Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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P15210CA00
GUITAR STRING BENDER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to string bending devices for use on stringed
instruments. In
particular, the string bending device is particularly adapted for use with
guitars.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many devices exist in the music industry which allows musicians of stringed
instruments, particularly guitars, to mechanically alter the pitch of a
string. Such a
device allows the artist great flexibility in providing a vibrato effect on a
single string of
the instrument. It is often used in country music to provide a country twang.
There are some known string benders which currently exist in the marketplace
and each
design varies greatly in terms of how it is mounted on the guitar and how it
is activated
during the playing of a guitar. Many of these devices require permanent
structural
changes to the guitar such as screwing in the device to the guitar body or
hollowing out
a portion of the rear of the guitar to accommodate the bending device.
Additionally, the
devices often contain mechanical stop mechanisms to ensure that the guitar
string stays
in tune when in neutral position.
The mechanical stops are also used to limit the amount by which the tone of
the string
being bent can be changed, typically to one or two semitones. Such mechanical
stops
limit the movement of the string to a single direction, either up or down in
pitch. This
limits the creative options for the artist. Additionally, the devices are
unable to effect the
string pitch more than one or two semi-tones.
The string bending devices of the prior art tend to be relatively complex,
requiring many
parts and a great deal of space on the guitar body. As such, there are none
that enable
more than one guitar string to have a bending device mounted thereon. Again,
this
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limits the creative options for the artist as only select strings can be bent.
There exists a need for a guitar string bender which can allow for the bending
of the
string both up or down in pitch, small in size and simple in design, thus
allowing for multi
string benders to be mounted on a guitar at one time.
There is also a need for a pitch-bender to have a greater range than one or
two semi-
tones.
1.0 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect of the invention, the string bender for use with a stringed
instrument
comprises a mount to couple the string bender to the stringed instrument, a
spring
device coupled between the mount and an activation lever and an anchoring
arrangement to secure an anchor portion of an instrument string having a
string portion
and an anchor portion. The anchoring arrangement cooperates with the spring
device
such that when the instrument string is tensioned to achieve a desired neutral
tone, the
spring device is in a neutral position. The spring device is deformable such
that by
moving the activation lever in a first direction, the spring device is
deformed from the
neutral position in a first direction and the anchor portion of the string is
moved to create
increased tension of the instrument string, which raises the tone produced by
said
instrument string.
In another aspect of the invention, the spring device is deformed in a second
direction
by moving the activation lever of the string bender in a second direction.
This causes
the anchor portion of the instrument string to move in such a way that the
tension on the
instrument string is decreased, lowering the tone produced by the instrument
string.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the stringed instrument is a guitar
and the
instrument string is a guitar string.
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In a further aspect of the invention, the anchoring arrangement is a string
aperture sized
to allow the string portion of the guitar string to pass through while
preventing the
passage of the anchor portion to secure the guitar string to the string
bender.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, the mount is adapted to be coupled
to a guitar
having a tailpiece and the mount comprises a mounting bolt sized such that the
body of
the mounting bolt passes through a string channel in the tailpiece of a guitar
while the
head of the mounting both abuts a surface about the channel.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, the spring device is U-shaped having
a first leg
and a second leg and the body of the mounting bolt passes through the channel
and
engages the first leg of said U-shaped spring device.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, the second leg of the spring device
is coupled to
the activation lever and the string aperture is provided in the second leg of
the spring
device.
In another aspect of the invention, the mount is adapted to be coupled to a
guitar having
a bridge plate assembly and a channel extending through the guitar body. A
mounting
bolt is used to couple the mount to the guitar body. The mounting bolt
comprises a
body and a head and the body of the mounting bolt is sized to pass through
said
channel and the head is sized to abut a surface about said channel. Once
passed
through the channel, the mounting bolt body engages themount, coupling the
mount to
the guitar.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the spring device is U-shaped and has
a first leg
and a second leg. The first leg is coupled horizontally to the mount and the
second leg
is coupled to the activation lever.
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In a further aspect of the invention, the mount includes an overhead bridge
and
anchoring arrangement is positioned above and rearwardly of the overhead
bridge.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, a lever mount is coupled between the
second leg
of the spring device and the lever. The lever mount includes the string
aperture for
securing the guitar string.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, the activation lever includes a
forwardly
extending handle and a rearwardly extending handle.
