Abstract:
The invention presented herein allows efficient modification of endpins for musical instruments such as cello or bass that use cavities in one or more components that accommodate filler material. The filler materials are composed of materials that affect the acoustic outcomes. The user can modify the endpin acoustic outcomes relatively quickly by changing the filler composition until a desired acoustic outcome is achieved. This allows various acoustic outcomes using the same shape, materials, and construction for the endpin components. Several embodiments are illustrated for endpins, pedestals, stringed instrument sound posts, interior blocks, bass bars, speaker legs and the like.

Description:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING 
     Not Applicable. 
     COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     There are many patent documents and commercial products describing tail pieces, endpins, and end piece receptacles for stringed musical instruments such as a cello, bass or the like. The approach often taken specifies the specific shapes and materials defining the structure of the endpins and receptacles. Arguments are then made as to why these designs will give a desired performance related to timber, loudness, and tone. Examples of the patent documents are U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,611 by VanEvers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,129 by Hollander, 2006/0278059 by Gipson. DeVuono&#39;s prior art patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,998,523, and D658,162S are included in these documents. However, there does not exist a general approach to quickly modify the design to customize the acoustic outcomes of these designs. Therefore, there is a need for a design approach that allows the user to quickly make modifications to the device to achieve a favorable acoustic outcome. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The invention presented herein solves the problem of provided endpins, end piece receptacles, and the like for musical instruments such as a cello or bass that are constructed using cavities in one or more components that accommodate filler materials. The filler materials are composed of materials that intend to enhance the acoustic outcomes. Endpin&#39;s acoustic outcomes may be modified relatively quickly by changing the filler material composition until a preferred acoustic outcome is achieved. This allows various acoustic outcomes using the same shape, materials, and construction of the endpin components. 
     In a first embodiment, an endpin is constructed from an elongated hollow rod secured at its first and second ends with set screws. Contained in the rod is filler material that is selected to control the acoustic outcome of the instrument. Attached to rod first end is a curved stopper with stopper first internal threads located on stopper first end that screws into external threads located on the rod first end. Stopper second end is attached to a tip having a tip body and tip screw. The stopper second end has second internal threads that attach tip to stopper with male tip screw Other embodiments are included, including application of the inventive concept for receptacles and string instrument interiors. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a first embodiment of an endpin of the current invention. 
         FIG. 1 a    illustrates the first embodiment being used with a musical instrument. 
         FIG. 2  presents an exploded view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a sectional view of the first embodiment. 
         FIG. 3 a    illustrates a portion of  FIG. 3  in an expanded scale. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the pointed tip of  FIG. 3  in an expanded scale. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an exploded view of a second embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a portion of  FIG. 6  in an expanded scale. 
         FIG. 8  a perspective view of an end piece receptacle comprising a third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a sectional view of the tip component of the third embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a sectional view of a leg component of the third embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a perspective view of a fourth embodiment comprising an endpin. 
         FIGS. 13 a  through 13 c    illustrate 3 versions of locking nuts of the fourth embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIGS. 14 and 15  illustrate a perspective view and a sectional view respectively of the stopper and tip of the fourth embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates an exploded view of a cello body of the fifth embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIGS. 17, 18   u  and  18   l  are three sectional views of  FIG. 16  illustrating the sound post, upper support block and lower support block of the fifth embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIG. 19  illustrates a cross section of the bass bar of the fifth embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIG. 20  illustrates four legs of the sixth embodiment used to support a speaker. 
         FIG. 21  illustrates one of the legs used to support a speaker of the sixth embodiment of the current invention. 
         FIG. 22  is a sectional view of  FIG. 21 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Directional terms such as “front”, “back”, “in”, “out”, “downward”, “upper”, “lower”, and the like may be used in the description. These terms are applicable to the embodiments shown and described in conjunction with the drawings. These terms are merely used for the purpose of description in connection with the drawings. The term musical instrument is understood in a general sense to include typical musical instruments such as a cello or bass, and other devices used to produce musical sounds such as speakers and pianos. The term acoustic device refers to endpins, tailpieces, legs, posts or other devices used with a musical instrument to enhance the acoustic outcome. 
