Guitar having tremolo device on each string thereof

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6384311
  • Patent Number
    6,384,311
  • Date Filed
    Monday, February 12, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 7, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Witkowski; Stanley J.
    Agents
    • McGue; Frank J.
Abstract
A stringed instrument comprises, in combination, a body with a neck extending forwardly therefrom The neck has a tuning portion mounted opposite the body which is adapted to receive one end of a plurality of strings. The tuning portion adjusts the tension on each of the plurality of strings. The other end of the plurality of stings is attached to the body. A plurality of pickup elements is positioned on the body proximate to the neck. The plurality of pickup elements is underneath the plurality of strings. The plurality of pickup elements are also in electrical communication with a position sensitive switch which determines which of the plurality of pickup elements is actuated in response to movement of the body. A plurality of tremolo mechanisms corresponding to the plurality of strings is attached to the end of the plurality of strings attached to the body. Also, interchangeable fret boards are mountable on the neck.
Description




TECHNICAL FIELD




The present invention relates to stringed instruments, and, more particularly, to a guitar having interchangeable fretboards, a novel switchboard pickup mechanism and individual tremolo mechanisms for each string thereof.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Music has always provided a popular source of entertainment and pleasure to persons from all over the world. However, modern musicians also want control of the sounds generated by such instruments.




Electromagnetic pickup elements that detect the mechanical vibrations of the strings and convert these to electrical signals for amplification and subsequent playback in speakers are well known to those skilled in the art. Also well known is the use of multiple pickup elements placed in various configurations relative to the guitar strings to obtain distinct frequency components of the mechanical string vibrations. Moreover, musicians are able to switch from one to another of these pickup elements during play or to switch to combinations of two or more pickup elements to provide a plurality of electrically amplified guitar sounds.




One problem noted in the prior art is the inability to quickly and accurately switch from one or another of the pickup elements without interrupting the play of the guitar. Improvements in switching technology include Starr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,149, which teaches an electronic push button switching system that allows rapid, unobtrusive switching between multiple pickup elements or combinations thereof Starr thereby provides a simple and accurate switching control during guitar play.




Another improvement in switching technology includes Cota (the present applicant), U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,986, which uses the opening and closing of a hinged top portion of a multiple coil pickup device to change the tone or pitch of the resultant guitar string sounds.




It is also well known in the art to provide a tremolo mechanism which allows the musician to change the tension of the strings while said strings are vibrating. Such mechanisms generally comprise a lever having one end connected to a base plate to which said strings are attached. When the other end of the lever is lifted by the musician, the resultant pull on the base plate increases the tension on the strings thereby resulting in a different sound. However, such mechanisms always act upon all the strings of a guitar simultaneously. Thus, there is a need for a tremolo mechanism which allows the musician to selectively alter the tension on each of the guitar strings separately.




Lastly, it is also well known in the art to provide different fret board configurations to provide a multiplicity of sounds. Cota (the present applicant), in U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,986, describes interchangeable fret boards that alternately extend and are secured by screws to a playing position, or retract within a guitar body for storage or carrying. However, there is a need for an interchangeable fret board which is easily attached to and detached from the neck of a guitar.




The present invention meets these needs.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with the invention claimed a number of improvements are made in electronically amplified stringed instruments.




It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide an electronically amplified stringed instrument having a plurality of electronic pickup elements and means for switching between the plurality of electronic pickup elements during play.




It is still another object of this invention is to provide a plurality of interchangeable fret boards to create a plurality of different sounds.




It is a further object of this invention to provide a tremolo mechanism separably operable for each one of the strings of the stringed instrument.




Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of the specification.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention may be readily described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:





FIG. 1

is a front view of a bass guitar of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a front close up view of a body of the bass guitar of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a side schematic view of a tremolo mechanism of the bass guitar of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a side exploded view of the tremolo mechanism of

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

is a side exploded view of an interchangeable fret board with male and female locking member and top and bottom halves of guitar body with male and female locking clips of the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a side view of a snap used in the male and female locking clips of

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 7

is a side exploded view of the snap of

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 8

is a detail showing the attachment mechanism used to interchange the fret boards of

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 9

is a top view of a fret board;





FIG. 10

is a top view of a female locking member of

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 11

is a bottom view of a male locking member of

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 12

is a close up view of a fret board;





