Connectors for string instruments

Abstract: A connector has an engaging member 30 attached to a harness and a receiving member 30 attached to a string instrument. To engage and release the receiving member 40 a knob 36 on the engaging member 30 is rotated. An insertion cylinder 311 is provided on the engaging member 30. A pair of engaging arms 32 are attached thereto. These engaging arms are fitted to a fitting groove 42 on an inner wall of an engaging cylinder 41. The knob 36 of the engaging member 30 is rotated by a predetermined angle. A large diameter part 331 and a small diameter part 332 of a rotatable shaft 33 provided within the insertion cylinder 311 can be positioned alternately between the above mentioned pair of engaging arms 32,32. Thus, the engaging arms 32 are engaged with and disengaged from the fitting groove 42.

Description: This invention relates to connectors and more particularly connectors for connecting harnesses to string instruments. It is known from Japanese Patent Publication (TOKUKO) No. sho59-5168 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Publication (JITSUKAI) No. sho63-168491, to provide a connector having a manually-operated male part fixed to one end of a harness for a string instrument and a female part fixed to the body of the string instrument, the female part being adapted so as to engage with or disengage from the male part by manipulating the male part. The connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (TOKUKO) No.sho59-5168 is so constructed that the male connector part is inserted into the female connector part and retained there by balls protruding therefrom transversely to the axis of the male connector part. This poses problems such as the need for many parts and a complicated construction. In addition, there is another problem that a push button is used to disengage the two parts and this is likely to be accidentally pushed e.g. during playing of an instrument, leading to accidental separation of the connector. For this reason, there has been proposed the connector as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Publication (JITSUKAI) No. sho63-168491 mentioned above. This connector has a knob which is rotated to establish connection between the male and female connector parts whereby the problems encountered in the above-mentioned conventional connector, which requires the operation of a push button, can be solved. However, since the above connector is so constructed that the male connector part is actuated by rotation of a knob, it is necessary to provide a drive transmission mechanism between the knob and an engaging piece of the connector and to convert rotation of the knob into an opening and closing movement of the engaging piece by means of this mechanism. Therefore, in the construction disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Publication (JITSUKAI) No. sho63-168491 mentioned above, many parts are required to make the connector. As a result, such a construction also poses the same problem as mentioned above, that the manufacturing costs of the connector are high and the size of the connector cannot be reduced. From a broad first aspect, the present invention provides a connector for connecting a harness to a string instrument comprising two connector parts, a first part mounting a pair of movable engaging members and a manually rotatable shaft provided with a cam surface with large and small diameter portions arranged for alternate engagement with said engaging members in response to rotation of said shaft, whereby said first part may be engaged with or disengaged from said second part. From a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a connector for connecting a harness to a string instrument comprising a male connector part and a female connecting part wherein, said male connector part comprises: a body part having a cylindrical insertion portion formed at one end, said insertion portion having a pair of diametrically opposed apertures defined therein; a shaft rotatably mounted in said body part and having a cam surface provided at its lower end with relatively large and relatively small diameter parts circumferentially spaced around said shaft; engaging members pivotally mounted in said apertures, the lower ends of said members having a protruding portion; shaft setting means for setting the shaft at a predetermined rotational position; and spring biasing means for biasing said shaft towards said position; means for permitting rotation of said shaft so that said large and small diameter parts can be positioned alternately between said pair of engaging members; and means for rotating said shaft by a predetermined angle, and said female connector part comprises: a receiving bore having an open end into which said insertion portion may be inserted, said receiving bore having a tapered guide edge formed on the inside of the open end, and a circumferentially extending annular groove formed in an inner wall of the bore inside said guide edge, said groove being such that when said insertion portion is inserted into said receiving bore, said engaging members may be pivoted outwardly from the insertion portion to engage with said groove by positioning said large diameter part between said engaging members. Preferably the cam surface is generally rectangular in shape. Preferably the upper edge of the groove is radiused to facilitate separation of the connector parts. Preferably the rotation of the shaft is limited generally by an arcuate slot in the shaft and a stop which selectively engages with one side of the slot. Most preferably the shaft is limited to rotating through approximately 90°. The engaging members are preferably limited in their outward swinging, most preferably by a ring which passes around the outer edges of the engaging members. