EP2717255B1 - Shoulder support - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a shoulder rest for a stringed instrument, in particular for a violin or viola, with a support element for laying on the shoulder and / or chest of the player.

String instruments, especially violins and violas, the latter also known under the term viola, are held at the end of their corpus between the chin and shoulder of the musician while playing music. However, since the distance between the head of the player and the shoulder area is usually greater than the thickness of the instrument, a hold or jamming of the instrument for the musician is possible only in a very uncomfortable attitude, so that - if at all an instrument playing possible - Impairment of the game quality can not be avoided. To counteract this, so-called chin rests, also called chin shells, and shoulder rests for violins and violas were developed.

These shoulder rests are removably attached to the body of the instrument with a holding device and thus serve to make it easier for the musician to hold the instrument. Basically, a shoulder rest is attached to a violin or the like and forms a support surface which rests on the shoulder of the musician, the instrument itself being supported at a selected level. This is particularly dependent on the physique, in particular on the neck length, shoulder shape and the violin position of the musician. Such shoulder rests are known, for example from the EP 507 994 B1 , the US 4,062,695 , the DE 100 07 834 A1 , the US 7,265,284 or the US 7,488,877 B2

WO2011 / 098248 discloses a shoulder rest for a stringed instrument having a support member for placement on the shoulder and / or chest of the player, wherein the support member comprises a base body made of thermoplastichem material.

The shoulder supports can be designed with a solid bottom. This is usually shaped but insufficiently according to the shoulder of the musician and thus adjusted individually, so that usually some losses in terms of gaming comfort and convenience must be accepted. For reasons of comfort, the solid floor can also be provided at the bottom with a cushion, which rests against the shoulder of the musician when the instrument is played. Upwardly projecting holding element or carrying elements are fastened to the two ends of the base, which carry pivotable fork-shaped end pieces. These can be attached to the side walls of the instrument body near the base of the carcass. To be able to fix this type of shoulder rest firmly on the instrument, the bottom of the shoulder rest has a certain inherent elasticity, and this serves to produce a certain clamping force with which the forked end pieces grasp the instrument. End pieces are also known in other embodiments in combination with the support elements, but usually all capture the instrument with a certain clamping action.

For a high-quality sound quality and harmony with the instrument such shoulder supports are usually made of plastic or plastic, but more recently made of wood or wood-based and adapted in their contour at least approximately individualized to the body shape of the player. This should u. a. be achieved that the player can play the instrument particularly comfortable and harmonious and without affecting his concentration or attention.

A particularly individualized and adapted to the personal needs and preferences of a player shaping and contouring the shoulder rest is, however, usually not possible or only with considerable effort and by resorting to special resources such as machines or the like. In addition, with such an individualized shaping, care must always be taken to ensure that the tonal quality of the instrument is not or only to an acceptable extent impaired by the mounted shoulder rest. Especially for the combination of these design goals so far at best mediocre results have been achieved.

The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a shoulder rest of the type mentioned above, for a particularly largely adapted to the user shape and thus an overall particularly high quality of play can be achieved in a particularly simple and in particular for the user even without the tonal quality of the instrument is too much affected.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the support element of the shoulder rest having a base body of compressed compressed wood obtained by upsetting the wood fibers in their fiber direction.

The production and some properties of compressed compressed wood, generally also referred to as "compressed wood", are known from the EP 2 002 759 A1 , the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated in the definition and manufacturing process of compressed compressed wood ("Incorporation by reference").

In particular, in the production of compressed wood, an extremely carefully selected wood pulp having, for example, a moisture content of about 50 to 60%, is first dried to a moisture content of about 30% under natural ambient conditions, then cut and smoothed, and further dried to a moisture content of about 20%. Then it can be subjected to the actual compression process.

For this, ie in the actual compression, the wood block to be treated is first subjected to a heat treatment, in particular to soften it suitable. Subsequently, the thus pretreated wood block is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure in the actual compression chamber. As a result, the wood fibers are compressed in their fiber direction, so that the fiber walls are brought into a fold. As a result, the wood is made bendable and malleable in its overall shape.

