us2145490 miller magnetic pick up for musical instruments 1939
TRANSCRIPT
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8/18/2019 US2145490 Miller Magnetic Pick Up for Musical Instruments 1939
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Jan.
31
‘ G_ R_
MILLER
MAGNETIC PICK-UP FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Filed April 1 8 , 1938
/ 4
ATTORNEYS
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8/18/2019 US2145490 Miller Magnetic Pick Up for Musical Instruments 1939
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R a t e n t e d
J a n .
3 1 , 1 9 3 9
U N I T E D
S T A T E S
2 , 1 4 5 , 4 9 0
PATENT
OFFICE‘
2 , 1 4 5 , 4 9 0
MAGNETIC
ICK-UP FOR
MUSICAL
INSTRUDIENTS
George I t . M i l l e r , K a l a m a z o o ,
M i c h , ‘
a s s i g n m - t o
G i b s o n , I n c . ,
0 0 ,
M i c h .
A p p l i c a t i o n A p r i l 1 8 ,
1 9 3 8 ,
S e r i a l
N o .
2 0 2 , 6 4 1
6 C l a i m s .
The
main o b j e c t s
o f my nvention a r e :
F i r s t , t o
p r o v i d e a n - i m p r o v e d m a g n e t i c
p i c k u p
f o r
an e l e c t r i c a l l y
ampli?ed
musicalinstrument.
Second, t o p r o v i d e a
pickup o f
the type de
5
s c r i b e d
which
i s
a d j u s t a b l e
f o r
each s t r i n g
o r
v i b r a t o r o f
t h e
i n s t r u m e n t .
T h i r d ,
t o
provide
a
magnetic pickup o f the
t y p e d e s c r i b e d having improved p r o v i s i o n f o r
tuning 0 r d
v o i c i n g
t h e same.
Fourth,
t o
provide means
f o r
adapting
a
s t r i n g e d e l e c t r i c a l l y a m p l i ? e d ‘ ‘ m u s i c a l i n s t r u
ment t o perform uniformly r e g a r d l e s s o f
v a r i a
t i o n s i n the s t r i n g s a v a i l a b l e f o r u se i n the
same.
Further o b j e c t s r e l a t i n g t o
d e t a i l s
and
econo
1 0
1 5
the
d e s c r i p t i o n
t o f o l l o w . The invention i s de
? n e d i n the c l a i m s .
A
tructure
embo d y ing
the features
of my n -
vention s
i l l u s t r a t e d
i n the accompanying d raw
i n g ,
w h e r e i n :
F i g . l i s a
view i l l u s t r a t i n g a
stringed instru
ment e q u i p p e d w i t h a magnetic p ickup forming
a part o f an e l e c t r i c a l ampli?er f o r the i n s t r u
ment ‘
F i g . 2 i s an enlarged fragmentary view in
s e c
t i o n o n
l i n e 2—2 o f
F i g .
1 , m o r e
c l e a r l y
i l l u s
trating details o f the invention.
F i g . 3
i s
a view o f the pickup s i m i l a r t o F i g .
2 ,
p a r t i a l l y broken away
and
i n s e c t i o n t o
i l l u s
t r a t e
d e t a i l s
o f construction o f
the
magnetic
pickup o f my n v e n t i o n .
F i g .
4
i s
a view
further
i l l u s t r a t i n g d e t a i l s o f
t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f F i g .
3 , b e i n g p a r t i a l l y broken
away and
n
section o n l i n e 4—4 of F i g . 3 .
F i g . 5
i s
a top plan
view
o f the
pickup
s t r u c
t u r e
i l l u s t r a t e d
i n
F i g s .
2 , 3 ,
and
.
I t i s
a primary
o b j e c t o f
the
pres ent invention
t o provide means f o r adapting
a
stringed
e l e c
t r i c a l l y ampli?ed musical instrument t o
s u i t
the
4 0 t a s t e s
o f
d i f f e r e n t
t y p e s
o f
p l a y e r s o r p l a y e r s
having
individualistic playing t r a i t s
o r habits,
as
w e l l
as
t o
pro v i d e
means f o r
o v e r c o m i n g o r
o f f s e t t i n g v a r i a t i o n s found
i n d i f f e r e n t t y p e s ,
makes,
o r q u a l i t i e s o f s t r i n g s u s e d o n such i n
s t r u m e n t s , which v a r i a t i o n s , u n l e s s
p r o v i s i o n
i s
made
t o
o f f s e t the same, d o not p r o d u c e s a t i s
f a c t o r y r e s u l t s .
