US3063327A - Chord organ - Google Patents

Description

E. D. CZARNECKI Nov. 13, 1962 CHORD ORGAN 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 3, 1960 INVENTOR. C nM/Ec K1 BY $M W* rum Er:

Nov. 13, 1962 D. czARNEcpq CHORD ORGAN 5 Sh'ets-Sheet 3 Filed March 3, 1960 III FIG.7

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' CHORD ORGAN Filed March 5. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Fl 6 ELI D. CZARNECKI B I A'r'oRNEYs Unite Patented Nov. 13., 1962 ice 3,063,327 CHORD ORGAN Eli l). Czarnecki, 5437 Daniels, Detroit 10, Mich. Filed Mar. 3, 1960, Ser. No. 12,554 8 Claims. (Cl. 84--351) This invention relates generally to musical instruments, and more particularly to an improved chord organ which incorporates a novel left hand rhythm section and a new system of fingering.

it is the primary object of this invention to provide a chord organ which includes a treble keyboard section operable by the right hand of the user and a bass section or rhythm section operable by the left hand of the user. The left hand rhythm section employs accordion reeds which are operable by a novel control means including a keyboard having twelve piano type keys and two master chord levers, whereby various combinations of bass notes and chords may be played with a minimum of training. The twelve piano style keys are mounted on a horizontal base plate and are adapted to operate the reeds for the twelve bass notes. The two master chord levers are mounted on a vertical wall or cover adjacent the rear end of the piano keys in stepped vertical alignment with each other, with the lower lever adapted to operate the reeds for producing major fixed chords and the upper lever adapted to operate the reeds for producing minor fixed chords, whereby a bass note may be played with the one finger of the left hand and then said note may be changed to a harmonizing major or minor fixed chord by simultaneously depressing the lower or upper chord lever, respectively, with the forefinger of the left hand. When the lever is released by the forefinger while said one finger remains on the note, the bass note is again immediately sounded.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a two-system left hand rhythm section for an accordion organ comprising twelve piano style bass keys mounted on a horizontal base plate and adapted to operate reeds for twelve bass notes by means of a novel control lever system, and two levers mounted adjacent the piano keys with one of said levers being adapted to operate reeds to produce major fixed chords and the other lever adapted to operate reeds for minor fixed chords, whereby all bass notes and major and minor fixed chords may be played by non-professional players using the chord levers to practice one system, and whereby a professional player may automatically eliminate the bass notes and manually play any chords desired by practicing the other system by playing three or four of the piano bass keys simultaneously.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a novel left hand rhythm section for an accordion organ which is simple and compact in construction, economical of manufacture and easy to operate.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims, reference being had to the accom panyingadrawings forming a part of the specification wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an accordion organ provided with a left hand rhythm section made in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, with the lower front cover removed to expose the motor compartment;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the-structure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along the line 33 thereof and looking: in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view. of the structure shown in FIG. 1, with the top and front walls removed;

FIG. 5 is an elevational. view of the structureillustrated in FIG. 4, taken along the line 55 thereof andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, top, horizontal view of the structure shown in FIG. 5, takenalong the line 6-6 thereof and looking in the direction of theiarrows;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, bottom, view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 5, taken. along the line 7-7 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational rear view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 5, taken in the direction of the arrow marked 8;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 6,.taken along the line 99 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 10 is an. end view'of the structure illustrated in FIG. 12, taken along the line 1010 thereof and looking in the direction of the'arrows;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 10, taken along the line 11-11 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 10, taken along the line 12-12 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 13 is an end elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 12, takenalong the line 1313 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 13, taken along the line 14-14 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary elevational sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 13, taken along the line 15-15 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 16is a fragmentary elevational sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 13, taken along the line 16-16 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows; and,

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary horizontal view'of the structure illustrated in FIG. 5, taken along the line 17-17 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows,

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FEGS. 1 through 5, wherein is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 generally designates the usual right hand or treble section of an accordion organ which is provided with a left hand rhythm section 11. made in accordance with the principles of the invention. The right and left hand sections 10 and 11, respectively, are disposed so that an operator may play the organ in a sitting position.

