CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robjohn, of Stanhope Street, Hampstead
Road, in the County of Middlesex, Organ Builder, for the Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS."
Sealed the 25th September 1858, and dated the 25th March 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robjohn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th
March 1858.
I, WILLIAM ROBJOHN, of Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road, in the County
of Middlesex, Organ Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of a means of actuating the whole of the
composition stops of an organ bydepressing one pedal instead of the many pedals
now used, and of an arrangement of dial & pointer connected with the
mechanism, by which any composition stops may be previously set by the
organist, so as to come into play at the part of the music where it is wanted
without any other effort than that of depressing the pedal with the foot; thus
saving the trouble of pulling out quickly a great many stops, and preventing
the mistakes which oftentimes occur, and thus lessening the amount of exertion
required of the organist, for he is never at a loss to know what particular
composition he is about to make, as in the old uncertain method, when by
1

page_text: pulling down a wrong pedal to make the organ loud when he intended to
make it soft, and vice versa.
By arranging the pointer of the index or dial he can always see what
change he is about to make, the compositions marked on the dial being varied
and numerous, and all the powers of the instrument are placed entirely in his
hands.
The face of the dial or index is lettered with the names of as many changes
or compositions as the number of stops in the organ will admit of; when the
pointer is set at any particular composition by the movement of the pedal
that particular composition is produced. For instance, if the pointer be set at
the composition marked "open diapason" and "principal," by depressing the
single pedal the whole of the rest of the stops are drawn in, excepting the
"open diapason" and "principal." When the pointer is set at "flute," all the
rest of the stops that happen to be out are drawn in, excepting "flate," and so
of the rest of the compositions marked on the dial. It does not matter what
stops may happen to be out at the time the pedal is depressed, they are all
drawn in but the particular set which gives the required composition to which
the pointer of the dial is set.
by means of the
When the pedal A, Fig. 1, is depressed it pulls down the frame J by means
of the rod I; the frame having its axis or centre at K; a spring is provided
at N to draw up the frame and pedal to its original position when not depressed
by the foot of the organist. The short levers E, E, &c. and long levers G, G,
&c. have their centres in the frame, as shewn at F & H. These levers are
attached at one of their extremities to the beams L, L, &c.
rods O, O; the beans are connected to the rods M, M, &c. by cranks L, &c.
and thus communicate motion to the levers of the slides Q, Q, &c. To the
further end of these levers the slides of the organ are attached, and thus
receive their required movement, so as to admit or shut off the wind from the
different stops.
The barrel or cylinder D revolves on its axis or shaft; on this shaft the
pointer B is fixed, which may be passed over the face of the dial; a ratchet
wheel is also fixed on this shaft, a pulley R fitting into notches which alternate
with the lines of pegs on the surface of the cylinder, and thus in conjunction
with the spring S give the requisite steadiness to the barrel during the per-
formance of the composition. By depressing the pedal the levers E & G are
brought down upon the pegs of the cylinder, and according to the position of
the pegs with regard to the levers is the particular combination of stops
produced, the movement being communicated through the beams L, &c. to
the stops of the organ. Thus, when the pointer stands at the composition

page_text: marked "all on " on the index,all the ends of one series of either long or short
levers are resting upon a row of pegs on the cylinder, the pegs in this case
being exactly opposite the levers, and their action being such as to force out
all the stops. When the pointer stands at "all off" the ends of the other set
of levers are on the pegs and the action is reversed, all the stops being drawn
in, and so of the rest of the compositions marked on the dial or index. This
arrangement is equally applicable to an organ with or without the pneumatic
draw stop action, and to an instrument with any number of stops.
The second part of my Invention consists of an improved mode of working
the "swell." In organs in front of the manuals I place one or more knobs
which are attached to a rod or rods A, Fig. 2, communicating with a valve B
and opening and shutting at pleasure, and thereby admitting air so as to inflate
the bellows C, and causing the shutters or slides D, D, &c. of the swell box to
open & shut, and thus the "swell" can be attached to the organ readily
whenever it is thought necessary to do so.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robjohn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBJOHN, of Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road,in the County of Middlesex,
Organ Builder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her. reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Robjohn, Her special licence that I, the said William
Robjohn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Robjohn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGANS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
1, the said William Robjohn, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in

