WHITE OAK BANJO

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a banjo with all the wooden parts made from White Oak with the elimination of the conventional metal tone ring reducing the weight and lowering the manufacturing costs. As a result, white oak vibrates at a higher frequency and does not absorb as much of the sound vibrations as other woods so the tone is richer and louder.

Claims

1. A stringed musical instrument comprising: a banjo neck component; and a banjo drum component; wherein said banjo drum component is constructed using only the material white oak wood, thereby eliminating the requirement of a conventional metal tone ring and resulting in the reduction of the overall weight of the stringed musical instrument.

2. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, further wherein said banjo drum component constructed using only the material white oak wood, is constructed of a solid piece of white oak wood.

3. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, further wherein said banjo drum component constructed using only the material white oak wood, is constructed of laminated white oak wood sections.

4. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 3, further wherein said laminated white oak wood sections are laminated using a butt join lamination.

5. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 3, further wherein said laminated white oak wood sections are laminated using a scarf join lamination.

6. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said banjo drum component has a front side and a back side and further wherein said banjo drum component has an open back side.

7. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said banjo drum component further includes a banjo bottom pan component wherein said banjo bottom pan component is constructed using only the material white oak wood.

8. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 7, wherein said banjo bottom pan component further includes one or more polymer insets.

9. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 7, wherein said banjo drum component having a banjo bottom pan component further includes a resonator assembly made of only white oak wood.

10. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 7, wherein said banjo drum component having a banjo bottom pan component further includes a resonator made of only white oak wood and said resonator includes one or more ornamental flanges.

11. A method for making a stringed musical instrument comprising the steps of: a) providing a banjo drum component constructed using only the material white oak wood; b) providing a banjo neck component; and c) attaching said banjo neck component to said banjo drum component; wherein said banjo drum component is constructed using only the material white oak wood, thereby eliminating the requirement of a conventional metal tone ring and resulting in the reduction of the overall weight of the stringed musical instrument.

12. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 11, further wherein said banjo drum component constructed using only the material white oak wood, is constructed of a solid piece of white oak wood.

13. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 11, further wherein said banjo drum component constructed using only the material white oak wood, is constructed of laminated white oak wood sections.

14. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 13, further wherein said laminated white oak wood sections are laminated using a butt join lamination.

15. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 13, further wherein said laminated white oak wood sections are laminated using a scarf join lamination.

16. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 11, wherein said banjo drum component has a front side and a back side and further wherein said banjo drum component has an open back side.

17. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 11, wherein said banjo drum component further includes a banjo bottom pan component wherein said banjo bottom pan component is constructed using only the material white oak wood.

18. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 17, wherein said banjo bottom pan component further includes one or more polymer insets.

19. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 17, wherein said banjo drum component having a banjo bottom pan component further includes a resonator assembly made of only white oak wood.

20. The method for making a stringed musical instrument according to claim 17, wherein said banjo drum component having a banjo bottom pan component further includes a resonator made of only white oak wood and said resonator includes one or more ornamental flanges.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the White Oak Banjo and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0025] FIG. 1 depicts a front plan view of the resonator style of White Oak Banjo.

[0026] FIG. 2A depicts a cross section of the banjo body and drum portion at one of the J-hook locations.

[0027] FIG. 2B depicts an exploded cross section of the banjo body and drum portion at one of the J-hook locations.

[0028] FIG. 3A depicts a cross section of the banjo body and drum portion at one of the mounting point attachments of the ornamental flange to the resonator section.

[0029] FIG. 3B depicts an exploded cross section of the banjo body and drum portion at the mounting point attachment of the ornamental flange to the resonator section.

[0030] FIG. 4 depicts a rear plan view of the White Oak Banjo.

[0031] FIG. 5A depicts a rear plan view of the White Oak Banjo with the resonator section removed.

[0032] FIG. 5B depicts a detail drawing of a banjo laminated drum wall segment illustrating the butted laminated wall fabrication.

[0033] FIG. 5C depicts a detail drawing of a banjo laminated drum wall segment illustrating the scarfed laminated wall fabrication.

[0034] FIG. 6 depicts an exploded view of the banjo body fabrication.