The organ structure includes a housing for the right and left hand sections which comprises the vertical back wall 12, the side walls 13 and 14, the top wall 15 and the bottom wall 16. These housingwalls may be-made from any s-uitablematerial as fiber board and the like and may be fixedly connected together by any suitable means as by-nailing. It will be-understood that the-housing shown is merely illustrative and that the right and left sections 10 and 11 may be mounted in diiferently'shaped and con structed housings.

As best seen'in FIG. 2, asuction'motor compartment 17 is formed in the lower end' of the housing and is en closed" by the removable front wall 18 which is provided with suitable handles as 19; The suction motor compart ment is enclosed on the upper end by the. lower intermediate horizontal wall 20. A- second or upper intermediate horizontal wall- 21 is spaced upwardly from the wall 20 and may be termed the base board. The vertical dividing wall 22 divides the space enclosed by thehousingwalls 20, 21, 12, 13, 14 and 18a into two compartments 23 and 24 which may be termed the air box and reed box, respectively. The reed boxor compartment 24 is adapted to receive the reeds 25 for the right hand treble section. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the keys for the right hand section are adapted to be seated on the base board 21. The operating controls of the right hand section are not shown since the specific structure thereof does not comprise any part of the invention, and any conventional accordion right hand section may be used in an organ made in accordance with the invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, a suction motor 26, which may be of any suitable conventional type, is connected by means of the suction conduit 27 to the reed blocks of the right hand section 16 for drawing air therethrough in the usual manner. The suction motor 26 is also connected by means of the suction conduit 28 to the air box 23 which is made airtight. The suction motor 26 maintains a suction or negative pressure in the air box 23 and pulls air therethrough in the usual manner. The suction motor 26 is exhausted to the atmosphere by any suitable means as by means of the exhaust conduit 26a. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the suction motor 26 sucks air into the upper control box 29 through apertures 30 in the back wall 12 and then through the reed blocks of the left hand rhythm section which are disposed in the air box 23, as more fully described hereinafter, and then out to the atmosphere. The suction motor 44 may be of any conventional type, as a suction motor from a player piano.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6, the left hand rhythm section includes twelve piano style keys which are operatively mounted on the left end of the base board 21. The left hand section keys include seven white keys marked by the numerals 31 through 37 which are adapted to operate valves to produce the bass notes C, D, E, F, G, A and B, respectively. The keys in FIG. 1 are marked with the letters of the notes and the keys in FIG. 4 with the reference numerals. The black piano keys are designated by the numerals 38 through 42 and they are adapted to operate valves to produce the bass notes C- sharp, E-fiat, F-sharp, A-flat, and B-flat, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the piano keys of the left hand section are pivotally mounted at the rear ends thereof by the shaft 43. The shaft 43 is suitably supported at the ends thereof by means of the L-shaped support brackets 44 and 45.

Each one of the piano keys is adapted to operate a valve as 46 which is connected to its respective key by means of a wire 47 which is waxed at its ends to the respective key and valve. The wire 47 may be fixedly connected to the keys and valves by any other suitable means. Each piano key in the left hand section operates a separate valve 46 and, accordingly, only one valve arrangement is shown and illustrated in FIG. 5 since all of the other eleven valves will be operated in the same manner. As shown in FIG. 5, the valve 46 is connected by the wire 47 to the key 37. When the key 37 is operated, the valve 46 opens five intake holes formed through the base board 21. One of the intake holes 4-8 is connected to the reed block 51. Two of the intake holes indicated by the numeral. 49 are connected to the bass reed block 52. The other two intake holes are indicated by the numeral 50 and they are connected to the reed block 53. The reed blocks 51, 52 and 53 each have a row of twelve reeds as 54 on each side thereof which are waxed thereto in the usual manner. It will be understood that the reeds 54in all of the reed blocks are of the usual onetongue type since the air passes therethrough in only one direction.

The reed blocks 51, 52 and 53 are fixedly connected to the underside of the base board 21 by any suitable means. The bass reed block 52 is enclosed by an airtight compartment generally indicated by the numeral 55 which comprises the side walls 56 and 57, the bottom wall 58 and the detachable end walls 59 and 60. The end walls 59 and 60 are detachably connected to the other portion of the compartment 55 by means of the screws 61 and 62 and the nuts 63 and 64, respectively, as shown in FIG. 12.