       FIG. 1  shows an endpin of the first embodiment  100  of the present invention.  FIG. 1 a    illustrates the first embodiment  100  being used with a musical instrument  101 .  FIG. 2  illustrates first embodiment  100  in an exploded view. The endpin is constructed from a rod  102 , a stopper  104  having two set screws  110 , and a pointed tip  106  having a tip screw  112 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a cross sectional view of  FIG. 2  with filler material  114   a .  FIG. 3 a    illustrates a portion of  FIG. 3  in an expanded scale, shown without the filler material. Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 3   a , rod  102  has a shaft  116  drilled through the length of its interior and filled with a filler material  114   a . Two set screws  110  have first male threads  111  that are matched to first female threads  123  located on the ends of shaft  116  that are used to removably seal the shaft  116  after filler material  114   a  is packed into the shaft. Rod  102  additionally has second male threads  118  that are matched to second female threads  120  located on left of stopper  104 . In alternate embodiments, the set screws may be replaced by other mechanisms for removably sealing the shaft  116 , such as rubber plugs, corks, and metal stoppers. 
     Stopper  104 , shaped as shown in  FIGS. 3, 3   a  and  4 , has third female threads  122  located on right end of stopper that are matched to third male threads  121  located on left end on tip screw  112  emanating from pointed tip  106  as shown. Stopper  104  may be made of the same material as tip body  107  or from a different material and jointed to tip body. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-section of pointed tip  106 . It is composed of tip screw  112 , tip body  107  and tip point  117 . Tip point  117  has a tip body angle  119   a  and tip point angle  119   b . For the first embodiment of a tip body angle  119   a  is 21 degrees and tip point angle  119   b  of 63 degrees. Alternate embodiments of the first embodiment may have different angles, depending on size material and instrument. 
     The left end of rod  102  fits into the instrument body. It can come in various lengths, and may additionally have an adapter to match the rod to the orifice on the instrument that it is attached to. The remaining components of first embodiment  100  are of greater mass. This makes the vibration move in that direction towards the tip and then to the ground. 
     The rod  102  of the first embodiment is made of brass. Rods of the first embodiment have various sizes, depending on the application. Typical sizes are an outside diameter of 7 mm (0.276 in), 8 mm (0.315 in), 10 mm (0.394 in), 12.7 mm (0.500 in) or custom cut larger for some acoustic bass instruments. Alternate embodiments have an outside diameter up to 16.5 mm (0.650 in). Rod length can range between 20 cm (8 in) and 61 cm (24 in) and is cut to suit the instrument and end user preferred play angle and position. The shaft  116  is drilled through rod  102  and has 4 mm (0.157 in) shaft on 8 mm (0.315 in) rods and/or a 6.35 mm (0.250 in) shaft on the larger haft on the larger diameter rods centered along the longitudinal axis. This shaft  116  in alternate embodiments may be larger or smaller depending on the choice of material and/or size. 
     The pointed tip  106  has tip body  107  of brass, and the top point tip is made of tungsten and brazed to the tip body  107 . The dimensions of the rod are given above. Stopper/dome in this embodiment has a height of 0.375 in (9.54 mm) with a 0.875 in ((22.2 mm) diameter decreasing to a diameter of 0.625 in (15.8 mm) diameter. The tip is 1.5 in (38.07 mm) long with two primary angles. The dimensions of the stopper/dome in alternate embodiments may vary from these dimensions depending on size, materials and instrument. 
     The pointed tip  106  is unique in the ratios used and the way the brass is drilled and the tungsten is brazed. The pointed tip  106  is user replaceable if there is an upgrade or if it is damaged, or could be replaced with the ball tip  302  (see third embodiment  300  discussed below). 
     The first embodiment was originally used by the Inventor without the filler material  114   a  with excellent acoustic results for a particular cello. However, when applied to other string instruments, the results were less satisfactory. Favorable acoustic outcomes were therefore achieved by varying the filler material  114   a  by trial and error. The filler material  114   a  used include various pellets or powdered materials depending on the acoustic properties desired. Examples of filler material are given in Table 1, together with their acoustic properties. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Filler Materials and their Properties 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Filler Materials 
                 Acoustic Properties 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1 
                 s70 steel shot 
                 helps control resonance of the base material 
               
               
                 2 
                 s110 steel shot 
                 same resonance control better greater  
               
               
                   
                   
                 frequency extension 
               
               
                 3 
                 s70 and s110  
                 More frequency extension than s70 steel  
               
               
                   
                 steel shot blend. 
                 shot less than s110 
               
               
                 4 
                 Bronze shot 
                 overdamped sound and over control of  
               
               
                   
                   
                 natural resonance of instrument. 
               