FIG. 13

is a close up perspective view of one of the female locking member elements;





FIG. 14

is a side view of a male and a female locking member engaged and disengaged;





FIG. 15

is a close up perspective view of one of the male locking member elements;





FIG. 16

is side view of a mercury switch used in the present invention in a three differing orientations; and





FIG. 17

is a schematic view of the mercury switch of

FIG. 16

electrically connected to a plurality of pickup elements.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring more particularly to the drawings by characters of reference,

FIG. 1

shows a electric bass guitar


10


comprising a guitar body


12


with a guitar neck


14


extending forwardly therefrom. Guitar neck


14


includes a tuning portion


18


mounted opposite guitar body


12


having four posts


20


each of which are adapted to receive one end of a guitar string


22


. Four corresponding tuning knobs


23


allow a user to rotate said corresponding posts


20


to increase and decrease the tension on guitar string


22


thereby allowing a user to tune said strings


22


as is well known in the art.




Extending the length of guitar neck


14


between tuning portion


18


and guitar body


12


is a fret board


24


having a plurality of frets


26


thereon. As is also well known in the art, a user is effectively shortens the length of guitar string


22


by use of finger pressure to bring said string into contact with a selected fret


26


thereby changing the note played when said string


22


is strummed by the user.




A pickup element area


16


is positioned on guitar body


12


in a line defined along fret board


24


underneath strings


22


and rearwardly the end of fret board


24


. Area


16


includes electronic pickups


28


, seen in

FIG. 17

, which are described in more detail below. Area


16


is generally located in the area a user strums guitar strings


22


.




As best seen in

FIGS. 2 and 3

, each guitar string


22


passes over a corresponding guitar bridge


30


positioned proximate to area


16


and is rearwardly thereafter attached to an individual tremolo mechanism


32


. One key to the invention is the provision of individual tremolo mechanisms


32


for each separate guitar string


22


.




As best seen in

FIG. 3

, tremolo mechanism


32


includes a mount


34


which receives an end of guitar string


22


, a pivot


36


mounted to guitar body


12


, a short pivot arm


38


extending rearwardly opposite guitar string


22


, a tremolo arm


40


which extends upwardly and then forwardly from short pivot arm


38


and a compression spring


42


which extends downwardly and forwardly from the distal end of short pivot arm


38


and resiliently biases pivot


36


in a clockwise direction as viewed from the perspective of FIG.


3


. The end of compression spring


42


opposite arm


36


is mounted on the interior of body


12


.




Turning now to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, one embodiment of tremolo mechanism


32


and guitar bridge


30


are provided. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the exact details of construction of these elements as provided herein are exemplary in nature and do not limit the invention to the particular details thereof.




Guitar bridge


30


comprises a rubber bridge controller


44


which is interposed between a single bridge rocker


46


and guitar body


12


to dampen harmonic interference between rocker


46


and body


12


. Single bridge rocker


46


comprises a mounting arm


48


which includes a screw slot


50


adapted to receive a intonation screw


52


which extends through slot


50


and secures mounting arm


48


and controller


44


to body


12


. A base


54


extends laterally from mounting arm


48


provides support for two pulley arms


56


which extend forwardly from base


54


. A pulley


58


is rotatably mounted on an axle


60


which extends between pulley arms


56


. A support bar


61


extends between pulley arms


56


opposite base


54


to provide further structural support for rocker


46


.




Means for attaching a guitar string to tremolo mechanism


32


comprises short pivot arm


38


having a laterally extending hollow openended cylinder


62


at one end thereof. Captured within cylinder


62


is a laterally extending string holder


64


having a cavity


66


centered therein Cavity


66


is adapted to receive and retain a base


68


of a string sleeve


70


from which string


22


extends. String sleeve


70


extends forwardly through a hole


72


in cylinder


62


. A pivot axle


74


extends through cylinder


62


. A carbon plastic slide


76


covers the forward face of cylinder


62


and is in turn covered by a slide cup


78


.




In the preferred embodiment, tremolo arm


40


comprises a tremolo arm guiding bar


80


which curves upwardly and forwardly from the rear of short pivot arm


38


where it is joined to a tremolo arm portion


82


being secured thereto by nut, bolt and washer combination


84


.




