String fine tuning pin of musical instrument

Abstract

The present application relates to a string fine tuning pin for a musical instrument, comprising a tensioner 2 for a string 8 and a locking member 3 on a common axis of rotation. When the string 8 is roughly adjusted, the head 6 of the locking component 3 can be fixed in the fixing hole 5, and the position of the tensioner 2 relative to the locking component 3 can be adjusted through the fine adjustment screw 1. The butt joint end of the tensioner 2 and the locking part 3 comprises a spiral inclined face 9. The rotation of the fine tuning screw 1 forces the tensioner 2 to rotate relative to the locking member 3 about their common axis of rotation by sliding the helical bevel 9 of the tensioner 2 on the helical bevel 9 of the locking member 3.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a string tuning pin for a musical instrument, more specifically, a fine-tuning pin for a musical instrument, comprising a fine-tuning screw. The fine-tuning screw can be used to tune and tune string instruments, pianos, harps, and other stringed instruments. The fine-tuning pin for a musical instrument can also be used in any other device requiring string tension adjustment. This application demonstrates the use of the fine-tuning pin for a musical instrument in piano tuning. Fine-tuning pins for musical instruments belong to the field of musical instrument tuning devices. Background Art

[0002] The piano was invented in 1695 when Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), a harpsichord master and treasurer of royal musical instruments for the Medici family, began working on a new keyboard instrument, the gravicembalo col piano e forte, originally called pianoforte and later fortepiano. In Estonian, it's called a klaver, also known as fortepiano. When a key is pressed, the hammer strikes the string, then retracts, allowing the string to vibrate freely until the key is released from under the finger. After that, a felt-covered muffler is activated, and the string stops vibrating.

[0003] On a piano, a string is vibrated by hammers; on other instruments, it's vibrated by other methods. One end of the string is securely fastened to the instrument, while the other end is wrapped around a tuning pin, which is then securely fixed to the same pin. The tuning pin is firmly attached to the instrument and can be rotated within the neck. This allows the string tension to remain constant, but the position of the tuning pin can be adjusted during tuning. This allows the string tension and the resulting pitch to be varied.

[0004] Tuning pins secured to the instrument by a tight fit have several disadvantages. Even with an interference fit, they can still slip very slowly, affected by string vibrations, humidity, and temperature fluctuations. This slippage necessitates regular tuning. For pianos, a good practice is to tune them twice a year. Tuning pins have some positions where contact is excellent and tuning is stable, while others have weaker contact. In these weaker contact positions, string tension can cause the tuning pin to deviate from the contact position. In these positions, the string cannot be tuned to the desired ideal tension, and only an approximate tension can be accepted.

[0005] Over the years, various methods and mechanisms for tensioning and locking piano strings have been tested. J.P. Richardson's patents, US281,794 filed on July 24, 1883, and US463,729A filed on November 24, 1891, demonstrate piano string tensioning mechanisms using specialized threads. These mechanisms offer excellent tuning time stability and the ability to precisely adjust the desired string tension. However, these mechanisms are visually unsightly and are not currently installed in new pianos. Various fine-tuning mechanisms for piano strings have been invented, such as US Patent No. 2588440A, filed on December 2, 1949; US Patent No. 20160260419, filed on March 3, 2015; and US Patent No. 235269A (filed on December 7, 1880). Locking mechanisms for tuning piano strings, such as US Patent No. 941730A (filed on September 15, 1908) and KR Patent No. 100218808B1 (filed on March 13, 1996), have also been invented. Several similar solutions exist, however, and in some cases, their tuning stability and accuracy cannot compare to those of threaded tensioning mechanisms.

[0006] The tuning pin most similar to the present application is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,424,047A (published on January 28, 1969), which includes a string tensioner and a locking member located on the same axis. The end of the locking member is integrally formed with the string tensioner and can be fixed in a fixing hole during tuning. The position of the string tensioner and the locking member can be fixed in the fixing hole by a set screw. After the set screw is screwed through the string tensioner and into the locking member, the set screw deforms the locking member in the fixing hole, thereby securing the string tensioner and the locking member in the fixing hole.

[0007] The downside of this solution is the lack of fine-tuning options. To tune the strings, you must hold the locking part with a tuning wrench and screw the setscrew into the locking part until it reaches a sufficient depth to secure the tensioner's position. This solution is very inconvenient when fine-tuning the strings, as the setscrew must be tightened while the tensioner is held in place to ensure the string's tuning remains unchanged. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The essence of this application lies in the fact that string tension, and thus tuning, is not maintained solely by the fit between a tuning pin and a string mount. Instead, the tuning pin includes a string tensioner and a locking member for the string tensioner located below the tuning pin, both of which are at least partially housed within a fixed holder. The locking member enables precise adjustment of string tension using the tuning pin via a fine-tuning screw. The angular displacement of the string tensioner relative to the locking member in the holder's pin seat or fixing hole is several times smaller than the angular displacement of the fine-tuning screw. The holder is fixed to the string mount.

