Patent Grant
9721546
Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to a musical instrument and method for a personal to create music. More specifically, there is an apparatus and method for modifying the sounds or sound energy on known instruments, like a saxophone, by replacing the support connecting struts with different material, like wood, stone, plastic, polymers or any other material not making up the majority of the subject instrument, in the instrument as disclosed in the specification of the invention and related claims.
State of the Art
It is well known to in the art how to create sounds on wind instruments, like saxophones and such. It is also well known in the art to provide a mouth piece and instrument body, with keys coupled thereto that are used to modify the sound energy to create various tones. The following patents are provided as examples of such known art, and are herein incorporated by reference for their supporting teachings to the disclosed invention, whereby:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,831 B2, by Laukat, issued in 2008, teaches of placing hard material on selected spots outside the tubing of wind instruments to affect the vibrational energy of the musical instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,429, by Wood al., issued Oct. 21, 2008, is a wind instrument with improved tonal characteristics by positioning an octave hole, an octave key mechanism, and a water key on a surface of the wind instrument that is not a tone rich region.
US Patent App. 2004/0003702 to Ahrens, pub. Date of Jan. 8, 2004, is a flute comprising first and second chambers in which sound is resonated and a tone hole disposed at and shared by the first and second chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,146 to Massa, issued Jul. 27, 1982, is a musical instrument combining a modified portion of a tenor saxophone with a modified portion of a soprano saxophone joined together by means of a bracket whereby one of the two instruments can be moved relative to the other to obtain proper alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,476,302, on Nov. 5, 2002, to Liu, is a saxophone with a main body, a neck, a treble connection set, a connection rod, and a link set.
US Patent App. 2005/0217464, to Onozawa et al., pub. Data of Oct. 6, 2005, is a hybrid saxophone whit the combination of an acoustic saxophone and an electronic system, and the electronic system includes key sensors for monitoring the keys and a tonguing sensor for detecting the position of the tongue together with a breath sensor and a lip sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,686, to Lewis, issued Mar. 23, 1982, is a wind instrument having a mouthpiece connected to the inner end of a tube forming an elongated resonating chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,555,986, to Keefer, issued Oct. 6, 1925, teaches of a tuning device for musical wind instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,033,774, to Loomis, issued 1936, teaches of new saxophone design.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,474,336, to Gillespy, issued in 1945, teaches of a new saxophone design.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,423, to LaBlanc, issued in 1961, teaches of a new saxophone bridge design.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,095, to Davidson, issued in 1997, teaches of a new dampening wedge material made of a polymeric material used in wind musical instruments to dampen the vibrational energy in the instrument by placing the polymeric material between opposing tubes of the instrument.
None of these prior art patents or applications teaches the disclosed invention either singly or in combination. What is needed in the art of musical instruments is an instrument or technique to modify, affect, alter, impact or adjust a wind instrument's vibrational energy or sound energy for certain tones that are created by the instrument at the manufacturing stage, after the initial manufacturing stage, by the musician, or in a time other than during the active playing of the instrument, which is typically only controlled by the keys and mouthpiece of the instrument. Additionally, there is a need for an instrument that has a design or a method for a person to be able to affect, alter, modify or impact the permanent sound or vibrational characteristics of the whole instrument musical range, or selected portions thereof
The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available containers and lotions. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a musical instrument and/or a manufacturing method or adjustment technique to modify, affect, alter, impact or adjust a wind instrument's vibrational energy or sound energy for certain tones that are created by the instrument at or after the manufacturing stage or in a time other than during the active playing of the instrument, by the musician, which is typically only controlled by the keys and mouthpiece of the instrument. Additionally, there is provided a device that has or method for a person to be able to affect, alter, modify or impact the permanent sound or vibrational characteristics of at least a portion of the instrument musical range. More specifically, there is an apparatus and method for modifying the sounds or sound energy on known instruments, like a saxophone, by replacing the support connecting struts with different material, like wood, stone, plastic, polymers or any other material not making up the majority of the subject instrument, in the instrument as disclosed in the specification of the invention.
Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment or the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the particular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to similar items throughout the Figures, and:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiment. Wherein, each statement of an embodiment is to be considered independent or any other embodiment, despite any use of similar or identical language.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, different embodiments, or component parts of the same or different illustrated invention. Additionally, reference to the wording “an embodiment,” or the like, for two or more features, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are related, dissimilar, the same, etc. The use of the term “an embodiment,” or similar wording, is merely a convenient phrase to indicate optional features, which may or may not be part of the invention as claimed.
As used herein, “tonal characteristics” includes any of the characteristics such as timbre, pitch, tonal consistency, evenness, tone quality, focus, clarity, character, warmth, centering, and/or depth of sound.
As used herein, “body” includes any part of the wind instrument used for the generation of sound, or the surface along which, or through which, the sound resonates and/or travels. That is, the body will include the structure through which the forced air and/or sound vibrations flow. The body may include, for example, the mouthpiece, the neck, the body tube, the valve(s), the bell, the bow, and the like. For example, if the woodwind instrument is a saxophone, the body of the instrument includes the reed, neck, body tube, bow, bridge/brace, and bell.
