Improvements in Barrel Organs.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Nov., 1889-Accepted, 22nd Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Barrel Organs.
I, WALTHER BINDER, of No. 101 Königgrätzer Strasse, Berlin, Germany,
Musical Instrument Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be
as follows:
My invention relates to improvements in barrel organs, the object of the same
being to produce a barrel organ of the simplest possible construction and greatest
fullness of tone and in which the perforated note sheet is of small dimensions.
In barrel organs of the ordinary type now in use, small bellows are employed
for opening and closing the cells, one said bellows sucking in the air through
the valve, whilst the other receives the air from the first bellows, and from whence
the said air escapes.
Instead of using these small bellows for each vibrator or reed, I employ keys
which are severally arranged in air tight spaces and are in connection with the
note sheet by means of suitable ways or channels of the air way rail.
As soon as one of the openings in the perforated note sheet comes above one
of the channels, the key lying beneath the same will be operated by means of one of
the common suction bellows and the key will press on a two-armed lever which
raises the corresponding valve so that the outer air, which is drawn in by the
suction bellows, acts on the corresponding vibrator and produces the desired
tone.
The rail is provided with a channel or air way for each vibrator which run
alternately to the right and left at an incline downwards into small chambers
separated from each other and which form the key case.
In each of these chambers is a wedged-shaped key connected at its forward
end to the key case so that the said key can move up and down in its chamber. The
upper and lower surfaces of the keys are clad with leather which protrudes
somewhat beyond the surface of the key in order that the movement of the latter is
limited by the bottom of the chamber and lays itself air-tight against the same.
The keys are pressed upwards by two armed-levers, said levers being provided
near their fulcrum with a small leather or india rubber disc in the air chest as
packing and carry at their opposite ends the valves beneath which the cells with
the vibrators or reeds one in each cell, are arranged. Two valves are employed
through which the air, which has passed the reeds or vibrators and the commion
sound chest, passes to the bellows. The suction and the reserve bellows assist
each other in their action so that an equably full tone is attained. The bellows
are operated from the cranked shaft or spindle by means of connecting rods.
The perforated note sheet can be in the form of a strip or disc: in the first case the
same runs over rollers which draw the said note sheet over the channels of the channel
rail. The perforated note sheet receives its motion from the crank shaft by means of
cord drums or pulleys, one of which is arranged loosely on the axis of one of the
rollers and is provided with a number of lateral recesses. Another disc is arranged
on the same axis and is provided with a catch or pawl, which can be turned, so that it
gears into the aforenamed recesses and transmits the movement of the disc to the
roller. Spiral spring wire or other suitable material is employed for driving the discs.
The note sheet is returned to its original position by putting the pawl out of gear with
the disc and operating a crank shaft and cord drums or discs arranged for this
purpose.
If the shaft or spindle is rotated by means of the hand crank, the note sheet and the
bellows are set in operation. As soon as an opening in the note sheet comes above a

page_text: channel or way in the rail the key in question is sucked down, presses the double-
armed lever downwards so that the valve is raised and the atmospheric air drawn in.
The air passing the valve operates on the reed or vibrator, produces the desired tone,
passes through the sound chest and the closing valve to the suction valve. As soon as
the note sheet has passed the channel or air way the keys and valves return to their
original position and the above described action is repeated by each tone.
Dated this 11th day of March 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Barrel Organs.
I, WALTHER BINDER of No. 101 Königgrätzer Strasse, in the City of Berlin,
Germany, Musical Instrument Maker 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:-
My invention relates to improvements in barrel organs, the object of the same being
to produce a barrel organ of the simplest possible construction and greatest fullness of
tone in which the perforated note-sheet is of small dimensions.
In the barrel-organs of the ordinary type now in use, small bellows are employed
for opening and closing the cells, one of which said bellows sucks in the air through
the valve, whilst the other receives the air from the first bellows from whence the said
air escapes.
Instead of using these small bellows for each vibrator or reed, I employ keys a,
which are severally arranged in air-tight spaces, which said keys are in connection
with the perforated note sheet by means of suitable ways or channels 6 of the air-way
rail c.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a barrel organ showing the arrangement of
my improved mechanism,
Figure 2 is a top view of the instrument with the cover or lid removed;
Figure 3 is a section on the line A to G in Figure 2.
