阅读说明：本技术 可折叠式弦乐器 (Foldable stringed instrument ) 是由 J·D·斯潘格勒 J·C·李 M·波斯特 E·萨瑟 C·米特尔斯丹迪特 于 2018-10-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：描述了可折叠弦乐器,例如呈旅行吉他形式,该旅行吉他在中颈处折叠以呈现减小的轮廓。围绕位于颈部上的三部分铰链以对称方式完成中颈折叠,以将旅行吉他构造成减小的轮廓。桥组件可相对于吉他的头部纵向平移,以允许吉他弦充分张紧,从而使颈部的上部折叠而远离颈部和/或主体的下部,从而呈现出减小的轮廓。为了部署旅行吉他以进行弹奏,将颈部的上部展开使其与颈部和/或主体的下部对齐,并且桥组件相对于头部纵向平移并锁定在适当的位置,以使吉他可以调音以进行弹奏。(Foldable stringed instruments are described, for example in the form of a travel guitar that folds at the mid-neck to assume a reduced profile. The mid-neck fold is completed in a symmetrical fashion about a three-part hinge located on the neck to configure the travel guitar with a reduced profile. The bridge assembly is longitudinally translatable relative to the head of the guitar to allow the guitar strings to be sufficiently tensioned such that the upper portion of the neck folds away from the lower portion of the neck and/or body to assume a reduced profile. To deploy the travelling guitar for playing, the upper portion of the neck is unfolded to align with the lower portion of the neck and/or body, and the bridge assembly is translated longitudinally relative to the head and locked in place so that the guitar can be tuned for playing.)

1. A foldable stringed musical instrument comprising:

an articulated neck assembly comprising a lower neck, an upper neck and a middle neck, each of the lower, upper and middle necks having a proximal end and a distal end and a generally flat upper surface, a plurality of spaced apart cells being disposed at least along a port of the upper surface, the distal end of the lower neck being hingedly coupled to the proximal end of the middle neck, the distal end of the middle neck being hingedly coupled to the proximal end of the upper neck, the lower, middle and upper necks each having at least one aperture extending in linear alignment with one another when the lower, middle and upper necks are in linear alignment;

a translating bridge assembly configured to selectively tighten and loosen a set of musical strings extending over the lower, middle and upper necks based on linear motion of the translating bridge assembly relative to the lower, middle and upper necks; and

a translating truss assembly sized to be selectively movable in a linear manner relative to the lower, middle and upper necks to advance at least one elongate element into the at least one bore of each of the lower, middle and upper necks when the lower, middle and upper necks are linearly aligned, wherein the translating truss assembly is further sized to be selectively moved in opposite directions to remove the at least one elongate element from the at least one bore of each of the lower, middle and upper necks to enable the lower, middle and upper necks to be hingedly folded apart such that the upper surfaces of the lower, middle and upper necks can be moved away from each other to reduce the length of the hinged neck assembly.

2. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the at least one elongated element is removed from the at least one hole of each of the lower, middle and upper neck portions after the translating bridge assembly has been actuated to loosen the set of musical string displacements.

3. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a rod configured to operate the translating bridge assembly and translating truss assembly.

4. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 3, further comprising a body sized to couple with said articulating neck assembly, said body comprising a neck recess sized to receive said proximal end of said lower neck, said body comprising a top surface, a back surface, and a side surface extending between said top surfaces, said body comprising a recess formed in said side surface to receive said stem.

5. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the articulating neck assembly comprises a first joint at an approximate junction of the distal end of the lower neck and the proximal end of the middle neck, and a second joint at an approximate junction of the distal end of the middle neck and the proximal end of the upper neck, wherein each of the first and second joints comprises a plurality of grooves formed in the substantially flat upper surface for accommodating the set of musical strings when the lower, middle and upper necks are in a folded state.

6. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a body sized to couple with the articulating neck assembly, the body comprising a neck recess sized to receive the proximal end of the lower neck, wherein a length of the foldable stringed musical instrument when the lower, middle and upper necks are in a folded configuration is about half a length of the foldable stringed musical instrument when the foldable stringed musical instrument is in a straight configuration.

7. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 6, further comprising a mounting plate disposed within a recess formed within the body, the mounting plate sized to mount the translating bridge assembly to the body.

8. A foldable stringed musical instrument as in claim 1, further comprising at least one on-board electrical component and at least one electrical connector for establishing electrical communication between the at least one on-board electrical component and at least one external component.

9. A foldable, stringed musical instrument as in claim 8, wherein the at least one on-board component comprises a battery or battery pack to provide power, an electric pickup disposed near the musical string to pick up an electrical signal resulting from playing the musical string, a piezoelectric sensor for sensing vibrations generated by playing the musical string, a microphone disposed in the vicinity of the musical string for transmitting sounds generated by playing the musical string, a wireless receiver for receiving wireless communication from an external wireless transmitter, a tuner for tuning the musical string, a speaker for playing a sound generated by at least one of playing the musical string and the sound generator, and an effect generator for changing at least one of a sound generated by playing the musical string and a sound other than the sound generated by playing the musical string.

