Upright harpsichord action
OwnerEvan J. Kerninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A harpsichord action characterized by a vertical disposition of the strings which extend downwardly from a wrest plank located slightly above the keyboard. The keys, which are half the conventional length and hinged at their inner ends, are connected with jack levers located above the keys and in front of the strings. The jack levers are connected with jacks which are pulled forwardly by the jack levers upon depression of the keys. Each rank of jacks is controlled by a single jack guide which is selectively shifted by a cam mechanism operable from the keyboard.
Claims18
A harpsichord action comprising a frame assembly, a string supported vertically in tension by said frame assembly, a key disposed substantially horizontally and hingedly attached at its rear end to said frame assembly at a point in front of said string, a jack lever disposed above said key in vertical alignment therewith and pivotally attached to said frame assembly, said string being disposed in substantial alignment with said key and jack lever and extending from a point above and behind said jack lever and key to a point therebelow, a jack connected to said jack lever, a jack guide behind said string adapted to support said jack for sliding movement toward and away from said string, said jack having a plectrum adapted to engage and pluck said string, the depression of said key producing a rotation of said jack lever and a movement of said jack and plectrum toward said string to produce a plucking of said string.
An upright harpsichord comprising a frame assembly, a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys each hingedly mounted at the inner end thereof to said frame assembly, a plurality of jack levers pivotally attached to said frame assembly, each said jack lever being disposed above an underlying key in vertical planar alignment therewith, means connecting each said key to the corresponding aligned jack lever whereby depression of each said key produces rotary movement of the corresponding jack lever, said frame assembly including string support means for supporting a substantially vertical array of parallel strings in tension, said strings each extending from a point above and behind said jack levers and keys to a point therebelow, at least one string being disposed in substantial alignment with each said key and jack lever, a jack guide extending horizontally behind said array of strings, each said jack lever having a jack connected thereto and supported by said jack guide for sliding movement toward and away from the string aligned therewith, each said jack including a plectrum adapted to engage and pluck said aligned string, the selective depression of the keys producing a rotation of the corresponding jack levers and a sliding movement of the jacks connected thereto to provide a selective plucking of the strings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.