Immediately after compression, the treated wood may, due to the treatment, have a warp or deformation of the entire wood block. In order to compensate for this, a bending or shaping step can subsequently be provided in order to return to the wood block its straightforward form which is favorable for further processing.

The invention is based on the consideration that especially with high demands and expectations on the tonal quality and the playing behavior of the ensemble of instrument on the one hand and shoulder rest on the other hand, a contour adjustment of the support element of the shoulder rest should be made to the shoulder or chest of the player. However, in order to allow a subsequent improvement of the shape of the buttstock in the manner of a gradual adaptation to the body shape of the user for possibly necessary improvements or optimizations of contouring at manageable effort, a change in the shape should in principle by the user himself, in particular that is, without recourse to specialized personnel or tools or infrastructure. For this purpose, the support element of the shoulder piece should be made of a suitably selected, subsequently deformable material.

As has been found out completely surprisingly, compressed compressed wood, in particular produced with the described process, is particularly suitable for this purpose. On the one hand, namely by the use of compressed compressed wood due to its flexibility and formability a particularly facilitated and subsequent adaptation of the shape by the user, namely by bending, possible, the predetermined by the user final shape by a subsequent heat treatment process, for example in a Microwave oven, can still be fixed later. This fixation can be canceled by suitable treatment, in particular by increasing the humidity and possibly a renewed heat treatment process, even subsequently again in whole or in part, so that a reshaping of the support element and a correction of the shape is possible. On the other hand, the compressed compressed wood but also in terms of its acoustic or tonal Characteristics for the intended use in a shoulder rest particularly suitable because its vibration behavior seems to be particularly well compatible with the vibration behavior of the body of the instrument.

Especially for use in the support element of a shoulder rest, a base body is particularly suitable whose material properties are specifically adapted to the desired properties in terms of flexibility on the one hand and tonal quality on the other hand. Advantageously, the compressed compact wood forming the body has an average compression of between about 15% and about 25%, more preferably from about 17% to about 20%. Under "compression" here is the production-related length reduction, based on the original length of the untreated wood to understand. It should be noted that typically the compression is not uniform but for each treated log within a range of about +/- 2% of the mean compression. That is, a wood block with a mean compression of 17% has compression values of 15 to 19%.

In order to continue to ensure particularly high qualities of the support element in terms of sound and thus to ensure particularly high-quality properties for the ensemble of instrument and buttstock, provided for the formation of the body wood (preferably maple wood) before its compression advantageously has a density of between about 0.5 and about 0.8 g / cm ³ , preferably about 0.6 g / cm ³ . After compression, the compressed compacted wood forming the body advantageously has a density of between about 0.6 and about 0.96 g / cm ³ , preferably about 0.72 g / cm ³ . Specifically, by specifying a material with a density in this range, namely, the vibration behavior of the material and thus of the support element is approximately comparable to that of relatively hard wood, as it is for example for the body of a violin, in particular the violin bottom, so that particularly advantageous sound conduction and sound properties can be achieved. To further promote this, in a particularly advantageous embodiment maple wood, preferably with his Darrdichte, as compressed pressed wood provided. This offers a particularly harmonious sound combined with a violin at high mechanical load capacity.

As has further surprisingly been found, for a particularly advantageous combination of tonal properties on the one hand and comfort and user-friendly (contour) properties on the other hand, the choice of suitable geometry parameters for the support element of the shoulder rest significantly. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the base body of the support element, based on its longitudinal direction, at least 60 mm ² (especially when used as a support for a support element and / or when using hardened wood), preferably at least 75 mm ² , and at most 210 mm ² (in particular at a thickness of 7 mm and a width of 3 cm), more preferably at most 150 mm ² , amount. In particular, the cross-sectional area should be approximately uniform and, if possible, only slightly change over the longitudinal direction of the shoulder support, since changes in the cross-sectional area seem to cause disturbances in the sound behavior. Furthermore, it has surprisingly been found in terms of sound properties that at high material thickness (correspondingly large cross-sectional area) the sound behavior rather saturated, but also less open and coarse in the sound.

