US1070404A - Tracker for automatic musical instruments. - Google Patents

Description

0. S. BURTON.

TRACKER FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 18, 1912.

Patented Aug. 19, 1913.

| l I I i MM fi W QM COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. D c.

O. S. BURTON.

TRACKER FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.18,1912.

1,070,404, Patented Aug. 19, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. r

CHARLES S. BURTON, OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

TRACKER FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 19,1913.

Application filed October 18, 1912. Serial No. 726,469.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES S. BURTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trackers for Automatic Musical Instruments, of which the follow 1g is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved construction of the tracker for an automatic musical instrument adapted to be employed with perforated note sheets in which the note perforations of the note sheet are differently spaced, whether the difference is one which is caused in the original manufacture of the sheets, or is one which arises or is liable to happen from expansion or contraction of the sheets due to atmospheric or other changing conditions.

It consists in the elements and features of construction shown and described as indicated in the claims.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a front ele vation of a structure embodying this invention, comprising the tracker and roll carriage and the note sheet rolls therein. Fig. 2 is a section at the line 2-2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one member of the tracker hereinafter referred to as the inner member. Fig. at is a fore-and-aft section of a structure comprising tracker and roll carriage embodying a modfied form of the invention. Fig. 5 is a section at the line 5-43 on Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a fore-end-aft section of another modified form of the invention.

In the structure shown in the drawings, 1, 1 are the side brackets or checks of the frame structure in which the tracker and note-sheet roll or spool and the take-up roll are mounted, commonly called the roll carriage or tracker frame. The note-sheet roll or spool is represented at 2. The take-up roll. is represented at 3.

4; is the note sheet.

The form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, will be first described, The tracker comprises two members, an inner member, 5, which is exteriorly semi-cylindrical and is mounted for rocking about the axis of its cylindrical outer surface. This member has grooves, 6, for air channels extending through a limited arc of the cylindrical surface. These grooves starting at a longitudinal line, m, m,