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a view showing a guitar using a connector in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the connector; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of the connector when it is separated; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the connector when it is engaged; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the connector taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the connector taken along the line 6-6 in Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a view showing the engaging arms of the connector disengaged; and Fig. 8 is a view showing the engaging arms of the connector being pushed towards each other. Fig. 1 shows a connector in accordance with the present invention being used to connect a harness 20 to the body 11 of a string instrument 10 such as a guitar or the like. In this embodiment, the ends 21,22 of the harness 20 are connected to a front part and a tail part on the body 11 of the guitar, respectively. A male connector part 30, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, comprises a generally cylindrical body part 31 having a generally cylindrical insertion portion 311 which is open at its lower end and which is adapted to be inserted into the receiving bore 41 of a female connector part 40. A pair of engaging members in the form of engaging arms 32,32 are provided in the body part 31 and define part of the wall of the insertion portion 311. A shaft 33 is mounted in a central part of the part 31 so as to be rotatable through a predetermined angle around the axis of the part 31. Inserted into the insertion portion 311 is a spring means, for example, a coil spring 34, which acts always to bias the shaft 33 in a given rotational direction. A shaft setting means in the form of a stop 37 is provided, for setting the shaft 33 at a predetermined rotational position. A knob 36 is connected to the upper end of the shaft 33 to allow a user to rotate it. The insertion portion 311 has apertures 311a and 311b formed in its outer wall in diametrically opposed positions. The engaging arms 32 are disposed in these apertures 311a,311b, respectively and can pivot through them so as to protrude radially from the insertion portion 311. The female connector part 40, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is provided with a receiving bore 41 which is open at its upper end and which receives the insertion portion 311 of the body part 31 therein. The female connector part 40 is fixed to the string instrument 10 by mounting means 42 such as a wood screw or the like extending through a hole in the base of the part 40. The bore 41 is provided, on its open end, with a guide edge 411 which tapers towards the base of the part 40. An annular groove 412 is formed around the inner wall of the bore 41 below the guide edge 411. The open upper edge 412' of the annular groove 412 has an enlarged curvature, so facilitating the disengagement of the ends 322 of the engaging arms 32 from the groove 412 as described below. Each engaging arm 32 of the connector part 30 has an upper end 321 pivotally supported in a fastening part 35 for example by a shaft 352 mounted in the part 30 and a lower, fastening, end 322 which protrudes from the arm 32. When the insertion portion 311 of the part 31 is fitted into the bore 41 of the part 40, the ends 322 engage with the annular groove 412. The shaft 33 comprises a cam surface which comprises a relatively large diameter part 331 with radiused ends and a flat-sided smaller diameter part 332. The large diameter part 331 is arranged to urge the upper ends of the engaging arms 32 to their maximum separation against a retaining ring 351 when the shaft 33 is held in its rotational rest position by the stop 37. The small diameter part 332 is arranged to allow the engaging arms 32 to pivot towards each other when the shaft 33 is turned. Whilst the engaging arms 32 may simply pivot from the pivot shaft 352, it is desirable to provide the ring 351 around the outer edges of the engaging arms 32 in order to prevent them from swinging out from the insertion portion 311. Accordingly, when the large diameter part 331 of the cam surface comes into contact with the arms 32, the ring 351 will act on the arms 32 from outside so as to control their position. The angle through which the shaft 33 can be turned is controlled by rotation control means provided on the shaft 33, in the form of an arcuate notch 333 shown in a dashed line in Fig. 6, which extends around the shaft by a predetermined amount, for example, 90 degrees in the rotation direction of the shaft 33. The stop 37 extends into the notch 333 and holds the shaft 33 in its rest position by abutting against one end of the notch 333. The shaft 33 can rotate through an angle defined by the notch 333 until the stop 37 abuts the other end, ie. in this embodiment through 90°. As shown in Fig. 5, the cam surface of the shaft 33 in this embodiment is generally rectangular, having respective large and small diameter portions 331,332. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the large and small diameter parts 331,332 can be positioned alternately between the engaging arms 32, by rotating the shaft 33 through 90°. An attaching means for attaching the male connector part 30 to a harness 20 is disposed in the male connector part 30, and consists of two flanges 38,38' to receive the harness 20 therebetween. The flanges 38,38' are mounted on the outer surface of the body part 31. One flange 38 is fixed to the exterior surface of the base member 312 whilst the other flange 38' is axially movable along the body part 31 by means of a thread on the body part's outer surface and a corresponding threaded nut 381. The coil spring 34, as shown in Fig. 3, is wound around the shaft 33 so that one end is secured to a lower surface of the knob 36 and the other end is secured within the cylindrical portion 31. The shaft 33 is thus biased by the coil spring 34 from the point P at which the coil spring is secured within the cylindrical portion 31, and is rotated, against this spring force by rotation of the knob 36. The shaft 33 is returned to its rotational rest position by the restoration force of the coil spring 34 when the knob 36 is released. As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the fastening part 35 provided on base member 312 in the body of the part 31, is in the form a flange. The shafts 352 are mounted to extend through a pair of holes 312a and 312b formed the base member. An annular cover 313 is attached to the base member 312 by means of a pin 313a so as to cover and close the fastening part 35. Operation of the connector will now be described. When the shaft 33 is held in its rotational rest position by the stop 37, the engaging arms 32 are urged against the ring 351 by the large diameter portion 331 of the cam surface. In this position, the separation of the engaging arms 32 is at a maximum, as shown in Fig. 7. Thus, as