Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-28
2001-01-09
Martin, David (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
C084S31200P, C084S305000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06172287
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a guitar string tuning device, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a guitar string tuning device which exerts uniform clamping force over a predetermined length of a guitar string in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the guitar string when clamping the guitar string after inserting it through a slit defined in a tuning peg, thereby preventing the guitar string from easily snapping due to stress concentration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a guitar which is a kind of stringed musical instrument, has a set of strings, and, by playing the guitar, sounds are produced in association with musical notes of the guitar strings. Because the guitar sound best matches the human voice when compared to other musical instruments, it has been widely popularized throughout the world.
Conventionally, a guitar includes a body which serves as an echo plate, and a guitar neck and an instrument head which are sequentially formed in a direction where guitar strings extend from a bridge of the body.
The guitar neck has a finger board which is formed on an upper surface thereof or is integrally attached thereto. A plurality of frets are mounted to the finger board at places which correspond to respective musical scales. Guitar strings are placed under tension across the plurality of frets and along the guitar neck.
Accordingly, as the guitar strings are fingered at a location of a sound hole which is defined in a soundboard in a state wherein a performer presses guitar strings against the guitar neck at a proper position, vibrations of the guitar strings are transferred to the soundboard, by which air is vibrated to generate musical sound.
The guitar strings vary in their thicknesses and types. One end of each guitar string is fastened to the bridge of the body by a pin, and the other end of the guitar string is fastened to a guitar string tuning device at a place where a tuning peg is positioned.
FIG.
1
a
is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional guitar string tuning device, illustrating a state wherein a guitar string is inserted through a hole which is defined in a tuning peg; and FIG.
1
b
is a view similar to FIG.
1
a
, illustrating another state wherein the guitar string is clamped to the tuning peg.
As shown in FIG.
1
a
, the guitar string tuning device
10
of the conventional art includes a tuning peg
12
through which a guitar string
8
is inserted such that the guitar string
8
can be integrally rotated with the tuning peg
12
, a housing
14
which accommodates the tuning peg
12
, a manipulating lever
16
which is provided to rotate the tuning peg
12
accommodated in the housing
14
, and clamping means
18
which clamps the guitar string
8
to the tuning peg
12
.
The tuning peg
12
has a hole
21
which is defined adjacent to an upper end thereof. The hole
21
extends in a horizontal direction. A tunnel
23
is also defined in the tuning peg
12
in a manner such that it extends in a vertical direction while it is communicated with the hole
21
at an upper end thereof. An internally threaded portion
25
is formed inside a lower end of the tuning peg
12
, and a worm wheel
27
is formed outside the lower end of the tuning peg
12
.
The housing
14
has a neck portion which extends upward together with the tuning peg
12
, and a threaded locking sleeve
29
is locked to an upper end of the housing
14
. A lower end of the housing
14
is formed with a chamber in which the worm wheel
27
of the tuning peg
12
is accommodated.
The manipulating lever
16
has a worm which is formed at one end thereof in a manner such that it enters into the chamber of the housing
14
to be meshed with the worm wheel
27
of the tuning peg
12
and a tuning handle
12
which is formed at the other end thereof in a manner such that it can be manipulated to rotate the tuning peg
12
.
The clamping means
18
includes a rod member
33
which is fitted into the tunnel
23
defined in the tuning peg
12
and an externally threaded shaft
35
which is threadedly coupled to the internally threaded portion of the tuning peg
12
.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG.
1
b
, when a guitarist or a performer rotates a squeezing knob
37
which is integrally fastened to the externally threaded shaft
35
, the externally threaded shaft
35
is threadedly moved upward in an axial direction. By this, as the rod member
33
is biased upward by the externally threaded shaft
35
into the tunnel
23
which is defined in the tuning peg
12
, the rod member
33
clamps the guitar string
8
to a wall of the tuning peg
12
which wall defines the hole
21
.
However, while the guitar string tuning device of the convention art constructed as mentioned above can clamp the guitar string
8
to the wall of the tuning peg
12
which wall defines the hole
21
, the conventional guitar string tuning device suffers from defects in that, since the rod member
33
has a small diameter, stress concentration is generated in the guitar string
8
, whereby the likelihood of the guitar string
8
to snap due to its tension is increased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a guitar string tuning device which exerts uniform clamping force over a predetermined length of a guitar string in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the guitar string when clamping the guitar string after inserting it through a slit defined in a tuning peg, thereby preventing the guitar string from easily snapping due to stress concentration.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a guitar string tuning device comprising: a tuning peg for winding therearound and unwinding therefrom a guitar string thereby to tune the guitar string, the tuning peg having a slit which is defined at an upper end thereof and a worm wheel which is formed at a lower end thereof; a housing for accommodating the tuning peg therein in a manner such that the tuning peg is maintained in an upright posture; a manipulating lever having a worm which is formed at one end thereof in a manner such that the worm enters into the housing to be meshed with the worm wheel of the tuning peg which is accommodated in the housing and a tuning handle which is formed at the other end thereof; and a clamping section for clamping the guitar string to the tuning peg which is rotated by manipulating the tuning handle, the clamping section including a clamping shaft which has a predetermined width extending in a lengthwise direction of the guitar string which is inserted through the slit of the tuning peg, the clamping section further including threadedly movable means for allowing the clamping shaft to be moved in a direction wherein the clamping shaft squeezes the guitar string against a bottom surface of the slit defined in the tuning peg.
By the feature of the present invention, when it is required to replace a guitar string with a new one, one end of the new guitar string is inserted through the slit which is defined at the upper end of the tuning peg, and the threadedly movable means of the clamping section is rotated to be threadedly moved downward. According to this, the clamping shaft is enabled to squeeze the guitar string with uniform clamping force against the bottom surface of the slit which is defined in the tuning peg, in a direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the guitar string. In this situation, by manipulating the tuning handle of the manipulating lever, the tuning peg is rotated due to the fact that the worm wheel of the tuning peg is meshed with the worm of the manipulating lever, and thereupon, the guitar string is smoothly wound around the tuning peg in a state wherein it is reliably clamped to the tuning peg.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4077295 (1978-03-01), Zapp
patent: 4191086 (1980-03-01), Spercel
Jacobson Price Holman & Stern PLLC
Lockett Kim
Martin David
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