US1125262A

US1125262A - Stringed musical instrument.

Info

Publication number: US1125262A
Application number: US82343014A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph Bohmann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1914-03-09
Filing date: 1914-03-09
Publication date: 1915-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 1932-01-19

Description

J. BOHMAN N STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED 'MAR. 9, 1914.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

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JOSEPH BOI-IMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed March 8, 1914.

T 0 Cali whom it may concern Be it known that I, Josnrrr BOHMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Tmproven'ients in Stringed Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to a novel form of tail piece or means for holding the ends of the strings, and to a hand rest, which parts are in some instances combined to form a convenient and substantial construction. It is particularly applicable to such instruments as mandolins, harp-guitars,or the like, although, of course it may be used on various similar types of instruments.

The objects of this invention are to provide a simple and convenient means for fastening the strings which will securely hold the ends thereof and tend to improve the tone of the instrument, such fastening device being arranged so that it will protect the players hands from the screws with which the strings engage.

Another object is to provide a simple and convenient form of hand rest which may be readily adjusted, or changed for different positions.

My improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show them as applied to an instrument such as a harpguitar, which has a comparatively large number of strings.

In these drawings: Figure 1 is a top view of the main body portion of the instrument; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1, shown on an enlarged scale.

As illustrated in these drawings, 3 repre sents the body of an instrument to which is attached my improved tail piece or string holding device 1. Two of these devices are shown in Fig. 1, these being arranged in the proper manner for the different strings of the instrument, but it will only be necessary to describe one of them. The tail piece or string holder i is preferably made of a single piece of wood or other suitable material, with a flat portion 5 which rests upon the top of the body, and which may be se cured thereto in any desired manner. This fiat portion is made somewhat in the form of two ovals, meeting along adjacent edges as will be readily seen from Fig. 1. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1&15.

Serial No. 223,430.

rear portion 6 is provided with a plurality of screws or the like 7, to which the ends of the strings S are secured. Such rear portion is also provided with an upwardly extending guard 9, which is curved backwardly around the end screws a suiiicient amount to protect the hands of the player from coming in contact with such s ews.

The front oval portion 10 is provided with a plurality of screws 11, which may be properly arranged to give the desired length to the strings, each string being passed around one of these forward screws after being fas tened to a rear screw. The forward oval portion 10 is also provided with an upwardly extending guard 12, similar to the guard 9, which protects the player from coming in contact with the forward screws. The two guards 9 and 12 are substantially coincident or united through the central portion of the holder, and holes 13, are provided through this central portion for the passage of the strings. By means of this arrangement it will be seen that the strings may be fastened to the outer set of screws, then passed through the holes and one turn taken around a forward screw, and then passed over the bridge 14, and from thence to the tuning pegs. The strain on the strings is distributed between the forward screws and the rear ones and such forward screws determine the effective length of the strings regardless of the connection from thence to the rear screws to which the ends of the strings are attached.

One end of the bridge 14 is provided with a hole 15 for receiving a pin 16 which fits loosely therein, and is secured to a lever 17. This lever extends at one end out over the strings to the front of the bridge, where it is enlarged to form a head 18, which has a plurality of holes 19 therein for receiving a screw 20 on the button or hand rest proper 21. The plurality of holes provides for lateral adjustment of the button. The opposite end of the lever 17 is extended back over the tail piece e, where it is enlarged to form a head 22 having a plurality of holes 23 for receiving an adjusting thumb screw 2 This screw extends down through the head and engages with a threaded socket in the tail piece 4-. A spring 26 is inserted between the socket 25 and the head 22 in order to hold the parts closely together and prevent undue vibration or chattering. The holes 23 provide for a further lateral adjustment of the rest 21 and the screw 24 provides for a vertical adjustment of the same. By means of this arrangement it will be seen that I provide a hand rest which can be conveniently arranged to suit different persons, and the rest will not interfere with the tone of the instrument. It is particularly applicable to instruments having a large number of strings where it is more or less difficult for the player to hold his hand in playing position without some support. It will also be noted that this device serves as a guide for the hand, as well as a rest, as it tends to properly position the hand with respect to the strings of the instrument. If desired, a further adjustment is obtained by removing the lever 17 and inserting the screw 20 into the hole 15 in the bridge 14, which brings the button 21 into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

This device may be readily changed or modified in order to suit different types of instruments and, therefore, I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction shown and described, except as specified in the following claims, in which I claim:

1. '1 he combination with a musical instrument having a tail piece and bridge, of a lever connected with the tail piece and bridge and a hand rest secured to said lever.

2. The combination with a musical instrument having a bridge and a tail piece, of a lever fulcrumed on said bridge and having one end thereof adjustably connected with said tail piece, and a hand rest secured to the opposite end thereof.

3. The combination with a guitar or the like, of a lever pivotally connected with the bridge, a hand rest adjustably connected with one end of said lever and an adjustable connection between the opposite end of the lever and the tail piece of the instrument.

4-. A tail piece for musical instruments comprising a plate having rear screws or the like, to which the ends of the strings are secured, and forward screws around which the strings are turned, and having front and rear guards extending above and partially around the series of screws.

5. A tail piecefor a string instrument comprising a plate, a series of screws or the like along one side of said plate and another series along the opposite side of the plate, with an integrally formed guard extending up and partially around the screws of both series, said guard having a plurality of holes through the portion thereof lying between the screws, the arrangement being such that the ends of the strings may be secured to the screws in one series and then passed -through said holes, and then wound around the corresponding screws of the second series.

6. The combination with the body of a string instrument, of a plate secured to the top thereof, a series of screws or the like at the rear of said plate, a second series of screws at the front of the plate, an integrally formed guard extending upward between said series and having holes therethrough, and strings having their ends secured to the first named screws and passing through the holes in said guard and wound around the respective screws in the second named series and extending from thence to the tuning pegs.

7. The combination with a guitar or the like, of a plate secured to the front thereof, a series of screws at the back of the plate, a second series of screws at the front of the plate, an integrally formed guardextending up between said series of screws and projecting forwardly and backwardly around the ends of the series, said guard having holes therethrough, a bridge and tuning pegs, strings having their ends secured to the screws in the first named series, and then passing through said holes and being wound around the respective screws in the second named series and then passing over the bridge to the tuning pegs, a threaded socket in said guard portion, a lever pivotally mounted on said bridge, a screw and spring for adjustably holding one end of said lever in position with respect to the socket, and a hand rest at the opposite end of said lever.

JOSEPH BOHMANN.

Witnesses ANA'roL GoLLos, H. B. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.