Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
WO 95/20213 r~ /Y
21g~5~
ELECTRONIC TUNING DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR A GUITAR
PRIORITY APPLICATION
An original filing of the current application was made in the United States
Patent and Trademark Office on 21 January 1994 (21.01.94), and has been
designated with serial number Q8/181,746.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to guitar tuning systems and more particularly
to such systems embodying electronic tunin~.
Electronic guitar tuninQ systems have heretofore been pnoposed, illustrative
of which are those exemplified by U S Patent 4,018,124 granted to Ruperto L.
Rosado on 19 Apnl 1977 (19.04.77) and U S Patent 4,338,846 gnanted to Gary S.
Pogoda on 13 July 1982 (13.07.82). Typically, such systems include means for
developing an electrical signal, el~JI, ' ' lc of the frequency of the acoustic sound
desired to be tuned, a ~tandard frequency against which the signal is to be
compared. means for produdng a visual ~ a~::ll' " of any difference between
the frequency of the signal and standard, and means for adjusting the frequency of
the acoustic sound source so as to achieve the desired tuning,
' ,1.!~,...~..,' " of the foregoing has found expnession in a variety of ways,
In some, a separate dedicated transducer has been employed in addition to the
transducer that fomms a part of the nommal instnument ,'~ " . system In
others, switches have been introduced either to controllably switch the output of a
single transducer between the amplifying and tuning circuits. However, while such
proposals have enjoyed some success, switchina between circuits has either
interfered with continuation of music production during tuning or has made it
~ to most efficiently conduct the tuning procedure, Moreover, there has
continued to be a need for a;ll, ' ' ' 1, reduc~ion in the number of parts, and, o~
course, culle,~,l,lldillu reduction in cost. Accordingly, there has continued to be the
need for more simple and less costly circuits that are easier and more convenient
to use.
An additional aspect of the i" I,ulel I IW I ' ' n of electronic guitar tuning systems
which has been found in various fomms is that of the means for producin~ a visual
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W0 95120213 r~ o- "Y
~e~ of any difference between the frequency of the signal and standard.
An example of said means including essentially a visual display which is apart from
the guitar is found in the U S Patent 4,297,938 ~ranted to Archie D. Kirbie on 03
November 1981 (03.11.81), in which is tau~ht a visual display on a surface of a
tuning unit which is removably placed on the face of the guitar and having a portion
thereof in position over the guitar strings. The visual surface of this device on which
the visual display is positioned is the surface which faces away from the guitar.
Unfortunately, because this device is not desi~ned as an integral part of the 6uitar,
using it requires more time than many ~uitar piayers desire to use in the tuningprocess. As well, the location of the visual display on the tuner surface facing away
from the guitar makes it even more d'lfficult for the guitar player to see the display
while he is holding the guitar in the natural playing and tuning position.
An example o~ another type of the visual display assodated with guitar tuners
of the prior art is found in the U S Patent 4,481,857 granted to Richard D. Havener
on 13 November 19~4 (13.11.84), in which is taught the use of a box type tuner
which is separate from the guitar and connected into the: , ' ' ' . drcuit via an
appropriate conductor. Although the tuner of this teaching is easier for the guitar
player to see, it is no~ as efficient with regard to the amount of time required to tune
the ~uitar (e.g., unhook the ~uitar from the amplifler, connect the guitar to the tuner,
unhook the tuner, and reconnect the amplifier to the ~uitar) when compared to the
present invenUon.
An example of yet another c. "I,odil~ "~ of the visual display assodated with
guitar tuners of the plior art is found in the teaching of Rosado, dted above, in which
there is tau3ht a tuning device which is an integral part of a guitar, and which has
a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED's) placed under the guitar stlings for lighting
up and thereby showing when a string with which each LED is assodated is in tune.
