What to patent

[Delwin D Fandrich]

I couldn't patent them even if I wanted to.  First of all, they weren't my
idea.  I have no idea who dreamed them up.  Second, there is once again the
problem of prior art.  They were around for some time before I came along.

As may be, the real problem was that they were not always effective.  That
is, I nearly always got a change of some kind and sometimes that change was
quite dramatic, but, overall, the results were inconclusive.  I didn't know
enough about soundboards at the time to be able to tell you now why they
worked sometimes and not others.  I expect it had something to do with how
the original board had been designed and built.  But I don't know just what
those differences may have been or why the springs would positively affect
one and not another.  I also don't have any long term records on any of
these pianos.  I know that sometimes they worked well and on those pianos we
left them in.  Presumably they are still there.  Or perhaps the pianos have
been junked by now.

As to making up a kit; they are too easy to coble together with a short
visit to your local hardware store.  Once you've made one, the rest are a
piece of cake.

Anyway, if these things had always given me the sound I wanted we would be
putting them in every piano that goes through our shop instead of new
soundboards.

-- ddf

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----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Moody <remoody@easnet.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, December 03, 1999 9:55 PM
Subject: What to patent


> If I were Del, I would patent his "soundboard springs".   On the other
> hand I don't think it could be  manufactured unless a maker was to intall
> it as original equipment.  Maybe though you could sell it as a "kit".
> The idea of springs supporting a soundboard sounds enticing, I do not
> think ( imagine) the springs would work as a damper, or not as much as a
> wine bottle cork.  That used to be a common (meant both ways) repair for
> "flat sb  and to get rid of buzzes long enough for the check to clear. If
> Del says he got an improvement using valve springs, that is enough for me
> to give it a try. I have an immediate use for them if they will work for a
> bass bridge with low bearing. Who knows,  perhaps the springs will act
> like the "sound post" (is that the right word?) in violins. ---ric