FIELD OF INVENTION

The present development is a Special Euphonium Extension Rest Device. This invention relates to a Special Euphonium Extension Rest Device for supporting a musical instrument. The device or system relates to a stand or rack for holding and supporting musical instruments. This device relates to a support improvement in horn stands and more particularly to a portable stand for a baritone horn, a euphonium, a small tuba, or a similar instrument which would be difficult for a musician to handle for lengthy sessions. The present invention relates to the field of musical instrument stands, and to musical instrument stands having retracting rest or support that cradle or extends from the musical instrument.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

None.

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

None.

BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION and PRIOR ART

As far as known, there are no Special Euphonium Extension Rest devices or the like. It is believed that this product is unique in its design and technologies.

BACKGROUND

This background as to Special Euphonium Extension Rest Devices should be useful. Supports for musical instruments are known in the art. However, some of the prior devices mount the musical instruments to the musician. In such devices, such as neck straps, the instruments still may bear on the body of the musician. This may cause an unnatural force to be placed on the musician's body, thus possibly affecting breath control. In certain other prior support devices, specifically with respect to bassoons, seat straps are utilized to mount the instrument to the seat. However, the bassoon extends below the player's chair, making use of a strap at the bottom possible.

It is well known by musicians of the discomfort of the strap around the neck to support the instrument playing on the job or sustained during private practice. Numerous inventions have attempted to provide a means to support the heavy weight of the music instrument, especially horns. However, these inventions limited either the portability of the instrument in that it is not easily detached from the stand or in that the instrument is not supported while playing. Some typical supports are not free to be detached easily from the stand. Others provide for several complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.

Other prior devices provide support stands mounted to a chair in which the musician sits. However, such stands are inherently part of the seat and not portable. This restricts the musician to the utilization of a seat when playing the instrument, thus causing some general inconvenience. Some prior support devices include adjustable instrument supports. However, such devices bear against the floor and not on a seat upon which the musician is sitting. The extended length of such support stands provides added structural insecurity as well as not permitting accurate positioning of the instrument with respect to the musician's body. Furthermore, such instruments suitable for use with floor-supported stands are those which come much closer to the floor through their normal construction, as base clarinets, cellos etc.

A concert style tuba is designed to be played with the lower end of the tuba resting on the musician's thighs, while the upper end is balanced upright by the musician's arms and hands. Many musicians can successfully balance the instrument in the proper manner upon their lap, but this can be tiring task since it is generally a constant struggle. The instrument has the tendency to slide down the musician's thigh as the instrument is being played and, therefore, it may need nearly continuous readjustment. The instrument can also be heavy and, therefore, create uncomfortable pressure on the musician's thighs.

In an effort to make playing the tuba more comfortable, many musicians will slide back in their chairs and rest the tuba on the front corner of their seat between their legs. This is especially true when the musician spends a long time playing the instrument. While this makeshift solution does relieve the pressure on the musician's lap, it results in an awkward sitting position for the musician. A chair-borne device is needed which can act as a musical instrument support for a tuba or other musical instrument. The musical instrument support should be portable and adjustable. The musical instrument support should provide the musician with the sense that the instrument is being balanced on a musician's lap, yet at the same time allow the musician to be more comfortable and to manage the instrument more easily. The musical instrument support should not compromise the acoustic characteristics of the instrument, nor should it scratch the instrument. The musical instrument support should accommodate use by a range of musicians of varying body size, as well as accommodate a variety of different musical instruments.

Problem Solved

The improvements and problems solved as to Euphonium Extension Rest Devices and other musical instrument support mechanisms are as follows: The Euphonium Extension Rest Device is a fast, secure, and precise way to quickly extend the device from the euphonium and assist the musician in supporting the instrument. By doing so, it reduces fatigue, permits the musician to focus on playing the musical piece rather than supporting the weight of the instrument. All the listed advantages and benefits come to being with the assist of the Euphonium Extension Rest Device.

