IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TURNING OVER THE LEAVES OF MUSIC
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR TURNING OVER THE LEAVES OF MUSIC." A communication
from abroad by Maurice Sauvalle, of Paris, France.
Sealed the 23rd August 1878, and dated the 6th March 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION loft by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th March 1878.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent. " IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TURNING OVER THE LEAVES OF
MUSIC." [A communication from abroad by Maurice Sauvalle, of Paris, France.]
This Invention relates to improved apparatus for turning over the leaves of music,
the advantages of which as compared with other music turners are, its great
simplicity, certainty, ease of action, and small compass.
The apparatus consists of a jointed arm, acted on by a spring barrel in one
direction and by a pedal in the other, of a series of levers with clips for turning
over the leaves, the levers being operated by the said arm, which after turning a
leaf returns again to position, each lever as it is acted on and turned by the arm
setting the next lever in readiness to be turned.
The apparatus is also provided with means of adjusting the leaf-turning levers
according to the height of the music.
The Invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying Drawings,
in which Figures 1 and 2 show front and side views, Figure 3 a plan, and Figure 4
a rear elevation of the apparatus, which consists of a plate a with rack b mounted
in guides d at the back thereof, and moved up or down by a pinion and key c, in
order to adjust the apparatus to the height of the page. e is a horizontal plate
fixed on the top of the rack and carrying a pivot f, upon which a number of levers g
made of thin strips of wood, ivory, or other material are mounted eccentrically one
above the other. The long arm of each lever g is provided with a depending clip h
at its extremity, and at a short distance from its pivot with a small stud i, which

page_text: when the lever is turned acts upon the arm next below and sets it in readiness to
be turned.
The plate a is fixed to the part of a plate a', by which the apparatus is attached
to a music desk. The plates a, a', may be in one or in several parts suitably con-
nected together; k is a spring barrel mounted at back of plate a¹, its spindle being
fixed to said plate, the barrel itself being movable and having an arm m attached,
the said arm being made in two parts connected together by a small flat spring n,
which allows the arm to bend in one direction only; o is a hook on the periphery
of the barrel; and 7, a stop to limit the movement of the barrel k. To the hook o
is attached a cord, which is carried horizontally along the instrument and down to
pedal beneath. The pedal and spring barrel act in opposite directions, the former
throwing the arm m over from left to right, and the latter bringing it back again
to its normal position.
It will be understood that the rack b may be replaced by any other suitable
arrangement answering the same purpose, such as telescopic tubes fixed in position
by a set screw.
The spring barrel may also be replaced by any other kind of spring.
The apparatus is fixed upon the music desk by a set screw screwing on the end
of the spring barrel spindle, or in any other suitable manner; the pedal strap is
then connected with the hook o, and the leaf turners g adjusted at the proper height
by means of the rack. The music book is then placed in position with its back
opposite the pivot f and the leaves inserted in the clips h, the first leaf in that of
the upper one of the series of levers g, and so on in succession, the operation of the
apparatus being as follows :-
The upper or first lever g is moved to the dotted position g', Figure 3, so that
its tail end will be struck by the arm m when the latter is thrown over from left
to right. A spring stop (not shown) near the pivot prevents the return of the lever g,
or any other suitable device may be used. On pressing down the pedal the arm m
is thrown over from left to right and strikes the tail end of the uppermost lever g,
which is thus turned on its pivot f, the clip / carrying over the leaf of music from
right to left Before the movement of lever g is quite completed its stud i strikes
the lever g next below, and sets it or brings it to the dotted position g', Figure 3;
the pedal being then released, the spring barrel returns the armn m to its former
position, the spring joint n enabling the arm on its return movement to yield and
pass by the tail end of the next lever g, which has been set as above mentioned,
without disturbing it, and take up its proper position in readiness to act on the tail
end of the said lever to turn the next page, when the pedal is again pressed down.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th September 1878.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TURNING OVER THE LEAVES OF
MUSIC." A communication from abroad by Maurice Sauvalle, of Paris, France.
This Invention relates to improved apparatus for turning over the leaves of
music, the advantages of which as compared with other music turners are, its great
simplicity, certainty, ease of action, and compactness.