Compression spring


42


is attached to short pivot arm


38


via a mounting bracket


86


which curved downwardly from arm


38


. The opposite end of compression spring


42


is attached to the interior of guitar body


12


by an L-shaped bracket


88


, one leg of bracket


88


being secured to body


12


by screw


90


and the opposite end of compression spring


42


being secured to the other leg of bracket


88


.




The advantage of the present invention over the prior art is the ability of the user to utilize a tremolo effect for each individual string


22


as opposed to the prior art system whereby one tremolo bar is employed, that one tremolo bar actuating the tremolo effect for all strings at once. The ability to actuate each string individually provides far more control for the musician as to the sound produced by guitar


10


.




Another feature of the present invention is the ability to interchange fret boards


24


. This allows the user musician to employ differing fret boards


24


with, for example, different spacing between frets


26


, or even fret boards


24


without frets


26


at all.




The interchangeable fret boards


24


of the present invention are illustrated in

FIGS. 9

to


15


.

FIG. 9

shows the top of fret board


24


with frets


26


spaced thereon while

FIG. 12

provides a close up view thereof. A lip


92


is positioned at the tuning portion end of fret board


24


.





FIG. 10

shows the bottom of fret board


24


having a plurality of female receptacles


94


spaced therein. As best seen in

FIGS. 13 and 14

, female receptacles


94


have an open box shaped area


96


and a contiguous occluded area


98


which, in the presently preferred embodiment, shows the profile of a right triangle with the hypotenuse thereof extending upwardly and forwardly from one side of box shaped area


96


. Female receptacles


94


receive corresponding male receptacles


100


mounted on guitar neck


14


which, as best seen in

FIGS. 14 and 15

, have a box


102


with a contiguous overhang area


104


having the same right triangle profile as that of occluded area


98


.




To attach fret board


24


to neck


14


, male receptacles


100


are slidably received within corresponding female receptacles


94


as best seen in

FIGS. 5 and 14

. To secure, a snap


106


, best seen in

FIGS. 5 and 8

, is positioned on tuning portion


16


to engage a reverse prong


108


on fret board


24


. Snap


106


in combination with prong


108


prevents movement of fret board


24


relative to neck


14


. The triangle shapes of overhang area


104


and occluded area


98


firmly engaging hold fret board


24


in position with respect to neck


14


. Yet, simply releasing snap


106


allows the user to disengage fret board


24


easily and quickly.




Still another feature of the present invention is the use of a position sensitive switch


110


in conjunction with pickups


28


and resistors


112


to allow the user to control the sound of guitar


10


without ever needing to stop strumming. As shown in

FIGS. 16 and 17

, switch


110


is set up as a cross with four arms


114


extending at right angles to each other from a center point


116


. In the preferred embodiment, two arms


114


extend rearwardly and forwardly while the other two arms extend upwardly and downwardly.




As is well known in the art, the position of pickups


28


, the resistance with the circuit provided by resistors


112


and the type of pickups


28


all impact upon the sound quality ultimately produced.




As illustrated in

FIG. 16

, each such pair of arms


114


has three ball bearings


118


contained within a tube


120


but free to roll within tube


120


. At the distal end of each tube


120


is a mercury switch


122


which is actuated when ball bearings press upon diaphragm


124


which covers one end of tube


120


.




Each opposing pair of arms


114


has three possible positions.

FIG. 16A

illustrates a level position wherein neither mercury switch


122


is actuated.

FIG. 16B

corresponds to actuation of the right side mercury switch


122


when the entire switch


110


is tilted in that direction while

FIG. 16C

illustrates the actuation of left side mercury switch


122


when switch


110


is tilted in that direction.




As shown in

FIG. 17

, switch


110


and its mercury switch components


122


control which pickups are actuated by simply moving guitar


10


. Thus, the guitarist controls the pickups used by either lifting or lowering neck


14


of guitar


10


, or rotating body


12


of guitar


10


about an axis defined by neck


14


. The present invention allows the guitarist to continue play without ever having to stop actually playing strings


22


.




