Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-13
2001-07-03
Nappi, Robert E. (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
C084S290000, C084S291000, C084S293000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253654
ABSTRACT:
1. Field of Invention
This present invention relates in general to electric stringed instruments, e.g., electric guitars, and in particular to an electrical stringed instrument having interchangeable pickup assemblies having multiple pickups, which connect to electronic control components fixed within the body of the instrument.
2. Description of Prior Art
A traditionally built stringed instrument, e.g., an electric guitar, comes with one or more permanently installed pickups, mounted beneath the strings, and situated between the end of the neck's finger board and the bridge. The sound of the vibrating metal string is received into the pickup by way of a magnetic field created by the pickup's two main components: a bar magnet wound around with more than six thousand windings of a very thin gauge of copper wire. A disturbance in the magnetic field, produced by the vibrating string, causes the coil of wire wound around the magnet to become filled with a flow of current creating an electrical signal that is transmitted to a loudspeaker system for amplification. These pickups are directly wired to electronic control components permanently mounted in the “control cavity” of the guitar's body. Depending on the body shape and design, the electronic control components are mounted either directly through the face's wood, or onto a plastic or metal plate called a “pickguard,” which is attached to the body's face with screws. Typically, control components consist of a volume control, a tone control, a switch to enable the user to select the pickup(s) to be active, and one or more small toggle switches that affect the tone quality of an individual pickup by varying the amount and direction of electrical flow through it. A pickup can only produce the tonal qualities that the manufacturer's specifications allow. The user can, therefore, access only the sound options limited to those installed pickups. When the user becomes dissatisfied with the sound options, he has to remove the pickups by unsoldering all of the wires of the old pickups and soldering in the connections for new pickups. The user is now, however, limited to the sound options of the new pickups. To overcome this limitation, the user is forced to a very expensive decision; i.e., to purchase several guitars, each with differently installed pickups giving the user different sound options.
Pickups are manufactured in one of three configurations: the “single-coil” pickup, consisting of one bar magnet with its wire windings, and having two leads for making electrical connections; a “tapped” single-coil pickup having three leads for making electrical connections, where, by use of a mini-toggle switch, half of the pickup is deactivated producing a thinner, more trebly tone; and the “dual-coil” pickup, consisting of two single coils joined together, either side by side or one atop the other, and having four leads for making electrical connections (four leads allow a greater number of wiring possibilities which allows for more tonal options). This third pickup form is also called a “Humbucking” pickup, or simply a “Humbucker.” However, a dual-coil pickup is considered to be and functions as one pickup.
Regarding the neck to body construction of an electric guitar, one of three methods is used: the neck is permanently glued to the body; the neck is bolted on to the body, for easy removal in case of damage; or the neck and the center section of the body are fashioned out of one piece of wood, called “neck-through-body” construction.
The present invention represents a major improvement over the following relevant prior art: U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,831 to Lipman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,210 to Palazzolo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,777 to Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,511 to Rosendahl, U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,603 to Siminoff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,386 to Betticare, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,823 to Dodge. Firstly, the Lipman, Palazzolo, Allen, and Betticare patents accommodate only one pickup per module. This is very cumbersome for the user who would have three separate pickup modules to install or withdraw at one time. This present invention's pickup assembly, on the other hand, accommodates up to three pickups, in any combination of single-coils and/or dual-coil humbuckers. Thus, with one motion, and in seconds, the user can install a complete set of all of the commonly used pickup configurations. This ease of operation is especially appreciated at a live performance. Secondly, the Palazzolo, Betticare, Rosendahl, Lipman and Allen patents necessitate altering a third party's manufactured pickup design to achieve their goals. This is both costly and time consuming. This present invention does not modify the pickups as purchased in any way, and are installed in the assembly in the same manner to those permanently installed in any common electric guitar body. This is both advantageous to the builder and to the user: to the builder, in that no costly time is spent either in designing and making original pickups, or in altering market produced pickups; and to the user, in that the user can at any time purchase one or more of the hundreds of market produced pickups and install them him or herself in the assembly. Thirdly, The Rosendahl patent requires that the guitar's strings be slackened before a pickup module can be inserted or removed. Though not specifically stated in the text of the Allen, Palazzolo, and Betticare patents, it is none-the-less clear to users skilled in the art of guitar playing and building, that since the module must be carefully slid between the body face and the underside of the strings, effective installation or removal of their pickup modules necessitates some string slackening. This is both time- consuming and awkward, especially in a live performance. In addition to the deficiencies stated above to the Siminoff patent, the method of module insertion, through the sides of the guitar body into chambers containing electrical contacts is very awkward, as many of the entry locations are a difficult reach for the user. Fourthly, given the above mentioned pickup module inadequacies, except for the Dodge patent, the above patents do not allow for as comprehensive a wiring scheme as possible, which limits the tonal options available to the user. The Dodge patent, although representing an improvement over the above-mentioned patents, does posses several serious disadvantages, which this present invention addresses and improves greatly upon. Firstly, the cutout that goes completely through the body, into which the module is inserted, is extremely and unnecessarily large. This constrains Dodge to use the “neck-through-body” form of guitar construction. This present invention allows any of the three commonly used neck to body connections. Secondly, the module fitting into this cavity is also very large making insertion, removal, storage and transport more difficult. In addition to the pickups, the Dodge module contains all of the electronic control components; this makes for a very heavy and unwieldy module. Thirdly, because of its large size, in order for the module to be maneuvered into the cavity, the guitar must be removed from the user to gain adequate leverage. Fourthly, a guitar is connected to the amplifying device by a specialized cable with specialized plugs on the ends. In the Dodge patent, before one can make a module change, this cable must be disconnected from the guitar, and then reconnected after the module change. In this present invention, the cable does not need to be removed. In summary, each of the above-patented inventions has enough shortcomings that would deter one skilled in the art of guitar playing from using the invention.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for a guitar which has easily interchangeable and transportable pickup assemblies and which allows manipulation of sound within each assembly.
SUMMARY OF INCLUDING OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
Summary
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a guitar having a cutout and a connector in a portion of the cutout. Pins
Lockett Kim
Nappi Robert E.
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