US1438386A - Violin body - Google Patents

Description

W. J. LUCAS.

VIOLIN BODY. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12. 1921.

Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

INVENTOR. T l l lli d.Lu,da s' ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM J. LUCAS, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA.

VIOLIN BODY.

Application filed November 12, 1921. Serial No. 514,530.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. LUCAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jose, county of Santa Clara, State of Calliornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Violin'Bodies; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionot' the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this application.

This invention relates to improvements in violin-body construction and is particularly intended to be incorporated in conjunction with that form of structure shown in my Patent No. 1,386,183, dated August 2nd, 1921.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide additional strengthening means for the body, besides what is shown in said patent, and to arrange this strengthening means in such a manner that the quality of the tone of the violin will not be hindered, but will be enhanced in volume, strength, purity and carrying power beyond what it is possible to attain without the use of this strengthening or brace means.

Another object is to mount the bridge in such a way that it will not tend to cave in the belly of the \dolin under its normal and relatively great pressure. Furthermore, the bridge is not permanently attached in the sense that it is glued in position, and yet it is secured in such a manner that it will never shift, and will never warp and tend to break acrossin the middle, or pull loose from the belly, when the pull on the strings tends to shift the outer edge of the bridge forward of its normal position, as invariably happens.

A further object is to form the peg-box in the neck of the violin in such a manner that it is much handier to fasten the strings to the pegs than is possible with violins as ordinarily contructed.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of ref erence indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective outline of :1 violin, showingmy improved features thereon.

Fig. is a detached. and fragmentary perspective view showing the bridge and its mounting.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section of the neck, taken on a line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to' the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the violin in general, having a belly piece 2, and the usual complement of strings 3.

Fixed on the outside of the belly and extending lengthwise thereof substantially in the plane of the outer or bass string'is a bassbar 4, which is thinnest at its ends, and increases in depth, to a high point under the bridge 5.

This bar forms a bearing or rest for one foot 5* of the bridge, this foot being substantially half-rounded on an axis transversely oi? the bar and body, the rounded portion seating in a similarly formed recess 6 in the bar 4.

The outer foot 5 of the bridge is similarly rounded and seats in a recess 7 formed in a footing piece 8 extending parallel to the bar 4, but considerably shorter than the same.

This footing piece serves primarily as a bearing for the bridge-foot, but incidentally furnishes additional solidity and vibratory bearing for the sound post (not shown), which is placed thereunder and inside of the body to connect the belly and back pieces and so harmonize and unify the vibratory forces of these parts.

At the same time it adds strength to the violin in that it distributes the pressure on the bridge, due to the tension on the strings, over a considerable area, and prevents any tendency for the bridge to cave in the belly.

This rounded seating of the bridge on its two supports allows the bridge to swing backward or forwards on these points of support as an axis, so that when the strings are tightened, the bridge can move forward instead of warping and tending to break, as occurs with violins as usually constructed.

By removing the bar 4 from the inside to the outside of the belly, I leave the interior free of its tone-obstructing influence, thereby enhancing the tone quality of the instruwent. Further, by reason of the bar being on the outside, I am enabled to put the violin together, try it out, and if necessary increase or reduce the size of the bar until it has just the right proportions as to strength, very much more easily and with more certainty of better results, than it it was necessary to take the violin apart to make any such alterations.

The neck 9 of the violin is as usual re cessed to "form. a peg-box, thus providing side flanges 10.

The inner faces of these flanges I curve outwardly or convexly, as shown at 11, which not only enhances the appearance of the violin, but allows for easy access 'o'fthe lingers to connect the strings to the pegs when necessary.

From the foregoing description it Will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills theo'bjects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a violin, a belly, and a bass bar extending lengthwise of the belly on the outer face thereof, and lying adjacent to an outer string.

2. In a violin, a belly, and a bass bar extenning lengthwise of the belly onthe outer face thereof, and lying adjacent't o an outer string and forming a support for one foot of the bridge ofthe Violin.

3; In a violin, a belly, and a bass bar eX- tending lengthwise of the belly on the outer face thereof, and lying adjacent to an outer string and forming: a support for one foot of the bridge of the Violin, and a footing piece supporting the opposite foot of the bridge.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM J. LUCAS.

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