~though this teaching helps eliminate some of the i"w,~ nce of tuning which is
a part of the above cited pnor art, the location of the LED's on a surface of the ~uitar
facing away from a ~uitar player in the nommal playing position, and furthemmorewhich are positioned in a linear row which is s~ parallel with the nommal
playing stance of the guitar player still make it signihcantly diffcult to view the
display, thereby making the efficiency of the tuning method taught by Rosado
significantly less th~n that of the present invention.
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While the electronic tunin9 devices so disclosed in the pnor art may be
suitable for a particular purpose to which they addness, it will be apparent to those
skilled in the art that said devices would not be as suitable for the purposes of the
present invention. Indeed, that such pnor art devices have enjoyed little or no
commercial acceptance is an indication that they do not address at least some of the
guitar tuning problems seen by the consuming public, part of which have been
described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the fore~oing " '~ ILa~ _ inherent in the known types of
electronic tuning devices for guitars now present in the art, the invention disclosed
herein providos an improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar, said
system including tuning means for affixing to the guitar and display means
~ tlu" 'Iy connected to the tuning means and positioned on an upper surface of
the guitar for ready viewing by someone holding the guitar in a nommal playing
position. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which is described
in greater detail below, is to provide a new and improved electnonic tuning device
and system for a guitar. To attain this" ~,.. .,_.,. ,~.'; ._ ~..-~L,udi,, ,~"i~ of the concepts
of the present invention are illustrated in the appended drawinDs. It is a further
object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning
device and system for a guitar which reduces the in-,u-, ~. Iie,l ,c~ previouslyassociated with the tuning of a guitar.
It is another object of the present invention to provjde a new and improved
electronic tu"i,~u ~ . and system for a guitar which includes a visual display that
is readily seen by a guitar player who is in the nommal playing position behind the
guitar.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
electronic tuning device and system for a auitar which includes a simplified tuning
circuit when compared to that of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which reduces the costs of electrical
tuning circuitry for electrically powered guitars.
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Accordin~ly, in accondance with one feature of the invention, the w,~ J~, " ,al
instnument electrical transducer pickup is utilized both as a soun e of signals for
w~J_.I'' ' ,"~ " ~ and as the source for signals nequired by the tuner,
thereby eliminating the need for a separate transducer and thus simplifyina the
circuitry.
It is still another object of the invenbon to provide a new and improved
electronic tuning device and system for a guitar with which connection from the
pickup transducer may be p_.",~"-:"~'y made to the tuning cinwits, and thereby
eliminating the need for switching.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a new and improved
electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which includes a tuner that may be
operated wntinuously without inteFfering with the remaining circuits, or which may
be tumed off for conserving electncity when tuning is not occumng.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
electronic tuning device and system for a suitar which may be easily and efficiently
manufactured, marketed and instal~ed.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a new and
improved electnonic tuning device and system for a Quitar which is of dunable and
relisble wll~ u.,~iull.
It is yet still a furtheF object of the pnesent invenbon to provide a new and
impnoved electronic tunin~ device and system for a guitar which meets all federal,
state, local and other pnvate standards, guidelines, regulahons and
.~.~"""_., ' " with respect to safety, energy w..~ , etc.