When it is desired to play bass notes only on the left hand rhythm section, the player operates the desired piano key to permit air to be sucked through the corresponding intake holes 49 and reeds in the reed block 52. The desired bass note will respond because the airtight compartment 55 would, under these conditions, be opened to the air box 23 by means of the holes 65 and 66 formed in the end wall 59. The bass compartment holes 65 and 66 are normally open, but are adapted to be closed by means of the master valve generally indicated by the numeral 67, when it is desired to play major or minor chords in accordance with any one of the systems described hereinabove.

The six rows of reeds on the reed blocks 51, 52 and 53 may be numbered in the following described manner. As shown in FIG. 5, the first and second row of reeds are designated by the numerals 68 and 69. The third and fourth row of reeds are designated in FIG. 11 by the numerals 7i and 71. The fifth and sixth row of reeds are numbered 72 and 73. It will be seen that the number one row of reeds, indicated by the numeral 68, is not pro vided with any damper to shut off these reeds and, accordingly, the reeds of this number one row always respond when the left hand section is operated for either bass notes or chords. The notes of the individual reeds, reading from left to right, in reed rows 68 through 73 comprise the chromatic scale as follows: C to B, G to Fit, C to B, C to B, Eb to D and E to Eb, respectively.

When it is desired to play chords by means of the professional system which automatically closes the bass reed block compartment 55, this may be accomplished by merely pressing three or four of the bass key or piano keys 31 through 42. The operating of three or four of the piano keys closes the bass compartment 55 by means the following described control structure.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, a spring plate shaft 74 is horizontally disposed below the piano keys of the left hand rhythm section and the ends of the shaft are rotatably supported by means of the blocks 75 and 76 which are fixedly connected to the upper side of the base board 21 by any suitable means, as by screws. The inner end of the shaft 74 has fixedly connected thereto the rearwardly extended lifter arm 77, by any suitable means, as by welding. The rear end of the arm 77 is fixedly connected by any suitable means to the vertical rod 73 which is slidably mounted through a suitable aperture in the base board 21 so that the lower end thereof extends downwardly into the air box 23. The lower end of the rod 78 is rotatably connected to the bell crank 79 which is formed on the front end of the horizontal shaft 80.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, the shaft 80 is rotatably mounted in the bracket 81 which is fixedly mounted on the lower side of the wall 21 by any suitable means, and at a point adjacent the base compartment end wall 59. The rear end of the rod 80 is bent downwardly as indicated by the numeral 82. The shaft end 32 is fixedly connected by any suitable means to the valve member 83 of the master valve 67. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the valve member 82 is adapted to be seated over the outer face of the hole 66 to close the same. An L-shaped arm 84 is connected to the valve member 83 and has fixedly connected to the outer end thereof the L-shaped arm 85. One portion of the arm 85 extends inwardly through the hole 65 in the bass compartment wall 59 and has fixedly mounted on the inner end thereof the valve member 86 for closing the hole 65. The valve arm 84 is pivotally mounted on the vertical rod 87, the upper end of which is fixed around the screw 61 and the lower end of which is secured in place by means of the retainer member 88 which is in turn fixedly connected to the end wall 59 by any suitable means. The aforedescribed master valve 67 is similar in structure and function to the operation of the master valve structure employed in my co-pending application; S.N. 590,007, filed on June 7, 1956, and now Patent No. 2,932,233. The accordion organ of the present invention embodies novel and improved structure.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a spring plate as 89 is disposed over each one of the piano keys 31 through 42. The lower end of each spring plate engages the lower side of its respective piano key, and the rear end thereof is fixedly connected to the shaft 74 by any suitable means, as by welding. When one of the piano keys is pressed, a single spring plate is not strong enough to rotate the shaft 74 by itself and, accordingly, a bass note will respond. However, when three or more of the piano keys are pressed downwardly, the spring plates 89 over these keys will provide a total rotative force to the shaft 74 so as to rotate it counterclockwise as viewed in P16. 5, whereby the arm 77 will be lifted upwardly. The shaft 78 will be correspondingly moved upwardly and it in turn will rotate the shaft 80 in a direction to close the valve members 83 and 86' so as to make the bass compartment 55 airtight and close off the bass reed block 52. It will be seen that the valve members 83 and 86 are normally biased to an open position. It will be seen that when this professional system is employed, a player may play any desired chord formed from a combination of three or four keys.

