IM- PROVEMENTS IN REED ORGANS, AND IN PARTS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Levi Knight Fuller, of Brattleborough, in the State of
Vermont, one of the United States of America, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN REED ORGANS, AND IN PARTS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED
THEREWITH
"3
Sealed the 2nd November 1877, and dated the 5th May 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Levi Knight Fuller at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th May 1877.
LEVI KNIGHT FULLER, of Brattleborough, in the State of Vermont, one of the
United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN REED ORGANS, AND IN PARTS AND
APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
My Invention relates,-
First. To the manner of hinging the stop frame of a reed organ in connection
with the arrangement of the stop mechanism.
Second. To the construction and arrangement of the mechanism for connecting
the stop draws with the dampers and swells.
Third. To mechanism whereby all the dampers in the instrument may be thrown
open, either by the knee or foot, simultaneously.
Fourth. The arrangement of a set or sets of pedal reeds in connection with the
lower edge of the bellows and communicating therewith.
5th. The construction of a bellows for a reed organ with a throat at both the
upper and lower edges to communicate with a set or sets of reeds both above and
below.
Sixth. The arrangement of a bellows with a throat at both the upper and lower
edges, the said throats communicating with the wind chests of an upper and lower
set or sets of reeds.
To obtain the above improvements I construct an instrument in the following
manner I construct the foundation board of a reed organ action with reed board
keys and key frame in the usual manner, but with linging arms extending back,
and hinged to brackets secured to standards on the arms is mounted a stop frame
composed of a base board, name board, and back strip, and having pulls or stops,
the shanks of which pass through the name board, and have bearings in the back

page_text: strip; the shanks of the stops are mortised to receive pivotted links, which reach
down and take hold of cranks bent on the ends of the respective stop rods mounted
on the stop frame. The extremities of these rods, where they overhang the stop
frame, are bent down to engage respective projections on slides and the head of the
swell lever; the rear ends of the slides have suitable bearings in the standard, and
their front ends are connected more or less indirectly through the medium of
uprights with the dampers. The swell lever is pivotted to the standard, and
connects by a link with an arm projecting from the swell.
The operation of the mechanism is as follows:-When a stop is pulled out a link
presses down the crank on the stop rod, which causes its bent-down extremity to
engage a projection on the slide and push the slide endwise, thus opening a damper
through the medium of the upright attached thereto; thus any number of stops
may be arranged to give voice to their respective sets of reeds.
In order to throw open all the dampers simultaneously, either with the knee or
foot, the slides actuating the dampers are provided with projecting parts or pins
which are arranged to be engaged by the cranked extremity of a rod mounted on
the stop frame; this rod is provided at its opposite end with a crank arranged to
engage a sliding bar, the front end of which is linked to one end of a bell-crank or
some equivalent device, the other end is linked to a rod which reaches down and
takes hold of a pedal; when the pedal is pressed down the cranked end of the rod is
caused to act upon the slides and move them endwise, thus throwing open all the
dampers in the organ.
The pedal is pivotted, and plays in a guide slot, and when pressed down may be
held by pressing it sideways into a retaining notch. A spring may be arranged to
hold the pedal up, and through it to move the parts connected therewith back to
their normal positions. A rod may also be provided with a branch, under which is
an upright, the lower extremity of which is hinged to the arm of a bell crank, to
the other arm of which is linked a rod which connects through another crank and
rod with a knee lever, whereby the dampers may be all thrown open with the knee
if desired; or a rod may be arranged to take hold of a pivotted lever, then by
drawing the rod, as in the before-described arrangement, the slides are moved
endwise simultaneously.
The pedal reed cells may be mounted on the wind chest arranged at the lower
edge of the bellows, and connected therewith through a throat, while the upper
edge of the bellows connects through the throat with the upper chamber or chest.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Levi Knight Fuller in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
5th November 1877.
LEVI KNIGHT FULLER, of the Town of Brattleborough, in the County of Windham,
and State of Vermont, U.S.A., Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN REED ORGANS, AND
IN PARTS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
My Invention relates,―
First. To the manner of hinging the stop frame of a reed organ in connection
with the arrangement of the stop mechanism.
Second. To the construction and arrangement of the mechanism for connecting
the stop draws with the dampers and swells.
Third. To mechanism whereby all of the dampers in the instrument may be
thrown open, either by the knee or foot.
Fourth. The arrangement of a set or sets of pedal reeds in connection with the
lower edge of the bellows and communicating therewith.
Fifth. Tho construction of a bellows for a reed organ with a throat at both the
upper and lower edges to communicate with a set or sets of reeds both above and
below.

