Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 11th Apr., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments.
I, ANDRÉ JUNOD of Auberson, Switzerland, 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:-
This invention relates to an arrangement to operate the steel tongues of mechanical
musical instruments by small wheels, which are operated by note sheets, the signs
of which are formed by simple holes. The operating wheels as long as no tooth of
them catches in a hole of the note sheet are so arranged that they press towards
the note sheet; as soon as a tooth of the wheel springs into a hole of the note-sheet,
that is to say as soon as it is moved, the axles of the wheels, on one side by the
pressure, which the note sheet in its movement effects upon the corresponding tooth
of the wheel, on the other side by the pressure of the corresponding tooth upon the
respective steel tongue are pressed in such a manner upon a bearing plate or in a
bearing place, arranged at this place that the wheels are not displaced by the
resultant pressure and the plucking of the tongue can be effected without the wheels
being held by a special device in a stationary but rotary position necessary for the
plucking as is the case in similar constructions.
In the annexed drawing this construction is shown by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 in two
modifications.
As long as no tooth of the wheel a gears with the note sheet b (Fig. 1) the
wheel a reposes by means of its axle a¹ upon a spring c, which can be made
extremely weak as it has only to carry the wheel a and to press it strongly enough
against the music sheet b that the tooth will engage the note sheet as soon as a hole
of the note sheet is over the tooth.
When the note sheet moves in the direction of the arrow, so that a hole passes
over the tooth 1 of the wheel a, this tooth springs in consequence of the pressure of
the spring c into this hole, whereby the wheel a is lifted so high that its axle a¹
which slides by the rising of the wheel a along the front edge of the bearing recess d
which is provided in the bearing plate e, arrives against the upper edge of the
bearing recess d. and the wheel a can move neither upwards nor in the direction of
the arrow.
The tooth 1 is then operated by the movement of the music sheet and turns the
wheel a round its axle in order that the tooth 3 may operate the steel tongue f.
(Fig. 2).
During this operation the axle a¹ of the wheel a, on one side by the pressure of
the music sheet upon the tooth 1 on the other side by the pressure of the tooth 3
upon the steel tongue f. is pressed against the front and upper edge of the bearing
recess d and kept there so that the wheel a can rotate but not move from its
position.
In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the axle a¹ of the wheel rests in the
curved end of the spring c and is kept in the latter so that the wheel a cannot move
in the direction of the arrow. When the tooth 1 springs into the music sheet, the
wheel a is lifted by the spring c and the axle a' is pressed by the operating of the
the steel tongue by the resultant of the pressure components against the bearing
plate e and against the front part of the spring e in consequence of which the wheel
can rotate but not move from its position (Fig. 4).
As in this bearing of the wheel' a' no pressure is effected downwards upon the
spring e and as for this reason it may also be made proportionally weak, the music

page_text: sheet is not moved by it out of its plane, also the friction during the movement of
the music sheet over the teeth of the wheel, is not so great as in similar constructions,
where the spring which has to press the wheel against the music sheet, has also to
receive simultaneously the pressure produced upon the wheel by the plucking of
the tongue. Also in this invention the spring c does not produce a disturbing
noise.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
In musical instruments with steel tongues and employing perforated music sheet,
a mechanism by which the tooth of the plucking wheel is introduced by a spring into
the hole of the music sheet and the axle of the wheel, during the plucking and in
consequence of the pressure effected on the plucking tooth of the wheel is pressed
against a bearing plate or into a bearing recess provided in this plate and held so
that the wheel can rotate but not be moved out of its bearing by the resultant of
the pressure components.
Dated this 4th day of March 1896
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18 Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents to Applicant.