The organ of the present invention also includes a nonprofessional system by means of which a player may selectively play a bass note and a corresponding major or minor fixed chord by operating a desired piano key in the left hand section to get the bass note and then simply pressing one of two adjacently disposed levers to get the major or minor corresponding chord. The structure of the present invention which provides this non-professional system is described as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a pair of horizontal levers 90 and 91 is disposed adjacent the rear end of the piano keys 31 through 42 with the upper lever 90 being operative to play minor fixed chords and the lower lever 91 being operative to play major fixed chords. The lever 90 is carried on the two inwardly extended arms 92 and 93, the inner ends of which are fixedly connected to the horizontal shaft 94. The ends of the shaft 94 are rotatably supported by the vertical posts 95 and 96 which are fixed on the base board 21. The lever 91 is carried on the two inwardly extended arms 97 and 98 which are fixedly connected to the horizontal shaft 99. The shaft 99 is also rotatably supported by the posts 95 and 96. The shaft 99 is disposed below the shaft 94 in vertical alignment therewith. The arms 92 and 97 extend through the vertical slot 100 formed in the control compartment front wall 101 and the arms 93 and 98 extend through the vertical slot 102 formed in the wall 101.

As shown in FiGS. 4, 5, 6 and 9, a pair of forwardly extended arms 103 and 105 have their rear ends fixed to a central part of the shafts 94 and 99, respectively. The arms 103 and 105 extend forwardly to a point adjacent the rear. of wall 101 and have fixed to their ends the upper ends of the vertical push rods 104 and 106, respeetively. The push rods 1'04 and 106 extend downwardly slidably through one end of' the valve lifter arm 107 which is pivotally mounted at the point 108a on the bracket 109a. The other end of the arm 107 is fixed to the upper end of rod 78. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the push rods 104 and 106 are provided with fixed cross pins or members 111a and 112a, as cotter keys, whereby when these. push. rods are moved downwardly they will pivot the one endof the arm 107 downwardly which in turn moves the other endupwardly to move the rod 73 upwardly toclose the bass compartment master valve 67 to stop all bass. notes. If the arm- 107 is pivoted by operation of spring plate arm 77 the rods 104 and 106 will not be moved downwardly since they do not have 6 any cross members as 111a and 112a beneath the arm 107.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 17, when the lower lever 91 is moved downwardly, the rod 106 is moved downwardly and the bass compartment 55 is closed off as described above. The rod 106 further functions to open the reed dampers 108 and 109 to play a major fixed chord corresponding to the bass note of the depressed piano key of the left hand section. The lower end of the rod 106 is connected to the first arm 11% of a first bell crank pivotally mounted on the shaft 111 which is carried on the brackets 112 and 113 which depend from wall 21 by means of suitable vertical support members 117. The second arm 114 of the first bell crank is connected to a rod 115 at one end thereof and the other end of rod 115 is connected to the reed damper 109. The damper 109 is normally biased to the closed position by means of the return spring 118 as shown in FIG. 8 and all of the other reed dampers are also provided with similar return or closing springs. The reed damper 108 is provided with the depending operating arm 116 which is enlarged at its lower end so as to be engaged by the bell crank arm 114 when this arm is moved by the rod 106 and to open damper 108. Accordingly, when lever 91 is depressed, rod 101: operates to close the bass compartment 55 as aforedescribed and to pivot the first bell crank counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 5, to open both reed dampers'108 and 109. When the lever 91 is released, the reed springs 118 close the dampers.

