Patents by Inventor Hugh M. Norton

Hugh M. Norton has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5994633
    Abstract: A stringed musical instrument, such as a guitar, mandolin, or a violin, has an elongated frame to which modular components such as necks, electronic pick-ups, electronic control boxes, bridges, tail pieces, decorative components, or body parts can be adjustably placed and clamped. This not only allows the position of many such components to be customized, but also allows different components to be easily substituted for each others; allows the instrument to be quickly taken apart for more compact storage or shipment; and allows the instrument to be changed so as to produce a different sound or look. Preferably some the components, including the body parts, are rotatably mounted relative to the frame, so their angle relative to the plane of the fingerboard can be adjusted to suit a user's tastes or physical disabilities, such as carpel-tunnel stress syndrome.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1999
    Inventor: Hugh M. Norton