Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-19
2001-09-25
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
82, 82
Reexamination Certificate
active
06294718
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to stringed musical instruments of the kind having a hollow body and a neck, such as guitars. More specifically, the present invention relates to a top member for the body of the instrument and to a method of making the same.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Some of the material disclosed herein is disclosed and claimed in the following U.S. Patent Application entitled “Stringed Musical Instrument Body and Neck Assembly”, which is hereby incorporated by reference and filed concurrently herewith.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the most important elements in traditional high quality guitars of the type described generally above is the sound board portion of the top member. Vibrations from the strings are transmitted to the sound board and through the bridge. Therefore, the construction of the sound board has a great deal of influence on the overall acoustic performance of the guitar.
In classical guitars, fine grained soft woods, e.g., spruce, red cedar or red wood, are frequently used as a sounding board material for their exquisite tonal and visual qualities. However, wooden instruments are inherently vulnerable to the elements, particularly humidity, moisture and heat. The stiffness of a wood sounding board may vary with changes in humidity. For example, wood sounding boards are subject to sinking, or transversing inward, bowing, creeping, or developing ripples under conditions of high humidity and deforming under string tension. The tendency of wood to crack under hot, dry conditions introduces further problems. Since the physical characteristics of wood vary, it is difficult to manufacture instruments which have uniform sound producing qualities.
Also, separate structural reinforcements, e.g., braces and neck blocks, must generally be provided to compensate for string tension in wood instruments. The braces are also used to distribute the string vibrations received by the bridge over the top member and to supply structural reinforcement to the areas near any sound holes located in the top member. These reinforcements add considerably to the manufacturer's cost and weight of such an instrument, and are known to affect the tone.
To compensate for many of the problems associated with wood instruments, it has been proposed in the past to make top members and other guitar components of composite materials. The term “composite materials” means materials made chiefly of two or more weather resistant non-wood components, such as carbon fibers embedded in an epoxy resin matrix with the fibers either being arranged randomly, unidirectionally or woven into a fabric. However, sound board portions of composite material top members often do not have the same desirable tonal and other response qualities as wooden sound boards.
In attempts to address this problem some prior art composite top members utilize a laminated construction having at least a pair of composite material layers with a core layer of wood, or perhaps some other material, e.g., an aramid material, bonded between. (Aramids are defined by the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and for purposes of this application, as any of a group of lightweight but very strong heat-resistant synthetic aromatic polyamide materials that are fashioned into fibers, filaments, or sheets and used especially in textiles and plastics.) The more freely the core layer is allowed to vibrate, the better the tonal quality of the instrument and the more closely the sound board portion simulates the acoustical performance of wood. However, in prior laminated sound boards with wooden or other core layers, the core layer extends all the way to the sidewall of the instrument body, so that adjacent the sidewalls, the composite material layers clamp against the core layer and restrict core vibrations in much the same way a vibrating cymbal would be restricted if held by its outer edges.
Moreover, to reduce weight, prior laminated composite top members are often manufactured from relatively thin material. As a result, the top member is initially flexible and a considerable number of braces are required to supply structural reinforcement to the top member, especially in areas near any sound hole or holes located in the sound board.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved top member for the body of an acoustical or acoustical/electric stringed instrument.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention offers advantages and improved alternatives over the prior art by providing a top member having a generally flat forward part for a hollow bodied stringed instrument, such as a guitar, which utilizes a laminated construction. An interior portion (sound board portion) of the forward part, that is a portion spaced from the sidewalls of the instrument body, includes a pair of composite material layers with a core layer bonded between the composite material layers. A core free flex edge portion surrounds the interior portion and allows the interior portion to vibrate significantly more freely than prior art laminated sound boards for an improved acoustical performance. Additionally, a rearwardly projecting skirt and rearwardly projecting sound hole flanges provide substantial structural reinforcement for the top member when assembled to the body. It also significantly reduces the amount of bracing required relative to prior art top members. The skirt also allows the top member to be assembled with the sidewalls of the instrument body in a single, efficient and attractive appearance providing way.
The invention also resides in that the top member is made for use with an instrument body having, a sidewall with an outer surface generally perpendicular to the forward part, in that the flex edge portion of the forward part has an outer edge and an inner surface, and in that the skirt projects rearwardly from the inner surface of the flex edge portion and extends along the edge of the flex edge portion. Further, the skirt has a laterally inward facing surface which is generally perpendicular to the forward part, and which is adapted to slidably fit over the outer surface of the body sidewall during assembly of the top member with the sidewall, thereby making unnecessary auxiliary mounting rings, lining strips or other components customarily used for attaching a top member to sidewalls.
A further feature of the invention resides in that the core layer of the interior portion has at least one opening defining the border of a sound hole and in that adjacent the sound hold border, the pair of composite material layers are bonded in contact with each other and are bent so as to form a flange projecting rearwardly from the rear surface of the interior portion to reinforce the interior portion near the sound hole. Additionally braces that are used are co-cured to the inner surface of the interior portion in a unique method of making the top member.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and from the accompanying drawings and claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3424048 (1969-01-01), Mack et al.
patent: 3474697 (1969-10-01), Kaman
patent: 3699836 (1972-10-01), Glasser
patent: 3880040 (1975-04-01), Kaman
patent: 4056034 (1977-11-01), Kaman
patent: 4090427 (1978-05-01), Kaman
patent: 4119009 (1978-10-01), Kaman, II
patent: 4145948 (1979-03-01), Turner
patent: 4172405 (1979-10-01), Kaman, II
patent: 4200023 (1980-04-01), Kaman
patent: 4201108 (1980-05-01), Bunker
patent: 4334452 (1982-06-01), Morrison, III et al.
patent: 4408516 (1983-10-01), John
patent: 4429608 (1984-02-01), Kaman et al.
patent: 4539886 (1985-09-01), Hoffart
patent: 4616548 (1986-10-01), Anderson
patent: 4829870 (1989-05-01), Ralston
patent: 4873907 (1989-10-01), Decker, Jr. et al.
patent: 4890529 (1990-01-01), Grant
patent: 4969381 (1990-11-01), Decker, Jr. et al.
patent: 4989491 (1991-02-01), Baggs
patent: 5170000 (1992-12-01), Hayashida et al.
patent: 5171616 (1992-12-01), Dejima
patent: 5171926 (1992-12-01), Besnainou et
Gunsallus Clifford
Hudak William
Johnson Donald M.
Ladutko Nicholas
Saunders, Jr. Robert H.
Hsieh Shih-yung
Kaman Music Corporation
McCormick Paulding & Huber LLP
LandOfFree
Stringed musical instrument top member does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Stringed musical instrument top member, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Stringed musical instrument top member will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2439229