long as the insertion portion 311 is fitted in the bore 41 of the female connector part 40, the ends 322 of the engaging arms 32 remain securely fitted in the annular groove 412. As a result, the string instrument 10 and the harness 20 are firmly connected to each other. In addition, since the female connector part 40 can be rotated with respect to the male part 30, the position of the instrument can be freely changed during playing. When the knob 36 is rotated through 90° against the biasing force of the coil spring 34, the small diameter portion 332 becomes aligned with the engaging arms 32 as shown in Fig. 8. In this condition, when a force is applied to the male and female connector portions 30,40 to separate them from each other, the engaging arms 32, are moved towards each other so that their fastening ends 322 can disengage from the groove 412. As the insertion portion 311 is pulled out, the ends 322 of the engaging arms 32 can disengage from the annular groove 412 around the curved upper edge 412' of the groove. As a result, the female connector part 40 can be separated from the male connector part 30. When the knob 36 is released, the shaft 33 is returned to its rotational rest position by the biasing force of the coil spring 34, and the engaging arms 32 thus returned to the position shown in Fig. 7. To reconnect the two connector parts 30,40, the knob 36 must once again be rotated against the biasing force of the coil spring 34. Then, while the engaging arms 32 are allowed to move together as shown in Fig. 8 the insertion portion 311 is inserted into the receiving bore 41. Thereafter, the knob 30 is released, and the engaging arms 32 are pivoted by large diameter portion 331 of the cam surface outwardly from the insertion portion 311 to the position shown in Fig. 7, so as to engage their lower ends 332 with the annular groove 412. From the above description, it will be seen that in a connector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the engaging arms are pivoted into and out of engagement with a groove of a receiving bore by rotating a knob. It will be appreciated that modifications may be made to the above embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the engaging arms could be slidably mounted for engagement with the groove. These arrangements mean that accidental operation can be avoided. The engaging arms can be engaged with and disengaged from the receiving bore by alternately positioning large and small diameter portions of a cam surface between the engaging arms. This makes construction simple and reduces manufacturing costs.

Claims: A connector for connecting a harness to a string instrument comprising two connector parts, a first part (30) mounting a pair of movable engaging members (32) and a manually rotatable shaft (33) provided with a cam surface with large and small diameter portions (331; 332) arranged for alternate engagement with said engaging members in response to rotation of said shaft, whereby said first part may be engaged with or disengaged from said second part. A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said engaging means are pivotally mounted in said first connector part. A connector as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said second part is formed with a bore to receive said first part and has a circumferential groove (412) on the inner surface of said bore to receive said engaging members. A connector for connecting a harness to a string instrument comprising a male connector part (30) and a female connecting part (40) wherein, said male connector part comprises: a body part (31) having a cylindrical insertion portion (311) formed at one end, said insertion portion having a pair of diametrically opposed apertures (311a,311b) defined therein; a shaft (33) rotatably mounted in said body part and having a cam surface provided at its lower end with relatively large (331) and relatively small (332) diameter sections circumferentially spaced around said shaft; engaging members (32) pivotally mounted in said apertures, the lower ends (322) of said members (32) having a protruding portion; shaft setting means for setting the shaft (33) at a predetermined rotational position; and spring biasing means (34) for biasing said shaft towards said position; means for permitting rotation of said shaft (33) so that said large and small diameter parts can be positioned alternately between said pair of engaging members; and means (36) for rotating said shaft by a predetermined angle, and said female connector part comprises: a receiving bore (41) having an open end into which said insertion portion (311) may be inserted, said receiving bore having a tapered guide edge (411) formed on the inside of the open end, and a circumferentially extending annular groove (412) formed in an inner wall of the bore inside said guide edge, said groove being such that when said insertion portion (311) is inserted into said receiving bore (41), said engaging members (32) may be pivoted outwardly from the insertion portion to engage with said groove by positioning said large diameter part between said engaging members. A connector as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the upper edge 412' of the groove 412 is radiused. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said cam surface is generally rectangular in shape. A connector as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein said rotation permitting means comprises an arcuate slot (333) formed in said shaft (33), and said shaft setting means comprises a stop (37) for engaging with one side of said slot (333). A connector as claimed in any of claims 2 to 7, further comprising means (351) for restricting movement of the engaging members (32), such that pivoting of said engaging members (32) is substantially prevented when said engaging members (32) are in contact with said large diameter part (331) of the cam surface. A connector as claimed in claim 8, wherein said means for restricting movement of said engaging members comprises a ring (351) disposed around the outer edges of the engaging members (32). A connector as claimed in any of claims 4 to 9, wherein the protruding portion of said engaging member (322) and the groove (412) are arcuate in profile.

Inventors: GOTO TAKAO, GOTO, TAKAO
Applicants: GOTOH GUT YUGEN KAISHA
Application year: 1996
Main classification: G10G5
IPC codes: G10G5, G10D3