IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING WIND TO ORGANS, HARMONIUMS, OR SIMILAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS BY DIRECT PRESSURE OR BY EXHAUST."
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Backhouse Bindloss, of Eccles, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, William Thomas Cheetham, of the same Place, Mechanical
Draughtsman, and William Lees, of the same Place, Merchant, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING WIND
TO ORGANS, HARMONIUMS, OR SIMILAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS BY DIRECT
PRESSURE OR BY EXHAUST."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Backhouse Bindloss,
William Thomas Cheetham, and William Lees at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents on the 20th January 1879.
16
JAMES BACKHOUSE BINDLOSS, of Eccles, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman,
WILLIAM THOMAS CHEETHAM, of the same Place, Mechanical Draughtsman, and
WILLIAM LEES, of the same Place, Merchant. IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING WIND TO ORGANS, HARMONIUMS, OR SIMILAR MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS BY DIRECT PRESSURE OR BY EXHAUST."
Our Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for blowing organs, harmoniums,
and similar musical instruments by the aid of steam, and consists, firstly, in an
arrangement of engine acting directly, that is, without the intervention of rotatory
motion. One point of novelty thereof is a method of working the slide valve. The
rod of this valve or a separate rod is prevented from sliding, excepting at times, by
catches, and on it we place two springs, between which an arm projects from a
cross head of the piston rod, which springs are therefore alternately compressed so
as to be charged with power. When the piston arrives at the end of its stroke one
of the catches is liberated, and the compressed spring actuates the valve; or in
place of the springs weighted tumblers may be used."
Another point of novelty consists in providing the piston rod of the steam
cylinder with a second piston moving in a cylinder containing oil or other fluid,
which it forces backward and forward through a cock or valve, and this being more
or less opened or closed, according to the requirements of wind, regulates the speed
of the motive power.
We propose, however, to regulate the said speed by a throttle
valve on the steam or exhaust pipes, such valve, as well as that of the oil cylinder,
being governed by the "rising bellows or its equivalent. Another part of our
Invention consists in the use of a jet or jets of steam for generating the air pressure
"

page_text: required, such jet or jets acting in connection with wind trunks or a separate
reservoir communicating with the necessary parts of the musical instrument, and
in order to govern the action we propose to cause the supply of wind to open, or
close, or throttle one or more of the jets, according to requirements.
When steam boilers are used, in which the steam is generated by gas, we propose
to use two sets of burners, the one being used to raise the steam and the other to
maintain it, and as an additional safety valve we cause the steam pressure to act in
a vessel containing mercury, which is driven upward in a pipe until it balances the
pressure required, but when the pressure rises above a certain point the mercury is
blown out at the top of such pipe, and we place a vessel to receive the mercury
when blown out of the said pipes.
It is well known that in some musical instruments the air pressure is obtained
by exhaust instead of the more ordinary plan of direct compression, and the steam
jets are only applicable in the former cases.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Backhouse Bindloss, William Thomas Cheetham, and William
Lees in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th July 1879.
JAMES BACKHOUSE BINDLOSS, of Eccles, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman,
WILLIAM THOMAS CHEETHAM, of the same Place, Mechanical Draughtsman, and
WILLIAM LEES, of the same Place, Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING WIND TO ORGANS, HARMONIUMS, AND OTHER SIMILAR
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS BY DIRECT PRESSURE OR EXHAUST."
At 5 is
Our Invention relates to machinery or apparatus for blowing organs, harmoniums,
and similar musical instruments by the aid of steam, and consists, firstly, in an
arrangement of engine acting direct, that is, without the intervention of valvatory
motion, and consists, firstly, in a method of working the slide valve. This part of
our Invention is shewn at Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. At 1 is the framework of the
engine; at 2, the steam cylinder; and at 3, the piston rod, which passes, as shewn
in the Drawing, through another cylinder 4, which may be disregarded at present
as it relates to another part of our Invention to be hereafter referred to.
a cross head attached to the piston rod 3, and sliding at one end upon a rod 6 by
means of a bracket 7, and upon the said rod 6 are two coiled springs 8, 8ª, each
abutting at one end against the bracket 7, and at their other ends against stops 9, 9ª,
fixed on the rod 6. The rod 6 at one end is jointed to a lever 10 turning on a
centre 11 and connected to a rod 12, which is that used for shifting an ordinary
slide valve at 13. Upon this slide valve rod 12 is a tongue 14 extending down-
ward and situate, according to the position shewn, against a stop 15 carried by a
bracket extending from a plate 17 which is provided with a groove formed
with two inclines 18, 18, such plate with its inclined grooves being capable of
Bliding transversely in guides 19 carried by the framework. Extending downward

