US1086648A - Mouse-guard attachment for piano-pedals. - Google Patents

Description

H. O. COLLIER. MOUSE GUARD ATTACHMENT FOR PIANO PEDALS. APPLICATION FILED 001. 18, 1912 1,086,648. Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

NESS INVENTOR4 of. 3. fi'/uy (fa/liar ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLAN o4 HENRY C. COLLIER, OF MEXIA, TEXAS.

MOUSE-GUARD ATTACHMENT FOR PIANO-PEDALS.

Application filed October 18, 1912.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY C. COLLIER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mexia, in the county of Limestone and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mouse-Guard Attachments for Piano-Pedals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful mouse guard attachment for piano pedals.

In the ordinary construction of upright pianos, the pedals project through slots pro vided in the lower front portion of the instrument, a few inches above the floor. In its normal position, a piano pedal occupies the upper portion of the slot, and a small aperture intervenes between the pedal and the bottom of the slot which is formed, as a rule, by the bottom member of the piano. In some makes of pianos, this aperture is of suflicient size to permit mice to enter the casing of the instrument, and even though the aperture may be in the first place too small to permit a mouse to pass, it has been found that mice will enlarge the aperture by gnawing, and thus enter the casing of the instrument. It has furthermore been found that the mechanism of the interior construction of pianos has been in many cases badly injured by the depredation of mice.

It is the object of the present invent-ion to avoid this injury to valuable property by securing an attachment to a piano pedal that will absolutely prevent mice from ontering the casing of the instrument through the aperture in which the pedal is mounted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described, that will b strong, durable, simple and eflicient and comparatively easy to construct.

With these objects in view, my invention has relation to certain novel features of the construction, an example of which is described in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of that portion of a piano casing through which a pedal projects, the herein-described device being shown attached to the pedal. Fig. 2 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view of the same, taken upon the line X-X of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail, perspective view of a metal plate, which forms the mouse guard proper.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 10, 1 914-.

Serial No. 726,466.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate similar parts in all the figures, the letter A denotes the front wall of a piano casing, and B designates one of the slots in the bottom portion of said wall, through which one of the piano pedals C projects. A member D forming the bot tom. of the piano casing, has its front edge projecting beneath the slot B forming a bottom thereto. A downwardly projecting lug E is formed integrally upon the pedal C, flush with the front wall of the casing, as is clearly shown in Fig, 2 of the drawing. This lug E is found on some makes of pianos and is supposed to exclude mice, and it is sh own merely to illustrate the fact that it would not interfere with the application of the herein described invention. Just in front of the lug E, a metal plate F, bent at right angle substantially at its center,

has one of its angular portions contiguously secured to the underside of the pedal by a means presently to be described. The other angular portion of the plate F projects downwardly beyond the lug E and then is inclined rearwardly at a downward inclination, so as to completely cover the aperture intervening between the lug E and the bottom member D of the casing.

The plate F is held in its proper relation to the pedal C by a clamping bracket of substantially U shape, one arm of said bracket being contiguous with the top surface of the pedal, and conforming to the shape of said surface, as designated by G, and the other arm of said bracket being made to project transversely beneath the pedal, a short space beneath the horizontal portion of the plate F, as indicated at H. A vertical clamping screw J is passed upwardly through the bracket arm H, and carries upon its upper end a clamping plate K adapted to bear against the horizontal portion of the plate F. From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the plate F may be securely engaged between the under side of the pedal 0 and the clamping plate K, this result being accomplished by tightening the clamping screw J.

It is to be noted that the clamp bracket does not detract from the appearance of the sides and top of the pedal. There are no upstanding lugs or projections on the top of the pedal to injure the players slippers or catch in her skirts. It has been found that owing to the irregular and tapered contours of pedals a clamp depending upon frictional engagement with the sides and top only of a pedal, will not hold and will be subject to displacement longitudinally ot' the pedal. The particular form of the plate F is not of consequence as the depending portion of the same is often bent to conform to a particular piano front construction.

What I claim is:

In a piano pedal guard the combination of an angular plate shaped to lie in contact with the under side of a pedal and having a depending flange adapted to cover the pedal opening in the front of an upright piano below the pedal, a flat clamp member adapted to embrace the piano pedal and lie flat on top of the same, said clamp having an under hanging portion adapted to lie under the plate and spaced below the same, a thumb screw threaded. upward through the underhanging portion of the clamp, and a flat follower plate swiveled on the upper end of the screw and adapted to impinge the under side of the plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY C. COLLIER.

lVitnesses CALLIE MORGAN, .T. S. MURRAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Pntentl,

Washington, D. G.

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