In another aspect of the invention, the string bender for use with a stringed
instrument
comprises a mount to couple the string bender to the stringed instrument, a
spring
device coupled between the mount and an activation lever and an anchoring
arrangement to secure an anchor portion of an instrument string having a
string portion
and an anchor portion. The anchoring arrangement cooperates with the spring
device
such that when the instrument string is tensioned to achieve a desired neutral
tone, the
spring device is in a neutral position. The spring device is deformable such
that by
moving the activation lever in a first direction, the spring device is
deformed from the
neutral position in a first direction and the anchor portion of the string is
moved to create
decreased tension of the instrument string, which lowers the tone produced by
said
instrument string.
IN THE FIGURES
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the attached
drawings
in which:
Figure 1 shows one embodiment of the guitar string bender mounted on a guitar
with a
tail piece;
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Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of the guitar string bender mounted on a
tail piece;
Figure 3 shows a first embodiment of the guitar string bender when it is not
mounted to
a guitar;
Figure 4 shows a side view of the first embodiment of the guitar string bender
mounted
to a tail piece;
Figure 5 shows the traditional set up of a bridge plate assembly;
Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of the guitar string bender mounted to a
guitar
having a bridge plate assembly;
Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the second embodiment of the guitar
string
bender mounted to a bridge plate assembly;
Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the second embodiment of the guitar
string
bender in assembled form;
Figure 9 shows a perspective exploded view of the second embodiment of the
guitar
string bender;
Figure 10 shows a side elevation view of the guitar string bender mounted to a
bridge
plate assembly;
Figure 11 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of the guitar string
bender;
Figure 12 shows a side elevation view of the third embodiment of the guitar
string
bender mounted on a guitar body having a bridge plate assembly;
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Figure 13 shows a bridge plate assembly having the second embodiment of the
guitar
string bender mounted thereto wherein the plate assembly also includes a
vibrato arm.
s DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention pertains to a guitar string bender which allows the pitch of the
string to be
raised and lowered, is easy to mount, and can be used in combination with a
vibrato
arm. The string bender of the present invention does not require structural
changes to
1.0 the instrument, which is advantageous in that many guitars lose value
of the instrument
if they are altered. Figures 1 and 2 show the guitar string bending apparatus
2 mounted
on a tail piece 4 of a guitar 1. In this particular embodiment the string
bender 2
comprises a spring 6 mounted to the tail piece 4 using a tail piece attachment
bolt 8.
The affected string 10 is anchored to the spring 6 via a hole 16 in the handle
12 which is
15 coupled to the spring 6.
As shown in Figure 3, the guitar string bender is of a simple construction.
The string
bender comprises a mounting bolt 8 which can be fed through the tail piece of
certain
guitars, having a tail piece with channels therethrough for attaching strings.
One such
20 example is the Gibson Les Paul guitar.
A mounting bolt 8 is used to couple the spring 6 of the string bender 2 to the
tail piece of
a guitar. A U-shaped spring 6 could take different forms, however, in the
preferred
embodiment shown in the figures, the spring is generally U-shaped. The U-
shaped
25 spring has a first leg 24 having a hole to receive a mounting bolt 8.
The first leg 24 is
configured to lay flat, adjacent the inner wall 13 of the tail piece 4. This
preferred
embodiment helps to conserve the space occupied by the string bender 2, making
the
string bender less obtrusive to the player. The U-shaped spring 6 further
compromises
a second leg 26 integrally connected to the first leg 24. The second leg 26 is
equipped
30 to facilitate the coupling of a handle 12 and guitar string 10 thereto.
The handle 12 is
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coupled to the spring 6 and is used to activate the string bender 2. In this
particular
example the handle 12 is mounted to the U-shaped spring 6 via a handle
mounting
screw 14, however it can be appreciated that any suitable coupling means could
be
used or the handle 12 could be formed continuously and/or monolythically with
the U-
shaped spring 6.