An even furth~r object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which is susceptible of a
low cost of manufac~ure with regand to both matenals and labor, and which
accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby
making such an electn~nic tuning device and system ~>~ ", availat~le to the
buyin~ public.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various
features of novelty which ull..,cl-.t~ the electronic tuning device and system for
a guitar of the present invention, are pointed out with p2rtiwlarity in the claims
appended hereto and fommin~ a part of this disclosure. The more important objects
of the present invention have been outlined rather bn~adly in order that the detailed
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description thereof which follows may be better understood, and in order that the
present contnbution to the art maY be bener aPPreciated Fr a bener ~ 'Ll
of the inYention, its operational advantages and the specihc objects attained by its
uses, reference should be made to the a~ull~uanJ;.I~ drawings and descriptive
matter in which there are illustrated Yarious ~.. ' " ' of the invention. Thoseskilled in the art will readily ascertain, however, that the invention is capable of other
-- ~I,o/~ and of being practiced and canied out in varjous ways. In this
respect, the details of constnuction disclosed herein, and the alla~ a of the
rU",uu"t:"la set forth in the following description and appended drawinqs are for
illustrative purposes, only, and are not intended to be limitin,q in scope. Those
skilled in the art will âppreciate, as well, that the conception upon which thisdisdosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other
stnuctures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present
invention. Said other stnuctures may include, but not be limited to, those which are
aesthetic in nature, or those which include the substitution of other matenals as they
become available, and whidh substantially perfomm the same function in substantially
the same manner with suL,la,," 'l~ the same result as the present invention. It is
important, therefore, that the daims appended hereto be re~qarded as includin~q such
equivalent stnuctures, I,Ollall.ll,tiull:l, methods and systems insofar as these do not
depart from the splrit and scope of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth
above will become apparent when ~ idel " r is ~qiven to the following detailed
descnption. Such description makes reference to the appended drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front perspective Yiew of an t,n~Ludi",c"L of the tuning system of
the present invention il1cu,~ulaLed within a guitar (in phantom);
FIG. 2 is a rear perspective Yiew of the ~IllL.udi,,,~ of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the élll~u~ llL of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system embodying the principles of the
invention;
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WO 95~20~13 PCIIIJS95/00779
218~2 6
FIG. 5 is a more detailed and partially sdhematic diagram depicting the major
part of the system of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 i5 a partial schemabc diagram depicting an altemate connection of
certain of the circuits of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 depicts the major part of another ~ of an electronic guitar
embodying the concepts acconding to the invention; and
FIG. 8 depicts the major part of another . .,.I.~,.li",. ..l of an electronic guitar
embodyin9 the concepts accordin~ to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises an improved electronic tuning device and
system for use with a ~quitar having a pre-existing transducer thereon used in
amplifying the musical sounds of the instnument, said transducer producing for
, ,"~ ", a generated ~et of electncal signals le,u.. ' 'i~e of the acoustic
vibrations of the guital strings, and which includes: tuning means for affixing to the
guitar, induding input means adapted for connection to said pre~exisUn~ transducer
on the ~uitar for receivin~q the ~enerated set of eledricai si~nals produced for,"' ' comparison means havin~ a set of standard electrical si~qnals
,eu.~ of standard frequencies for tuning the Guitar and bein~ Ll~ , ' 'Iy
conneded to the inpul~ means for comparing each of said set of ~enerated êledrical
signals to one of the set of standard electrical si~nals, and output means for
producing an output signal l~,J.~ ' ".~ of the relationship between each said
generated siynal an~ the culle,>,uu,lJillg standard signal; and display means
~I~_LIull 'l~ connected to thê tuner means and responsive to said output signal to
indicate the relationship between the frequency of an acoustic vibnation generated
by the guitar strinGs and the desired standard frequency to whidh the instnument is
to be tuned, said display means being further mounted on an upper surface of theguitar for bein~ readily seen by a guitar player who is in a nommal playin~ position
30 adjacent to the guitar. Various c.. lLu-iilll~.lL, of the invention are illustrated in the
appended drawings and described in greater detail, below. (All like numerical
'~ , in the f gures represent the same element.)
Now tumin~ ~o the drawing, it will be observed that FlG.'s 1 - 3 depict an
initial ,.I-Lu~i-,l~,.l~ of a guitar 5 on which the tuning device of the present invention
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has been employed. ,Tha purpose of these illustrations is to point out the preFened
general location of sevenal key wlllpull~llb of the present invention as they are
employed on a guitar body. The observer will note that a visual display 15 is located
on the upper surface of the hom of the guitar body. This location allows a guitar
player to easily view the display 15 when the player is in the nommal playing posiUon
adjacent to the rear surface 6 of the guitar body. A channel 16 is further provided
for holding various conductors connecting the display 15 to various electrical
,u"_. ,t~ of the circuitry of the present invention which will be described in detail
below, and which are ~enerally located within a housing 17 of a pre-existing body
1û cavity generally available in electric guitars. A switch 18 is further provided on the
housing 17 for _.~ u~d~ cnergizin~ the electronic circuitry of the present
invention, although the location oF the switch 18 may be elsewhere on the guitarbody without unduly hindering the function of the present invention.
