This relates to capos for stringed instruments, such as guitar, banjo or another stringed instrument.
A capo is a device for clamping the strings of a guitar or other stringed instrument against a neck of the instrument to change their pitch. Shown in
In one embodiment, a capo is provided, for use with a stringed instrument. The capo comprising an upper arm member including an upper handle, which may be curved, having a dimension W2, an upper connection part, and a string press bar. Attached to the string press bar is an attached upper pad for engaging the strings of a stringed instrument. The string press bar has a dimension W4 where W4 can be greater than W2, which is the dimension of the upper handle. The capo further comprises a lower arm member including a lower handle at one end, and a securing bar to engage a neck of a stringed instrument at a second end. Between the lower handle and the securing bar is a lower connection part. The lower connection part has a connection with the upper connection part. Disposed between the upper arm member and the lower arm member is a spring. The spring operates to bias the string press bar and the securing bar toward each other, and may be an arm spring. The securing bar may be narrower than the string press bar. The string press bar may extend beyond the securing bar in at least one direction generally perpendicular to the clamping direction of the capo.
The securing bar may have a lower pad attached, and a pad stop. The securing bar may also have ribs to assist in attaching the lower pad. Further, the lower handle may have a spring attachment point. The arm extension may extend to cover the coils of the spring disposed between the upper arm member and the lower arm member. The upper connection part and the lower connection part may be connected by a pivot. The pivot connecting the upper and lower connection parts may be a rivet.
In another embodiment, a capo is provided, for use with a stringed instrument. The capo comprising an upper arm member including an upper handle, which may be curved, having a dimension W2, an upper connection part, and a string press bar. Attached to the string press bar is an attached upper pad for engaging the strings of a stringed instrument. The string press bar has a dimension W4 where W4 can be greater than W2, which is the dimension of the upper handle. The capo further comprises a lower arm member including a lower handle at one end, and a securing bar to engage a neck of a stringed instrument at a second end. The securing bar may a removable lower pad. The securing bar may be formed with a plurality of ribs to assist in securing a removable lower pad. Between the lower handle and the securing bar is a lower connection point to enable connection to the upper connection part. This connection forms a connection point by the nesting of the upper and lower connection points. Disposed between the upper arm member and the lower arm member is a spring. The spring operates to bias the string press bar and the securing bar toward each other, and may be an arm spring.
Referring to
The upper arm member 120 and the lower arm member 140 are connected by a connection point 112. The connection point 112 includes an upper connection part 128 and a lower connection part or point disposed on the upper and lower arm members respectively. The upper connection part 128 and lower connection point operate in combination during the use of the capo 110, and together form connection point 112. The connection point 112 can be a pivot such that the upper arm member 120 and the lower arm member 140 are pivotably connected about the connection point 112. The pivot may be a shaft, bolt, rivet or other component, which allows rotation about an axis.
A biasing component is connected between upper arm member 120 and lower arm member 140. The biasing component may be the spring 114. The spring 114 may be an arm spring, preferably a torsion spring, that engages the upper arm member 120 and the lower arm member 140. The spring 114 is biased inward in order to urge the string press bar 122 and the securing bar 142 together about the connection point 112. The spring 114 has two ends.
The mechanism by which the string press bar 122 may attach to upper arm member 120 includes being a continuous formed component, or some other manner of attachment for example being attached by a bolt, a screw, or with an adhesive.
In one embodiment shown in at least
The upper pad 124 may be attached to string press bar 122 with any suitable fastener system and/or an adhesive. The upper pad 124 extends approximately the entire length of the string press bar 122 or at least a length sufficient to protect the neck of a stringed instrument. The upper pad 124 may have a width W4 approximately equivalent to the width W4 of the string press bar 122. The upper pad 124 may also function to prevent any undesirable interaction between the capo 110 and the at least one string 162. The upper pad 124 may be made of materials such as felt, an elastomeric material or any other suitable material.
The upper handle 126 of the upper arm member 120 may be curved to aid in its use.
Additionally, the upper handle 126 may take on various forms of ornamentation. Further, the upper handle 126 may contain one or more grooves to reduce weight and/or conserve materials as desired. In use, the upper handle 126 assists in accepting a force, in conjunction with lower handle 146, to compress the spring 114 thus pivoting the upper arm member 120 or lower arm member 140 relative to the other about the connection point 112. The compression of spring 114 allows at least one arm member to pivot about the connection point 112 such that the area of the space between them increases.
The lower arm member 140 includes a securing bar 142. An optional lower pad 144 may be attached to the securing bar 142. A pad stop 152 is attached to the securing bar 142. A lower handle 146 is attached to the lower arm member 140. A spring attachment point 154 is attached to the lower handle 146. The securing bar 142 may include ribs 156 and/or a pad stop 152 to prevent movement of the lower pad 144.
The lower pad 144 may be attached to securing bar 142 with any suitable fastener system and/or an adhesive. The lower pad 144 may be made of an elastomeric material or any other suitable material. The lower pad 144 may be a sleeve of material able to encase the securing bar 142 of the lower arm member 140.
One end of the spring 114 is secured to the spring attachment point 154. The spring attachment point 154 may be attached to the lower handle 146. A second end of spring 114 may be disposed or attached within the upper arm member 120. The lower handle 146 may be curved to aid in its use. Further, the lower handle may take on other various forms of ornamentation. In use, a force applied to upper handle 126 and lower handle 146 compresses the spring 114 and urges the securing bar 142 away from string press bar 122.
Additionally, the spring attachment point 154 may be located on the lower handle 146 or at any location in order to facilitate proper operation of a capo 110.
In one embodiment as shown in
In using the capo 110, the musician grasps the handles of the upper and lower handles 126 and 146, which are connected to the string press bar 122 and securing bar 142 respectively. The upper handle 126 and the lower handle 146 may be squeezed together against the force of the spring 114 to open the capo 110 to receive the neck 160 of an instrument. The capo 110 is then moved to receive the neck 160 of the instrument, which is caused to move into the gap with the upper arm member 120, string press bar 122 and upper pad 124 positioned above the strings 162 of the guitar. The manual pressure of the musician's hand on the upper handle 126 and the lower handle 146 is then released, allowing the spring 114 to urge the string press bar 122 and the securing bar 142 into an abutting relation with opposing surfaces of the neck 160. At least one of the strings 162 is forced into engagement with the fret board 164 of the guitar. Due to the physical properties of the pads 124 and 144, which may be elastomeric pads, the capo 110 is prevented from sliding off the neck.
When it is desired to reposition the capo 110 along the neck 160 of an associated stringed instrument, or to remove the capo 110 from the neck 160, the musician grasps the handles of the upper and lower handles 126 and 146, which are connected to the string press bar 122 and securing bar 142 respectively. The upper handle 126 and the lower handle 146 may be squeezed together against the force of the spring 114 to open the capo 110 and cause the string press bar 122 and securing bar 142 to move to a release position. As illustrated in
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
The foregoing has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be understood that it may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/509,690 filed on Oct. 8, 2014, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/943,006 filed Feb. 21, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20160284327 A1 | Sep 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61943006 | Feb 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14509690 | Oct 2014 | US |
Child | 15172679 | US |