It will be apparent that a significantly improved guitar


10


is provided in accordance with the stated objects of the present invention, and while but a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A bass guitar comprising, in combination, a body with a neck extending forwardly therefrom, the neck having a tuning portion mounted opposite the body adapted to receive one end of a plurality of strings, the tuning portion having means for adjusting the tension on each of the plurality of strings, the other end of the plurality of stings attached to the body,at least one pickup element is positioned on the body proximate to the neck, the plurality of stings extending over the at least one pickup element, and a plurality of tremolo mechanisms corresponding to the plurality of strings, each of the plurality of tremolo mechanisms being attached to the other end of the corresponding one of the plurality of strings attached to the body.
  • 2. The bass guitar of claim 1 wherein the at least one pickup element comprises a plurality of pickup elements in electrical communication with a position sensitive switch which determines which of the plurality of pickup elements is actuated in response to movement of the body.
  • 3. The bass guitar of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of resistors in electrical communication with the position sensitive switch and the plurality of pickup elements.
  • 4. The bass guitar of claim 2 wherein the position sensitive switch is a cross shape having two pair of arms, each pair extending in opposing directions, the two pair of arms extending at right angles to each other from a center point, one pair of arms extending rearwardly and forwardly while the other two pair of arms extending upwardly and downwardly.
  • 5. The bass guitar of claim 4 wherein each arm has three ball bearings contained within a tube and separated from a mercury switch by a diaphragm at the distal end thereof, the mercury switch being actuated when the ball bearings press upon the diaphragm.
  • 6. The bass guitar of claim 5 wherein each pair of arms has three positions, a level position wherein neither mercury switch is actuated, a first actuation position wherein one mercury switch is actuated when the entire switch is tilted in one direction towards the one mercury switch and a second actuation position wherein the other mercury switch is actuated when the entire switch is tilted towards the other mercury switch.
  • 7. The bass guitar of claim 1 further comprising a fret board mounted on the neck, the fret board having a plurality of frets thereon.
  • 8. The bass guitar of claim 7 further comprising means for interchanging fret boards.
  • 9. The bass guitar of claim 8 wherein the means for interchanging comprises a plurality of female receptacles positioned on one of the fret board and the neck mating with a corresponding number of male receptacles positioned on the other of the fret board and the neck, the means for interchanging further comprising a snap for retaining the fret board on the neck.
  • 10. The bass guitar of claim 9 wherein the male and female receptacles are a combination of a box shape with a contiguous right triangle shape.
  • 11. The bass guitar of claim 1 further comprising a bridge positioned between the at least one pickup element and the tremolo mechanisms.
  • 12. The bass guitar of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of tremolo mechanisms comprises a mount which receives an end of the corresponding one of the plurality of strings, a pivot mounted to the body, a short pivot arm extending rearwardly from the one of the plurality of strings, a tremolo arm which extends upwardly and then forwardly from the short pivot arm and means for resiliently biasing the pivot in a selected direction.
  • 13. The stringed instrument bass guitar of claim 12 wherein means for resiliently biasing is a compression spring which extends downwardly and forwardly from the distal end of the short pivot arm and is mounted on the interior of the body.
  • 14. A stringed instrument comprising, in combination, a body with a neck extending forwardly therefrom, the neck having a tuning portion mounted opposite the body adapted to receive one end of a plurality of strings, the tuning portion having means for adjusting the tension on each of the plurality of strings, the other end of the plurality of stings attached to the body,a plurality of pickup elements positioned on the body proximate to the neck, the plurality of stings extending over the plurality of pickup elements, the plurality of pickup elements being in electrical communication with a position sensitive switch which determines which of the plurality of pickup elements is actuated in response to movement of the body, the position sensitive switch having a cross shape with two pairs of arms, each pair extending in opposing directions, the two pair of arms extending at right angles to each other from a center point, one pair of arms extending rearwardly and forwardly while the other two pair of arms extending upwardly and downwardly, each arm having three ball bearings contained within a tube and separated from a mercury switch by a diaphragm at the distal end thereof, the mercury switch being actuated when the ball bearings press upon the diaphragm.
  • 15. The stringed instrument of claim 14 further comprising a plurality of resistors in electrical communication with the position sensitive switch and the plurality of pickup elements.
  • 16. The stringed instrument of claim 14 wherein each pair of arms has three positions, a level position wherein neither mercury switch is actuated, a first actuation position wherein one mercury switch is actuated when the entire switch is tilted in one direction towards the one mercury switch and a second actuation position wherein the other mercury switch is actuated when the entire switch is tilted towards the other mercury switch.
