US400102A - Automatic musical instrument - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Patented Mar. 26, 1889..-

(No Model.)

J. MGTAMMANY.

AUTOMATIG MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. No. 400,102.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2..

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 400,102. Patented Mar. 26, 1889..

JOHN MCTAIILIMANY, OF IVORCESTER, lIIASSACHUSElTS.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,102, dated March 26, 1889.

Application filed Octobe; 23, 1885. Serial No. 180,722. (No model.)

o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN llIcTAMMANv, a citizen of the United States, residingI at Worcester, county of lfVorcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Ii'nprovements in Automatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic musical instruments, and more especially to those in which mechanism is interposed between the music-sheet and the reed-valves for operating the latter, although some of the improvements comprised therein are equally applicable to instruments in which the music-sheet acts as a valve-sheet by coveringl and uncovering` the reed-ducts.

The said invention consists partly in combining with the reed-valves of an operating' device moved by mechanical power and intervening mechanism a set of independent passages provided with plungers which act on said mechanism and connect and disconnect the valve-bars with the operating devices as the plunger-passages are opened and closed by the perforated music-sheet in predetermined order.

It consists, further, in the combination of two iiuted rolls and suitable gearing with said passages and pneumaticallyactuated plungers, and a set of pieces which have independent longitudinal and rocking motion and are arranged to be moved forward by one of said iinted rolls and backward by the other, as hereinafter set forth.

It consists, also, in additional devices, hereinafter described in part, connected to the bellows, whereby the rocking pieces and plungers aforesaid are held at all times in position to be actuated as aforesaid.

It consists, also, in the combination, with a set of reeds having valves controlling their ducts and a manual having pitman-pins extending from the keys to said valves, of auto` matic mechanism controlled by the perforated music-sheet and intermediate devices for operating the reed-valves, substantially as hereinafter explained, whereby said reed-valves can be operated mechanically or by hand.

It consists, also, in the combination, with a mechanical musical instrument having a perforated music-sheet for controlling the action of souml-producing devices, of a wind-motor operated by a wiml-current caused by the bellows or other wind -inducing apparatus and serving for propelling said music-sheet, and means for adjusting' the music-sheet mechanism for operation either by hand or by wind-motor.

It consists, also, in the combination of a winding-roll which carries a gear-wheel with a longitudinally-movable shaft which carries a pinion that normally engages therewith, the endwise movement of said shaft putting said gear-wheel and winding-roll out of train with the driving-shaft for convenience in rewinding.

It also consists in the peculiar construction of the rewinding-roll and its bearings, and in certain details of construction and combination, which will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a vertical longitudinal section through an automatic musical instrument embodying my invention, the lower part of the case and reservoir-bellows being broken away. Fig. 2 represents a similar sectional view of part of an automatic musical instrument embodying a modified form of my invention. Fig. 3 represents a detail end elevation of the upper part of the instrmnent shown in Fig. l. Fig. l represents a detail plan view of the sectional coupling for the rewinding-roll, with proximate parts; and Fig. 5 represents a detail cross-section of the same devices shown in Fig. 4, illustrating the raised position of the spring-cap which normally covers said coupling.

In this machine I employ a reservoir and feeder -bellows similar in construction, arrangement, and operation to those shown in my Patent No. 321,788. I do not in the prescnt application claim anything relating to said parts per se, and merely indicate them sufficiently to explain the action of the other devices. The modification shown in Fig. 2 differs from that shown in Fig. l only in having the replacing' luted roll K arranged above the pivoted piece I, which it actuates, with corresponding changes in the arrangement of the shoulder t" and the gearing.

