Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-10
2004-04-13
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
C084S174000, C084S184000, C084S185000, C084S191000, C084S239000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06720489
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of musical instruments. More specifically, the invention comprises a muter capable of diminishing the sound emitted by a piano.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1
illustrates a piano
10
. It fundamentally consists of keyboard assembly
20
, frame
12
, and lid
14
. Those skilled in the art will know that keyboard assembly
20
contains keys, along with attached hammer mechanisms configured to strike the strings when the user strikes a particular key. A large number of strings extend away from keyboard assembly
20
in a generally perpendicular direction, with the strings lying approximately in a single plane. The far end of each string is anchored, directly or indirectly, to frame
12
.
All pianos are, of course, designed to produce tones covering a large bandwidth. This fact requires the use of strings having different lengths. Thus, the treble section of the keyboard (to the right in the view as shown) employs strings of shorter length than the mid section. This fact explains the curved shape of frame
12
. The structure of a concert piano is therefore quite complex, in that it must encompass several curves.
Those skilled in the art will also know that pianos include a soundboard to amplify the sound produced by each vibrating string. This soundboard is typically a large flat panel, suspended beneath the strings. It is suspended in such a fashion as to minimize damping of any vibration induced by the moving strings. The soundboard is largely responsible for the rich tonal texture produced in a well-made piano. It substantially augments resonance. It also produces certain harmonic frequencies, owing to the tendency of the unified sound board to flex according to its own natural frequencies. Finally, the soundboard also tends to provide enhanced blending of different frequencies to produce beat frequencies.
If the operator strikes a first key in the bass range and a second key in the treble range, these two string sets are located remotely from each other (30 to 40 inches apart, typically). Although the human ear may perceive a beat frequency, the two strings are generally too far apart to produce sympathetic vibrations in each other. Because both sets are close to the soundboard, however, the soundboard can transmit the two frequencies and produce the desired sympathetic vibrations.
Lid
14
is hinged to frame
12
. It is contoured to cover the open top of frame
12
. The strings lie beneath lid
14
with the soundboard, in turn, lying beneath the strings. The hinge is typically placed on the left side of frame
12
in the view as shown. With lid
14
closed, some of the sound produced by piano
10
is trapped within. In a concert setting lid
14
would be propped open, in order to project sound out toward the audience. Thus, the reader will appreciate that lid
14
does provide some selective muffling of piano
10
.
FIG. 2
shows a view of piano
10
from underneath. Piano strings are typically made of steel. They cumulatively place several thousand pounds of compression on frame
12
. It is therefore necessary to strengthen frame
12
. Anchor structure
22
is attached to keyboard assembly
20
. A series of beams
24
extend radially forward from anchor structure
22
, terminating in intersections with frame
12
. End plate
28
stiffens the leading portion of frame
12
, and serves to anchor one of the three legs
16
. Numerous other structures, such as pedal assembly
18
, are present. These other structures are unimportant to the present invention.
Soundboard
26
lies above beams
24
. It is important to realize that there is a significant gap between the tops of beams
24
and soundboard
26
. Again, soundboard
26
must be free to oscillate undamped.
Looking at
FIG. 2
, those skilled in the art will realize that soundboard
26
projects sound downward as well as upward. The closing of lid
14
does nothing to attenuate this downward transmission.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a muter configured to be placed beneath the soundboard of a piano (in the case of a grand piano) in order to attenuate the downward transmission of sound. The muter employs blocks of acoustic foam, shaped to frictionally engage the structural elements of the piano in order to retain the muter within the piano. The muter is easily installed and removed. A version configured for use with an upright piano is also disclosed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1722643 (1929-07-01), Trenor
patent: 1722978 (1929-07-01), Hammond, Jr.
patent: 5301588 (1994-04-01), Revenaugh et al.
patent: 5804745 (1998-09-01), Higasa
Horton John Wiley
Hsieh Shih-Yung
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