               
                 5 
                 Bronze powder 
                 extremely damped sound 
               
               
                 6 
                 s110 steel shot  
                 control and extension of sound 
               
               
                   
                 and neodymium  
                   
               
               
                   
                 powder blend 
                   
               
               
                 7 
                 S110 steel shot,  
                 Control and extension of frequency extremes 
               
               
                   
                 neodymium  
                 with greater focus and detail of individual  
               
               
                   
                 powder and  
                 notes  
               
               
                   
                 magnetic pellets 
                   
               
               
                 8 
                 Copper powder  
                 Warmer tone with frequency extension and  
               
               
                   
                 or pellets  
                 detail yet maintains focus and detail of  
               
               
                   
                 neodymium  
                 individual notes. 
               
               
                   
                 powder and  
                   
               
               
                   
                 magnetic pellets 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The Inventor has particular success with acoustic outcome by using magnetic pellets and powders added to the filler material. The magnetic pellets and powders have the acoustic characteristics of providing more coherent and focused sound that makes the instrument more reactive and responsive to input. 
       FIGS. 5 through 7  illustrate a second embodiment  200  of the current invention. Only the differences between the first and second embodiments are discussed here in detail. The second embodiment  200  has a rod  202 , a pointed tip  106  a stem  204 , and has filler material  114   b . Stem  204  fits into the left end of rod  202 . Stem  204  has a second shaft  212  that is drilled on the left end of stem  204 , containing filler material  114   c . The right end of stem  204  is matched to a cavity  214  located on rod left end  216 ; cavity  214  has a slightly larger diameter than second shaft  212  located along the remaining longitudinal axis of rod  202 . The rod left end  216  is tapered as shown. Stem  204  have typical diameters of 7 mm (0.28 in) for bass clarinet, 8 mm (0.315 in) or 10 mm (0.394 in) for cello or bass, and 12.7 mm (0.5 in) for special applications. Some specialty rods can be larger. Rod  202  typically has diameter between 15.875 mm (0.625 in) and 22.225 mm (0.875 in). 
     An s70/s110 steel pellet blend was used for filler materials  114   b  and  114   c . Also used was a 110/neodymium magnetic in a first prototype for the second embodiment and had the same material as filler material  114   a . However, modifications to the filler material were made iteratively by trial and error. Excellent results were obtained for s110 steel shot and neodymium magnetic powder blend with magnetic pellets added. 
       FIGS. 8 through 11  illustrate a third embodiment  300  of the present invention, which is a modification of the Inventor&#39;s D658,1625S design patent. Third embodiment  300  replaces the pointed tip  106  of embodiment  2  by a ball tip  302  and pedestal  306 . The ball tip  302  has a sphere  304  attached to its end. Referring to  FIGS. 8, 9 and 11 , third embodiment  300  has pedestal  306  with a depression  310  that accommodate the sphere  304  that allows ball tip  302  to rotate freely within it. Additionally, third embodiment  300  has three legs  308  that attach to pedestal  306 . In the third embodiment, the three legs  308  have the properties of pointed tip  106  of the first embodiment, although other types of legs, or the absence of legs, are also consistent with the inventive concept. Sphere  304  of ball tip  302  has radius 0.075 inches, and the pedestal, made of brass, three inch across legged bottom and 4 inches across the top. 
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view of ball tip  302 , and  FIG. 11  is a sectional view of leg  308 . Both ball tip  302  and legs  308  use filler material  114   d . The filler material  114   a  used in the first embodiment was used here also. In an alternate to the third embodiment, filler material used was s110 neodymium magnetic powder. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a fourth embodiment  400 . This embodiment has a locking collet nut  410   a  that attaches and secures a tapered collet body  414  with a castle  420  at left end of the rod  102 . The feature, like that of a castle  420 , reduces standing wave resonance. Instead of one large smooth area that would generate one large resonance peak, the castle  420  breaks what could be one large single resonance into several smaller and separated peaks or nodes that will not overlap nor add to each other by becoming a single resonance peak. Several smaller resonances are less audible than one large dominating resonance peak 
