GB2470715A

GB2470715A - A tuning peg having a head and a shaft which are disconnectable

Info

Publication number: GB2470715A
Application number: GB0907689A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chris Williamson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-05-05
Filing date: 2009-05-05
Publication date: 2010-12-08
Also published as: GB0907689D0

Abstract

A tuning apparatus comprising: a rotatable body attachable to an instrument string such that rotation of the body winds or unwinds the string; and a head member operatively connected to the body such that rotation of the head member causes rotation of the body, wherein the head member is adapted to be disconnectable from the body to allow free rotation of the head member relative to the body. The head and shaft interact in a clutch like manner so that the position of the head relative to the shaft may be varied.

Description

Tuninci Apparatus The present invention relates to tuning apparatus for musical instruments. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a tuning apparatus for stringed instruments such as violins, violas and cellos.

Stringed instruments include tuning pegs for winding and unwinding the strings to tune the strings to the correct pitch. The peg head typically comprises a slightly concave or planar member defining a first contact face and a second opposing contact face. This allows the user to grip the peg head using the thumb and forefinger at the two contact faces for rotating the peg to wind or unwind the string.

When a user grips the peg head in this manner and rotates the peg by twisting the hand about the wrist, the rotational travel of the peg can be around 180 degrees but can be significantly less. This is particularly the case as the string tightens during winding such that further winding effort can be difficult at particular positions of the hand relative to the wrist. The difficulty is increased for certain instruments such as violins which are typically held by the user in a particular manner which limits the possible twisting of the hand about the wrist as well as limiting the twisting force that a user can achieve.

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* As a result of this, successive 180 degree twists of the tuning peg are often difficult to achieve. This increases the effort and time required to tune the **.S *** 25 instrument. It is desirable to provide a tuning apparatus which decreases the time and effort required to tune the instrument. S ** * S S

* It is known to reduce the effort required during tuning by providing geared tuning S..

pegs. However, this does not address the issue of the peg head possibly being at an inconvenient orientation. Also, the complexity of the geared pegs results in the pegs being more prone to failure and being considerably more expensive than conventional pegs. Furthermore, as tuning requires less effort, it can be difficult for an experienced user to feel' when the wound string is sufficiently taught and this increases the likelihood of the string being overwound and breaking.

It is desirable to provide a tuning apparatus which reduces tuning effort without significantly increasing the complexity and components required and without increasing the likelihood of the string breaking.

It is also known to provide a tuning peg which has a twisted' head which provides two orientations for gripping by the user. This has proved to be unpopular by users as the two orientations interfere with each other in the sense that the user cannot achieve full grip of either orientations. Rather, the gripping area for each orientation is significantly reduced. This peg head is therefore considered both ergonomically and aesthetically uripleasing to users.

It is desirable to provide a tuning apparatus which offers multiple orientations but with full grip of each orientation.

Indeed, all known tuning apparatus require the user to remove the hand after rotating the peg and then re-grip the peg head for a subsequent rotation. It is desirable to provide a tuning apparatus which allows the user to maintain the same grip of the peg head. *.*

According to the present invention there is provided a tuning apparatus * * comprising: *:::* a rotatable body attachable to an instrument string such that rotation of the * body winds or unwinds the string; and *.S a head member operatively connected to the body such that rotation of the head member causes rotation of the body, wherein the head member is adapted to be disconnectable from the body to allow free rotation of the head member relative to the body.

The head member may include one or more engaging members which engage with the body. The body may include a receiving member for receiving the or each engaging member.

The engaging member may comprise a keyed portion or protrusion which engages with a slot or recess provided at the body.

Alternatively, the engaging members may comprise a plurality of teeth which engage with a plurality of teeth provided at the body.

The head member may be movable in a direction normal to the plane of rotation to disconnect the head member from the body. The head member may be pushable to disconnect the head member from the body. Alternatively, the head member may be pullable to disconnect the head member from the body.

Alternatively or in addition, the head member may include switching means, such as a push button or linear switch or toggle switch to disconnect the head member from the body. * .sS * * * ** *

** The tuning apparatus may include biasing means. The biasing means may be adapted to bias the head member towards engagement with the body. **S*

Alternatively, the biasing means may be adapted to bias the head member towards disengagement with the body. * S. * * S

* . The tuning apparatus may include gearing operatively interposed between the S..

head member and the body. The tuning apparatus may include a clutch member for disengaging the gearing.

The gearing may comprise planetary gearing.