The apparatus consists in the combination with a jointed arm acted on by a
pedal in one direction and by a spring barrel in the other of a serios of levers
provided with clips for holding and turning over the leaves, the levers being
successively operated by the said arm, and each lever as it is acted on or turned by
the arm "setting
the next lever in readiness to be similarly acted on; the arni
after being moved in one direction by the pedal in order to turn over a leaf is
returned to its former position by the spring barrel immediately the pressure on the
pedal is relieved.
>>
The apparatus is also provided with means of adjusting the leaf-turning levers
according to the height of the music.
The Invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying Drawings,
in which Figures 1 and 2 show front and side views, Figure 3 a plan, and Figure 4
a rear elevation of one arrangement of the apparatus, which consists of a frame or
plate a with a vertical rack b mounted in guides d at the back thereof, and moved.
up or down by a pinion and key c in order to adjust the leaf-turning apparatus to
the height of the leaf; e is a horizontal plate fixed on the top of the rack and
carrying a pin f, upon which a number of levers g made of thin strips of wood,
ivory, or other material, are pivoted near one end and one above the other. The
long arm of each lever g is provided with a depending clip h at its extremity, and
at a short distance from its pivot f with a small lug i, which projects downwards,
and when the lever is turned acts upon the short arin of the lever next below and
"sets" it in readiness to be turned.
The plate a is fixed to the part j of a plate a¹, by which the apparatus is attached
to a music desk. The plates a, a, may be in one or in several parts suitably con-
nected together; k is a spring barrel mounted at back of plate a¹, its spindle
being fixed to said plate, the barrel itself being movable, and having attached to it
an arm m made in two parts, connected together by a small flat spring n, which
allows the arm to bend in one direction only; o is a hook on the periphery of the
barrel and p, a stop to limit the movement of the barrel k. To the hook o is
attached a cord, which is carried horizontally along the pianoforte or other instru-
ment and down to a pedal beneath. The pedal and spring barrel act in opposite
directions, the former throwing the arm m over from left to right and the latter.
bringing it back again to its normal position.
It will be understood that the rack 6 may be replaced by any other suitable
arrangement answering the same purpose, such as telescopic tubes fixed in position
by a set screw.
The spring barrel may also be replaced by any other kind of spring.
The apparatus is fixed on the music desk by a set screw screwing on the end of
the spring barrel spindle, or in any other suitable manner; the pedal strap is then
connected with the hook o, and the leaf turners g adjusted at the proper height by
means of the rack. The music book is then placed in position with its back
opposite the pivot f, and the leaves inserted in the clips h, the first leaf in that of
the upper one of the series of levers g, and so on in succession, the operation of the
apparatus being as follows:-
The upper or first lever g is "set" by being moved to the dotted position g¹,
Figure 3, so that its tail end will be struck by the arm m when the latter is thrown..

page_text: over from left to right. A spring stop (not shown) near the pivot f prevents the
return of the lever g; it is attached to the plate e to the left of the pivot f, and
may resemble the spring catch of an umbrella, so that the tail end of each lever g
depresses it as it passes over, and it is thereby retained in the position in which it
is "set" whilst the arm m is returning past it, or any other suitable device may
however be used. On pressing down the pedal the arm m is thrown over from
left to right and strikes the tail end of the uppermost lever g, which is thus turned
on the pivot f, its clip h carrying over the leaf of music from right to left. Before
the movement of the lever g is quite completed its stud i strikes the lever g next
below, and "sets" it or brings it to the dotted position g¹, Figure 3; the pedal
being then released the spring barrel returns the arm m to its former position, the
spring joint n enabling the arm on its return movement to yield and pass by the
tail end of the lever g, which has been thus "set" without disturbing it and take
up its proper position in readiness to act on the tail end of the said lever for the
purpose of turning the next page, when the pedal is again pressed down.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 show a modified arrangement of the music turner, in which,
as in the one just described, a number of pivoted levers provided with clips (not
shown in these Figures) are superposed and operated successively, but instead of a
single arm fixed rigidly on the spring barrel, and spring-jointed as before, there are
several arms loose on the barrel, and only connected with or turned by it when the
pedal is depressed. The arms are not moved by the barrel on its return movement
but only move in one direction, and therefore only strike the leaf turners for the
purpose of operating them, the arins need not therefore be spring-jointed. These
arms radiate from a disc on the spring barrel axis, and the intervals between the
arms and the extent of their motion is such that the next arm following the one
that has just acted shall be brought, when the action of the pedal ceases, in contact
with the tail end of the next leaf-turning lever (which has been "set as before
described) at about the apex of the angle formed by said tail end and the edge of
the plate upon which the leaf-turning levers are mounted. As the said levers are
thus necessarily acted on by the arms the small spring described in the first arrange-
ment for ensuring this result is no longer necessary, and as each arm is in contact
with the leaf-turning lever at the moment it is about to turn it, the arm pushes
the lever and does not strike it, and therefore does not cause any noise. The arms
are moved round, when the spring barrel is partly rotated, by pressing down the
pedal, by means of a finger on the circumference of the barrel which strikes against
studs fixed on the disc from which the arms radiate, one stud opposite each arm.