IOO

In said drawings, A represents the main or driving shaft of the machine, which carries a grooved pulley, a, a gearwheel, a', and a iiuted roll, A', and may be operated by a crank-handle, as shown, or by foot-treadles, as shown in my Patent No. 290,697; but for certain reasons awind-motor is preferred. It operates the bellows by the usual arrangement of pitmen. (Not shown.) An endless chain, b, or belt, which is preferably elastic, connects the pulley d with a similar pulley, b', on an endwise-movable shaft, B, which is arranged transversely of the machine and carries a pinion, B', that meshes with a gearwheel, C', on the shaft of the winding-roll C. A spring, C2, bearing against a washer, c, on shaft B, tends to keep said pinion and gearwheel in engagement. XV hen said shaft is forced endwise against the resistance of this spring, the pinion is removed from the gearwheel and the winding-rollis left free to turn backward during the transfer of the musicsheet to the rewinding-roll D.' A lever or other device may be employed for holding shaft B in this position. This rewinding-roll has one of its gudgeons constructed in two sections to facilitate its detachment. One of these gudgeon-sections or journal-sections, marked D', is provided with a crank-handle, d', that turns in the wall of the instrument and does not separate therefrom, and with a tenon, d, extending inwardly. The othersection, D2, is attached to the roll itself and bifurcated or slotted 'from the end, as at d2, to fit said tenon. These two sections are held together while in use by a pivoted bearingcover, E, which is recessed to lit over them and held down by a spring, E', that acts on said bearing-cover after 4the manner of the spring of a knife-blade. When said cover is raised into a vertical position, this spring holds it so, and the rewinding-roll may then be easily withdrawn and another substituted. The rolls thus constructed, with the music on them, maybe conveniently and safely shipped from place to place, there being no attachments to scratch the paper or get in the way in packing or injure the mail in transit.

In passing from the rewinding-roll D to the winding-roll C during the operation of the instrument the music-sheet is drawn over the rounded top of a duct-board, F, which is similar in appearance to the ordinary trackerrange of such instruments. This duct-board rises slightly above the tops of said rolls, so that the music-sheet is drawn tightly down over the mouths of the air ducts or passages G, extending down through it. Vhenever one of the openings or perforations in the music-sheet comes opposite one of these ducts or passages, the air drawn through said `passage by the bellows forces down a plunger, H, which has its head hv arranged within said passage. This plunger bears against the top of the forward end of a shouldered tilting piece, I, which is pivoted at or near its middle to a longitudinally-movable bar, J. The

tilting piece I is provided with a shoulder, i, which is adapted to engage the fluted roll A' aforesaid, and with another shoulder, i',which is adapted to engage another fiuted roll, K, driven from main shaft A through gearwheels Za, and operating reversely to iiuted roll A. The downward motion of plunger II, as aforesaid, brings the shoulder y1l' into position to be acted on by roll K,which draws forward said pivoted piece I and its movable bar J. The rear end of the latter is connected by a link, L, to a spring-pressed reed-valve, M, and by means of such connection its forward motion opens said valve and allows the reeds II governed thereby (there are three sets of these reeds, each valve controlling one of each set) to be sounded bythe draft of air through the lat-ter. The rear end of pivoted piece I is inclined upward and supports a vertical rod, O, the head of which extends up through the case of the instrument, and of course receives the pressure of the atmosphere when the air below is withdrawn. Assumin g that the bar J and Atilting' piece I have been moved to their backward position by the action of the operating roll or device K against the shoulder fr" for opening the valve M, then when the tracker-duct G is again closed by the music -sheet the pneumatic pressure is cut off or removed from the plunger H, while the pressure is still operative on the pin O. This gives a preponderance of pressure on the pin O and causes the pivoted piece I to be tilted, thereby lifting the forward end of said pivoted piece until its upper shoulder, i', is engaged by the iiuted roll A', by means of which said pivoted piece and its bar J are forced back for closing the reedvalve. For every reed-valve there is an independent set of devices G II I J O, as described.

The two fluted rolls A' and K extend nearly or quite across the interior of the instrumentcase and act on all these sets alike. The rolls A' and K are operated by the mechanical power, and are thus moved with any required degree of force, while the pneumatic plungers II and O are simply required to tilt the connecting-piece I, for bringing the several valves into and out of action at the proper time, the labor and force required for moving the valve and mechanism being transmitted from the power-operated rolls or devices A' and K. The control is thus rendered very sensitive, and the pneumatics or plungers lil and O are allowed free and quick action, and are not loaded by the friction, weight, or pressure of the valves, their springs, and the actuating-bars.

