IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUNES UPON BELLS OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS FOR OBTAINING SOUNDS."
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jaboz Jones, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUNES UPON
BELLS OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS FOR OBTAINING SOUNDS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jabez Jones at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th June 1878.
JABEZ JONES, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey. " IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUNES UPON BELLS OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS FOR
OBTAINING SOUNDS."
My Invention has for its object improved methods of constructing and arranging
apparatus for producing any desired tune or other combination of sounds upon sets
of bells in a suitable chamber, belfry, or tower by means of hydraulic or other
convenient power,
I arrange a cylinder provided with a ram which can be forced out of the cylinder
by the pressure of water admitted therein in the well understood way from an
elevated cistern or other convenient source of supply; and to the outer end of the
ram I attach or fix a plate, preferably of metal, provided with a series of rows of
projecting studs or pins suitably arranged in a line with the direction of motion of
the ram.
I make as many of such rows of studs as there are separate bells to be
sounded, and opposite each row I arrange the end of a jointed lever, which is
connected to a bell or to a hammer capable of striking the particular bell which is
to be sounded by that particular row of studs, each bell being provided with a
separate lever and hammer, and connecting wires, rods, or ropes being carried in
any requisite direction. Each row consists of a sufficient number of studs arranged
at such definite distances apart, and in such relation to the other rows that when
the plate is made to travel along by the action of the hydraulic ram the studs
operate in succession (or in combination) upon the levers and hammers so as to
produce any desired tune, air, or anthem for playing which the studs have been

page_text: arranged. When the ram has reached the end of its stroke the water is allowed to
escape from below through a cock or valve operated by an attendant, or by self-
acting apparatus attached to the ram in the well understood way; and the ram
descends by its own weight or by means of suitably arranged weights; or two rams
may be connected together, so that when one is rising the other is falling, and vice
versa; and a plate provided with studs is arranged upon each, and operates upon
levers as described, but so that one plate actuates the hammers against the bells in
its up stroke and the other in its down stroke, the levers being provided with
hinged catches or projections which move the levers when the studs force them in
one direction, but allow the studs to pass in the other direction without moving the
levers.
Sometimes instead of a ram, as described, I use a cylinder provided with a piston,
and a piston rod passing through a stuffing box, the plates with their studs being
fixed to the piston rod, and the water being admitted to each side of the piston
alternately.
The cylinders containing the rams or piston may be arranged vertically or in any
other convenient position; and the plates with their studs are made moveable and
adjustable, so that others may be readily substituted for them, provided with studs
properly arranged for the particular air or tune which it is desired should be played
upon the bells.
Drums or other instruments for obtaining sounds may be used in addition to or
in place of bells.
The apparatus described may be used for working bellows, by which air is
supplied to an organ as well as for the purpose described.
I sometimes arrange the plates in fraines or guides upon the ram or piston rod, so
that they can slide laterally backward and forward in such frames or guides; and
I arrange additional rows of studs or projections upon the plates between the rows
already described, such additional rows acting upon levers only when the plate has
been moved laterally in the guides, which may be done by means of cams or levers
operating upon the plates at the ends of their stroke; or the plate may be moved
laterally in the same way, so as to prevent the levers from being touched by the
studs during the return stroke of the ram.
Instead of the plate being made to slide or traverse laterally as described, the
ends of the levers may be made to nove transversely at the ends of the stroke of
the plates in the same way and for the same purpose.
Instead of plates provided with studs and actuated directly by the hydraulic
ram or piston, I sometimes provide the outer end of the ram or piston rod with a
toothed rack gearing into and driving a toothed wheel upon an axle which also
carries a cylinder or segment of a cylinder, upon which are fixed curved plates
provided with projecting studs or pins which actuate the levers driving the hammers
by which the bells are sounded precisely in the same way as is done by the plates
in the arrangement first described.
The mechanism by which the levers arranged as described are caused to strike
the bells may be of any of the kinds well known and used. The levers may bo
connected to the hammers directly, or with the intervention of apparatus driven by
compressed air; or they may open valves, by which water is admitted to and
discharged from cylinders actuating the hammers directly by means of pistons; or
they may set in operation electrical or electro-magnetic apparatus, by which the
hammers are operated.
The tunes played upon the bells or other instruments may be made more or less
loud or subdued in tone by means of moveable shutters or louvre boards; and the
whole apparatus and appliances are so arranged that bells of any number or size
can be operated upon and require the attention of only one person to regulate the
water supply. Or, if desired, a clock may be arranged, the mechanism of which
will admit and shut off the supply of water at regular intervals of time. The
hours of such clock may be struck upon one or more bells by means of apparatus
constructed and arranged as described.