In FlG.'s 4 and 5 is illustrated an ~"~1,u.l,."~ of the electronic circuitry of the
present invention. In FIG. 4 is illustrated the basic elements of this ~:,,,I,udi.,,u,,~, in
block diagram fomm. There, it will be seen, are a pickup 10 the output of which is
~!~_I,ù,, 'l~ connected to a volume control 12 and a tuner 14. The output of thevolume control 12 is connected to a ~uitar output 16 which in tum is connected to
a cu,,~,.,' ~' amplifier 18. The output of tuner 14 is in tum connected to a visual
2û display 20 which provides a visual indication of the tunin3 of a selected one of the
strings of the guitar as will hereinafter be more particularly described.
It should be noted that while the tuner 14 is depicted as being connected into
the arcuits ae a position illl~...,3d;~1~ the pickup 10 and the volume control 12, it will
be evident to one skilled in the art that it could be '' 'i~ connected to the
volume control 14 at a point other than at the direct input from the pickup as shown
by dashed i,it~.~u.,,.e.,lu,, 22.
Now tuming to FIG. 5, it will be observed that it depicts in schematic fomm,
a part oF the circuits oF the system oF this ~IllL,udi.llc-ll of the present invention.
There, it will be observed, is a conventional guitar pickup transducer generally3û designated at 24, having a pair of pickup elements 24a and 24b connected in series
and having the lower temminal thereof connected to a common conductor 26 and to
an electncal ground 28. At the upper temninal oF pickup 24, connection is made to
a tuner 30 via conductors 31 and 32, while also being connected to a volume control
33 via a conductor 34. The volume control 33 comprises a register 35 having a pair
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WO95/20213 r~l~O..,'.'C ~Y
2~ 2 8
of temminals 36 and 37 and a variable tap 38. It also has a shortin~ contad 39 to
which the variable tap 38 is connected when the control is put into its lowest settin~.
As will be evident to one skilled in the art, the volume control 33 is uu~.J~.I' ...: and
may preferably be of the order of 500 kilohms.
Connected to the upper temminal 36 of the volume control 33 is a center
temminal 40 of a cu.. ~e . ." ,al output jack 41; and connected to an output temminal 42
of the ùutput jack 41 is an electrical ~round which is conducted thereto via
conductors 26 and 43. As will be evident to one skilled in the art, the output jack 41
is typically employed ~or making electrical connection to separate amplifiers that are
employed to amplify the ou~put of the ~uitar and render it at a sound level suitable
foraudience t,.,tt,t~:.""~"~.
Tone controls typically fomm a part of electncal guitar circuits; and
~,u" .c4uc~"'l~, FIG. 5 includes such a circuit which comprises a capacitor 44 and a
tone contnol variable resister 45. As will be observsd, a lower tenminsl 46 of the
variable resistor 45 is connected directly to the common ground 28 via the conductor
26, whereas an upper temminal 47 is left floating. A variable tap 48 is connected to
a temminal 49 and thence via a conductor 50 to the capadtor 44. As with the volume
control 33, the tone control variable resistor 45 includes a shortin~ circuit 51 to which
the variable tap 48 is connected when the tone control is put into its lowest setting.
Now tuming to-the input to the tuner circuits 30, it will be observed that in
addition to the connection made thereto via conductor 32, there is another
connection that is made to the common electncal ground 28 via a conductor 52.