I l l u s t r a t i v e o f t h i s o b j e c t i s the f a c t t h a t . i n
s ome , instances players
wish
the treble strings
50 o f an
instrument t o
predominate,
while i n other
c a s e s
p l a y e r s
d e s i r e t o have
the bass
s t r i n g s
predominate i n
volume.
I t i s
a l s o
a f a c t that
a string of a certain g a u g e o r made
by
a certain
20
25
30
3 5
45
manufacturer
in s o m e
instances has a tendency‘
5 5
t o ‘ p i c k
u p
and
g i v e more-volume
than a
s t r i n g
mies
o f
_my i n v e n t i o n w i l l d e ? n i t e l y
appear
f r o m .
( 0 1 . 84—1
o f
another s i z e
o r make. Thus, i f s t r i n g s o f a
n umb e r o f d i f f e r e n t mak e s or s i z e s are e m pl o y e d
in an instrument, the r e s u l t i s that
one
o r
more
o f t h e m
stand
ou t i n v o l u m e
over others.
With h e
o b j e c t
o f overcoming
t h e s e
d i f f i c u l t i e s ,
I p r o v i d e means f o r i n d i v i d u a l l y
a d j u s t i n g
t h e
p o l e p i e c e s
p r o v i d e d
i n
t h e
magnetic
pickup
whereby one may r edu c e or increase the v o l u m e
o f
any g i v e n s t r i n g o r s t r i n g s
and
t h e r e b y e q u a l
i z e
any one or m o r e o f the
strings
with the o t h e r s .
Referring t o the drawing, the
reference
nu
meral
in general indicates a stringed instru
ment o f
t h e
g u i t a r
t y p e
which i s provided with
s i x s t r i n g s
and
a l s o
has
an
e l e c t r i c a l ampli?er
t h e magnetic pickup
o f
which
i s
i n d i c a t e d by
the reference
numeral
2 . I
have s e l e c t e d
t h i s
instrument f o r
purposes
o f
i l l u s t r a t i o n
only and
i t
w i l l be obviou s that the instruments t o which
my
invention
i s a p p l i c a b l e may
vary
i n
t y p e ,
s i z e ,
number
o f
s t r i n g s ,
e t c . ,
inasmuch a s
the
d i s c l o s u r e
hereof i s p a r t i c u l a r l y d i r e c t e d t o
the
c o n s t r u c t i o n
o f
t h e
pickup
2 .
This picku p c o n s i s t s
o f
a
base
3 o f s o f t s t e e l
adapted t o support a p l u r a l i t y o f p o l e p i e c e s 4
wh o s e number v a r i e s i n acco rdance wi th the
numbe r o f s t r i n g s 5 o n the instrument. These
p i e c e s
3 are attached t o the s o l i d magne t mem
b e r s 6 and t o
the instrument
by
means
o f the
machine s c r ews
1
threaded i n t o
tap p e d
holes in
the
base
and removably securing
the same
t o the
bracket
8 , which
bracket
i s
secured by screws t o
the
s o u n d
box
o f
the instrument as i l l u s t r a t e d
i n
F i g .
2 . Base 3 i s
s u r r o un d e d
b y
a
continuous
s t r i p 9 o f s u i t a b l e
i n s u l a t i n g
material
which
forms a
c o re
f o r the c o i l
l l ] of
the
pickup,
the c o i l
being
enclosed
i n
w e l l
known manner
by
further
insulating m e mb e r s I . ‘ The leads f o r the
c o i l are
i n d i c a t e d by
the reference
numeral l 2 .
Reference b e i n g had
t o F i g s . 3 , 4 ,
and
5 , i t
w i l l be
noted
t h a t
t h e b a s e 3
has
s l o t s l 3 , l 4
sawed t h e r e i n l o n g i t u d i n a l l y and t r a n s v e r s e l y
t h e r e o f ,
but
p r i o r t o sawing base
3 ‘ t o
p r o v i d e
the
aforesaid s l o t s ,
the
threaded
holes
l 5 ac
c ommo dating the p o l e p i e c e s 3 are d r i l l e d and
t a p p e d ‘ t h e r e i n
a t s p a c e d i n t e r v a l s .
A f t e r t h e
s l o t t i n g has been performed
a s
a f o r e s a i d , i t
w i l l
be
f o un d
that
the o p p o s e d
jaws l 6
resulting
there
f r om possess
a
considerable spring
action
tend
i n g
t o
? rmly g r i p p o l e p i e c e s 4 which a r e
thread
e d l y screwed i n t o h o l e s
i i .
