Musical instrument bridge2010-03-09 00:00:00are cantilevered from the
plate and extend outwardly therefrom. Each finger has a resonant frequency or rigidity that is related to a predetermined pitch of the string supported by the finger. Each finger is designed to vibrate in a plane that is parallel to the front face of the instrument but to reduce vibration in a plane perpendicular to the front face of the instrument.Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A musical instrument bridge for supporting a set of strings above a front face of a musical instrument, wherein each string of the set of strings is tuned to a predetermined pitch when the musical instrument is played, the musical instrument bridge comprising:
a plate that is attachable to the musical instrument;
several fingers cantilevered from the plate, each of said fingers having a resonant frequency and being configured to support a string of the set of strings above the front face of the musical instrument, said fingers being arranged in a row such that a first finger of said several fingers is disposed at one end of the row, a second finger of said set fingers is disposed at an opposite end of the row and all other of said several fingers are disposed intermediate said first and second fingers with no additional fingers located outward of said first and second fingers, the resonant frequency of said first finger being different than the resonant frequency of said second finger.
2. The musical instrument bridge of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second fingers has a base portion that is secured to the plate, a head portion that is configured to anchor an end of the string supported by the finger and a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion, the waist portion of each of said first and second fingers having a width dimension, the width dimension of the waist portion of the first finger being different than a width dimension of the waist portion of the second finger.
3. The musical instrument bridge of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second fingers has a base portion that is secured to the plate, a head portion that is configured to anchor an end of the string supported by the finger and a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion, the head portion of each of the first and second fingers having a hold therein, the hole of the head portion of the first finger being a different size than the size of a hole of the head portion of the second finger.
4. The musical instrument bridge of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second fingers has a base portion that is secured to the plate, a head portion that is configured to anchor an end of the string supported by the finger and a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion, the waist portion of each of the first and second fingers having a pair of opposing slots that extend lengthwise along a length of the waist portion, the opposing slots of the first finger having a dimension that is different than a dimension of the opposing slots of the second finger.
5. The musical instrument bridge of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second fingers has a base portion that is secured to the plate, a head portion that is configured to anchor an end of the string supported by the finger and a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion, each of the first and second fingers having a mass, the mass of the first finger being different than the mass of the second finger.
6. The musical instrument bridge of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second fingers has a base portion that is secured to the plate, a head portion that is configured to anchor an end of the string supported by the finger and a waist portion that extends between the base portion and the head portion, each of the first and second fingers having a groove that extends between the base portion of such finger and the waist portion of such finger, the groove of the first finger having a length that is different than a length of the groove of the second finger.
7. The musical instrument bridge of claim 1, further comprising a mounting block disposed between the
plate and the fingers.
8. The musical instrument bridge of claim 7, wherein the mounting block and the base portion of each of said fingers have respective interfitting portions including a groove and an outwardly extending lip received in the groove.
9. The musical instrument bridge of claim 7, wherein the mounting block includes a plurality of slots into which each of said fingers is secured.
10. The musical instrument bridge of claim 9, wherein each of the fingers is secured to the mounting block independently of any other of the fingers.
11. A musical instrument bridge for supporting a set of strings above a front face of a musical instrument, wherein each string of the set of strings is tuned to a predetermined pitch when the musical instrument is played, the musical instrument bridge comprising:
a plate that is attachable to the musical instrument;
several fingers cantilevered from the plate, each of said fingers having a resonant frequency and being configured to support a string of the set of strings above the front face of the musical instrument, said fingers being arr...
Musical resonator mounting structure2010-02-26 00:00:00the support
plate and an opposite end connected to an end plate of the resonator unit by a connecting plate, a clamping unit controlled to secure the support plate to a musical instrument, enabling corrugated metal wires of the resonator unit to be retained in contact with the musical instrument, and an adjustment screw fastened to the support
plate and the coupling plate at one end and screwed up with an adjustment nut for adjusting the contact pressure between the musical instrument and the corrugated metal wires of the resonator unit.Claims
What the invention claimed is:
1. A musical resonator mounting structure comprising:
a resonator unit, said resonator unit comprising an end
plate and a plurality of corrugated metal wires connected in parallel to said end plate;
a connecting plate, said connecting plate having an oblique middle portion, a first horizontal connecting portion extended and a second horizontal connecting portion respectively extended from both ends of said oblique middle portion, said first horizontal connecting portion being fixedly connected to said end plate of said resonator unit;
a resilient holding down unit, said resilient holding down unit comprising an resilient coupling plate having a first end fixedly fastened to the second connecting portion of said connecting
plate and a second end, a support plate having a fixed end fastened to the second end of said resilient coupling
plate and a free end spaced below the first end of said resilient coupling plate, an adjustment screw fastened to the free end of said support
plate and the first end of said resilient coupling plate, an adjustment nut threaded onto said adjustment screw to secure said adjustment screw to said...
Stringed musical instrument2010-02-05 00:00:00bottom
plate and side walls. A string supporting bridge is mounted on the top
plate and has two feet which are spaced apart transversely of the instrument. A sound post extends between the top and bottom plates and is connected to one foot of the bridge through an opening formed in the top plate. The opening and the connection are related so that there is no impediment to movement of the top plate in the region of the opening. By way of example, the post may extend through the opening to effect the connection with the bridge foot, in which event clearance will be provided between the post and the opening.Claims
I claim:
1. A musical instrument of the stringed kind including, a sound box having top and bottom plates which are spaced apart, a string supporting bridge positioned over the top
plate and having one of two opposite ends connected to said top plate, said one end being adjacent the string of said instrument of highest pitch, a sound post extending between said top and bottom plates and having a lower end connected to said bottom plate, an opening in said top plate, a connection between an upper end of said post and the other said end of the bridge such that said end is supported by the upper end of the post, said connection being effected through said opening and arranged so as to not impede movement of the top plate towards and away from the bottom plate, a bass bar connected to the underside of said top
plate and extending transverse to said bridge, said bass bar being located so that said one end of the bridge is located between the bass bar and the sound post and is spaced from the bass bar, and a tension member extending across the undersurface of said top plate in substantially the longitudinal direction of said bridge and having each of two opposite ends secured to said top plate at locations beyond the ends of said bridge.
2. An instrument according to claim 1, wherein an upper end portion of said post extends through said opening so as to effect said upper end connection, and clearance exists between said opening and said upper end portion.
3. An instrument according to claim 2, wherein a flexible annular diaphragm extends across said clearance to close said opening without inhibiting movement of said top plate relative to said post.
4. An instrument according to claim 1, wherein said upper end connection is such that relative angular mo...
