For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of this disclosure, references will now be made to several embodiments and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications and applications of the principles of the disclosure as described herein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.
This disclosure relates to a novel support for a pad assembly that comprises a backing disk and compensating disk, pad assemblies that incorporate the novel support, and woodwind instruments having at least one novel pad assembly positioned over at least one tone hole. Pad assemblies incorporating the new supports have a degree of self-leveling ability and can adjust to the contour of an imperfect tone hole with minimal pressure to seal the tone hole. Additionally, pad assemblies incorporating the new supports require a less rigorous leveling procedure to provide the necessary seal. Finally pad assemblies having the novel supports are able to maintain an even tension on the pad's skin that further reduces the incidence of tears in the skin resulting from fluctuations in moisture and repeated contacts with the tone hole surface. Finally, the self-leveling properties afforded pad assemblies containing the novel support allow the pad assemblies to be installed with only a cursory leveling procedure that reduces pad installation costs.
Embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to a variety of woodwind instruments, particularly to piccolos, flutes and clarinets. For flutes, the embodiments are applicable to both open (French) and closed hole covering assemblies. Conventional tone hole covering assemblies are composed of several components described in detail below.
As used herein, the term pad cup refers to a shallow cylindrical cup having cylindrical walls and an endplate attached to one side. Closed hole assemblies have a solid endplate attached to one side and a pad nut or short column centrally located within the pad cup and attached to the endplate. The end plate can be planar to receive a backing disk directly or non-planar and shaped to receive a stabilizing disk having at least one planar surface that can in turn accept a backing disk. The endplate for an open hole assembly frequently used for flutes has a central cavity with a chimney or short cylindrical column within the pad cup, attached to the endplate and centrally located so that cavities within the chimney and the endplate form a continuous region.
A pad assembly for a flute is typically composed of a backing disk and cushion layer covered by a sealing surface means generally comprising one or more layers of a sealing skin. The cushion layer can be a single layer of material or be composed of multiple layers. The pad assembly is held within the pad cup by a retainer. The term retainer commonly refers to a washer and fastener combination having means for attaching the fastener to the centrally located pad nut and retaining the pad assembly within the closed hole pad cup. For closed hole flutes the retainer is commonly a threaded shaft. For open hole assemblies, the retainer generally comprises a friction held collar positioned within the open hole pad cup's chimney. For closed hole flutes, the more common means for attaching a retainer's threaded shaft to the pad nut includes a threaded cavity centrally located within the pad nut.
The term “second side” utilized in referring to specific sides of a stabilizing disk, a backing disk, a compensating disk or a pad assembly, refers to the side of the structure facing the pad's sealing surface when the components have been assembled and installed within a pad cup. The term “first side” similarly refers to the side of a structure facing opposite the pad's sealing surface in the assembled structure. A stabilizing disk is a washer-shaped disk having at least one planar surface, an opening within the disk's central region sufficiently large to fit over the central pad nut or chimney. A stabilizing disk can be rigid or have a region located at or near the disk's circumference which can deflect to conform the surface of its second side to the contour of the tone hole surface. The stabilizing disk can be made of metal, a polymeric material, or a combination of these materials. Stabilizing disks made from polymeric materials can be cut, machined, or molded from stock materials. For pad assemblies with a particularly thick cushion layer a pad cup having a flat inner surface can be used making it possible to place the pad assembly into the pad cup without the need for a stabilizing disk.
Backing disks are disks, generally washer-shaped disks having at least on planar surface capable of supporting a cushion layer covered with a skin attached to the backing disk's first or back side. Backing disks may additionally have inner and outer collars forming a recess there-between to receive the cushion layer or only an outer collar. Backing disks can be constructed of metal or polymer. Preferred metals include, but are not limited to steel, brass, titanium, copper, nickel, tin and aluminum. Preferred polymers include, but are not limited to polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyoxymethylene(acetal) and polytetrafluoroethylene.