If, however, less material is present (correspondingly lower cross-sectional area), a more open sound behavior is achievable, which seems to be too hard at too low material thickness. In an advantageous embodiment, the support element therefore has a thickness of at least 2 mm and at most 7 mm, preferably of at least 3 mm and at most 6 mm, more preferably of at least 3.3 mm and at most 5 mm.

In order to ensure a particularly high wearing comfort and thus a particularly favorable playability under these boundary conditions, advantageously also the width of the support element is suitably chosen. Advantageously, a width of the support element of at least 20 mm and at most 40 mm, more preferably at least 22 mm and not more than 30 mm, preferably at least 24 mm and not more than 28 mm.

• Für eine Schulterstütze für eine ¾-Violine: Dicke 4 mm, Länge 205 mm, Breite 25 mm, mittlere Kompression 17 bis 20 %.
• Für eine Schulterstütze für eine 4/4-Violine: Dicke 4,5 mm, Länge 221 mm, Breite 25 mm, mittlere Kompression 17 bis 20 %.
• Für eine Schulterstütze für eine 4/4-Viola: Dicke 5 mm, Länge 274 mm, Breite 28 mm, mittlere Kompression 17 bis 20 %.

As a further particularly preferred dimensioning specification, it has been found that in view of sufficient stability and structural integrity, the material should be at least 2.5 mm, preferably approximately 3.5 mm, thick at a width of 25 mm (preferably when used as a support element) in combination with a separate adapter piece), whereas with a width of 28 mm a thickness between 4.5 mm and 5.5 mm should be selected. For a shoulder rest in an independent design, ie for use directly in combination with the instrument to be recorded, the following parameter combinations are particularly preferred:

• For a shoulder rest for a ¾ violin: thickness 4 mm, length 205 mm, width 25 mm, average compression 17 to 20%.
• For a shoulder rest for a 4/4 violin: thickness 4.5 mm, length 221 mm, width 25 mm, average compression 17 to 20%.
• For a shoulder rest for a 4/4 viola: thickness 5 mm, length 274 mm, width 28 mm, average compression 17 to 20%.

Instead, the use of a shoulder rest in combination with an adapter piece comes into consideration, which should allow a coupling of the shoulder rest to the instrument with minimized impairment of the sound quality. When using such an adapter piece, as for example from the DE 10 2007 038 004 A1 is known, the support element advantageously has a minimum cross section of 60 mm ² , preferably a cross section of at least 75 mm ² , on. In particular, the base body of the support element advantageously has the following parameter combination: thickness 3.3 mm, length 205 mm, width 25 mm, average compression 17%.

As has further been found, surprisingly, the direction of the grain of the compressed compact wood forming the base body is also significant for the achievable sonic quality and harmony of the shoulder rest in combination with the actual instrument. Advantageously, the main body of the support element is therefore formed by a cut out of a compressed billet block workpiece, which is oriented with its transverse direction substantially perpendicular to an annual ring associated fiber direction of the press wood block. This results preferably in an orientation in which the presswood block passing annual rings of wood are arranged "upright", so that their surface normal lies in the base plane of the support element.

A considerable improvement of the tonal properties of the ensemble of instrument and shoulder rest can be achieved by providing the support element of the shoulder rest with a plurality of holes in a particularly advantageous embodiment. By such an embodiment of the support element, which is advantageous especially in combination with the now specified material choice for the support element, the vibration behavior of the shoulder support and the acoustic coupling to the vibration behavior of the instrument itself is particularly low and low interference, so that in the entirety a particular high tonal quality when playing the instrument can be achieved.

In the context of this particularly preferred embodiment, the base body of the support element is provided with a plurality of holes which form a specific combined ensemble of main and side holes, and which are dimensioned and positioned in their entirety for a particularly favorable transmission of sound within the body. In this case, a number of main holes, based on the width of the support element, centrally in this and a number of side holes, also based on the width of the support element, off-center in this and seen in the longitudinal direction of the support element approximately in the middle between two adjacent main holes arranged. By means of this positioning of the holes, it is possible in particular to take into account a plurality of actually diverging design goals: on the one hand, a particularly favorable guidance of the sound in the support element is made possible, on the other hand the structural integrity of the support element even with regard to the weakenings caused by the holes can be kept particularly stable.

