# US 7,745,711 B2 · Pan musical instruments and methods for making same

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- Number: US 7,745,711 B2
- Document ID: US7745711B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/101,629
- Filed: 2008-04-11
- Published: 2009-07-16
- Granted: 2010-06-29
- Earliest claimed: 2007-04-11
- Inventors: Ronald G. Kerns; Steven C. Lawrie; Angeline Lawrie; Ronald J. Drouin; David R. Gettes
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7745711B2

## CPC

- G10D 13/08: Multi-toned musical instruments with sonorous bars, blocks, forks, gongs, plates, rods or teeth
- G10D: STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACCORDIONS OR CONCERTINAS; PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; AEOLIAN HARPS; SINGING-FLAME MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (organs, harmoniums or similar wind musical instruments with associated blowing apparatus G10B; pianos, harpsichords, spinets or similar stringed musical instruments with one or more keyboards G10C; automatic musical instruments G10F; electrophonic musical instruments in which tones are generated by electromechanical means G10H)

## Abstract

The invention provides pan musical instruments, or pans, and methods of making same. Particularly, a process for mechanization and mass production of tunable pans with improved consistency, sound quality, and ease of tuning is provided.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A process for making a tunable pan musical instrument, comprising the step of:
stamping a substrate into a pan head in a press with a male die pressing into a female die to produce a desired bowl size and shape, and note shape and placement;
wherein the pan head has a thickness gradually increasing from the center outwards.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of attaching a sidewall to the pan head to produce a pan.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of finishing the pan.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of tuning the pan.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein the die is designed to produce a pan having at least one feature selected from the group consisting of optimal size, optimal shape, optimal note facet size, optimal note facet shape, and optimal note facet layout.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A pan produced by the process of claim 1.