Electronic pipe organ control system

For use in a pipe organ which includes at least one manual having a plurality of manually operable keys disposed in chromatic spacial relationship, a plurality of stop tabs, and at least one rank of organ pipes individually operable by chest magnets, an electronic control system comprising:

• master oscillator means for generating a clock signal of predetermined frequency and control signals having predetermined time relationships to said clock signal;
• at least one input register means having control terminals connected to said master oscillator means to receive said clock and control signals therefrom, a plurality of input terminals connected to said manual, and an output terminal, for receiving note signals in parallel from said keys in response to operation thereof and repetitively generating a serial data signal at said output terminal, said serial data signal including a plurality of binary data bits, there being one said data bit for each key of said manual, said bits disposed in a chromatic sequential relationship corresponding to the spacial chromatic relationship of said keys;
• at least one pitch register means connected to said master oscillator means to receive said clock and control signals therefrom, and to said input register means to receive said serial data signal, said pitch register means including a plurality of pitch output terminals and pitch generating means for generating a plurality of pitch output signals in response to said serial data, clock, and control signals, each of said pitch output signals appearing at a particular pitch output terminal and including the binary data bits of said serial data signal inputted to said pitch register means, and transposed in time relationship, and thereby in representative chromatic musical relationship with respect to said binary data bits of said serial data signal;
• at least one combiner means connected to receive predetermined ones of said pitch output signals and to said stop tabs to receive stop tab signals and being responsive thereto to generate a composite data signal including selected combinations of said predetermined pitch output signals;
• at least one rank driver means connected to receive said composite data signal and said clock and control signals from said combiner means and said master oscillator means, respectively, for generating in response thereto a plurality of periodically updated parallel output signals corresponding in spacial chromatic relationship to individual ones of said binary data bits of said composite data signal, said rank driver means including amplifier means for amplifying said parallel output signals for operating individual ones of said chest magnets in response thereto for actuating corresponding individual ones of said organ pipes.