  • 17. The stringed instrument of claim 14 further comprising a fret board mounted on the neck, the fret board having a plurality of frets thereon.
  • 18. The stringed instrument of claim 17 further comprising means for interchanging fret boards.
  • 19. The stringed instrument of claim 18 wherein the means for interchanging comprises a plurality of female receptacles positioned on one of the fret board and the neck mating with a corresponding number of male receptacles positioned on the other of the fret board and the neck, the means for interchanging further comprising a snap for retaining the fret board on the neck.
  • 20. The stringed instrument of claim 19 wherein the male and female receptacles are a combination of a box shape with a contiguous right triangle shape.
  • 21. A bass guitar comprising, in combination, a body with a neck extending forwardly therefrom, the neck having a tuning portion mounted opposite the body adapted to receive one end of a plurality of strings, the tuning portion having means for adjusting the tension on each of the plurality of strings, the other end of the plurality of stings attached to the body,a plurality of pickup elements positioned on the body proximate to the neck, the plurality of stings extending over the plurality of pickup elements, the plurality of pickup elements being in electrical communication with a position sensitive switch which determines which of the plurality of pickup elements is actuated in response to movement of the body, a plurality of tremolo mechanisms corresponding to the plurality of strings attached to the end of the plurality of strings attached to the body, a fret board mounted on the neck, the fret board having a plurality of frets thereon, and means for interchanging fret boards.
  • 22. The bass guitar of claim 21 wherein the means for interchanging comprises a plurality of female receptacles positioned on one of the fret board and the neck mating with a corresponding number of male receptacles positioned on the other of the fret board and the neck, the means for interchanging further comprising a snap for retaining the fret board on the neck.
  • 23. The bass guitar of claim 21 wherein the male and female receptacles are a combination of a box shape with a contiguous right triangle shape.
  • 24. A bass guitar comprising, in combination, a body with a neck extending forwardly therefrom, the neck having a tuning portion mounted opposite the body adapted to receive one end of a plurality of strings, the tuning portion having means for adjusting the tension on each of the plurality of strings, the other end of the plurality of stings attached to the body,a plurality of pickup elements positioned on the body proximate to the neck, the plurality of stings extending over the plurality of pickup elements, the plurality of pickup elements being in electrical communication with a position sensitive switch which determines which of the plurality of pickup elements is actuated in response to movement of the body, a plurality of resistors in electrical communication with the position sensitive switch and the plurality of pickup elements, the position sensitive switch being a cross shape having two pair of arms, each pair extending in opposing directions, the two pair of arms extending at right angles to each other from a center point, one pair of arms extending rearwardly and forwardly while the other two pair of arms extending upwardly and downwardly, each arm having three ball bearings contained within a tube and separated from a mercury switch by a diaphragm at the distal end thereof, the mercury switch being actuated when the ball bearings press upon the diaphragm, each pair of arms having three positions, a level position wherein neither mercury switch is actuated, a first actuation position wherein one mercury switch is actuated when the entire switch is tilted in one direction towards the one mercury switch and a second actuation position wherein the other mercury switch is actuated when the entire switch is tilted towards the other mercury switch, a plurality of tremolo mechanisms corresponding to the plurality of strings attached to the end of the plurality of strings attached to the body, the plurality of tremolo mechanisms each comprising a mount which receives an end of one of the plurality of strings, a pivot mounted to the body, a short pivot arm extending rearwardly the one of the plurality of strings, a tremolo arm which extends upwardly and then forwardly from the short pivot arm and a compression spring which extends downwardly and forwardly from the distal end of the short pivot arm and is mounted on the interior of the body for resiliently biasing the tremolo mechanism to a selected position, a fret board mounted on the neck, the fret board having a plurality of frets thereon, and a plurality of female receptacles positioned on one of the fret board and the neck mating with a corresponding number of male receptacles positioned on the other of the fret board and the neck, the male and female receptacles are a combination of a box shape with a contiguous right triangle shape, and a snap for retaining the fret board on the neck.
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Number Name Date Kind
2741146 Fender Apr 1956 A
3478158 Trainor Nov 1969 A
3479917 Zitnik et al. Nov 1969 A
4516462 Schulze May 1985 A
4611523 McFarland Sep 1986 A
4782732 Kato et al. Nov 1988 A
5442986 Cota Aug 1995 A
5590771 Cota Jan 1997 A
6084166 Lee Jul 2000 A
6156961 Beckmeier Dec 2000 A