Fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments

Abstract

Disclosed is a fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments which demonstrates a novel solution to the problem of fingerboard wear caused by the players fingers making contact with the fingerboard. This physical contact in addition to the natural acidity of the players fingers can wear down the fingerboard creating indentations as well as contaminating the fingerboard with tarnish and grime. In the case of a fretless instrument, the strings are pushed directly into the fingerboard causing wear to occur at a much faster rate. My present invention sets out to solve this problem by creating a fingerboard protector safeguarding it from undesirable wear during normal playing of the instrument. The ease of installation and removal will appeal to musicians who want to protect their instrument as well as give it a new and unique look.

Claims

1. A fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments, comprising: a fingerboard protective decal, the decal further comprising a single trapezoid shape, said decal would cover only a string-facing side of a instrument fingerboard, such that the protector does not interfere with playing of the instrument, provides protection for the fingerboard during traditional playing of the instrument by shielding the fingerboard from natural acidic properties of a musicians fingers and hands, the protector further shielding against wear to the fingerboard created by friction due to movement and force of fingertips during traditional playing of the instrument.

2. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said decals sized to cover the fingerboard between frets on a fretted stringed instrument.

3. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 1, wherein the decals of the protector are affixed to a fingerboard using a microspheric pressure sensitive adherent that allow the decals to be removed easily over course of life of the decal.

4. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 1, wherein the microspheric pressure sensitive adherent comprised of microspheric bonding particles sized to limit physical contact between the decals and a fingerboard.

5. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 1, wherein the decals are comprised of a polypropylene material.

6. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 1, wherein the decals further comprise a backing layer protecting the microspheric pressure sensitive adherent prior to use until installation has commenced.

7. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 1, further comprising an applied luminescent ornamental ink wherein the protector exhibits luminescence ability to absorb energy and emit as visible light.

8. The fingerboard protector for stringed musical instruments according to claim 5, wherein the polypropylene material is fibrous.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 provides a frontal view of this embodiment. The words “IMAGE-PRINTED-HERE” demonstrates an optional ornamental design incorporated onto the protector and is for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the optional ornamental designs of this embodiment.

(2) FIG. 2 provides a side view of the of this embodiment.

(3) FIG. 3 provides an isometric view of this embodiment indicating one of the fingerboard protector decals being removed from its backing paper.

(4) FIG. 4 provides an enlarged isometric view of FIG. 3.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates a frontal view of a fretted electric guitar with some of the fingerboard protector decals installed. The instruments strings have been omitted to further enhance the clarity of the drawings.

(6) FIG. 6 illustrates an isometric view of the fingerboard protector decals completely installed onto the fingerboard of the instrument. The instruments strings have been omitted to further enhance the clarity of the drawings.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates an enlarged isometric view of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1. Definitions

(8) “Fingerboard” as used herein shall refer to both a fretted fingerboard (which incorporates frets) or a fretless fingerboard (which does not incorporate any frets).

(9) “Fingerboard protector” as used herein shall refer to this embodiment.

(10) “Material” as used herein shall refer to a material comprising of distinct layers.

(11) The first or top layer incorporates a low-tack adhesive on its underside and will act as a protective barrier. The second or bottom layer is a backing layer that protects the adhesive of the top layer until installation of the decals is initiated.

(12) “Ornamental” as used herein shall refer to a non-essential graphic or image that is incorporated onto this embodiment. It is strictly for visual appeal to the said invention and does not affect the objective of this embodiment in any way.

(13) “Decals” as used herein shall refer to the individual pieces or in the case of a fretless fingerboard, a single piece of this embodiment that is to be installed onto the fingerboard of the instrument.

(14) “Contour” as used herein shall refer to the cut lines that are created by a contour cutter.

(15) “Backing” as used herein shall refer to the bottom layer of the material that is used for protecting the adhesive layer of this embodiment before it is installed onto the fingerboard of the instrument.

2. Best Mode of the Invention

(16) FIG. 6 illustrates an isometric view of the best mode contemplated by the inventor of the fingerboard protector for musical instruments according to the concepts of this embodiment

3. How to Make the Invention

(17) This embodiment comprises of a set of fingerboard protector “decals” 12 as shown on FIG. 1, that are designed to cover the greater part of a stringed musical instruments “fingerboard” 18 as shown on FIG. 5. These “decals” 12 would peel away from the protective “backing” layer 14 as shown on FIG. 4, and adhere to the surface of the “fingerboard” 18 as shown on FIG. 5, using a low-tack, pressure sensitive adhesive that is repositionable and removable. This would create a protective barrier between the players fingers and the fingerboard, safeguarding it from the natural acidity and friction of the players fingers that can cause damage and wear to the fingerboard during normal playing of the instrument. As shown on FIG. 1, optional “ornamental” graphic designs 19 can be incorporated onto the “fingerboard protector” “decals” 12, as shown on FIG. 1, so as to display an image across the length and width of the fingerboard giving the instrument a new and unique look. This embodiment is easy to install and easy to remove without causing any damage to the fingerboard and is also designed to not interfere with the musicians ability to play the instrument and will not affect the sound quality of the instrument.

(18) Anyone who is skilled in the musical arts and the art of computer graphics and vinyl sign production would be able to reproduce this invention based on this detailed specification.