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, in which: Fig I shows a user operating a conventional tuning apparatus; Fig 2 is a sectional side view of a tuning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention at a first position; and Fig 3 is a sectional side view of the tuning apparatus of Fig 2 at a second position.

Fig 1 shows a user operating a conventional tuning apparatus 100 provided on a violin 102. It can be seen that the hand can be at an awkward angle relative to the wrist 104 which hinders further rotation of the tuning apparatus 100 as well as limiting the tuning force that can be applied.

Fig 2 shows a tuning apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment of the invention which comprises a rotatable body 20 and a head 30 which is operatively connected to the body 20. *S.. * S * ** *

* The body comprises a stem 22 which has an aperture (not shown) for receiving an instrument string. The string can then be wound around the stem 22 a number S...

of times in a particular winding direction. Subsequently, rotation of the body 20 in *S*S*S. . . . . . * * the same winding direction causes winding of the string to tune the string. * ** * . .

* . Rotation of the body 20 is effected by rotating the head 30 since this is S..

operatively connected to the body 20. As with conventional tuning apparatus, the head 30 has two substantially parallel contact faces 34 for gripping and a head stem 32 which extends into, and engages with, the body stem 22. However, the head 30 is disconnectable from the body 20 such that rotation of the head 30 relative to the body 20 does not cause rotation of the body 20.

Generally, the head 30 includes at least one engaging member which engages with at least one receiving member provided at the body 20. There are various ways of achieving this.

In one embodiment, the head 30 includes a keyed portion or protrusion which engages with a number of slots or recesses which are circumferentially spaced around the body 20. The body 20 can include guide means, such as a funnel portion for guiding the key to the nearest slot.

In an alternative embodiment, which is shown in Fig 2, the head stem 34 includes a number of external teeth 36 which engage with internal teeth 24 provided at the body.

To disengage the head 30 from the body 20, the head 30 can be moved in a direction 112 normal to the plane of rotation 110. In this embodiment, the head can be pulled away from the body 20 for disengagement. Pulling the head 30 causes lateral displacement of the head teeth 36 until they are out of alignment with the body teeth 24. * S I ** I

* The tuning apparatus 10 includes biasing means in the form of a tension spring which biases the head 30 towards engagement with the body 20. However, it is an option to adapt the biasing means to bias the head 30 towards disengagement with the body 20 (the spring 40 in this case would then be a compression spring). The head 30 and body 20 would then be normally * ** * disconnected until a user pushes the head 30 inwards before rotating the head 30.

The tuning apparatus could include gearing which is operatively interposed between the head 30 and the body 20. This gearing could be planetary gearing.

The tuning apparatus could then include a clutch member for disengaging the gearing. However, this does add to the complexity and cost of the apparatus.

Whilst specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that departures from the described embodiments may still fall within the scope of the present invention. * * S ** S * 555 * * *5** *55* * S S...

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Claims

Claims 1. A tuning apparatus comprising: a rotatable body attachable to an instrument string such that rotation of the body winds or unwinds the string; and a head member operatively connected to the body such that rotation of the head member causes rotation of the body, wherein the head member is adapted to be disconnectable from the body to allow free rotation of the head member relative to the body.
2. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head member includes one or more engaging members which engage with the body.
3. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the body includes a receiving member for receiving the or each engaging member.
4. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the engaging member comprises a keyed portion or protrusion which engages with a slot or recess provided at the body.
5. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the engaging member :::: comprises a plurality of teeth which engage with a plurality of teeth provided at *::::* the body.
6. A tuning apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the head **S** . . . . * * member is movable in a direction normal to the plane of rotation to disconnect the head member from the body. 1 * * *IS *SS
7. A tuning apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the head member is pushable to disconnect the head member from the body.
8. A tuning apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the head member is pullable to disconnect the head member from the body.
9. A tuning apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the head member includes switching means to disconnect the head member from the body.
10. A tuning apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, including biasing means.
11. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the biasing means is adapted to bias the head member towards engagement with the body.
12. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the biasing means is adapted to bias the head member towards disengagement with the body.
13. A tuning apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, including gearing operatively interposed between the head member and the body.
14. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 13, including a clutch member for disengaging the gearing. * *. ** *

*
15. A tuning apparatus as claimed in claim 13 or 14, wherein the gearing comprises planetary gearing. *.*d * *
16. A tuning apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated *:*::* in the accompanying drawings. **.