       FIG. 13 a    illustrates locking collet nut  410   a . Alternate embodiments to locking collet nut  410   a  illustrated in  FIGS. 13 b  and 13 c    which has twelve bores ( FIG. 13 b   ) or six bores ( FIG. 13 c   ). The reaction of the fourth embodiment with the use of any of the three locking collet nuts  410   a  through  410   c  will be apparent and have a different resonance character depending on which collet nut is used. These resonance characteristics will also be different on different instruments and the choice which to use will be the preference of the musician or designer. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 12 through 13   c , rod  102  is inserted into tapered collet body  414  and secured and clamped with a locking collet nut  410 . Second collet nut  410   b  has twelve bores  424  drilled to reduce mass when compared to locking collet nut  410   a  or hybrid collet nut  410   c  medium mass lock nut. Second collet nut  410   b  has filler material  114   e  added to four of the twelve bores. These four bores are then sealed to retain the fill material. (Details of the seals and filler are not shown in  FIGS. 410 b  and 410 c   ). The end user has a choice of what reactive material mass with the substitution of any of the locking collet nuts  410   a  through  410   c . Variations of bores  424  may be made by the designer. 
     The fact that these areas of the castle  420  are cut around the circumference of the tapered collet means the spacing is not at a predictable repeatable pattern. These irregular cut facets and varied geometric shapes of the castle  420  will also help generate more diverse acoustic patterns and angles of pressure moving off the surface of the tapered collet and onto the radiating wood surface of the instrument. The castle  420  provides the additional performance advantage over the prior art. 
     The tapered collet body  414  is threaded into the instrument so it does not move as the wooden instrument changes with temperature and humidity. This was introduced by Klaus Bender. However, unlike the Bender and others, the tapered collet body  414  which for this example is used in a cello has a length of 63.5 mm (2.5 in) and extends well past the usual wooden support block of a cello. The support block is typically 1 to 1.5 inches in thickness/height and is internal to a cello. For viola or violin or any other string instrument that may use a button or endpin plug the scale and length inside the instrument can be recalculated to suit a particular instrument and yet extend well past the wooden support block of that chosen instrument. The purpose of this extra length is to increase the effective radiated acoustic collection area within the instrument body. Other designs rely solely on energy transmission thru the typical wooden block and do not collect airborne energy from within the instrument cavity. The benefit is that the instrument will radiate more energy through its external surface, an enhancement for both player and audience. The entire surface of the tapered collet has threads (threads not illustrated in the drawings). The threaded area above the wooden block is again an acoustic benefit. The threads actually increase the surface area of the taper and allow for the capture of more acoustic energy and sound pressure. This is preferable to a smooth extended surface which has less surface area than the same circumference and length. A smooth tapered body could be used, but threaded is preferred. These same threads, because they are at a tapered ratio and angle along the circumference of the tapered body capture frequencies that will not overlap and would serve to reinforce each other. This way is better because no single frequency will overlay another. Hence, no single frequency can dominate another. 
     Interchanging the locking collet nuts  410   a  through  410   c  causes a change in resonance and tone within the instrument, cello or bass. Another benefit of this feature is that it changes the string response of the instrument both in the free hand or with the bow. This reactive variability is at the choice of the player and their preference in playability and resonance response. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 12, 14 and 15 , rod  102  in this rendition is 0.500 inches in diameter. This rod is brass or an alloy but could be carbon fiber, or bronze or a bronze alloy, or aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Rod  102  in this fourth embodiment is hollow and then filled with filler material  114   f . Each end of the rod  102  is sealed with one of the two set screws  110  to seal in this material. One end of  102  is threaded on its outside diameter to accept stopper  104 . Stopper  104  is shaped and fitted to the rod  102  so vibrational energy and resonance is directed to the tip screw  112  attached to tip body  107  which contacts a higher mass surface, such as a stage floor. Tip body  107  has a tungsten cobalt insert that is sharp and strong to secure to most any wooden surface without the use of any other device to stop the instrument or device from slipping. 