When the upper lever 90 is moved downwardly, the rod 104 is moved downwardly and the bass compartment 55 is closed off as described above. The rod 104 further functions to open the reed dampers 119 and 108 to play a minor fixed chord corresponding to the bass note of the depressed piano key of the left hand section. The lower end of the rod 1% is connected to the first arm 120 of a second bell crank pivotally mounted on the shaft 111. The second arm 121 of the second bell crank is adapted to also abut the enlarged portion of arm 116 which opens damper 108. Therefore, when rod 104 is depressed, the second bell crank is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 5 and damper 108 will be opened. Simultaneously, the first arm 120 of the second bell crank engages the top of the arm 122 of the third ball crank which is pivotally mounted on the shaft 123 carried by the brackets 124 and 125 and bracket 117. The second arm 126 of the third bell crank is connected to one end of the rod 127 which has its other end connected to the reed damper 119. When crank arm 120 engages crank arm 122, the third bell crank is rotated clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 5, and reed damper 119 is opened. When lever 90 is released, the springs 113 for dampers 103 and 119 will operate to close these dampers and return the lever 90 to its at rest position as in FIG. 2. In playing, the non-professional system uses the levers 90 and 91. These levers can be played with the forefinger and the bass note can be played with any of the other fingers, preferably the thumb.

FIGS. 12 through 16 illustrate a control structure which permits the employment of a combination of the two aforedescribed systems. In these figures is shown a control means for opening the bass compartment 5'5 to the air box 23 whereby the bass reeds will respond regardless if the master valve 6'7 is operated to shut off its end of the compartmentSS. As shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, a second normally closed valve, generally indicated by the numeral 128, is operatively mounted in the compartment end wall 60. The valve 128 may be operated by the knee paddle 129 which includes a first vertical arm 130 disposed, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to the left of the left knee of a player.

As shown in FIG. 16, the upper end of the arm 130 is pivotally mounted by means of the shaft 131 and the brackets 132 to the underside of the wall. 21. The knee paddle 129 further includes the arm 133 which is integral with arm 130. The arm 133 is connected to the lower end of rod 134 which slidably extends through the wall 21 and is hingedly connected at its upper end to the one end of the pivoted bar 135. The bar 135 is pivoted at a central point by means of the shaft 136 and brackets 137. The other end of bar 135 is hingedly connected to the vertical rod 138 which extends downwardly through the wall 21. The lower end of the rod 138 is hingedly connected to the crank arm 139 which is fixedly connected to the horizontal shaft 140. The shaft 140 is rotatably mounted on the underside of wall 21 by means of the brackets 141 and 142.

As shown in FIG. 13, an L-shaped vertical rod 143 is fixedly connected to the shaft 141 as by welding. The lower portion 144 extends inwards through the hole 145 formed in the compartment well 611 and has fixed thereon the valve member 146 for normally closing the holes 145 and 147. The valve member 146 is carried by the rod 148, the upper end 149 of which is bent at right angles and pivotally mounted in the bracket 150 which is mounted on the inner side of wall 60. The lower end 151 is also bent at right angles and is fixedly connected to the inner side of the valve member 146 by any suitable means. A suitable spring rod 152 has its upper end abutting the inside of wall 60 and the lower end abutting the inner side of valve member 146 to normally bias it to the closed position. The spring 152 is loosely wound around rod 149 at its middle portion.

It will be seen that by moving the paddle clockwise, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 16, that the holes 145 and 146 will be opened and kept open until the paddle is released and the paddle swings by gravity to the normal position shown in FIG. 16, whereby holes 145 and 146 will be closed. It will be seen that when the paddle 129 is operated, a player may play both basses and major or minor fixed chords together, as desired.

It will be understood that rod 78 is heavy enough or of a sufficient weight so that it will act by gravity to normally keep the master valve 67 for the bass compartment in the open position and the piano keys 31 through 42 in the normal up position. When the knee paddle 129 is operated to open valve 128, a player may play a bass note with any fixed chord, but the closing of master valve 67 in such a case will have no effect on the bass compartment 55 since valve 128 opens the compartment and the bass notes will be sounded. Since only one row of reeds is operated at one time in reed block 51, only one intake holet48 is required.