As used herein, “key mechanism” includes the key and the pieces that are coupled to, or function with the key to facilitate the opening and/or closing of a tone hole.
As used herein, “water key” includes any water key such as, for example, spit valves, amatos, and the like.
As used herein, “wind instrument” includes any instrument in which column of air is put into vibration by a player blowing into or over a mouthpiece. Wind instruments include, for example, woodwinds and brass instruments.
As used herein, “woodwind instrument” is conserved to be part of the wind instrument family, and includes any instrument in which sound is produced by blowing through a mouthpiece against an edge or a vibrating reed. The pitch may be varied by opening or closing the holes in the body of the instrument. “Woodwind instrument” is a class definition, and does not necessarily restrict the class to instruments made of wood. As such, woodwind instruments may be constructed of any material suitable for construction of a wind instrument. Some examples of woodwind instruments include: single reed woodwinds such as arghul, aulochrome, basset horn, clarinet, E-flat clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, contra-alto clarinet, contrabass clarinet, launeddas, mijwiz, rothphone, sarrusophone, saxophone, soprillo, sopranino saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, C melody saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass saxophone, contrabass saxophone, subcontrabass saxophone, tubax, tarogato and the like; double-reed woodwinds such as bassanelli, bassoon, contrabassoon, bombarde, duduk, dulcian, dulzania, guan, heckelphone, piccolo heckelphone, hojok, mizmar, nadaswaram, oboe, piccolo oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn, oboe da caccia, racket, shawm, shehnai, suona, surnay, tromboon, trompeta china, zurna, bagpipes, cornamuse, crumhorn, hirtenschalmei, kortholt, rauschpfeife, and the like; and flutes such as bansuri, flute, fife, piccolo, Western concert flute, alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute, ryuteki, hocchiku, kaval, ney, quena, shakuhachi, flageolet, gemshorn, ocarina, recorder, tin whistle, penny whistle, tonette, and the like.
As used herein, “brass instrument” is considered part of the wind instrument family, and includes any instrument in which sound is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a resonator, and are thus also known as labrosones. Brass instruments have various general ways of varying the tone. In one class of brass instruments, the tone is varied only by increasing or decreasing the rate of vibrations of the lips. In such instruments, the only available tones are those in the harmonic series of the instrument. On example of such an instrument is the bugle. In a third class of brass instruments, the tone may be varied by changing the length of the tubing using a slide. One example of such an instrument is the trombone. In yet another class of brass instruments, the tone may be varied by covering and/or uncovering holes along the body of the instrument. One example of such an instrument is the cornetto. Brass instrument may also vary tone by using a combination of the above techniques. “Brass instrument” is a class definition, and does not necessarily restrict the class to instruments made of brass. As such, brass instruments may be constructed of any material suitable for construction of a wind instrument. Some examples of brass instruments include: trumpets, bass trumpets, flumpets, French horns, tubas, Wagner tubas, trombones, superbones, bugles, sousaphones, mellophones, euphoniums, flugelhorns, saxhorns, cornets, cornetto, serpents, sackbuts, bazookas, horns, ophicleides, didgeridoos, shofars, conches, alphorns, cimbassos, keyed trumpets, and the like.
As used herein, “region” is interchangeable with “surface” when indicating a concave surface, tone-rich region, convex surface, non tone-rich region, and the like.
Finally, the fact that the wording “an embodiment,” or the like, does not appear at the beginning of every sentence in the specification, such as is the practice of some practitioners, is merely a convenience for the reader's clarity. However, it is the intention of this application to incorporate by reference the phrasing “an embodiment,” and the like, at the beginning of every sentence herein where logically possible and appropriate.
In
Referring now to construction of the bridge 122 of the invention, it has been discovered by the present inventors, that prior art designs of the bridge have been made of a metallic material, which has typically matched the same material that the majority of the instrument has been made of; that being the previously referred to brass and its alloys. Such metallic material bridges have certain vibrational energy rigidity as to cause certain restrictions in the acoustic energy created by the playing of the instrument.
Thereby, by replacing the traditional metallic based material bridge with that of a different material, like a more resilient soft absorbing wood based material, there would be a notable affect to the overall tone of the wind instrument that is desirous to the listener.
The following is a list of known softwoods and hardwoods that are considered included embodiments of the wood based bridge/brace 122 that are intended to be incorporated in the design of the described wind instrument. In particular, the woods intended to be used are as follows:
Softwoods (coniferous)
Hardwoods (angiosperms)
In addition to the list of woods currently know, other material are included, like polymers, plastics, stones and precious stones, etc. are contemplated herein, wherein a list of all those materials will not be provided in this specification, as they are commonly found in many reference books, which are herein incorporated by reference for their supportive teachings.
