If you really want to know about the technology of the Hammond organ, the best place to get a true understanding about how the organ works is to read the patents. Here is a somewhat exhausting list of Hammond patents related to musical instruments (and a couple oddball Laurens Hammond patents not related to musical instruments...). You'll find a lot of information in the patents about concepts like LoudnessRobbing, KeyClick, etc. that really explains what is going on. There are also some patents listed here that were never used on any tonewheel Hammond organ. Here are a few of the patents issued to LaurensHammond and Hammond Organ Company engineers JohnHanert, Gilbert Smiley, W J Wehermann, Herbert Meinema, George Stephens and Thomas George:
Year Number Inventor(s) Title/Description
-1921 1,435,520 Hammond Stereoscopic Motion Picture (3d movies!)
-1929 1,719,805 Hammond Alternating Current Clock.
+1921 1,435,520 Hammond Stereoscopic Motion Picture (3d movies!).
+1929 1,719,805 Hammond Alternating Current Clock (synchronous motor driven)
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1934 1,956,350 Hammond Electrical Musical Instrument (original organ patent).
1936 2,036,892***Smiley Art of Producing Musical Sounds Electronically (RE20825).
1936 2,083,246***Smiley Electronic Musical Instrument(RE20831).
1937 2,099,204 Hammond Multiple Key Switch (keyboard switch contacts).
