USRE8451E - Improvement in automatic musical instruments - Google Patents

Description

8 Sheets-Sheet l;

E.v P. NEEDHAM.v Automatic Musical Instrument.

No. 8,451. t Reissued'of.15,1a1s.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. P. NEEDHAM. Automatilo- Musical Instrument.

Reissued oct. 15,1878.

ZULMSSJQS:

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ELIAS P. NEEDHAM, 0F XElV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

'Specification ibi-ming part of Letters Patent No. 197,04*, dated November .13, 1877 z Reissue No. 73.451. dated To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIAS P. NEEDHAM, of

the city, county, and State of New York, have' invented certain new and useful Improvement-s in Mechanica-lMusical Instruments; and I do :hereby declare that the following is a full and 4 ments in automaticwind-instruments in which perforated paper or other material is automatically passed' over, under, or between the air passages or ducts, and, acting as a valve, admits or excludes the wind, so as to produce the desired combination, succession, and duration of sounds; and consists in the arra-n gement cf an endives apron, sheet, or. belt, lotlan y suitable. material, and perforated with openings corresponding to the location of the notes to be sounded in succession or simultaneously, and the duration of the notes.

`It further consists in the arrangement by which the perforated endless sheet is moved, guided, and retained, and the bellows operated to produce the desired combination of sounds.

1t also consists of the peculiar arrangement of the case, by which one endless belt or sheet can be readily substituted for another, and the force and quality ot' the sound modified, as will be more fully set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents the instrument in perspective, the case being shown as opened and part of the endless sheet or belt heilig in broken lines, so as to show the rest more fully. Fig. 2 is a vertical secy tion, showing the reed-chamber, with the reeds in :heair-ductsplaced in a vertical position,4

and at right angles to that part of the musicsheet where the air is admitted, the sheet passing over that end of the body of the reed, to

which the tongue of the reed is riveted, theV airpassing in t-he direction Vshown by arrows in Fig. 2, the bellows, the actuating-crank,-

the resonant cover, and the case inclosing the instrument and protecting the parts from dust and injury. rlhe sides of the case are hinged,

' so that they may be readily opened and allow October 15, 187B lapplication tiled July 9, 1ST-.

regulated by the same. Fig. 3 shojws the manand which maybe arranged so as to be partially or wholly withdrawn and replaced at will, to produce various musical effects ofeither.

a complete or partial swell or crescendo, or the reverse of either. It is shown in Fig. 2, but not in Fig. 1,-as'it 'would cover the reeds.

the top cover, hinged to the sides and provided with a stop,-so that the same muy vbe partially or entirely opened, and thus the force of the sound regulated or controlled. G is the hinged end, secured tothe hinged side G. The whole case is shown in Fig. 1 as hinged to the fixed vertical end and bottom A, so that the same may be readily opened and one endless sheet or belt substituted for another; but the case may be made vwithout the hinged sides, and the whole instrument supported on a slide and upright similar to A A, so that the whole instrument may be withdrawn and the endless sheet or belt secured, or one substituted for another.

- The bellows D D acts at all times when the instrument is in operation on all the reeds;

but-the air is excluded by the sheet or theV endless belt, which acts as a valve on all the reeds. As, however, openings are cut into the sheet to correspond with the successive or simultaneous notes or sounds and their duration, the corresponding reed will be sounded when and as long as the opening is over the reed,'so that air can be admitted to the reed and the tongue vibrated. b b are the holes or openings in the endless sheet, band, or belt., and their location with ,reference to the reeds represents the note in t-he reed, while their length regulates the lduration of the note. c is a tension or guide roll suspendedy Within the endless band-or sheet a, so as to keep the sheet 4straightand I OVBII NVhen a sheet of music of Vthe ordinary the sheet. When, however, a sheet of music of more than ordinary length is to be used, two or more of the suspending-rollers may be used by inserting one or more stationary rolls, revolving on their axis, and passing Ythe sheet under a suspended roll, then upward over a fixed roll, and again undera suspended roll, from which it passes upward to andover or between the airducts or reeds, so that in a properly-arranged case music of any ,length can be inserted and-automatically played'.

, d is acrauk secured to the end of the shaft d', by which the same is turned. E E are driving-pulleys secured to the shaft d. They may be made of rubber or other elastic yield'- iug material.

