular reeds may be operated either by pressure or suction and may be placed
on either side of the dividing partition.
An Improved Means of, or Improvements in Apparatus for,
Producing Musical Tone.
I, ROBERT HOPE-JONES, M.I.E.E., of 55 and 57, Argyle Street, Birkenhead,
in the County of Chester, Consulting Electrical Engineer, 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 is an improvement on or extension of my diaphone invention set
forth in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 22414 of, 1894, and has for its
object a more perfect reed for producing musical tone than those hitherto
constructed.
In the beating reed hitherto used for organs, fog horns, etcetera a curved tongue
has been caused to strike and unbend itself upon a flat seat, or a flat tongue has
been caused to strike and bend over a curved seat, the tongue being so, arranged.as
itself to fill the double office of a valve and a spring.
Now in carrying out this invention the spring (or at any rate the active part
thereof) is not made to act as a valve and the valve is not made to bend itself and
act as a spring. The offices of valve and spring are kept distinct the one from
the other.
The drawings set forth sectional elevations and two views at right angles
showing the valve and spring device of three slightly varying arrangements for
carrying out my invention given by way of illustration.
Referring first to Figure 1;
A is a square box of wood into which it fitted a block of wood B₁ having a flat
face for the valve. B2 is a cover attached rigidly to block B¹ and by screws or
otherwise to box A, A¹ is a leather or other airtight joint, C is a circular channel
running through cover 12 and block B₁ conveying the wind supplied through the
passage D into the foot of the resonator P. E is a circular metal valve covered
on the face with felt and held in position by a metal spring F. The tension of
the spring F is partly regulated by a spring wire G.
The action of this form of valvular reed is as follows:-
Air under pressure is admitted into the outer case A through the passage D
and escapes past the valve E into the channel C.
If the elasticity of the spring F, the weight of the valve E, and its distance
from its seat, and the length of the pipe or resonator P be correctly proportioned
the valve E will be caused to vibrate and the stream of air will be divided into a
series of puffs and a musical note will be produced.

page_text: In Figures 2 and 3 the parts practically identical with parts of Figure 1 have
the same letters of reference, with regard to the remaining letters of reference H. is
a pallet of wood hinged at the bottom I leather face and J a spring similar to F
tending to keep the long pallet H closed, K piece of rubber.
Air under pressure is admitted through passage D and escapes through a hole
opposite the valve E into the chamber C. This escape continues till, on account of
the pressure of the air the valve closes and for a moment interrupts the flow. If
the elasticity of the spring F, the weight of the valve E and its distance from its
seat and the length of the pipe or resonator P be correctly proportioned the valve E
will be caused to vibrate, and the stream of air will be divided into a series of
puffs which escape through the chamber C into the pipe P and a musical note will
be produced.
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:-
-
1. The improvement on or application of the principles of my former invention
Patent No. 22414 of 1894, which consists in combining a valve which does not
necessarily bend or act as a spring with a spring which does not necessarily act
as a valve in such manner as to form a beating reed or device for dividing a stream
of air or other fluid into a series of puffs, substantially as described.
2. In combination with a resonator, a valvular reed or tone producer of the
type set forth and so arranged that the valve shall possess a considerable area
which shall perform the office of motor and shall so enable the resonator largely to
control the speed of the vibrations of the valve substantially as described.
3. The improved means of or apparatus for producing and regulating musical
tones substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated thi. 16th dow of Iun 1908
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Patent Agents, of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London.