US12432A - Henry - Google Patents

Description

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY LS. YACKERLY, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

PIANOFORTE-FRAME.

ESpeccaton of LettersPatentNo. 12,432, dated February 27, 1855.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it :known that I, HENRY S. ACKERLY, of the city, county, and `State of ANew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pianofortesj; and I do hereby declare that Athe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference Abeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a plan view of my invention. Fig. 2, an end view from the right hand of Fig. l. Fig. 3, is a section in the line m, y, of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow.

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

This invention relates to a certain arrangement of the wrest plank or tuning block and the strings of a square pianoforte for the purpose of enabling the strings to be carried and sustained by a metallic frame which is independent of the case, and the case to be relieved of their strain, and the power and durability of the instrument to be increased without enlarging it. 1

It further relates to the peculiar construction of the metallic frame for the above purose.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will' proceed to describe its construction andoperation.

A, is the wrest plank or tuning block; B, B, B, is the cast iron frame; a, a, and t, b, are the strings. The wrest plank instead of being placed at the back of the instrument as is usual in the square pianoforte extends partly along the front and diagonally across the front left hand corner, the diagonal part c, being more elevated than the part d, which extends straight along the front, for the purpose of allowing the strings to be arranged in two tiers, of which the upper tier a, a, connected with the part c, of the wrest plank comprises the longest strings, and the lower tier b, b, connected with the part al, of the wrest plank comprises the shorter strings. The strings a, a, run nearly parallelwith the front and back of the case, and those b, b, diagonally across. In this way I obtain the greatest length of string for the lower octaves that can be obtained in a square piano-forte.

The plate B, which may be generally of cast iron is made to fit in and fill the entire horizontal section of the interior of the case, and is to be of such thickness as may be found jnecessary to sustain fthe tensionlof the strings, but in order 4so `to distribute ithe metal so :as to obtain the greatest 4strength Vfrom the lea-st weight fmake a stout brace e, at the back part parallel with land lying =close to the back -of fthe plate :and from 'thc ends of this Abrace fe, carry an arch lf, to `the .front of ithe plate. The arch f, is :raised above the solid part of the -plate sin .the form of a moulding, but the brace e, stands alone. The straight brace e, gives thrust to sustain the tension of the long strings and corresponds in its e'tl'ect with the brace now used. The arch f, sustains the tension of the short strings. That part of the plate which receives the hitch pins occupies nearly the same position as the metallic plate commonly used, and the hitch pins of the short strings are placed near its edge, in the usual Inanner, but the hitch pins of the long strings are in a raised part g, near the end. The

plate rests on a suitable ledge all round or at suitable parts of the interior of the case. The wrest plank drops int-o a recess made of nearly or quite its full depth to receive it, said recess being included between the arch f, and the raised rib L, through which holes are drilled for the strings to pass. The rib lz, sustains the plank against the tension of the strings, but the plank is secured by screws passing through the plate in order to keep it down solidly on its resting place on the plate. By placing the wrest plank above the plate B, as described I disconnect the strings as far as possible from the plate and thereby preserve their tone better, but I do not wish to confine myself to placing the wrest plank above the plate as it may be covered by the plate, like it has heretofore been when the full metallic plate as it is termed has been used.

The reason for arranging the wrest plank in the front of the instrument as described instead of in the usual position, is that in the usual position the plate would require to be extended farther back to give it strength to hold the wrest plank and would make the case larger than usual; but by arranging the wrest plank as described, it is made to occupy a space which would otherwise be useless and the case does not require to be made above the usual size. Another advantage also results from the within described arrangement of the wrest plank and strings, viz, the shortest key is brought oppOSte the shortest string, and the longest What do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The arrangement of the Wrest plank of a square piano-forte along the front and across one of the front corners of the instrument as described, to receive two tiers of strings of Which the tier comprising the longest strings is arranged nearly parallel With the front and back of the instrument and the shorter ones diagonally across the same, said arrangement being for the purpose herein fully set forth.

2. The construction of the metallic plate B, B, with the straight brace c, across the back and t-he arched molding or brace f, running from the said straight brace to the front of the instrument as and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. Constructing the plate B, B7 with a recess to receive the Wrest plank so that it may be firmly secured against the tension of the strings substantially as herein set forth.

HENRY S. ACKERLY.

Vitnesses:

S. H. WALLS, I I. G. MASON.

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