page_text: Sixth. The arrangement of a bellows with a throat at both the upper and lower
edges, the said throats communicating with the wind chests of an upper and lower
set or sets of reeds.
In the Drawings accompanying this Specification, Fig. 1 is a plan of a reed organ
action provided with my improvements; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the left-hand end
of the action, showing only the upper part of the organ, the lower part being broken
away; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the opposite end of the action, the lower portion of
the organ being in section; Fig. 4 is a detached, horizontal, sectional view, arranged
to show the pedal reed cells and wind chest in plan.
DESCRIPTION.
A represents the foundation board of a reed organ action; B, the reed board;
C, C, the keys; and D, the key frame. These are all arranged in substantially the
usual manner.
E, E, are hinging arms; these extend back and are hinged at the
points b, b, to brackets F, F, secured to standards G, G. On the arms E, E, is
mounted the stop frame H, composed of a base board, the name board, and a back
strip. I, I, I, are pulls or stops, the shanks of which pass through the name
board, and have bearings in the back strip, as shown. Only three stops, arranged
at the left-hand end of the organ, are shown, as these will serve to illustrate the
operation of as many as may be desired. The shanks of the stops are mortised to
receive pivotted links c, c¹, c¹, which reach down and take hold of cranks bent on
the ends of respective stop rods d, d', d, mounted on the stop frame H. The
extremities of these rods, where they overhang the stop frame, are bent down to
engage respectively projections e, c¹, on slides f, f', and the muffled head of the
swell lever J. The rear ends of the slides have suitable bearings in the standard G,
and their front ends are connected more or less indirectly through the medium of
uprights g, gl, with the dampers K, K', respectively. The swell lever J is pivotted
to the standard G, and connects by a link with an arm projecting 'from the swell L.
So far as described the operation of the mechanism is as follows:-When the
stop I is pulled out the link o presses down the crank on the stop rod d, which
causes its bent-down extremity to engage the projection e on the slide f, and push
the said slide ondwise, thus opening the damper K through the medium of the
upright attached thereto. When the stop I is pulled out, the motion is transmitted
through the link c', stop rod d', projection e', and slide f¹, to the standard g¹, thus throw-
ing open the damper K¹. Thus any number of stops may be arranged to give voice to
their respective sets of reeds. The stop I" acts through the link cll and stop rod d"
upon the swell lever J, and through it acts to raise the swell L, and give a greater
volume of sound to the particular set or sets of reeds with which it is connected.
The ordinary knee-swell lever is connected with the swell wire M at h. The said
swell wire has cranks which take under bars projecting from the swells, and open
them simultaneously, when the lever is pressed by the knee.
In order to throw open all of the dampers simultaneously, either with the knee
or foot, the slides actuating the dampers are provided with projecting parts or
pins i, i, which are arranged to be engaged by the cranked extremity of a rod N
mounted on the stop frame. This rod is shown as provided at its opposite end with
a crank j arranged to engage a sliding bar k, the front end of which is linked to
one arm of a bell crank 7 or some equivalent device, the other end of which is linked
to a rod O which reaches down and takes hold of a pedal P arranged to be actuated
by the foot. When the pedal P is pressed down by the foot the cranked end of the
rod N is caused to act upon the slides f, f, and move them endwise, throwing open
all of the dampers in the organ. This action is clearly indicated by the dotted lines
in Fig. 3.
To keep it down the pedal is made to engage a notch in the guide slot n, being
pivoted at m for the purpose. A spring o or some equivalent device may be
arranged to lift the pedal when freed. The rod N is also provided with a rod or
branch p (see Fig. 2) or some equivalent projection, under which takes an upright q,
the lower extremity of which is pivoted or hinged to an arm of a bell crank Q, to

page_text: the other arm of which is linked a rod r, which connects through another crank 8,
and a rod t with a knee lever not shown, whereby the dampers may be all thrown
open with the knee if desired; or the rod may be arranged to take hold of a
pivoted lever similar to Q, except that its upper extremity is continued upward
until it reaches the extremity of the crank on the rod N, where it projects beyond
the pins i, i; then, by drawing on the rod r, as in the before-described arrangement,
the slides are moved endwise simultaneously.
R represents the pedal reed cells mounted upon the wind chest S. This chamber
is arranged at the lower edge of the bellows T, and connects therewith by a throat u,
while the upper edge of the bellows connects through the throat v with the upper
chamber U. V, V, are pumpers which may be arranged and operated in the usual
manner; W indicates the ordinary pedal keys, which may be arranged to act upon
the pedal reed valves in the usual manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said Levi Knight Fuller, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of October, 1877.
TTIT ΠΑΤΤΑ ΤΥΠ BITTLED