are spaced from each other at uniform distances from center to center, corresponding to the spacing of the perforations on the note sheets having such perforations most closely spaced of any designed to cooperate with the tracker, taking into account the maximum shrinkage, or the shrinkage to the narrowest dimension to which such note sheets are liable. As well understood at the present time, perforated note sheets are cut" with the lines of apertures spaced one-ninth of an inch from center to center, and the paper is liable to slight shrinkage and expansion from this standard dimension to the extent of usually not to exceed 3 of one per cent. of the width shrinkage and a like amount of expansion; and making allowance for shrinkage and expansion, the spacing of the grooves, 6, at the line, m, m, is designed to be about of one per cent. less than one-ninth of an inch. From said line, at, m, the grooves diverge through the arc of their extent around the surface of the tracker member, 5, their extent and divergence being such that at the other end of the are they are spaced about of one per cent. above one-ninth of an inch apart. The divergence, it will be understood, is therefore sufficient to accommodate the shrinkage and expansion from the standard spacing of oneninth of an inch, that being the spacing of the grooves atthe middle of the arc which they occupy in the circumference of the cylindrical surface of said inner member, 5. Each of said grooves is perforated with an outlet, 5 at which there is connected a nipple, 5 for the attachment of a flexible tube, 5 designed to lead to the pneumatic action not shown. The outlets, 5, and the nipples, 5", are preferably in a plurality of rows in staggered arrangement for the familiar purpose of obtaining adequate space for the nipple connections. The tracker comprises, in addition to the inner member, 5, an outer member, 7, which is a bar having its inner surface concave to fit the exterior cylindrical surface of the inner member, 5, and having said concave surface extending through an are somewhat more than twice the extent of the arc in which. the grooves of the inner member extend. At a longitudinal line midway in the width or are or transverse extent of the concave inner surface of said outer tracker member, 7, said member is provided with a slot, 7, which, when said outer member is lodged upon the inner member in operative position, as shown in Fig. 2, crosses or extends transversely with respect to all the grooves, G, of the inner member, 5, the intersection or crossing of the slot with the grooves constituting the tracker duct months. The note sheet is designed to travel across the tracker between the inner and outer members, 5 and 7, the note-sheet roll and take-up roll, 2 and 3, and is positioned with respect to the cylindrical surface of said tracker member, 5, so that the note sheet will be deflected by said member, 5, and rest upon it over a suflicient area or are thereof to cover the full extent of the grooves, 6, and preferably will lie upon said cylindrical surface of the member, 5, somewhat beyond the ends of the grooves, 6. The outer tracker member, 7, is mounted so as to be moved bodily toward and away from the inner member, so that the note sheet may be introduced between the two members, 5 and 7, and after being thus introduced and connected to the take-up roll as usual, the member, 7, may be moved up toward the member, 5, and against the note sheet lodged and partly wrapped thereon. For so positioning the outer member, 7, and adapting it to be moved as stated, it is preferably pro-- vided with arms, 8, 8, at its opposite ends, which arms are hinged to the supports in which the inner member, 5, is mounted for rocking, and at such distance from the axis that the said member, 7, may be rocked about its pivot so as to afford ample room for easily manipulating the note sheet in mounting its spool in its bearings and drawing the end of the note sheet elf the spool over the tracker member, 5, and down to the take-up roll to which the end is connected for playing. Preferably, in order that the outer member, 7, may press the note sheet closely on to the inner member, 5, so as to prevent leakage of air between the two at their surfaces in contact, and at the same time not so firmly as to prevent the free travel of the note sheet between the two tracker members, the said outer member, 7, is provided with a spring, 9, connecting one of its arms, 8, with a fixed portion of the frame, and reacting to press the member, 7, toward the member, 5; and preferably, in order also to hold the member, 7, at the other limit of its swin that is, at the position at which it is to be located when the note sheet spool or roll is being placed in position and the note sheet drawn over the tracker member, 5, for connection with the take-up roll, the spring, 9, is connected to the arm, 8, of the member, 7, and to the frame at points so located that the arm-connected end of the spring will be carried past the pivot line of the arms, 8, in swinging the member, 7, from its position on the member, 5, to its position remote from that member, so that the spring reacts for holding it securely in either position. For the same purpose of adapting the outer tracker member, 7, to press against or to ward the inner member, 5, firmly enough to prevent air leakage and not so firmly as to prevent note-sheet travel, the concave face of said outer member, 7, at both sides of the slot is preferably covered with strips, 12, of soft leather, felt or other substance suit able for affording a soft or cushion-like pressure upon the note sheet. The slot, 7, in the member, 7, may be only a compara' tively deep groove therein, provided, in that case, it extends to the ends, or at least to one end, of said member, 7, so that easy access of air is afforded through the slot or groove to the concave face of said member, 7, and thereby to the grooves of the inner member, 5, which are crossed by said slot or groove, 7 wherever there is an aperture in the note sheet permitting such communication. In order to avoid making the member, 7, unnecessarily heavy, and at the same time to give it adequate stiffness so that the slot shall have its opposite edges definitely positioned and not liable to spread apart (a result which is accomplished by making the slot in the form of a moderately deep groove, as indicated, extending to the ends without cutting through the member, 7, to the opposite or upper surface thereof), I prefer to form the said member, 7, with a plurality of transverse bosses, 7*, at comparatively short intervals in its length, and to produce this slot by a longitudinal saw-cut extend ing through the concave face and somewhat deeply into these bosses, cutting entirely through the thickness of the member, 7, intermediate the bosses. In this way, the bosses constitute bridges across the slotand render the member perfectly stiff, notwithstanding it is slotted from end to end. The inner member, 5, is provided with a lever handle, 10, by means of which it may be rocked through an are as great as that occupied by the grooves, (S, and thereby the spacing of the tracker mouths consisting of the crossings or intersections of said inner memher, 5, with the longitudinal slot of the outer member, 7, may be varied from the narrow est spacing of the grooves at one end to the widest spacing of said grooves at the opposite ends, thus adapting the tracker to be adjusted to correspond to the expansion and contraction of the note sheets.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4c and 5, the innermember, 5 of the tracker is mounted without provision for rotating about its axis, and the outer memb r, 7-", is provided with short arms, 11, at its opposite ends extending to the axis of curvature of the inner member, 5, and by means of these arms, said outer member, 7*, is pivoted for rocking about the axis of the inner member when lodged in operative position, its pivotal connection for such rocking being made to the ends of lever arms, 12, 12, of a rock shaft, 13, which is mounted in the side cheeks of the roll carrier at a distance from the tracker such that the outer member, 7, carried on the ends of said lever arms, 12, may be swung to the position shown in dotted line in Fig. at to admit the note-sheet roll or spool to its position. As in the case of the form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a spring, 9, is provided for holding said outer member at one limit or the other of its range of swinging. hen the member, 7 in this form is in operative position shown in full line in Fig. at, it can be rocked about its pivotal connection with the arms, 12,that is, about the aXis of curvature of the outer surface of the inner member, 5*, and of the inner face of the outer member, 7 ,-for adjusting the longitudinal slot, 7 within the range of the transverse slots, 6, of its inner member for he purpose already described. As illustrated, the inner member, 5, in this form is mounted in the cheeks by means of longitudinally projecting pins or rods, 14:, 1%, extending into the cheeks so that said inner member may be adjusted longitudinally for transposition of the music or centering the grooves with respect to the note sheet perforations. Any convenient means, (none being illustrated,) may be employed for so adjusting the inner member of the tracker longitudinally.

