Background Art Generally, a fixing structure for a digital metronome includes a supporting frame, which is rotatably inserted into side holes formed at both sidewalls of a body.

A conventional fixing structure of a digital metronome 2'is shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the digital metronome 2'includes a body 10'having side holes 12'formed at both sidewalls thereof. A receiving section 16'is formed at a lower peripheral portion of a backside of the body 10'.

The fixing structure has a supporting frame 20'accommodated in the receiving section 16'. The supporting frame 20'includes a pair of legs 22'and a horizontal connection member (not shown) integrally formed with lower ends of the legs 22'in order to connect the legs 22'to each other. Protrusions 18'are formed at predetermined portions of the backside of the body 10'so as to securely accommodate the supporting frame 20'in the receiving section 16'.

In addition, bending parts 26'are integrally formed with upper portions of the legs 22'. The bending parts 26'are rotatably inserted into the side holes 12'. Stopping jaws 14'are formed at an upper end of the receiving section 16 adjacent to the side holes 12'of the body 10'. The stopping jaws 14'make contact with the bending parts 26'of the supporting frame 20'when the bending parts 26'rotate, thereby limiting the rotation of the supporting frame 20'.

When fixing the digital metronome 2', the legs 22'are withdrawn out of the receiving section 16'and the horizontal connection member of the supporting frame 20'is placed on the floor or on the ground. At this time, the supporting frame 20'makes a predetermined angle with respect to the body 10'of the digital metronome 2'so as to

stably support the digital metronome 2'.

However, the above-mentioned digital metronome is simply placed on the floor or on the ground, or slantingly placed in a flat plane by fixing the digital metronome using the supporting frame. For this reason, it is difficult for the conductor or the performer to easily recognize a tempo or a tone of music through data displayed in the digital metronome when the conductor or the performer stands up.

In addition, since the conductor or the performer cannot rapidly check the tone or tempo of the music through the digital metronome, the music performance will not be efficiently carried out.

Disclosure of the Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the related art, therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof, where a fixing member is provided to allow the digital metronome to be fixed to a supporting board of a music stand, thereby enabling a conductor or a performer to rapidly and easily check a tempo and a tone of a music through the digital metronome when playing the music.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides digital metronome comprising: a body having side holes formed at both sidewalls thereof and a receiving section formed at a lower peripheral portion of a backside thereof ; a supporting frame for supporting the body while making a predetermined angle with respect to the body, the supporting frame movably accommodated in the receiving section and including a pair of legs, a horizontal connection member integrally formed at lower ends of the legs so as to connect the legs to each other, and a pair of bending parts integrally formed at upper ends of the legs and inserted into the side holes of the body; and a fixing member receiving the legs of the supporting frame and including a base plate, a pair of bending plates integrally formed at both side ends of the base plate, extending upwards therefrom and being bent in opposition to each other while forming guide slots between the base plate and the bending plates, wherein the bending parts of the supporting frame are separated from the side holes of the body by outwardly pulling the legs.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a width of the

guide slot is at least identical to or slightly larger than a diameter of the legs of the supporting frame.

A chamfering portion is formed at fronts of the bending plates so as to allow the legs of the supporting frame to be easily inserted into the guide slots A holder is integrally formed with the base plate of the fixing member so as to allow the fixing member to be detachably coupled to a music stand. The holder is formed with a coupling slot, which is coupled to the music stand.

A width of the holder is at least identical to or slightly larger than thickness of a supporting board of the music stand.

An upper slot communicated with the side hole is formed at an inner sidewall of the body adjacent to a side hole to which the bending part of the supporting frame is inserted and a lower slot communicated with the side hole is formed below the upper slot.

The upper slot slantingly extends upwards from the side hole such that the supporting frame makes an acute angle with respect to the body when the bending part is inserted into the upper slot. The lower slot is positioned in parallel to the side hole or slightly inclined downwards from the side hole such that supporting frame makes a right angle or an obtuse angle with respect to the body, when the bending part is inserted into the lower slot.

