US613513A

US613513A - George e

Info

Publication number: US613513A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1898-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 1915-11-01

Description

Patented Nov. I, I898.

G. E. HOFFMANN.

VIOLIN CHIN BEST.

(Application filed Dec. 10, 1897.)

("0 Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. IIOFFMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HORACE IV. BEEK, OF SAME PLACE.

VIOLIN CHIN-REST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,513, dated November 1, 1 898.

" Application filed December 10,1897. Serial No. 661,382. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. HOFFMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new 5 and useful Improvements in Violin Chin- Rests, of which the following is a specification. The principal object of my invention is to provide a chin-rest for the violin that may be applied thereto or removed therefrom and which in use will permit of the violin being held between the chin and the collar-bone without in any appreciable degree interfering with the Vibrations of the sounding-boards and the consequent music-producing qualities of the instrument.

Further objects of the invention will be disclosed more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists in the combination of a clamping portion adapted to be secured to the violin and an inflatable bag secured to the clamping portion and adapted to be contacted by the chin, so as to minimize the danger of interfering with the vibrations of the instrument.

The invention consists further and finally in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of my improved violin chin-rest; Fig. 2,

a perspective view of the clamp-bracket detached Fig. 3, a perspective view of the movable portion of the clamp; Fig. 4, a transverse section taken in line 4 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 a bottom plan view of the chin-rest.

In making my improved chin-rest I make a base-plate A, of hard rubber or other suitable material, of the desired size and shape. I make a groove a around the circumference of the base-plate and a soft elastic covering I B, adapted to be placed over the base-plate and to have its circumferential edge bent over the circumferential edge of the base-plate, as shown in Fig. 4. The circumferential groove a is first preferably covered or smeared with a cement before the edge of the cover is placed over it. The edge is then drawn into the groove against the cement by a cord or thread I), which is Wrapped around the cover, so as to closely draw it into the groove, as shown in the drawings. I then preferably place a metal band B around the edge of the base-plate, so as to inclose the edge of the cover and the cord or thread I), and thus give a finished appearance to the juncture between the base-plate and the cover as well as to protect the parts from wear, breakage, or displacement. The base-plate is provided with a hole through the opening into the space between the plate and the cover and a rubber tube C inserted in this hole and fastened in any desired way, although I prefer to have the inner end of the tube provided with a flange 0, which may be cemented or otherwise securely attached to the base-plate on the inside. This tube will naturally in the construction be inserted and secured in place before the cover is put on, as above described. Through means of this tube air may be blown into the space between the base-plate and the cover, so as to inflate the cover and cause it to protrude or bulge out, as shown in Fig. 4, and thus present a soft air-cushion to contact with the chin of the player.

In order to attach the chin-rest to the chin end of the violin, I attach to the base-plate a clamp-bracket D, which is shown detached in Fig. 2. As shown and as I prefer to make it, itis provided with lugs cl,havingholes by which it may be attached to the base-plate by screws, rivets, or in any other desired way. This clamp-bracket is provided with a slot d and with tongues d which may be struck out in the cutting, stamping, or formation of the clamp-bracket and afterward bent inwardly, as shown in Fig. l, to afford a guideway for the movable portion or member E of the clamp. This movable portion is shown detached and in perspective in Fig. 3. It consists of a thin strip of metal bent at the top into a hook e and provided with an inwardly-bent clamp E, adapted to receive and carry a pad (2, made of cork or other suitable material. The movable portion of the clamp is inserted in place with its hook extending out through the slot 01 of the clampbracket, and the tongues d are then bent around it, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, so as to retain it securely in place, while permitting it to be moved in or out toward or from the base-plate of the chin-rest. To effectthe inward movement of the movable portion of the clamp and to hold it in its in position, I use a lock F, pivoted to the clamp-bracket at f, and provide it with an extension f, extending under the hook of the movable member of the clamp, as shown in Fig. 1. The free end of the lock is provided with a hook F, adapted to be sprung over and to engage with the lower portion of the clamp-bracket, as shown in Fig. 1, to hold it in its locking or operative position. In order to prevent the escape of the air after the space between the base-plate and the cover has been filled to the desired extent by blowing through the tube 0 by the mouth or in any other desired way, I provide the under side of the baseplate with a clamp G, pivoted to the baseplate at g, which may be moved by a sidewise movement over the tube 0 and held in place by a headed pin g, so as to clamp and bear against the tube and collapse it, so that the air cannot escape, as shown in Fig. 5.

In the use of my improved chin-rest the hook F of the lock F is detached or loosened from its hold on the lower portion of the clampbracket, so that the movable member of the clamp may slide down to the limit of its movement away from the base of the chin-rest. The chin end of the violin is then placed between the base-plate and pad 6 on the lower end of the movable member of the clamp and the free or hook end of the lock then sprung into its locking position, (shown in Fig. 1,) which causes the movable member of the clamp to be drawn or moved in with its pad 6 against the lower side of the violin, and thus draw the upper side of the violin against the base-plate of the chin-rest and secure it firmly in place. To remove or detach the chin-rest from the violin, all that is necessary is to spring the hook f of the lock F loose or free from the lower portion of the clampbracket, when the movable member of the clamp will again move or fall down and loosen or free the violin. The chin-rest may thus be easily attached to the violin when it is desired to use the violin and detached from it when it is desired to remove it for any reason. \Vhat I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a violin chin-rest, the combination of a substantially rigid supporting-piece or base plate, means for securing such piece to a violin, and an air cushion or bag secured to the upper portion of the base-plate and adapted to be contacted by the chin, substantially as described.

2. In a violin chin-rest, the combination of a base-plate,means for securing the base-plate to a violin, an air bag or cushion secured to the outside of the base-plate, and valve mcchanism through which the bag is inflated and deflated, substantially as described.

3. In a violin chin-rest, the combination of a base-plate, an expansible cover secured thereon, means for filling the space between the plate and the cover with air and expanding the cover, means for preventing the escape of air, a clamp-bracket on which the chin-rest is mounted, a movable member of the clamp, and means for moving the movable member into operative position and looking it therein, substantially as described.

4. In a violin chin-rest, the combination of a clamp-bracket on which the chin-rest is mounted provided with a longitudinal slot and a guideway, a movable member arranged in the guideway and provided with a hooked end protruding through the slot, and a lock engaging the hooked end of the movable member for moving it into its operative position and looking it therein, substantially as described.

5. In a violin chin-rest, the combination of a clamp-bracket 011 which the chin-rest is mounted provided witha longitudinal slot and a guideway, a movable member arranged in the guideway and provided with a hooked end protruding through the slot, and a pivoted lock provided with an extending portion engaging the hooked end of the movable memher for moving it into its operative position and with a hook engaging with the lower portion of the clamp-bracket forlockin g the movable member in its operative position, substantially as described.

GEORGE E. HOFFMANN.

IVitnesses:

THOMAS A. BANNING, THOMAS E. McGREcoR.