United States Patent
US Patent 5325757: Fret retractable neck for stringed musical…
US 5325757 · granted 1994-07-05
Abstract
A stringed musical instrument (12) that can be played either in a fretted or a fretless mode includes an interconnected fret assembly (38) including frets (24) and a longitudinal fret interconnecting member (40) that is attached to, and movable with, the frets. A movable linear cam structure (46) has two cams at each fret, one positioned on each side of the fret interconnecting member, and includes rack teeth (52) which mesh with a pinion (62) driven by a lever (66) for causing linear movement of the linear cam structure. The interconnecting member is an elongated slat (40) which is positioned in a slot (50) between the cams. The linear-movable cam includes an elongated guide protrusion (56) and an interior cavity (30) of the fingerboard, in which the cam rides, defines an elongated guide slot (58) for receiving the guide protrusion and thereby limiting lateral movement of the linear cam. The linear cam structure and the interior cavity have tapered lateral sides.
| Patent Number | 5325757 |
|---|---|
| Title | Fret retractable neck for stringed musical instruments |
| Filed | 1992-09-11 |
| Granted | 1994-07-05 |
| Inventor(s) | Ghenea; Serban |
| Number of Claims | 43 |
Abstract
A stringed musical instrument (12) that can be played either in a fretted or a fretless mode includes an interconnected fret assembly (38) including frets (24) and a longitudinal fret interconnecting member (40) that is attached to, and movable with, the frets. A movable linear cam structure (46) has two cams at each fret, one positioned on each side of the fret interconnecting member, and includes rack teeth (52) which mesh with a pinion (62) driven by a lever (66) for causing linear movement of the linear cam structure. The interconnecting member is an elongated slat (40) which is positioned in a slot (50) between the cams. The linear-movable cam includes an elongated guide protrusion (56) and an interior cavity (30) of the fingerboard, in which the cam rides, defines an elongated guide slot (58) for receiving the guide protrusion and thereby limiting lateral movement of the linear cam. The linear cam structure and the interior cavity have tapered lateral sides.
Claim 1
A stringed musical instrument that can be played either as a fretted or as a fretless instrument of a type comprising a fret fingerboard having a fingerboard surface defining fretslots with movable frets mounted therein, said stringed musical instrument comprising: a cam structure movably mounted within an interior cavity of the fingerboard for impinging on respective ones of the frets for selectively moving the frets outwardly through the slots in the fingerboard to extend exteriorly of the fingerboardsurface and for allowing the frets to be returned into the interior of the fingerboard approximately at or below the fingerboard surface; an interconnected fret assembly comprising said frets and a longitudinal fret interconnecting member that is attached to and movable with the frets.
Claims
43 totalA stringed musical instrument that can be played either as a fretted or as a fretless instrument of a type comprising a fret fingerboard having a fingerboard surface defining fretslots with movable frets mounted therein, said stringed musical instrument comprising: a cam structure movably mounted within an interior cavity of the fingerboard for impinging on respective ones of the frets for selectively moving the frets outwardly through the slots in the fingerboard to extend exteriorly of the fingerboardsurface and for allowing the frets to be returned into the interior of the fingerboard approximately at or below the fingerboard surface; an interconnected fret assembly comprising said frets and a longitudinal fret interconnecting member that is attached to and movable with the frets.