Vibrato construction for lute-type musical instruments

Claim 1

IN A LUTE-TYPE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF TENSIONED STRINGS THEREON, AN IMPROVED VIBRATO CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING: A STRING PLATE IN PIVOTAL ASSOCIATION WITH SAID INSTRUMENT ABOUT A PIVOT AXIS, SAID STRING PLATE BEING CONNECTED TO SAID PLURALITY OF TENSIONED STRINGS WHEREBY SAID STRING PLATE IS PIVOTABLE IN A FIRST DIRECTION ABOUT SAID AXIS, AS A FUNCTION OF THE FORCE APPLIED THERETO BY SAID TENSIONED STRINGS; RESILIENT MEANS IN ASSOCIATION WITH SAID STRING PLATE FOR COUNTERACTING THE FORCE APPLIED THERETO BY SAID PLURALITY OF STRINGS TO POSITION SAID PLATE IN A NEUTRAL POSITION ABOUT SAID PIVOT AXIS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: A CONTROL ARM IN ASSOCIATION WITH SAID STRING PLATE FOR SELECTIVELY VARYING THE TENSION ON SAID STRING BY VARYING THE POSITION OF SAID STRING PLATE ABOUT SAID PIVOT AXIS FROM SAID NEUTRAL POSITION, SAID CONTROL ARM BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT A ROTATION AXIS FROM A PLAYING POSITION TO A LOCKING POSITION; AND MEANS INTEGRALLY COUPLED TO SAID CONTROL ARM FOR COUNTERACTING THE FORCE APPLIED BY SAID STRING PLATE WHEN SAID CONTROL ARM IS IN SAID LOCKING POSITION TO LOCK SAID STRING PLATE IN SAID NEUTRAL POSITION.