The upper and lower stopping plates are formed at ends of the upper and lower slots, respectively, in order to prevent the supporting frame from being excessively introduced into the body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital metronome comprising: a body having side holes formed at both sidewalls thereof and a receiving section formed at a lower peripheral portion of a backside thereof ; a supporting frame for supporting the body while making a predetermined angle with respect to the body, the supporting frame movably accommodated in the receiving section and including a pair of legs, a horizontal connection member integrally formed at lower ends of the legs so as to connect the legs to each other, and a pair of bending parts integrally formed at upper ends of the legs and inserted into the side holes of the body ; and a fixing section integrally formed at a lower end of the body, and including a base having a coupling slot to which a supporting board of a music stand is inserted.

A pair of fixing members is movably installed at lower portions of both inner sidewalls of a body of the digital metronome. Each fixing member includes a moving

frame having a rectangular hole therein and a holder integrally formed at a lower portion of the moving frame. The moving frame is supported and guided by a pair of guide pieces formed at the inner sidewall of the body. A guide plate is formed at the inner sidewall of the body and accommodated in the rectangular hole formed in the moving frame in order to limit a moving distance of the moving plate.

A chamfering part is formed at an end of the holder in order to allow the holder to be easily coupled to or separated from the supporting board of the music stand.

A distance between the holder and the moving frame is identical to or slightly larger than thickness of the supporting board of the music stand.

Brief Description of the Drawings The above object, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side view showing a conventional digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof ; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views showing fixing members for receiving a supporting frame of a digital metronome according to first and second embodiments of the present invention, respectively; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a side view showing a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof coupled to a supporting board of a music stand; FIGS. 6A and 6B are partially-sectional perspective views of a digital metronome having a fixing structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 6A shows a supporting frame inserted into an upper slot, and FIG. 6B shows the supporting frame inserted into a lower slot; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a digital metronome having a fixing structure

according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, where a fixing member is integrally formed with a body of the digital metronome; and FIGS. 8A and 8B are partially-sectional perspective views of a digital metronome having a fixing structure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 8A shows an initial state of a fixing member coupled to a body of the digital metronome, and FIG. 8B shows the fixing member withdrawn from the body of the digital metronome.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the digital metronome 2 includes a body 10 having side holes 12 formed at both sidewalls thereof.

In addition, a receiving section 16 is formed at a lower peripheral portion of a backside of the body 10. Stopping jawsl4 are formed at an upper end of the receiving section 16 adjacent to the side holes 12 of the body 10 and protrusions 18 are formed at predetermined portions of the backside of the body 18 so as to securely accommodate a supporting frame 20 in the receiving section 16.

The supporting frame 20 is rotatably inserted into the side holes 12 of the body 10. The supporting frame 20 includes a pair of legs 22 and a horizontal connection member 24 integrally formed with lower ends of the legs 22 in order to connect the legs 22 to each other. Bending parts 26 inserted into the side holes 12 of the body 10 are integrally formed with upper ends of the legs 22.

When separating the supporting frame 20 from the body 10, the legs 22 are outwardly pulled so that the bending parts 26 of the legs 22 are separated from the side holes 12 of the body 10. Accordingly, it is required for the supporting frame 20 to have a predetermined elasticity.

In addition, the supporting frame 20 rotates about the bending parts 26

thereof. At this time, the bending parts 26 make contact with the stopping jaws 14 formed at upper ends of the receiving section 16 so that the rotation of the supporting frame 20 is limited.

A fixing member 30 is provided to receive the legs 22 of the supporting frame 20 therein. The fixing member 30 includes a base plate 36 and a pair of bending plates 32 formed at both sides of the base plate 36. The bending plates 32 upwardly extend from an upper surface of the base plate 36 and are bent opposite to each other. Accordingly, guide slots 34 are formed between the base plate 36 and the bending plates 32. As shown in FIG. 5, the fixing member 30 is detachably fixed to a supporting board 42 of a music stand 40.

In addition, a fixing sheet 38 is formed at an underside of the fixing member 30. The fixing sheet 38 is fixedly attached to the supporting board 42 of the music stand, thereby securely supporting the body 10 of the digital metronome 2.

A width of the guide slot 34 is preferably identical to a diameter of the leg 22 of the supporting frame 20. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the width of the guide slot 34 is slightly larger than the diameter of the leg 22 of the supporting frame 20 In order to allow the leg 22 of the supporting frame 20 to be easily inserted into the guide slot 34.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views showing fixing members 30 and 50 for receiving the supporting frame 20 of the digital metronome 2 according to first and second embodiments of the present invention, respectively. As shown in FIGS.

