Guitar Neck Positioning Insert for Alignment Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The alignment of a guitar neck relative to the guitar body is critical for playability but is often challenging due to variations in manufacturing and environmental factors, leading to misalignment over time.
Innovation Solution
A system employing slidably engageable shims or inserts with varying angular and thickness configurations, which can be inserted between the guitar neck and body without fully removing the neck, to achieve precise and repeatable positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional bolt-on neck mounting is used, then assembly is simple and popular, but neck alignment precision deteriorates due to manufacturing variations and environmental factors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a neck positioning device as an intermediary component between the neck and body. This device includes a positioning surface that contacts the neck and a reference surface that contacts the body, providing a precise mechanical interface that compensates for manufacturing variations and maintains accurate neck alignment without complicating the overall assembly process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs shims with varying thicknesses and angles as adjustable parameters. By selecting and inserting appropriate shims between the neck positioning device and the body, the neck alignment can be precisely adjusted to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and environmental changes, thereby maintaining optimal playability
2Reliability
If neck is firmly secured to body, then joint stability is improved, but neck repositioning becomes difficult when misalignment occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the neck joint system into distinct functional components: the neck, the positioning device, shims, and the body. This segmentation allows the positioning device and shims to be independently adjusted or replaced without requiring complete disassembly of the neck joint, thus maintaining joint stability while enabling easy repositioning when misalignment occurs
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a dynamically adjustable joint system where shims can be inserted, removed, or replaced to adjust neck alignment. This dynamic capability allows the joint to be firmly secured during normal use while remaining easily reconfigurable when maintenance or adjustment is needed
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple wood types are used for body, neck, and fretboard, then instrument quality is improved, but dimensional stability deteriorates due to humidity and environmental factors
Solution Approach 1:
The neck positioning device acts as a mediator between the neck and body, providing a stable reference framework that compensates for dimensional changes in the wood components. The device includes compensation features that can accommodate expansion and contraction of the wood parts due to humidity and temperature variations, maintaining proper neck alignment despite environmental factors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses adjustable shims with varying parameters to compensate for dimensional changes in wood components. By selecting appropriate shims based on the specific alignment needs arising from wood expansion or contraction, the system maintains stable neck positioning despite the natural dimensional instability of multiple wood types
4Ease of manufacture
If neck pitch angle variation is tolerated, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but playability deteriorates when variation becomes significant
Solution Approach 1:
The neck positioning device serves as a mediator that translates small variations in neck positioning into precise, controlled pitch angles. The device includes geometric features that convert manufacturing tolerances into consistent, playable neck angles, allowing manufacturers to produce guitars with standard tolerances while ensuring optimal playability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs shims with precisely controlled thicknesses and angles as adjustable parameters to fine-tune the neck pitch angle. By selecting and inserting appropriate shims, the final neck angle can be precisely adjusted to achieve optimal playability characteristics, transforming manufacturing variations into controlled, desirable outcomes
Data Source
AI summary
An insert is provided for insertion in a space between a guitar neck and a guitar body to provide for adjustment of the geometric characteristics of the assembled guitar. The insert is configured to allow insertion of the insert body into the space without dismounting the guitar neck from the body. Using scanning of the guitar neck and guitar body mounting points, an exterior surface configuration of the insert can be calculated to yield the desired geometric characteristics.