Above the heads of the vertical rods O a transverse bar, Q, is hinged to a fixed part of the instrument case or frame and connected by a bent rod, R, to a vertical bar, It', attached to the reservoir-bellows, so that when the latter is exhausted this bar will be forced by -said bent rod down on said vertical rods, which in turn depress the rear ends of pivoted IOO IIO

pieces I, thus raising the forward ends of said pieces, and with them the plungers II, thereby preventing the series of valves from being opened when the instrument is not being played upon, and at the commencement of playing' preventing the working of the valves until a sufficient air-pressure is induced to properly start the action and to raise the bar G. Then the bellows is in action, the rods O will not be held down by the bar Q in this manner, by reason of the exhaustion and movement of the bellows and consequent withdrawal of the bent rod R from pressure on said bar; but at such times the suction due to the bellows action will effect the same result, since the atmospheric pressure on the individual rods O will tend to depress and hold them down, except when such pressure is overcome by a preponderating pressure on the pins Il. Then relieved from the pressure of the rod R, a suitable spring', S, which is provided for the purpose, raises the transverse bar Q from said rods. The said devices R and Q, arranged and combined as stated, prevent the forward ends of the pivoted pieces I from dropping when out of use. Tithout such contrivances they would be normally in their lowest position instead of their highest, and the plungers II would not be affected by the passage of the music-sheet, but all the valves would be opened by the .first turn of fluted roll A.

Frein each duet or passage G, I preferably make a side passage, g, to facilitate the escape of air as the plunger H moves upward. This, however, is not indispensable, as the plunger maybe made loose enough to answer the same purpose.

To allow the instrument to be played by hand, if desired, I connect each reed-valve M by a rod, T, to the bar U of a key, V, so that the depression of the latter opens its valve.

The keys may be arranged asin an ordinary organ or any analogous instrument.

T designates the win d-chest, into which the reed-ducts open.

X designates a hinged spring-pressed bar, which closes the outlet from said wind-chest and acts as a swell.

Y, Y', and Ygindicate the respective mutes for each set of reeds, which mutes may be operated by stops from the outside of the instrument-case in the ordinary manner.

Z2 indicates an air-engine or wind-motor operated by a wind-current caused by the bellows or wind-inducing apparatus, which motor I employ to wind or propel the musicsheet. The rot-ating shaft of said motor is in the present instance connected by worm-gearing Z with t-he shaft B, which operates through the gears B C the winding-spool C, by which the music-sheet ln1 is drawn forward over the tracker-range F. Then the motor is in use, its blades or pistons Zare actuated or moved by the current of air drawn or forced through its case Z2 by a bellows or other convenient wind-inducing device, and the rotation of the shaft being thereby effected with sufficient force to operate the winding mechanism, so that by simply working the bellows the power is generated and the music-sheet propelled without the necessity of turning the windingspool by hand. This engine of course is not a necessity for the particular construction of instrument herein shown, and it will be understood that the instrument may be operated by hand when desired; also, that a wind-motor operated by an air-current caused by the instrument-bellows or wind-inducing apparatus may be used for propelling the musicsheet in a mechanical musical instrument having its valves and sounding devices otherwise constructed and arranged in different order.

The link Il, in addition to opening the reedvalve to which it is attached, has the function of moving the rear end of bar lll downward sufficiently to take shoulder e' entirely out of the way of flutcd roll K.

