Abstract:
A guitar stand, comprising in combination a generally upright backer having a front side that is inclined rearwardly, structure supporting the backer, and a guitar body support or supports, carried by the backer or said structure to project outwardly relative to said front face, to seat the lower portion or portions of the guitar body, with the guitar and its fingerboard then inclined upwardly and rearwardly proximate said backer front side. The stands enables backer sizing to substantially fit or match to whatever guitar is to be supported, in cradled position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to supporting and display of musical instruments; more particularly, it concerns a novel guitar stand for displaying a guitar in position for easy removal from the stand, as well as stable support by the stand. 
   There is need for an improved guitar stand as referred to above, as well as need for the unusual combinations of structure, function and results, as appear herein, including a stand conceptually shaped as a guitar, or portion of a guitar. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a major object to provide an unusually advantageous and practical guitar stand to meet the above described needs. Basically, the preferred stand comprises, in combination:
         a) a generally upright backer having a front side that is inclined rearwardly, the backer typically having generally the same size and shape as the guitar body to be supported,   b) structure supporting the backer,   c) and a guitar body support or supports carried by the backer or said structure to project outwardly relative to said front face, to seat the lower portion or portions of the guitar body, with the guitar and its fingerboard then inclined upwardly and rearwardly proximate said backer front side.       

   As will appear, the supports are spaced to seat lower left and right portions of the guitar body. This enables three point-cradling of a guitar body, with respect to the supports (such as pegs) and the inclined backer against which the guitar body leans. For example, the guitar body typically projects downwardly at the space between the left and right supports and the backer typically projects upwardly rearwardly of the guitar body and fingerboard. 
   It is another object of the invention to provide backer support structure that includes leg means projecting downwardly relative to the backer, whereby the guitar is cradled by the backer and said outwardly projecting supports. 
   As will appear, the leg means may have floor engaging parts or surfaces which are spaced apart to stably support the backer with a guitar body seated on said body support or supports. Further, the leg means may include a rear leg projecting downwardly from a rear portion of the backer. That rear leg may be pivotally connected to the backer, to swing between collapsed position adjacent the backer, and extended position projecting away from the backer rear portion. A holder may be provided and carried by the backer to hold the rear leg in said collapsed position, and it may include magnet structure, for ease of attachment and detachment. 
   Yet another object is to provide a backer front side having a display surface or face, with a display design on said front face, to be fully visible when a guitar is removed from supported relation by said backer and projecting supports. 
   An additional object is to provide an improved guitar stand that incorporates
         a) a guitar carrier and a three point guitar body support on the carrier,   b) and a multi-point ground engaging support for the carrier,       

   The backer may have a guitar body curved outline as will be seen. 
   These and other objects and advantages of the invention, as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more fully understood from the following specification and drawings, in which: 

