US2540928A - Music holder for guitars - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1951 L. E. BRIGGS MUSIC HOLDER FOR GUITARS Filed April 20, 1949 Fig. 2.

Lyle E. Briggs IN VEN TOR.

- BY W405i (mf away 15 M5 Patented Feb. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSIC HOLDER FOR GUITARS Lyle E. Briggs, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application April 20, 1949, Serial No. 88,573

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to a novel and improved sheet music holding rack which is especially adapted to be used on and in connection with present day, modern-styled guitars, primarily Hawaiian and Spanish types.

I am not unmindful that the art to which the invention relates discloses prior patents covering varying types of music racks. Also, I am aware that many and varied forms of lyres are used in connection with wind musical instruments, both reed and brass. In the field under advisement, the old fashioned guitars, now gradually being replaced, have a large sound hole in the top, underneath the strings and between the bridge and inner end of the fretted fingerboard. It has been the practice to provide clamps to attach to the top and to anchor in part within the confines of the sound hole. Now that sound holes are no longer provided, especially in the electric Hawaiian guitar and electrified Spanish amplifier types, there is a crying need for a diilerent and practical sheet music holding rack. The present invention, therefore, has to do with the provision of a simple, practical and effective music rack.

In carrying out the principles of the invention, I provide a reach arm, which is of bendable metal to permit it to take an angular location as required, the same having a clamp at one end which connects with the tuning head at the outer end of the neck of the instrument and the opposite end carrying a simple ledge equipped rack.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of a guitar and showing the music rack, constructed in accordance with this invention, in use on the tuning head at the left hand end of the neck.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section on the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of the rack per se.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the details. l

Referring now to the drawingsby distinguishing reference characters, the body of the guitar is denoted by thereference character A, the neck isindicated at B and the so-called tuning head at the left hand end thereof is denoted at C.

This is provided with the usual tuning pegs D to accommodate the strings E extending over the frets on the finger-board F. It is to the part C that the clamping means of the improved attachment is connectable.

The invention comprises a reach arm 5 of appropriate length. This is preferably of bendable malleable stock so that it may be optionally bent to -a slightly different curvature than that shown. The depending end portion 5 connects with the angular rack l by way of a lug 8 and thumb nut 9, as shown in Figure 3. The ledge is of customary form and serves to support the sheet music (not shown) and carries upstanding backing fingers It. The opposite curved end of the rod is provided with a return bend H which is flattened and formed into an adapter jaw as at [2. This jaw carries a set-screw [3 which set screw bears against an end portion of a second clamping jaw M. The jaw I4 is provided with ears i5 and these coact with the ears 16, the respective ears being pinned and pivotally connected together, as at ll.

The jaws are hingedly connected together and disposed in proper parallelism that they may be conveniently placed and held in position on the tuning peg head C.

In practice, the clamp is attached to the head C which latter part provides a convenient foundational base for the clamping means. The arm reaches out to an out-of-the-way position and suspends the rack at a point most convenient for a safe and reliable music reading purpose. The arm may be bent up or down in relation to the finger board and, in addition the rack may be adjusted by way of the thumb nut.

I desire to stress the fact that the invention is susceptible of practical use with virtually all guitars and desire to mention again that reference patents with which I am familiar appear to be obsolete due to the fact that they require the presence of the now outmoded sound hole in the top wall of the instrument body to provide for mounting of a music rack. Most modern guitars, including electric Hawaiian, have no sound hole whatsoever. This holder is readily adaptable to the Spanish type guitar by merely twisting the elbow portion of the reach arm or rod into a more upright position. That is to say, the Hawaiian guitar is played with the instrument lying on its bottom on the p-erformers lap, whereas the Spanish guitar is usually held with the bottom of the instrument substantially fiat against ones abdomen.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made fromthe invention as claimed.

I claim:

A structure of the class described comprising a bendable reach rod providing an arm, a ledge forming rack, backing fingers carried by said rack, a lug on said rack, and a separable hi connection between said ledge and an adjacent end of said arm, the opposite end of said arm being fashioned into a return bend and said return bend terminating in a widened extension providing a relatively fixed jaw, a second relatively movable jaw beneath said first named jaw,

, ears on said jaws hingedly connecting same together, and a set screw carried by the first named. jaw and engageable with an adjacent end portion of the second named jaw to render the latter effective.

LYLE E. BRIGGS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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