Abstract:
Disclosed are a musical instrument stand and a musical instrument stand and musical instrument hanger that are portable and compact. The device has a wide, sturdy base that is capable of holding musical instruments without marring or scratching the finish of the musical instruments. In addition, in accordance with one embodiment, the device can be used as a hanger to hang musical instruments from a wall.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a continuation of U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/247,726, filed Jul. 6, 2006, entitled “Guitar Stand” by Jonathan Tai, the entire contents of which is hereby specifically incorporated herein for all that it discloses and teaches. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Musical instrument stands are useful devices that allow musicians to place their musical instruments in a device that allows easy access to the musical instrument and holds the musical instrument in an upright position. Typical instrument stands are bulky and are difficult to carry while traveling. It would therefore be desirable to have a musical instrument stand that can be used for fixed or portable use, compact and can hold a musical instrument in an upright and secure position that will not damage the musical instrument. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An embodiment of the present invention may therefore comprise a musical instrument stand that supports musical instruments having body portions comprising: a base that is formed in a rounded annulus that creates a central opening and two side portions on opposite sides of the central opening, the two side portions recessed to form a first groove that supports a body portion of a first musical instrument, the two side portions having a second groove that supports a body portion of a second musical instrument, the second groove being smaller than the first groove and disposed inside the first groove, the two side portions providing two separated support locations for the body portions of the musical instruments; a support arm that is pivotally attached to the base that pivots from a closed position to an open position; a support head attached to the support arm that provides a third support location for the body portions of the musical instruments; protective pads disposed on the base and the support head that prevent the body portions of the musical instruments from damage. 
   The present invention may further comprise a method of supporting musical instruments having body portions using a musical instrument stand comprising: providing a base that is formed in a rounded annulus that creates a central opening and two side portions on opposite sides of the central opening, the two side portions recessed to form a first groove that supports a body portion of a first musical instrument, the two side portions having a second groove that supports a body portion of a second musical instrument, the second groove being smaller than the first groove and disposed inside the first groove, the two side portions providing two separated support locations for the body portions of the musical instruments; providing a support arm that has a support head; pivotally attaching the support arm to the base so that the support arm and the support head pivot between a closed position and an open position; supporting the body portions of the musical instruments at a third support location with the support head when the support arm is located in the open position. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention illustrating a support arm in several positions. 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is another isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view of another embodiment of the present invention illustrating the musical instrument stand in a folded position. 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 6  is another isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  illustrating the manner in which the musical instrument stand can hold an instrument. 
       FIG. 9  is an isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  illustrating the manner in which the musical instrument stand can hold an instrument. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  is a side view of one embodiment of a musical instrument holder. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the musical instrument holder includes a base  102  and a support arm  104  that is shown in  FIG. 1  in a raised position  105 , a middle position  106  and a lower position  108 . In the raised position  105 , the body of the instrument, such as the body of guitar  114 , rests against a support head pad  112  of a support head  110  that is located on the support arm  104 . The bottom of the musical instrument rests in a groove  116  across the base  102 . A groove pad  118  is a soft padded material that is disposed in the groove  116  to protect the guitar  114  from damage. In addition, a rear base pad  120  and a front base pad  122  are also made of a soft padded material and are disposed in a larger groove  115  in the base  102 . The larger groove  115  in base  102  is capable of accommodating the body of larger musical instruments, such as acoustic guitars, cellos, etc., while the groove  116  is capable of accommodating instruments with smaller bodies, such as electric guitars, violins, etc. The rear base pad  120  and the front base pad  122  prevent the body of the larger instruments from being scratched or otherwise damaged on the base  102 . The base  102  and support arm  104  can be made of a plastic material that is durable and will not easily break. The support arm  104  rotates around a support arm pivot  103  from a raised position  105  to the lowered position  108 . In the raised position  105 , the base of the support arm  104  contacts a stop to prevent further rotation of the arm in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in  FIG. 1 . Frictional indents or snap locks (not shown) can also be provided that hold the support arm  104  in a stationary upright position  105 . In the lower position, the support head  110  of the support arm  104  fits in a support head detent  120  ( FIG. 2 ). 
     FIG. 2  is an isometric diagram of the embodiment of a musical instrument stand  100  of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the support arm  104  is in the extended upright position  105  and includes a support head pad  112  that is made from a soft material that will prevent the body of a musical instrument, such as guitar  114 , from being scratched or otherwise damaged. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates groove  116  and groove  117  in which a musical instrument with a smaller body can rest on the groove pads  118 ,  119 , respectively. Grooves  116  and  117  are located on opposite sides of the annulus of the base  102  and provide two spatially separated supports for a smaller musical instrument. The rear base pad  120  and the front base pad  122  comprise padding for the grooves  115  and  121  that is used for musical instruments having a larger body, such as acoustic guitars, etc., as set forth above. Grooves  115  and  121  are also located on opposite sides of the annulus of the base  102  and provide two spatially separated supports for larger musical instruments. The support head  110  and support head pad  112  fit into the support head detent  120  to provide a smooth, curved surface along the base when the support arm  104  is in the lowered position  108 . Snap locks  124  hold the support arm  104  in the lowered (closed) position. 
