Montal, Patent 9883, May 7, 1842

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Abner Holt
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Montal, Patent 9883, May 7, 1842 Since the introduction of escapement to the piano action, pianists have always complained of being unable to produce a strong or weak tone except by playing more

1 Montal, Patent 9883, May 7, 1842 Since the introduction of escapement to the piano action, pianists have always complained of being unable to produce a strong or weak tone except by playing more strongly or weakly and allowing the key to rise to the level of the other keys of the keyboard. i This leads to great difficulty in repetition of notes, cadences, and expression while playing. It is in order to reduce these problems and to give artists the ability to produce a stronger or weaker tone, depending on the level to which the key is allowed to rise, that I have invented a simple and certain means, which is applicable to the escapement mechanisms of all pianos, upright, vertical, square and grand. This means consists of a moving part supported by a spring, which I name escapement receiver because it is designed to receive the escapement after it leaves the nose. This receiver can take many forms and its pivot can be in many different places (fig. 1-5), depending on the design of the mechanism to which it is adapted. The supporting spring can be a spiral made of metallic wire (fig. 6) or, as usual, extended from a metallic wire circle (fig. 7), or flat like a watch spring (fig. 8).

When escapement occurs below, ii the receiver and its spring will be attached to the key, or on a part attached to the key, or on a lever moved by the key.

2 When escapement occurs below, ii the receiver and its spring will be attached to the key, or on a part attached to the key, or on a lever moved by the key. When escapement occurs above, it will be attached close to the hammer shank or close to the hammer butt. The receiver will always be attached so that one of its extremities A (figs. 1-5) will be placed at the level of the butt, or close to the place where escapement occurs, so that when the escapement leaves the nose, the receiver will give and allow escapement to occur. Let us begin by looking at its application to an upright piano action, to demonstrate clearly the repetition of notes at different levels of key dip, and the force of the hammer blow proportional to those levels (fig. 9 represents a key at rest, i.e. risen all the way). If the key is played to its entire depth, the escapement E will leave the nose N, go through its course, and arrive on the receiver R, which will be lowered by means of the pilote PP, raised for this purpose by the key. So the escapement will escape by descending from the top of the nose, the hammer will have gone through its entire course, and the blow, which I will represent in this case by 1, will have been at full force (see fig. 10, which represents the key fully depressed). If now you allow the key to rise by a certain amount, for example one quarter of its dip, the pilote PP will lower proportionally with the key, allowing the receiver R to rise by means of the spring R that presses it upward, and the escapement E will be lifted by the receiver and will return onto the nose N at a quarter of its course. It will be supported by the receiver which is a little slanted. If you replay the key, the hammer will be propelled

3 again and the blow will have only one quarter of the force of the first blow represented by 1. Similarly, if you allow the key to rise by half of its dip, the escapement, helped by the receiver, will return onto the nose at one half its course, and the key, played again, will give the hammer blow a force that will be half that represented by 1. This time the hammer will have traveled half its distance. You can see that the force given to the key by the finger will impart to the hammer a force proportional to the degree you have allowed the key to rise. I will note also, as part of my invention, the placement at a slant of a spiral spring, with felt punchings on each end, riding on a broach BB, together with a bushed mortise in the escapement, with one end placed against a slanted rail in which the broach is secured, the other on a shoulder made on the back of the escapement, the function of which spring is to return the escapement to its place, and at the same time to return the hammer. By this means I replace with great advantage the spring ordinarily placed behind the hammer butt, as well as the bridle tape used to return it to rest, which together with the brass flange F holding the hammer butt gives my action an unquestionable solidity, superior to that of all upright actions, and a promptness in the repetition of notes, resulting from the simultaneity of the movement of the hammer and the escapement, one being connected to the other by means of the spring. I will note that this action, which is particularly aimed at upright pianos and pianinos, can be used in square and grand pianos, by making a change in the design of the butt that allows the hammer shank to be horizontal. Application to square and grand pianos (Fig. 11 represents the action at rest).

