HK1169738B - Musical instruments - Google Patents

Description

Musical instrument

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a wind musical instrument and in particular, but not exclusively, to a musical instrument such as a trombone.

Background

Traditionally, such instruments are made of brass or other metal and are therefore expensive to produce.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wind musical instrument which is less expensive to manufacture than the conventional metal musical instrument.

Disclosure of Invention

Thus, according to the present invention there is provided a wind instrument having a body section with an internal bore through which air is blown by a player, the body section being formed of a polymeric material, the internal diameter of the bore having a restriction formed thereon such that the diameter of the bore tapers along the section for tuning or tonal adjustment of the instrument.

In such instruments, the wall thickness of the instrument sections may also vary along the section.

The body section may be formed by a molding process.

The body section may be formed by winding an uncured reinforced polymeric material around a multi-part biconic mandrel and then curing the material.

The section may be, for example, a lead of a trombone slide.

The instrument may be a trombone having a trumpet section comprising independently tuned slide tubes, inner and outer main slide tube sections and a mouthpiece; the outer main slide portion having a first slide mount gripped to slide the outer main slide portion to play the instrument and an end section interconnecting the two outer slide tubes and including a saliva/water valve; the inner slide tube portion has a non-slidable second slide tube holder, wherein the second slide tube holder supports the ends of the two inner tubes of the main slide tube and also supports the mouthpiece; one or more of the horn portion, the tuning slide, the first and second slide supports, and the end portion of the outer slide are made of a polymeric material through a molding process.

The horn, tuning slide, first and second slide supports and end portions of the outer slide may be manufactured in several parts by injection moulding.

The tuning slide may have a weight held between its molded parts. This enables the tuning and tonal response of the instrument to be optimized.

The second slide bracket is provided with a female attachment sleeve for receiving a tubular male attachment sleeve mounted at the end of the horn section where the main slide is mounted.

The mouthpiece may be received in a lead tube section of the first inner tube whose inner bore comprises the constriction, the lead tube section being formed as an integral part of the first inner tube using a mandrel moulding process as described above.

The free end of the inner tube of the main slide is fitted with a brass bushing which constitutes the main sliding contact with the inner surface of the outer tube of the slide.

The entry section of the horn portion leading to the tuning slide may have a moulded wall thickness which varies along the length of the entry section to vary the diameter of the bore of this section for tuning or tonal adjustment of the instrument.

The end section of the outer main slide is of a square-shaped construction with two certain bends (bend) connected by a substantially straight central part.

The generally straight central member may have an internal bore that varies in diameter along the central member.

At least one of the inner and outer tubes of the main slide may be of parallel aligned glass/fibre and/or carbon fibre reinforced polymer construction.

The mouthpiece may also be made from a polymeric material by injection moulding.

The horn section may be provided with an electronic sound sensor for connection to an amplifier, computer or other electronic device.

The sound sensor may be molded into the horn portion.

One or more pieces may be molded into the components of the instrument to adjust its tuning or tonal quality.

The present invention also provides a trombone having a trumpet section comprising independently tuned slide tubes, inner and outer main slide tube sections and a mouthpiece; the outer main slide portion having a first slide mount gripped to slide the outer main slide portion to play the instrument and an end section interconnecting the two outer slide tubes and including a saliva/water valve; the inner slide tube portion has a non-slidable second slide tube holder, wherein the second slide tube holder supports the ends of the two inner tubes of the main slide tube and also supports the mouthpiece; one or more of the horn portion, the tuning slide, the first and second slide supports, and the end portion of the outer slide are made of a polymeric material through a molding process.

The present invention further provides a method of manufacturing the above trombone, comprising the steps of:

molding one or more of the horn portion, the independently tuned slide, the first and second slide supports, and the end section of the outer main slide by injecting a polymeric material into a suitable mold;

removing the molded parts of the horn portion, tuning slide portion and first and second slide supports from their molds, and gluing or otherwise securing the parts together to complete the assembly;

providing inner and outer main slide tubes of plastics material;

assembling an outer main slide pipe into the first movable slide pipe support and the end section to complete the outer main slide pipe part;

assembling the inner main slide pipe into the second slide pipe bracket to complete the inner main slide pipe part; and

a mouthpiece is provided to complete the instrument.