For a particularly harmonic vibration behavior are advantageously for one or both of these categories, d. H. Main holes on the one hand and / or side holes on the other hand, the holes chosen advantageously equal in size with respect to their diameter or their area. As has also surprisingly been found, a particularly favorable vibration behavior can be achieved in that the individual hole area of the main holes is approximately four times the individual hole area of the secondary holes, ie. H. the hole size, for example defined by the inside width of a hole, of the main holes is approximately twice the hole size of the minor holes.

Particularly preferred is an embodiment in which viewed in the longitudinal direction of the support element between two successive main holes each have two eccentrically arranged, preferably mirror-symmetrically positioned to the center line of the support element, side holes are provided. With such an arrangement, said geometry choice, in which the hole size of the main holes is approximately twice the hole size of the minor holes, causes the cross-sectional area in the region of the main holes filled by the wooden material to be approximately the same across the width of the support element in the area of the secondary holes, so that seen in the longitudinal direction of the support element particularly high-quality conductive properties arise. In particular, it is achievable that the sound spectrum and the tone of the instrument have a high quality and open appearance, wherein the support element remains particularly bendable.

As has also surprisingly been found, a particularly high tonal quality of the ensemble of instrument and shoulder rest can be achieved in that the holes advantageously have a total area of at least 8%, preferably at least 10%, and at most 30%, preferably at most 20%, take the surface of the support element. Especially Preferably, the holes occupy an overall area of about 12.5% of the surface of the support element. In alternative or additional advantageous development, the holes are sharp-edged. Compared to holes with rounded edges, this makes a particularly pleasing sound possible.

A particularly harmonious and high-quality sound is also achievable by the or at least some of the holes are contoured in a particularly suitable manner. In particular, it is provided to carry out the holes in a non-circular contour, wherein some or all holes advantageously have a longitudinal direction of the support element stretched shape, so that they are seen in the longitudinal direction of the support member each having a larger inside width than in the transverse direction. By this configuration, a particularly suitable guidance of the sound within the support element is made possible, in which the sound waves are passed around particularly suitable and harmonious around the considered as obstacles to the propagation of sound holes. The longitudinally extending design of the holes can be accompanied in particular by a comparatively pointed contour in the area of impact of the sound waves, so that they can be passed around the holes in a particularly interference-free and low-loss manner.

In a particularly advantageous development, the contour of the main holes comprises a number of almost rectilinearly running, comparatively slightly curved contour segments. As a result, the holes can, for example, essentially have a diamond-shaped, diamond-shaped or "eye" -shaped basic shape, which-seen in the longitudinal direction of the support element-tapers comparatively pointedly at its front and rear sides (apart from rounding off) and at its side edges in each case continuously has a certain, albeit relatively small bend. On the one hand a particularly good diversion function for the longitudinally incoming sound waves can be achieved, on the other hand, the support element forming material in the immediate vicinity of the holes has only a relatively small weakening, resulting from a later bending of the fitting in the vicinity of the holes in the material Stress is distributed particularly favorably over the perimeter of the respective hole become. As a result, a risk of possible cracking in the surrounding area of the holes is kept particularly low.

Also surprisingly favorable for the sound image, if advantageously an overall odd number of main holes, preferably five, is provided.

The advantages achieved by the invention are in particular that a particularly largely individualized and adapted to the respective user contouring is possible by the preparation of the main body of the support element of the shoulder support made of compressed compressed wood, which subsequently modified again and thus improved or adapted to other users can be. This adaptation can be carried out in a particularly simple manner by the user himself, without the need for recourse to specialized personnel or appropriate machines would be necessary. By suitable specification of the material parameters such as density and the geometry parameters such as thickness and width, in addition, a particularly favorable acoustic behavior of the shoulder rest can be achieved, which makes them particularly suitable for use with a violin.

In addition, a particularly weight-saving lightweight construction for the shoulder rest is made possible by the choice of materials and the use of compressed compressed wood in the shoulder support of the string instrument, resorting to natural and environmentally friendly material.

