Patent Grant
10380978
This application is a U.S. National Stage of PCT/HU2016/000066, filed on Oct. 4, 2016, which claims priority of Hungarian Patent Application No. P1500480, filed on Oct. 19, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a flute headjoint comprising a cylindrical pipe section, an embouchure hole bounded by a reinforcing element, a crown adapted to terminate the pipe section situated to the left of the embouchure hole, and a concave tuning plug disposed in the pipe section in a sonic chamber situated under the embouchure hole.
Th. Böhm, the inventor of the modern flute modernized almost every component of the instrument, but he kept unchanged the tuning plug disposed in the flute headjoint and the crown adapted to close off the flute headjoint. The tuning plug is typically made of cork—even in the most expensive handmade instruments—with a plate made typically of metal being added to it by most manufacturers. The sound quality of the flute primarily depends on the quality of the headjoint.
Due to the presence of the cork, the left-hand side of the flute headjoint is an acoustically passive “mute” pipe section. The heart of the instrument is the sonic chamber situated under the embouchure hole. The sonic chamber is a region of the headjoint approximately 4 cm across, with the sound propagating from the centre thereof towards the open end of the pipe. Due to the material of the tuning plug the left-hand side of the headjoint is acoustically inoperative in its conventional state, the instrument therefore emitting sound in the forward and right-hand directions. A material characteristic of cork is that it absorbs a fraction of sounds and oscillations.
Efforts have been made to eliminate the disadvantages caused by the cork material. Thus, the patent description U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,919 discloses a solution wherein the closed crown, the screw shaft and tuning plate, together with a portion of the cork, are retained. The stable retention of the tuning plug is provided by an additional insert adapted for receiving the screw shaft, which metal insert improves the sound of the flute, albeit to a small extent.
This solution has the disadvantage that the upper pipe section still remains muffled by the cork and the closed-off tuning plug.
Since 2012 the Japanese flute maker Nagahara has been selling such flute headjoints wherein a plug and balance weight made for silver headjoints are applied, with the customers being able to choose the components that best suit their needs. Although this configuration facilitates the use of the instrument, the closed crown and the cork muffle the sound.
Other solutions applying replaceable tuning plugs but retaining the cork inside the headjoint are also known.
Robert Bigio was the first flute maker to completely discard cork and to apply a metal tuning plug with a closed crown. He built the balance weight into the crown.
The disadvantage of his design is that the tuning plate still has a flat face.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a flute headjoint that eliminates the disadvantages of conventional headjoints, namely that
The present invention is based on the recognition that by applying a three-dimensional, concave tuning surface instead of a flat surface an improved, clearer sound can be achieved. With an open crown the flute also emits sound in the left-hand direction.
The objective of the invention is fulfilled by providing a flute headjoint comprising a cylindrical pipe section, an embouchure hole bounded by a reinforcing element, a crown adapted for terminating the pipe section situated to the left of the embouchure hole, and a concave tuning plug disposed in a sonic chamber situated under the embouchure hole, characterised in that the cylindrical pipe section is longer compared to conventional arrangements, the crown has an open configuration, the tuning plug is a cylindrical body with its surface facing the embouchure hole having a sunken three-dimensional configuration made as a combination of regular or irregular arcuate and flat faces, the pipe section between the embouchure hole and the crown is longer compared to conventional solutions, and the headjoint comprises a balance weight adapted to be placed in the resonator cavity between the tuning plug and the crown.
In a preferred embodiment of the flute headjoint according to the invention the crown consists of two hollow portions: a bottom portion and an upper portion; with a membrane being disposed between the bottom and upper portions, a groove being disposed on the cylindrical surface of the bottom portion, and with the bottom and upper portions being joined together by a releasable connection.
In another preferred embodiment of the flute headjoint according to the invention the tuning plug is a cylindrical body comprising grooves adapted for receiving rubber rings disposed on the cylindrical body, with the surface of the tuning plug facing the embouchure hole having an inwardly tapering configuration.
In a further preferred embodiment of the flute headjoint according to the invention the tuning plug is a cylindrical body comprising grooves disposed on its cylindrical surface, with its face facing the embouchure hole being formed of an inner conical portion, a frustum-shaped portion, and a concave flared portion.
The tuning plug of an expedient embodiment of the flute headjoint according to the invention consists of two portions, an upper and a bottom portion, where the upper portion of the tuning plug is formed of a stem portion and an upwardly tapering portion joined to the stem portion via an intermediate portion. A recess consisting of an inner conical portion, a frustum-shaped portion, and a concave flared portion is disposed in the interior of the upper portion, with a connection cavity extending along the entire height of the bottom portion being disposed in the bottom portion, where the upper and bottom portions of the tuning plug are firmly joined together, or the bottom and upper portions are joined together by a releasable connection.
