Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7842868?dq=7,013,345/
Timestamp: 2016-07-29 23:47:25
Document Index: 80342594

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 67', 'art 63', 'art 63', 'art 67', 'art 63', 'art 63', 'art 63', 'arts 63', 'arts 63', 'arts 62']

Patent US7842868 - Stringed instrument neck structure adjusting arrangement - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA stringed instrument (10A) neck structure adjusting arrangement includes a cantilever member (39). One end of the cantilever member is configured to be connected, in use, to a body and/or neck structure of the stringed instrument. The cantilever member is configured to be moveable relative to a free...http://www.google.com/patents/US7842868?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7842868 - Stringed instrument neck structure adjusting arrangementAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7842868 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/940,416Publication dateNov 30, 2010Filing dateNov 15, 2007Priority dateNov 23, 2006Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS20080121086Publication number11940416, 940416, US 7842868 B2, US 7842868B2, US-B2-7842868, US7842868 B2, US7842868B2InventorsRobert ElseOriginal AssigneeAvant-Garde Guitars LimitedExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (38), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (2), Classifications (6), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetStringed instrument neck structure adjusting arrangement
US 7842868 B2Abstract
A stringed instrument (10A) neck structure adjusting arrangement includes a cantilever member (39). One end of the cantilever member is configured to be connected, in use, to a body and/or neck structure of the stringed instrument. The cantilever member is configured to be moveable relative to a free end of the neck structure of the stringed instrument. The arrangement also includes an adjustment device (30) located at or adjacent a free end of the cantilever member. The adjustment device is configured to adjust a position of the cantilever member (39) relative to the neck structure, thereby adjusting curvature of the neck structure. The adjustment is in a plane substantially perpendicular to a main axis of the neck structure.
The present invention relates to adjusting a neck structure of a stringed musical instrument.
There have been a number of proposals for the construction of stringed musical instruments, such as guitars, to either allow them to be manufactured more efficiently or to be more stable in terms of their susceptibility to changes in temperature and humidity. Examples of such existing manufacturing techniques include the use of plastic polymers (which can be fibre reinforced) for the construction of both the necks and bodies, and various methods of reinforcing the necks of more traditional wood based designs to control or limit their curvature or bending under the effect of the tension exerted by the strings. The latter reinforcements include steel rods (commonly termed “truss rods”) that include an adjustment mechanism to allow control over the curvature of the neck (and hence the curvature of the fingerboard), plus steel or carbon fibre strips, aluminium extrusions or castings in aluminium or magnesium that simply reinforce the neck without providing a means of adjustment.
FIG. 1 a is a simplified side elevation view of first type of existing instrument where the neck 1 is effectively a non-adjustable “strong” beam or strut incorporating a fingerboard 6 against which the strings 2 are pressed when played. The beam 1 resists the tension in the strings 2, which are attached to body 4 of the instrument at position 3 and extend to the end of the neck at position 5. The effects of the string tension (which is in effect an offset loading producing both compressive and bending forces) are shown in FIG. 1 b, which shows their load/tension produces a neck deflection 8, which results in the fingerboard being curved as shown at position 7.
Embodiments of the present invention provide means for constructing an instrument that allows cost-effective manufacture; reduced susceptibility to temperature/humidity changes, and a distinctive tone and sound from the instrument. They can also improve in the tone and sustain of the vibrating strings when played (by means of a very stiff and strong construction) and offer more freedom in the styling of the instrument by the manufacturer. Embodiments also allow adjustment of the curvature of the fingerboard of the instrument to compensate for varying gauges of strings and tensions, allowing a player to set up the instrument to suit their playing style.
The elongate member may comprise first and second elongate bars, each said elongate bar being located either side of the cantilever member. The first and/or second elongate bars may be at least partially formed of metal. A low-friction surface treatment or material may be present on/between at least parts of the bars and corresponding sides of the cantilever member. A further device for preventing or damping any rattles between the cantilever and elongate member (such as felts pads) may be disposed between the adjacent surfaces of the cantilever and elongate members. The further device may also to align the cantilever member between the elongate members. This means for preventing rattles may also align the cantilever member between the two elongate bars, or some other device may be employed for this function—typically one positioned close to the area where the adjustment device is located. The first and second elongate bars may be at least partially of generally L or U-shaped cross section. The first and second elongate bars may be mirror images of each other, or they may be asymmetric. A stem portion of each of the first and second L or U-shaped elongate bars may be located parallel to a respective side surface of the cantilever member. A portion of the L-shaped member transverse to its stem portion may be configured to be (directly or indirectly) connected to (inside) a surface, e.g. a surface having a fingerboard portion of the neck structure.
