US23884A - Theophilb augusts rousseau - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEOPHILE AUGUSTE ROUSSEAU, OF BELLEVILLE, NEAR IARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO EDOUARD ALEXANDER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

REED-ORGAN.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOPHILE AUGUSTE RoUssnAU, of Belleville, near Paris, France, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Organs and other Similar Musical Instruments; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical and transverse section, Fig. 2 a vertical section.

In these gures the same letters of reference are marked on the same parts.

The nature of my invention refers to an improved construction of portable organs in which the blast is given by means of either treadles or a crank; and a keyboard is provided of the desired size and the desired stops. My improvements may also be applied both to instruments upon which music is performed in the most complete manner and on the highest pitch, and to smaller portable instruments, which are held upon ones lap or upon a table.

One part of my invention consists in the application to the said portable organs of certain valves worked by treadles or kneepieces, so called from their being worked by the knee, and suitably connected to the said valves. Fig. l, in the annexed drawing, is a vertical and transverse section showing an arrangement which admits of such a combination. It is therein shown that a portion of said instrument is on the percussion principle, and admits of a series of hammers a, for the different notes g. Every stop is provided as usual with its valve l), opened or moved by means of registers operated upon by knobs c, motion being imparted by the usual treadles or connections 0. In order to allow an easy examination of the various parts in the instrument, the various plans or stories are hinged, as shown at (Z, and the joints are secured by hooks, which allows an instantaneous view of all the various parts, and the putting of those various parts together again without any trouble or expense. My bladed or valve boxes are represented at e Fig. l, and are generally shut up, but they readily yield and are opened by turning on their center axis, when they are acted upon by the levers shown in dotted line; these levers are disposed, so that upon being worked by one or two pieces f which may be named treadles or knee pieces, as they are operated by the knee, the moving of either of said pieces f will cause the valves e to open more or less rapidly according to the rapidity of the imparted motion. Only one of these knee pieces f is represented in the drawing, but it will be easily understood that one may serve for the high notes and another for the low ones, or that a single one may be employed in an instrument for all or part of the stops. The bladed valves are chiefly calculated to produce musical eEects at a distance, and to impart to t-he sounds more or less duration according to the operators desire, still allowing at will the swelling of the said sounds.

Another part of my invention consists in the use of a valve for each vibrative reed, and consequently each key when touched will act upon as many valves as there are stops in the instrument; but these stops will not allow any sound to be produced unless the registers c corresponding to the stops Z) are opened. Upon reference to Fig. l, it will be seen that the keys a', acting through the damper l, levers o', and n, upon the valves g, g', said valves are opened, but unless the stops to either or all of the chambers 7L, it, be open, the blast will not reach the reeds g, g, and no sound will be produced; the same feature is shown in Fig. 2, in which the position of the stops or registers b, is inverted, in this instance. The reeds g which constitute the stops are in a chamber 71. full of air, through which the blast gets into the instrument by lifting` the valve z'. The blast is blown by any suitable blowing apparatus. Then any of the stops is to sound I open the corresponding register Z) which is shown in dotted lines, for the third stop, where the register is supposed to be open, the other stops being` completely mute so long as their corresponding registers b are shut up. In order to open the registers` the knob 7c is drawn, the shank of which is jointed to a lever la vibrating on a pivot, and the opposite end of which. rests upon a cross piece mounted on a horizontal bar l which carries, opposite to a corresponding register, another cross piece resting upon the register which is to be acted upon. The

reeds g are each of them covered by a Valve m bound squarely to the lever oV by a rod n. The Valves of the same note, corresponding to the different stops, are all connected to the same key, but these notes will give no sound unless the stops b are opened, thus in the instance shown at Fig. 2, although the four valves m are open, the one corresponding to the stop supposed to be open will sound alone, but were two, three, or even the four stops open, then the four reeds would sound. The Valves may be kept shut up, either as shown in the drawing by a spring y2 or by any other suitable arrangement. The valve Q of the reservoir g intended for expressiomJ is opened at will by a knob as tlieregisters are.

Instead of an arrangement, 'for effecting the blowing by means of treadles, the motion may be imparted by one hand while the other hand is acting upon the keyboard.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, I Wish it to be distinctly understood that what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

l. The arrangement of the wind chambers 71 and registers or stops b, in combination with the reeds g, g, as set forth, whereby each key (65,) operates as many valves as there are stops in the instrument but only those notes are caused to sound where the register (5,) is open as set forth, thus rendering the fingering easy whateverl may be the number of stops.

2. I claim the arrangement of the valves e, e, and knee pieces f, f, in the manner and for the purposes specified.

3. I claim the manner herein specified of arranging the Various plans or stories of the instrument as shown in F ig. l, and hinging the same together for affording access to the different parts as set forth.

T. A. ROUSSEAU. [1.. 5.]

Vitnesses E. FABREGNETTI, A. PERPIGNA.

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