page_text: from the cross head 5 is a pin 20 situate in the aforesaid groove 18, 18, and as the
piston travels to and fro this pin therefore alternately acts on the inclines 18, 18,
and traverses the straight part of the groove between them. According to the
positions of the parts, as shewn, the piston rod 3 is supposed to be travelling in the
direction of the arrow marked thereon, and the spring 8 will therefore become
charged with power by being compressed through the medium of the bracket 7, but
this charge of power cannot turn the lever 10 so as to effect a movement of the
valve rod because the tongue 14 is in contact with the stop 15. When, however,
the piston has arrived at the end of its stroke the pin 20 will have run along the
incline 18, by which means the frame 17 which carries the stop 15 will have been
caused to slide in its guides 19, whereby the said stop 15 will be moved from the
plane of the tongue 14, and the elastic force of the compressed spring 8 will shift
the ordinary slide valve. On the return motion of the piston taking place the
pin 20 (moving in a straight line) will act against the other side of the incline 18
and restore the stop 15 to the position shewn, and this return motion of the piston
will now compress the spring 80 so as to charge it with power, and when the pin 20
acts upon the incline 18ª the stop is (in like manner to that above described) caused
to move from the path of the tongue 14 and allow the charged spring 8* to shift the
valve, and so on for each stroke of the engine. At 25 is a stop against which
collars 26, 26, successively arrive in order to determine the extent of motion of the
valve. The stop 15 (see Fig. 3) is mounted so as to be capable of turning upon a
centre 26, and is confined during the ordinary working of the engine by a pin 27;
but when this pin is removed the stop 15 may be turned upon its centre and the
valve or engine moved by hand. The piston rod 3 may be connected direct to the
bellows by any suitable means, with or without the intervention of levers, and the
speed may be regulated by any suitable valve on the steam pipe, caused to be
opened or closed by the rising or falling of the reservoir, as the case may be. I
have not above described the use of the second cylinder 4, that, as before stated,
constituting another part of our Invention, which we now proceed to describe.
This cylinder 4 is provided with a piston 30 and is filled with oil or other fluid.
At 31 is a pipe, also filled with the fluid and opening at each end into the said
cylinder 4, and at 32 is a cock or valve. As the piston rod 3 moves to and fro the
piston 20 forces the fluid to and fro along the pipe 31, the resistance to such
passage being regulated by opening or closing the valve 32 more or less, and by
these means the speed of the engine for any acquired rate of blowing may be
regulated, but the said valve 32 may be opened or closed more or less by the rising
or falling of the reservoir.
Referring now again to the valve motion above described, we may mention that
we find it of advantage to use a cylinder with fluid 33 (Figs. 1, 2,) similar to that
shewn at 4, the piston rod 34 of which is connected to the lever 10, but, as shewn,
the pipe 31 is dispensed with, and the piston is pierced with holes, through which
the fluid is forced from one side of the piston to the other. By the use of this
apparatus the shifting of the valve is more smoothly effected. Another part of our
Invention relates to musical instruments of the above mentioned class in which the
air pressure is obtained by exhaust, and consists in the use of a jet or jets of steam
for obtaining the required pressure. This part of our Invention is shewn in detail
at Figs. 5, 6, and in general arrangement at Fig. 7. At 35 is a chamber provided
at its upper end with a plug 36 communicating by means of a circular groove with
a steam pipe 37, from which groove there also passes an orifice 38 extending
through the plug, which is kept in its seat by a screw cap 39. This orifice 38 ter-
minates in the chamber 35, so that steam at pressure passing from the pipe 37 passes
downward in a jet, and from thence through a short tube 40 (supported by arms 41)
into an exhaust pipe 42. At 43 is a pipe which at present may be considered as
open to the atmosphere at one end and terminating in the chamber 35 at the other.
The action of this part of the apparatus is that steam at pressure passing from the
pipe 37 issues as a jet from the orifice 38 and draws air from the pipe 43 to pass
with steam into the exhaust pipe 42, while at the same time a certain additional

page_text: amount of air is also drawn outside the short tube 40, the course of these two
streams being indicated by the arrows. The parts above described we do not claim
as our Invention by themselves, but for the purposes of our said Invention, the
pipe 43 is connected in any convenient manner to the bellows of the musical
instrument from which air is to be drawn to act in a well known manner, but I
proceed to describe a method by which the same may be applied in practice. At
44 is the musical instrument from which air is to be drawn, and at 45 the bellows
or reservoir loaded at the bottom, as is well understood; at 46 is a pipe leading
from the musical instrument to the reservoir, and at 43 the pipe above referred to.
The pipe 43 passing to the chamber 35 enables the air to be exhausted from the
bellows or reservoir 45 in the manner above described, but it is necessary, as is
well known, to regulate this exhaustion, which is really a supply of wind to the
musical instrument, according to the requirements thereof, and for this purpose we
attach a cord, chain, or similar appliance to the bottom of the reservoir 45, which,
by passing over guide rollers 48, acts (as the reservoir rises or falls) upon a lever
attached to a tap or valve 49, and thus increases or diminishes the force of the jet
of steam, and consequently increases or diminishes its power of exhaustion. Instead
of using one chamber 35 and its appurtenances, we can use two or more, to be
successively opened and closed by the cord or chain, so that one, two, or more jets
of steam may be used, according to the requirements of the musical instrument.
At 50 is an ordinary check valve for preventing air or other matters from passing
into the reservoir, and if two or more jets are used, there must be a check valve
adapted between them.
Another part of our Invention refers to the use of a certain construction of safety
valve for the steam boiler when the steam is raised by the use of gas. This is
shewn at Fig. 8. At 51 is a vessel partly filled with mercury and at 52 is a pipe
dipping therein, the upper end of which has an enlarged part 53, stretching across
which are discs of wire gauge 54. The steam piping passing through a pipe 55
presses on the surface of the mercury and forces it up the pipe 52, but when it is
beyond a certain pressure it is driven into the enlarged part 53, and the steam will
then continue to blow through it, but when the steam pressure is gone the mercury
will again fall into the chamber 51. The use of the wire gauge is to act as a check
against the pressure of the steam on the mercury and prevent its being blown
away.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that we
claim as reserved to us under the above in part recited Letters Patent, and for the
purpose above setforth :-Firstly. Shifting the slide valve by the use of alternately
charged springs, substantially as described. Secondly. The use of the cylinder
containing fluid, illustrated at 4. Thirdly. As applied to musical instruments in
which exhaust of air is required, the use of a jet or jets of steam for causing such
exhaust. Fourthly. The use of the construction of safety valve above described.
In witness whereof, the said William Thomas Cheetham, has hereunto set his
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
WILLIAM THOMAS CHEETHAM, (L.B.)