Device and method to secure a piano fallboard
OwnerMarlene Stenufinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method to secure a piano fallboard is provided. In one embodiment, a method of retaining the piano fallboard in the upright position includes securing the fallboard to the back panel with a fallboard retaining device. In another embodiment, a method of retaining the piano fallboard in the closed position includes securing the fallboard to the keyslip with the fallboard retaining device. The fallboard retaining device can be a clamping structure or a magnetic device.
Claims27
A method of retaining a piano fallboard in the upright position, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a piano comprising a vertical back panel, a keyboard, a keyslip supporting the keyboard, and a fallboard to protect the keyboard when the piano is not in use;
- and
- when the fallboard is in an upright position, releaseably securing the fallboard to the back panel with a fallboard retaining device coupled to one of a planar section of the fallboard and a lip of the fallboard.
A method of retaining a piano fallboard in a closed position, comprising the steps of:
- providing a piano comprising a vertical back panel, a keyboard, a keyslip supporting the keyboard, and a fallboard to protect the keyboard when the piano is not in use;
- and
- releaseably securing the fallboard to the keyslip with a fallboard retaining device comprising a first permanent magnet and a ferromagnetic material, the step of releasably securing the fallboard to the keyslip comprising lowering the fallboard within close proximity to the keyslip such that a magnetic field of the first permanent magnet attracts and holds the ferromagnetic material.
A fallboard retainer system for a piano, comprising:
- a piano housing;
- a vertical back panel secured to the piano housing, the back panel having a ferromagnetic plug coupled thereto;
- opposing cheeks extending from and secured to the piano housing;
- a keyboard positioned in a horizontal plane between the opposing cheeks;
- a keyslip extending between the opposing cheeks along a frontal portion of the keyboard;
- a fallboard to protect the keyboard when the piano is not in use, the fallboard positioned between the opposing cheeks and rotatably coupled to the piano housing, the fallboard being rotatable to an open state in an upright position and rotatable to a closed state in a horizontal position, the fallboard supported by the keyslip in the closed state and the vertical back panel in the open state;
- and
- a fallboard retaining device for retaining the fallboard in the upright position, the retaining device comprising a permanent magnet coupled to the fallboard, the magnet movable to a first position in which a magnetic field of the magnet attracts the ferromagnetic plug and holds the fallboard against the back panel, the magnet movable to a second position in which in which the magnetic field of the magnet does not attract the ferromagnetic plug and the fallboard is allowed to freely separate from the back panel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.