FIG. 1

eine bodenseitige Ansicht einer klassischen Violine,

FIG. 2

eine Schulterstütze für die Violine gemäß FIG. 1,

FIG. 3

eine perspektivische Teilansicht der Violine mit angebrachtem Schulterstück,

FIG. 4

ausschnittsweise eine Teilansicht eines Auflageelements der Schulterstütze gemäß FIG. 2,

FIG. 5

eine alternative Ausgestaltung einer Schulterstütze,

FIG. 6 a-c

jeweils den Grundkörper eines Auflageelements der Schulterstütze gemäß FIG. 5 in Draufsicht, und

FIG. 7

einen Lochquerschnitt.

An embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing. Show:

FIG. 1

a bottom view of a classical violin,

FIG. 2

a shoulder rest for the violin according to FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3

a partial perspective view of the violin with attached shoulder piece,

FIG. 4

partial view of a partial view of a support element of the shoulder rest according to FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5

an alternative embodiment of a shoulder rest,

FIG. 6 ac

in each case according to the basic body of a support element of the shoulder rest FIG. 5 in plan view, and

FIG. 7

a hole cross-section.

Identical parts are provided with the same reference numerals in all figures.

A classical violin 1 according to FIG. 1 comprises a body 2, which forms the resonance body, a neck 4, on which a fingerboard is mounted, and a vortex box with vertebrae 6, the end of which forms a screw 8. The body 2 has a body bottom 10 and a peripheral bottom edge 12. At the neck-side end 14 of the body 2, the neck 4 of the violin 1 is connected to the body 2 via the upper end block 16. Other blocks that serve to stabilize the violin 1 are incorporated in the body 2.

At the lower end block 18, the strings of the violin 1 are strung with the help of a tail end on the top of the violin 1. Therefore, the lower end block 18 is very stable and firmly incorporated into the body 2. The upper end block 16, which carries the neck 4 and the fingerboard, is stable and firmly processed in the body 2. The upper end block 16 and the neck 4 are nowadays usually made separately and glued together to meet the necessary carrying properties as well as sound and vibration characteristics.

Side of the cabinet floor 10 in the region of the peripheral bottom edge 12 side walls, so-called frames 26, are placed, and on these frames 26 is then attached to the corpus floor, a carcass cover. These parts essentially form the body 2, which forms the resonance space of the violin 1, and are stabilized with the aid of the so-called outer blocks and the upper and lower end block 16, 18.

In order to allow the musician a comfortable posture when playing the violin 1 with high sound quality of the violin 1, a shoulder rest 30 is provided as in FIG. 2 as a separate component and in FIG. 3 is shown in mounted, mounted on the body 2 of the violin 1 state. In this case, the shoulder rest 30 comprises a support element 32 which is intended to be placed on the shoulder and / or chest of the player and whose base body 34 can be attached to the body 2 of the violin 1 via terminal units 36 arranged on the end, and in particular to the peripheral bottom edge 12. In the exemplary embodiment, the shoulder support 30 can thus be attached directly to the body 2 of the violin 1 via the clamping units 36; Alternatively, however, the additional use of an adapter piece between shoulder support 30 and body 2 could be provided.

For a particularly good playability with high wearing comfort, the support element 32 of the shoulder support 30 is executed contoured, wherein the shaping or contouring of the support member 32 is provided an individualized adjustment to the respective player. In order to allow a particularly individualized shaping and also by the user himself feasible customization, the main body 34 of the support member 32 of the shoulder support 30 is made of compressed compressed wood.

In the manufacture of compressed wood, also referred to as "compressed wood", an extremely carefully selected wood pulp, preferably having a moisture content of about 50-60%, is first dried to a moisture content of about 30% under natural environmental conditions, then cut and smoothed, and further dried to a moisture content of about 20%. Subsequently, the thus prepared wood output body can be subjected to the actual compression process.

