US2479505A - Bow for musical instruments - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 16, 1949. A. NATHAN v 2,479,505

BOW FOR AMUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Feb. 2, 194e '14 l2 17 1/ l? 9 f 16 15 13 Patented Aug. 16, 1949 BOW FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Alfred `Nathan, London, England, assignor to Rose, Morris & Company Limited, London,

England Application February 2, 1948, Serial No. 5,793 In Great Britain May 10, 1946 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires May 10, 1966 10 Claims.

This invention relates to bows for musical instruments. Such bows usually comprise a number of strands of hair or equivalent material which are held in tension by being attached between the frog and the Atip of a staff, the frog being longitudinally adjustable relative to the staff so as to enable the tension in the hair or equivalent to be varied.

It is the object of the invention -to provide an improved form and construction of adjustable frog which is found to be more satisfactory than those in normal use, especially with respect to the smooth adjustment which it permits; the improved frog can, moreover, be made so as to be very robust and yet light in weight.

According to the invention, in a bow for a musical instrument, the frog comprises a body which extends more than half way around the outside of the staii to retain the latter, the body being slidable longitudinally upon the staff and having means whereby it is located against angular displacement about the axis of the staff.

There is further provided according to the invention in a bow for a musical instrument an adjustable frog comprising a body formed with a socket which extends more than half Way around the outside of the stal to retain the latter but allow relative sliding of the frog upon,v

the stai in the longitudinal direction, means to prevent relative angular movement of the frog and staff, and an adjustable thrust member upon the frog arranged to bear against the end Dart of the staff to locate the frog in the longitudinal direction. Preferably the socket in the body comprises a passage, the wall of which extends completely around the end part of the stai. Preferably also, the body of the frog is screw-threaded at a position beyond the end of the staff, and is there fitted with a thrust screw, the tip of which presses against the end of the stai. The head of the screw may have a cylindrical base which enters a corresponding cylindrical counterbore in the body to avoid exposing the thread of the screw throughout the normal range of ladjustment of the frog. Further, the body may be located against angular displacement relative to the stai, by a member which projects inwards through the w-all ofthe socket and engages a longitudinal groove or slot in the end part or the staff. 'Ihis projection can be constituted by the CJI tip of a screw disposed within a hole in the body, the end of said hole being so disposed that it is covered by the hair of the bow. The stai may advantageously comprise a metal tube having its end closed by a plug which latter is engaged by the tip of the thrust screw. With the present invention the end part of the staff can lconveniently be circular in cross section and t slidably within a cylindrical socket formed in the body of the frog.

As a further aspect of the invention there is provided in a bow for a musical instrument, a frog comprising a body of U-shape having a cylindrical socket bored down one of its limbs from the extremity thereof, a screw-thread extending axially through the base of the socket, a thrust screw -tted into said screw-thread and having its tip disposed within the socket, the staiT with its end part slidable longitudinally within the socket but restrained against rotation, and attachment means for the usual hair associated with the other limb of the body.

The preferred form rof bow according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a musicians bow;

Figure 2 is a part sectional elevation of the frog and adjacent end of the stai, drawn to an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional elevation, taken lon the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing a modied construction.

The bow in Figure 1 comprises a staff I0 which is made of light gauge steel tube, gently tapered in diameter and tted at its smaller end with a tip portion II. The staff IU is circular in cross sectional shape throughout its length and is tted slidably at its larger end within a frog which is indicated generally at I2 in Figure l. This comprises a body I3 which is of substantially U- shape, the uppermost limb I4 being used for the attachment of the frog to the staff I0, while the lower limb I 5 accommodates one end of the usual band IB of hairs extending to the tip portion II. These hairs are secured at their ends to the tip portion II and frog I2 respectively and are held under tension by slidably adjusting the frog I2 upon the end part of the staff I0 by means of a rotatable knob or head II.

The construction of the frog I2 is shown in Figures 2 and 3. The body I3 is made of light metal or alloy and it has its uppermost limb I4 bored at I8 to form a cylindrical socket which snugly receives :the end portion I9 ofthe stai I0. The socket |8 completely surrounds the stai I0 and thus provides a rm connection which however permits the parts to slide telescopi-cally for eiTecting adjustment of the hair tension. To prevent relative rotation of the parts the portion I 9 of the staff i is formed with a longitudinal slot 26 which is engaged by the tip portion 2| of a grub screw 22 threaded into a hole 23 in the body I3; the hole 23 extends upwards from a groove 24 in the lower surface of the body I3 so that when the hair I6 is laid in said groove and is protected by the usual cover-strip 25, the screw 22 and its hole are completely concealed. The extremity of the stai IIB is closed by a plug 2-6 to provide a at end surface.

