Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIO~
l. F_eld of the Invention
The present invention relates to a neck rod member ~or
strincJed instruments, particularly for bass ~uitars. The rod
member includes two oblong rod por-tions which extend parallel
relative to each other and essentially contact one another.
At one end of the rocl member, the rod portions are fixedly
connected to each other, Eor example, by riveting. At the
other free ends of the rod portions, a means for effectively ! :
shortening the length of one of the rod portions relative to
the eEfective lenyth oE the other rod portion is providecl.
The neck of the instrumen~t defines an oblong blind-end hole
which is open at the free end of the neck. The rod member can
be inserted into the blind-end hole in such a way that the
means for shortening the effective length of the first rod
portion is accessible from the open end of the blind-end hole.
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2. Description of the Prior Art
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A neck rod member of the above-described type is known
from U.S. patent 4,308,780 and German Utility ~1Odel 78 2~ 673.
Such a nec]c rod member is inserted into -the oblon~3 blind-end
hole in the neck of the instrument. The rod member is secured
in this hole once one of the rod portions is braced within the
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hole, as clescribed in detail below. Consequently, a separate
means for f~stening the rod member in the hole of the neck
of the instrument is not necessary. The effective length of
one of the rocl portions is shortened relative to the other
rod por-tion by rotating a cap nu~. As a result, the rod
member which previously was straight becomes curved into an
IrC allCI, thus, the neck oE the instrument also ~ssumes the
shape of an arc, wherein the convex slde of the arc faces the
s-trings resting on the fingerboard of the neck. The
above-described bracing ac-tion counteracts the relatively
stron~ tension exerted on the neclc of the instrument by the
strinys. Without the braci.ng action, the danger exists that
the tension of the strings will bend or even break the neck of ~ -
~the instrument.
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However, in some strin~ed instruments, particularly in
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special types of bass guitars, it may be required, for
example, due to the grain of the wood of the neck or for other ~ I
reasons, that the neck rod member should exert a force on the
neck of the instrument which is directed in the same direction ~-
as tne tension force of the strings. The neck rod member of
the type described above is not suitable for this purpose.
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U.S. patent 4,557,174 describes a neck rod member which~
consists oE a single piece. This rod member is inserted i.~to
the nec]c of the instrument and is approximately in the middle
thereoE Eixedly connected to the neck of the instrument by an
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anchorlng means. The rod member must be bent Into the deslred
dlrectlon before belng Inserted. Because of thls and partlcu-
larly due to the flxed anchorlng of the rod member In the neck of
the Instrument, an Instrument equl~ped wlth the neck rod member
accordlng to U.S. patent 4,557,174 Is complIcated and expenslve
to manufacture. In addltlon, thls neck rod member cannot be
replaced once It becomes useless or damaged. Accordlngty, the
neck rod member accordlng to U.S. patent 4,557,174 Is of a con-
slderably dlfferent type from the one descrlbed Inltlally hereln-
above.
It Is, therefore, the prlmary obJect of the present
Inventlon to provlde a rod member of the type Inltlally descrlbed
whlch can be deformed optlonally Into a convex or concave arc
shape relatlve to the neck of the Instrument. However, the
advantages of loosely Insertlng the rod member Into the blInd-end
hole of the Instrument neck and the loose removal therefrom are
to be malntalned.
In accordance wlth the present Inventlon, another means
; for shortenlng the effectlve length of the second rod portlon
relatlve to the effectlve length of the flrst rod portlon Is pro-
vlded. Thls other second means Is ~ocated at the second end of
the second rod. Therefor thls second means Is also accesslble
from the open end of the blInd-end hole.
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The neck rod member according to the present invention
can be used for both types of applications described above,
i.e., the bracing of the rod member into a conve.Y arc, as well
as for providlng -tne neck member inserted into the neck with
an arc whose concave side faces the fingerboard or the s-trings
of the instrument. Thus, a single neck rod member can be used
for both situations. This not only ~educes the manufacturing
costs, but substantially reduces the quantities which have to
be kept in stock at the manufacturer and the instrument
builder. Fina:Lly, the user of -the instrumen-t can use the kind
of adjustment or arc of the neck rod member which he considers
suitable.
The neck rod member of the type described above is
insertable in-to the blind-end hole oE the instrument neck.