In
t h i s
manner, I
p r o v i d e
f o r i n d i v i d u a l
adjustment
o f
the
v a r i o u s
p o l e p i e c e s 4 . To f u r t h e r f a c i l i t a t e such a d j u s t
ment I d r i l l t r a n s v e r s e h o l e s o r
a p e r t u r e s
l l
adapted o r e c e i v e a
s u i t a b l e
pin
o r
capstan
mem
ber
t o
r o t a t e and adjust the same.
1 5
20
40
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2
The
f orm o f base 3
which
I
have
i l l u s t r a t e d i s
a d i v i d e d
one adapted
for mo un t in g o n a
horse
shoe t y p e magnet,
a s
i l l u s t r a t e d i n F l g s . j 2
and
.
I t w i l l
be
apparent t h a t
t h e
t y p e o f magnet
em p l o y e d i s not
c o n t r o l l i n g
i n my nvention and
that for
bar
t y p e
ma g n e t s
the base
may be
made
1 0
1 5
20
25
3 0
35
40
45
50
in o n e p iec e i f
desired.
An nstrument equi pped with
a
pickup having
i n d i v i d u a l l y
a d j u s t a b l e p o l e p i e c e s o f my
n v e n
t i o n
i s
c a p a b l e
o f
w i d e m a n i p u l a t i o n
t o adapt
the same t o the t a s t e s and
mannerisms
o f the
p l a y e r i n
the matter o f p l a y i n g the i n s t r u m e n t .
Moreover, the same overcomes
the
i ? i c u l t y h i t h
e r t o
e x p e r i e n c e d du e
o
non-uniformity o f
s t r i n g s ,
so t hat regardless o f make r s i z e any one there
o i . ’ may
be r e a d i l y
and e a s i l y
e q u a l i z e d
with t h e
r e s t .
I t i s
e v i d e n t that
the manipu lations
n e c e s
s a r y
a r e
e x c e e d i n g l y
s i m p l e and
t h a t
the s p r i n g
g r i p p i n g
a c t i o n e x e r t e d
by
‘ t h e opposedjaws i s
amply s u ? i c i e n t
t o
h o l d
t h e
justed
position at a l l times.
I
v h a v e
i l l u s t r a t e d and
d e s c r i b e d my improve
ments in an embod im en t which i s v e r y
prac
t i c a l .
I
have
not
attempted t o i l l u s t r a t e or d e
s c r i b e other
embodiments
or
adaptations
as
i t
i s
b e l i e v e d
t h i s
d i s c l o s u r e
w i l l
enable t h o s e
s k i l l e d
i n
the
a r t t o
e mb o d y
o r adapt my mprovements
as may
be d e s i r e d .
Having t h u s d e s c r i b e d my n v e n t i o n , what I
claim as
new and
d e s i r e t o
secure
by
Letters Pat
ent
i s:
1 . A ickup unit f o r use in an
l e c t r i c a l l y
am
p l i ? e d s t r i n g e d m u s i c a l
i n s t r u m e n t ,
s a i d u n i t
having a p l u r a l i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l p o l e p i e c e s , a
magnet, and
means f o r a d j u s t a b l y
mounting
s a i d
p o l e
p i e c e s r e l a t i v e
t o s a i d
magnet and t o
t h e
s t r i n g s o f the instr ument with which
they
are
a s s o c i a t e d ,
comprising
a
b a s e ,
and
means
f o r r e
movably s e c u r i n g
t h e
b a s e
t o t h e magnet,
s a i d
b a s e
b e i n g l o n g i t u d i n a l l y and
r a n s v e r s e l y s l o t t e d
t o
d i v i d e
a
portion
thereof
n t o
a
p l u r a l i t y o f p a i r s
o f
o p p o s e d ’ s p r i n g jaw
members,
s a i d jaw mem
b e r s having threaded h o l e s t h e r e b e t w e e n and t h e
p o l e
p i e c e s b e i n g t h r e a d e d
t o
a d j u s t a b l y p o s i t i o n
the same in s a i d hol e s .
2 .