In Fig. 6, there is shown a further modification. In this form, the inner member, 5 is substantially identical in form with the modification shown in Figs. a and 5, being mounted and fixed in position in the same manner. The outer member, T however, instead of being mounted for swinging toward and from the inner member, is provided with spring clasps, 7", T, at the ends for engaging the end portion of the inner member beyond the width of the note sheet, these clasps being fitted to the cylindrical end portion of said inner member so that the outer member may be rocked around the inner member for adjusting the longitudin al slot of the outer member within the length of the transverse slots of the inner member. In using this form, the operator will detach it from the inner member, the spring clasps permitting this to be done,when introducing the note sheet over 'he tracker, and will then apply the outer member by springing the clasps on to the ends of said inner member and adjusting the outer member by rocking it so that the longitudinal slotwill cross the transverse slot at proper position corresponding to the expansion or contraction of the note sheet.

I claim 2- 1. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member, and having an outlet for each of said grooves for connection with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constituting the tracker duct mouths, the member having the longitudinal slot being mounted for movement bodily toward and away from the member having the transverse grooves, and one of the said members being mounted for movement transversely of said slot.

2. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member, and having each an outlet for connection with a pneumatic, whereby the crossings of the slot and grooves constitute tracker duct mouths; the grooved member having its surface curved cylindrically, the longitudinally slotted member having its slotted face curved about the same axis and adapted substantially to fit the cylindrical grooved surface of the first member, and mounted for swinging about a line parallel to said axis to move its concave slotted face toward and from the cylindrical surface of the inner member, one of said members being mounted for rocking about the axis of the cylindrically curved surface of the grooved member.

3. A tracker device for an automatic musical instrument comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, eX- tending transversely to the slot of the first member, and each provided with an outlet for communication with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constitut ing tracker duct months, the longitudinally slotted member being mounted for movement toward and from the other member, and the two members being adapted to ad mit, and permit the longitudinal travel of, a note sheet between them in contact with both, the slotted member being faced at both sides of its slot with cushioning material for contact with the note sheet passing between said members.

f. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely witi respect to the slot of the first member, and provided with outlets for communication with a pneumatic, the longitudinally slotted member mounted for swinging about a line parallel to the slot for moving its slotted face to a position in contact with and to a position remote from the grooved member, and a spring connected with said swinging member and with the support thereof for reacting upon the swinging member at a point which is carried past its pivot line by the swinging of said member from one of said positions to the other, whereby the spring operates to hold it at either limit of its range of swinging movement.

5. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments, comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and. a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member and having an outlet for each of said grooves for connection with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constituting tracker duct mouths, the member having the longitudinal slot being mounted for movement bodily toward and away from the surface of the member having the transverse grooves, and also for movement transversely to said last mentioned member.

6. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments, comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member and having an outlet for each of said grooves for connection with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constituting the tracker duct mouths; means upon which the tracker member having the longitudinal slot is carried, mounted for movement of said mem ber bodily toward and away from the other tracker member, the slotted member being mounted on said carrying means for move ment transversely of said other tracker member.

7. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments, comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member and having an outlet for each of said grooves for connection with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constituting the tracker duct mouths; means hinged at a line parallel to the longitudinal slot for carrying the tracker member bodily toward and from the other tracker member, said slotted tracker member being mounted on said hinged part for movement transversely of said other tracker member.

8. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments, comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member and having an outlet for each of said grooves for connection with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constituting the tracker duct mouths; the grooved tracker member having its surface in which the grooves are situated curved cylindrically, the other tracker member having its slotted face curved to lit the cylindrical surface of the first member; a part upon which the slotted tracker member is carried mounted for movement of said slotted member toward and from the grooved surface of the other member, said slotted member being pivoted to said carrying means at the axis of curvature of its said slotted face, whereby it is adapted to be rocked over the curved face of the grooved member.

9. A tracker device for automatic musical instruments, comprising a member having a longitudinal slot and a member having a set of surface grooves, one for each note, extending transversely with respect to the slot of the first member and having an outlet for each of said grooves for connection with a pneumatic, the crossings of the slot and grooves constituting the tracker duct mouths; the grooved member having its surface in which said grooves are located, curved cylindrically, the longitudinally slotted member having its slotted face concavely curved about the same axis; a part which is hinged at a line parallel to the longitudinal slot of the slotted tracker member having arms to which the said slotted member is pivoted at the axis of curvature of its said concavely-curved face.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 20th day of September, 1912.

CHARLES S. BURTON.

Witnesses:

M. GERTRUDE Any, LUCY I. STONE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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