MOUTHPIECE WITH A REPLACEABLE BITE PLATE

Abstract

A mouthpiece is formed with a bite plate seat receiving a bite plate. The bite plate is maintained in place with a releasable adhesive. Therefore, a musician can replace the bite plate at will and does not have to worry about depressions in the bite area of the mouthpiece caused by his teeth during playing.

Description

BRIEF DECRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an orthogonal view of a prior art mouthpiece for a musical instrument;

FIG. 1B shows the prior art mouthpiece with a depression;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a mouthpiece constructed in accordance with this invention with the bite plate being replaced; and

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the mouthpiece of FIG. 2 without the bite plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a typical prior art mouthpiece 100 with an insert 102 disposed in a recess in the mouthpiece and flush with a bite area 104. As mentioned above, when a musician puts his mouth around the tip of a mouthpiece 100 his teeth rest upon the bite area 104. Vibration incurred while blowing through the mouthpiece causes the insert 102 to knock against the teeth and eventually a depression 108 is formed in the insert 102. Present attempts to resolve this problem included providing the permanently installed insert 102 from a softer compound than the mouthpiece itself. The compound fills the recess to help alleviate the vibrations on the teeth resting on the area 104.

In the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, mouthpiece body 100A is formed with a small seat 110 of a predetermined size and shape and having a constant depth. In the drawings the depression is shown as being rectangular, and slightly curved, following the shape of the bite area 104, but it can have other shapes as well.

A bite plate 106 is inserted into the seat 110 so that it is flush with the bite area 104. Importantly, the bottom of the plate 106 and/or the seat 110 is coated with a release-type adhesive that allows the plate 106 to be removed and replaced with another plate of identical size and shape.

In one embodiment of the invention, the plate 106 is made of a peel and stick stock material. For example, the bite plate 106 can be stamped or die-cut from a tape with an adhesive backing. Suitable tapes made of an adhesive-coated polyurethane are available from 3M and other sources. Typically, these tapes come in rolls of ¼″ to 48″ wide and 36 yards long. Once applied, since the plate being only adhesive backed and not permanently glued in, at any point the user can simply peel it out and replace it with another one. This process will also allow the manufacturer to provide bite plates with materials of various densities or having degrees of pliability or softness. Thus, the bite plate can be variably softer than the mouthpiece body or at least the bite area. Alternatively, the bite plate can have the same hardness as the bite plate area. Conceivable, some musicians may even prefer a bite plate that is harder than the bite area. Thus, a musician can buy a single mouthpiece and apply a bite plate having the physical characteristics that he prefers to adjust the feel of his teeth on the mouthpiece. This has never been before possible.

Thus, a mouthpiece is produced in accordance with this invention as follows. First a mouthpiece body is made having a desired physical shape. Importantly, the body of the mouthpiece is formed with the seat 110. Next, bite plates 106 are formed, said bite plates having the size and shape selected so that the plate 106 can fit snugly in seat 110 and its top surface is flush with the rest of the bite area 104. A releasable adhesive is used to secure the bite plate 106 within the seat 110. The bite plate 106 can be made of a hard or a soft material as desired by a musician.

In one embodiment, the bite plate is stamped or die-cut from a continuous tape of material, such as polyurethane, coated with a releasable adhesive.

Numerous modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A mouthpiece for a musical instrument comprising: a mouthpiece body having a bite area with a bite plate seat; andbite plate positioned in said bite plate seat and being retained therein by a releasable adhesive that allows bite plates to be freely replaced.

2. The mouthpiece assembly of claim 1 wherein said bite plate is made of a material that is softer than said bite plate area.

3. The mouthpiece assembly of claim 1 wherein said bite plate has the same hardness as said bite plate area.

4. The mouthpiece of claim 1 wherein said bite plate is made of polyurethane.

5. A method of making of a mouthpiece for a musical instrument comprising: forming a mouthpiece body with a bite plate seat; andattaching a bite plate on the biteplate using a releasable adhesive.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said bite plate is softer then said mouthpiece body.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising making said bite plate from an elongated tape coated with said adhesive.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said tape is made of polyurethane.