Figure 4 shows an example of one embodiment of the string bender attached to
the tail
piece of a guitar. The tail piece 4 has a channel 22 which can accommodate the
body
of the mounting bolt 8 of the string bender. The mounting bolt 8 is sized such
that the
body of the mounting bolt 8 passes through the string channel 22 of the tail
piece 4
while the head of the mounting bolt abuts the surface around the channel and
cannot
pass through. The body of the mounting bolt also passes through an aperture in
the U-
shaped spring 6. The U-shaped spring 6 abuts the surface of the tailpiece
opposite the
surface contacted by the head of the mounting bolt. A nut is used to secure
the U-
shaped spring 6 to the mounting bolt 8. This secures the U-shaped spring 6 to
the
tailpiece 4.
Traditional guitar strings have an anchor on one end thereof and no attachment
on the
other end. When a user is mounting a string 10 to a guitar equipped with a
string
bender 2, they would pass the attachment free end of the string 10 through a
hole 16 in
the handle until the anchor 20 was directly adjacent the handle. Alternatively
the hole
16 could be in the second leg 26 of the U-shaped spring 6. The string 10 is
then
positioned over a bridge 18 and connected to a tuning peg 15 (shown in figure
1) at the
opposite end of the guitar 1. The string pitch can then be adjusted to a tone
acceptable
to the player by turning the turning peg 15 which tightens or loosens the
string.
The U-shaped spring 6 is made of a material which has sufficient stiffness to
maintain
its position and shape when a guitar string is under tension and properly
tuned. One
example of a suitable material is spring metals.
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The string bender can be activated by either lifting the handle 12 away from
the body of
the guitar 1 or by depressing the handle 12 towards body 3 of the guitar 1.
The lifting of
the handle compresses the U-shaped spring 6. In the particular embodiment,
shown in
Figures 1 through 4 the spring is U-shaped and lifting the handle 12 causes
the second
leg 26 to be tilted toward the first leg 24. Since the guitar string 10 is
connected via the
handle to the spring, this upward and rearward movement of the handle 12
causes the
guitar string tension to increase and thus raises the pitch of the string 10.
In contrast, when the handle 12 is depressed toward the body 3 of the guitar
1, the
second leg 26 of the spring 6 is tilted away from the first leg 24 of the
spring 6. Since
the string 10 is anchored to the handle, which is connected to the spring,
this
depression causes the tension of the spring to decrease and thus lowers the
pitch of the
string 10.
is Depending on the stiffness of the material used to make the spring, the
range of
variation in the pitch that is possible could be changed. By using spring
metal as the
material a range of 3 semitones and part 5 semitones down is achieved.
The concept of using a spring device to maintain a neutral position of a
guitar string and
having a handle attached thereto to change the pitch of the guitar string can
be applied
to various designs of guitars.
Figures 6 through 9 show an alternate embodiment in which a spring based
string
bender 114 is applied to a bridge plate apparatus 115 as opposed to a tail
piece. An
example of a guitar with this particular arrangement is the Fender Telecaster.
Figure 5 shows the traditional arrangement of a guitar having a bridge plate
100. The
bridge plate 100 is mounted on the body 103 of the guitar and has a bridging
device 112
disposed thereon. The bridging device 112 is coupled to the bridge plate 100
by an
intonation adjustment bolt 102. The intonation adjustment bolt 102 can be
adjusted to
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pull the bridging device 112 forward and back relative to the guitar body 103.
When in
use, a guitar string 108 is fed through from the back of the guitar through a
hole 104 in
the guitar body 103 and the anchor 123 of the guitar string 10 rests against
the rim of
the hole 104, through which it cannot pass. The string is then directed
through an
opening in the bridging device 112, over the ridge 119 of the bridging device
112, and is
secured at the far end of the guitar using a tuning pin.
The string bender 114 for this particular style of guitar is shown mounted to
a guitar in
Figures 6, 7 and 10 and independently in Figures 8 and 9. The bending device
114 is
1.0 mounted in place of a traditional bridging device. The string bender
114 comprises a
mounting block 116 for mounting to the bridge plate 100. The mounting block
116 is
fitted with a channel 130 formed by a first arm 130a and a second arm 130b
coupled
together by an upwardly extending connecting wall 130c.