In another expedient embodiment of the flute headjoint according to the invention the upper portion of the tuning plug consists of a head portion, a stem portion, a cylindrical portion, and an outwardly tapering portion terminated in a cylindrical portion. In the interior of the upper portion there is disposed a recess consisting of an inner conical portion, a frustum-shaped portion, and a concave flared portion, with an inner bore adapted for receiving the upper portion and a conical portion connected to the bore being disposed in the bottom portion, and a releasable connection, preferably implemented utilizing a rubber ring, being disposed between the upper and bottom portions of the tuning plug.
All preferred embodiments of the flute headjoint according to the invention comprise a balance weight adapted to be inserted into the resonator cavity between the tuning plug and the crown, and further comprise an additional extension piece, the balance weight being a disc- or ring-shaped body comprising one or more grooves adapted for receiving a rubber ring disposed on its external surface.
In a preferred embodiment of the flute headjoint according to the invention the extension piece is a thin-walled pipe, with a groove being disposed at one end, and with the other end being adapted for receiving the crown, while in another preferred embodiment the extension piece is a thin-walled pipe, with the end thereof that is connected to the flute headjoint having a tapering configuration, and the other end being adapted for receiving the crown.
In all preferred embodiments of the flute headjoint according to the invention the crown, the tuning plug, the balance weight, and the extension piece are made of gold, silver, alpaca, copper, brass, aluminium, zirconium, steel, titanium, platinum, plastic, wood, bone, etc., the crown, tuning plug, and balance weight being provided with anti-corrosion coating if so required.
In all preferred embodiments of the flute headjoint according to the invention the crown, the tuning plug, the balance weight, and the extension piece are attached to the flute headjoint by means of respective rubber rings disposed in grooves machined in the cylindrical outside surface.
Preferred embodiments of the flute headjoint according to the invention are explained in detail referring to the attached drawings, where
In
In conventional flutes a fraction of the sound and oscillations is absorbed at this pipe section due to the configuration of the tuning plug 8. The tuning plug 8 applied with the flute headjoint 1 according to the invention is adapted for eliminating this effect, with the application of further additional components and configuration modifications allowing for improving the sound of the flute.
In
Thereby, one, two or more grooves 9 are disposed on the outside surface of the cylindrical portion of the tuning plug 8. The two or more rubber rings placed into respective grooves 9 provide for improved centring of the tuning plug 8.
The bottom end 10 of the tuning plug 8 has a flat surface, while the upper face 11 that is parallel with the end 10 and faces the embouchure hole 3 of the flute headjoint 1 has a three-dimensional configuration, namely, in this embodiment it constitutes an inner conical surface with a cone angle α=0-120° and a depth of L1=2-110 mm.
The tuning plug 8 can be made of a wide range of materials including silver, gold, alpaca, copper, brass, zirconium, titanium, platinum, tantalum, bone, wood, or plastic. Metal tuning plugs 8 are preferably coated with rhodium which forms a strong, anti-scratch coating and provides an aesthetically pleasing, brilliant surface finish.
The tuning plug 8 is preferably made of a compact, homogeneous or alloyed material.
It should be noted that the tuning plug may also be made of sheet metal, but in that case a balance weight has to be applied in order to improve sound quality (see
In
The external configuration of the tuning plug 12 is identical to the external configuration of the tuning plug 8.
It is proved by experimental results that the tuning plug can also have a bimetallic configuration. Such bimetallic tuning plug 15 configurations, made of two or more different metals or metal alloys, are disclosed in
In
The internal configuration of the bottom portion 19 is similar to the configuration illustrated in
The components of the tuning plug 15 are assembled by adhesive bonding or soldering, but rubber-ring or screw joints can also be implemented.
In
The configuration of the inner three-dimensional surface of the upper portion of the tuning plug 23 is identical to the internal surface configuration of the tuning plug 12 described in relation to
In the bottom portion 30 there is disposed a bore 31 that is adapted for receiving the head portion 24 of the upper portion, the stem portion 25 and the cylindrical portion 26 and has a diameter of d3=1-44 mm and a depth of L3=2-45 mm.
In the region of the bottom portion 30 that is situated above the bore 31 there can be found a conically configured portion 32 against which the upper portion, i.e. the conical portion 27 is supported.
The tuning plug 23 is assembled by first putting a rubber ring on the stem portion 25 of the upper portion, and then attaching the upper portion and the bottom portion 30. As the head portion 24 is inserted into the bore 31, the rubber ring is adhered to the wall of the bore 31, with the upper portion being be pushed into the bore 31 until the face 27 is fully supported against the portion 32. Being adhered to the wall of the bore 31, the rubber ring keeps the two portions attached.
With such a two-part configuration of the tuning plugs 15 and 23 the upper and bottom portions are made from different metals or metal alloys.
On the one hand this solution allows that a wider timbre range can be achieved by the combination of metals, while it also reduces the cost of the flute because it is now not necessary to make the entire tuning plug of (very expensive) silver or gold.
