Musical instrument case

Details Musical instrument case Musical instrument case

2001-07-18

2003-12-30

Lockett, Kimberly (Department: 2837)

Music

Accessories

C206S314000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06670536

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to protection cases. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a musical instrument case.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Musical instrument cases are widely used to store, protect and/or carry musical instruments. For example, in the case of stringed musical instruments such as guitars, the cases are usually constructed according to the structure illustrated in a sectional view in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 1
illustrates a multi-layer structure of different materials forming a conventional guitar case
10
. First, the structure of the case
10
is ensured by a wood material layer
12
which may be, for example, plywood. This wood material layer
12
is covered with an external layer
14
, for example made of leather, or other weather resistant material. This layer
14
is required since the wood layer
12
cannot adequately protect the instrument against adverse weather conditions. It is also usually preferable for aesthetic purposes.
Internally, the conventional guitar case includes a relatively soft foam layer
16
entirely covering the internal surface of the wood layer
12
to protect the instrument when the case is moved. A final soft fabric layer
18
is provided to entirely cover the foam layer so as to protect the relatively weak foam and to provide an improved internal case aesthetic.
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, the production of a guitar case using a multi-layer structure as described hereinabove is very labour intensive and therefore yields a relatively expensive case.
Furthermore, the use of a wood material layer increases the weight of the finished musical instrument case and complexities the construction since the shape of the case must generally conform to the shape of the musical instrument and wood material is not particularly well suited for such rounded shapes in an industrial setting.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved musical instrument case.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a musical instrument case comprising:
a body made of rigid foam material; the body defining an outer surface and an inner surface; and
a cover made of rigid foam material; the cover being hingedly mounted to the body so as to be movable between a closed position and an open position; the cover defining an outer surface and an inner surface; wherein both the outer surfaces of the body and the cover define an outer surface of the musical instrument case.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a musical instrument case comprising:
a body having an inner surface;
a cover hingedly mounted to said body so as to be movable between a closed position and an open position; said cover defining having an inner surface; and
a plurality of padding elements so mounted to said body and cover as to allow a musical instrument to be suspended in said case.
It is to be noted that the expression “rigid foam material” is to be construed herein as any foam material that is sufficiently durable and rigid to be molded to yield a suitable musical instrument case and as any composite of more than one such foam material to obtain the desirable features.


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