They Invented What? (No. 177)

U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,917:  Musical instrument support.

JW Note:  We make note of the inventor named on the patent – Mr. Edward L. Van Halen.  Rock on!

 

What is claimed is:

1. A stringed musical instrument comprising an instrument body having front and rear surfaces, sound producing means extending over a portion of said front surface, and a device mounted onto said rear surface for positioning said instrument body at an angular orientation to a player’s body, said device including attachment means movable between an inoperative position overlying said rear surface and an operative position at an angle to said rear surface, a pair of spaced-apart mounting blocks attached to said rear surface and support means coupled to said mounting blocks for rotationally supporting therebetween said attachment means, said attachment means engaging said player’s body when in said operative position for maintaining said instrument body in said angular orientation and disengaging from said player’s body when in said inoperative position for maintaining said instrument body in other than said angular orientation. 

2. The stringed musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said support means comprises a rod extending between said mounting blocks. 

3. The stringed musical instrument of claim 2 wherein said attachment means is movably mounted on said rod for rotational movement between said operative and inoperative positions and for lateral movement between a locked and unlocked position. 

4. The stringed musical instrument of claim 3 wherein said attachment means is mounted on said rod by a pair of spaced-apart slide blocks. 

5. The stringed musical instrument of claim 3 wherein said device further includes biasing means for biasing said attachment means towards said locked position. 

6. The stringed musical instrument of claim 5 wherein said biasing means comprises a spring located about said rod and arranged between said mounting blocks and said attachment means. 

7. The stringed musical instrument of claim 5 wherein said attachment means includes a projection extending therefrom and engagable with one of said mounting blocks when said attachment means is rotated about said rod into said operative position while being laterally moved along said rod into said locked position by said biasing means, whereby said attachment means is locked in said operative position. 

8. The stringed musical instrument of claim 7 wherein said projection comprises a portion of an L-shaped member by which said attachment means is mounted on said rod. 

9. The stringed musical instrument of claim 7 wherein said one of said mounting blocks has an opening for receiving said projection when said attachment means is rotated into said operative position. 

10. The stringed musical instrument of claim 9 wherein said rod extends through the center of said opening and through the center of said projection along one of its axes, whereby said projection is received within said opening when said attachment means is in said operative position. 

11. The stringed musical instrument of claim 10 wherein said rod extends off-center through said projection along the other of its axes, whereby said projection is prevented from being received within said opening when said attachment means is in said inoperative position. 

12. A guitar comprising an instrument body having front and rear surfaces, a neck extending from said instrument body and having a fretted surface, sound producing means extending over a portion of said front surface and said fretted surface, and a device mounted onto said rear surface for positioning said instrument body at an angular orientation to a guitar player’s body, said device including a pair of spaced-apart mounting blocks attached to said rear surface, a rod extending between said mounting blocks, attachment means movably mounted to said rod for rotational movement between an operative and inoperative position and for lateral movement between a locked and unlocked position, said attachment means overlying said rear surface when in said inoperative position and at an angle to said rear surface when in said operative position, said attachment means having a portion engaging said player’s body when in said operative position for maintaining said instrument body in said angular orientation, said portion disengaging from said player’s body when in said inoperative position for maintaining said instrument body in other than said angular orientation, and a projection extending from said attachment means and received within one of said mounting blocks when said attachment means is rotated about said rod into said operative position and laterally moved along said rod into said locked position, whereby said attachment means is locked in a position at an angle to said rear surface. 

13. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said device further includes biasing means for biasing said attachment means towards said locked position. 

14. The guitar of claim 13 wherein said biasing means comprises a spring located about said rod and arranged between one of said mounting blocks and said attachment means. 

15. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said one of said mounting blocks has an opening for receiving said projection when said attachment means is in said operative position. 

16. The guitar of claim 15 wherein said rod extends through the center of said opening and through the center of said projection along one of its axes, whereby said projection is received within said opening when said attachment means is in said operative position. 

17. The guitar of claim 16 wherein said rod extends off-center through said projection along the other of its axes, whereby said projection is prevented from being received within said opening when said attachment means is in said inoperative position. 

18. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said projection comprises a portion of an L-shaped member by which said attachment means is mounted on said rod. 

19. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said attachment means is rotated about said rod by the force of gravity when said instrument body is moved from a substantially vertical orientation toward a substantially horizontal orientation. 

20. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said attachment means is mounted to said rod by a pair of spaced-apart slide blocks. 

21. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said angular orientation comprise a substantially perpendicular orientation. 

22. The guitar of claim 12 wherein said angle comprises a substantially perpendicular angle.