The stringed instrument may be formed of at least two members forming a shell in which the neck structure adjusting arrangement is fitted. The term “shell” can be considered to mean that the parts have space within them to accept an internal structural assembly. The members may be formed of plastic materials and may be moulded. At least some spaces/voids in the shell/stringed instrument may be filled with a filling material such as foam. A counter-balance mass may be located within a body portion of the instrument. The shell may include a formation (e.g. an aperture) to allow access to the adjusting device. The formation may be located on a portion of the neck structure remote from the body (this will usually be the case with “headless” guitars), or the formation may be located at or adjacent a head portion of the instrument, e.g, on a surface of the head portion over which strings of the instrument extend. The instrument may include a plastic fingerboard having integrally-moulded position markers, the fingerboard also being formed of a plastic material. The position markers can be formed so as to be distinct from a main surface of the fingerboard, e.g. by being formed of plastic of a contrasting colour or texture. (It is also possible to ‘mould in’ discrete position markers by placing for instance markers made from shell, metal, or other materials against the fingerboard section in the mould and then moulding the main plastic material around them).
FIG. 3 a is a simplified side elevation (comparable to FIGS. 1 and 2) of a stringed instrument 10A that includes a basic example of the neck adjusting arrangement. Again, the strings 2 are shown disposed between attachment points/bridge 3 (on the body 4) and attachment points 5 at the end of the neck of the instrument. The Figure shows that the neck of the instrument comprises a structural beam or strut 15, which includes a fingerboard 6, and a second structural beam 16 in the form of a cantilever that is rigidly attached to the first beam 15 at one end 17 (preferably the body end of the instrument). An adjustable link 18 is provided as an adjustment mechanism, this being disposed between the two beams 15, 16 at point at or near their ends remote from the instrument body.
A more detailed view of the construction of the instrument in assembled form is shown in the longitudinal cross section of FIG. 5. The structural assembly 25 effectively forms a beam that typically extends from the bridge 26, where the strings 2 are anchored to (or through) the body of the instrument, to the end of the neck where the string tuners 33 anchor the strings to the headstock 28. The assembly may include cut away portions, e.g. at 36 to clear electromagnetic pick ups 35, if fitted. Outer portions of the assembly may be extended outwards laterally and/or have deeper return flanges at their extremities to compensate for any loss of strength or rigidity created by such cutouts. The adjustment mechanism 30 is typically located on the headstock side of the neck beyond a “nut” 32 that guides the strings between the fingerboard area and the string tuners 33. As mentioned above, the structural assembly 25 can be attached to the inner surface of the front shell 21 of instrument at least the areas of the string anchorage attachment means 26, 34, and the rear side of the fingerboard 22. The fingerboard (or at least its playing surface) may be made from wood as an alternative to a moulded part. The string tuners 33 can also be located through and supported by the structural assembly 25 in area 29 of the headstock 28.
A more detailed arrangement for the structural assembly 25 is shown in FIG. 6, which, again, is an exploded view. The assembly 25 comprises two outer lateral beams 37, 38, which are mainly of ‘L’ or asymmetric ‘U’ cross section, and can be mirror images of each other, but in other embodiments the formation and/or appearance of each beam can differ, e.g. in some cases the two beams can be formed of a single casting. These outer beams are disposed either side of a centre beam 39 that is held in a substantially rigid manner to the outer beams at one end (typically the body end of the instrument) by means of nuts 45 and bolts 44, but it will be understood that any other suitable fixing means could be used, e.g. or rivets, welds or adhesive bonding. The centre beam 39 can therefore form a cantilever member, one end of which is connected (indirectly) to the body of the guitar. In other embodiments the cantilever member can be connected directly to the body of the guitar and/or (indirectly or directly) to the neck portion. It will be understood that the extreme end of the cantilever member does not necessarily have to be connected to the body/neck; having a portion adjacent to that end fixed to the body/neck can effectively provide the same functionality.
In other embodiments, the beam cross sections may be varied. For instance, the centre beam may be of ‘T’ section and can be comprised of more than one component fixed together, and the outer beams can be of any section that fits within the remaining cross sectional area of the neck. The outer 37, 38 and centre beams 39 may taper along their length as the bending stresses reduce towards the headstock end of the neck. The two outer beams 37, 38 are joined together by a saddle piece 42 that can be a separate piece as shown in the Figure, or may be formed as tabs on the outer beams themselves. A means for aligning the axis of the elongate member of the adjustment device with other parts of the device may be provided, e.g. slotted holes for assembly screws that hold the various items together.
