Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02598376 2007-08-23
EXPANDABLE STRINGED INSTRUMENT CASE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Stringed instruments of various types are widely used by both professional
and amateur musicians. Typically, the instruments must be transported to a
location
at which a performance is to occur, On such occasions, transportation of the
instruments is facilitated and instrumeni darnage prevented by moving and
storing
the instruments prior to use in carrying cases generally having a
configuration
conforming to the particular instrument retained. Since stringed instruments
are
made with a variety of shapes and sizes, a properly fitted carrying case is
not always
available for each instrument. Consequently, a musician must either utilize
ill fitted
1 o cases for some instruments or utilize expensive custom fitted cases. This
problem is
accentuated for many musicians who have and utilize multiple stringed
instruments
with various shapes.
The object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a carrying case that
can
be safely used to store and transport stringed instruments of various size and
shape.
1
CA 02598376 2007-08-23
SUMMARY OF THE 1NVENTION
The invention is an instrument case including a bottom wall, a top wall, and a
primary side wall forming a first compartment. The primary side Nvall has a
lower
wall portion joined to the bottom wall and an upper wall portion joined to the
top
wall. Together, the upper and bottom walls have a substantially uniform width
w to
establish for the first compartment a first volume for accorrimodating an
instrument
having a maximtun width no greater than the uniform width w. A flexible
auxiliary
side wall is contractible within the primary side wall and joins the bottom
wall and
the top wall, The auxiliary side wall has a substantially uniform width W
greater
1 o than the width w of the primary side wall and is expandable to establish a
second
compartment with a second volume for accommodating an instrument having a
maximum width greater than the uniform width w. Because of the two
compartments, the case can compactly retain instruments of various size.
According to one feature of the invention, the case includes an expansion
mechanism for accommodating separation between the upper and lower wall
portions of the primary side wall and separation between the bottom wall and
the top
wall to thereby expand the auxiliary side wall and establish the second
compartment.
According to another feature of the iiivention, each of the upper and lower
wall portions have extensive length sections of uniform width and
substantially
shorter end sections with outwardly tapered edges forming triangular
protrusions
with apices.joined establishing at their juncttire a combined width of the
upper and
2
CA 02598376 2007-08-23
lower wall portions substantially equal to the width W of the auxiliary side
wall.
The shorter end sections with triangular protrusions accommodate the expansion
mechanism.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the expansion mechanism
is a zipper forming outer edges of the upper and lower wall portions, and
the,joined
apices form the origin end of the zipper. The zipper simplifies expansion of
the case.
According to still another feature of the invention, end portions of the upper
and lower wall portions opposite to the tapered end sections overlap the
tapered end
sections. The upper and lower wall sections prevent undesired contact of the
zipper
slide vvith other objects.
According to a further feature of the invention, the case has the overall
shape
of a stringed instrument with a narrow neck portion and a wider body portion,
and
further includes a ci-nch mechanism secured to the neck portion and operable
to exert
a circumferential force thereto. The cinch mechanism allows the case to
compactly
receive instruments with different sized necks.
According to an additional feature of the invention, the case is elongated
with
the body and neck portions defining opposite ends of the case, and the origin
end of
the zipper is located at an end of the case defined by the body portion
thereby
eliminating an undesirable btilky protrusion from the sides of the case.
3
CA 02598376 2007-08-23
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and features of the invention will become more
apparent upon a perusal of the following description taken in eonjunction with
the
accompanying drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of an adjustable carrying case for a string
i nstrument;
Fig, 2 is a left side view of the case shown in Fig. I and with a shoulder
strap
removed;
Fig. 3 is a right side view of the case shown in Fig. ] and with a shoulder
strap removed;
Fig. 4 is an end view of the case shown in Fig. I and with a shoulder strap
removed;
Fig. S is an expanded right side view of the case shown in Fig. I and with a
shoulder strap removed;
. Fig, 6 is a partially contracted right side view of the case shown in Fig. I
and
with a shoulder strap removed;
Fig. 7 is a partial expanded right side view of the case shown in Fig. I and
with a shoulder strap removed; and
Fig. 8 is a partially contracted and partially expanded right side view of the
case shown in Fig. I and with a shoulder strap removed.