In the actual compression of the wood block to be treated is first subjected to a heat treatment, in particular to soften it suitable. Subsequently, the thus pretreated wood block is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure in the actual compression chamber. As a result, the wood fibers are compressed in their fiber direction, so that the fiber walls are brought into a fold. As a result, the wood is made bendable and malleable in its overall shape. For the intended use in the support element 32 of the shoulder rest 30, the compression is carried out selectively with regard to the desired bendability on the one hand and the desired tonal quality on the other hand. As has surprisingly been found, the compressed compressed wood for this purpose should have an average compression of preferably about 17% to about 20%, possibly even more. Under "compression" here is the production-related length reduction, based on the original length of the untreated wood to understand. It should be noted that typically the compression is not uniform but for each treated log within a range of about +/- 2% of the mean compression. That is, a wood block with a mean compression of 17% has compression values of 15 to 19%.

Immediately after compression, the treated wood may, due to the treatment, have a warp or deformation of the entire wood block. In order to compensate for this, a bending or shaping step can subsequently be provided in order to return to the wood block its straightforward form which is favorable for further processing. Subsequently, the wood block is deposited a little, in order to take into account any relaxation processes or the like.

Subsequently, a particularly suitable piece is selected from the available compressed wood and cut out. In this case, among other things, the fiber direction of the intended to form the body 34 compressed compressed wood is taken into account. In particular, for the production of the main body 34 of the support element 32 is a compressed from a compressed wood block cut workpiece oriented with its transverse direction substantially perpendicular to a fiber direction of the presswood block. This results in a particularly preferred orientation of the wood structure in relation to the geometry of the base body 34, as exemplified and partially in FIG. 4 is recognizable. As can be seen from this illustration, the compressed wood in the main body 34 is oriented in such a way that its annual rings 35 are arranged "upright", thus extending approximately parallel to the z-axis of the main body 34. Accordingly, the surface normal n of the annual rings 35 lies in the basal plane of the main body 34 spanned by the longitudinal and width directions x, y.

In order to continue to ensure in terms of sound particularly high qualities of the support member 32 and thus ensure the ensemble of instrument and shoulder rest 30 particularly high-quality properties, as the body 34 forming compressed compressed wood in the exemplary embodiment selected compressed maple wood and has (after compression) a Density of about 0.72 g / cm ³ . This corresponds to a density value before compression of about 0.6 g / cm ³ .

After cutting, the corresponding workpiece is subjected to suitable intermediate steps such as polishing and grinding. Subsequently, a surface treatment may be provided, for example, to provide the base body 34 with an optically attractive texture or the like. In this case, it is possible to use preferably a lacquer which on the one hand is elastic enough to remain undamaged in the intended bend, and on the other hand is sufficiently heat-resistant with regard to the subsequently provided heat treatment.

The contouring or individualized adaptation of the shape of the main body 34 of the support member 32 to the respective user is now due to the bending and formability of compressed compressed wood particularly simple and also subsequently by the user, namely by bending, possible. The final form given by the user may be replaced by a subsequent one Heat treatment process, for example, in a microwave oven, still be fixed later. This fixation can also be subsequently canceled by suitable treatment, in particular by increasing the humidity, so that a renewed deformation of the support element 32 and a correction of the shaping is made possible. Preference is given at z. B. a treatment time of a few minutes (for example, 4 to 5 min.) A microwave power of about 900 W or at a treatment time of several minutes (for example 15 to 20 min.) Set a microwave power of about 450 W, wherein the support element during the heat treatment preferably placed on a bowl.

For a particularly favorable combination of tonal properties on the one hand and comfort and user-friendly (contour) properties on the other hand, the base body 34 in the embodiment provided in a design for a violin has a cross-sectional area of about 112 mm ² .

An alternative embodiment of a shoulder rest 38 is shown in FIG FIG. 5 shown. As well as the shoulder rest 30 according to FIG. 2 Here, the base body 34 of the support member 32 is made of compressed compressed wood. In addition, in the embodiment according to FIG. 5 the support element 32 but also a plurality of holes 40, which significantly improve the vibration and thus the sonic behavior of the shoulder support 38.

