Acoustic support structure for stringed musical instruments and method of making same
AssigneeGriffiths Guitar International Ltd.
InventorChris Griffiths
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A stringed musical instrument including a soundbox. The soundbox has a back, a side adjoining the back to define a hollow interior, a soundboard covering the hollow interior, and a soundboard support structure including a plurality of kerfing members for securing the soundboard on the side opposite the back to cover the hollow interior and a plurality of bracing members for reinforcing the soundboard. The soundboard support structure includes a plurality of adjoining members selected from the group consisting of the plurality of kerfing members and the plurality of bracing members. The plurality of adjoining members are integrally formed as a single piece of polyurethane containing a plurality of half inch glass fibres.
Claims18
A stringed musical instrument comprising a soundbox, the soundbox having a back, a side adjoining the back to define a hollow interior, a soundboard covering the hollow interior, and a soundboard support structure including a plurality of kerfing members for securing the soundboard on the side opposite the back to cover the hollow interior and a plurality of bracing members for reinforcing the soundboard, wherein the soundboard support structure includes a plurality of adjoining members selected from the group consisting of the plurality of kerfing members and the plurality of bracing members, the plurality of adjoining members being integrally formed as a single piece of a hardenable plastic material.
A method of manufacturing a stringed musical instrument having a soundbox, the soundbox having a back, a side adjoining the back to define a hollow interior, and a soundboard covering the hollow interior, the method comprising:
- forming a soundboard support structure for supporting the soundboard on the soundbox, the soundboard support structure including
- a plurality of kerfing members for securing the soundboard on the side opposite the back to cover the hollow interior,
- a plurality of bracing members for reinforcing the soundboard, and
- a plurality of adjoining members selected from the group consisting of the plurality of kerfing members and the plurality of bracing members, the plurality of adjoining members being formed as a single piece of a hardenable plastic material;
- shaping the back, side and soundboard of the soundboard to substantially conform to the dimension of the single piece of the hardenable plastic material;
- securing the soundboard on the side using the soundboard support structure;
- and
- securing the back on the side opposite the soundboard.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.