[0009] For pianos, the string rails are usually cast iron.

[0010] The adjustment pin itself can be coarsely adjusted using the coarse adjustment key, which also supports fine adjustment. In other words, during coarse adjustment, the coarse adjustment key is used to adjust the angular displacement of the adjustment pin in the retainer. This means that the coarse adjustment key simultaneously adjusts the position of the tensioner, locking member, and fine-adjustment screw in the retainer. Compared to coarse adjustment, fine adjustment has a narrower operating / adjustment range. This range can be expanded by loosening the locking member from the retainer. After loosening the locking member using the fine-adjustment screw, a new tension range can be selected for fine adjustment.

[0011] This application provides a string tuning pin for a musical instrument, comprising a string tensioner and a locking member positioned on a common rotational axis. To perform coarse string tuning, one end of the locking member can be secured in a fixing hole in a retainer, and the position of the tensioner relative to the locking member can be adjusted via a fine-tuning screw. In other words, during fine tuning, the angular displacement of the tensioner relative to the locking member can be adjusted by rotating the fine-tuning screw.

[0012] The end or head of the locking component can be fixed in the fixing hole via a spline connection, so that it cannot rotate in the fixing hole, but can slide in the fixing hole along the longitudinal direction of the retainer as needed. The retainer is an elongated component, including a fixing hole arranged along the longitudinal direction of the retainer, the fixing hole penetrating the retainer along the longitudinal axis of the retainer, and the fixing hole is provided with a spline arranged along the longitudinal direction of the fixing hole.

[0013] The head of the locking member is also provided with splines on its outer surface, which together with the splines of the fixing hole form a mating spline joint. The common rotation axis of the locking member, the tensioner and the fine adjustment screw is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the retainer.

[0014] The head of the locking component is fixed in the fixing hole through a spline connection so that it cannot rotate around the longitudinal axis of the fixing hole but can slide in the fixing hole along the longitudinal axis.

[0015] The butted ends of the tensioner and locking member include cooperating screw ramp surfaces, wherein rotation of the fine adjustment screw forces the tensioner to rotate relative to the locking member about their common rotational axis by sliding the tensioner screw ramp surface over the locking member screw ramp surface.

[0016] The abutting helical ramps on the tensioner and the locking member are complementary surfaces that are adapted to slide against one another during fine adjustment, thereby enabling rotation (angular displacement) of the tensioner relative to the locking member.

[0017] The retainer includes connecting threads for securing the retainer to the string mount.

[0018] The tensioner includes at least one fastening hole for a string. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 : Isometric view of the parts of the instrument's string tuning pins.

[0020] Figure 2 : Isometric view of the parts of a string tuning pin for an instrument without a retainer.

[0021] Figure 3 : Example of the position of a musical instrument's string tuning pins in the string holder.

[0022] Figure 4 : Isometric view of an instrument's string fine tuning pin in the coarse tuning position.

[0023] Figure 5 : Isometric view of the locking portion and tensioner of a musical instrument's string fine tuning pin. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The string fine tuning pin of the musical instrument includes a string fine tuning screw 1 ( Figure 1 ), a fine-tuning screw 1 locks the relative position between a string tensioner 2 and a locking member 3 of the string tensioner 2 in a retainer 4. The retainer 4 includes a fixing hole 5, into which a head 6 of the locking member 3 is splined, preventing the locking member 3 from rotating about its axis within the retainer 4. The locking member 2 includes a string fastening hole 7, into which the end of a string 8 is secured.

[0025] The fine-tuning screw 1 can be either left-hand or right-hand. The butting ends of the tensioner 2 and the locking component 3 both include beveled thread surfaces 9, which abut against each other. In other words, the tensioner 2 and the locking component 3 butt against each other via the beveled thread surfaces 9.

[0026] The helical bevel 9 enables the fine-tuning screw 1 to be used to vary the distance between the tensioner 2 and the locking member 3, i.e., the abutment surfaces 9 slide relative to each other, thereby rotating the tensioner 2 relative to the locking member 3, i.e., varying the angular displacement of the tensioner 2 relative to the locking member 3. For the fine-tuning screw 1, the head 6 of the locking member has a threaded hole 13 that is coaxial with the common rotation axis of the string tensioner 2 and the locking member 3.

[0027] During fine-tuning, the change in angular displacement of the tensioner 2 relative to the locking member 3 is several times smaller than the change in angular displacement of the fine-tuning screw 1. This allows for more precise fine-tuning of the tension of the string 8 than by directly adjusting the angle of the tensioner 2 relative to the retainer 4. The upper portion of the tensioner 2 may include facets for rotating the tensioner 2 via a tuning key, allowing for coarse adjustment of the tensioner 2 using the key, but the key may also be used to assist and facilitate the fine-tuning process.

