Improvements in and relating to Sounding-boards of Pianos.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 9th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 30th Jan., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by FRIEDRICH KAISER, of Freiburg, Baden, in the
Empire of Germany.]
Improvements in and relating to Sounding-boards of Pianos.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent
Agents 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to sounding-boards of pianos.
In the Specification No. 5477 of 1890 is described an invention which has for its
object to improve the sound of pianos, and which consists essentially in securing
opposite the bridge carrying the strings and on the reverse side of the sounding-
board a counter bridge by means of screws passing through the two bridges so that
the latter clamp the sounding-board between them. Such an arrangement is
especially suitable for pianos having thin ribs, and will therefore be chiefly
employed in new pianos. In old pianos which have thick ribs it is however very
often impracticable to let the bridge extend beyond the ribs.
The same object can be obtained by making the counter bridge not of a single
piece, but of several pieces which are placed between the ribs. These parts or
sections of the counter-bridge must also be connected with the main bridge by
screws, glueing being without effect.
Of course this arrangement can also be used in new instruments having inore or
less thin ribs.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Sounding-boards of Pianos.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 the sounding-boards of pianos.
In the manufacture of pianos it has been found that the sound of the instruments
is considerably improved by screwing upon the sounding board, opposite the lateral
bridge-piece between the ribs and extending in the same direction as the above-
mentioned bridge-piece, blocks of hard wood.
The accompanying drawing shows how my invention may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice.
The numeral 1 indicates the lateral bridge-piece, 2 the blocks of hard wood
and 3 the screws for securing the said blocks to the sounding board.
The blocks (2) are made of approximately the breadth and height of the lateral
bridge-piece 1 and are somewhat lower in pianos with a thick board and thick ribs,
and higher in pianos with thin ribs and boards.
Each of the said blocks are secured to the sounding board by means of three or
more thick screws (3) between the ribs, which screws extend into the lateral bridge
piece as shown in the drawing.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
The herein described improvement in the sounding boards of pianos, which
consists in securing blocks of hard wood thereto by means of thick screws between
the ribs and opposite the lateral bridge piece, which screws extend into the said
lateral bridge-piece.
Dated this 9th day of December 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.