Modular Pickup Assembly for Electric Guitar with Swappable Coil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electric stringed musical instrument pickups often require significant adjustments or replacements to achieve desired sound characteristics, which can be cumbersome and may damage the instrument due to exposed wires and limited adjustability.
Innovation Solution
A pickup assembly with a user-changeable magnet and coil assembly that can be swapped or adjusted without disassembling the instrument, featuring a mounting component with contacts for secure electrical connection and a coil component with removable and reorientable configurations, allowing for various magnetic and electrical property modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pickups are adjusted or replaced to achieve desired sound characteristics, then sound quality is improved, but the instrument may be damaged due to exposed wires and limited adjustability
Solution Approach 1:
The pickup is divided into separate modular components: a mounting component that remains fixed in the instrument, and a coil component that can be independently removed and replaced. This segmentation allows users to change sound characteristics by swapping coil components without exposing or disturbing the instrument's internal wiring, thereby improving both adaptability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pickup design enables dynamic reconfiguration of magnetic and electrical properties through the removable coil component, which can be oriented in different positions (e.g., primary flatwork member towards mounting plate or secondary flatwork member towards mounting plate). This dynamic adjustability allows users to modify sound characteristics without permanent modifications to the instrument.
2Adaptability or versatility
If pickups are made adjustable for different sound characteristics, then tonal customization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the pickup into a fixed mounting component and a removable coil component, the design simplifies the adjustment process. Users only need to handle the smaller, simpler coil component rather than dealing with the entire complex pickup assembly, reducing the perceived complexity while maintaining tonal customization capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting component is designed with universal electrical contacts and mounting features that work with multiple different coil component configurations. This universality allows a single mounting component to support various tonal characteristics through different coil components, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high adaptability.
3Ease of operation
If coil component is made removable for easy adjustment, then ease of operation is improved, but electrical connection reliability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting component includes pre-configured electrical contacts and alignment features that ensure proper electrical connection is established before the coil component is fully installed. This preliminary preparation of connection points ensures that when the coil component is attached, reliable electrical contact is achieved without requiring complex connection procedures, thus maintaining both ease of operation and connection reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables convenient and efficient adjustment of sound characteristics without disturbing the instrument's electrical wiring, enhancing tonal customization and durability by reducing the need for frequent replacements and improving reliability.
Implementation Method 1
The pickups convert the vibration of the strings into a representative electrical signal
Implementation Method 2
A magnet positioned over the coil component opposite the mounting component
Data Source
AI summary
A pickup comprises a mounting component having a mounting plate, a first contact and a second contact. The pickup also has a coil component including a primary flatwork member, a secondary flatwork member, a pole therebetween, and a coil of wire wrapped around the pole. A magnet cooperates with the pole. A first coil end is electrically connected to a first coil component contact, and a second coil end is electrically connected to a second coil component contact. When assembled, the first coil component contact electrically couples to a select one of the first contact and the second contact of the mounting member regardless of the orientation of the coil component relative to the mounting plate.