Vibrato apparatus
US6420639B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 17, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jul 16, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 17, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG10D3/153
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A vibrato apparatus (10) for a stringed instrument (11), the instrument having a body (12) and a neck (13) extending from the body, the apparatus comprising, tuning elements (16) on the neck and a bridge member on the body (12) to demarcate a string plane and a vibrating portion of the strings which extend in a longitudinal direction in the string plane. The vibrato apparatus (10) is secured on and is pivotal about a pivot axis which is essentially parallel to but distanced from the string plane and transversely oriented in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of vertically pivoting rocker arms (34) each securing the body end (15) of a respective string and operably secured to a lever which is resistibly secured to a spring and to the vibrato member. A slug tuning element (36) allows for vertical adjustments of the plurality of rocker arms (34) so that by varying a lever moment of the lever the plurality of rocker arms are each selectively moved thereby altering the tuning of the strings. A bus bar (22) is operably linked to the lever (20) by a switch linkage (19) which allows for independent control of tuning and pitch for each string by selective pivoting of the vibrato member…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.