US1260171A - Banjo attachment. - Google Patents

Description

W. B. FARMER. BANJO ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10. I917.

1,260,1 7 1. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

WITNESSES Wzf 5 F INVENTOR v i 1 mm car/726i M Z0 A TTORNEYS WILLIAM B. FARMER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BANJO ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application filed September 10, 1917. Serial No. 190,630.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. FARMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Banjo Attachment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to banjos such as shown and described in the Letters Patent of the United States, No. 833,517, granted to me on October 16, 1906.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved attachment for a banjo or similar musical instrument, arranged to enable a player'to produce an exceedingly sharp, clear, yet melodious tone. Another object is to permit the owner of a banjo to conveniently and readily apply the attachment to the banjo without the aid of a skilled mechanic.

In order to produce the desired result, use is made of a resonance ring engaging the under side of the banjo, and adjustably supporting means engaging the said ring to hold the latter in place independently of the rim of the banjo, the said adjustable supporting means engaging the attaching member used for connecting the rim of the banjo with the neck thereof.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of the attachment as applied to a banjo;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of a por tion of the resonance ring.

The banjo on which the attachment is shown applied is of usual construction and consists essentially of a membrane 10 held stretched on a rim 11 from which extends a neck 12 terminating in an attaching bar or dowel 13 extending diametrically of the rim 11, as plainly indicated in the drawings. The usual strings 14 extend above the membrane 10 and are attached to the head (not shown) and tail piece 15 and extend over a bridge 16 resting on the membrane, but as these parts are well known it is not deemed necessary to show or further describe the same.

The under side of the membrane 10 is engaged by a metallic resonance ring 20 engaged at its under side by the points 21 of two screws 22 screwing in the outer ends of a crossbar 23, preferably of metal, and engaging the upper face of the attaching bar 18. The points 21 of the screws 22 preferably extend into countersinks 24 formed in the underside of the resonance ring 20, as plainly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be noticed that by the arrangement described the resonance ring 20 can be moved into engagement with the membrance 10 with more or less force by correspondingly adjusting the screws 22 in the outer ends of the bar 23. Thus by the arrangement described the resonance ring 20 extends a distance from the rim 11 and is adjustably supported independently of the rim.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the attachment consists of the resonance ring 20, the screws 22 and the crossbar 28, and the several parts can be readily placed in position in the banjo by the owner thereof and without altering any part of the banjo or providing bracket attachments as shown and described in my previous patent.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A banjo having a body provided with a rim, a membrane stretched over the rim, a dowel extending diametrically in the said rim, a resonance ring pressing against the under side of the said membrane and spaced from the said rim, a crossbar resting at its middle on top of the said dowel and extending at a right angle thereto, and screws screwing in the ends of the said crossbar and engaging the under side of the said resonance ring on opposite sides of the said dowel.

2. A banjo having a body provided with a rim, a membrane stretched over the rim, a dowel extending diametrically in the said rim, a resonance rin pressing against the under side of the said membrane a distance from the said rim, the said rin being provided at the under side and at iametrically opposite points with countersinks, a crossbar resting at its middle on the said dowel and extending at a right angle thereto, and screws screwing in the ends of the said cross- 10 bar and having points engaging the said countersinks.

WILLIAM B. FARMER.

Copies of thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01 Intent: Washington, D. 0.

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