Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6717041
-
Patent Number
6,717,041
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, April 8, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 6, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 084 394
- 084 395
- 084 399
- 084 387 A
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
Disclosed is a mechanism for attaching a tuning bell of a musical instrument to the musical instrument. The mechanism includes a rail attached to the tuning bell and a hollow channel attached to a part of the musical instrument such as, for example, to a valve cluster. The channel has an exterior surface and an interior surface. The mechanism includes an adjustable clamp engaging the exterior surface of the channel. Also disclosed is method of using the mechanism which comprises the steps of positioning the rail within the channel and adjusting the clamp to compressibly engage the interior surface of the channel against the exterior surface of the rail until the rail is secured against the interior surface to prevent movement of the rail within the channel.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
Wind musical instruments may require the use of a tuning bell to help adjust and maintain the proper tuning of the instrument. An attachment mechanism is used to attach the tuning bell to the instrument, for example, to the valve cluster of a trumpet. Prior art attachments include a rail attached to the instrument's valve cluster. A channel rides along the rail and can be tightened by use of small allen screw to lock the tuning bell in a desired position. A problem with this prior art device is that the set screws extend through the channel and abut the rail. The holding force of the screw through the channel pressing against the rail tends to cause the channel to deform outwardly away from the rail which may cause it to not provide a secure attachment. Another problem is that an additional clamp may need to be attached to the rail to help retain the tuning bell in a desired location. This additional clamp increases the attachment's cost and complexity. Also, some prior art attachment mechanisms position a securing screw where it may partially obstruct or at least interfere with access to the instrument's valves which could impede proper operation of the instrument. Wind instruments include brass winds such as trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas and related instruments and wood winds such as saxophones, bassoons, and contra altos.
The present disclosure relates to a mechanism for attaching the tuning bell to the instrument. The mechanism includes a channel attached to the instrument and a rail attached to the tuning bell. The rail is designed to fit securely within the channel. A clamping mechanism is used to compress the channel to adjustably engage the rail when the rail is positioned in the channel. A tightening screw is used to adjust the compressing force of the clamping mechanism.
Because the attachment mechanism uses a compressible clamping structure, substantial forces can be applied to the channel and rail without deforming any of the structures. Further, the clamping mechanism provides sufficient force to obviate the need for a second clamp or screw. Optionally, for added stability and support, an extending support extending from the clamping mechanism to a mouthpiece receiving tube may be used.
Also disclosed is a method of securing the tuning bell of a wind musical instrument to the musical instrument. A rail attached to the tuning bell is positioned within a cavity defined by a hollow channel attached to the instrument. The channel is then compressibly tightened to engage the rail by two arms of a clamping mechanism which are brought together using a tightening screw.
Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of drawings exemplifying the disclosure as presently perceived.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a brass wind instrument with a tuning bell displaced from a body portion and including the tuning adjustment retaining mechanism as disclosed;
FIG. 2
is an exploded view of a valve cluster of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the mechanism as shown in
FIG. 1
; and
FIG. 4
is a partial fragmentary cross-sectional view of a portion of the mechanism taken along line
4
—
4
in FIG.
3
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the present description is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.
With reference to the figures,
FIG. 1
, shows one embodiment of a wind musical instrument
8
. In
FIG. 1
, a tuning bell
9
has been removed from a body
11
of the instrument
8
. As shown, a male end
15
is engaged in a female end
13
. A length
17
of the female end
13
extends into a corresponding portion
19
of the male end
15
to provide a degree of slideable adjustment of the tuning bell
9
of the instrument
8
. A tuning adjustment retaining mechanism
10
of the current disclosure may be used with a variety of wind instruments including trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, saxophones, bassoons, and contra altos.
While it is not specifically illustrated, it is envisioned that the disclosed tuning retaining assembly
10
may be used in conjunction with a variety of wind instruments such as saxophones, bassoons, contra altos and others in order to retain a desired adjustment. A variety of musical instruments
8
include a valve cluster
12
(See FIG.