(19) Stringed instruments such as such as guitars, bass guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, banjos, violins, fiddles and cellos all have different shapes and sizes of fingerboards. Those skilled in the musical arts will understand that the various dimensions of the fingerboards can be measured for a custom fitted fingerboard protector. For the purpose of this specification, a standard six string electric guitar that incorporates a fretted fingerboard 20, as shown on FIG. 5, will be described.

(20) The optional “ornamental” design 19, as shown on FIG. 1, would vary in proportion and size to accommodate the specific size of the “fingerboard” 18, as shown on FIG. 5, depending on the musical instrument. It could be created on a computer using photographic or image design software such as Adobe Photoshop® or taking a hand drawn image and scanning it into digital form using a high resolution scanner. This “ornamental” design 19 could comprise of but not be limited to, photographic images, panoramic photos, works of art, proper names and verbiage, exotic wood grains, decorative marker dots, authorized licensed images and advertising.

(21) After the “ornamental” design 19 has been created, it would then be transferred onto the protective “material” 10 using any of the industries standard printing techniques, including but not limited to, offset printing, digital printing, screen printing, flexography, gravure printing and ink jet printing. As shown on FIG. 4, the said “material” 10 would comprise of at least two layers, the first or top layer of the “material” 10 will have a low-tack adhesive on the underside of the top layer, the second or bottom layer is the “backing” layer 14, as shown on FIG. 4, that protects the low-tack adhesive on the underside of the top layer until it is ready to be peeled away 13, as shown on FIG. 4, from the “backing” layer 14 as shown on FIG. 4, and installed onto the “fingerboard” 18 of the musical instrument. This “material” 10 should include certain properties such as, non-stretch, water resistant, not prone to flaking or smearing. It should incorporate a low-tack pressure sensitive adhesive on the underside of the top layer that is both repositionable and removable, it would be thin enough as to not interfere with the musicians ability to play the instrument or to affect the sound quality of the instrument, it could easily be removed from the “fingerboard” 18 of the instrument without causing any damage to the fingerboard and have the durability to act as a protective barrier. An example of such “material” 10 would be a polypropylene material in a matte or gloss finish that is commonly used in the signage industry.

(22) If printing the optional “ornamental” design 19 onto a matt “material” 10, a further option would be to cover the “material” 10 with a clear polypropylene or like, which would give this embodiment a clear gloss look, as well as provide additional protection to the printed image.

(23) The first or top layer of the “material” 10 would then be cut into a shape that would fit a particular instruments “fingerboard” 18, in this example, a standard six string electric guitar 20, as shown on FIG. 5. This type of cutting is accomplished using a contour cutter that is standard to the vinyl signage industry. The “fingerboard” measurements would be entered into the contour cutters software program to make the desired cuts 11, as shown on FIG. 1. The cutter would only cut through the top layer of the “material” 10 without cutting all of the way through the bottom protective “backing” layer 14 by means of adjusting the cutting depth and cutting pressure of the contour cutter, this is a standard technique in the signage industry. This technique would produce correctly sized “decals” 12 for a particular instruments “fingerboard” 18 by means of the cut lines 11. The “decals” 12 will remain together as a group as shown on FIG. 1, until the individual pieces are ready to be peeled away from the “backing” layer 14 and installed onto the “fingerboard” 18 of the stringed musical instrument.

(24) FIG. 7 demonstrates the cut lines 11, that run parallel to the “fingerboard” are designed so that a small gap is created from the outer edge of the fingerboard to the edge of the protective “decals” 12, this gap is created so the decals will not interfere with the movement of the players hands and fingers as they travel up and down the length of the neck. The cut lines 11, as shown on FIG. 7, that run perpendicular to the fingerboard, are cut to allow the “decals” 12, as shown on FIG. 7, to fit precisely between the frets 17, as shown on FIG. 7, leaving little or no gap between the edge of the decals and the edge of the frets. This establishes coverage to the majority of the face of the fingerboard thereby protecting the fingerboard from the natural acidity and friction of the players fingers that can cause damage and wear to the fingerboard during normal playing of the instrument.

4. How to Use the Invention

(25) The user would install the appropriately sized fingerboard protector by gaining access to the “fingerboard” 18 by simply loosening the tension on the strings and pulling them aside or during a string change when the strings are completely removed from the instrument. In the example of the electric guitar 20, the user would then peel away a single “decal” from the protective “backing” layer 14 as shown on FIG. 4 and position it onto the applicable location between the frets 17 of the “fingerboard” as shown on FIG. 7. The “decals” 12 could be re-lifted and repositioned by the user to allow for the correct positioning onto the “fingerboard”. This process would continue until the “fingerboard” is covered by means of this embodiment as shown in FIG. 6. The “fingerboard” is now protected and the user would then retune the instrument and play it as normal.

(26) Any musician who can change their strings will find this embodiment is easy to install and easy to remove without causing any damage to the fingerboard. A great advantage to the use of this embodiment is that it will protect the fingerboard while not interfering with the musicians ability to play the instrument. Another great advantage to the present invention is that it will not affect the sound quality of the instrument in any way. Musicians around the world will find this embodiment to be a very affordable means for greatly extending the life and integrity of their instruments fingerboard, helping to prevent costly replacement or repairs while also providing a unique and personalized look to the instrument.

(27) The above description is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of this embodiment. Thus, this embodiment is not intended to be limited to the description as shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. In this regard, certain embodiments within the invention may not show every benefit of the invention, considered broadly.