US7976A - Action - Google Patents

Description

vUNITED STATES PATENT oFFioE.

JOHN RUCK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANOFORTE-ACTION.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 7,976, dated March 11, 1851.

To all whom t may concern: Be it. known that I, JOHN BUCK, ofthe city, county, and State of New York, have invented cer ain new and useful Improvements in the Action or Striking Parts of Pianofortes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whicht Figure 1, is a side elevation. Fig. 2,' is a view of the repeating spring detached.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures.

The nature of my invention consists, 1st., in an improvement in the manner of forming the communication between the fly level' and the hammer by which greater freedom of action is obtained, and the hammer made -to strike with greater force upon the string,

by a given touch upon the key. 2nd in an improved spring which I term a uni versal repeating spring for preventing the fall of the hammer beyond any desired point, when it escapes after striking the string and for preventing it being disconnected from the fly lever. 3rd in an improvement in the manner of attaching and operating the check wire. 4th in an vimprovement in t-he manner of regulating the escapement of the hammer from the Hy lever for the purpose, of allowing the key to be easily taken out.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is a bottom piece, B, a side piece, and C and D, rails or bars to which the working parts of the action are secured.

E, is the key working upon a Xed center pin a, and kept in place by a guide pin b, its back end when at rest falls on a cushion c.

F, represents the string.

G is the hammer, I-I, its shank, which hangs on a pivot or pin CZ, in a butt I, secured by a screw c, to the rail C; the shank is hung at a point a short distance from its ends, forming a lever with a long and short arm.

J, is the iiy lever or jack hung on a pivot f, on the bed K, which is secured by screws g, g, to the upper side of the key E, in such a manner that it-s height can be regulated. n, is the returning spring which pulls back the fly lever.

L, is what I term the spring lever, hung at a distance from its center, on a pivot z', at the lower part of the butt I. y 1 M, is a link having a pivot joint j or other hinge joint at each end, connecting the front or shorter end of the spring lever L, and the end of the hammer shank I-I. The spring lever L, performs the duty performed in other actions by the under hammer, it is through it that the fly lever J, is made to 4 actuate the hammer; it has a projection lr,

on its under side which is nearly of right angle form being slightly rounded and c0vered (as is usual with all the striking or rubbing parts of piano-forte actions) with leather or some other soft substance; the corner of this projection 7c, rests when the key is out of action cn the back corner of the upper side of the ily lever which is also slightly rounded olf. At the back end of the lever is attached the universal repeating spring m., whose form is best seen in Fig. 2; it is made of line wire coiled at Z, and having an arm m, bent at nearly a right angle to the part proceeding from the coil, the end of the arm is flattened and covered by a pad n, of leather or other soft material; the coiled part is let into a notch at the end of 4the lever, and the straight end o, is driven into the lever, the arm m, extending under it a pin p, is inserted transversely through the lever passing through the coil Z, the coil being lined with a piece of clot-h or leather to prevent the spring jarring; this spring` may also be made flat and secured in any convenient way to the lever. The pad n, rests upon the top of the fly lever at Q, where it is beveled off, instead of being square as it is usually made. On the under side of vthe spring lever is a small arm N, standing at nearly right angles to it, and through this arm is screwed the regulating screw i, at 'whose end there is a knob covered with leather or other soft substance. A cushion or pad s, is placed under the lever L, be-A rail D; its other end rests on a cushion u, on the end of the key. fv, is a cushion on the rail or bar D, for the hammer to fall upon.

'Ihe operation is as follows: Then the key is struck by the player its back end is thrown up, and the fly lever raises the back end of the spring lever L, pulling down the front end and the short end of the hammer shank, throwing up the hammer with great velocity and force and striking the string. Just before the hammer strikes the string, the back end of the lever L, by its upward motion carries the arm N, back and brings the regulating screw fr, to bear upon the fly lever and push it back so that at the moment the hammer strikes, the iiy lever escapes from the corner, of the projection 7c, and the hammer is relieved from the string. It will be` seen that after the Hy lever escapes beyond the projection 7s, that the hammer would fall of its .own weight, but that it is arrested by the repeating spring which resting on the fly lever supports the lever L, being bent or set to allow the hammer to fall a very short distance. just sufficient to relieve itself from the string; the hammer cannotl fall until the player withdraws his pressure from the key when it falls gradually, the fly lever by the action of the repeating spring being enabled to pass the projection 70, on its return, and never being ont of communication with the hammer, so that the hammer is completely under the control of the player who can produce a delicate and rapid repeat.

The effect of the repeating spring is the same as that of the spring tongue for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the sixteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, but I prefer it as being more simple in its construction and equally well suited to produce a perfect effect, it is adapted to any piano forte action applied to the end of the lever or butt which is acted upon by the fly lever or ack.

rllhe regulating screw 1^, is for the purpose of regulating the escapement of the fly lever, by screwing it in toward the fly lever, it will be made to escape sooner and weaken the blow of the hammer by screwing it out or from the fly lever it may be made to increase the force of the blow and lessen the escapement, such regulating screws are enr ployed in other actions but are fixed, the manner in which I apply it, brings it more gradually into operation and prevents concussions.

rlhe hammer in all actions known to me, is hung on a hinge or joint at the extreme end of the shank which is termed the butt, and the under hammer acts upon it nearly close to the hinge, but by hanging it on a hinge at a distance from the end of the shank as herein described and operating it by pulling down the end a sharper and more forcible blow can be obtained.

The mechanism of this action can be more easily taken ont for the purpose of repairs, than that of any other action, by taking out the screw e, the butt I, may be removed, and with it the hammer and spring lever L, one screw alone being necessary to secure the whole in place. The check wire being detached admits of the key being taken out with facility, while its operation is equally effective upon the hammer.

IV hat I claim as new in my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. Hanging the hammer shank on a hinge or joint CZ, at a distance from its end, and effecting its communication with the fly lever or jack by means of a lever L, which is hung on a fulcrum z', at a distance from either end and is connected at one end by a hinged or jointed link with the end of the hammer shank in such a manner that when the fly lever is raised by the key the end of the hammer shank is drawn down and the hammer thrown up to the string, or by any other means substantially the saine.

Q. lThe universal repeating spring m, attached to the lever or butt upon which is formed the projections 7c, or its equivalent through which the fly lever communicates with the hammer for the purpose of raising it, and working upon the end of the fly lever, in the manner substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth. This I claim withoutreference to the precise form of the projection or of the spring herein shown, as various modifications may be made for producing the same effect.

8. Attaching the check wire to a hanging or hinged butt Q., operated upon by the key in the manner substantially as described, so as to produce the same effect as if attached to the key, for the purpose of .allowing the key to be easily taken out.

41. Securing or placing the regulating screw 7, for controlling or regulating the escapement of the fly lever, in an arm N, or its equivalent upon the lever upon which the fly lever acts, by which the action of the said screw upon the fly lever is more gradual and easy, and the jarring or concussion produced when the screw is stationary is avoided.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name before two witnesses, this 15th day of November, 1850.

JOHN BUCK.

Witnesses c 0. D. MUNN, JN0. N. VVEsTnRvEL'r.

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