The present invention also provides a trombone as described above, wherein the inner bore of at least one of the end portions of the trumpet portion, the tuning slide and the outer main slide portion is tapered.

The present invention further provides a trombone slide guide molded from a polymeric material and having an internal bore with a restriction formed thereon such that the diameter of the internal bore tapers along the length of the guide.

The invention also provides a trombone slide tuning brace having two end portions surrounding responsive outer slide tubes of the trombone and connected by a connecting brace portion, the tuning brace damping vibrations in the slide tubes so as to improve the tuning/tonal quality of the trombone.

This tuning brace may be removably mounted on the trombone slide by the player, or if the slide is made of a polymeric material, the tuning brace is glued or otherwise attached to the slide.

Drawings

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a perspective view of various parts of a musical instrument according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of a portion of the instrument shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 3 shows a view of an end section of a main slide of the instrument on a larger scale;

figure 4 shows, on a larger scale, a cross-sectional view of first and second slide mounts (showing mouthpiece support) of the instrument and the attachment to the horn section;

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of an inner slide tube with an associated mouthpiece that includes an integral lead-in;

FIG. 6 shows on a larger scale the part of the horn section of the instrument with the tuning slide in place;

FIG. 7 shows an alternative trombone horn configuration;

FIG. 8 shows an alternative trombone tuning slide configuration, an

Fig. 9 and 10 show details of the trombone slide tuning brace.

Detailed Description

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows in exploded form various portions of a trombone 10 in accordance with the present invention. The trombone has a trumpet section 11 and a main slide 13, wherein the trumpet section 11 comprises a separate tuning slide 12 and the main slide 13 has an inner slide section 14 and an outer slide section 16, wherein the inner slide section 14 supports a mouthpiece 15.

According to one aspect of the invention, as can be seen in fig. 2, the main horn section 11 is molded in two parts 11a and 11b from a polymeric material, such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), which may be glass fiber reinforced, or from a polycarbonate material, preferably by injection molding. Other polymeric materials such as High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) may also be used. Similarly, tuning slide 12 is also formed of the same polymeric material in two parts 12a and 12b, and preferably includes a weight 17 sandwiched between parts 12a and 12 b. The weight also dampens vibrations and thus improves the tuning and tonal response of the instrument. As is conventional, the tuning slide has a reduced diameter and portions 12c and 12d that are slidable in the ends 11c and 11d of the main horn portion to tune the instrument.

The end portion 11e of the horn 11 has a reduced diameter and carries a tubular conical male attachment sleeve 18 which reinforces the end of the horn portion. This tubular male sleeve 18 is received in a female attachment tapered sleeve 19 mounted on a recess 19a on the main slide 13, as described below.

The interface between the main slide and horn sections of the instrument is significantly enhanced using the internally engaging tapered male and female sleeves 18 and 19. These sleeves may be constructed from fiberglass or other reinforced polymeric materials if desired. A lock for locking the inner slide tube 14 to the horn section 11 may also be provided.

The outer slide section 16 of the main slide 13 has a first slide mount or handle 20 and an end section 21, wherein the instrument player grips the first slide mount or handle 20 to move the slide, the end section 21 including a saliva or water valve 22.

According to the invention, the first slide mount 20 is also moulded in two parts 20a and 20b from a polymeric material using injection moulding. Similarly, the end portion 21 is moulded in two parts 21a and 21b, and the saliva valve 22 is also produced by injection moulding. The outer slide is completed by two outer slide tubes 23, wherein the outer slide tubes 23 may conveniently be formed of fibre (e.g. glass or carbon) or other readily available reinforced tubular polymeric material.

The inner slide 14 comprises a second slide bracket or handle 24 which receives the female attachment sleeve 19 and connects with the male tubular sleeve 18 carried on the end portion 11e of the horn 11. The second slide bracket 24 also receives inner slide tubes 25 and 26, the inner slide tubes 25 and 26 being inserted into the holes defined by the ribs 24c and 24 d. The mouthpiece 15 is supported in the slide mount 24 in a lead end portion 26a of the tube 26. By appropriately shaping the handle 24, the instrument can be made more ergonomic and comfortable for the player to support.

The tubes 25 and 26 carry brass sleeves 27 at their free ends, the brass sleeves 27 having a slightly larger diameter than the remainder of the tubes 25 and 26 and thus forming a primary sliding contact with the inner surface of the outer slide tube 23. It has also been found that the use of brass sleeves 27 helps to combat the bacterial odour produced by saliva of a player during performance of the instrument.