     Referring to  FIG. 15 , filler material  114   f  is imbedded in shaft  116  positioned in rod  102  can be used to further modify the resonance and tone. While the metallic components in the fourth embodiment  400  are designed to give an initial resonance and tone that the designer wants to achieve, further enhancements to the sound may be made by adjusting the filler material  114   f  in the rod  102 . In addition, the filler material  114   e  located in the bores  424  in the locking collet nuts  410  further allow minor adjustments to the resonance and tone. 
     The actual material used for the filler was determined by trial and error for the fourth embodiment. The filler material described in the previous embodiments may be used. The Inventor has had good success using ferrous bearing neodymium magnetic powder and magnetic spheres for this embodiment. 
       FIG. 16  illustrates an exploded perspective view of a fifth embodiment  500  of the current invention.  FIG. 17  is a sectional view of  FIG. 16 . Illustrated is the cello body top part  502  with two f slots  504  cello body back part  506  and cello body sides  508 . Also shown is a sound post  510  which is a solid wood cylinder wood cylinder having a third shaft  511  that contains filler material  114   g  that transverses from the cello body top part  502  to the cello body back part  506 , perpendicular to the planes of the cello body top part  502  and cello body back part  506 . Also shown are an upper support block  512 U and lower support block  512 L containing filler material  114   h . Also shown is the bass bar  514  having wood strip  516  containing filler material  114   i  as shown. 
       FIG. 17  illustrates a sectional view in an expanded scale of a portion of the cello with sound post  510  containing filler material  114   g .  FIGS. 18 u    and  181  illustrate sectional views of the upper and lower support blocks  512 U and  512 L containing filler material  114   h . The filler material  114   g  and  114   h  in the fifth embodiment  500  are the same filler materials in the first embodiment. 
       FIG. 19  illustrates a sectional view of the bass bar  514  containing filler material  114   i . Although not shown in the figures, the top and bottom ends of the bass bar  514  are sealed to prevent the filler material  114   i  from leaking. 
     Although the filler material described in the five embodiments and their alternate embodiments apply to string instruments and their accessories, the same concept applies to other devices that have acoustic outcomes such as the legs or support systems of any instrument that touches the floor boundary. These may include keyboard instruments percussion instruments. 
       FIG. 20  illustrates a sixth embodiment  600  of the current invention, which consists of four feet  602 , attached to a speaker  612 . The speaker is not part of the embodiment.  FIG. 21  is a perspective view of a foot  602 . The four feet  602  are used to support the speaker  612 .  FIG. 22  is a sectional view of  FIG. 21 . Each foot  602  is constructed out of a solid cylinder  604  that has a cylindrical hole  614  located in the solid cylinder&#39;s interior along the vertical axis of solid cylinder  604 . Cylindrical hole  614  is removably sealed with a cylindrical plug  606  that may be inserted in cylindrical hole  614  at the top using matching threads  608 . Male component of threads  608  located on cylindrical plug  606  are used to be removably secured to female threads located in bottom of speaker  612  (female threads not shown). A hexagon shaped socket  610  is located on top center of cylindrical plug  606  is used to removably attach cylindrical plug  606  in cylindrical hole  614 . The cylindrical hole  614  accommodates filler material  114   h . Alternate embodiments of the sixth embodiments could have a different number of legs, and apply to the legs of other musical instruments such as, but not limited to, pianos and sound stages, electronic equipment, and microphone stands. 
     The disclosure presented herein gives six embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are to be considered as only illustrative of the invention and not a limitation of the scope of the invention. Various permutations, combinations, variations and extensions of these embodiments are considered to fall within the scope of this invention. Therefore, the scope of this invention should be determined with reference to the claims and not just by the embodiments presented herein.