Perpendicular Mounting Flange for Musical Instrument Mute Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional musical instrument mute holders are not sturdy enough to support heavy mutes and require supplemental tools for adjustment, making them complicated to install and inefficient in operation.
Innovation Solution
A musical instrument mute retention assembly with a U-shaped mounting flange that interfaces with a support shelf of a music stand in a slidable or fastenable engagement, allowing for secure attachment without additional tools, featuring a mute panel with linearly spaced apertures for mutes and music items, and a sloped portion that maintains the panel parallel to the ground surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional mute holders use swingable holder rings mounted on a pivot with a clamp portion, then the mute holder can be affixed at different fixed levels on the rod stand, but the structure is not sturdy enough to support heavy mutes and requires supplemental tools for adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting flange is divided into distinct functional segments: a clamp portion with finger engagement surfaces for attachment to the rod stand, and a support shelf portion with a recess for receiving and securing the mute holder. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function while working together as a unified structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the clamp portion adjust to fit different rod stand thicknesses, the design inverts the approach by having the support shelf recess accommodate various mute holder configurations. The perpendicular mounting flange provides a stable base that supports the mute holder from below, reversing the conventional top-down attachment method.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional mute holders use a clamp portion that must be adjusted to lock on different thicknesses of the rod stand, then different mounting positions are achieved, but supplemental tools are required and installation becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting flange is designed to be self-adjusting through its geometric features. The angled surfaces of the clamp portion naturally guide the flange onto the rod stand at the desired angle, and the finger engagement surfaces automatically lock into position without requiring tools or complex adjustment mechanisms. The structure serves itself by using its own geometry to achieve proper mounting.
Solution Approach 2:
The perpendicular mounting flange is pre-configured with specific angular relationships between its clamp and support shelf portions. This preliminary geometric configuration ensures that when the flange is attached to the rod stand, the support shelf is automatically positioned at the correct orientation to receive and secure the mute holder, eliminating the need for post-installation adjustments.
3Ease of operation
If the mounting flange is perpendicular to the mute panel, then the mute panel is maintained parallel with the ground surface for easy access, but the mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting flange merges two functions into a single integrated component: the clamp portion for attaching to the rod stand and the support shelf for securing the mute holder. By combining these functions into one perpendicular flange structure, the design achieves the desired parallel orientation of the mute panel without requiring separate mounting brackets or additional structural elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A musical instrument mute retention assembly with perpendicular mounting flange mount to a music stand at a parallel disposition with the ground surface, while also retaining multiple instrument mutes of various sizes and musical-related items in a level, upright disposition. The assembly provides a mute panel defined by mute apertures disposed in a linear, spaced-apart relationship. The mute panel also provides music item apertures disposed in a linear, spaced-apart relationship, and further being parallel to the mute apertures. A mounting flange fixedly attaches to the mute panel in a perpendicular disposition. The mounting flange interfaces with a gapped flange that extends from a sloped support panel of a music stand in slidable or fastenable engagement. Because the mounting flange is perpendicular to the mute panel, the retained mutes and music-related items are maintained parallel with the ground surface, facilitating access to the apertures and retained mutes.