page_text: Instead of hydraulic power, compressed air, manual labour, or other convenient
power may be used to move the moveable plates and studs which actuate the
imechanism by which the bells are sounded, as described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Jabez Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th December
1878.
JABEZ JONES, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUNES UPON BELLS OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS FOR
OBTAINING SOUNDS."
My Invention has for its objects improved methods of constructing and arranging
apparatus or machinery for producing any desired tune, chimes, or other combina-
tion of sounds upon sets of bells in a suitable chamber, belfry, or tower, by means
of hydraulic power.
In order to put my Invention in operation, I arrange a cylinder provided with a
moveable ram, which can be forced out of the cylinder when desired by the pressure
of water admitted into the cylinder in the well understood way from an elevated
cistern or other convenient source whence it can be supplied under sufficient pres-
sure. To the outer end of the ram I attach or fix a plate of any suitable material,
but preferably metal, provided with a series of rows of projecting studs or pins
arranged in lines in the direction of motion of the ram, each separate stud or pin
being arranged in its proper position as follows:-I make as inany such rows of
studs as there are separate bells to be played or sounded, and opposite each row I
arrange a lever which is connected to a bell or to a hammer arranged so as to strike
the particular bell which it is intended should be sounded by that particular row of
studs or pins to which the lever is opposite, each bell being provided with a separate
lever and hammer, and connecting wires, rods, or ropes being carried in any requisito
direction, with or without intermediate levers or friction rollers. I make each row
of studs consist of a sufficient number, arranged carefully at such definite distances
apart, and in such relation to the other rows, that when the plate which carries
them is made to travel slowly along by the action of the water upon the hydraulic
ram, the studs operate in succession (or two or more in combination simultaneously)
upon the levers, and upon the hammers and bells, so as to produce any desired tune,
air, or anthem, or other combination of musical sounds for producing which the
studs or pins have been arranged. When the ram, actuated as described, has reached
the end of the stroke, I allow the water to escape from the cylinder through a cock
or valve operated by an attendant, or by self-acting apparatus attached or connected
to the ram, and operated in the ordinary well understood way, and the ram then
descends by its own weight or is forced back into the cylinder by means of suitably
arranged and adjusted balance weights; or two rams may be connected together so
that when one is rising or travelling in one direction the other is falling or travel-
ling in the opposite direction; and I arrange upon each ram a plate provided with
.

page_text: •
studs or pins in the way already described, operating upon levers, but so arranged
that the studs upon one plate actuate the hammers upon the bells in one direction
of the stroke, and those upon the other plate in the other direction; and the levers
may be provided with hinged catches or projections which actuate the levers when
the studs force them in one direction, but allows the studs to pass in the other
direction without moving the levers.
Instead of a ram as described, I sometimes use a cylinder fitted with a piston,
having a piston rod passing through a stufling box, the plates, with their sets of
studs or pins, being fixed or connected to the outer end of the piston rod, and the
water being admitted to each side of the piston alternately.
The cylinders containing the rams or pistons may be arranged vertically, or in
any other convenient position, and I make the plates with their studs moveable and
adjustable, so that other plates may be readily substituted for them when desired,
provided with studs properly arranged for the production of the particular air or
tune which it is desired should be played upon the bells.
In addition to bells, or in place of thein, drums or other instruments for producing
sound may be used; and the apparatus described may also be used for working
bellows by which air is supplied to the pipes of an organ.
Sometimes I arrange the plates to which the studs or pins are fixed so that they
can slide or move laterally through a certain distance in frames or guides attached
to the ram or piston rod; and I arrange additional rows of studs or pins upon the
plates between the rows already described, such additional rows only acting upon
the levers when the plate has been moved to a sufficient distance laterally in its
guides. This movement may be effected by means of cams or levers operating upon
and moving the plates at the ends of their stroke; or the plate may be moved
laterally in the same way as that described, but only sufficiently far to prevent the
levers from being touched by the studs during the return stroke of the ram or
piston; or, instead of the plate being made to slide or traverse laterally in the
manner and for the purpose just described, the ends of the lovers may be made to
move transversely at the ends of the stroke of the plates, in the same way and for
the same purpose.
A modification which I sometimes adopt of the method first described for
actuating the studs or projections by incans of the hydraulic rain or piston is the
following: Instead of plates fitted with studs and actuated directly by the ram or
piston rod, I fit the outer end of the latter with a toothed rack, which gears into
and drives a toothed wheel upon an axle which also carries a cylinder (or segment
of a cylinder), upon which are fixed concentric curved plates provided with pro-
jecting studs or pins similar to those already described, which studs actuate the
levers by which the hammers are made to sound the bells exactly in the same way
as when flat plates are used as in the arrangement first described.
The levers inay be made to cause the bells to be struck by means of mechanism
of any of the kinds ordinarily known and used, and they may be connected to the
hammers directly or with the intervention of apparatus driven by compressed air,
or they may be made to open valves by which water or other fluid is admitted to
and discharged from cylinders and pistons or their equivalents actuating the ham-
mers, or they may set in operation electrical or electro-magnetic apparatus by which
the bammers are operated.
The tunes or airs played upon the bells or other instruments by the means
described may be made more or less loud or subdued in tone, as desired, by means
of moveable shutters or louvre boards, and the whole apparatus and appliances are
so arranged that bells of any size or number can be operated upon and require the
attention of only one person to regulate the water supply. Or, if desired, a clock
may be arranged in connection with the apparatus, the mechanism of which clock
will admit and shut off the supply of water at regular intervals of time; and the
hours of such clock may be struck upon one or more bells by means of apparatus
constructed and arranged as described.
The moveable plates, fitted with studs or pins as above described, may be actuated.