The main body 34 of the support element 32 of the shoulder support 38 is provided with a plurality of holes 40, which form a specific combined ensemble of main holes 42 on the one hand and side holes 44 on the other. The holes 40 are dimensioned and positioned in their entirety for a particularly favorable transmission of sound within the body 34. In this case, a total of five main holes 42, based on the width of the support member 32, centered in this and the secondary holes 44, also relative to the width of the support member 32, eccentrically arranged in pairs symmetrically to the center of the support member 32 in this and in the longitudinal direction, each approximately in the middle between two adjacent main holes 42. By this positioning of the holes 40, in particular a plurality of actually diverging design goals can be taken into account: on the one hand, a particularly favorable guidance of the sound is possible in the support element 32, on the other hand, the structural integrity of the support element 32 itself with regard to the weakenings caused by the holes 40 can be kept very stable.

The main holes 42 are equal to each other selected, as well as the side holes 44 to each other. In addition, the individual hole area of the main holes 42 is approximately four times the individual hole area of the sub holes 44, d. H. the hole size, for example defined by the inside width of a hole 40, of the main holes 42 is approximately twice the hole size of the secondary holes 44. As a result of this choice of geometry, the cross-sectional proportion in the region of the main holes 42 filled with the wood material is approximately the same across the width of the support element 32 as in the region of the auxiliary holes 44, so that in the longitudinal direction of the support element 32, particularly high-quality conductive lines are provided. Properties result. The holes 40 occupy an area of about 12.5% of the surface of the support element 32 in the exemplary embodiment. In general, it has been found that comparatively smaller holes 40 tend to have a more subdued sound, whereas comparatively larger holes 40 tend to be more open sound, so that the selected hole size and thus also their area fraction on the total surface of the support element 32 also with respect to the desired Sound behavior and possibly also with regard to the material intended for use (wood) can be suitably selected.

In addition, the holes 40 are sharp-edged, as compared to holes with rounded edges thereby a particularly pleasing sound is achievable.

• Für eine Schulterstütze zur Verwendung mit einem separaten Adapterstück ("Cradle") oder für eine Schulterstütze für eine ¾-Violine (dargestellt in FIG. 6a): Dicke 4 mm, Länge 205 mm, Breite 25 mm, mittlere Kompression 17 bis 20 %.
• Für eine Schulterstütze für eine 4/4-Violine(dargestellt in FIG. 6b): Dicke 4,5 mm, Länge 221 mm, Breite 25 mm, mittlere Kompression 17 bis 20 %.
• Für eine Schulterstütze für eine 4/4-Viola (dargestellt in FIG. 6c): Dicke 5 mm, Länge 274 mm, Breite 28 mm, mittlere Kompression 17 bis 20 %.

The main body 34 of the support element 32 of the shoulder support 38 is in the FIG. 6 ac shown in three different exemplary size variants in plan view. For a shoulder rest 38 in an independent design, ie for use directly in combination with the instrument to be recorded, the following parameter combinations are provided with regard to the dimensioning:

• For a shoulder rest for use with a separate adapter piece ("cradle") or for a shoulder rest for a ¾ violin (pictured in FIG. 6a ): Thickness 4 mm, length 205 mm, width 25 mm, average compression 17 to 20%.
• For a shoulder rest for a 4/4 violin (pictured in FIG. 6b ): Thickness 4.5 mm, length 221 mm, width 25 mm, average compression 17 to 20%.
• For a shoulder rest for a 4/4 viola (pictured in FIG. 6c ): Thickness 5 mm, length 274 mm, width 28 mm, average compression 17 to 20%.

Like the top views in FIG. 6 In addition, the holes 40 are not round, but are contoured in a longitudinal direction of the support member 32 stretched shape. They thus each have a greater clear width in the longitudinal direction of the support element 32 than in its transverse direction. This ensures that they cause a particularly suitable guidance of the sound within the support element 32, in which the sound waves are passed around particularly suitable and harmonious around the considered as obstacles to the propagation of sound holes 40. The longitudinally extending design of the holes 40 may in particular be accompanied by a comparatively pointed contour in the impact area of the sound waves, so that they can be passed around the holes 40 in a particularly interference-free and low-loss manner.

