IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of 67 Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, a communication to me from abroad by
Gustav Richter, of Leipzig, in the kingdom of Saxony, to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the mechanism and music sheets of mechanical musical
instruments and has for its principal object to reduce the size of the instrument
required for playing long tunes.
The improved instrument comprises a box which contains near its upper end a
toothed horizontal ring set in motion by an endless screw and supported by friction
rollers. The driving shaft which carries the worm or endless screw also serves to
set in motion the bellows situated in the lower part of the box. The toothed ring
forms the base or support for a pair of conical music sheets provided with
perforations depending on the tune to be played. Above the upper music sheet,
and approximately parallel with one of the generating lines of the cone, is situated
a small sound casing which contains one or more rows of projecting pins and the
reeds or valves, the said pins being either connected with the valve-operating
levers, or made to operate the valves directly. The sound-casing for the lower
conical music sheet is situated in the interior of the casing and underneath the
lower sheet. The outer casing is secured to the box by a hinge-joint, so that it
may either be placed upright or turned down upon the music sheet, so as to come
in contact with the latter, the connection with the air supply pipe being formed
by a movable joint placed between the latter and the hinged casing.
The lower sound casing is preferably fixed and connected with the air reservoir
by a pair of upright pipes.
In order to increase the number of notes for a given width of music sheet, two
or more parallel rows of pins may be employed for each casing, the pins of different
rows being placed out of line with each other.
Between the two music sheets and in proximity to the two sound casings is
placed a bar secured near the axis of the cone by a screw.

page_text: The two music sheets form two parallel and concentric truncated cones placed
one inside of the other, and secured at the base to the toothed ring mentioned
above.
Instead of two parallel sheets, a single sheet may be employed.
The valve-operating pins move like bolts perpendicularly to the music sheet,
being guided in a straight line by a rail or guide-plate or other convenient means.
The outer extremity of each bolt or pin, namely that which comes in contact with
the music sheet, is bevelled or cut obliquely like the latch of a doorlock, so that
during the motion of the music sheet the rear edge of the slots in the latter comes
in contact with the oblique face of the bolt and presses the latter down. The
opposite end of the bolt acts on the valve lever by means of an adjustable and
elastic intermediate piece which renders any roughness of the music sheet
harmless.
The valve lever is also rendered adjustable by means of a screw. The valve
levers are situated in the same plane, but so as to form the radii of an oval or
polygon around the pins or bolts, instead of forming a straight row.
The same arrangement of pins and of valve levers may be adapted for other
music sheets, whether plane, conical or cylindrical.
For setting the music sheet in motion, a pair of tooth-wheels may be used,
which are mounted on the same axle and gear into slots of the music sheet.

page_text: Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of 67 Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, a communication to
me from abroad by Gustav Richter, of Leipzig, in the kingdom of Saxony, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
With ordinary musical instruments for which music sheets are used, the latter
must be of proportionally large dimensions, if a large number of notes are to be
sounded; besides, the flat lying music sheets require a particularly good material
to be made of in order to get the necessary stability or stiffness. Further, the
musical signs or symbols must be proportionally large, because the sounding
mechanism consists of swinging levers, which require for their movement much
room.
These inconveniences are removed by the improvements in musical instruments
represented by the accompanying drawings, Figs. 1 to 24, besides, these musical
instruments have the essential advantages, to be of particularly small size, while
the music pieces may be considerably longer.
These improved instruments are essentially constructed as follows:
The case A contains a ring R, supported by rollers and provided with a toothed
circumference which gears into the driving worm S. By the revolution of the
shaft W, the bellows L, as well as the ring R, are set in motion. The ring R
carries a pair of conically shaped music sheets N, provided with perforations, which
correspond to the series of notes to be played. The upper music sheet is in
connection with the sound casing B; the latter having projecting pins, which are
either connected with the flap or valve levers (and adapted to operate the same),
see Figs 10 and 11, or carry the flaps or valves directly, Fig 3 and 4. By the
application of the double note sheet it is possible to employ a considerably larger
number of sounds, while the instrument is of remarkably smaller size, than those
hitherto in use. For the lower music sheet the sounding box C lies in the interior
of the casing, while for the exterior sheet the hinged sounding box B is employed,
which is connected with the air supply tube E by the movable intermediate piece D.
To enlarge as much as possible the number of sounds for each single music sheet,
the valve-pins may be arranged in two or more rows, side by side, and alternately
out of line with each other, as shown by Fig. 12.
Between the two music sheets is introduced the bar F, screwed fast at G. By
their conical shape the music sheets obtain great stiffness, and besides it becomes
possible to lay the flap-pins very closely side by side, that is to say, to arrange a
much larger number of sounds. In lieu of the double note sheet a simple one may
be used, as represented by Figs 5 to 7 of sheets I and II.

