IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE MUSIC STANDS AND OTHER SIMILAR STANDS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ward, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE MUSIC
STANDS AND OTHER SIMILAR STANDS."
Sealed the 13th June 1878, and dated the 1st January 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ward at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st January 1878.
JOHN WARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
PROVEMENTS IN PORTARLE MUSIC STANDS AND OTHER SIMILAR STANDS."
" IM-
My Invention consists in combining with or adapting to music stands and other
similar stands an expanding and collapsible foot or base part constructed as herein-
after described, the expanding and collapsing of the said foot or base part being
effected by a sliding motion, as herein-after-explained...
By constructing the foot or base part of the stand according to my Invention
the stand is made very portable, light, and compact, and the parts are readily
expanded for use and collapsed for transit.
I will describe my Invention as applied to a music stand:-On the tubular pillar
of the stand a collar or short tube slides; this sliding collar is furnished with three
equidistant radial arms, which are slotted, the slotted arms constituting three pairs
of knuckles. Between the knuckles of each of the radial arms of the sliding collar
the upper end of a metallic rod is jointed, the said rods being a little longer than
the tubular pillar of the stand; these jointed rods constitute the essential parts
of the expanding and collapsible foot or base of the stand, as herein-after
explained.
To the bottom of the tubular pillar of the stand a triangular or three-arm plate
is fixed, the arms of the triangular-shaped plate being of somewhat greater length
than those of the sliding collar before described, to which the base rods are
jointed.

page_text: Near the ends of the arms of the triangular-shaped plate holes are made, through
which holes the jointed base rods on the sliding collar are passed. The holes in the
triangular-shaped plate are situated at a greater distance from the axis of the
tubular pillar than the jointed ends of the base rods described, and the said holes
are sufficiently large to permit of the rods having some play in them. The rods
described, the sliding collar to which they are jointed, and the fixed triangular-
shaped plate through which the said rods work, constitute an expanding and
collapsible foot or base part to the stand.
By sliding the collar carrying the base rods from the top to near the bottom of
the pillar of the stand, the said rods, in consequence of the position of the holes in
the fixed triangular plate with respect to the sliding collar, are forced outwards or
expanded, and form a tripod foot or base to the tubular pillar of the stand; and as
the tripod foot is nearly equal in length to that of the tubular pillar, the height of
the stand is nearly doubled.
By sliding the collar upwards on the pillar or from the fixed triangular plate,
the base rods are drawn inwards or collapsed by the fixed plate through which
they work, the said rods lying nearly parallel with the tubular pillar.
The rods, constituting the expanding and collapsible foot or base part of the
stand, are fixed in their expanded and collapsed positions respectively by means of
a binding screw on the sliding collar binding the said collar securely to the tubular
pillar.
•
Instead of three rods for forming the foot or base part of the stand four or other
number of rods may be used. In this case a corresponding number of pairs of
knuckles are made on the sliding collar, and holes in the fixed plate.
The telescopic or sliding rod which works in the tubular pillar of the stand, and
the rest or holder which supports the music or other article, are of the ordinary
construction, and constitute no part of my Invention.
The stands, besides music stands, to which my Invention may be applied, are
stands for supporting programmes, books, pictures, and the like

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Ward in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th June
1878.
JOHN WARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
PROVEMENTS IN PORTABLE MUSIC STANDS AND OTHER SIMILAR STANDS."
"IM-
My Invention consists in combining with or adapting to music stands and other
similar stands an expanding and collapsible foot or base part constructed as herein-
after described, the expanding and collapsing of the said foot or base part being
effected by a sliding motion, as herein-after explained.
By constructing the foot or base part of the stand according to my Invention
the stand is made very portable, light, and compact, and the parts are readily
expanded for use, and collapsed for transit.
I will describe my Invention as applied to a music stand-On the tubular pillar
of the stand a collar or short tube slides; this sliding collar is furnished with three
equidistant radial arms which are slotted, the slotted arms constituting three pairs
of knuckles. Between the knuckles of each of the radial arms of the sliding collar
the upper end of a metallic rod is jointed, the said rods being a little longer than
the tubular pillar of the stand; these jointed rods constitute the essential parts
of the expanding and collapsible foot or base of the stand, as herein-after
explained.
To the bottom of the tubular pillar of the stand a triangular or three-arm plate
is fixed, the arms of the triangular-shaped plate being of somewhat greater length
than those of the sliding collar before described, to which the base rods are
jointed.
Near the ends of the arms of the triangular-shaped plates holes are made, through
which holes the jointed base rods on the sliding collar are passed. The holes in
the triangular-shaped plate are situated at a greater distance from the axis of the
tubular pillar than the jointed ends of the base rods described, and the said holes
are sufficiently large to permit of the said rods having some play in them. The
rods described, the sliding collar to which they are jointed, and the fixed triangular-
shaped plate through which the said rods work, constitute an expanding and
collapsible foot or base part to the stand.
By sliding the collar carrying the base rods from the top to near the bottom of
the pillar of the stand, the said rods, in consequence of the position of the holes in
the fixed triangular plate with respect to the sliding collar, are forced outwards or
expanded and form a tripod foot or base to the tubular pillar of the stand; and as
the tripod foot is nearly equal in length to that of the tubular pillar, the height of
the stand is nearly doubled.
By sliding the collar upwards on the pillar or from the fixed triangular plate,
the base rods are drawn inwards or collapsed by the fixed plate through which
they work, the said rods lying nearly parallel with the tubular pillar.
The rods, constituting the expanding and collapsible foot or base part of the
staud, are fixed in their expanded and collapsed positions respectively by means of
a binding screw on the sliding collar binding the said collar securely to the tubular
pillar.
I will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawing,
the manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figures 1 and 2 represent elevations of a portion of a portable music stand
provided with an expanding and collapsible foot or base constructed according to
iny Invention, the foot or base being represented in its collapsed position, and
ready for transit in Figure 1; and in its expanded position, and ready for use in
Figure 2.
Figure 3 represents in plan, drawn of the full size, a portion of the tripod foot
or base in its expanded state.