The support member 32 may at the back, so on its intended for resting on the shoulder of the player side, with a buffer element of relatively elastic or soft material, such as a rubber buffer or the like, be provided. This buffer element may also have holes, which preferably correspond to the holes 40 and are arranged in position and dimensioning suitable for these. Thus, for the composite body of support element and buffer element completely continuous holes are given, which ensure a special sonic quality and the composite body.

Like the top view in FIG. 6 and in particular the contour representation of the holes 40 in plan view in FIG FIG. 7 can also be removed, the contour of the main holes 42 as well as the secondary holes 44 includes a number almost straight, but still with a comparatively small continuous bending running contour segments 46, so that the holes 40 have a substantially diamond, eye or diamond-shaped basic shape , The relation between the clear longitudinal width and the clear transverse width of the holes 40 can vary, in particular depending on the geometry parameters of the shoulder rest as a whole, such as, for example, their overall length and / or overall width.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

violin

2

corpus

4

neck

6

whirl

8th

slug

10

cabinet floor

12

bottom edge

14

neck-side ends

16, 18

end block

20, 22

outside block

24

bulge

26

frame

30, 38

buttstock

32

support element

34

body

35

annual ring

36

terminal unit

40

holes

42

all holes

44

Besides holes

46

contour segment

x, y, z

basic directions

n

surface normal

Claims (15)

1. Shoulder support (30, 38) for a string instrument, comprising a rest element (32) for resting on the shoulder and/or chest of the player, wherein the rest element (32) has a main part (34) made of pressed wood that is obtained by compressing wood fibres in the fibre direction thereof.
2. Shoulder support (30, 38) according to claim 1, wherein the pressed wood forming the main part (34) has an average compression of between approximately 15% and approximately 25%, in particular of from approximately 17% to approximately 20%.
3. Shoulder support (30, 38) according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pressed wood forming the main part (34) has a density of between 0.6 g/cm³ and 0.96 g/cm³, preferably of approximately 0.72 g/cm³.
4. Shoulder support (30, 38) according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main part (34) of the rest element (32) has a cross-sectional area of at least 60 mm², preferably of at least 75 mm², and at most 210 mm², preferably of 150 mm², with respect to the longitudinal direction thereof.
5. Shoulder support (30, 38) according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the main part (34) of the rest element (32) has a thickness of at least 2 mm and at most 7 mm, preferably of at least 3 mm and at most 6 mm, particularly preferably of at least 3.3 mm and at most 5 mm.
6. Shoulder support (30, 38) according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the main part (34) of the rest element (32) has a width of at least 20 mm and at most 40 mm, preferably of at least 24 mm and at most 30 mm.
7. Shoulder support (30, 38) according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the main part (34) of the rest element (32) is formed by a workpiece that is cut from a block of pressed wood and has a cross direction oriented substantially perpendicularly to a fibre direction of the block of pressed wood.
8. Shoulder support (38) according to any of claims 1 to 7, the rest element (32) being provided with a plurality of holes (40), wherein a number of main holes (42) are arranged centrally in the rest element (32) with respect to the width thereof, a number of secondary holes (44) are arranged eccentrically in the rest element (32) with respect to the width thereof, and each secondary hole is arranged approximately midway between two adjacent main holes (42) when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the rest element.
9. Shoulder support (38) according to claim 8, wherein the main holes (42) are selected so as to be of equal size.
10. Shoulder support (38) according to either claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the secondary holes (44) are selected so as to be of equal size.
11. Shoulder support (38) according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the hole area of the main holes (42) is approximately four times that of the secondary holes (44).
12. Shoulder support (38) according to any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the holes (40) cover a surface area of at least 8%, preferably of at least 10%, and at most 30%, preferably of at most 20%, of the surface area of the rest element (32) overall.
13. Shoulder support (38) according to any of claims 8 to 12, wherein each of the holes (40) has an inner diameter that is greater when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the rest element (32) than in the cross direction thereof.
14. Shoulder support (38) according to any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the contour of the main holes (42) has a number of bent contour segments (46).
15. Shoulder support (30) according to any of claims 8 to 14, wherein the total number of main holes (42) is an odd number, preferably precisely five.

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