US651485A - Automatic chime. - Google Patents

Description

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JOHN E. HEENE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC CHIME.

'SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 651,485, dated .l une 12, 1900.

Application led September 18, 1899. Serial No. 730,794. (No model.)

T0 all 'whom t mfr/y concern.:

Be it known that l, JOHN E. HEENE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Chimes, of which the following is a specification in such full, clear, and exact terms as to enable any per son skilled in the art to which it appertains to make, construct, and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements whereby chimes may be rung automatically by means of pins or projections, formed on a rotating cylinder, that engage with and actu- ,ate the hammers that strike the bells of the chimes.

My improvement also relates to means for producing notes in quick succession upon the same bell, so that pieces of music containing notes of varying lengths may be prod-need.

vln the accompanying drawings, Figure I represents a side elevation of my improved chimes; Fig. 1I, a front elevation of the same, showing the arrangement of the operating-levers and the position of the hammers; Fig. lll, a detail in perspective of a portion of the cylinder. provided with pins and ot' the operating-levers Fig. IV, a detail of the operatinglevers.

The piece of music to be played upon the chimes is transferred to a disk 1 in the usual manner by providing pins or projections 2 thereon to represent the notes. The disk is preferably curved concentric with the surface of a cylinder 3, that is provided with a shaft et, rotatable in bearings 5, provided by the frame 6. The projections may be provided directly upon the surface of the cylinder or the cylinder may be constructed sufficiently large to accommodate two or more disks each provided with a piece of music, in which case the disk is detachably secured to the surface of the cylinder by means of the dovetailed joint 7 or other suitable means. The bells 8 aresecured to rods 9, supported by the frame and arranged in rows one above the other. The frame is provided with an arm 10, which supports rods 11, that are arranged parallel to and a suitable distance from rods 9. Two or more bell-crank levers 12, provided at one end with hammers 13, are pivotcd to the rods 1.1 opposite cach of the bells,

so as to bring the hammers in proximity there* to. The free end of each lever is secured to aconnecting-rod 11,tha1 is pivoted at its other end to the arm of a bellcrank lever 15. Said lever is pivoted to a rod 1G, supported by the frame, so that its engaging arm 17'` will project downwardly to engage with the pins provided upon the cylinder. A spring 1S is secured bctween the frame and the arm of the lever to hold said arm normally in its raised position, thereby depressing the engaging arm.` The action of the spring may be limited by a stop 19, secured in the frame. When the cylinder is rotated, the pins come into contact with the engaging arms of the bell-crank levers, thereby depressing the same and through the connecting-rods actuating the hammers and causing the same to strike the bells. Vhen a pin or projection upon the cylinder disengages, the spring immediately returns the lever to its original position and causes the hammer to return to its non-striking position. Each bell is provided with two or more hammers, and notes of short length are produced by arranging the pins one behind the other and at an angle to the plane of rotation, thereby causing the hammers to strike in quick succession upon the same bell.

By this construction I am enabled to produce .tunes upon chimes that contain notes less than whole notes, as the arrangement of two or more hammers for each bell, together with means for instantly returning the hammer to its original position after it has been actuated, causes each bell to be struck in rapid succession. Heretofore it has only been possible to produce whole notes upon each bell, which greatly limits the number of tunes that can be produced upon chimes and also limits the musical range of said chimes. By my construction I am enabled to produce tunes containing notes of any length, and am thereby enabled to adapt all classes of music to production u pon an instrument of this kind.

The number of bells can be increased to anydesired number and the number of hammers for each bell can also be increased, thus permi tting quick-time music to be successfully executed upon chimes.

By means of the detachable disks each provided with projections representing an entire piece ot' music the tunes produced by one ro- 'ICO tation of the cylinder can be varied without otherwise interfering with the arrangement of the chimes. One ofthe disks can be changed and another substituted therefor or an entire change can be made, thus permitting the use of the chimes for many purposes not possible were it necessary to change the entire cylinder whenever it was desired to change one of the tunes thereon.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a bell and two or more hammers arranged to strike the same, of a moving disk, provided with means arranged to successively actuate said hammers to produce notes on said bell, substantially as described.

2. The combination with two or more hammers arranged to strike a bell, of a rotatable disk provided with two or more projections arranged in line at an angle to the plane of rotation of said disk engaging successively with said hammers to produce notes in rapid succession on said bell, substantially as described.

3. The combination with two or more bells and two or more hammers arranged to strike each bell, of a rotatable cylinder provided with projections corresponding to the notes of a piece of music, said projections being arranged in line at an angle to the plane of rotation of the cylinder and engaging with the hammers of each bell successively to produce notes of short length on said bell, and means for rotating the cylinder, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic chime the combination with two or more bells each provided with two or more hammers, of a rotatable cylinder provided with two or more disks detachably secured thereto, said disks being provided with projections engaging said hammers to actuate same, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI sign this application, in the presence of two witnesses, this 7th day of September, 1899.

JOHN E. I-IEENE.

Witnesses:

S. D. SANoR, C. I. HnNDnusoN.

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