page_text: by compressed air, manual labour, or other convenient power, instead of by
hydraulic power.
The accompanying Drawings are in illustration of my Invention. Figure 1
shows the arrangement first described, Figure 2 being a plan, and Figure 3 a front
view.
is the cylinder provided with the rain b, which is forced up when water is
.admitted under it from the pipe c. The plate d is attached to the ram b, and has
fixed upon its face vertical rows of projecting studs e, e, e, these rows being as many
in number as the bells to be sounded. f,,, are levers turning upon the contre f³,
and as many in number as the rows of studs by which their inner ends are actuated
when the ram is set in motion. The outer ends of the levors are connected by
cords, rods, or wires g, g, with the hammers which strike the bells. i is a guide for
the ram b and moveable plate d. Each row of studs consists of a sufficient number,
arranged at such definite distances apart, and in such relation to the other rows (as
shewn in front view in Figure 3), that when the plate is made to travel up by the
movement of the ram the studs operate in succession (or in combination) upon the
levers and hammers, so as to produce any desired tune, air, anthem, or other com-
bination of sounds for playing which the studs may have been prepared. When
the ram has reached the end of its stroke the water is allowed to escape from tho
cylinder through the pipe h, the ram and plate then descending by their own
weight, or by separate weights suitably arranged.
The regulating cock k may be worked by hand, or by self-acting apparatus
actuated by the rain at the ends of its stroke, in the way woll understood; or two
cylinders and rams may be arranged and connected together so that when one is
rising the other is falling, and a plate provided with studs is attached to each and
operates upon levers, as already described, the levers being provided with hinged
catches or projections (or their equivalents), as shewn on a larger scale at Figure 4,
which move the levers in one direction but allow the studs to pass in the other
direction without moving them. In Figure 4 d is the plate provided with studs,
one of which is shewn at e, operating upon the lover f. (shewn broken off) by means
of the catch a hinged at 6 so that the studs actuate the levers in descending, but
pass them without moving them in ascending.
Hinged catches, inverted as shewn in dotted lines, may be also arranged so that
the levers are operated by a separate set of studs when the plate is rising.
Figure 5 shows a cylinder a with a piston instead of a ram, the piston rod b
passing through the stuffing box c, the plates d' being fixed to the rods The
plates with their properly arranged studs are made easily removeable and adjust-
able, so that others may be readily substituted for them provided with studs
properly arranged for the particular tune which is desired.
In Figure 6, the plate with its studs is shewn fitted in guides d, d¹³, upon the
ram b so that it can slide backward and forwar laterally in the guides, and
additional rows of studs may be arranged upon the plate in addition to those first
described, such additional rows acting upon levers suitably placed in the roverse
stroke of the ram. The plates may be moved in the guides by weighted levers
operated by cams at the ends of the stroke, as shewn at fin Figure 6.
Instead of the plates being made to traverse in guides, the ends of the levers may
be made to move in the same way and for the same purpose.
In Figure 7, the moveable plates with their studs g, g, g, instead of being flat are
shewn curved and fitted upon the surface of a cylinder f, the axle of which is pro-
vided with a toothed wheel d, actuated by a corresponding toothed rack c, fixed to
the outer end of the ram b. Connecting wires or rods h, h, are shewn at both ends
of the levers, so that the hammers may be actuated in whichever direction the
cylinder revolves by means of the arrangement shewn in Figure 4, or an equivalent
one.
I do not confine myself to any particular arrangement of apparatus for causing
the levers to operate the hammers and thus sound the bells.

page_text: Figures 8 and 9 show one method of arrangement which may be used for this
purpose.
a is the cylinder; b, the ram carrying the moveable plate 6' guided by guides c, c¹,
and provided with studs d. The levers e, e, are actuated by the studs and drive
the hammers f, f, by means of the adjustable connecting rods g, g, causing them to
strike the bells h, h, when the levers are released from the studs.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which it is to be per-
formed, I do not confine myself to the precise form and arrangement of apparatus
described, and shewn in the Drawings, which may be modified and varied to suit
varying circumstances, but I claim,-
The moveable plates provided with studs and actuated by rams driven by
hydraulic power, substantially as and for the purpose described, and shewn in tho
Drawings.
Also, the combination with such moveable plates and studs so actuated, of levers
and rods actuating hammers, substantially in the manner and for the purposes
described, and shewn in the Drawing.
Also, the methods of moving, when required, and adjusting the moveable plates
and studs so actuated, substantially as and for the purposes described, and shewn in
the Drawing.
Also, the general arrangement of apparatus, substantially as described and shewn
in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jabez Jones, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Nineteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
3
TART52