10. A foldable stringed musical instrument as in claim 9, wherein the at least one connector comprises at least one of: an audio jack for connecting a headset; an input jack for coupling at least one of a smartphone and a tablet; and an output jack for connection to at least one of an external amplifier, an external speaker, and an external sound mixing board.

11. The foldable stringed musical instrument of claim 10, further comprising a recess sized to accommodate a smartphone, wherein the smartphone is equipped with an application for driving at least one of operations, functions, and effects associated with the foldable stringed musical instrument.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to stringed musical instruments, and more particularly, to stringed musical instruments (e.g., guitars) that can be played anywhere but are configured to present a reduced profile for ease of travel and/or compact storage.

Background

Among musical instruments, stringed musical instruments such as guitars are most popular. The solid neck of most stringed instruments is rigidly coupled to a hollow or solid body. This structure, while contributing to predictable tuning and playing qualities, makes many stringed instruments cumbersome when traveling (e.g., air, train, automobile, etc.), particularly in view of the additional bulk (hard or soft) of the associated situation. While various stringed instruments have been tried to make it easier and/or more convenient to travel with or store them, most are smaller or miniature versions of their traditional stringed instruments, still presenting challenges to travel and/or predictable tuning and playing qualities. The present invention aims to overcome or at least ameliorate the disadvantages of the prior art.

Summary of The Invention

The present invention accomplishes this by providing a foldable stringed musical instrument in the form of a travel guitar (by way of example only) that folds at the mid-neck to present a reduced profile. While referred to hereinafter in the context of a power travel guitar, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is beyond the guitar and may include, by way of example only, any of a variety of stringed instruments that benefit from a reduced profile for convenient travel and/or storage (e.g., acoustic guitars, bass guitars, hawaii four-stringed instruments, etc.). According to one aspect, a travel guitar may be configured to receive or otherwise couple to a tablet computer (e.g., apple's iPad) and/or a smartphone (e.g., apple's iPhone) having one or more applications for driving operations, functions and/or effects associated with the travel guitar. According to one aspect, a mid-neck fold is completed in a symmetrical fashion about a three-part hinge located in the neck to configure the travel guitar with a reduced profile.

In another aspect, a travel guitar can be configured such that the bridge assembly can translate longitudinally relative to the head of the guitar to allow the guitar string to relax sufficiently to enable an upper portion of the neck to be folded away from a lower portion of the neck and/or body to assume a reduced profile. When it is desired to deploy the travel guitar for playing, the upper portion of the neck can be unfolded to align with the lower portion of the neck and/or body, and the bridge assembly is longitudinally translated relative to the head and locked in place allowing the guitar to be tuned for playing. Translation or movement of the bridge assembly may be accomplished manually (e.g., by using a handle member or other manual actuation mechanism coupled with the bridge assembly) and/or by using a servo motor (not shown) provided with the guitar that, when actuated, will move the bridge assembly relative to the neck of the guitar to selectively tension and relax the string. In either embodiment (manual or automatic), physical movement of the bridge assembly may be accomplished by coupling the bridge assembly to a slidable track within the body of the travel guitar and/or a slidable plate on the surface of the travel guitar.

In another aspect, a travel guitar may be configured with one or more translating truss rods or truss assemblies housed within at least a portion of the neck to increase its strength and rigidity for more precise and prolonged tuning and alignment of the frets. In one aspect, the translating truss arms are rigid, unitary structures capable of longitudinal translation between locked and unlocked positions within one or more recesses or channels formed in the upper and/or lower necks. In the locked position, each integral truss bar is disposed at least partially within the lower and upper portions of the neck, which locks the upper neck into alignment with the lower neck. In the unlocked position, each integral truss bar is disposed within the lower neck portion and/or the main body portion and removed from the upper neck portion, thereby unlocking the upper neck portion and allowing it to fold into a reduced profile.

As described herein, each truss rod has a unitary, straight configuration and can translate with or independently of the translating bridge assembly. The translation of each truss rod may occur simultaneously with the translation of the bridge assembly, or slightly staggered in time. The staggered translation is performed to assume a reduced profile, first involving translating the bridge assembly relative to the guitar neck (e.g., away according to one aspect) to reduce the tension of the guitar strings, and then translating each truss bar to an unlocked position so that the upper neck can be folded toward the lower neck. Staggered translation during deployment of a travel guitar first includes translating each truss rod to a locked position after the upper and lower necks have been longitudinally aligned, and then translating the bridge assembly relative to the guitar neck to increase the tension of the guitar strings in preparation for tuning.