As can be seen from fig. 2, the second slide mount 24 is formed in two parts 24a and 24b, and a rotation locking member 28 surrounds the inner tube 25 and serves to lock the outer slide 16 to the second slide mount 24 when the instrument is not being played. A rubber or felt master slide bump stop (stop)31 is received in the slide mount 24 around the tube 25 to cushion any contact between the slide mounts 20 and 24 while playing the instrument.

As will be appreciated, in accordance with the present invention, the two parts 24a and 24b of the second slide mount 24 are also formed from a polymeric material by injection molding.

As previously described, the mouthpiece 15 is supported in the lead pipe 26a (to the left of the dotted line 26a in fig. 4 and 5). The lead tube 26a may be conveniently formed as an integral part of the inner slide tube 26 by a moulding process which involves winding an uncured reinforcing polymeric material (e.g. epoxy impregnated ribbon carbon fibre) around a multi-part biconical mandrel and then curing the material to provide an integral double tapered bore of the lead tube 26a and the remainder of the tube 26. Glass fibers, carbon fibers or Kevlar (Kevlar) fibers are examples of suitable reinforcing materials for this manufacturing method.

Since the guide tube is produced by the above moulding process, it can be produced cheaply and economically with the required constrained cross-section 26x to produce the correct instrument tuning and tone quality. Typically, on a lead of length 'l', e.g. 200mm, the constraint 26x is located 36.30mm from the end of the lead 26 a. The internal diameter of the slide tube 26 starts at the mouthpiece end'm' at e.g. 12.10mm, falls at the restriction 26a to e.g. 8.30mm, and then tapers to the end 'e' of the lead tube 26a at 12.67 mm. For the remainder of the tube 26 to the right of line 26b, the holes are the same at 12.67 mm. There may be a slight taper at the right end of tube 26 to reduce the step change between the inside diameters of the inner and outer slide tubes.

The lead tube may be made of conventional metallic materials, if desired, and simply removably received within the inner slide tube 26.

Alternatively, the entire tube 26, including the guide tube 26a, may be produced by injection moulding from a polymeric material, such as the above-mentioned ABS, HIPS or polycarbonate materials.

The remaining inner slide tube 25 may also be provided by a relatively inexpensive fiberglass or other readily available reinforced plastic tube.

The mouthpiece 15 may also be produced from a polymeric material by an injection moulding process in which the final desired dimensions of the mouthpiece are defined by a mould. Alternatively, the mouthpiece may be manufactured by an operation of turning from a solid polymer blank, although this is obviously a more expensive process.

Also, if desired, a metal mouthpiece may be used, and a hybrid musical instrument with a metal horn section 11 may also be provided.

Fig. 3 shows another feature of the invention, namely the shape of the trombone end section 21. Since the feel is different when playing plastic instruments compared to traditional metal instruments, it has been found that a better feel is given to the instrument if the end sections are provided with two certain curves 21x and 21y connected by a straight central section 21 z. This squarely formed end section shape affects the airflow through the instrument and produces a plastic instrument with a feel similar to when playing a traditional metal instrument. Furthermore, the bore 21w of the central section 21z may be of a double-tapered form with a central restriction, such that the inner diameter of the central region 21v of the bore may be smaller in diameter than the outer region of the bore 21w, e.g. 1 mm.

A saliva/water valve member 22, also injection moulded from a polymeric material, pivots on the end section 21 about an axis 21c and has a sealing portion 22a which contacts a sealing member 21d of the O-ring type mounted on a saliva hole 21e of the end section 21.

The above description describes the various components of the instrument, in particular the fact that: the horn section 11, tuning slide 12, first movable slide mount 20, end section 21 and second slide mount 24 are all molded from a polymeric material by an injection molding process. Alternatively, a blow molding or vacuum forming process may be used.

As will be appreciated, after the components of these parts of the instrument are removed from their respective injection molds, the components of the instrument, as shown in fig. 2, are glued or otherwise secured together to complete the horn section, tuning slide, first slide mount 20, end section 21 and second slide mount 24. The inner tubes 25 and 26 are then glued into the second slide mount 24 and the outer tube 23 is glued into the first slide mount 20 and the end section 21. The brass bushings 27 are then fixed to the inner tubes 25 and 26, and the male and female attachment bushings 18 and 19 are fixed to the end portion 11e of the horn and the second slide bracket 24, respectively.

