IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSIC STOOLS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Morgan-Brown at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th June 1882. Communicated to
him from abroad by Edouard Calix Toussaint of Zurich Switzerland
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN Patent Agent of 38 Southampton Buildings London,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSIC STOOLS Communicated to him from abroad by
"
Edouard Calix Toussaint of Zurich Switzerland
The music stools till now in use the seat of which can be raised or lowered are
mostly provided with a spindle and therefore the motion is given by turning the
stool around said spindle. The shape is consequently a round one which scarcely
admits the use of a back. As long as the music stool is new, the spindle will work
well, but it very soon works loose, and inevitably the whole seat will totter
or shake.
This music stool is square shaped and is provided with a device by means of
which the seat may be raised or lowered without any turning The mechanism
made of cast iron or malleable cast iron is cheap, and will have no wear and tear, so
that the seat, after many years use will always be a solid and sure one.
The seat board is supported by four racks, guided in the four legs of the stool.
The mechanism is established on two iron plates, fastened along the fore and aft
rails of the stool, and a transverse shaft with two tappets or teeth by turning to the
right or to the left, causes the seat board to be raised or lowered. As the seat when
raised offers an ugly aspect, by the space formed between it and the rails, the seat
may be provided at its edges with fringes or any other similar decorations to cover
the space.
Two iron guide plates, fastened along the rails, support all the moveable parts of
the mechanism and dove tail shaped grooves receive the racks of the seat board
A plate on the guide plate is worked by a tooth of the traverse shaft up and
down. Bolts bearing teeth and guided by slots catch and stop the racks; these
bolts are provided with a spring, which gives them tendency always to push forward
their teeth into the racks. Two other lovers, also bearing a tooth, alternately with
the teeth of the bolts, catch into the rack and are lodged on the bolts. These levers
have forked ends, and pins of the plate worked by the shaft, turn in these forked
ends the levers around their fulcrum.
Now when the seat has to be lowered, the shaft is turned by a key placed on the
square end of the shaft, which is sunk into the wood of the chair, to the left, about

page_text: one eighth of a circle and back again. Thereby the racks will be lowered for one
tooth and when this rocking motion of the shaft is repeated the seat board will
descend for another tooth, and so on. When the shaft is turned to the right the
opposite results will be obtained and the seat board will rise.
In turning to the left, the plate and two pins on it will be driven upwards
These pins drive two other plates, which bring out the bolts bearing the teeth and
pushed by the spring, one bolt to the right, the other one to the left. While the
teeth are leaving the racks, the teeth of the forked lever will enter, but by the
continued motion of these levers, they are turned around their fulcrum and lower
the racks.
Now follows the back motion of the shaft. The pins have much play in the
forked ends of the levers, the levers therefore will rest a moment while the plates,
which move the bolts, with their teeth turn back, and the bolts with their teeth
advance, driven by the spring, thereby withdrawing the teeth of the levers. As soon
as this is done the pins striking the after branch of the forks bring the levers back
into the middle position, which may be forwarded by flat springs.
It will be easily understood how the lift of the seat board is obtained by turning
the key to the right. To avoid the tottering of the music stool on unequal ground
the legs are provided with threaded bolts, receiving nuts of the form of bushes, so
that by turning these bushes the music stool will stand fast even on the worst
floor.