4
CA 02598376 2007-08-23-
pESCRIP'I'ION OF THE PREFFRR-ED EMBODIMENT
An elongated carrying case 1 I(Fig. 1) includes a narrow portion 12 for
receiving the neck of a stringed instrument (not shown) and a wider portion 13
for
receiving the instrument's body. Forming the case I I are a top wall 15 and a
bottom
wall 16 joined by a primary side wall I7 having a substantially uniform width
w
(Fig. 6). A handle 18 is joined to the side wall 17, Removably attached to the
bottom wall 16 are a pair of backpack straps 19. A zipper 21 having a pair of
slides
22 allows separation of the top wall l 5 from a portion of the side wall 17
allowing
access to an instrument within the case 11.
The primary side wall 17 (Figs. 2, 3, and 4) includes an upper wall portion 25
and a lower wall portion 26 having outer edges 28, 29 formed by engageable
tabs of
an expansion zipper 27 with an operating pull slide 24, Inner edges of the
wall
portions 25, 26 are joined, respectively, to outer edges 34, 35 of the top and
bottom
walls 15, 16. The upper wall portion 25 has an extensive length section 30 of
- uniform width and a substantially shorter end section 31 with an outwardly
tapered
edge 32 forming a triangular protrusion 33. Similarly, the lower wall portion
26 has
an extensive length section 36 of uniform width and a substantially shorter
end
section 37 with an outwardly tapered edge 38 forming a triangular protrusion
39.
The triangular protrusions 33, 39 are laterally aligned and their apices are
joined
establishing at their juncture 44 a combined width W of the upper and lower
wall
portions 25, 26. End portions 45, 46 of, respectively, the upper wall portion
25 and
5
CA 02598376 2007-08-23
the lower wall portion 26 opposite to the tapered end sections 31 and 37
overlap
those end sections.
Disposed within the primary side wall 17 is a flexible auxiliary side wall 48
(Figs. 4, 5, 7 and 8) also extending between and joining ovter edges of the
top wall
15 and the bottom wall 16, As shown in Fig. 8, the auxiliary side wall 48 has
a
substantially u.niform width W substantially greater than the width w (Figs.
2, 3 and
6) of the primary side wall 17. An upper edge 51 of auxiliary side wall 48
extends
around the entire perimeter 34 of the top wall 15 of the carrying case 1 l and
a lower
edge 53 of the auxiliary side wall 48 extends around the entire perimeter 35
of the
bottom wall 16.
Attached to the narrow portion 12 of the case l 1 is a cinching mechanism 58
including a cinching strap 59 and buckl-e 60. As shown in Fig. 5, the cinching
mechanism 58 can be loosened to allow expansion of the narrow portion 12 of
the
case 11 after opening of the zipper 21. A.lternatively, with the zipper 21
open, the
cinching strap 59 can be tightened to exert a circumferential force on the
narrow
portion 12 and thereby reduce its circumference as illustrated in Fib. 8.
During use of the carrying case 11, the zipper 27 can be closed to contract
the
auxiliary side wall 48 and establish within the case l l a first compartment
61 (Fig. 3)
having a volume which will accommodate a relatively narrow instrument (not
shown) having a width no greater than the given maximum width w. Conversely,
opening of the zipper 27 allows separation of the top and bottom walls 15, 16
and
6
CA 02598376 2007-08-23
expansion of the auxiliary side wall 48 resulting in the creation within the
case 11 of
a second compartment 62 with a larger volume which will accommodate a larger
instrument (not shown) having up to a greater maximum width W as shown in Fig.
5.
The case 11 also will compactly receive an instrument (not shown) having a
body
with a maximum width greater than w but no grcater than W and a neck having a
maximum width in a range between w and W, Such use is facilitated by openino
of
the zipper 27 and tightening of the cinching strap 59 around the narrow
portion 12 of
the case 11.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are
1 o possible in light of the above teachings. It is to be understood,
therefore, that the
invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described,
7