It will be appreciated that the trombone configuration above provides a musical instrument which is significantly cheaper to manufacture than conventional metal musical instruments and still produces sound comparable to conventional metal musical instruments. The instrument can also be produced in a variety of colors, is lighter in weight, and is more durable and sturdy because it does not pit like a conventional metal instrument.

One or more pieces may be molded into the components of the instrument to adjust its tuning or tonal quality. The pieces may be separate metal or other components molded into the instrument or may be provided by locally increasing the wall thickness of the instrument when molded.

The horn section 11 may be provided with an acoustic sensor 30, the acoustic sensor 30 may simply be glued to the outside of the horn section or moulded into the horn section at the time of manufacturing one of the parts of the horn. This sound sensor may be connected to an amplifier, a computer or any other electronic device to assist in tuning, or to significantly extend the performance of the instrument so that it can be used with a suitable software package to emulate other instruments such as a guitar, saxophone, etc. This not only helps beginners establish the exact location of each note on the slide using a tuned software package that indicates the correct note through a green light or the like, but also enables advanced players to obtain considerably increased satisfaction from their instruments by adjusting the instrument sound output in a wide variety of ways.

The tube 11f of the horn portion 11 may be provided with a section whose cross-sectional bore varies along the length of the section to change the tuning and/or tonal quality of the instrument relatively effortlessly.

Since the instrument is moulded from a plastics material it is relatively easy to produce a section of the instrument having a wall thickness which varies along the instrument section so as to provide a varying diameter of the hole in the section which, as mentioned above, enables fine tuning or tonal quality of the instrument to be adjusted.

Also, since all the components of the instrument are produced by injection molding, the final goal of having a trombone with a substantially continuously increasing hole diameter after the guide tube constraint 26x therein is readily accessible. Thus, the bore of the slide tube 26, the end section 21, the tube 25, the tube 11f, the tuning slide 12 and the horn 11 can all be molded to have an increase in diameter that forms a taper. Even if continuously tapered inner bores are not used in the tubes 25 and 26, an improvement in performance can be achieved if, for example, the last few centimeters of inner bores of the tubes 25 and 26 entering the outer slide 16 are tapered to avoid a significant step change in bore diameter between the tubes 25 and 26 and the outer slide 16.

Similarly, even if the entire inner bore of the tuning slide 12 is not tapered, a beneficial performance improvement may be achieved if the inner diameter of the end portion of the slide 12 entering the horn 11 is tapered to avoid a significant step change in the bore diameter.

The trombone described above may be produced using a variety of alternative configurations. For example, as shown in fig. 7, the horn section 11 may have an outer portion 11X injection molded as a single piece, and a body portion 11Y injection molded as a second single piece, the body portion 11Y with cover strips 11P and 11Q covering the integrally molded cross braces 11R and 11S, respectively. The horn is also provided with an attachment sleeve 18. The outer horn portion 11X has a reduced diameter portion 11T which is inserted and glued into the body portion 11Y.

Likewise, for example, tuning slide 12 may be formed by injection molding from four separate parts 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d plus weight 17, as shown in FIG. 8. The end portions 12c and 12d of the tuning slide have flanges 12e, the flanges 12e being located in slots 12f of the portions 12a and 12b to assist in locating the portions 12c and 12d when the portions 12c and 12d are glued into the portions 12a and 12 b. By forming the tuning slide from four parts 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d, not only is manufacturing substantially simplified, but it is also simpler to taper the internal bores of these parts as described above.

This principle of molding varying wall thicknesses and hole cross-sections into sections of the wind instrument can also be used in instruments other than trombone, for example any conventional brass instrument such as trumpet, french or trombone.

The technique of producing sections of a wind instrument by winding material around a multi-part mandrel can be extended to other parts of a trombone as well as parts of other wind instruments. Glass fibers, carbon fibers or kevlar fibers are examples of suitable reinforcing materials for this manufacturing method.

