Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-26
2001-04-10
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
C084S320000, C084S322000, C211S120000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06215052
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to guitar pick holders.
2. Prior Art
A guitar pick is an egg shaped, springy sheet for plucking guitar strings. Many musicians have a collection of guitar picks in different sizes and thickness. Keeping them loosely in a bag or a box makes finding the desired pick a difficult and annoying task. They are also so small that they are easily lost.
Various holders are known in the prior art for storing and dispensing guitar picks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,021 to Longshore discloses a pick holder which comprises a block with a slot where a pick can be inserted. The slot is only wide enough to hold a single pick. U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,238 to Adams discloses a pick dispenser similar to a coin dispenser. The picks can only be accessed sequentially. U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,300 to Silverman discloses a pick holder which comprises an elongated clip into which a plurality of picks can be inserted. The clip must be inconveniently long to hold many picks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,531 to Tischer discloses a pick holder comprising a coil spring into which picks can be inserted. The spring tends to stretch when a pick is removed and causes other picks to fall out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,708 to Vaughan discloses a pick holder which comprises a series of side-by-side pockets. The holder is for attaching to the body of a guitar. The picks are held parallel and very close to the surface of the guitar, so that they tend to be difficult to grip and remove. U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,431 to Ferguson shows a spring loaded pick dispenser similar to a coin dispenser, wherein the picks can only be accessed sequentially. U.S. patent Des. 355,667 to Burger shows a pick holder which comprises a plurality of side-by-side spring loops for attaching to the tuning pegs on the neck of a guitar. The holder tends to interfere with the operation of the tuning pegs. U.S. patent Des. 309,674 to Gervase discloses a pick holder which comprises a rail with a clip for clipping to a guitar strap or belt. This holder also limits the picks to being accessed sequentially. Many of the prior art guitar pick holders are attached to the guitar body. However, many musicians are reluctant to tape or otherwise attach anything to their guitars.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the objectives of the present guitar pick holder are:
to hold guitar picks securely to prevent loss;
to hold a collection of guitar picks in a very compact space;
to enable the guitar picks to be easily gripped and removed;
to enable the guitar picks to be randomly selected and removed;
to hold guitar picks of different sizes and thickness; and
to attach the guitar picks to a strap or belt so as not to mar the guitar.
Further objectives of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present guitar pick holder comprises a housing formed of a front half and a back half. A plurality of slots are arranged on the front half for receiving guitar picks. The slots are positioned very close together and staggered for compactness, but still enable the picks to be easily gripped. The picks may be randomly selected and removed from any slot. Each slot includes a beveled first edge for aiding pick insertion. A resilient tab projects into the slot from the first edge for securing the pick in position. A plurality of ramps are attached to the interior of the back half of the housing and aligned behind the slots. When a guitar pick is inserted into a slot, it is biased by the resilient tab against a second edge of the slot to an angled position relative to the surface of the housing for being easily gripped. The angle is limited by the ramp which engages the inner end of the pick. A clip on the back half of the housing is for clipping to a guitar strap or belt.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 309674 (1990-08-01), Gervase
patent: D. 355667 (1995-02-01), Burger
patent: 4135431 (1979-01-01), Ferguson
patent: 4467693 (1984-08-01), Nasfell, Jr.
patent: 4785708 (1988-11-01), Vaughan
patent: 4890531 (1990-01-01), Tischer
patent: 5127300 (1992-07-01), Silverman
patent: 5231238 (1993-07-01), Adams
patent: 5649634 (1997-07-01), Irizarry
patent: 5796021 (1998-08-01), Longshore
patent: 6140564 (2000-10-01), Pia
Dickinson Raymond
Giddens Michael
Ott Wolfgang
Hsieh Shih-yung
Lo Jack
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