2
). A commonly found three-valve valve cluster
12
of a trumpet is shown for illustrative purposes. The mechanism
10
includes a hollow channel
14
attached to valve cluster
12
. A clamping assembly
16
is provided and includes a first clamp arm
18
, a second clamp arm
20
, and a compressor or clamp tightener
22
, in the form of a threaded screw. The screw
22
passes through a pass hole or aperture
24
in upper clamp arm
18
into a lower threaded bore in lower clamp arm
20
. The aperture
24
has a diameter slightly larger than a major diameter of screw
22
. The screw
22
is used to tighten or loosen the compressing force, created by the clamp arms
18
,
20
.
A rail
26
is attached to a tuning bell tube
28
by attachment structures or posts
30
,
32
which space the rail
26
away from the tubing bell. Attachment structures
30
,
32
may be any suitable structure such as, for example, a welded member having a wider curved portion for engagement with the curve of the tuning bell tube
28
and a narrower curved portion for connection to rail
26
. With reference to
FIG. 4
, rail
26
has an external cross-sectional shape which generally corresponds to the internal cross-sectional shape of the channel
14
. While a generally circular cross-sectional shape is shown, other cross-sectional configurations are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure. Rail
26
has an exterior diameter
34
which is generally equal to or slightly smaller than the internal diameter
35
of the channel
14
. The length of rail
26
depends on the type of the wind instrument rail
26
is used with, but as shown may be generally proportional to the length of the valve cluster
12
. Rail
26
and channel
14
are generally the same length.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, channel
14
includes a first end
21
and a second end
23
and further includes a wall
25
between the interior and exterior surfaces of the channel
14
. Wall
25
includes a slot
27
which may extend a partial distance from the first end
21
toward the second end
23
or extend then entire length of the channel
14
from the first end
21
to the second end
23
. The interior surface of wall
25
defines a cavity
29
into which rail
26
is positioned during attachment as more fully described below.
An extension member
36
is attached to a clamping assembly
16
and a mouthpiece tube
40
for added stability and support. An end portion
42
of extension
36
may be fanned or widen and curve to provide conformal attachment to mouthpiece tube
40
.
FIG. 3
shows the components of the mechanism
10
removed from the tuning bell tube
28
and valve cluster
12
. Clamping assembly
16
has the upper clamp arm
18
and lower clamp arm
20
, the interior surfaces of which engage the exterior surface
44
of channel
26
. In one embodiment, aperture
24
extends through upper clamping arm
18
formed to receive an adjusting screw
22
. A receiving bore
48
in lower clamp arm
20
is formed to receive an end of adjusting screw
22
as adjusting screw
22
is tightened.
The aperture
24
and recessed bore
48
are threaded for threaded engagement with a clamping screw
22
,
22
A or
22
B. Clamping screw
22
as shown in
FIG. 1
, has a slotted head portion designed for engagement with a coin or standard screwdriver. Referring to
FIG. 3
, clamping screw
22
A has a handle
50
with two arms
52
extending collinearly from a head portion
54
. Arms
52
are so designed for easy gripping to produce the desired rotation. A threaded shank
56
extends down from the head portion
54
perpendicularly from the two arms
52
to pass through aperture
24
.
Channel
14
is connected to the valve cluster
12
by attachment structure
58
which may be curved to provide conformal attachment. A wider curved attachment structure
60
connects extension member
36
to the valve cluster
12
. An extension member end portion
62
may be bent to produce a larger surface for attachment to attachment structure
60
.
The structures as described here and above provide the function of retaining the tuning bell to which the rail
26
is attached in secure position relative to the body of the instrument which includes the valve cluster
12
. The rail
26
is received in hollow cavity
29
defined by the interior surface
61
of the channel
14
. The channel
14
includes a generally longitudinally extending slot
27
which provides some degree of flexion of opposing ends of the slot. Flexion is promoted by the clamp arms
18
,
20
which are engaged by the screw
22
,
22
A,
22
B. This can be seen in FIG.
3
. As shown in
FIG. 4
, clamp arms
18
,
20
brought together by action of the screw to compress the interior surface
61
of the channel
14
against an exterior surface
63
of the rail
26
. This clamping action produces a positive clamping force on both sides of the rail
26
by reducing diameter
35
to enhance the clamping action and securely retain the tuning bell tube
28
in proper adjustment. It should also be noted that the generally axially structure of the rail
26
and channel
14
result in extension of the clamping forces from the clamp assembly
16
extending therefrom a distance along the channel
14
and rail
26
. The axially elongated structures of the rail
26
and channel
14
are in close generally conformal fitting of the exterior surface of the rail within the interior surface of the channel which tend to create frictional forces there between. The frictional forces help to enhance the engagement of the rail in the channel such that any canting is prevented.