In an additional embodiments of the disclosure,
As shown, coupling mechanism 125 may include a slot 130 that forms a first side 134 and a second side 136, and an aperture 132 extending through the first side 134 and the second side 136, wherein the aperture extends through the slot 130. A first end 150 of the bridge 122 may include a first aperture 160, wherein the first end 150 of bridge 122 may slide into slot 130 such that the aperture 132 of the coupling mechanism 125 aligns with the aperture 160 of the first end 150 of bridge 122. A coupling device 154 may then engage the apertures 132 and 160. A second end 152 of bridge 122 may include a second aperture 162 that aligns with a recess 138 of coupling mechanism 124. A coupling device 154 may then engage second aperture 162 and recess 138. In some embodiment, there may be more than one second aperture 162 through second end 152 of bridge 122.
In another embodiment, depicted in
Alternatively, there may be only one coupling mechanisms 124 used herein, (not shown) where one coupling 124 is located on only one tube 104, to releasably hold that end of the bridge 122 in place and allowing the other end to also rotatively be placed against the surface of tube 108 and also have a pressure fit design without the use of a coupling mechanism against tube 108, and having a more intimate contact with the surface of the instrument 100.
Referring to
In either design, the coupling mechanisms would allow for the removal of a first bridge 122 and replace it with a second bridge (not illustrated), whereby the first and second bridges would be of different material from each other. Specifically, the different materials will provide the instrumentalist to affect or change the tonal qualities created by the different materials and their different harness of material or vibrational transmission qualities. In particular, the qualities know from the different materials would be the harnesses, vibration ability, rigidity, density, and other qualities known by those skilled in the art of wood science.
In an alternative embodiment, the bridge 122 is envisioned in one embodiment to be formed partially hollow 140 and partially solid along its longitudinal length. Wherein, the solid and hollow 140 portions may be located in any region of the bridge 122.
Additionally, although a single bridge 122 is illustrated in the wind instrument, it is also contemplated to utilize more than one bridge 122 on the instrument 100. In fact, the use of multiple bridges 122 is common on some instruments 100 like a flugel horn as shown in
It is also contemplated to replace known bridges in their known locations with the new alternative material. It is also contemplated to place additional alternative material based braces 122 in locations not previously taught by the prior art or traditionally known.
It is also contemplated that the dimensions of the bridge does not have to be a single uniform dimension. For example, the bridge 12 may contemplate a straight shape, but may be replaced with most any known shape, including figures of animals, buildings, figurines, artistic designs, or any other crafted shape. Thus, any change of dimension, of any kind—not just diameter, is contemplated.
It is contemplated that any type of material may be used herein, including manmade material, like cement, plaster, ceramic, porcelain, etc. or any other known materials other than those that make up the predominant amount of material that is currently being used in making instruments, like brass and its allows. The main feature of the invention being that the instrument material has a certain vibrational transmission, and the invention contemplates having a material that provides a different vibrational energy transmission quality that affects the produced sounds from that instrument.
It is also contemplated that when an instrument is made of a non-brass material, like silver and the like, the bridge will be made of a non-silver based material. Thus, the invention is not limited to just brass-based instruments, which brass was used as discussion and teaching purposes for the disclosure of the main advantages of the illustrated invention.
The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order to best explain the present invention and its practical application and to thereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings above without departing from the spirit and scope of the forthcoming claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled “MUSICAL INSTRUMENT VIBRATIONAL ENERGY MODIFICATION APPARATUS AND SYSTEM,” Ser. No. 61/944,423, filed Feb. 25, 2014, now pending, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated entirely herein by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1555986 | Keefer, Jr. | Oct 1925 | A |
| 1744519 | Blessing | Jan 1930 | A |
| 2146967 | Loomis | Feb 1939 | A |
| 2232151 | Trew | Feb 1941 | A |
| 2971423 | LeBlanc | Feb 1961 | A |
| 3529505 | Brooks | Sep 1970 | A |
| 4341146 | Massa | Jul 1982 | A |
| 4831911 | Wanner | May 1989 | A |
| 4977809 | Staley, Jr. | Dec 1990 | A |
| 5644095 | Davidson | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5656788 | Wise | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5834666 | Wanner | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5894098 | Hsieh | Apr 1999 | A |
| 5965832 | Davidson | Oct 1999 | A |
| 6717041 | Hilliard | Apr 2004 | B1 |
| 6794564 | Louis | Sep 2004 | B2 |
| 7335831 | Laukat | Feb 2008 | B2 |
| 7439429 | Wood | Oct 2008 | B2 |
| 7468479 | Kraus | Dec 2008 | B2 |
| 8227676 | Jackson | Jul 2012 | B2 |
| 8247675 | Griego | Aug 2012 | B2 |
| 8278540 | Chen | Oct 2012 | B1 |
| 8907189 | Bernacki | Dec 2014 | B2 |
| 20020139237 | Momchilovich | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20090020000 | Onozawa | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20120024127 | Rashleigh | Feb 2012 | A1 |
| 20150243265 | Laukat | Aug 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150243265 A1 | Aug 2015 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61944423 | Feb 2014 | US |