   
     DRAWING DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a guitar stand embodying the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a left side elevation taken on lines  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a rear elevational view of the guitar stand, taken on lines  3 — 3  of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged side view, like  FIG. 2 , but showing details of construction and guitar support; 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic frontal view of supports supporting a guitar body; and 
       FIG. 6  is a view like  FIG. 1 , but showing a modification. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   In  FIGS. 1-3  a preferred guitar stand  10  includes an upright backer  11  such as a panel having a front side  11   a  and a rear side  11   b . The backer is inclined rearwardly from vertical at an angle α, which is typically between 10° and 30°. The backer typically has a lower portion  11   c  that may be outline shaped generally like a guitar body lower portion, with left and right downwardly and sidewardly convex edges  11   d  and  11   e , and a narrowed mid-portion  11   f . The upper portion  11   g  of the backer may have various shapes with one or more upward projections as at  11   h ,  11   i  and  11   j , corresponding to various guitar shapes. The front face or side of the backer typically has an attractive decorative display design applied to it, which is fully visible when a guitar is removed from the backer. See for example wavy strands  42 . 
   Structure is provided to support the backer in its inclined position, above floor level  13 . That structure may include leg means projecting downwardly relative to the backer. See for example left and right legs  14  and  15  with floor engaging parts or surfaces  14   a  and  15   a  which are spaced apart to stably support the backer  11  in guitar cradling position. Legs  14  and  15  may comprise lower extensions of a backer plate. 
   The leg means may also include a rear leg  16  projecting downwardly from a rear mid-portion  17  of the backer. It is preferably pivotally connected, as by a hinge  18 , to the backer to swing between collapsed position (see broken lines  16   a  in FIG.  4 ), and extended position (see full lines in  FIG. 4 ) projecting downwardly away from the backer rear mid-portion. When fully extended, it supports the backer at its preferred inclined angularity α, which may be adjusted. The rear leg may be releasably retained or held to the backer, in collapsed position (as for storage) by a holder such as a magnet) or magnet parts  20  and  20   a , attached to the leg and backer, as shown. 
   Also provided is a guitar body support or supports carried by the backer or said structure to project outwardly relative to said front face, to seat the lower portion or portions of the guitar body, with the guitar and its fingerboard then inclined upwardly and rearwardly proximate said backer front side. 
   The support or supports are typically located to seat lower left and right portion  28   c  and  28   d  of the guitar body  28  so that the guitar body lower rim is stably supported, i.e. preferably cradled. See for example the left and right pegs  24  and  25  removably carried by the backer, at opposite sides of a vertical central plane indicated at  26  in FIG.  1 . The pegs may be angled to project forwardly and upwardly as seen in  FIG. 4 , to extend generally parallel to the sides  28   c  and  28   d  of the guitar body  28 , for stable support. The guitar body lowermost central portion  28   b  extends between and below the level of pegs  24  and  25 , as seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  4  and  5 , and rear part or panel  30  of the guitar body rests against the backer as at a location indicated at  31  in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
   This provides a three point stable support for the rearwardly leaning guitar lower portion, i.e. a stable, protective, cradled position. Also, the guitar can be simply removed from the stand by picking it upwardly, and subsequently simply replaced downwardly in leaning and cradled position, into on onto the stand. 
   The guitar fingerboard  36  extends upwardly above the levels of the body support points at the pegs  24  and  25  and at  31 , and may extend above the level of the stand and backer; but the stable support is such that the fingerboard and guitar may be deflected somewhat to the right or to the left, i.e. twisted, yet the stable 3-point support of the guitar remains in effect. 
   That 3-point support is further stabilized or enhanced by the 3-point support of the stand on the floor, as provided by the left and right legs, and rear leg. Note in  FIG. 4  that the support point or region  31  of the guitar body back is located such that a downward projection  31   a  from location  31  preferably lies between vertical planes at locations  50  and  51  of forward and rear leg engagement and with the floor, providing added stability. 
   Accordingly, the invention provides a dual gravitationally interacting, three-point support system, the guitar, being gravitationally stably and safety supported multi-directionally (i.e. cradled) even though the guitar may be somewhat vertically misaligned relative to the stand when placed downwardly in inclined position in the stand. 
     FIG. 6  shows a modified stand  60 , wherein the backer  61  is confined at a lower level, i.e. does not project upwardly to the level of the guitar fingerboard; yet, it retains the unusually advantageous support features as described above. 
   In one specific example the stand is a hand made, hand painted, functional work of art. Such high quality stands may be cut to the same size and general shape of the individual guitars to be supported. A single rear leg design is applicable for all guitar styles simply by lengthening or shortening that leg. The pegs that the guitar rest on may be about ⅝ inch in diameter, and consist of oak covered with either nylon or surgical hose. The backer leans back on a 16 inch long 2.5 inch wide rear leg attached to the stand with a two inch wide, metal plated hinge having a non removable pin. Parts of a small magnet are attached to the stand and leg to keep the leg in place during transport. Such stands may be provided in a variety of different types of wood, and may be about ¾ inch thick. Front surfaces may be decorated in color paint or stain in solids, sunburst, or custom styles, each being a, work of art.