One aspect of the present disclosure is a modified backing disk and a compensating disk combination that supports a cushion layer with the ability to flex when the cushion layer is subjected to pressure caused by contact with a raised region of a tone hole. The backing disk has first and second surfaces, the second surface having outer and inner collars. The inner and outer collars can have straight edges or walls, curved edges or walls, or a combination thereof. The compensating disk similarly has first and second surfaces, inner and outer regions, and is adapted to be positioned against the backing disk's second surface over at least a portion of the outer collar creating a cavity between the backing disk's second surface and the compensating disk's first surface. A portion of a collar includes either a portion of the collar's surface or for collars having curved edges, a position along a curved edge. The compensating disk's inner region extends in the direction of the inner collar. The compensating disk's outer region can stop before reaching the inner collar, can abut the inner collar, can rest on a portion of a curved wall of the inner collar, or can rest upon the surface of the inner collar. Further, a compensating disk that rests upon both collars can be free or fixed to the collar with an adhesive or the like.
In a pad assembly that includes the novel backing disk and compensating disk combination, the cavity formed by the collars between the backing disk and the compensating disk is positioned generally congruent with the region of the cushion layer that contacts and seals a tone hole. This arrangement allows the cushion layer and the compensating disk to flex or bend into the cavity when a peak region of a tone hole impacts the cushion layer of the pad assembly. By bending or flexing in this way, the pad assembly is able to conform to the surface of a tone hole and provide a necessary seal without requiring the rigorous leveling procedure normally required. By selecting the material of construction, the compensating disk's thickness, and whether adjustment occurs by bending or flexing, a pad assembly's touch and ability to self-adjust can be varied to suit a particular need.
One preferred embodiment of the novel support combination involves a backing disk having inner and outer collars and a compensating disk positioned over the collars creating a cavity therebetween and having the ability to flex into the cavity upon encountering a force such as encountered when a pad is closed by a musician. Similarly, the compensating disk can be adapted to be positioned over and in contact with a curved wall of the outer collar, a curved wall of the inner collar or a combination thereof provided contact with at least a portion of the outer collar is achieved. The cavity can lack any structures or contain structures that modify the compensating disk's flexing motion. For example, the placement of one or a plurality of ridges within the cavity beneath the compensating disk contained in a pad assembly modifies the assembly's touch and ability to self adjust. The introduction of structures within the cavity typically has this effect regardless of whether the compensating disk functions by bending or flexing. The number of structures present, their height, and the distance between the structures impact the touch and the level of self-adjustment achieved. Generally a fewer number of structures within the cavity having a maximum distance from the first side of the compensating disk and from adjacent structures enable a pad assembly containing the support to self adjust to more severely damaged or otherwise faulty tone holes.
One preferred embodiment of the novel support combination involves a backing disk having inner and outer collars and a compensating disk positioned over only the outer collar or only the curved wall of the outer collar creating a cavity therebetween. The inner region of the compensating disk extends in the direction of the inner collar without resting on it. Because the inner region of the compensating disk is unsupported it has the ability to bend into the cavity upon encountering a force such as encountered when a pad is closed by a musician. Like the earlier embodiment discussed, the cavity can lack any structures or contain structures that modify the compensating disk's bending motion. Again, ridges are preferred structures for placement within the cavity and these structures similarly impact a pad assembly's touch and ability to self adjust.
The new backing disks can be made of metal or a polymeric material. Backing disks made from polymeric materials can be cut, machined, or molded from stock materials. Backing disks made from polymeric materials are generally preferred. The novel compensating disks can be made of metal or polymeric materials. Suitable metals include, but are not limited to, steel, brass, titanium copper, nickel, tin and aluminum. Again, polymeric materials are generally preferred. Suitable polymeric materials include, but are not limited to, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyoxymethylene(acetal) and polytetrafluoroethylene. Particularly preferred polymeric materials, such as rubbers, have elastic properties. Particularly suitable rubber materials include, but are not limited to, neoprene rubbers, fluoroelastomeric rubbers, silicone rubbers, natural rubbers, nitrile rubbers, latex rubbers, styrene butadiene rubbers, Hypalon® rubbers, polyisoprene rubbers, EPDM rubbers and polyurethane rubbers.