page_text: Figure 4 represents in plan and Figure 5 in side elevation, separately drawn of
the full size, the three-arm sliding collar or short tube to which the rods of the
foot are jointed; and Figure 6 represents in plan and Figure 7 in side elevation,
separately drawn of the full size, the fixed triangular plate by which the expanding
and collapsing of the tripod rods are effected.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawing.
. a is the tubular pillar of the music stand, in which the telescopic or sliding rod
supporting the music rest or holder works. On the said tubular pillar a is a collar
or short tube b, capable of sliding freely upon it. This sliding collar is furnished
with three equidistant radial slotted arms marked respectively b², 62, the said slotted
arms 62, 62, constituting three pairs of knuckles, between which the upper flattened
ends of the metallic rods c, c, are jointed, the said rods c, c, constituting the
expanding and collapsible foot or base of the stand. The said base rods c, c, are
a little longer than the tubular pillar a of the stand, as represented.
On the bottom of the tubular pillar a of the stand a triangular or three-arm
plate d is fixed, the arms d² of the said plate being of somewhat greater length
than those of the slotted collar b, b, to which the base rods c are jointed. Near
the end of the arms d², d, of the fixed triangular plate d holes e, e, are made,
through which the base rods c, jointed to the sliding collar b, b³, are passed and
work. The position of the holes e, e, in the fixed triangular plate d, d, with
respect to the knuckles 62, 62, of the sliding collar b is best seen in Figures 2 and 3.
The holes e in the fixed plate d, d², are not made perpendicular to the said plate,
but are slightly inclined thereto, and the said holes are sufficiently large to allow
of a little play of the base rods c, c, in them, as best seen in Figure 6.
In opening out or expanding for use the tripod foot or base of the stand,
Figure 1, the collar b, 62, is moved from the top of the tubular pillar a of the stand
to near the bottom thereof. By thus sliding the base rods c, jointed to the said
sliding collar b, 62, the said rods are, in consequence of the position of the holes e, e,
in the fixed plate d with respect to the said sliding collar, forced outwards or
expanded and form a tripod foot of nearly the same length as that of the tubular
pillar a, thereby nearly doubling the height of the stand, as represented in
Figure 2.
By sliding the collar b, 62, upwards on the pillar a into the position represented in
Figure 1, the base rods c, c, are drawn inwards or collapsed by the action of the
fixed plate d, d, through which they work, and the stand is ready for transit, the
base rods c, c, lying nearly parallel with the tubular pillar a, as represented.
The sliding collar b, 62, and base rods c, c, constituting the tripod foot are fixed in
their expanded and collapsed positions respectively by the binding screw f on the
said sliding collar binding the said collar securely to the tubular pillar a, as seen
in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Instead of three rods for forming the foot or base part of the stand, as described
and illustrated, four or other number of rods may be used. In this case a corre-
sponding number of pairs of knuckles 6* are made on the sliding collar b and holes e
in the fixed plate d, d².
The telescopic or sliding rod which works in the tubular pillar a of the stand,
and the rest or holder which supports the music or other article, are of the ordinary
construction, and constitute no part of my Invention.
The stands, besides music stands, to which my Invention may be applied, are
stands for supporting programmes, books, pictures, and the like.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention
of improvements in portable music stands and other similar stands, constructing
an expanding and collapsing foot or base part for the said stands in the manner
herein-before described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, whereby
the expanding and collapsing of the said foot or base part are effected by a sliding
motion of the said foot or base part on the pillar of the stand, that is to say, an

page_text: expanding and collapsing foot or base, consisting of a series of three or more rods
jointed to a collar sliding on the pillar of the stand, the said rods passing through
and working in holes in a fixed plate on the bottom of the said pillar, the several
parts being constructed, arranged, or combined, and working substantially as
described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ward, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOHN WARD. (L.S.)