AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR PIANOS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
A
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR PIANOS AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS."
communication from abroad by William Virgil Wallace, of Dorset, Vermont,
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lako at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th January 1879.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. 'AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR PIANOS AND OTHER
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS." [A communication from abroad by William Virgil Wallace,
of Dorset, Vermont, United States of America.]
The object of this Invention is to furnish in the convenient form of a caster a
buoyant support for a piano or similar musical instrument that will admit of freer
vibrations of the instrument than when it rests upon more rigid standards. For
this purpose I employ metal cups which serve to hold packing and form the frame
of the said caster, which is set into the bottom of the instrument's legs and secured
with screws.
An arm is provided to hold the roller with a shoulder adapted to rest
on the said packing and sustain the weight of the instrument; it is held vertically
by passing through the frame, above which is a pin or nut to retain and permit
upward movement of the said roller arm, a hole being made in the leg to adinit of
this movement.
Experiments have proved that skeleton frames of wood in the cup, also very thin
steel tubes perforated with numerous holes, thin wooden washers with rubber and
metal layers between, thin steel with rubber, leather, felt, hair, straw, and the like
may be used, but the best results are obtained by the use of cork which acts
approximately as a suspender of the instrument, its clasticity and buoyancy
permitting a freer vibration of the instrument than would be possible if the same
were diverted to a carpet or other more sound-deadening material than the cork.
This contrivance will be found very effective where the piano has a hard unsympa-
thetic tone, well illustrated in the ordinary upright piano, and by freeing its
vibrations greatly improves its musical quality.

page_text: I place in the said cup two wooden washers and about one half inch thickness of
cork. An iron washer rests on the shoulder and permits it to rovolve with the said
roller. The inner space in the cup should be about one inch deep and one and one
half inches wide, but the details of size and shape of the parts of the said casters
may be modified at will.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
July 1879.
William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "AN IMPROVED CASTER FOR PIANOS AND OTHER
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS." A communication from abroad by William Virgil Wallace,
of Dorset, Vermont, United States of America.
The object of this Invention is to furnish a pianoforte or similar musical instru-
ment with an elastic or yielding support which is constructed in the convenient
form of a caster, and which will permit a more free vibration of the instrument
than when the same rests upon rigid standards or supporters. The said Invention
consists chiefly in the employment of elastic packing in the manner hereinafter
specified.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a vertical section illustrating the application of the same to the log of
a pianoforte.
Figure 2 is a vertical sectional elevation illustrating a modification of the said
Invention.
In applying the said Invention in the form shewn in Figure 1, I employ a metal
cup a which serves to hold the packing. This cup is arranged in combination with
the swivelling frame b of the caster, and is inserted into the bottom of the instru-
ment's leg, and secured by screws or by other suitable means. The swivelling
frame or arm b which holds the roller has a shoulder b¹ which forms a bearing for
the packing c, c¹, c², and sustains the weight of the instrument. This frame is held
vertically by its pin b² which passes up through the cup a at the top of the same,
and is provided at d with a nut or other means to keep the said frame in place in
the cup while leaving freedom for the vertical movement duo to the elasticity of
the packing, a hole being made above the cup in the leg to receive the end of the
pin and afford space for this vertical movement.
The said packing may be formed of skeleton frames of wood placed in the cup a,
or of very thin steel tubes perforated with numerous holes; or I may use for this
purpose thin wooden washers with layers of india rubber and metal between them,
or thin steel combined with india rubber, leather, felt, hair, straw, and the like, but
the best results are obtained by the use of cork which acts approximately as a
suspender of the instrument, its elasticity or yielding capacity permitting a com-

page_text: paratively free vibration of the said instrument by preventing any diversion of
its vibrations to a carpet or other material more sound-deadening than the
cork.
This packing will be found very effective where the instrument has a hard
unsympathetic tone, which is frequently the case with an ordinary upright piano,
as the said packing by freeing its vibrations greatly improves its musical
quality.
In the apparatus shown in Figure 1, I form this packing by placing in the cup a
two wooden washers c, c', with cork c about '/, inch thick between them. An iron
washer rests on the shoulder b¹ of the caster and permits it to revolve freely with
the roller. The inner space in the cup a is preferably about one inch deep, and
one and one half inch in diameter, but it is obvious that the size, shape, and
arrangement of the parts of this device may be considerably modified.
In the modification illustrated in Figure 2 the cup a is dispensed with, the cork c³
is placed in a recess in the instrument's leg above the metal washer which
is secured to the leg by screws or otherwise.
This Invention may be applied to reed and other organs.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I am aware of cork having been used as an insulator in an instrument known
as "Dr. Franklin's Harmonicon," I therefore do not claim the use of cork broadly
as an insulator for all instruments, but I claim,-
First. A caster provided with a cushion or packing formed of cork or equivalent
material and arranged to prevent the dispersion of the vibrations and form an
elastic support for a pianoforte or other like musical instrument, substantially as set
forth.
Second. The improved caster constructed with the cup containing the cork or
similar clastic or yielding packing arranged in combination with the revolving roller
arm or frame which is provided with a shoulder adapted to form a bearing for
the cushion or packing and sustain the instrument, substantially as shown and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)