The circuits For the tuner 30 are seen to include a source of energizing
potential 60 that may be selectively ,,u, " I~ d/di~,ul " 1~ ,d from the tuner 30 by a
switch 61; and emer~in~ from the tuner 30 are a pair of display devices, which are
preferably light emit1ing diodes 62 and 63 that are connected to the tuner 30 bycrJnductors 64, 65, 66, and 67.
Now tuming to FIG. 6, it will be seen that there is depicted an altemate
connection between the pickup transducer 24 and the volume control 33. Here, in
FIG.. 6, connection from the upper terminal of pickup transducer 24 is made directly
to the upper temminal 36 of the volume control 33 via a conrluctor 34a; and
connection to the center temminal 40 of the ,,u,, ._. ,' lal output jack 41 is made from
the vanable tap 38 via a conductor 34b. The remainder of the arcuits are simiiar to
those of FIG.. 5 e~tcept for the optional insertion of resistor 53 which may be
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... ... .. ................ ... ... _ . _ .. ..... _ . ... .... .. ..... ... ..... ..... ..
~ WO95/20213 P(,l/L_,r~ IIY
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d~Vdllld~USIy inserted, depending upon the impedance ull~lcl.,It:li:.~i a of thepickup transducer 24 and the amplifier circuits to which wnnection is made via the
jack 41,
As mentioned above, one of the features of the invention is that through the
selection of i""~,o;l~"-,es presented to the pickup transducer by the connected
circuits, includin~ the tuner, the tuner may be pé"- ,~"e"~ connected without havin~
to employ one or more switches to temporarily w""e~l/di:.w""ect it for tunin~ and
playin~. Accordin~ly, the ,llcllc~ I;-,a of the pickup transducer may be such that
its ~ _ is best when it is connected into a coordinated and least varyin~
load impedance. Althou~h in both the circuits of FlG.. 's 5 and 6, adjustment of the
variable resistors ..,,.. ~ by the volume control 33 and tone wntrol 45 will affect
the impedance of the load, the w,,,,~uIiu,,~ ,,lea~llt~,d by the altemate of FIG.. 6
may result in better overall ~ y,r'~
Now tuming to FlG.'s 7 and 8, other ~ budi~ ' of the invention are
illustrated for depicting altemate ~ elll:~ of the vanous wlll~ IIell~ of the
invention onto a w,.~ I electric ~uitar. Depicted is a top view of a ~uitar 7û
havin~ a wo,,: ' ,al body 71 and a neck 72. Disposed upon and within the body
71 are the circuit elements depicted in FIG.. 5 which have been identi~led with like
symbols. As will be observed, the ~uitar includes a w,~ 1 brid~e member 73
having individual connectors 73a-c for the strings to which the guitar strin~s are
attached, the other end bein~ attached to the remote end (not shown) of the neck72. Pickup 24, which comprises elements 24a and 24b, is w,,: ' , 'l~ disposed
beneath the strin3s near the center of the body 71. As shown on the drawing,
w"""~,liul~s according to FIG.. 5 are made thereto. To facilitate installabon, the
parts may be fastened within the ~uitar body by any suitable w"~ dl means
such as by screws, and in order to facilitate electrical c~.ll.le.,tiullS, a clrcuit board
(not shown~ may be ad~ u ~ ly employed and may be mounted at any
convenient location within the body 71. This circuit board may also serve as a
support for mountin~ and wnnecting any discrete (,o",l,u"t:"I~ such as the capacitor
3û 44 and the resistor 53.
The tuner 3û includes a selector ôO (FIG. 8), and a thin longitudinal slot 81
is preferably routed or otherwise provided within the body 71 to provide access
thereto. The purpose of the selector is to pemmit i ' "~ ", of the frequency of
each string and to tune each stnn~ individually.
