US480696A - Azariait horace hastings - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

A. H. HASTINGS. PEDAL FOOT FOR PIANOS.

No. 480,696. Patented Aug. 9, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AZARIAII HORACE HASTINGS, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

PEDAL-FOOT FOR PIANOS.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of- Letters Patent No. 480,696, dated August 9, 1892.

Application filed March 24,1892- Serial No. 426,178. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AZARIAH HORACE IIAST- INGS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pedal-Feet for Pianos and Similar Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a latch pedal-foot for pianos and similar instruments where it is necessary to lock the pedal in a fixed position to produce any desired effect without continually holding the toe or foot upon the pedal, which will be inexpensive, neat in appearance, and can be adjusted by the footin its different positions independently of the other pedals or appliances, and which enables an artist to produce Eonfial gradations which have a beautiful ef- This invention consists in a latch -1ever which is applied under the pedal-foot, passing up through the front of the same, showing a little knob which is all that is exposed to view different from the ordinary pedal-foot, the back end passing up through the pedalfoot to operate and lock in the bottom rail of the case by the direct pressure of a spring upon the latch-lever, which is adapted to be locked by the pressure of the toe upon the pedal-foot and released and made to travel freely like the ordinary pedal by pressing the toe upon the knob I and pedal-foot, which keeps the latch from locking.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is a side view of a pedal-foot, latch-lever, and actuating-spring, and sectional view of the bottom rail and bottom board of the case, showing the pedalfoot and parts in a normal position with a toe pressing upon the pedal-foot in aposition to cause it to lock, and also a toe in a position to prevent it from looking or release it from a locked position. Fig. 2 shows the same depressed to itslowest position and locked with a toe in a position to cause it to lock. Fig. 3 represents my invention applied to the ordinary straight pedal-foot.

I have in Figs. 1 and 2 illustrated the horn pedal-foot arranged to pull down the traplever. It may be arranged to lift without any change of the locking device and the or dinary straight pedal-foot may be used, as shown in Fig. 3, in the same manner by passing the back end of the latch-lever into an aperture in the bottom rail to operate upon a catch and not be exposed to view or upon the front side, if the exposure is no objection.

I take the pedal-foot A of any ordinary construction and make a hole B through the front or toe end A. I construct a latch-lever C, situated under the pedal-foot A, extending it back to a position near or under the bottom rail D, where I pass it up through the pedal-foot and pivot-ally attach it to the pedalfoot A. The rear end of this latch-lever I run up to a height from the top surface of the pedal-foot a little longer than the required distance of the travel of the pedal-foot at that point and arrange the end to lock in notches E in the bottom rail. I arrange a spring F in a convenient position to press upon the lever and hold its back end against the bottom rail unless prevented by a pressure upon the other end or knob I of the lever, which passes up through the toe of the pedal-foot in the form of a knob and is the only part exposed to view and does not mar the appearance of the pedal-foot.

It will be observed that by pressing the toe G upon the pedal-foot, as shown in Fig. 1,the'

latch-lever is free to be actuated by the spring F, which presses the latch against the casebar D, and as the pedal-foot is depressed it will be free to pass into the notches E and lock in that position by a direct spring-pressure against the latch-lever and bottom rail, as shown in Fig. 2. To disengage the latch from its locked position, the toe H is pressed upon the knob I until the toe comes in contact with the pedal-foot. In this position the latch is disengaged and held free from looking in its travel, as shown in Fig.

hat I claim as my invention is 1. In a piano or similar instrument, the pedal-foot A, in combination with the latchlever 0, applied under the pedal-foot A and arranged to look by direct spi'iiigpi'essure, substantially as set forth.

2. The pedal-foot A, in combination with IGO pressure upon the bottom rail of the case or its equivalent, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 have signed my name, in pres- 15 ence of two Witnesses, this 22d day of March, 1892.

AZARIAH HORACE HASTINGS.

Witnesses:

HARRIE A. HASTINGS, JAMES HANLEY.

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