This finger is spring-jointed, so that when, after acting on a pin, it is moved back-
wards by the recoil of the spring barrel on the pedal being released and encounters
the next following stud, it yields and passes underneath it, so as to get into a
position to engage with and operate said stud on the next forward movement.
Instead of a spring-jointed finger any other mechanical device may be used, by
which the arms are partially rotated, always in the same direction, each time the
pedal is depressed.
In order to limit the motion of the barrel under the action of the pedal to its
proper extent there is keyed on the barrel spindle between the barrel and disc from
which the arms radiate another disc provided with a stop, against which the finger
on the barrel abuts when at the end of its course. In this arrangement the leaf-.
turning levers are adjusted to the height of the leaves by means of a slide and set
screw.
Figure 5 is a rear elevation of this arrangement; Figure 6 is a plan; and
Figure 7 a side elevation of the same.
The same letters refer to the same parts in these three Figures.
a, spring barrel; b, finger spring-jointed to the circumference of the barrel;
and c, its spring; d, disc loose on the barrel spindle carrying six (more or less)
radial arms e; f, studs with which finger b engages to move disc d in one direction;
g, hook on the barrel, to which the cord or other connection with the pedal is
attached; h, stop on a disc h¹ keyed on the barrel spindle, which is also stationary,

page_text: said disc being located between the end of the barrel and the disc d; i, leaf-turning
levers pivoted and arranged on a plate j, as in the apparatus previously described.
Figures 5 and 6 show the position of that one of the arms e which is ready to act
as soon as, by the pedal being pressed down, the barrel is partly rotated, and the
finger b engaging with one of the studs frotates disc d; k, slide supporting the
plate j and the spindle barrel a, and fitted to move up and down in a guide or box l
having a slot m in which the barrel spindle can pass, and be moved up and down as
required; o, set screw by which slide and platej can be fixed at any desired
height; n, plate or frame on which all the above parts are mounted; p, clamping
plate embracing the upper edge of the front of an upright piano, in which position
the whole apparatus is secured by the binding screwq; r, guide pulley for directing
the cord horizontally along the edge of the piano or other instrument to which the
apparatus is applied.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of performing the
saine, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1st. The combination with a jointed arm moved in opposite directions by a
spring and a pedal of leaf-turning levers working in a plane perpendicular to the
plane of oscillation of the said arm and successively operated thereby, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
2nd. The leaf-turning levers mounted one above another on an axis and provided
with lugs, whereby each lever as it is turned or operated, sets the next one in a
proper position to be operated by the arm on its next forward movement, sub-
stantially as shown and described. Also the combination therewith of the spring
stop for maintaining the levers in the position in which they are set as described.
3rd. The arrangement whereby the leaf-turning levers inay be adjusted to the
height of the leaves, substantially as shown and described.
4th. The arm for operating the levers in the first-described arrangement con-
structed in two parts connected by a fiat spring, so as to be yielding in oue
direction, but rigid in every other direction, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
5th. The combination of this spring-jointed arm with a spring and pedal acting
in opposite directions, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
6th. The music turner constructed and operating substantially as described and
shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Drawings.
7th. The combination with the leaf-turning levers and a spring barrel, as herein
described, of a disc d having radial arms e acting on said levers in succession, and
studs acted on in one direction only by a spring-jointed finger b on the barrel,
substantially as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.