PRIOR ART

As far as known, there are no Euphonium Extension Rest Devices or the like. It is believed that this product is unique in its design and technologies. A novelty search revealed:A. U.S. Pat. No. 1,570,168 in 1926 awarded to AUGUST MORTENSEN, for a MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT SUPPORT. It supports or serves as a holding device for musical instruments of various kinds and classes and particularly to large brass instruments, as for example Sousaphones.B. U.S. Pat. No. 1,612,148 in 1926 awarded to Mark Oettinger for a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT RACK. It relates to a stand or rack for holding musical instruments either for exhibition in a sales room, or else while the instrument, for instance a banjo, is not being used by an orchestra member whose duties involve the handling of several instruments.C. U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,357 was issued to Stewart in 1974 for a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SUPPORT. It is a device for supporting a musical instrument on a chair upon which a musician is sitting. The instrument supporting device includes an extended rod having channels formed therein and passing around a peripheral boundary of the rod. A first instrument grasping mechanism is mounted to the rod member and an appendage of the musical instrument. A second instrument grasping mechanism is mounted to the instrument and the rod member and threadedly engages a thumbscrew. The thumbscrew passes through a clamp of the second grasping mechanism and is insertable within a channel formed on the rod for fixedly positioning the support device with respect to the instrument.D. U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,527 issued to Streit in 1978 was for a Musical instrument support stand with counter-balanced, vertically movable horn support rack. It is a combination support stand and support rack for a heavy and cumbersome musical instrument, such as a Sousaphone or a tuba. The rack is adjustable arcuately, vertically and laterally to hold the instrument in playing position and is especially desirable for use by children who are learning to play such instruments, but who are physically unable to handle them. Provision is made to maintain both the stand and the rack in adjusted position so it may be brought back to the same position without further adjustment, when the player leaves the instrument and then returns to resume playing. A counterbalanced parallelogram mechanism provides means by which the instrument is easily raised with a minimum of effort while the player is seated, so that the rack may be moved out of the way when the player wishes to leave the seated, playing position, and is easily returned so the rack and the instrument will be in the same adjusted position, when the player returns to the seated, playing position.E. U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,050 issued to Werner in 1986 for a No strap saxophone stand. It is a saxophone stand for releasably supporting a musical instrument, having a base, an elongated support member mounted and balanced on the base, further having a bell rest for receiving the bell of the saxophone and a lower brace for supporting the lower portion of the saxophone, forces created by the bell rest and lower brace acting against the saxophone hold the saxophone in a balanced position in order that the instrument can be played without using a supporting strap around the player's neck. ANDF. U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,687 issued to Johnson in 1998 is a Musical instrument support. It describes a chair-borne musical instrument support that is both adjustable and portable. The musical instrument support includes a seat portion having an adjustably attached support arm with an instrument rest attached to the top thereof. The musician places the seat portion of the device on the seat of a chair, and then sits on the seat portion. The support arm and instrument rest extend upward near the front edge of the chair and between the legs of the musician. The weight of the musician sitting on the chair holds the device in place. Alternatively, the musical instrument support may be held in place on a chair by adjustable straps. The base of the tuba is then placed upon the instrument rest which is covered with a non-abrasive, non-skid surface. The support arm and instrument rest may be adjusted vertically up or down to a comfortable height. The instrument then rests in the same position as if it were being held on the musician's lap, but now it does not have to be borne by the musician's legs. The musical instrument support is not permanently attached to the chair; therefore, the support may be easily removed and carried with the musician or stored for later use. Several embodiments of the present invention are contemplated which are designed to be used by different size musicians and with different types of instruments.

As can be observed, none of the prior art has anticipated or caused one skilled in the art of musical rests or supports for a euphonium or baritone horn to see this invention by McFarland as obvious to a person skilled in the ordinary art of the industry. The support device for a Euphonium provides an answer to the need musicians face when playing the euphonium for extended sessions such as a concert or extended practice. The grasping and support of the euphonium distracts the musician and prevents optimum performance with the euphonium instrument or similar horns. This invention helps to prevent fatigue and possibly other injuries as well as providing a better support for the euphonium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a Special Euphonium Extension device for various applications. The preferred embodiment of a Special Euphonium Extension is comprised of: (a) an extendable wrap made of durable and lightweight material comprising a left-hand and right-hand curved side rail and a bottom half of a hemisphere; (b) a protection cushion contiguous to the left-hand and right-hand curved side rails; (c) a means to secure the protection cushion to each of the left-hand and right-hand curved side rails; and (d) a pair of quick release band clamps encircling a set of euphonium side tubing to the left-hand and right-hand curved side rails of the extension rest device wherein the pair of quick release clamps releasably secure the extension rest device to the side tubing of the euphonium and permit the extension rest device to slidably extend to support and slidably retract to store the device along the side tubing of the euphonium. The newly invented Special Euphonium Extension device for various applications may be manufactured at low volumes by very simple means and in high volume production by more complex and controlled systems.

Objects and Advantages

There are several objects and advantages of the Special Euphonium Extension Rest device. There are currently no other known support or rest devices that are effective at providing the objects of this invention. The various advantages and benefits are shown in Table A:

ItemAdvantages1Enables relaxation during use and play of theinstrument2Prolongs endurance3Facilitates better posture and therefore breathing4One-time installation5No need to remove it every time6Fits in the case7Convenient8Light9Fast/quick to use10Easy to use11Compact12No impact to output sound/tone13Easily Compatible with baritone and other brasshorns14Can be made from several materials

Finally, other advantages and additional features of the present Special Euphonium Extension Rest devices will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the full description of the device. For one skilled in the art of slides, extensions, instrument supports and other means for assisting the handling of musical devices, it is readily understood that the features shown in the examples with this product are readily adapted to other types of musical instrument systems and devices.