The adjusting screw
22
may be hand tightened initially, and then securely tightened using a coin or slotted tool. Adjusting screw
22
A allows for easier hand tightening by use of gripping arms
52
. Curved adjusting screw
22
B may also be hand tightened by gripping handle
68
. The use of this clamping assembly
16
allows an operator to secure the rail
26
without a risk of over-tightening. The force of the clamping assembly
16
is distributed throughout the rail
26
such that the channel
14
cannot be deformed by manual over-tightening.
To remove the rail
26
, the adjusting screw
22
,
22
A,
22
B is rotated in a direction opposite the tightening direction. As the hollow cavity
29
widens, the rail
26
may be slid out from either end of the channel
14
.
While an embodiment of the disclosure is shown and described, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as recited in the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A mechanism for adjustably attaching a tuning bell to a musical instrument, the mechanism comprising:a rail attached to at least one of the tuning bell and the musical instrument; a hollow channel attached to the other of the tuning bell and the musical instrument generally in opposition to the rail for receiving at least a portion of the rail therein; the channel having an exterior surface and an interior surface; and an adjustable clamp coupled with the channel for compressibly engaging the exterior surface of the channel.
- 2. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the channel is attached to the musical instrument and the rail is attached to the tuning bell.
- 3. The mechanism of claim 2, wherein the musical instrument includes a valve cluster and the channel is carried on the valve cluster.
- 4. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the clamp includes an upper clamping arm and a lower clamping arm and a compressor on the upper and lower clamping arms for bringing the upper and lower arms together to produce compressing forces on the channel.
- 5. The mechanism of claim 4, wherein the upper clamping arm has an aperture therethrough, wherein the lower clamping arm has a lower threaded bore therethrough, and wherein the compressor is a threaded shaft, extending through the aperture and the lower threaded bore for providing controllable compression of the arms engaging the channel.
- 6. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the channel further comprises:a first end and a second end; a wall defined between the exterior surface and interior surface; a slot in at least a portion of the wall extending from the first end at least a distance along the wall toward the second end.
- 7. The mechanism of claim 6, wherein the slot extends from the first end to the second end.
- 8. The mechanism of claim 6, wherein the rail has attachment structures to attach the rail to and space away from the tuning bell, the attachment structures extending through the slot when the rail is in the channel.
- 9. A mechanism for adjustably attaching a tuning bell to a musical instrument, the mechanism comprising:a rail attached to the tuning bell; a hollow channel attached to the musical instrument generally in opposition to the rail for receiving at least a portion of the rail therein; an adjustable clamp coupled with the channel for compressibly engaging the exterior surface of the channel; the channel further comprising: an exterior surface and an interior surface; a first end and second end; a wall defined between the exterior surface and the interior surface; a slot in at least a portion of the wall extending from a first end and at least a distance along the wall toward the second end; and wherein the rail has attachment structures to attach the rail to and space away from the tuning bell, the attachment structures extending through the slot when the rail is in the channel.
- 10. The mechanism of claim 9, wherein the clamp includes an upper clamping arm and a lower clamping arm and a compressor on the upper and lower clamping arms for bringing the upper and lower arms together to produce compressing forces on the channel.
- 11. The mechanism of claim 10, wherein the upper clamping arm has an aperture therethrough, wherein the lower clamping arm has a lower threaded bore therethrough, and wherein the compressor is a threaded shaft, extending through the aperture and the lower threaded bore for providing controllable compression of the arms engaging the channel.
- 12. A method of adjustably securing a tuning bell of a musical instrument, the mechanism having a rail attached to at least one of the tuning bell and the musical instrument, a hollow channel attached to the other of the tuning bell and the musical instrument generally in opposition to the rail for receiving at least a portion of the rail therein, the having an exterior surface and an interior surface, and an adjustable clamp coupled with the channel for compressibly engaging the exterior surface of the channel, the method comprising the steps of:positioning the rail within the channel; adjusting the clamping mechanism to compressibly engage the exterior surface until the rail is secured against the interior surface to prevent movement of the rail within the channel.
US Referenced Citations (19)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
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