Patent Publication Number: US-3877501-A

Title: Protective jacket for string musical instruments

Description:
United States Patent Toth PROTECTIVE JACKET FOR STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS [76] Inventor: John S. Toth, 309 Mariellen St.,  
  Mishawaka, lnd. 46544 22 Filed: Sept. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 400,977  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,629,105 5/1927 Hoover 150/52 G Apr. 15, 1975 Primary ExaminerDonald F. Norton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John N, Randolph [57] ABSTRACT A protective jacket for the outer end portion of the box or body of a musical instrument such as a violin or viola. The jacket covers that portion of the box which comes into contact with parts of the body of the musician to protect the box from perspiration, to preserve the varnish which is critical to the tone of the instrument, and to prevent moisture from entering the edges of the box which are glued together and which could result in the edges opening up. The jacket may be quickly and easily applied and removed,&#39;and is preferably transparentso that it can be used not only for practice but also for concerts, especially outdoor summer concerts.  
 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PROTECTIVE JACKET FOR STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS SUMMARY It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a moisture proof or repellant jacket of extremely simple construction which can be readily applied to the portion of a musical instrument box which comes in contact with the body of the user to protect said portion from moisture which would otherwise damage the box.  
  Another object of the invention is to provide a jacket which is preferably transparent so that it would not be readily seen when in use, and which is provided with novel means for detachably securing it removably on the outer end of the instrument box.  
  Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a front elevational view ofa violin and showing the protective jacket applied thereto;  
  FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof, looking from left to right of FIG. 1;  
  FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the violin with the jacket applied, and  
  FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a violin showing a slightly modified embodiment of the jacket applied thereto.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring more specifically to the drawing and first with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a protective jacket designated generally 5 is shown applied detachably to the outer end of the box 6 of a violin 7.  
  The jacket 5 is formed of a thin, preferably transparent, material, such as cellophane, having the shape of an elongated narrow bag, including a front wall 8, rear wall 9 and an arcuate continuous side wall 10 constituting somewhat more than a semi-circle. A reinforcing border 11 which may constitute a rolled continuous edge of the jacket material extends across the upper or inner edges of the walls 8 and 9 and across the ends of the side wall 10. As seen in FIG. 1, the portion of the border 11 which extends across the front wall 8, is arcuately bowed inwardly with respect to said front wall to pass across the tailpiece 12 of the instrument, beyond the strings 13.  
  The end portions of the side wall 10 have reinforcing strips 14 secured to the inner sides thereof, as seen in FIG. 2. Longitudinally spaced openings 15 are formed in said end portions and extend through the strips l4.  
 Elastic securing means 16, such as an endless elastic band, is secured to each end of the wall 10, in any suitable manner, as by having an intermediate portion of each band passing through any one of the openings 15 to form two end loops. The loops of the two bands 16 engage over the ears or horns 17 of the box 6 for detachably securing the jacket 5 thereon, positioned as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. As thus disposed, the jacket 5 will completely cover and protect the outer end of the box 6 which comes in contact with the shoulder, neck and chin of the musician to prevent moisture, resulting from perspiration, coming into contact with the box 6 and damaging the varnish finish and glued seams. In addition, the jacket 5 by being transparent is substantially invisible at even a very short distance from the instrument 7, so that is may be utilized to protect the instrument at public performances.  
  FIG. 4 illustrates a slight modification of the jacket, designated generally 18, and which is formed of thin latex rubber or other similar material which is sufficiently elastic to permit the ends 19 of the arcuate side portion 20 to be stretched over the ears 17 for retaining the jacket 18 in its applied position of FIG. 4. The reinforcing border 21 of the jacket 18, corresponding to the border 11, sufficiently reinforces the portion 19 to withstand the tension applied to the jacket 18 by engagement of said portions 19 over the ears 17. The front side of the jacket 18 is shaped in the same manner as the front wall of the jacket 5 to extend across the tailpiece 12 below or beyond the strings 13.  
  Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention.  
 I claim as my invention:  
  1. A protective jacket for a musical instrument, such as a violin, said jacket comprising an elongated bagshaped body including a front wall, a rear wall and a side wall connecting said front and rear walls, said jacket being adapted to engage over the outer end of an instrument box, and elastic loops connected to end portions of said side wall and adapted to detachably engage over the ears of the box.  
  2. A jacket as in claim I, and means for adjustably connecting said elastic loops to the ends of said side wall for varying the tension exerted by the loops on the jacket.  
  3. A jacket as in claim 1, said body including a reinforcing border extending around the opening thereof.  
 1 4. Ajacket as in claim 3, the portion of the border extending across said front wall being arcuately bowed inwardly of said front wall to engage across the tailpiece of the instrument beyond the instrument strings.  
 5. A jacket as in claim 1, said jacket being formed of a flexible transparent material impervious to moisture,  
 such as cellophane.