United States Patent (19) 11 4,092,895 Zabel 45 June 6, 1978 54 ELECTRONICPIPE ORGAN CONTROL input signals therefrom, and respectively convert same SYSTEM into a time based serial digital signal wherein each note 76) Inventor: William P. Zabel, 81 18 N. Sakaden of the keyboard occupies a particular interval of time in Pkwy., Fort Wayne, Ind. 46825 the digital signal. The serialized signal of an input regis ter propagates through a digital delay line at a predeter 21 Appl. No.: 747,536 mined clock frequency. Selected ones of the delayed 22 Filed: Dec. 6, 1976 digital signals provided thereby are tapped to derive octave and mutation pitch signals. Accessory circuits (51) Int. C.’................................................ G10B 3/10 receive the serialized digital signals and using combina 52 U.S. C. .......................... as 84/345; 84/337; tional and sequential digital techniques modify the digi 84/341 tal signals to provide reiteration, pizzicato, sostenuto (58 Field of Search ..................... 84/1.01, 1.03, 1.17, and the like effects. The tapped signals and modified 84/337-339, 341, 343-345 signals are selectively combined with logical gates (56) References Cited under the control of the organ "stops” to provide the U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS unification and accessory functions. The combined digi tal signals are routed to control specified organ pipes 3,160,051 12/1964 Guenther ............................... 84/337 through a plurality of rank drivers which receive the 3,501,990 3/1970 Jappe et al. ............................ 84/337 serialized signals and produce a plurality of periodically Primary Examiner-Edith S. Jackmon updated parallel signals therefrom to effect sound re Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ronald D. Welch production in response to the signals generated by the 57 ABSTRACT organ manuals, stop keys, and accessory circuits. A solid state electronic relay system for a pipe organ having at least one input register connected to one or more organ manuals, respectively, to receive parallel 40 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures FROM FROM NPU COUPER ABS PtC STT3B rank-stop RANK REGISTERS REGISTERS COMBINERS DRIVERS an co s 4- 76 FLUTE RC tes its 80 60 sc Ek RS o 104 GREAT 3. STRING RO X. fo 2. 62 o soste- 2. S No S. - - 04 e s DIAPASON D s 2 ACOMP, 64 s 19 2nd T. 2 - o s e 3. S REED D se 4. S s 56 2 . PEDAL is s 2 PDA PERCUSSIOND 194 2nd T. ls 4 Till CONRO o 2- groups DRIVER swell. shoes, Trn Tass, TMING OOP TO to Pastons A MODULES Wits Al 3os EFFTs cool s4. U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 1 of 7 4,092,895 SLENEWA S3 Ho O. SoYNod EX WG3d ONY WNWM W.O. U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 2 of 7 4,092,895 224 232 24-O U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 3 of 7 4,092,895 NZWZWŽVZV7V\/\/ ×3072 z6Z aO a U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 4 of 7 4,092,895 36e i 366 N- - - - - - - - - 4-28 Q - - - - - - Q urus as us up - - - as asS. G8 . Q 4-os D. C. 4O6 D C c N T 4-4d N 392 396 1 - 4-3 U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 5 of 7 4,092,895 4.5% 460 - 4-02. 4-58 4e) 4-06 4-56 X- u R 476 Z Vs- a S a2 u 4-52 l C ------- -l. N----- " - Q. --J S 2 ------ ------------- 3-------------- r ------ amm-m- an am - - an are m l-- -------------- Šala U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 6 of 7 4,092,895 DOM MAJ. FFTH 644 64-2. U.S. Patent June 6, 1978 Sheet 7 of 7 4,092,895 y 800 OCTAVE SEC 796 74-4- D S 794 72 e C No SEEc 4,092,895 1. 2 with the sound or “voice' of a flute and wherein the ELECTRONIC PIPE ORGAN CONTROL SYSTEM lowest pitch pipe was an 8 foot pipe, and it was desired to add a rank of pipes also having the sound or voice of BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION a flute but with the lowest pitch being a 4-foot pipe, it is 1. Field of the Invention necessary in a classical organ, to add an entire sixty-one The present invention relates to pipe organs and in rank of pipes having a 4 foot pipe as the lowest pitch particular to a solid state, electronic relay or control pipe in the rank. Ultimately, this led to the concept of system for use in such a pipe organ. "unification'. 