A i c k u p
unit f o r
use
in
an e l e c t r i c a l l y am
pli?edmusical
instrument
having
a
p l u r a l i t y
o f
v i b r a t o r s , s a i d
u n i t
c o m p r i s i n g i n d i v i d u a l p o l e
p i e c e s
a s s o c i a t e d with t h e v i b r a t o r s , and
means
f o r
, a d j u s t a b l y
mounting s a i d p o l e p i e c e s
r e l a <
p o l e p i e c e s i n a d - ‘
2 , 1 4 5 , 4 9 0
t i v e t o t h e v i b r a t o r s ,
c o m p r i s i n g
p o l e p i e c e s u p
p o r t i n g means, s a i d
s u p p o r t i n g
means b e i n g
l o n g i t u d i n a l l y and r a n s v e r s e l y
s l o t t e d t o
d i v i d e a
portio n thereof
i n t o a
p l u r a l i t y -
o f p a i r s o f
o p
p o s e d
s p r i n g jaw
members, s a i d
jaw member s
5
having threaded holes
therebetween
and the p o l e
p i e c e s
being threaded
t o
adjustably engage i n
s a i d hol e s . v
3 .
In
a
s t r i n g e d
e l e c t r i c a l l y
ampli?ed
m u s i c a l
i n s t r u m e n t , a magnetic pickup
t h e r e f o r
having a
1 0
p l u r a l i t y o f
p o l e
p i e c e s , t h e r e b e i n g one p o l e p i e c e
for
each
stri ng of the in st rum en t,
and
means
o r
a d j u s t i n g s a i d p o l e pi e c e s i n d i v i d u a l l y
r e l a t i v e
t o the
s t r i n g s
comprising
threaded p o r t i o n s o n
said pole
p i e c e s ,
a b a s e , and means f o r
r emo v-
1 5
a b l y s e c u r i n g t l i e base
t o
t h e i n s t r u m e n t ,
s a i d
b a s e
having
s p r i n g jaw
members p r o v i d e d
w i t h
t h r e a d e d p o r t i o n s adapted t o f r i c t i o n a l l y
and
t h r e a d e d l y
engage
s a i d p o l e
p i e c e s .
4 . A
agnetic
pickup
f o r
a s t r i n g e d e l e c t r i c a l l y
a m p l i ? e d
m u s i c a l i n s t r u m e n t , s a i d p i c k u p h a v i n g
a
p l u r a l i t y
o f p o l e p i e c e s , t h e r e
b e i n g
one p o l e
p i e c e f o r each t r i n g o f the instru ment,
and means
f o r a d j u s t i n g
‘ s a i d
p o l e p i e c e s
i n d i v i d u a l l y
r e l a —
t i v e
t o
the
s t r i n g s
comprising a
p o l e
p i e c e
s u p
p o r t having s p r i n g
jaw
members a d a p t e d
t o
f r i c
t i o n a l l y engage
s a i d
p o l e p i e c e s and r e s i s t m o v e
ment
t h e r e o f r e l a t i v e t o
t h e
s u p p o r t .
5 . A
agnetic
pickup f o r an e l e c t r i c a l l y
ampli
? e d instrument comprising a
b a s e ,
s a i d base hav-
3 0
mg a p o r t i o n t h e r e o f l o n g i t u d i n a l l y and t r a n s - - ,
v e r s e l y s l o t t e d whereby
t o
p r o v i d e s p r i n g jaw
members, and a
threaded
p o l e p i e c e , s a i d jaw
members
b e i n g p r o v i d e d w i t h m u t u a l l y
f a c i n g
threaded p o r t i o n s
t o threadedly
engage s a i d
p o l e
3 5
p i e c e whereby o
a d j u s t a b l y mount h e l a t t e r ,
s a i d
jaw members
r e s i l i e n t l y
engaging
a i d p o l e p i e c e
t o
retain i t
i n adju s te d
position.
6 .
A
magnetic
pickup
f o r
an
e l e c t r i c a l l y am
p l i ? e d
instrument comprising a b a s e ,
s a i d b a s e
4 0
having
a o r t i o n t h e r e o f
s l o t t e d
whereby
t o
pro
v i d e
p a i r s
o f
s p r i n g
jaw members,
means
f o r r e
movably e c u r i n g s a i d
b a s e
t o the n s t r u m e n t , and
‘ a p l u r a l i t y o f threaded o l e p i e c e s , s a i d jaw
mem
b e r s
having
t h r e a d e d p o r t i o n s
engaging s a i d p ol e 4 5
p i e c e s
whereby
t o
a d j u s t a b l y mount t h e
l a t t e r ,
s a i d jaw
members r e s i l i e n t l y e n g a g i n g
s a i d p o l e
pieces t o retain them
in
adjust e d p o s i t i o n .
‘
GEORGE R. MIELER. 5o
20
25