page_text: what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robjohn, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
In all large organs there are in addition to the keys and stops what are
called composition pedals, which are actuated by the feet of the organist. The
working of these pedals generally occasions much noise, and in first-class
organs, where there are often as many as twenty-seven, the organist has to
exert himself considerably to depress them, and the player is very apt to make
a mistake and put his foot on the wrong pedal, an excuseable fault, considering
that these pedals are mostly out of his sight, and that he has to read his music,
pull out the stops, play the manuals, and work with his feet, all at once. Now,
my Invention consists of a means of actuating the whole of the stops of an
organ by depressing one pedal instead of the many now used, and of an
arrangement of an index and pointer connected with mechanism by which any
composition may be previously set by the organist, so as to come into play at
the part of the music where it is wanted without any other effort than that of
depressing the one pedal; thus saving the trouble of pulling out quickly a
great number of stops, preventing the mistakes which often occur, and lessening
the amount of exertion required of the organist, who need never be at a loss to
know what particular composition he is about to make,as in the old uncertain
method. By arranging the pointer of the index or dial he can always see what
change he is about to make, the compositions marked on the dial being varied
andnumerous,and all the powers oftheinstrument are placed in his hands. The
face of the indexordial X,shown on a large scale, Fig. 4, Sheet 1,is lettered with
the names of as many changes or compositions as may be thought necessary,
or as many as the number of stops in the organ will admit of. When the
-pointer is set at any particular composition by the movement of the pedal that
particular composition is produced. For instance, if the pointer be set at the
composition marked "open diapason" and "principal," by depressing the
single pedal the whole of the stops are drawn in excepting the "open diapason"
and "principal," which are drawn out. When the pointer is set at "flute
all the rest of the stops that happen to be out are drawn in excepting the
"flute," which is drawn out, and so of the rest of the compositions marked on
the face of the dial. It does not matter what stops happen to be out or in at
the time the pedal is depressed, all are drawn out which give the required
"

page_text: composition, the rest are drawn in, as shown by the pointer of the dial or
index
"1
The annexed Drawings illustrate my Invention. Figure 1, Sheet 1, shows'
the front of the key board or manuals, with my improved arrangement; and
Figures 2 & 3, Sheet 2, show the internal mechanism for actuating the slides
or valves.
When the pedal A is depressed it pulls down the frame J by means of the
rod:1; the frame having its centre or axis at K, a spring is provided at N to
draw up the frame and pedal to their original position when not depressed by
the foot of the organist. The short levers E, E, and long levers G, G, have
their centres in the frame,as shown at Fand H; these two levers are attached
at one of their extremities to the beams L, L, by means of the rods C, C.; the
beams are connected to the rods M, M, by T squares, and thus communicate
motion to the slides or pneumatic valves, should the slides be moved by
pneumatic action. The barrel or cylinder D revolves on its axis or shaft; on
this shaft the pointer B is placed, which may be passed over the face of the
dial; a ratchet wheel B' is also fixed on this shaft, a pulley R fitting into
notches,which alternate with the lines of pegs on the surface of the cylinder
in conjunction with the spring S, and thus give the requisite stoadiness to the
barrel during the performance of the composition. By depressing the pedal
the levers E and G are brought down upon the pegs of the cylinder, and
according to the position of the pegs with regard to the levers is the particular
combination of stops produced, the movement being communicated through
the beans L, L, to the stops of the organ. Thus, when the pointer stands at
the composition inarked "all on "on the index all the ends of one series of
either long or short levers are resting upon a row of pegs on the cylinder, the
pegs in this case being exactly opposite the levers, and their action being such
as to force out all the stops. When the pointer stands at "all off" the ends of
the other set of levers are on the pegs, and the action is reversed, all the stops
being drawn in, and so of the other compositions marked on the face of the
dial or index. If, for example, the organ has five stops, open diapason, stop
diapason, dulciana, principal, and fifteenth, and the pointer is set to that part
of the index which shows" stop diapason,"" dulciana," and "principal," the
stops diapason, dulciana, and principal, if in, would be drawn out, and the
open diapason and fifteenth, if out, would be drawn in.
It will be understood that my improvements are applicable to an organ with.
or without the pneumatic draw stop action, and instruments of any number of
stops. The index or dial may be placed near to the manuals and made of a
circular shape, but I do not restrict myself to this form it may be made of

page_text: an oblong or other shape and be placed in a vertical position on the draw stop-
jamb, or in a horizontal position on the key slip, as may be found more con-
venient, as shewn in the Drawings; but the principal of action will be the same
although some little variation of the details of working may be made! In like
manner with regard to the barrel or cylinder I do not restrict myself to the
use of the whole cylinder, but where found more convenient I use a segment
of the cylinder, or two cylinders, dispensing with the lever frame.
In my Provisional Specification I described the second part of my Invention
to consist of an improved mode of working the swell in organns, but it has been
suggested to me that it is doubtful whether this mode may be,new,and I there-
fore renounce any claim to that part of my Invention so described in my
Provisional Specification.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and how the same
is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what I claim is, actuating
the stops of an organ by means of the frame, rods, levers, cylinder, and other
mechanical arrangements, herein-before described, and shewnby the Drawings,
by depressing one pedal instead of drawing out a number of stops and depres-
sing several pedals; and I also claim the application of a dial face, index, and
pointer to organs, for the purpose of making and shewing arrangements and
combinations of stops or compositions.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robjohn, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
CHARLES BARLOW, Patent Agent,
89, Chancery Lane, London.
K
148.7