page_text: The music sheets are mounted by simply laying them upon the ring, for WHICH
purpose the upper sounding box is turned aside, see the position indicated by
dotted lines in Fig. 1.
As to the peculiar sound or valve mechanism, it may be observed that the
following are characteristic features or consequences of the lever mechanisms,
hitherto in use.
1) For the minutest music sign or note a large opening in the music sheet is
required, as the swinging direction of the lever nearly coincides with the plane of
the music paper.
2) The opening of the valve or flap always requires a proportionally large
oscillation of the operating lever.
These two points, together with the arrangement of the flap rows, rendered it
impossible, to make the music signs of small size, which fact not only prevents the
playing of music pieces of any considerable length, but also the increase of the
number of notes arranged in the instrument, without enlarging the latter.
In order to remove these defects, the operating or catch levers are entirely
dispensed with, and in lieu of the same, catch bolts or pins are applied, which move
rectangularly to the plane of the music sheet, therefore make no oscillations.
These bolts a, which may be arranged in one or more rows, are provided at their
ends with oblique surfaces a¹, Figs 16 and 17, which by the moving edge of the
music sign or slot, are pressed straight downward, that is to say in a direction
perpendicular to the music sheet, and thereby cause the bolt a to act on a one-
armed lever b, which carries at its free extremity the flap or air valve for sounding
the required note. To prevent disturbances, which might otherwise be produced
by inequalities of the music sheet, an elastic and adjustable intermediate piece d is
inserted between bolt a and lever b. Likewise, the one-armed flap-lever b can be
regulated by means of the screw e.
Besides this essential arrangement of the catch-bolts, it should be observed that
the flaps or the one armed flap-carriers are arranged to lie in the same plane,
namely round the catch bolts, thus forming a circle, an oval, or a polygon. By this
arrangement the employment and distribution of the valves are considerably
simplified, so that a large number of the same can be applied. The catch bolts a
with their protruding surfaces are actuated by the music sheet, whether the same
be rectangular, or forms a cone, a disc or a cylinder, see Figs 21 to 24. The music
sheet, as it is represented by the drawing, is transported by means of the wheels f,
which, in case of a conical inusic sheet, differ in their number of teeth according to
the conicity of the cone. The wheels and fl may also serve to drive music sheets
of a ring shape.
The mechanism proper can also be applied to mechanical musical instruments of
other types.
In the drawings c are helical springs which tend to keep the valves away from
its seat.
e¹ is the axle for driving the rollers f.
g is a lid over the travelling music sheet and h a thumb screw for fastening
the lid g.
Fig. 7 is a plan of Figs 5 and 6 after removal of the travelling music sheet and
of the lid.
In Fig. 16 the valves or flaps are open; in Fig. 17 they are closed.
The other figures require no detailed explanation.
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
In musical instruments:—
1. Double or single conical music sheets N.
2. A hinged or folding sounding box B for the upper music sheet.
3. A bridge F interposed-between the two music-sheets N and secured at G.

page_text: 4. Several rows of pins ii and placed alternately out of line with each
other for the purpose of obtaining a greater number of sounds for single or double
music sheets, as illustrated by Fig. 12.
5. In mechanical musical instruments with exchangeable perforated music sheets,
a mechanism adapted to be operated by the music sheet, the latter being caused to
open and close during its forward motion the air flaps or keys arranged radially or
in rows, by means of bolts or pins adapted to enter perpendicularly into and out of
the perforations.