2. Description of the Prior Art In its simplest terms, unification is the technique of The pipe organ in its earliest and simplest forms con 10 expanding or extending pipes having a particular sisted of a single group or "rank” of pneumatically "voice' such that it, (the extended rank) can be used as activated pipes with individual ones of the pipes being if it were in fact two or more ranks of the same voice. operated by a single key of a keyboard or "manual'. For example, ifa organ includes an 8 foot flute "voiced' The individual pipes were coupled to a plenum or rank of pipes, and it is desired to add a 4 foot flute "wind chest' through a valve, individual ones of the 15 voiced rank of pipes, it is only necessary to extend the valves being coupled mechanically to particular indi treble end of the 8 foot rank by twelve (one octave) vidual ones of the manual keys. As the musical demands additional pipes. The rank now comprises 73 pipes in on pipe organs grew, additional ranks of pipes and addi stead of 61 and includes all of the pipes necessary for tional manuals were continuously added to the basic both an 8 foot and a 4 foot rank of flute voiced pipes. By pipe organ. Each individual pipe of the organ was still, 20 operatively connecting the 61 lower (in pitch) pipes to however, operated exclusively by a single key of the a 61 key manual, and/or the 61 higher (in pitch) pipes to manual. This type of organ is referred to as a "tracker' the manual, the organ is provided with substantially the Organ. same versatility as would be achieved by providing it The next significant development in the organ was with two separate 61 flute voiced ranks. the addition of the stop key, or simply, "stop', which 25 To effect such a system, each key of a manual is used enabled operation of more than one rank of pipes from to operate an electrical switch which in turn operates a each key of a manual. By selectively engaging one or note relay. Each of the note relays distributes control more of the stops, a single key would energize one or voltage to a plurality of secondary contacts and simulta more pipes, each in a different rank. neously establishes control isolation between the Various schemes evolved for playing more and more 30 contacts when the note key is idle. A stop is derived by ranks of pipes from a single manual and to permit some cabling a single contact from each note relay of a man degree of flexibility in the location of the manuals with ual to a "stack switch' which is simply a 61 pole single respect to the organ pipes. All such organ architectures throw switch operated from a stop switch of the con had one feature in common, however, in that any partic sole. The secondary contacts of the stack switches are ular pipe could be played only from a single key of a 35 connected to a multi-wire buss, the buss also being con single manual via a single stop. Thus, if it was desired to nected to the secondary contacts of other stack add an additional musical pitch or "voice' which could switches. The secondary contact buss is routed to the be activated or sounded from a certain manual, it was chest magnets controlling the pipes of a certain rank. necessary to add an entire rank of additional pipes Thus configured, the relay system comprised an elab which were in turn connected to the manual via a stop. orate switching matrix. Thus, using the same example, if Subsequently, the concept of a coupler was added to an organ has an 8 foot stop of a particularly voiced rank the pipe organ, the coupler being an additional control and it is decided to add a 4 foot stop of the same voice resembling a stop but which enabled operation of a which can be operated from the same manual as the 8 particular group of ranks from a manual other than the foot rank, it is not necessary to install an entire addi manual with which the group was primarily associated 45 tional rank as the case with classical organs. Rather, it is or, in the alternative, to enable operation of the group only necessary to extend the treble end of the existing 8 from one or more additional keys of the same manual. foot rank by 12 pipes, extend the treble end of the sec These couplers were referred to as inter-manual and ondary switch buss by 12 wires, and install another key intra-manual couplers, respectively. This system did switch electrically displaced 12 wires from the first one. not, however, permit coupling of an individual stop 50 This results in a system having a high degree of musical activated rank to a different manual or different keys of versatility.