The cushion utilized in pad assemblies is a washer shaped disk made from a compressible material sized to fit against the backing disk's second side in the region of the pad assembly that will contact the tone hole surface. The cushion can be constructed from any material having a uniform thickness that can be cut into rings or otherwise formed. Single or multiple layers of cushion material can be employed. The cushion material must be capable of both supporting the pad's sealing surface and providing sufficient flexibility to conform to the tone hole's surface. Suitable cushion materials include natural materials such as wool felt and synthetic materials such as ULTRASUEDE, SCOTTFELT (mfr grade 900) or compressible polymers such as polyurethanes, silicon rubber and the like. ULTRASUEDE is a synthetic suede having polyester fibers impregnated with polyurethane manufactured by the Toray Co. Ltd. of Japan. SCOTTFLET is a registered trademark of the Scottfoam Corporation of Eddystone, Pa.
The skin utilized to cover the cushion and backing disk has traditionally been a membrane made from animal intestines. The skin is sometimes referred to as “fish skin” or “Goldbeater's skin”. The skin is sensitive to moisture from the atmosphere, the musician's breath and saliva and changes its dimensions according to its moisture level.
A typical pad assembly is mounted in a pad cup containing a stabilizing disk resting against the pad cup's end-plate with an adhesive layer. The pad assembly can comprise a backing disk, a cushion and a sealing surface, typically a layer of a skin, covering the cushion and collars and fastened to the backing disk opposite the cushion and collars with an adhesive. The pad assembly is held in the pad cup with a retainer that includes a washer and screw engaged within a pad nut. The stabilizing and backing disks can be rigid or flexible. Because wind instruments and flutes vary in size, as do their tone holes, the dimensions of tone hole pads must vary accordingly. Generally pad cups have internal diameters ranging from about 0.300 to 0.750 inches and corresponding pad assemblies are sized to fit closely within the pad cup.
A more detailed description of the disclosure follows and refers to the appended drawings.
Upon contacting tone hole surface 140, the force exerted on skin 65 and flexible cushion 110 is transferred to compensating disk 20 causing it to flex into cavity 50 and allowing skin 65 and cushion 110 to adjust to the contour of the tone hole sealing surface 140. The degree of flexing achieved by compensating disk 20 depends on the material of construction and thickness of compensating disk 20 as well as the depth of cavity 50, and whether or not cavity 50 is fitted with one or a plurality of ridges as shown in
The preferred compensating disks illustrated in this figure and other figures in which the compensating disk rests on inner and outer collars have some ability to bend or flex upon encountering a force. The bending or flexing can result from the inner region of the compensating disk flexing or pivoting into the cavity from the region supported by the outer collar 30 or can similarly result due to a stretching of the compensating disk, depending on the material of construction and it's thickness.
The novel backing and compensating disks illustrated in
The methods for utilizing the novel backing disks and pad assemblies disclosed and claimed herein for tone hole coverings for woodwinds, particularly flutes, and conforming their sealing surface to a tone hole are well known and have been described in the art.
Certain embodiments of this disclosure can be used to replace pad assemblies in older instruments and in original equipment. In addition, the embodiment's sealing surface can be made to conform to the tone hole surface with a variety of known techniques. Depending on the level of flexibility available to a compensating disk a normal leveling technique may be required or only a cursory leveling procedure may be used. As a result, embodiments of applicant's novel pad assemblies are suitable for use in a range of instruments from hand made flutes used by professional musicians to the less expensive student flutes.
Applicant's new pad assemblies having the novel support disclosed are not only better able to conform to the surface of a tone hole, but can be made to maintain the necessary level of support for the pad's sealing surface and maintain an even tension on the pad's skin. As a result, the pad's surface continues to provide a superior seal with fewer tears of the skin.
While applicant's invention has been described in detail above with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood that modifications and alterations in embodiments disclosed may be made by those practiced in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. All such modifications and alterations are intended to be covered. In addition, all publications cited herein are indicative of the level of skill in the art and are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if each had been individually incorporated by reference and fully set forth.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/821,151 filed Aug. 2, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60821151 | Aug 2006 | US |