To mount the string bender 114 to a guitar, a mounting screw 128 is fed from
the back
of the guitar body 103 through the bridge plate 100 and into the channel 130
(as shown
in Figure 10). The top portion 129 of the mounting screw 128 is coupled to a T-
shaped
nut 132. The T-shaped nut 132 (shown in Figure 9) is shaped to have a first
arm 132a
and a second arm 132b which, when the string bender is in use, contact the top
surfaces of arms 130a and 130b respectively. The middle portion 132c of the T-
shaped
nut have a greater thickness than the arms 132a and 132b and a width that
generally
corresponds. to the width of the channel 130. The middle portion 132c of the T-
shaped
nut 132 is provided with a threaded hole 132d to receive and engage with the
mounting
screw 128. As the mounting screw 128 is tightened from the back of the guitar
101, the
T-shaped nut 132 is pulled down the mounting screw 128 and compresses the
first arm
130a and second arm 132b between arms 132a and 132b respectively and the
bridge
plate 100, thus securing the mounting block 116 to the bridge plate apparatus
115.
The upwardly extending wall 130c includes a threaded hole there through for
coupling
with the traditional intonation adjustment bolt 102. This allows for the
string bender 114
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to be moved forward and backward relative to the guitar body 103.
The upwardly extending wall 130c further includes a mounting body 131 coupled
to the
top of it which extends forward and back of the upwardly extending wall 103c.
The
mounting body 131 is generally parallel to the first arm 130a and second arm
130b. A
front portion 137 of the mounting body 131 provides an overhead bridge 118.
The
overhead bridge 118 has a bridging component 120 and an aperture 122. A rear
portion 133 of the mounting body 131 is provided to facilitate the coupling of
a bending
assembly 135.
A U-shaped spring 139, having a first leg 141 integrally connected to a second
leg 143
is positioned horizontally on the rear portion 133 of the mounting body 131.
Each of the
rear portion 133 and the first leg 141 is provided with holes which are
aligned axially
with each other when the U-shaped spring 139 is properly positioned. An
attachment
bolt 160 is used to couple these two components on the rear portion 133 of the
mounting body 131. A handle block 145 and the second leg 143 of the spring 139
are
also equipped with holes which are axially aligned with each other. The handle
block
145 is coupled to the second leg 143 of the U-shaped spring 139 using a screw
147
(shown in Figure 8) which passes through and engages threads in handle block
145
and the second leg 143.
The handle block 145 has a rear edge 151 and a front edge 161. In close
proximity to
the rear edge 151 of the handle block 145, a hole 153 is provided to
facilitate the
attachment of the handle 124 to the handle block 145. The handle 124 comprises
a
base portion 155 that has a hole 157 that is axially aligned with the hole 153
of the
handle block 145. For easy assembly the base portion 155 is also provided with
a lip
169 on the bottom surface thereof. The lip abuts the rear edge 151 of the
handle block
145 to ensure easy positioning and aligning of the holes 157 and 153. A screw
126 is
passed through the hole 157 in the base portion 155 of the handle 124 and is
engaged
with threads on the inside of hole 153 in the handle block 145. This couples
the handle
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124 to the handle block 145. By providing this coupling between the handle 124
and
the handle block 145 the handle 124 is essentially coupled to the spring 139
and the
mounting body 131. Extending forwardly from the base portion of the handle 124
is a
forward lever 159. Extending rearwardly from the base portion of the handle
124 is a
rear lever 167.
The front edge 161 of handle block 145 includes an upwardly extending wall
163. A
hole 165 is provided through this wall. In use, a guitar string would be fed
through hole
165 until the anchor 171 abuts the rear face 173 of the upwardly extending
wall 163.
The guitar string is then passed through the hole 122 in the front portion 137
of the
mounting body 131. The string 138 then passes below the overhead bridge 120
and
continues along the guitar and is attached to a tuning peg 121 (shown in
Figure 121) at
the far end of the guitar. At this point the string would be tensioned until
the tune of the
string was satisfactory to the artist. During this process the position of the
handle block
145 may change slightly as spring 139 is deformed under the tension of the
spring. The
position of the handle block 145 once the string has been tuned would define
the neutral
position of the spring 139.
