Steinway Patents that Deal with Actions

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A search of all Steinway patents issued through April 4, 1885, when the last patent taken out by Theodor Steinway was issued, indicates that the following long list of patents dealt with actions:

* 17,238, H. Steinway, Jr., MAY 5, 1857, Pianoforte Action

* 20,595, H. Steinway, Jr., June 15, 1858, Pianoforte Action

* 32,386, H. Steinway, Jr., May 21, 1861, Pianoforte Action ? 32,387, H. Steinway, Jr., May 21, 1861, Pianoforte Action

* 34,910, H. Steinway, Jr., April 8, 1862, Improvement in Piano-Forte Actions

* 81,308, T. Steinway, August 18, 1868, Improvement in Piano-Fortes

* 93,647, T. Steinway, August 10, 1869, Improvement in Piano-Forte Actions

* 115,782, T. Steinway, June 6, 1871, Improvement in Piano-Actions

* 156,388, A. Steinway, October 15, 1874, Improvement in Piano-Forte Attachments

* 164,052, A. Steinway, June 1, 1875, Improvement in Piano Attachments

* 164,053, A. Steinway, June 1, 1875, Improvement in Piano Attachments

* 164,054, A. Steinway, June 1, 1875, Improvement in Piano Attachments

* 190,639, A. Steinway, May 8, 1877, Improvement in Piano-Forte Attachments

* 204,107, T. Steinway, May 21, 1878, Improvement in Piano-Forte Actions

* 205,696, T. Steinway, July 2, 1878, Improvement in Piano-Forte Repeating Actions

* 217,828, T. Steinway, July 22, 1879, Improvement in Devices for Leveling the KeyFrames of Piano-Fortes

* 219,323, T. Steinway, September 2, 1879, Improvement in Devicesfor Adjusting PianoForte Action Frames

* 226,462, T. Steinway, April 13, 1880, Piano-Action and Action-Frame ? 270,914, T. Steinway, January 23, 1883, Piano-Action

* 314,742, T. Steinway, March 31, 1885, Piano-Frame

The changes to the actions and pianos covered by the patents listed above can be summarized as follows:

* Many changes involve detailed improvements to the design of actions to make them perform better, e.g., be more responsive to the touch of the person playing the piano, repeat easier and more quickly, etc.

* Some of the patents involve changes to the design of the piano to reduce problems related to swelling and shrinking of wooden parts.

* A few patents involve changes to the design of the piano to make it easier to service the actions.

* A group of the patents involve changes to incorporate a sustenuto (tone sustaining) function.