Means and Appliances for Altering the Intensity of Tone of Reed and Pipe Musical Instruments.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Apr., 1892-Accepted, 3rd Sept., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Means and Appliances for Altering the Intensity of Tone of Reed
and Pipe Musical Instruments.
I, JOSEPH DAMM, of Marktbreis, Bavaria, German Empire, Rector of
Parochial and Commercial School, do hereby declare the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described in and by the following statement :-
Organs, orchestrions, and other similar reed instruments have all the defect
that the various reeds emit only one intensity of tone. If it is required to increase
that intensity while playing, a stronger register must be used or by interposing a
new register the number of the sounding reeds must be increased. In like manner
must the intensity of the tone be decreased, by either passing onto a weaker
register or by reducing the number of the sounding reeds, .e. by interposing a new
register.
My invention has for object to remedy this defect. If air is allowed to escape
below the bed plate before the tone producing part is passed, the tone will be
weaker but somewhat deeper. If now air is allowed to escape through an opening
above the bed plate, that is to say above the pipes the tone is raised. But if
air is allowed to escape through both openings at the same time, the tone will be
somewhat weaker but not deeper if the exact quantity of air is allowed to escape
above the bed plate in order to counterbalance the deepening of the tone caused
by the lower opening.
This applies to labial as well as to tongued reeds. In the latter the air escapes
out of the space in which the tongue vibrates. The tone is thereby rendered
weaker as in labial pipes but also deeper while the escape of air from the bed plate
raises the tone correspondingly.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates the manner in which the
two electro magnets m m¹ attract their armatures n n¹ when the circuit is closed.
These armatures turn upon the pivots d d' and the small pipes a and a¹ are opened
at the same time.
h
The taps serve to regulate the escape and volume of air, the tap / serving
to obtain the desired reduction of tone, and the tap ' to produce an increase
of tone.
Figure 2 shows how a key can be arranged to obtain four intensities of tone in
one pipe.
When the key is depressed at 1 the pipes produce the ordinary tone, when it is
depressed at 2 the small contact plate arranged on the top operates, (like the push
of an ordinary electric bell) to close the circuit, the pipes a and a¹ are simul-
taneously opened and the pipes have a feebler sound although the same height of
tone is maintained.
The larger openings at bbl cause when depressing the key at 3 the production
of a still weaker tone which reaches its weakest point when the key is depressed
at 4.
Figure 3 illustrates how the current passes first onto the various keys,
represented by the key f, thence to the various registers A, B, C, and to the
battery through return circuit wire. When the key f is depressed at 4 the
pipes c and c¹ are opened in all the registers in the pipes corresponding to the key
played.
In reed instruments without key boards the circuit must be closed at the right
time by levers.
If the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2 cannot be adapted on the pipes a

page_text: has two small air tight compartments 99 one for each pipe, which receive the
magnets and corresponding openings.
Two india rubber pipes r r lead from each reed to the corresponding boxes.
If it is not required to use the key board for closing the circuit but it is
thought sufficient to give different intensities of tone to the various registers, there
will be no necessity to provide two small boxes for each pipe, as the required result
can be obtained by connecting several pipes to one box for the india rubber pipes
below and for the air pipes from the openings above the bed plate.
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 :-
A device for altering the intensity of tone in labial and tongued reed musical
instruments, consisting in the arrangement of air outlets formed in the walls of the
pipes below and above the bed or base plate of the same, said air outlets being
opened or closed in pairs above and below the base plate or singly by means of
electro magnets whereby more or less wind is caused to enter the clefts in the
pipes while the vibrating volume of air is influenced according to the strength of
the air current supplied substantially as described and shewn.
Dated tills 27th April 1952.
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for J. Damm.