Thanks to the three-dimensional tuning plug applied in the flute according to the invention a consistently full sound can be achieved. Pitch precision is also significantly improved.
The tuning plug has a very significant influence on the sound produced playing the flute. Different metals have different effects on the quality and the characteristics of the flute sound. The shape of the tuning plug allows that it can be easily and quickly replaced with another one even during a performance, i.e. a different tuning plug—allowing for achieving a timbre and sound quality that better match the next piece—can be inserted into the flute headjoint between the different pieces performed.
Due to the configuration of the tuning plug the crown 6 adapted to close off the instrument at one end can now have an effect on sound quality. It therefore became necessary to replace the conventional crown with a crown having an “open” configuration, i.e. a crown comprising a cylindrical cavity was provided.
In
The crown 6 consists of two parts, a bottom portion 33 and an upper portion 34.
There is a groove 9 disposed on the outer cylindrical surface of the bottom portion 33. A rubber ring adapted for securing the crown 6 in the flute headjoint 1 is inserted in the groove 9.
A bore 35 having a diameter d4=1-30 mm and a height L4=3-30 mm extends along the full length of the bottom portion 33 (see
The upper portion 34 consists of a cylindrical portion 36 and a portion 37 that is connected to the cylindrical portion 36 and is configured with a dome-like shape.
In the upper portion 34 there is disposed a stepped bore 38 adapted to be connected to the bottom portion 33, the bore 38 ending in a narrower cylindrical bore 39. The diameter of the bore 38 is d5=2-32 mm, which finally ends in a bore 39 having a diameter d6=1-30 mm. Between the bottom portion 33 and the upper portion 34 of the crown 6 a membrane (not shown in the drawing) is disposed, the bottom and upper portions 33, 34 being joined by a screw joint.
The membrane can be made of a wide range of materials, such as silver, gold, steel, aluminium, etc.
The crown 6 can also be made from a wide range of different materials, i.e. copper, brass, zirconium, titanium, silver, gold, platinum, tantalum, alpaca, bone, wood, plastic, etc.
The crown has a less significant effect on the sound quality of the flute, but the material of the crown subtly affects the quality of the produced sound. The above described shape of the crown allows that it can be easily and quickly replaced with another one even during a performance, i.e. a different crown can be inserted into the flute headjoint in approximately 30 seconds, which allows for achieving a sound quality that better match the next piece.
The end result of is that the flute according to the invention comprising the novel tuning plug and crown has much better sound quality compared to a conventional flute. For the same amount of in-blown air it has stronger, more dynamic, clearer, more flexible sound; both piano and forte notes can be played more easily. A lot less pitch compensation is necessary.
Large-interval slurs and leaps can also be performed easier. It does no longer pose any difficulty to play low notes loudly and high notes softly.
The tuning plug and crown modified in the above described manner make a very marked difference for players.
The flute headjoint according to the invention can also be provided with additional components that positively affect the use and the sound of the flute.
Such an additional component can be a balance weight 40 inserted into the resonator cavity between the tuning plug and the crown.
In
A groove 41 is machined in the lateral surface of the balance weight 40, with a rubber ring seated in the groove 41 being adapted to retain the balance weight at the desired position.
The balance weight can also be made of a wide range of materials, i.e. of alpaca, aluminium, copper, brass, silver, gold, titanium, zirconium. However, balance weights made of copper, brass or alpaca have to be coated as an anti-corrosion measure and to prevent aluminium oxidation.
Depending on the quality of the flute and according to the needs of the player different effects can be achieved in the sound of the flute by applying a combination of metals. To provide that, multiple different metals or metal alloys may be utilized. Lighter and more pronounced staccato notes (short-duration notes) can be played, or if so desired, a fuller, lighter or more colourful sound quality can be provided. Also, a bigger and richer sound can be achieved with a warmer or cooler timbre.
Finally, by applying an extension piece adapted to be attached to the flute headjoint according to the invention (and to any other flute headjoint manufactured earlier) a special-size flute having a headjoint with greater length than conventional headjoints can be provided. Such extension pieces 42 and 43 are depicted in
The extension pieces 42 and 43 are implemented as thin-walled pipes that are adapted to be temporarily inserted into the flute headjoint 1 replacing the crown 6 and are retained by a rubber ring. Such a solution can be seen in
The length of the extension piece 42 is preferably L6=1-28 cm.
The extension piece 43 illustrated in
The extension pieces 42, 43 can be switched quickly and easily, even during a concert.
They can typically be made of copper, brass, alpace, silver, or gold. The metal alloys or high-purity metals provide an improved sound that is different from the average flute sound, is bigger and more beautiful.
The advantages of the flute headjoint according to invention can be summed up as follows:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500480 | Oct 2015 | HU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/HU2016/000066 | 10/4/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/068380 | 4/27/2017 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8653347 | Lewis | Feb 2014 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180308459 A1 | Oct 2018 | US |
