US87461A - Samuel boden - Google Patents

Description

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SAMUEL BODEN, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

Letters Patent No. 87,461, dated .March 2, 1869.

VIOLIN-BRIDGE.

Tho B chedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making par: of the same.

make and .use the same, reference being had to the ac-v companying drawings, .making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is apeispective view of a bridge designed Afor a viol, and constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view ot' a bridge designed for a violin, which is constructed upon the same principle as that shown in iig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in bridges for stringed instruments, such as bass-viols, violins, 85e.; and

lt consists in constructing such bridge with a series of bearing-points, or feet, for supporting the samesuch bearing-points being so arranged as to boar upon and be supported by a larger area of the surface of the top board of the instrument than heretofore, the object ot' this arrangement being to enable me to dispense with the support commonly used, which is placed between the walls of the instrument, which support has been found to prevent, to a great extent, the vibrations of' such walls or boards, thus interfering, to a great e.\- tent, with the volume of the sound given otl by such instrument.

A represents the sounding board," or top wall of the instrument.

is a bridge for supporting the strings of the instrument, which is constructed with a series of feet as bearing-points, so arranged as to cover a large area of the sounding-board, and, at the same time, bring the strain upon suoli board nearer to its edges, or to the walls which separate it from the lower board, or wall of the instrument, thus decreasing, to a great extent, the liability of fracturing the sounding-board, and, what is of greater importance, enabling me to dispense with the partition or support commonly used between the two walls of the instrument, for the purpose of preventing the upper one from being crushed in by the force applied by the tightening of the strings.

It will'be apparent, that as a consequence of the construction of my bridge, and thev fact that such construe-` tion enables me to dispense with the support between enabled to produce, with the same instrument, a much greater volume of sound than has heretofore been done, owing to the fact that the walls of the instrument are allowed to vibrate to thel full extent of the agitation thereof, caused by drawing the bow across the strings; whereas, in the present form, the. two walls are joined together by means of the support above referred to, which, to a great extent, prevents such vibrations, and which, to that extent, lessens the volume ot' sound produced.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- A bridge for stringe-d musical instruments, constructed substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth. A

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence. of two subscribing witnesses..

SAMUEL BODEN. Witnesses:

JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, J oHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, Jr.

the two walls of the instrument, as above stated, I am

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