The neck rod member can be securely braced within the blind-
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~ end hole of the neck by bendlny the rod member in the desired
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direction, so that the rod member cannot inadvertently slideout oE tlle blind-end hole. soth rod portions can be ad~usted
in the desired manner by reaching into the open end of the
blind-end hole. The rod portions preferably do not project
out of the open end of the blind-end hole, so that the rod
i members are not visible from the outside. The rod member can
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~ be easily pulled out oE the blind-end hole.
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In accordance w.ith another feature of tlle present
i invention, the additional means for shortening the effec-tive
length of the second rod portion includes a screw or nut which
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is accessible Erom the open end of the blind-end hole. ~hus,
both rod portions can be adjusted easily from the open end of
the blind-end hole.
In accordance with a third embodiment of the invention
which starts from the above-mentioned German Utility Model
78 2~ 673, the first rod portion is provided with an external
thread and is shorter than the second rod por-tion. In
addition, a cap nut meshing wi-th the external thread is
provided. The cap nut forms a stop for the end face oE the
free end of the second rod portion which is lon~er than the
first rod portion. The free end oE the second rod portion has
an internal thread. A set screw whose thread meshes with the
internal thread of the second rod portion provides a stop,
preferably in the form of a screw head for contactlng the end
of the first rod portion or the cap screw screwed onto the
first rod portion. -
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Accordingly, the external thread on -the shorter rod
portion and the corresponding cap screw which are known from
the prior art can s-till be used, while merely the internal
thread on the second longer rod portion and the set screw must
be provided. Thus, st~rting from the known rod members, a
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'I conversion to manufacturin~ the rod member according to the
, present invention is relatively inexpensive. In ~ddition, a
, readjustment in the use oE the rod member is not required.
'I Rather, it is only necessary to learn to use the ~dditional
adjusting means in the form of the above-described set screw.
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The rod m~mber accordi.ng ~o the present lnv~ntion has the
adclitional advantaqe that the thiclcness of the end portion of
th~-~ rod m~mber is the same as the thickn~ss oE the prior art
rod members. Only the length of the rod member is slightly
increased by the thickness of the set screw head, however,
this has virtually no prac-tical consequences.
In order to prevent an uninten-tional turning of the cap
screw when the set screw is adjusted, it is possible to
provide the internal thread at the end of the second rod ~ -
portion as a left-handed thread and the external thread of the -
firs-t rod portion as a right-handed thread, or vice-versa, or
to provide the internal -thread of the end of the second rod
portion with a pitch which differs from the pi-tch of~the
external thread of the first rod portion.
Tne various features of novelty which characterize the
invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims
annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a
better understanding of the invention, its operating
advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference
should be had -to the drawings and descrip-tive matter :in which
there is illustrated and described a preferred e~bodiment of
the invention.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In -the drawincJ:
Fig. 1 is a schematic side v;ew of a neck ~od member
according to the present invention without cap nuti
Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of the neck rod member of
Fig. 1 including a cap nut, the rod member being shown in the
unbraced state;
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Fig. 3 is ~ sch~matic side view of neck rod member of
Fig. 1 including cap nut, wherein the rod member is braced in
a conve.Y shape, Fig. 3 further showi.ng the outline of an
instrument neck;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along sectional
line IV-IV of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a side view, partly in section, of -the left end
I ~ , of the unbraced neck rod member illustrated in Fig. 2;
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Fig. 6`is a side view corresponding to Fig. 5, wherein
the neck rod member is concavely braced, the outline of the
instrument neck being shown in dash-dotted lines; and
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Il Fig. 7 is a side view, partly in section, oE a stringed
instrument with the rod neck member accorcling to the present
invention incorporated in the neck o~ the instrument.
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DET~ILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As illustratecl in the drawing, a rod neck member
generally denoted by reference numeral 1 is composed of two
rod portions, i.e., a first short rod portion 2 and a second
lon~er rod portion 3. ~t their ends on the right-hand side as
seen in Figs. 1-3 of the drawing, the rod portions are fixedly
connected with each other, for example, by means of rivets
schematically illustrated by dash-dotted lines.
On the free end of the neck rod member 1 as illustrated
in Flgs. 1-3, an end 5 oE the shorter rod portion 2 has an
e~ternal thread 6 which is capable of meshing with an internal
thread 7 of a cap nut 8. End 9 of the longer rod portion 3
has an internal thread 10 which lS capable of meshing wlth an
external thread 11 of a set screw 12 which shall be described
in more de-tail with the aid of Figs. 5 and 6.
