US2641949A - Metal string for musical instruments - Google Patents

Description

June 16, 1953 P. E. JENsEN METAL STRING FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed 001;. 16, 1950 Patented June 16, 1953 METAL s'rmNG Fon MUSICAL INs'rRUMENTs Povl Emanuel Jensen, Copenhagen, Valby, Denmark Application October 16, 1950, Serial No. 190,267 In Denmark April 24, 1948 6 Claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 88,480, filed, April 19, 1949, and entitled: Metal String for Musical Instruments, now abandoned.

My invention relates to an improved metal string having a number of highly desirable tonal qualities. When the bow of a stringed instrument passes over the string, materially stronger oscillations can be obtained than with known strings. Compared with other known steel strings, this string has the invaluable advantage that in all conditions it gives an unfailing response. When the bow is to pass over E in quick transition, pianissimo, the string does not Whistle, as is the case With other steel strings. Moreover, this string has a much softer tonal quality, and a full tone also of the highest notes.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a metal string for musical instruments having the advantages mentioned above, and it is also the object of the invention to provide a string, in which not one, but all of the desired advantages are incorporated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application,

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation, showing a musical instrument string;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the string shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view, showing a modified form of string;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the string shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing another modified form of string; i

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the string shown in Fig. 5;

Figure 'l is a view in elevation showing another modified form of string, and

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the string of Figure 7.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the string includes a soft core l of aluminium, having a diameter of 0.13 mm., surrounded by 8 steel strands, which are twisted tightly together around the said core I, and each of which has a diameter of 0.08 mm. This string is a Violin E: string. The core could be substtuted with a copper core or a nylon core of the same diameter. Another violin E string could be produced by twisting 6 steel strands, each having a diameter of 0.09 mm., tightly around a core consisting of a 0.10 mm. aluminium Wire or hard-drawn copper wire. The string has, as shown in Fig. 2, a wrapper, which consists of a winding of a single fiat-rolled strand 3, having a thickness of 0.04 mm. The string is ground and polished, whereby the thickness of the Wrapper is reduced to about 0.03 mm.

In a similar way, strings for all tones in all stringed instruments could be produced, having the advantages mentioned above in View of the known art, e. g., a. cello A string may be produced of 8 steel strands of 0.12 mm. being twisted tightly around an aluminium core of 0.17 mm. The Wrapper of this string consists of a fiat-rolled aluminium Wire, and this string needs very little grinding and polishing.

When the string according to the present invention is mounted on the instrument, the steel strands 2 will get a little higher pitch and press more intensively against the core l, and the strands 2 Will absorb practically the whole stress or tension, while the soft core has the only purpose of maintaining the shape of the tube formed by the strands 2.

It is known from Gray,s Patent No. 2,049,770 to substitute each strand 2 by a plurality of twisted wires, but Grays string is difficult to tune on an instrument, since all the groups of twisted wire will obtain an increased pitch during the tuning, and furthermore, the said phenomenon will be present with each little strand in each group. As the said phenomenon will not appear simultaneously in all the smalll strands, belated phenomena Will appear, and the string is therefore not reliable, as such phenomena may change its number of oscillations per minute during the use of the instrument, which is very disagreeable. Furthermore, it is admitted by Gray that his tension-bearing component is lacking in strength, and therefore it has been necessary for him to reinforce the central Wire with a fabric wrapping saturated with a coating medium. His tensionbearing component thereafter consists of three elements bound together, but even With the said coating medium. Gray's strings cannot be reliable, as the saturation cannot regulate the reaction of the many groups of Wire.

Instead of a single central core, one, two, three or more wires could be applied for filling out the interior cavity of the steel strand tube.

In Figures 5 and 6, a string is shown having three copper wires 4 twisted together.

It is to be understood changes made in the form, details, arrangements or proportions of the parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims; having thus described my invention,

I claim:

1. A metal string for musical instruments comprising a tension bearing tube formed of a plurality of steel strands, and a central insert for said tube formed of a softer material than said steel strands and consisting of at least one solid length of material which has no appreciable Variation in diameter throughout the length thereof, said steel strands being twisted tightly about said central insert, and said central insert having no tension imposecl load thereon but serving only t fill out the cavity in said tube.

2. A metal string according to claim 1, in which the softer material is a soft metal.

3. A metal string according to claim 2, in

which the soft metal is aluminium.

4. A metal string according to claim 2, in which the soft metal is copper.

(i 5. A metal string according to claim 4, in which the softer material is nylon.

6. A metal string for musical instruments as defined in claim 1, wherein the central insert of softer material comprises a plurality of strands twisted together.

POVL EMANUE'L JENSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED s'rATEs PA'I'ENTs Number Name Date 2,049,770 Gray Aug. 4, 1936 2,205,144 Kaplan June 18, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 69,060 Australia June 10, 1915

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