The base portion 2l of the socket I 8 is drilled axially and screw-threaded at 28 to receive a thrust screw 29 which is integral with or attached rmly to the head Il and has its tip 3|) in engagement with the plug 26 of the staff ID. 'Ihus the staff Ill can be pressed towards the left (to tension the hair I6) by rotating the head so that the screw 29 is advanced; rotation in the reverse direction allows the hair tension to slacken. In order to avoid exposing the screw 29 (and thus keep the threads clean as well as improve the appearance of the bow) the head Il is formed with a cylindrical base 3| which fits with only slight clearance within a counterbore 32 in the body I 3, at least a part of the base 3| being in engagement with the counterbore 32 even when the tension is fully slackened. This also provides a direct bearing for the head and thus prevents any side thrust from bending the screw 29.

It will be understood that the arrangement which has so far been described has been given only by way of eXa-mple and that various modifications may be made to suit requirements. For instance the improved form of frog may be used in conjunction with stais made of wood or any other material and where appropriate the slot 2B would be replaced by a, longitudinal groove, Moreover, rotation may be prevented by making the end portion I9 of the staff of non-circular cross -section and forming the socket I8 to suit; the cylindrical form is at present preferred, however, as it enables an accurate t to be produced relatively easily. It is not essential that the wall of the socket I8 should extend completely around the portion I9 of the staff as the latter can be retained by making the socket of undercut channel shape, for instance as shown in Figure 4. In this suggested modication the end portion I9a of the staff IEB is of square cross section and the socket comprises side walls ISa having top flanges |8b for po-sitively retaining the staff I0, but allowing it to slide longitudinally. Moreover the body I3 of the frog shown in Figures 2 and 3 may be bored from end to end to form the socket IB and the counter bore 32, the base 21 carrying the screw thread 23 being made separately and secured in position; if desired it may be made of hard-wearing material such as brass to give long life to the thread.

What I claim is:

1. A musical instrument bow comprising a staiT having a tip and a frog at opposite ends for the attachment of the usual hair, said frog including a body having a socket formed therein and slidable upon the end of the staff, the walls of the socket extending more than half way around the outside of the stai to secure the frog to the staff, means for preventing rotation of the frog around the staff, and adjusting means for regulating the longitudinal position of the frog upon the staff.

2. A musical instrument bow comprising a staff having a tip and a frog at opposite ends for the attachment of the usual hair, said frog including a body having a socket formed therein and slidable upon the end of the staff, the walls of the socket extending more than half way around the outside of the staff to secure the frog to the staff, means for preventing rotation of the frog around the stai, and an adjusting screw threaded into the body with its tip projecting axially into the socket and engaging with the end of the stai.

3. A musical instrument bow according to claim 2, wherein the stai is tubular, a, plate being secured across the end of said staff and acting as an abutment for the screw,

4. A musical instrument bow comprising a staff having a tip and a frog at opposite ends for the attachment oi the usual hair, said frog including a body having a socket formed therein and slidable upon the end of the staff, the walls of the socket extending completely around the outside of the stair to secure the frog to the stai, means for preventing rotation of the frog around the staff, and adjusting means ior regulating the longitudinal position of the frog upon the staff.

5. A musical instrument bow comprising a stai having a tip and a frog at opposite ends for the attachment of the usual hair, said irog including a body having a socket formed therein and slidable upon the end of the staff, the walls of the socket extending more than half way around the outside of the stai to secure the frog to the stair, a slot in the side of the staff, a key member y mounted on the body and projecting into the socket to engage within the slot to prevent relative rotation between the stai and the body, and adjusting means for regulating the longitudinal position of the frog upon the staff.

6. A musical instrument bow comprising a staff having a tip and a frog at opposite ends for the attachment of the usual hair, said frog including a body having a socket formed therein and slidable upon the end of the staff, the walls oi the socket extending more than half way around the outside of the stair to secure the frog to the staff, a slot in the side :of the stai, a key member mounted on the body and projecting into the socket to engage within the slot to prevent relative rotation between the staff and the body, and adjusting means for regulating the longitudinal position of the frog upon the stan', the engagement of the key member with the slot preventing endwise detachment of the body from the staff.

7. A musical instrument bow according to claim 6, wherein the key member comprises a grub screw, threaded into the body and having its tip projecting into the socket.

8. A musical instrument bow comprising a stai having a tip and a frog at opposite ends for the attachment of the usual hair, said frog including a body having a cylindrical socket formed therein and which slidably fits over that end of the staff remote from the tip, means for preventing rotation of the frog around the stair, and adjusting means for regulating the longitudinal position of the frog upon the stai.

9. For a musical instrument bow, a frog comprising a U-shaped body with two limbs extending side by side from a base portiom a cylindrical socket formed in one of said limbs and extending longitudinally thereinto from the extremity of said limb, and having an end wall, an adjusting screw extending into said one limb from the base end thereof and projecting axially through the said end Wall, and means on the other limb for holding the usual hair of the bow.

10. For a musical instrument bow, a frog according to claim 9, wherein a cylindrical counterbore is formed in the base portion in alignment with the axis of the cylindrical socket, and the adjusting screw has a, cylindrical head portion of substantial length arranged to extend into said counterbore throughout the full range of adjustment of the screw.

ALFRED NATHAN.

The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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