The present invention relates generally to packaging for elongated, flexible strings for musical instruments, such as guitars, and more particularly to a package for housing and dispensing one or more such strings.
A guitar generally has six strings which are attached to the guitar body in tension such that when the strings are set in motion, as by picking or strumming, musical sound is produced. The strings are constructed of different metals and vary in thickness to produce different musical notes. The six strings E, A, D, G, B and E represent the standard tuning of the guitar, and all manufacturers build guitars in accordance with this standard.
Most guitar strings are packaged and sold in sets of six strings. In accordance with conventional packaging methods, each string is coiled by hand and inserted into a paper sleeve or envelope. The six sleeves or envelopes are then inserted into either a plastic pouch or a cardboard box. Thus, changing a string on a guitar involves the reverse two-step process. First, the consumer must open the pouch or box and remove the envelope or sleeve containing the desired string. Then, the string must be removed from the sleeve, uncoiled and installed on the guitar.
Each guitar string comprises an elongated, flexible body having a "ball end" and a plain end. The ball end includes a round metal connector attached at the end of the string for anchoring the string to the bridge of the guitar. The plain end of the string is threaded through a tuning machine, which is adjustable to increase or decrease the tension on the string. By adjusting each of the tuning machines, the strings may be tuned to the standard E, A, D, G, B, E tuning.
Being constructed of metal, guitar strings have a tendency to recoil to an elongated, relaxed position. Thus, when coiled and inserted in an envelope or sleeve, the string has a tendency to exert a force against the outer periphery of the container.
Accordingly, the art to which the present invention relates includes packaging for the strings of musical instruments, such as guitars or banjos, which are constructed of metal and, therefore, have a tendency to extend to an elongated position. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is desirable to have a package for housing and dispensing one or more such strings. To this end, there have been several attempts to devise containers for housing the strings in a coiled position.
One such attempt was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 197,585, issued to Ashman, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The Ashman disclosure is directed to a pocket box for violin strings comprising a circular box formed of two semicircular sections, which may or may not be hinged. A pair of spaced apart flanges project upwardly from the interior of the box and serve to guide the cover and to protect the strings, which are positioned therebetween. The coiled strings are inserted adjacent one another inside the box as shown in FIG. 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 488,005, issued to Griffith, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to an impervious case for containing strings for musical instruments comprising a plurality of adjacent pockets configured to receive and contain a coiled string.
U.S. Pat. No. 607,130, issued to Rapp, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a string case comprising a pliable folding case having a plurality of individual pockets, each of which is configured to receive a coiled string.
U.S. Pat. No. 718,114, issued to Finney, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a receptacle for strings for musical instruments comprising a cylindrical container having a set of annular complementary removable receptacles each of which is adapted to contain a coil of string. Each receptacle forms an independent hollow ring having a complete annular chamber adapted to receive one or more coils of string. When the receptacles are nested together, the outer wall of one receptacle forms an inner wall for the adjacent receptacle.
One disadvantage of the Finney device is that a receptacle must be removed from the case in order to access the string contained therein. Furthermore, in order to access a single receptacle, an entire set of nested receptacles must first be removed from the case. Also, the string contained in the annular chamber may only be accessed from the inner open side of the receptacle. The device does not include any means for dispensing the string.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,416, issued to Lo Duca, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to an instrument string package comprising a plurality of panels, one of which includes a plurality of arcuate slits formed therein for receiving a coiled string.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,789 issued to Milburn, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a dispensing package for a fiber-optic device comprising two mating members and a separator disposed therebetween. The two mating members have centrally located openings and are joined at their mating edges and define a cavity therebetween. The separator is secured between the mating members to divide the cavity into first and second cable receiving chambers for accommodating a circularly coiled cable portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,983 issued to Malone et al., which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a package for an optical fiber jumper comprising a sheet having allochiral halves each with cut-outs to form ears upon which to spirally wind a length of optical fiber. The halves are folded together.
The list that follows includes patents directed to packaging for sutures, which do not include the recoil characteristics of metal strings.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 3,301,393 Regan, Jr., et al. 3,490,192 Regan, Jr. 3,759,376 Lisowski 3,857,484 Thyen 3,972,418 Schuler et al. 4,034,850 Mandel et al. 4,126,221 Cerwin 4,391,365 Batchelor 4,961,498 Kalinski et al. 5,129,511 Brown et al. 5,392,903 Sinn 5,560,477 Scanlon 5,582,288 Zatarga ______________________________________
While these patents generally disclose the concept of housing one or more strings, none discloses a dispenser configured to enable the "ball end" of each string to protrude from an opening formed in the housing containing the string so that the string may be easily extracted.
What is needed, then, is a package for housing and dispensing strings for musical instruments, such as guitars and banjos, wherein an end of each of the strings protrudes from the package enabling the user to extract the string by merely grasping the protruding end to uncoil the string and remove it from the package. This device is presently lacking in the prior art.