In this action, if you play the key to its full depth, the escapement E goes through its entire course, and is now held only by the receiver R, which lowers under the

If you allow the key to rise by a certain amount, the receiver R will rise by the force of the spring B placed below it, and will make the escapement E return on top of

4 In this action, if you play the key to its full depth, the escapement E goes through its entire course, and is now held only by the receiver R, which lowers under the weight of the hammer and escapement, and allows the escapement to fall below the nose (see fig. 12, which shows the key fully depressed). If you allow the key to rise by a certain amount, the receiver R will rise by the force of the spring B placed below it, and will make the escapement E return on top of the nose N at a level proportional to that of the rising of the key, and the hammer blow will have a force relative to the level of the key, in keeping with what was described in the preceding action.

escapement E will pass from the nose N onto the receiver R, complete its course, and lie on the receiver, which the weight of the hammer will cause to go give way, allowing escapement to occur (see

5 As for square and grand pianos that escape above, whose actions are known as the English action, Petzold action, etc. (see figure 13 that shows a note of the English action at rest with the receiver adapted to that hammer shank), the receiver R is adapted to the shank A and if you press the key all the way down, the escapement E will pass from the nose N onto the receiver R, complete its course, and lie on the receiver, which the weight of the hammer will cause to go give way, allowing escapement to occur (see fig. 14 that represents a key in the down position). It is unnecessary to explain here the movement of the escapement E, which is similar to that of the same part in the other actions. I will remark as well that the receiver could be attached to the butt (fig. 15) rather than being fixed to the check that is glued to the shank. I will mention here that this adaptation of the receiver to the hammer that I have just described can be applied to pianos that are already made. Application to actions under the specific name of pianino actions (fig. 16 represents a note with the key at rest).

You should observe that here the receiver R as well as the spring R are attached to the butt N by a part that also serves at the same time to bring the hammer into check.

6 You should observe that here the receiver R as well as the spring R are attached to the butt N by a part that also serves at the same time to bring the hammer into check. The functioning of this action is the same as that of the preceding and produces the same effect. When you press the key and the escapement leaves the nose N, the extension of the receiver R will meet a button or pilote that will make it rock to allow escapement (see fig. 17 that shows a key at full dip). In this action the receiver R returns the hammer by force of its spring and allows one to omit the bridle tape used ordinarily to return it. The action known as tape check because of the strip of silk or leather used to return the hammer, and that is often used in obliquely strung upright pianos and pianinos, only differs from the one I described in the escapement button and the position of the damper. I will dispense with providing a drawing and description, as repetition at different heights of the key is produced in the same manner as in that of pianinos.

7 In the application to the action known as Mercier (fig. 18 shows a note with the key at rest), you can see that the receiver R is placed by the nut N of the hammer, and that it is pushed by the spring that here is found behind the butt. The repetition of notes at different heights is produced in the same way as in the preceding. We could remark that in this action the receiver can be placed in the same way as in that of the pianino (fig. 16 and 17), which will allow you to omit the spring placed behind the hammer. This action will suffice to show how the receiver can be adapted to other actions in which the escapement is on the key, and which will only differ from this in the way escapement is effected, which has no consequence for the application to and the effect of the receiver.

8 In its application to the Roller action, which escapes below (see fig. 19 that shows a note with the key at rest), you can see that the receiver R is situated below the part

9 that includes the nose N, and at the same level. When you press the key, the pilote P meets the button B and the receiver is lowered, to allow escapement to occur. Besides this, the movement of the escapement to produce repetition functions in the same way as in the preceding. In this action I will mention that you can omit the spring G placed behind the bracket, as well as the spring H placed behind the hammer butt, to make the escapement and the hammer function, and replace them with a spiral spring P placed at a slant and described in figures 9 and 10, to return the escapement and the hammer. As all actions require great precision in key dip, I have invented the placement of an adjustable capstan screw under the front of the key, so as to regulate dip with much more precision and ease than by ordinary means. It is marked in the drawings by the letter D. It remains for me to say that you can adapt the receiver to downward striking actions in square and grand pianos, to achieve the repetition of notes at different key depths in the same way. For whenever there is an escapement and a nose in any action whatsoever, you can conceive that a mobile part I call a receiver can be adapted, having the effect as I have explained, of holding the escapement until the key has fully depressed, and of making it re- set in proportion as you allow the key to rise, to produce a tone that has greater or lesser force. I will mention in closing that the receiver can be placed higher than the nose if escapement occurs below (fig. 20) or lower than the nose if escapement occurs above (fig. 21) to receive the escapement on an edge or nose, when it leaves the true nose N. The length of this description seemed necessary if one considers that there are a great number of piano actions, that my procedure is very simple, that the result obtained is very important, and that I have needed to seek to generalize the application in order to assure myself of exclusive rights by means of a patent. The attached drawings are on pages numbered 1 to 10. By M. Montal, maker of pianos, rue Dauphine, 36, passage Dauphine Escalier C. Daniel i [Montal s perspective is based on the square piano without escapement, in which one can always repeat a note, however little the key is allowed to rise. Thus, the ii [This means the escapement is attached to the hammer butt, and its lower part escapes, as will be seen in fig. 9.]

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