IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGAN REEDS
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I MERRITT GALLY of 25 East 14th Street New York City in the County of New
York and State of New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the
nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN ORGAN REEDS and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
It is a well known fact that it is a difficult matter to increase the volume and
power of any stop of a reed organ by a multiplication of unison reeds for any given
note; as, unless the tongues of the several unison reeds are made to vibrate exactly
on the same beat the tone is not augmented but made defective by the interference
of vibrations. To obviate these defects it is a custom to tie together the tongues
of two or more reeds by means of yokes or staples to compel them to vibrate
together. This system however introduces difficulties in manufacture and also in
the tuning and voicing of the reeds, as soldering would injure the temper of the
reed tongues it is necessary to pierce them for rivets for attaching the yokes which
injures the tongues both by weakening them at this point and by cutting off, in
this portion, the natural lines of vibration in the metal. The weight of the yokes
is also a retarding element which must be counteracted by making the tongues too
thin for producing "body." of tone.
The object of my Invention is to produce a reed which shall have none of the
defects of tied reeds and at the same time be superior both in power and quality
of tone.
And in order that my said Invention may be clearly understood reference is
hereby made to the accompanying Drawings in which similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the reed having a tongue formed and
adapted to vibrate in connected longitudinal and transverse slots of the reed block
or plate; Fig. 2 is a plan of the reed block or plate showing the connected
longitudinal and transverse slots; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the reed having
its tongue cruciform in shape and corresponding slots in the reed plate; Fig. 4
shows the reed with tongues having diverging prongs, and Fig. 5 shows the reed
with tongue having a number of parallel prongs.
My first method as shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 is as follows:-Instead of tieing two
or more reeds together, I form a reed block or plate, as shewn in Fig. 2, having a

page_text: number of longitudinal slots a, e c, connected together by a transverse slot b,
forming a compound slot in the reed plate. I then make a tongue B, Fig. 1,
having its vibrating portion shaped to conform to the compound slot of the reed
plate, and rivet this tougue to the plate, as shewn. The air acts not only on the
longitudinal portions of this tongue, but also on the transverse portion of the entire
vibrating body, not producing as with the tied reeds a unison of tones, but what is
much better, is unit of tone, even more powerful than the other, and purer in
quality.
A still simpler form is shewn in Fig. 3 in which I make a single longitudinal
slot in the reed plate, crossed by a transverse slot, and provide the same with a
cruciform reed tongue as shown. For producing some effects this form is very
desirable. In some cases I terminate the slot of the plate in diverging forks as
shewn in Fig. 4, the number of prongs being two or more as the case requires. As
shewn in Fig. 5 I have a single slot for the body of the tongue connected with a
number of parallel terminations, the tongue terminating in a number of parallel
prongs. This is a valuable form for general use, and it is almost as easily
manufactured and tuned as an ordinary straight tongued reed, and produces a tone
of great volume and power. I make the reed tongue with two three or more
prongs, as the case requires.
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
1st An organ reed-block or plate having two or more longitudinal slots
connected by a transverse slot, forming a compound slot for receiving the reed-
tongue, substantially as specified.
2nd Combination with an organ-reed block or plate, having two or more
longitudinal slots, and a transverse alot connecting the same, of a reed tongue the
vibrating portion of which is formed to correspond with the compound slot of the
reed-plate, substantially as specified.
3rd The combination of a reed-plate having a longitudinal slot, and a transverse
slot intersecting the same, of a cruciform reed tongue, adopted to operate in the
said slot, substantially as specified.
4th An organ reed plate having a branching slot combined with a reed-tongue
having a plurality of prongs which coincide with the said slot, substantially as
described.
5th An organ-reed having a plurality of prongs in the plane of the body of the
reed.
6th An organ-reed-block or plate having a branching slot for receiving a reed
tongue having a plurality of prongs.