In instruments heretofore employed, in which pneumatic val\veopening devices have been used for automatically governing the reeds, the scale has necessarily been enlarged to provide room for said devices, which must be larger than the width of the reed and cell or key of the manual. My present construction enables me to adhere to the regular scale of reed-board as used in ordinary organs, and I am therefore able to employ the same reeds and valves for the automatic devices and for the keys.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an automatic musical instrument, a set of valves controlling the ducts of the respective reeds or sound-producing devices, in combination with a series of air-passages not connected with said valves, but controlled by the music-sheet, intervening valve-operating' devices adapted to be moved by mechanical power, and pneumatically-actuated devices for connecting and disconnecting said valveoperating devices with the power-transmitting mechanism as the said air-passages are opened and closed by the perforated and nonperforated portions of the music-sheet, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. In combination with a reed-valve and a longitudinally-movable bar linked thereto, a pivoted piece attached to said bar, a plunger which depresses one end of said pivoted piece when forced down by atmospheric pressure, and a Iiuted roll which engages the said piece thus depressed and forces it back to open the valve, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a reed-valve, a longitudinallymovable bar operating thereon and a doubly-shouldered piece pivoted at or near its middle to said bar, two fluted rolls engaging, respectively, with the shoulders of said piece, the one operating to force back said bar, the other to bring it forward, a plunger acting on one end of said pivoted IOO IIO

piece to force it into engagement with one of said fluted rolls, and a rod acting on the other end of said pivoted piece to force it into engagement with the other one of said tinted rolls, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination With a set of reed-valves and movable bars and pivoted piecesacting thereon, a tinted roll for actuating' said bars, a set of rods resting on said pivoted pieces, a bar pressing on said rods, and a rod or Wire connecting said bar to the bellows, so that the eXha-ustionof the latter may by drawing on said rod or Wire hold said pivoted pieces out of contact with said fluted roll, substantially as set forth.

5. The roll-gudgeon formed of the intermatching blocks or sections D D', provided with the crank-handle d', that passes through the casing, in combination With the bearingcover E, iitting over the interlocking joint in said sections and having` its upper half hinged to swing away from the other half, and the spring E, for retaining said swinging portion in place when closed, substantially as shown and described.

6. In combination with a set of movable bars and pieces which actuate the reed-valves and a tinted roll whereby they are operated, a set of rods extending from said pieces to the outside of the case to receive the atmospheric pressure and thereby hold said pieces out of accidental engagement with said tluted roll, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, in a musical instrument, of a series of valves controlling the passage of air through the reeds or sound-producing devices, a power-operated mechanism for actuating said valves brought into effect by pneumatic devices controlled by a perforated music-sheet, and a set of manual keys With connections for Working said valves, whereby said sounding devices can be controlled either manually or mechanically, as preferred.

8. The tinted roll K, pivote'd piece I, longitudinally-movable bar M, and a reed-valve, in combination with a link connecting said reedvalve to said bar, said link serving to open said valve and also to move said pivoted piece out of reach of said tinted roll, substantially as set'forth.

9. A set of reeds having valves controlling their air-ducts and a manual having pitmanpins extending from the keys to said valves, in combination with a music-sheet and an intervening mechanism composed of a series of operating-bars connected with said valves, a 1nechanically-operated actuating mechanism, and pneumatic devices controlled by the music-sheet for connecting and disconnecting said bars and actuating mechanism', as set forth, whereby said reeds may be operated by said music-sheet or by thc keys, substantially as described.

l0. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination of a Wind-Wheel motor and the music-sheet Winding apparatus.

1l. The combination, with the music-sheet winding-roll in an automatic musical instrument, of a wind-motor operated by a Windcurrent induced by the bellows or other windinducing apparatus, a hand-crank, and adjustable gearing, whereby said roll mechanism can at will be coupled for operation either by hand or by the Wind-motor,substantially as set forth.

l2. In an automatic musical instrumen t, the combination, with the tilting levers I and pressure-pins O, of the bar Q, operating-Wire R, and means connecting said Wire with the bellows-reservoir, whereby iniiation of said reservoir raises said bar for releasing said pins and levers and collapse of said reservoir causes said bar to depress said pins, substantially as set forth.

13. In combination with the Winding-roll, driving-shaft, the gear-Wheels carried by said roll and shaft, and an interposed endwisemovable shaft carrying a power-transmitting gear-Wheel, the endWise motion of said shaft leaving the said roll free to turn backward, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

J OIIN MCTAMMANY.

lVitnesses:

HENRY F. HARRIS, Louis CUTTING.

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