Thumbrest ring adapter for musical instrument2010-03-24 00:00:00in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,198 includes a monopod component which is adjustable in length and an attachment component connected to one end of the monopod component for attachment to a ring on a conventional thumbrest. The attachment component includes a stair-step shaped horizontal body having a slot in one end to receive the ring and a latch mechanism on top of the body which is pivotably actuated to engage the ring when it is received within the slot. The stair-step shape allows the slotted portion of the body which receives the ring to be positioned above the top surface of the thumbrest opposite the surface where the musician's thumb supports the thumbrest. Positioning the attachment component body in this manner allows the latch mechanism to transfer the weight of the instrument to the attachment component and simultaneously prevents any downward force on the body of the attachment component from being applied directly to the latch mechanism due to the support of the thumbrest beneath the attachment component.
However, the attachment components disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,198 will not work effectively with the ring adapters of the present invention due to the fact that the eye portions 100 and 170 of the ring adapters 30 and 140, respectively, are not attached directly to the thumbrests themselves but rather extend above and, in some cases, in front of the thumbrests. Therefore, an attachment component of a monopod strut device such as that shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,198 will not be supported on the thumbrest itself and thus does not prevent a downward force applied directly to the body of the attachment component from applying a reactive upward force to the latch mechanism on top of the attachment component. Such an upward force can bend and distort the top-mounted latch mechanism to such a degree as to render the attachment component of limited value.
An alternative attachment component 175 for the monopod strut device disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,198, overcomes these disadvantages, as is apparent from FIGS. 10-14 and 19. The main difference between the attachment component 175 and the previously disclosed attachment component is that a latch mechanism 176 is placed within a body 178 of the attachment component 175 as opposed to being located atop the body. Additionally, the body 178 of the attachment component 175 does not include a stair-step shape since no portion of the body 178 is supported on the thumbrest itself. Rather, the body 178 is freely attached to the eye of the ring adapters 30 and 140.
Except as noted above, the construction of the attachment component 175 is similar to that shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,198. One end of the body 178 defines a slot 180 which receives the eye of either the ring adapter 30 (FIG. 14) or the ring adapter 140 (FIG. 19). A transverse slot 182 is also formed in the same end of the body 178 and intersects the slot 180 as shown in FIGS. 12-14. The latch mechanism 176 includes a single rigid shaft 184 which is inserted into a hole formed in the body 178 and bent into an appropriate configuration. An upper portion (as shown) of the shaft 184 is bent to form a depending hook end 186 which resides within the transverse slot and extends through the eye of the ring adapters 30 and 140 when the latch mechanism 176 is connected to the thumbrests 32 and 142, respectively. A middle portion of the shaft 184 pivots within the hole in the body 178 when the latch mechanism 176 operates. A lower portion of the shaft 184 is bent to form an actuating handle 188. An outer portion of the actuating handle 188 normally extends to the side of the body 178, as shown in FIGS. 10-12. In this position, the hook end 186 extends through the eye 170 of the ring adapter 140, as shown in FIG. 19. When the outer portion of the actuating handle 188 is pivoted to a position adjacent to the body 178, the hook end 186 is withdrawn from the eye so as to release the connection of the attachment component 175, as shown in FIG. 14 with respect to the eye 100 of the ring adapter 30.
A coil spring 190 is connected around the middle portion of the shaft 184 at a location above the upper surface of the body 178 and before the shaft 184 bends from middle portion into the upper portion which forms the hook end 186. One end 192 of the spring 190 extends from the
coils 194 to a hole 196 formed in the body 178. The other end 198 of the spring 190 extends from the
coils 194 to the upper portion of the shaft 184 at a location short of the depending hook end 186. The end 198 of the spring 190 is connected in a loop 200 around the shaft 184.
The
coils 194 of the spring 190 bias the ends 192 and 198 toward one another under normal circu...
Transducer for stringer musical instrument2010-03-01 00:00:00of
coils mounted adjacent each string of the instrument. The
coils have substantially the same number of turns of electrically conducting wire wound thereon, and the wires constituting the
coils are of different gauges.ClaimsI claim:
1. In a transducer for a stringed musical instrument whose output is to be electrically amplified, in which said transducer includes a pair of
coils mounted adjacent each string of saidinstrument, the improvement in which said
coils have individual axes and substantially the same number of turns of electrically conducting wire wound thereon, and the wires constituting said
coils are of different gauges.
2. A transducer as in claim 1, in which said coil wires range in diameter between about 0.00078 inch and 0.00400 inch.
3. A transducer as in claim 2, in which the wire diameter of one of said
coils is about 0.00249 inch, and the wire diameter of the other of said
coils is about 0.00198 inch.DescriptionBACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to transducers, or pickups, for stringed music...