The string bender 114 is activated by the upward or downward movement of the
forward
lever 159 or rear lever 167. If the forward lever 159 is pushed down, the rear
edge 151
of the handle block 145 is raised and the second leg 143 of the U-shaped
spring 139 is
also raised. This causes the forward dip of the upwardly directed wall 163 and
the
forward dip of guitar string anchor 171. In performing this movement the
guitar string
tension is decreased, causing the tone of the string to decrease as well. If
the forward
handle 159 is raised or the rear lever 167 is depressed, the rear edge 151 of
handle
block 145 is moved downward and the second leg 143 of the U-shaped spring 139
is
also moved downwards towards the first leg 141. This causes the upwardly
directed
wall 163 of the handle block 145 to be raised moving the guitar string anchor
171
upwardly and rearwardly. This increases the tension on the guitar string 138
and thus
raises the tone of the string.
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Screws 142a and 142b are provided to engage with holes 131a and 131b in arms
130a
and 130b respectively. The bottom ends of the screws 142a and 142b abut the
top
surface of the bridge plate 100. By adjusting the position of the screws 142a
and 142b,
the guitar string height can be adjusted.
An alternative embodiment of a string bender 200 for mounting on a guitar with
a bridge
plate apparatus is shown in Figures 11 and 12. The mounting block 202 has a
base
portion 204 which is equipped with a T-shaped channel 206 through the middle
thereof.
As shown in Figure 11, a mounting screw 208 is fed up through the back of the
guitar
and is provided with a T-shaped bolt 210 for engagement with the T-shaped
channel
206.
The mounting block 202 can receive the bolt 210 of the mounting screw 208
within its
shaped channel 206. The walls 212 and 214 of the T-shaped channel 206 can
accommodate the head of the mounting screw 208 while the upper portion of the
T-
shaped channel 206 can accommodate any excess screw length and allow for the
adjustment of the height of the mounting block 202 from the guitar body 216.
Above the mounting block and attached integrally thereto is a handle mounting
body
218. The rear portion 220 of the handle mounting portion 218 is equipped with
a hole to
receive a screw. The forward portion 222 of the handle body 218 is equipped
with an
aperture 224 and an overhead bridge 226. A handle member 228, having a base
portion 230 and a lever 232 is coupled to the rear portion 220 of the handle
mounting
block 218 via screw 231 which passes through a hole in the base portion 230 of
the
handle 228 and engages threads in a hole 234 of the handle mounting block 218.
A guitar string is passed through another hole 236 in the lever 232 until the
anchor 238
abuts the lever 232. The guitar string is then passed through the aperture 224
in the
forward portion 222 of the handle block 218 and under the overhead bridge 226.
The
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guitar string is then fixed at the far end of the guitar to a tuning peg 121.
As with the
previous design, the artist can then adjust the length of the guitar string
using the tuning
peg 121 to achieve a desired neutral tone.
The string bender 200 is activated by the upward or downward movement of the
lever
232. The downward movement of the lever 232 moves the string anchor 238
towards
the tuning peg 121, which decreases the tension of the string 240 and thus the
tone of
string 240 is lowered.
In contrast, the upward movement of the lever 232 causes the string anchor 238
of the
string 240 to be moved away from the tuning pegs and thus the tension of
string 240 is
increased. This raises the pitch of string 240.
Allen screws 242a and 242b are provided through and engaged with threaded
holes in
the walls 212 and 214 of the T-shaped channel 206. One end of the screws abuts
the
bridge plate 240. By adjusting the position of the screws 242a and 242b, the
guitar
string height can be adjusted.
As can be appreciated, the string bender design uses a spring component to
maintain a
neutral string position and allows flexibility to move the spring in two
directions. This
way the string can be adjusted upward in pitch and downward in pitch. The
amount of
the pitch can be varied and can change based on the spring material, spring
size and
other considerations, however, in a preferred embodiment it is possible to
raise or lower
the tone of the string by 3 and 5 semitones respectively.
The string bender does not interfere with the mechanisms of a potential
vibrato arm 400
already mounted on a bridge plate 401 as shown in Figure 13.
Advantageously, the string bender uses existing structures of the guitar for
its mounting
means and requires no additional damage to the guitar. The string bender is
simple in
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design and is small enough that each string could have a string bender
attached
thereto. This would maximize the creative opportunities for musicians.
Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been
described
herein in detail, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
that variations
may be made thereto without departing from the appended claims.
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