An adjustment mechanism 30 is provided to alter the relative positions of the outer and centre beams. The adjustment mechanism can be a threaded arrangement where a screw 41 passing through an aperture in the saddle piece 42 engages a threaded boss 40 attached to the centre beam 39 or into a threaded hole formed directly in the centre beam. (Alternatively, a stud may be permanently engaged with the threaded boss 40 (or again directly into a threaded hole in the centre beam) and a nut can be used to effect the adjustment). The adjustment mechanism 30 is thus located adjacent the free end of the centre beam 39, although its position could be varied anywhere between the end of the beam 39 remote from the body and a point about 50% along its length. However, it will be understood that other arrangements can be implemented, e.g. removable spacers between the beams or a ratchet-like mechanism. The saddle piece 42 can be either just local to the adjustment mechanism 30, or it may extend further along the neck to provide additional strength in an “unsupported” part of the assembly between the portions 29 and 38.
By turning the screw 41, the position of the outer beams 37, 38 relative to the centre beam 39 can be changed, the two outer beams being moved simultaneously as the position of the saddle (which houses the adjustment device) is adjusted relative to the cantilever member. This in turn adjusts the curvature of the neck of the instrument (and hence the curvature of the fingerboard). Tightening the screw will reduce the curvature of the neck under the load imposed by the tension in the strings and loosening the screw increases the curvature. An initial “start” position (where both beams are in an unstressed condition before the strings are tensioned) can be varied so that the adjustment provided can result in the neck, under the influence of the string tension, to vary from being substantially straight (when the screw is fully tightened) to a significant bow (when the screw is fully loosened). Whilst the adjustment mechanism is configured as shown, the centre beam may also bear upon the outer members along discrete areas of their length, which could allow the resulting curvature of the fingerboard to be modified over its length. Compared to a conventional truss rod adjustment design the arrangement described herein allows a much finer degree of adjustment. Normally, a truss rod requires a significant adjustment torque and operates over typically one turn of the threaded adjustment member, whereas the present design requires a very low torque and operates over a typical adjustment range of 6 or 7 turns of the threaded adjustment member.
FIG. 6 also shows the parts of a “sandwich” construction of the structural assembly that contains reinforcing and spacing members 43 located between the outer beams 37, 38 and the centre beam 39. These spacing members provide a more rigid assembly at the body of the end of the instrument (where little curvature of the neck or fingerboard is required), but in addition provide a clearance between the outer beams 37, 38 and the centre beam 39. This prevents rattles and friction between the outer and centre beams. The surfaces that can potentially contact may be given a low friction surface treatment and/or “damping” material (a felt material, for instance) can be positioned in the clearance area (in either a continuous strip or in discrete areas). The reduction of friction makes the adjustment means smoother in operation and more accurate/stable. Some masking material may be incorporated in this area to prevent adhesive that is used for bonding the outer members 37 and 38 to the rear/inside surface of the fingerboard 22 from contacting the centre beam 38 so as to avoid problems that would prevent adjustment.
The structural member 25, whilst giving strength and stiffness to the neck of the instrument to resist the tension imposed by the strings, may also be extended outwards to provide support to other areas of the instrument, in particular to the body if the latter is made from plastic shells. FIG. 11 (which is an exploded view similar to FIG. 4) shows the structural assembly 25 having extensions 60 that extend from portions, e.g. 27, of the body portion of assembly 25 and these can be linked to other parts of the instrument to provide support to the locations of the attachment means for a strap—or just to give enhanced rigidity to the moulded shells. (An extension may also run from the body of the instrument to the headstock in a manner approximately parallel to the neck but spaced from it to provide additional structural support for the neck). They can also assist in removing the moulded shell from the mould tool cavity after the structural assembly 25 has been attached to the front shell whilst the latter is still within the tool by forming a rigid member that can be pulled from the tool whilst attached to the moulding. A counter balance mass 61 can also be incorporated which can alter the longitudinal position of the centre of gravity of the instrument.
To effect adjustment, the threaded part 67 is slightly unscrewed to release the clamp effect on part 63. Part 63 is then adjusted on the stud 62 to obtain the required deflection of beam 39 and hence the required fingerboard relief. Part 67 is then retightened to “lock” the adjustment position. As well as locking the adjustment, there is also no permitted relative movement between beam 39 and the saddle piece 42.
The distance 70 between the top of part 63 and the end of the stud 62 may be chosen to be similar to the adjustment gap 48. Thus, as part 63 is tightened onto the stud 62 the depth of the slot 69 that can be engaged by a screwdriver in part 63 gradually reduces to zero. It will therefore not be possible to “over adjust” the mechanism with potentially damaging results. (Unless, for instance, a specially modified screwdriver with a rebated end is used).
In a similar manner the gap 49 is maybe chosen to be no less than the thread length 64 so that if “over adjustment” is effected in the opposite direction the centre beam 39 cannot contact or damage the rear moulding 24. The stud 62 and housing 65 will normally be made from stronger materials than the parts 63 and 67 (for instance, 62 and 65 may be made from steel and 63 and 67 from brass). The advantage of this is that any abuse or damage to the mechanism causes the threads in parts 63 and 67 to shear or strip before those of parts 62 and 65. Such damaged parts can then easily be extracted and replaced in service.
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