The threads 6 and 7 are preferably directed in the
opposite direction from threads 10 and 11. Threads 6 and 7
are preferably right-handed threads and the threads 10 and 11
~ are left-handed threads. Thus, it is ensured that the cap nut
i is not inadvertently turned when the set screw is actuated.
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, On the other hand, the pi-tch of threads 10 and 11 may also
diEer Erom the pitch of threads 6 and 7. Thus, when the
pitch o~ threads 10 and 11 is yreater or 5maller than the
pitch of threads 6 and 7, an unintentional turning of the cap
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nut is prevented. Different pitches can also be used if the
transmission of the bracing force from the adjus~ing means to
the rod portions is to be changed.
As illustra-ted in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, rod
portions 2 and 3 are placed closely next to each o-ther and are
separated from each o-ther only by a thin gap 13. After the
cap nut 8 has been screwed onto the free end of rod member 1,
the inner surface 14 of cap nut 8 comes into contac-t with the
end ace 15 of rod portion 3. When cap nut 8 is turned
further, it moves in the direction oE arrow 16 shown in Fig. 2
and the shorter rod portion 2 is pulled against the direction
of arrow 16 into the cap nu-t 8. This effective shortening of
the length of the rod portion 2 results in a corresponding
lengthening of the relative length of the rod portion 3, so
that rod por~ion 3 is bent upwardly into an arc shape, as
illustrated in Fig. 3. The convex side of this arc is
directed toward the fingerboard 26 and, thus, toward the
strings 27 of the neck 17 of instrument 31, the neck 17 being
shown in Fig. 3 only in dash-dotted lines. Further details o
the structure of the rod member and the instrument neck can be
found in Fig. 7. Strings 27 and fingerboard 26 are located on
the side of the neck denoted by reference numeral 17'. For
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clarity's sake, the arc of the rod portion 3 is shown
exagcJerated in Fi~. 3 of the drawincJ.
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The above-described internal thread 10 in connection with
the se-t screw 12 serves as the additional adjusting means for
shortening the effective lenc3th of the second rod portion 3
relati.ve -to the efEec-tive length of the first rod portion 2. ~ :
The external thread 11 of set screw 12 meshes with internal
thread 10. Set screw 12 has a head 18 which forms an end face
19 on the right-hand side of head 1~ as seen in Figs. 5 and 6.
End face lg forms a stop which comes into contact with the end ..-
face 20 of cap nut 8.
In the initial position of the adjustment procedure
accordiny to Fig. 5, the surfaces 19 and 20 are in contact
with each other and the cap nut is screwed onto thread 6 to
such an extent that cap nut 8 surrounds both rod portions 2 :
and 3, while a distance a remalns between the end face 15 of
rod portion 3 and the inner end Eace 14 of bot-tom 22 of cap
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nut 8. In ac,cordance with a preferred embodiment, the .
: distance a may be, for example, 4
When set screw 12 is turned such that the rod portion 3
is moved toward the leEt along shat 23 of set screw 12 in the
direction of arrow 2~ shown in Fig. S whereby the distance a
becomes smaller, this results in an effective shortening of
the upper rod portion 3 and, thus, an effective relative
lengtheninc3 o.E the lower rod portion 2. Set screw 12 can be
turned until distance a becomes practlcally zero as shown in
FicJ. 6. As illustrated i.n FicJ. 6, the rod portion ~,is now
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bent into a downwardly dlrected arc whose concave side 2'
faces the neck side 17' which includes fingerboard 26 and
strings 27.
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Accordingly, in the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1-3
whicll lncludes cap nut but not a se~ scrcw, a ConVe.Y arching
of the rod member results in forces acting on neck 17 in the
direction of arrows A. In the arrangement which includes the
use of set screw 12 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, forces are
acting on neck 176 whlch are directed in the opposite
direction ~o arrow A. In Fiy. 6, these forces are illustra-ted
by the arrow B on the left-hand side.
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Head 18 of set screw 12 may have a he~agonal recess 21
for inserting a wrench. Such a heYagonal recess can also be
provlded at the bore 25 of cap nut 8. Thus, set screw 12 and
cap nut 8 can be adjusted independently from the free end 28
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of blind-end hole 29 by inserting appropriate wrenches in the
dlrection of arrow 30, as shown in Fig. 7.
, While a specific embodiment of the invention has been
shown and described in detail -to illustrate the application of
the inventive principles, it will be understood that the
i.nvention may be embodied otherwise without departing from
such principles.
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