Each truss bar may be constructed of a material having properties sufficient to enhance the strength and rigidity of the neck of a travel guitar, including but not limited to metal, carbon fiber, and the like. Each truss bar may be manufactured to have any number of solid cross-sectional shapes (e.g., circular, oval, triangular, etc.) and/or non-solid cross-sectional shapes (e.g., generally crescent-shaped, generally V-shaped, generally U-shaped, etc.). If configured to have a non-solid cross-sectional shape, the "open" side of the truss bars may be disposed within the neck so as to generally face the underside of the neck (as opposed to facing the pegboard). This configuration will provide maximum strength and rigidity to the brace against the tendency of the neck to bend under tension of the guitar string after it has been tuned.

In one aspect, a foldable stringed musical instrument is provided having a lower neck, an upper neck, a translating bridge assembly, and a translating truss assembly. The lower neck is movably coupled to the upper neck. The lower and upper necks each include a fretboard having a plurality of spaced apart frets arranged along at least the port of the upper surface. Each neck further includes at least one elongated recess sized to be in linear alignment when the lower neck and the upper neck are in linear alignment. The translating bridge assembly is configured with a translating tail to selectively move in a linear manner relative to the lower and upper necks. The translating tail of the translating bridge assembly is configured to be secured to a first end of a set of musical strings extending over the first and second necks.

Linear motion of the translating tail of the translating bridge assembly in a first direction relative to the lower and upper necks increases the tension applied to the musical string to produce a tensioned string state. Linear motion of the translating tail of the translating bridge assembly in the second direction relative to the lower and upper necks reduces tension applied to the musical string to produce a relaxed string state. The translating truss assembly is sized to selectively move in a linear manner within the recesses of the first and second necks when the first and second necks are linearly aligned. When the musical string is in a relaxed state, the translating truss assembly is linearly movable in a first direction to unlock the neck hinge assembly so that the lower and upper necks can be folded relative to each other about the neck hinge. The translating truss assembly is also capable of linear movement in a second direction when the strings are in the relaxed state to align and lock the neck hinges to maintain the lower and upper neck portions in linear alignment.

In another aspect, the first direction of the translation tail of the translation bridge assembly is linearly away from the lower and upper necks, and the second direction of the translation tail of the translation bridge assembly is linearly toward the lower and upper necks.

In another aspect, the first direction of the translating truss assembly is linearly away from the lower and upper necks and the second direction of the translating truss assembly is linearly toward the lower and upper necks.

In another aspect, the lower neck and the upper neck are movably coupled such that the lower neck and the upper neck may be folded relative to each other such that a surface of the fretboard of the lower neck generally faces away from a surface of the fretboard of the upper neck.

In another aspect, after the translating bridge assembly has been actuated to relax the strings, the strings may be configured to have a moderate tension (e.g., 1-5 pounds of force), in such a way that when the neck hinge assembly is in the folded configuration, the strings will automatically "follow the fold" and avoid any vertical and/or lateral translation that would otherwise cause the strings to detach from the neck.

In one aspect, one or more auxiliary string barriers may be used to further resist strings that move vertically and/or laterally when in a relaxed state and detached from the neck. The auxiliary string barrier preferably has sufficient clearance relative to the fretboard (e.g., 1/4 inches above the frets) so that the strings are not pinched or otherwise constrained during folding and unfolding, but are merely vertically and/or laterally constrained to prevent detachment from the neck. In one aspect, a secondary string barrier may be magnetically coupled to the neck and adjacent to the neck hinge for ease of placement and removal. For example, the auxiliary string barrier may have a magnet disposed therein that may be coupled with a magnet or magnetically attractive material (e.g., steel) located in the neck adjacent the neck hinge (or vice versa).

In another aspect, a foldable stringed musical instrument includes at least one on-board electrical component and at least one electrical connector for establishing electrical communication between the at least one on-board electrical component and at least one external component.

In another aspect, a foldable stringed musical instrument includes a body coupled to a lower neck, the body including a handle member coupled to a translating truss assembly and a translating bridge assembly. In one embodiment, the handle provides mechanical leverage and a point of purchase for a user to easily actuate the translating bridge assembly and the translating truss assembly to linearly move the floating tail and the translating truss elements of the translating bridge assembly in the first direction and the second direction. In one aspect, the actuation is staggered such that the strings are relaxed prior to removal of the translating truss element from the neck hinge for transitioning from the playing position to the collapsed position, and conversely, the translating truss element is engaged into the neck hinge assembly prior to the translating tail of the translating bridge assembly returning to the fully tuned state for playing.

In another aspect, a foldable stringed musical instrument includes a body coupled to a lower neck, wherein the body includes at least one recess sized to accommodate aspects of at least one of a translating bridge assembly, a translating truss assembly, an auxiliary string barrier for string accommodation during folding and unfolding, and a handle for selectively actuating the translating bridge assembly and the translating truss assembly to transition the stringed musical instrument between a playing position and a folded position.