The present invention also provides an additional feature, namely a tuning brace 40 shown in fig. 9 and 10. This holder is injection moulded in two pieces of polymeric material which can be secured together by screws 42, as shown in figure 10, to tightly embrace the outer slide tube 41 of the trombone slide (whether the slide is made of metal or plastics material). This enhances the overall structure of the slide and thus applies a damping effect to improve the tuning and tonal response of the instrument. The stand must not grip the slide tube too tightly or the tube may be compressed and damaged to affect the sliding of the instrument. The stand 40 is designed to be located substantially in the central region of the tube 41 and the instrument player changes the position of the stand to adjust the tuning/pitch of the instrument. If the slide is made of a plastic material, the tuning brace may be glued or otherwise permanently affixed to the slide.

Claims (17)

1. A wind instrument characterised by a body including a tube section (26) having a lead (26 a) integrally moulded therewith, the tube section and lead being moulded from a polymeric material as a single piece assembly, the lead having a wall thickness which varies along the length of the lead to provide a double tapered internal bore which decreases in cross-section towards a constraint (26 x) and increases away from the constraint (26 x) for tuning or tonal adjustment of the instrument.

2. Musical instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide tube (26 a) and the tube section (26) are integrally moulded.

3. An instrument according to claim 2 in which the integrally moulded guide tube (26 a) and tube section (26) comprise a trombone slide tube.

4. An instrument according to claim 2 in which the integrally moulded leadpipe (26 a) and tube section (26) are formed by winding uncured reinforced polymeric material around a multi-part biconic mandrel and curing the material.

5. An instrument according to claim 1 or 2 in the form of a trombone (10) having a trumpet section (11) comprising independently tuned slide tubes (12), inner (14) and outer (16) main slide tube sections and a mouthpiece (15); the outer main slide portion (16) has a first slide mount (20) which is gripped to slide the outer main slide portion (16) to play the instrument and an end section (21) interconnecting the two outer slide tubes (23) and comprising a saliva/water valve (22); the inner slide part (14) has a non-slidable second slide support (24) which supports the ends of the two inner tubes (25, 26) of the main slide (13) and also supports the mouthpiece (15), the instrument being characterised in that one or more of the horn section (11), tuning slide (12), first and second slide supports (20, 24) and outer slide end portion (21) are manufactured from a polymeric material as several parts by a moulding process.

6. Musical instrument according to claim 5, characterized in that the tuning slide (12) has a counterweight (17) held between its moulded parts (12 a, 12 b).

7. Musical instrument according to claim 5, characterized in that the second slide bracket (24) is provided with a female attachment sleeve (19) for receiving a tubular male attachment sleeve (18) mounted at the end of the trumpet section (11) where the main slide (13) is mounted.

8. Musical instrument according to claim 5, characterized in that the free ends of the inner tubes (25, 26) of the main slide (13) are fitted with brass sleeves (27) which constitute the main sliding contact with the inner surface of the outer tube (23) of the slide (13).

9. An instrument according to claim 5, characterised in that the inlet section of the trumpet portion (11) leading to the tuning slide (12) has a moulded wall thickness which varies along the length of the inlet section to vary the diameter of the bore of this section for tuning or tonal adjustment of the instrument.

10. Musical instrument according to claim 5, characterized in that the end section (21) of the main slide (13) is of square configuration with two certain elbows (21 x, 21 y) connected by a substantially straight central part (21 z).

11. An instrument according to claim 10 in which the substantially straight central member (21 z) has an internal bore (21 v) which varies in diameter along the central member (21 z).

12. Musical instrument according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a horn section (11) provided with an electronic sound sensor (30) moulded into the horn section for connection to an electronic device.

13. An instrument according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein one or more blocks are moulded into a component of the instrument to adjust its tuning or tonal quality.

14. An instrument according to claim 5, characterised in that the internal bore of at least one of the trumpet section (11), the tuning slide (12) and the end section (21) of the outer main slide section (16) is tapered.

15. An instrument according to claim 5, characterised in that the internal bore of at least one of said internal tubes (25, 26) is also tapered.

16. Musical instrument according to claim 5, characterized in that the outer slide tube (23) carries a tuning brace (40) having two end portions which surround the respective outer slide tube (41) and are connected by a connecting brace portion, the tuning brace damping vibrations in the slide tubes in order to improve the tuning/tonal quality of the trombone.

17. The musical instrument of claim 12 wherein said electronic device is an amplifier or a computer.