[0035] For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the White Oak Banjo, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the design and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Referring now to the drawings, wherein similar parts of the White Oak Banjo 10 are identified by like reference numerals, there is seen in FIG. 1 a front plan view of the resonator style of White Oak Banjo 10 illustrating the banjo neck 12 and banjo body 14. The White Oak Banjo 10 can be manufactured in the resonator style or the open back style and still be within the scope of this application.

[0037] The banjo body 14 consists of the laminated drum 16, the resonator 18, and the two ornamental flanges 20A and 20B attached by the means of four threaded mounting shoulder screws 22. The laminated drum 16 can be fabricated from two or more laminations with three being the preferred fabrication process. The four threaded mounting shoulder screws 22 go through four elongated orifices 24 to secure the resonator 18 to the laminated drum 16 of the drum body 14. Around the perimeter of the two ornamental flanges 20A and 20B are a series of decorative orifices 26 that transmit the sound out of the resonator 18.

[0038] FIG. 2A depicts a cross section of the banjo body 14 and laminated drum 16 at one of the J-hook 28 locations. The J-hook 28 is illustrated over the tension ring 30 that secures the drum skin 32 tightly over the laminated drum 16. The J-hook 28 extends down through an orifice 34 of the wall lug 36 and through the ornamental flanges 20A or 20B to be tightened by the means of an extension nut 38. The wall lugs 36 are attached to the laminated drum 16 by the means of the screws 40. The ornamental flanges 20A and 20B seat into top surface of the resonator 18 having laminated vertical member 42 that has polymer corner insets 44 and 46 with the bottom pan 48 attached.

[0039] FIG. 2B depicts an exploded cross section of the banjo body 14 and laminated drum portion 16 at one of the J-hook 28 locations. The J-hook 28 is illustrated over the tension ring 30 that secures the drum skin 32 tightly over the laminated drum portion 16. The top outside edge of the laminated drum 16 extends up to create a rounded pressure ridge 50 of about 0.125 to about 0.187 inches wide. The J-hook 28 extends down through orifice 34 of the wall lug 36 and through the ornamental flanges 20A and 20B to be tightened by the means of an extension nut 38. The wall lugs 36 are attached to the laminated drum 16 by the means of the screws 40. The ornamental flanges 20A and 20B seat into the resonator 18 composed of the laminated rim 42 that have the polymer corner insets 44 and 46 with the bottom pan 48 attached.

[0040] FIG. 3A depicts a cross section of the banjo body 14 and laminated drum portion 16 at one of the mounting point attachments of the ornamental flanges 20A and 20B to the resonator 18. The threaded mounting shoulder screws 22 goes through the elongated orifices 24 to secure the resonator 18 to the laminated drum 16 of the drum body 14 by the means of the threaded insert 52 in the laminated drum portion 16 and the drum attachment lug 54.

[0041] FIG. 3B depicts an exploded cross section of the banjo body 14 and the laminated drum 16 at the mounting point attachments of the ornamental flanges 20A and 20B to the resonator 18.

[0042] FIG. 4 depicts a rear plan view of the White Oak Banjo 10 illustrating the banjo neck 12, the lower corner polymer inset 46 and the bottom pan 48 of the resonator 18.

[0043] FIG. 5A depicts a rear plan view of the White Oak Banjo 10 with the resonator 18 removed, depicting the laminated drum 16 with the ornamental flanges 20A and 20B. The coordinator rod 56 extends across the center of the laminated drum 16 to secure the banjo neck 12 and to increase the strength of the laminated drum 16 from the tension exerted by the instruments strings.

[0044] FIG. 5B depicts a detail drawing of a laminated drum 16 wall segment illustrating the laminated butted joint 58 wall fabrication.

[0045] FIG. 5C depicts a detail drawing of a banjo laminated drum 16 wall segment illustrating the laminated scarfed joint 60 laminated wall fabrication with an increased gluing surface.

[0046] FIG. 6 depicts an exploded view of the banjo body 14 fabrication with the tension ring 30 above the drum skin 32. The laminated drum 16 illustrates the location of the coordinator rod 56 to the banjo neck 12 and the J-hook 28 and wall lug 36 locations. Two separate ornamental flanges 20A and 20B are shown above the resonator 18 section.

[0047] The White Oak Banjo 10 shown in the drawings and described in detail herein disclose arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present application. It is to be understood, however, that elements of different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described may be employed for providing a White Oak Banjo 10 in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, and such changes, alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this design as broadly defined in the appended claims.

[0048] Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.