Music – Instruments – Electrical musical tone generation
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-16
2002-04-16
Fletcher, Marlon T. (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Electrical musical tone generation
C084S725000, C084S727000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06372976
ABSTRACT:
The present application claims priority from the application which was filed Oct. 25, 1995 and registered Feb. 1, 1996 as German Utility Model Registration No. 295 16 827.7, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to electric guitar pickups and more particularly to such pickups that have a single coil.
As a rule there are two kinds of pickups for guitars: single-coil and compound coil pickups. Usually the different types of pickups have characteristic and therefore different designs which have established themselves as standard in the guitar industry.
The single-coil pickup typically not only transfers a response to the oscillation of the strings but also undesirable interferences such as those from transformers, which results in a humming noise. The compound coil pickup known as a humbucking pickup (see
FIG. 7
) eliminates external hum interference by using two parallel coils with opposite winding directions and magnetization.
The invention of the compound, humbucking coil pickup has made it possible to suppress hum interference. However, this system of parallel coil design (vertical or horizontal) may be disadvantageous in that in addition to suppressing humming noise, desirable signals can be suppressed and sound volume lost.
In some instances, a guitar player may want the hum-suppressed tonality of a humbucking pickup, but at another time the guitar player may want the tonality of a single-coil pickup. One way to accommodate this is to physically change out the humbucking pickup for the single-coil pickup. To do this has required:
a) modifications to the instrument (drilling and milling work) or
b) optical/aesthetic deficiencies on the instrument because the different types of pickups have not been interchangeable due to their different structures. There is thus the need for an improved single-coil pickup that can directly replace a humbucking pickup without having these shortcomings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above-noted and other shortcomings of the prior art by providing a novel and improved single-coil pickup for an electric guitar previously adapted for a compound-coil humbucking pickup.
It is an object of the invention to provide a single-coil pickup with its differentiated acoustic pattern, in the format of a typical humbucking coil of the type shown in
FIG. 7
to facilitate exchanging one with the other.
Easy exchangeability means that no modification such as drilling or milling is necessary on the instrument and that after the exchange is carried out, the optical and aesthetic integrity of the instrument is whole again and that there are no gaps or slots which make the inside of the instrument visible.
There also is an active collector's market for guitars and the resell value of an instrument, among other things, depends strongly on its “original state”. This is another reason why it is important that it be possible to get the original appearance back after a pickup replacement is completed, which is easy to do with the newly developed pickup.
Accordingly, the present invention broadly provides a pickup for an electric guitar, which pickup comprises: housing means for filling an existing cavity defined in an electric guitar body to receive a humbucking pickup; and a single pickup coil mounted in the housing means.
The present invention more specifically provides a pickup for an electric guitar, which pickup comprises a base plate having a length and a width commensurate with the length and width of a humbucking pickup. This base plate includes a bottom wall having a plurality of holes defined therein equal in number to the number of strings of the electric guitar, the bottom wall further having two openings and an aperture defined therein; and the base plate also includes two side walls extending along opposite side edges of the bottom wall. The overall pickup further comprises: two magnets disposed along the bottom wall on opposite sides of the plurality of holes; a coil form disposed on the magnets, the coil form having a plurality of channels defined therethrough with the plurality of channels aligned with the plurality of holes; a plurality of pole pieces, each of the pole pieces disposed in a respective one of the channels and the respective aligned one of the holes; a single pickup coil mounted on the coil form; a housing cover disposed around the coil form; and two screws, each of the screws disposed through a respective one of the openings of the bottom wall of the base plate and engaging the coil form.
Therefore, from the foregoing, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved single-coil electric guitar pickup with a humbucking-sized housing. Other and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description of the preferred embodiments is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3711619 (1973-01-01), Jones et al.
patent: 4524667 (1985-06-01), Duncan
patent: 4854210 (1989-08-01), Palazzolo
patent: 4872386 (1989-10-01), Betticare
patent: 5252777 (1993-10-01), Allen
Vintage Guitar.com magazine article entitled “Gibson ES-357” (undated but admitted to describe prior art).
Exhibit A Aug. 10, 2000 letter describing Harmonic Design Pickup.
Beavers Lucian Wayne
Fletcher Marlon T.
Gibson Guitar Corp.
Waddey & Patterson
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