[0028] It is also possible to perform coarse tuning of the string 8 by using the locking member 3 in the coarse tuning position, e.g. Figure 4 The lower portion or head 6 of the locking member 3 includes splines which are typically ( Figure 3 The locking member 3 located in the fixing hole 5 of the retainer 4 is prevented from rotating by engaging with the spline of the fixing hole 5 .

[0029] Figure 2 A string 8 is shown, which is wound around the tensioner 2. Turning the fine adjustment screw 1 changes the distance between the tensioner 2 and the locking member 3 - the tensioner 2 and locking member 3 slide on abutting helical ramps 9, which causes them to rotate relative to each other (angular displacement).

[0030] The abutting spiral slope 9 defines the relationship between the angular displacement between the tensioner 2 and the locking component 3 and the distance between the tensioner 2 and the locking component 3 along their mutual rotation axis. The fixing hole 5 does not allow the locking component 3 to rotate freely about the rotation axis, but allows the locking component 3 to slide along the rotation axis.

[0031] The angle of inclination of the spiral bevel 9 is selected so that the tension of the chord 8 presses the butted spiral bevels together - the spiral bevel 9 is at Figure 5 Clearly visible.

[0032] Figure 3 The figure shows how the tuning pins of a musical instrument are positioned in the string frame 10 when in the fine tuning position. The retainer 4 is securely fastened to the string frame 10 by means of retainer connection threads 11. The retainer 4 can accommodate fixing holes 5 of shapes and sizes different from those shown in the figures. A single retainer 4 can contain fixing holes 5 for multiple pins.

[0033] A right-hand or left-hand connection thread 11 is selected so that the tensioning force of the string 8 rotates the retainer 4 into the string mount 10 .

[0034] Figure 4 The isometric view in Figure 4 shows the instrument's string fine tuning pin in the coarse tuning position. In this position, the locking member 3 and the fixing hole 5 are positioned relative to each other so that the locking member 3 can rotate freely about the tuning pin's axis. The coarse tuning key is used to directly tension the string 8 by rotating the tensioner 2 and the locking member 3 together. Coarse tuning also allows the position of the locking member 3 in the fixing hole 5 to be selected so that, after the head 6 of the locking member 3 is secured in the fixing hole 5 of the retainer 4, the fine tuning position of the tensioner 2 relative to the locking member 3 is optimal. In other words, in the coarse tuning position, the splines of the head 6 of the locking member 3 do not engage with the splines of the fixing hole 5 of the retainer 4.

[0035] In the illustrated embodiment, a sleeve 12 is provided on the string mount 10 on the tensioner 2. The sleeve 12 is coaxially located with the tensioner 2 and the locking member 3 within the hole of the retainer connecting thread 11. The main function of the sleeve 12 is to cover the hole of the connecting thread 11. Preferably, the sleeve 12 is made of plastic, but it can also be made of metal.

[0036] The string frame 10 may be, for example, a strike plate of any musical instrument.

[0037] Reference Number List

[0038] 1 – Fine adjustment screw

[0039] 2 – String Tensioner

[0040] 3 – Locking Section

[0041] 4 – Retainer

[0042] 5 – Fixing holes

[0043] 6 – Locking the head of the component

[0044] 7-String fixing hole

[0045] 8 – string

[0046] 9 – Spiral Bevel

[0047] 10 – String Stand

[0048] 11 – Retainer connection thread

[0049] 12 – Socket

[0050] 13 – Threaded hole for fine adjustment screw in locking component

Claims

1. A string fine tuning pin for a musical instrument, comprising a string tensioner (2) and a locking member (3), wherein the string tensioner (2) and the locking member (3) are located on a common rotation axis, wherein: In order to perform coarse adjustment of the string (8), the head (6) of the locking component (3) can be fixed in the fixing hole (5), and the position of the string tensioner (2) can be adjusted relative to the locking component (3) by a fine-tuning screw (1), characterized in that the butt ends (5) of the string tensioner (2) and the locking component (3) include mutually matching spiral bevels (9), wherein the rotation of the fine-tuning screw (1) forces the string tensioner (2) to rotate relative to the locking component (3) around their common rotation axis by causing the spiral bevel (9) of the string tensioner (2) to slide on the spiral bevel (9) of the locking component (3).

2. The string fine-tuning pin according to claim 1, characterized in that: The string tensioner (2) comprises at least one fastening hole (7) for the string (8).

3. The string fine-tuning pin according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The head (6) of the locking component (3) can be fixed in the fixing hole (5) through a spline connection.

4. A string fine tuning pin according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The retainer (4) includes a retainer connection thread (11) for securing the retainer (4) to a string frame (10).

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