3A and 3B, a chamfering portion 70 is formed at fronts of bending pfates 32 and 52 of the fixing members 30 and 50, respectively, so as to allow the legs 22 of the supporting frame 20 to be easily inserted into the guide slots 34 and 54.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof according to a second embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 5 is a side view showing the digital metronome having the fixing structure thereof coupled to the supporting board of a music stand according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing member 50 includes a holder 60 integrally formed

with a base plate 56 of the fixing member 50. The holder 60 is formed with a coupling slot 58.

As shown in FIG. 5, the supporting board 42 of the music stand 40 is inserted into the coupling slot 58 of the holder 60, so that the body 10 of the digital metronome 2 can be stably supported.

Reference number 44 is a backboard for supporting a music book or a music sheet.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are partially-sectional perspective views of a digital metronome having a fixing structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 6A shows a supporting frame inserted into an upper slot, and FIG. 6B shows the supporting frame inserted into a lower slot.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, an upper slot 120 is formed at an inner sidewall 110 of a body 100 of the digital metronome 2 adjacent to a side hole 140 to which the bending part 26 of the supporting frame 20 is inserted. The upper slot 120 is communicated with the side hole 140 and slantingly extends upwards from the side hole 140 such that the supporting frame 20 makes an acute angle with respect to the body 100 of the digital metronome 2, when the bending part 26 is inserted into the upper slot 120.

Accordingly, the supporting frame 20 can stably support the body 100 of the digital metronome 2 when it is placed on a flat surface or a floor.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, a lower slot 130 communicated with the side hole 140 is formed below the upper slot 120. The lower slot 130 is positioned in parallel to the side hole 140 or slightly inclined downwards from the side hole 140 such that supporting frame 20 makes an obtuse angle or a right angle with respect to the body 100 of the digital metronome 2, when the bending part 26 is inserted into the lower slot 130.

Although it is preferred for the supporting frame 20 to be positioned at the right angle with respect to the body 100 of the digital metronome 2, since the supporting board of the music stand is inclined by an angle"0" (referred to FIG. 5), the supporting frame 20 can be positioned at an angle of 90+0 degrees with respect

to the body 10 as required by a user.

In addition, upper and lower stopping plates 122 and 132 are provided at ends of the upper and lower slots 120 and 130, respectively, in order to prevent the supporting frame 20 from being excessively introduced into the body 10.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a digital metronome having a fixing structure thereof according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, a fixing member 210 is integrally formed at a lower portion of a body 200 of the digital metronome 2. The fixing member 210 includes a base 220 formed with a coupling slot 230.

The base 220 is fixed to the supporting board 42 of the music stand 40 through the coupling slot 230, thereby stably supporting the body 200 of the digital metronome 2.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are partially-sectional perspective views of a digital metronome having a fixing structure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 8A shows an initial state of a fixing member coupled to a body of the digital metronome, and FIG. 8B shows the fixing member withdrawn from the body of the digital metronome.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a pair of fixing members 310 is movably installed at lower portions of both inner sidewalls of a body 300 of the digital metronome 2. Each fixing member 310 includes a moving frame 316 having a rectangular hole therein and a holder 312 integrally formed at a lower. portion of the moving frame 316.

The moving frame 316 is supported and guided by a pair of guide pieces 330 formed at the inner sidewall of the body 300.

In addition, a guide plate 320 is formed at the inner sidewall of the body 300. The guide plate 320 is accommodated in the rectangular hole formed in the moving frame 316 in order to limit a moving distance of the moving plate 320.

A chamfering part 314 is formed at an end of the holder 312 in order to allow the holder 312 to be easily coupled to or separated from the supporting board

of the music stand.

A distance between the holder 312 and the moving frame 316 is identical to or slightly larger than a thickness of the supporting board of the music stand.

Although the fixing members of FIGS. 7 and 8 are illustrated as they are formed at a lower portion of the body of the digital metronome, it is also possible to form the fixing members at an upper portion of the body of the digital metronome.

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood to those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Industrial Applicability The digital metronome according to the present invention includes a fixing member coupled to a supporting frame so that the digital metronome can be attached to a music stand through the fixing member. Accordingly, a conductor or a performer can easily and rapidly check a tempo or a tone of music to be played, so that a music performance can be efficiently carried out.