Untitled record

Application filed March 18, 1895. Serial No. 542,172. (No model.)

To all zvlwm it may concern:

Beit known that I, Alois Streicher, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, Ohio, have invented new and useful Im’S provements in String-Peg Devices for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the screw-peg devices employed on guitars, mandolins, and io other stringed instruments for regulating the tension of the strings and the pitch of the tone produced, these devices being generally known in the trade as “patent heads;” and it consists in an improved construction by 15 which the cost of manufacture is reduced and a superior and more durable and efficient article is produced wherein there are no separate parts to become loose and rattle, and repairs are much facilitated.

To this end my invention consists in a socalled “head” embodying a homogeneous plate of metal in which the string-pegs are journaled, provided with bearing-lugs for the screw-shaft struck up from the same plate of 25 metal and fitted with the screw, string-peg, and worm-gear, all as hereinafter described.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which—

Figure 1 is a blank of sheet metal showing 30 the initial cuts made by the die-punches in the act of forming the lugs. Fig. 2 is a plan of the plate as completely formed, showing one of the screw-gears and pegs in place. Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines x y of Fig. 2, 35 showing position, form, and relation of the lugs; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of a blank, showing the cuts for the tongues merged at the center. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modification of structure.

Referring now to the drawings, A designates the plate of sheet metal upon which the pegs and screw-gears are mounted. It is intended to be formed complete in one or at most two operations in a suitably-formed die45 press (not shown) by dies suitably constructed to, first, in addition to cutting the marginal contour of the plate, as shown, punch the semicircular hole; second, form the lines of cut b' b² b^s, (meeting at b²,) leaving the metal 50 intact between the terminals b' b³ of the cut, and, thirdly, bend downward the tongue b, formed by the cut, so as to stand outward perpendicular to the general plane of the plate, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. These tongues b are arranged oppositely in pairs, as 55 shown, preferably leaving a central portion &⁴of the plate intact between each two tongues of a pair in order to maintain thegeneralstrength of the plate. This, however, is not absolutely essential, as the cuts b² b³ may merge toward 60 the point b², and the opposite cuts b' b' meet centrally at b², all as shown in Fig. 5, if preferred, thus somewhat simplifying the cuttingdie and also somewhat enlarging the tongues b, but at the expense, to some extent, of the 65 base-plate, which is thus deprived of the central bridge &⁴, separating the aperture produced by cutting and forcing out the tongues. In front of and midway between the tongues b the plate is perforated, as at c, for the 70 string peg or post p, which is preferably constructed as follows: The string-peg is larger in diameter than the perforation c, and is therefore turned down to form a shank o', exactly fitting the perforation c in diam- 75 eter and length, leaving a squared projection c² above the plate to receive the worm-wheel w, which is held in place by a screw s threaded axially into the end of the peg and securing the worm-wheel rigidly thereto. 8c

The worm-wheel and squared projection of the post may be so made as to secure a wedge fit, in order to constitute the lower face of the worm-wheel a projecting shoulder at one side of the plate to correspond with the 85 turned shoulder formed by reducing the shank c’ at the other, the object being to secure an accurate and permanent bearing for the peg in and upon the plate to resist all stresses and maintain an easily-operative re- 90 lation without rattling, &e.

The plate is usually made of brass or composite metal containing copper, which acquires hardness by bending, so that the tongues b acquire hardness by the operation 95 of forming. There are thus formed upon the plate and projecting above its face two opposite lugs or tongues b, with corresponding open semicircular recesses a, adapted to receive a screw-shaft turned from a single piece ico

548,448 strikes in order to limit the movement of the latter.

The parts being constructed and arranged as described, the operation of the controller is 5 as follows: The current from the feed-wire passes by way of the roller /, segment d³, lever d, roller d², and one of the contact members &, to a return-wire a³, leading to the rheostat. The contact members b are ario ranged to correspond to the plugs of the rheostat, so that the position of the roller d² upon the particular contact member b shall control the particular plug through which the current passes into and out of the rheostat. 15 In Fig. 1 the member indicated by the symbol x is the one where the least current is to pass, and the member indicated by the letter y is the one through which the maximum of the current is to be introduced by the way of 20 the rheostat to the motor, the intermediate members being connected to intermediate plugs of the rheostat that are graduated from one another, as is common. The segment d³takes the current from the truck /, the con25 tact members b taking current from the roller d². The roller d² and the contact members b are so constructed and spaced that the roller does not leave one member before it has made contact with a succeeding member, in order 30 to prevent sparking. When the roller is pushed so that it connects the last member y of the members b, the arm of the roller strikes the stop s to prevent the segment from leaving the truck and the roller from leaving a 35 contact member. When, however, the roller is pushed toward and beyond the particular member b that is designated by the symbol x, it does not encounter the stop s' until the roller has left the contact member b and the 40 segment d³ has broken contact with the truck /. By this means the circuit is broken in two places simultaneously. Instead of the feedwire of lever d taking the current from the truck by means of the segment b³ and the 45 truck / we may connect the feed-wire, as shown iu dotted lines in Fig. 1, with a segment r, secured to the framework, and make contact between the lever d and this segment by means of a roll r’> that may be connected with the roller d² in any desired way, or we 50 may make use of both devices for connecting the roller d² with the feed-wire.

Having thus explained the nature of our invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, though without at- 55 tempting to set forth all the forms in which it may be made or all the modes of its use,