Electromagnetic pickup for a plural-string musical instrument incorporating a coil around a multi-laminate ferromagnetic core
First Claim
1. An electromagnetic pickup for a musical instrument, such as a guitar, having a plurality of ferromagnetic strings disposed in co-planar spaced relation to each other over a predetermined span S, the pickup comprising:
- an elongated ferromagnetic core, having a length L larger than S and a height smaller than S, the core including an assembly of a plurality of at least four thin sheets of ferromagnetic material aligned with each other;
an electrical pickup coil disposed in encompassing relation to the core;
main permanent magnet means including a main permanent magnet disposed in engagement with one elongated edge of the core and magnetized in a direction parallel to the height of the core, for maintaining a given constant polarity in the core;
and housing means, encompassing the core, the coil, and the permanent magnet means, for mounting the pickup in the musical instrument with the core and coil spanning the ferromagnetic strings in spaced relation thereto and with the strings passing through a constant magnetic field afforded by the main permanent magnet and the core so that movement of any string generates an electrical signal in the coil.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electromagnetic pickup for a musical instrument, such as a guitar, strung with ferromagnetic strings, comprises an elongated laminated ferromagnetic (steel) core long enough to span all of the strings; there are at least four and usually six thin steel laminations in the core. An electrical pickup coil is wound in a coil form, usually plastic, that encompasses the core, and a vertically magnetized main permanent magnet engages the bottom edge of the core. The magnet is preferably formed of a resin impregnated with magnetic particles, is magnetized transversely, and maintains the core at a given polarity. A housing encloses the core, the coil, and the main magnet and provides for mounting the pickup in spaced relation to the strings so that the magnetic field encompasses the strings and string movement generates electrical signals to the coil. Preferably, there are additional permanent magnets to shield the sides of the core. Dual-coil humbucker embodiments of the pickup are described.
48 Citations
12 Claims
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1. An electromagnetic pickup for a musical instrument, such as a guitar, having a plurality of ferromagnetic strings disposed in co-planar spaced relation to each other over a predetermined span S, the pickup comprising:
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an elongated ferromagnetic core, having a length L larger than S and a height smaller than S, the core including an assembly of a plurality of at least four thin sheets of ferromagnetic material aligned with each other; an electrical pickup coil disposed in encompassing relation to the core; main permanent magnet means including a main permanent magnet disposed in engagement with one elongated edge of the core and magnetized in a direction parallel to the height of the core, for maintaining a given constant polarity in the core; and housing means, encompassing the core, the coil, and the permanent magnet means, for mounting the pickup in the musical instrument with the core and coil spanning the ferromagnetic strings in spaced relation thereto and with the strings passing through a constant magnetic field afforded by the main permanent magnet and the core so that movement of any string generates an electrical signal in the coil. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A dual coil electromagnetic pickup for a musical instrument, such as a guitar, having a plurality of ferromagnetic strings disposed in co-planar spaced relation to each other over a predetermined span S, the pickup comprising:
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first and second elongated ferromagnetic cores, each core having a length L larger than S and a height smaller than S, each core including an assembly of a plurality of at least four thin sheets of ferromagnetic material aligned with each other; first and second electrical pickup coils, each disposed in encompassing relation to one of the cores; first and second permanent magnet means, each including a main permanent magnet disposed in engagement with one elongated edge of one of the cores and magnetized in a direction parallel to the height of its associated core, for maintaining a given constant polarity in the associated core; and housing means, encompassing cores, coils, and the permanent magnet means, for mounting the pickup in the musical instrument with each core and coil spanning the ferromagnetic strings in spaced relation thereto and with the strings passing through constant magnetic fields afforded by each of the main permanent magnets and the cores so that movement of any string generates an electrical signal in both of the coils. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification