An Improvement in Pianofortes, by means of which an Additional Tone, Resembling the Zither, is Produced at the Pleasure of the Performer.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 25th Aug. 1891-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Pianofortes, by means of which an Additional
Tone, Resembling the Zither, is Produced at the Pleasure of the
Performer.
I WILLIAM HERBERT DOUGLAS DONNE of 113 Park Street Luton, in the
County of Bedford, Teacher of Music, and Pianoforte Tuner do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
A piece of thin wood, which I call the "rail" one in. wide, and cut to the length
of the action from end to end within one in. is placed lengthways between the
dampers and hammers of the pianoforte, in such a position as to allow both damper
& hammer to work freely.
in.
The rail is held in its place by supports placed at each upright end of the action,
so arranged to allow it to move horizontally to the right and left one
Fixed to the rail are fine springs, bent in angular form, and placed exactly over
the space between each hammer.
The springs are secured to the bottom side of the rail, with a screw and leather
washer, and are continued to within in. of the pianoforte strings, the end of the
springs, which are bent for striking purposes standing away from the strings
after falling down below the face of the hammer two in.
in.
When the rail is at rest, the pianoforte hammers pass freely through the springs
and produce the ordinary tone; when the rail is moved to the right, the springs
are immediately brought before the hammers and receiving the full force of the
blow, the end of the springs fly quickly to the strings and produce a tone resembling
the zither.
When the rail is released a spiral spring fastened to the left end of the rail
causes it to fall back into its former position and the pianoforte again resumes its
ordinary tone.
To suit the requirements of the pianoforte the rail can be placed below the
hammers instead of above, and the springs can be bent to any shape or form, up or
down, so long as the principle remains-that when a key is struck, the spring
receiving the blow is sent into contact with the strings.
To work the rail a pedal is placed between the forte & piano pedals of the piano-
forte, and connected to a rod running up the right side of the pianoforte.
Fixed to the right end of the action a two-armed lever is placed just above the
rod, one arm resting upon the rod and the other upon a pin fixed in the right end
of the rail. Thus, when the pedal is pressed down the lever causes the rail to move
to the right.
For solo effects the rail is divided in the centre, the divided ends resting upon
two arms fixed to the centre of the action, room being left between the divisions, to
allow of each to move separately, each half of the rail is connected to a separate
pedal in the same way as stated above.
The advantage which I claim for this my invention is, that by its means one is
enabled to produce a tone from the pianoforte of great sweetness, in addition to
the ordinary tone, thereby giving more effect and variety to pianoforte playing.
Dated this 24th day of November 1890.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
An Improvement in Pianofortes, by means of which an Additional
Tone, Resembling the Zither, is Produced at the Pleasure of the
Performer.
I WILLIAM HERBERT DOUGLAS DONNE of 7 Russell Street Luton Beds
Teacher of Music & Pianoforte Tuner 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 :-
A picce of thin wood (called the zither rail) about an in. in width, and cut to
the length of the pianoforte action within one in. is placed lengthways between
the hammers and dampers of the action in such a way as to allow of both hammer
& damper moving freely.
The rail is held in its proper position by supports placed at each end of the
action and so arranged as to allow it to move horizontally to the left or right
about a in. (Fig. 1).
Fixed to the rail are fine springs bent in angular form, and placed exactly over
the space between each hammer.
The springs are secured to the bottom side of the rail with a screw and washer
and are continued to within in. of the pianoforte strings. They are then bent
down so as to fall about one in. below the face of the hammer when it is near the
. string, the ends of the springs which are bent for striking purposes standing away
from the strings one in. (Fig. 2).
-
When the rail is at rest the hammers pass freely through the springs producing
the ordinary tone, (Fig. 3). When the rail is moved to the right the springs are
brought immediately before the hammers and receiving the full force of the blow,
the ends of the springs are sent quickly to the strings and produce a tone resembling
the zither (Fig. 4).
When the rail is released a spiral spring attached to the left end causes it to fall
back into its former position.
To suit the requirements of the pianoforte the rail may be placed below the
hammers instead of above, and the springs may be bent to any shape or form, up
or down, so long as the principle remains-that when a key is struck the springs
receiving the blow, are sent into swift contact with the pianoforte strings.
To work the rail a two armed lever is placed at the right end of the action, one
arm resting upon a pin or catch fixed in the rail, & the other upon a rod running
down the right side of the pianoforte & connected to a pedal by ordinary pedal
movement. Thus when the pedal is pressed down the rail is moved into position.
For solo effects the rail is divided into two parts the divided ends resting upon
two arms fixed at the centre of the action.
Space must be left between the divided ends for each part to move separately.
An extra pedal is required for this, and is connected to its respective part of the
rail in the same way as the other, but at the left side of action.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner it is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;
An arrangement of fine springs attached to a rail, which can at pleasure by pedal
movement be immediately brought before the hammers of the pianoforte and thus
being placed in a position to receive the blows delivered when the keys are struck,
are sent into swift contact with the pianoforte strings.
Dated this 25th day of August 1891
WILLIAM HERBERT DOUGLAS DONNE.