     FIG. 3  is an isometric diagram illustrating the musical instrument stand  100  of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the support head  100  fits into the support head detent  120  so that a smooth, rounded surface is formed along the outer surface of the base  102  of the musical instrument stand  100 . In the closed position, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the musical instrument stand  100  provides a compact, lightweight musical instrument stand that can be used in a portable manner and transported to different locations in a simple and easy fashion. The musical instrument stand  100  can be made of a lightweight, durable plastic to provide durability and usability of the stand  100 .  FIG. 3  also illustrates the larger grooves  115 ,  121  that fit larger instruments, such as acoustic guitars, and the smaller grooves  116 ,  117  that fit smaller body instruments, such as electric guitars. The grooves  115 ,  121  and grooves  116 ,  117  are disposed on opposite sides of the annulus of the base  102  to provide a spatially separated set of supports for the bodies of the musical instruments. In other words, the recessed portions of the base  102  created by the grooves provide two spatially separated support locations on the base  102  for supporting the bodies of the musical instruments. 
     FIG. 4  is an isometric diagram of another embodiment of a musical instrument stand and musical instrument hanger  200 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the stand/hanger  200  is similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with the addition of neck hangers  206 ,  208  that are pivotally attached to the support arm  204  with neck hanger pivots  214 ,  216 , respectively. The neck hanger pivots  214 ,  216  are located on the support arm  204  just slightly down from the support head  202 . In that fashion, the neck hangers  206 ,  208  are recessed in the central opening of the base  203  of the stand/hanger  200 . As disclosed below, the pivots  214 ,  216  rotate outwardly from the arm  204  to provide a support for hanging a musical instrument by the tuning (stock) head or tuning pegs of the musical instrument. Screw openings  210 ,  212  are provided in the base  203  for mounting the stand/hanger  200  on a wall. 
     FIG. 5  is another isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  showing the neck hangers  206 ,  208  rotated in an outward position. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the base  203  is positioned in a vertical orientation. The arm  204  is in a closed position in downward direction. Hangers  206 ,  208  are rotated outwardly from the arm  204  and rest against the front pad  214  on the base  203  and are prevented from further rotation. The neck hangers  206 ,  208  are adapted to hold the tuning head (stock head) or tuning pegs of a musical instrument when the base  203  is mounted on a vertical surface, such as a wall, using screw openings  210 ,  212 . 
     FIG. 6  is another isometric diagram of the embodiment of a musical instrument stand/hanger  200  of  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 6  illustrates the neck hangers  206 ,  208  in the extended position  232  and the recessed position  234 . The neck hangers  206 ,  208  may be placed in the recessed position  234  when the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  is being used as a stand or when it is not being used as a hanger, such as when the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  is being transported. 
     FIG. 7  is a side view of the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  in a closed position. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , neck hanger  206  (not shown) and neck hanger  208  are rotated to a recessed position  234  ( FIG. 6 ) along the side of the support arm  204  using pivot  214  ( FIG. 4 ) and pivot  216 , respectively. The support head  202  ( FIG. 4 ) is recessed into the base  203  so that the head  202  forms a smooth, curved surface with base  203 . The support arm  204  pivots on support arm pivot  218  from the closed position, as shown in  FIG. 7 , to an open position, such as shown in  FIG. 2 . In the open position, the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  can be used as a musical instrument stand in the same manner as the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . When being used as a stand, the neck hangers  206 ,  208  are kept in a recessed position, such as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
     FIG. 8  is a side view of the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  that is mounted on a vertical mounting surface  230  ( FIG. 9 ) and that is being used to hold a guitar  220  using the neck hangers  206 ,  208 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the neck  222  of the guitar  220  is positioned in between neck hangers  206 ,  208 . The guitar tuning head (stock head)  224  rests against the neck hangers  206 ,  208  and suspends the guitar  220  from the musical instrument stand/hanger  200 . Of course, any type of instrument having a neck can use the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  including violins, cellos, basses, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, etc. Musical instruments that do not have tuning heads, such as violins, cellos, etc., can be hung from tuning pegs. 
     FIG. 9  is a close-up view illustrating the manner in which the musical instrument stand/hanger  200  can be used as a musical instrument hanger. As shown in  FIG. 9 , screw openings  210 ,  212  are used to mount the musical instrument stand/hanger on a mounting surface  230 . This can be a wall or other desired mounting surface. The neck hangers  206 ,  208  are extended to an outward position so that the neck  222  is positioned between the neck hangers  206 ,  208 . The guitar neck head  224  rests on the neck hangers  206 ,  208 , as illustrated in  FIG. 9 , to support the guitar  222 . Flanges  226 ,  228  at the end of the neck hangers  206 ,  208 , respectively, prevent the guitar from sliding off of the neck hangers  206 ,  208 . 
   Hence, the embodiments disclosed herein provide a convenient and compact musical instrument stand and musical instrument stand/hanger that can be used as a fixed hanger device or as a portable stand. The device is lightweight and compact and provides padded surfaces that do not mar or scratch the musical instrument. The stand is constructed to take narrow body instruments, such as electric guitars, and wide body instruments, such as acoustic guitars. 
   The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments of the invention except insofar as limited by the prior art.