It Will be understood that when one of the piano keys 31 through 42 of the left hand section is pressed, the key will play a bass note, on either the professional or nonprofessional system. When playing the non-professional system, the player presses the lower lever 91 with a second finger while still pressing the bass key, and the bass note will be changed to a major fixed chord. When lever 91 is released with the bass key still depressed, the bass note is again sounded. The same procedure is followed to play a minor chord by using the upper lever 90. When the professional system is used a bass note is sounded when one key is pressed, and when three more keys are depressed the bass note disappears and a four note chord is sounded. For example, if the C key (31) is pressed, a C bass note is played, and if the Bb, G and E keys (42, and 33) are added to the C key, the bass note immediately disappears and a four note C 7th chord appears. When three of the four keys are released, the remaining depressed key immediately plays a bass note.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an organ of the class described, a base plate; a

right hand treble section keyboard mounted on said base plate for playing by the right hand of an operator; a left hand rhythm section mounted on said base plate to the left side of the treble section for playing by the left hand of an operator; said organ including a set of bass reeds arranged chromatically from C to B; said left hand rhythm section including only twelve piano type keys; means connecting said twelve piano type keys with said set of bass reeds for operation thereof; said organ including a set of chord reeds to produce major chords and a set of chord reeds to produce minor chords; said left hand rhythm section including a first horizontal lever disposed adjacent said piano keys and to the rear thereof and immediately thereabove and laterally coextensive therewith; means connecting said first lever with each of said chord reeds for producing major chords for operation thereof; said left hand rhythm section including a second horizontal lever disposed adjacent said piano keys and to the rear thereof and immediately above said first lever and laterally coextensive with said piano keys; means connecting said second lever with each of said chord reeds for producing minor chords for operation thereof; and, said levers being operative to play the chords of the notes corresponding to the notes played by the respective adjacently disposed piano keys, whereby, a bass note can be played with the thumb of the left hand and a major or minor corresponding chord can be played with the first finger of the left hand.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1, including, means connected to the bass reeds for disabling the same, whereby, a player may make up any desired chord by playing a plurality of the piano keys in the left hand rhythm section.

3. The structure defined in claim 2, wherein: said means for disabling the bass reeds includes means operatively connected to said piano keys and operable by at least three of said piano keys, whereby, when at least three of the piano keys are pressed, the player may play any desired chord by playing any desired three piano keys.

4. In an organ of the class described, a left hand rhythm section comprising: a base plate; twelve piano type keys operatively mounted on said base plate; an air box on said organ; a set of bass reeds operatively mounted in said air box; valves connected to said bass reeds for controlling the same; means connecting the bass reed valves and said piano keys for operation thereof; said piano keys representing single bass notes arranged chromatioally from left to right playable by the thumb of the operator; a set of chord reeds operatively mounted in the air box; said valves also being connected to said chord reeds for admitting air to the same; a first horizontal lever disposed above and adjacent to said piano keys and laterally coextensive therewith and in substantially stepped alignment therewith and being operable to play the major chord of each of said piano keys; a second horizontal lever disposed above and adjacent said first lever, in substantially stepped alignment therewith and laterally coextensive with the piano keys, and being operable to play the minor chord of each of said piano keys; and, means connected to said air box for producing a flow of air through the bass and chord reeds when they are operated including a suction air motor.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4, wherein: said chord reeds are provided with exhaust damper means operable by said levers for playing said major and minor chords.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5, including: a compartment enclosing said base reeds; a master valve means in said compartment for making said compartment airtight to prevent the flow of air through said bass reeds; and means interconnecting said piano keys and levers and master valve means for selectively operating said master valve means to close said compartment and disable said bass reeds.

7. The structure as defined in claim 6, wherein: said means for selectively operating said master valve means includes a rotatably mounted shaft disposed adjacent said piano keys; means connecting said shaft and said master valve means in said compartment; a plurality of spring plates mounted on said shaft; each of said spring plates being operable to be tensioned by one of the bass playing piano keys; said spring plates being operable to rotate said shaft when at least three of them are tensioned so as to operate the master valve means in said compartment and disable the bass reeds to permit the player to play chords on the piano keys.

10 8. The structure as defined in claim 7, wherein: said compartment is provided with a normally closed second valve; and, means for selective opening of said second valve to by-pass the master valve means to permit the playing of a bass note and its corresponding major or minor note. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Czarnicki Apr. 12, 1960

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