El El are pressure-'rolls arranged to press against theV pulleys E E and 4rotate with the same', and so propel the sheet of music between them evenly and uniformly.

The rollers E' El may also be made of elastic or yielding material; or they may be mounted' in elastic or yielding bearings, so that when Vthe'sheet or band of perforated music is in sorted the pulleys E E and rolls .El El will hold the sheet firmly, and on turning the crank te sheet or band will not slip on the pulleys I f is the crank by which the bellows are operated. There may be one or more cranks to operate the bellows, or they may be operated by other means from the shaft d.

gis a clamp, by means of which the hinged piece B,'carryiug the rolls E El, is held, so

ilzhaat' the rolls rest firmly against the pulleys h .isa guideroll inserted to keep the endless sheet o the sides of the instrument. Such guide-rolls maybe arranged in other places to.

insure the free working of the sheet a.

The instrument is operated asfollows: An

endless sheet, a., perforated with holes corresponding with the notes of the musicdesired, is placed overthe reed-chest (l, and the roller c, provided with the projecting rims or guides is inserted so as to keep the sheet straight an even. The case is now closed, and the rollers E1 El press the sheet against the pulleys E E. The crank is turned, operating the bellows, and also moving the endless perforated sheet or belt over the reeds and admit air at the propertime to the proper reed, so aste cause va succession of sounds or chordsof varying dur'atio'n, and thus produce the desired time or .harmony in the measure of tme'regulated.

by the revolution of the crank.

It is desirable 1n lnstruments of this scription to repeat the music or tune several times,.and -sometimes without any intermission. With the single sheet wound on rolls this was not possible; but with my improved endlesssheet of perforated music the tune can be repeated with any desired interval between the tune, or successively without interval of time. v

.einem y subit@ a' i lt is also desirable to modify the sound and adapt it to the room, the voice, or the expression of the music desired. This can bereadily secured. by the resonant cover E, which, with simple mechanism, can be raised or lowered to produce the desired effect, and also by the hinged cover F, which can be secured in any desired position.

By the peculiar construction of the case and the driving mechanism, one endless belt or. sheet` of perforated music can be quickly substituted for another without particular skill or judgment. All the parts are simple and not likely to get out of order.

` Theendless sheet of perforated paper, prepared cloth, or other suitable material, ar-` ranged to form a valve to exclude the air from all the notes or reeds except those to be sounded, can be cheaply prepared and furnished with the instrument, or sold separately, so that on one instrument any tune or composition of music within its range can be performed with an endless sheet or belt perforated to correspond with the notes and their succes'- sion and duration, and such piece or piecesycan be repeated at pleasure with any desired interval of time, regulated by the motion of thecrank.

What 1 claim as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, withaperforated musicsheet, of reed-chamber C and exhaust-bellows D D, the perforations in the sheet corresponding with the air-inlets of said reed-chamber, to produce a tone or chord, and otherwise arranged tof a valve to exclude the air from the reedsxcept at such perforations, substantially described.

2. yThe combination, with the endless perforated sheet a and reed-chamber G, of the shaft d',`\pulleys E E, and pressure-rollers El El, arranged to propel the sheet a, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with the crank d,pul leysE E, and rolls El El, of the crank t, one or more, arranged to operate the bellows, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

A4. The combination, with the shaft d', of the pulleys E E and rolls El El, when either the pulleys or rolls, or both, are made of elastic or yielding material, and arranged to move the perforated sheet of a musical instrument, substantially as and for the purpose described.

: 5. The combination, with the shaft d' and 4pulleys E E, of the rolls E' El, secured to a hinged or otherwise movable part of the case, and arranged substantially as described, so

that the endless sheet can be inserted andA y pose specified.

6. The combination, with the reedchamber O, bellows D, and endless. sheet a, ot the case A, provided with the'hiuged sidcB, arranged to be sec n to the case and opened to fainsertion of the -endless sheet. a, n: for the purpose set forth.

7.v The combination, with a mechanicallmusical instrument, of the resonant soundingi board or sounding-box E3, made movable for the purpose of facilitating the insertion of the music-sheet. i v

8. The combination, with a mechanical musical instrument operated by an endless sheet or belt, substantially as shown and described,

as described.

of an exterior case provided with the hinged end G, arranged to facilitate the substitution of one endless sheet for another, substantially t ELIAS I. NEEDHAM, 'itnesses:

AzRo FOWLER, i yC. A. NEEDHAM.

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