Figure 4 represents a part top view of an organ with the lid and note sheet in
position, and
Figure 5 an end view of Figure 4.
As soon as an opening in the perforated note sheet comes above one of the
channels b, the key a lying beneath the same will be operated by means of one of the
common suction bellows d and the key will press on a two-armed lever e, which
raises the corresponding valve f, so that the outer air, which is drawn in by the
suction bellows, acts on the corresponding vibrator and produces the desired tone.
The rail e is provided with a channel or air way for each vibrator, which runs
alternately to the right and left at an incline downwards into small chambers y
separated from each other and which form the key case g¹. In each of these chambers g
is a wedge-shaped key a connected at its forward end to the key case, so that the said
key can move up and down in its chamber.
The upper and lower surfaces of the keys are clad with leather, which protrudes
somewhat beyond the surface of the key in order that the movement of the latter is
limited by the bottom of the chamber g and lays itself air-tight against the same.
The keys are pressed upwards by two-armed levers e, said levers being provided
near their fulcrum with a packing consisting of a small leather or india-rubber. disc e
in the air chest h, and carry at their opposite ends the valves f, beneath which the
cells i, with the vibrator or reeds ¹, one in each cell, are arranged. Two valves k, k are
employed, through which the air which has passed the reeds or vibrators and the common
sound chest passes to the bellows d and m. The suction bellows d and the reserve
bellows m assist each other in their action, so that an equally full tone is attained.

page_text: The bellows d are operated from the cranked shaft or spindle o by means of connecting
rods o¹, o².
The perforated note sheet p can be in the form of a strip or disc; in the first case,
the same runs over rollers p1, p² which draw the said note sheet over the channels of
the channel rail c. The said perforated note sheet receives its motion from the crank
shaft o by means of cord drums or pulleys q¹ q² the latter being arranged loosely on
the axis of the roller p³ and provided with a number of lateral recesses q³ (Fig. 2).
Another disc q is arranged on the same axis and is provided with a catch or
pawl q which can be turned, so that it gears into the aforenamed recesses q³ and
transmits the movement of the disc q² to the roller p¹ (Fig. 1). Flexible wire or
other suitable material is employed for driving the discs.
2
The note sheet is returned to its original position by putting the pawl g' out of
gear with the disc q², and operating a crank shaft and cord drums or discs
arranged for this purpose. If the shaft or spindle o is rotated by means of the hand
crank n, the note sheet and the bellows are set in operation. As soon as an opening
in the note sheet comes above a channel or way b in the rail c, the key in question is
sucked down, (Fig. 1 right side) presses the double-armed lever e downwards so that
the valve is raised and the atmospheric air drawn in. The air passing the valve
operates on the reed or vibrator c¹, produces the desired tone, passes through the
sound chest and the closing valve k to the suction bellows.
As soon as the note sheet has passed the channel or air way, the keys and valves
return to their original position (Fig. 1 left side) and the above-described action is
repeated at each tone.
My improved instrument can be so modified that circular note sheets (disc form)
can be employed (Figs. 4 and 5) instead of the strip or narrow note sheets (Figs. 1
to 3).
For this purpose a worm or endless screws is fixed to the crank spindle o and
gears into a small worm wheel s¹ on the spindle s carried in two small bearings
attached to the casing. The spindle s is also provided with a worm ³ which is in
gear with a worm wheel t on the vertical spindle t'.
The spindle can freely rotate in a tubular guide attached in appropriate manner
to the case of the instrument and carries at its upper end a disc t² to which the
circular note sheet or disc p is fixed in customary manner.
When the spindle o is rotated the circular disc like note sheet will also be rotated
so that the openings in the same will glide over the openings b in the rail c as afore-
described with reference to the narrow or strip like note sheets.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
The hereinbefore-described improvements in barrel organs and similar musical
instruments, consisting substantially in the arrangement of a key box or case such
as g', having wedge-shaped keys a located therein which are adapted to be impressed
into separate. channels or air-ways b by the air expelled from suction bellows d,
whereby the two-armed lever e and valve f will be so operated as to act on the
vibrators or reeds in the instrument and produce the desired tone, substantially as set
forth and shown.
Dated this and dov of November 1889
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.