Tone generation system

Claim 1

IN A TONE GENERATION SYSTEM FOR AN ELECTRONIC PIANO HAVING A STRING FRAME, A SERIES OF SPACED HITCH PINS AND A SERIES OF SPACED TUNING PINS, EACH PIN BEING SUPPORTED BY THE FRAME IN ELECTRICAL ISOLATION FROM EACH OTHER, A SERIES OF POLYPHONICALLY TUNED VIBRATORY STRINGS CORRESPONDING IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF NOTES IN THE PIANO AND EACH TENSIONABLY SUPPORTED BETWEEN ONE OF THE HITCH PINS AND ONE OF THE TUNING PINS IN A PLANE, MEANS CONNECTING SAID STRINGS TOGETHER IN A CONDUCTING CIRCUIT, AND MEANS FOR COUPLING THE ENDS OF THE CIRCUIT TO AN AMPLIFIER, THE IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINATION THEREWITH COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED NON-MAGNETIC BASE SUPPORTED BY THE STRING FRAME ADJACENT TO A GROUP OF STRINGS AND DISPOSED PARALLEL TO SAID PLANE; AND A GROUP OF FLAT WAFER-LIKE PERMANENT MAGNETS FIXEDLY SECURED IN FLATWISE RELATION AGAINST SAID NON-MAGNETIC BASE AND LYING IN THE PLANE OF THE STRINGS IN SPACED RELATION TO EACH OTHER, AND POLAR EDGES OF ADJACENT MAGNETS FACING DIRECTLY TOWARD EACH OTHER AND JOINTLY DEFINING AN AIR GAP THEREBETWEEN, THE POLES OF SAID MAGNETS BEING SO ARRANGED THAT EACH MAGNET HAS ONLY ONE MAGNETIC POLARITY AT SAID GAP.