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' 10
The tuner itself may be any of several tuners cunently available on the
commercial market; or ' ~ , it may be one that indudes selected
w,,,~,~,,.c..:., as more particularly described below. One prefenred tuner for
i~w,~,~.- ' ,withtheabove-descnbedcircuitsisthatoenen~llysoldunderthename
KORG GT-60X, and it is that tuner which is w, lle~ Jt~ by the drawings of FlG.'s7 and 8. However, o~her tuners that include a source of standard frequendes for
rnmr~ric~n,togetherwithknownwn./_.l';.,ll~lcomparisonCirCuitSmaybeemplOyed
prnvided that the inpu~ impedanoe is coordinated with the impedanoe of the pickup
transduoers as to penmit continued connection of the tuner while the guitar is being
used to perfonm. An example of such is a preferred tuner that is manufactured bythe Seiko company of Japan and sold under the desi~nation ST-388. The latter
tuner is automatic, in that it does not require any switdhing or dhange of control in
order to tune the various strings of the guitar, and if that tuner is utilized, the selector
80 (FIG.. 8) may be either eliminated, or it may be wired so as to provide the tuner
on\off control wlll~ JlaLed by the on/off switdh of FIG. ~.
In addition to the foregoing tuners, it will be evident to one skilled in the art
that a custom circuit may be built using the prindples embodied in the fore~oingtuners; and such a cu~tom tuner can be . '~ i"t~. w""e.,t~ with the circuits
described herein to u~ilize tlle principles of the present invention.
Now retumin~ to FIG. 8, it will be observed that the tuner 30 is mounted to
the underside of the top of the body 71 by a screw 82; and that there is pr~nvided a
channel 83 within the guitar body 71 through which conductors 64 - 67 indusivelysre routed to the display (e.,q., light emiKing diodes 62 and 63). Again, the location
of the display serves to allow the guitar to be readily tuned by a player who is in a
nommal playing position adjaoent the guitar body 71.
In operstion, the guitar may be either energized or de-energized (provided
the tuner is powered by a bsttery or 8 sepsrate souroe of voltsge). Selector 80 is
then positioned to select the desired strin~ frequency, and the string associated with
ssid frequency is plucked to produoe scoustic energy at 'Its vibrating frequency. The
pickup transducer 24 senses the acoustic energy and produces an electrical signal
of frequency wl, eayOI Idil lg to that of the vibrating string. Conventional comparison
circuits than compare the frequency of the electncal signal with that of the known
stsndsrd and an output signal is produced if the frequendes do not match If the
string frequency is high, an output is conveyed from the tuner to a selected one of
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the light emittino diodes. If on the other hand, the stnn~ frequency is low, an output
is conveyed from the tuner to the other one of the light emitting diodes. Accondingly,
the guitar player can identify whether the string needs to be tightened (frequency
incressed) or loosened (frequency decressed) until neither light emitting diode is
activated. The guitar player then , " '1~ selects the other stnngs for similar
tunin~ until the guitar ~s fully tuned.
The inventor has ~iven a non-limiting description of several ~IllL,udilll~ a of
the present invention, to which many changes may be made without deviating from
the spint of the invention. Vvhile this invention has been described with reference
to illustrative c",L,udi".~.,ts, this description is not intended to be constnued in a
limitin~ sense. Various "- " ,D and ~ - of the various c. . ~I,u~i" ~"lD
as well as other c....,udi,,,~.,;;. of this invention will be apparent to a person skilled
in the art upon reference to this descnption. For example, displays other than those
herein described could be employed and positioned on an upper surface of the guitar
other than on the hom. Moreover, additional light emitting diodes could be employed
and anan~ed to provide a ' ,~ U~ effect in tunin~ as is known in the art. In
addition, the acoustic pickup transducer could be comprised of one transducin~
element rather than two (as shown), or it could have a separate element for eachnote to be tuned. It is therefore cu,,tu.,l~ d that the appended claims cover any
such ", "- " ~D and/or L. . IL _ ' ~. that fall within the tnue scope of the present
invention.
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