GB2202074A

GB2202074A - A musical instrument

Info

Publication number: GB2202074A
Application number: GB08706054A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Trevor Dampney
Original assignee: LYONS CLARINET CO Ltd
Current assignee: LYONS CLARINET CO Ltd
Priority date: 1987-03-13
Filing date: 1987-03-13
Publication date: 1988-09-14
Also published as: EP0353230A1; GB8706054D0; WO1988007252A1; JPH02502945A; AU1422288A; AU600570B2

Abstract

A clarinet has a body (70) comprising upper and lower longitudinal portions (10, 40). A perfectly circular bore is formed by inner surfaces (12, 42) of the portions (10, 40) which are welded together along abutment faces (13, 43). T-shaped or L-shaped grooves (17, 47) are located in the abutment faces which form recesses (77) when the portions (10, 40) are welded together. The portions have features which are integrally moulded with the relevant portion (10, 40). Separately moulded keys (80, 90, 100) are snap-fittable into the recesses (70) in the body (70) and are thereby attachable and replaceable without the use of tools or special skills.

Description

A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT The invention relates to a muscial instrument and to a method of making a musical instrument.

Concert-standard musical instruments are commonly hand-made, at least in part, and are consequently expensive to purchase. Woodwind instruments in particular involve a substantial amount of hand-working.

It is known to manufacture a clarinet body from a plastics material. In the known process, the body is moulded in a cylindrical form with a conical central mandril which must be withdrawn at a critical time in order to achieve an adequately small taper. This process results in a plastics body which requires virtually as much hand-working as a wooden clarinet body, particularly on the inside, since undercut features are impossible to form by moulding.

An object of the invention is to provide a musical instrument of concert standard manufactured in such a way that the amount of hand-working is substantially reduced.

The invention provides a musical instrument having a tubular body comprising two longitudinal portions joined along abutment faces extending along the length of the body such that a central bore is formed within the body.

Further preferred features of the musical instrument according to the invention will become apparent when a specific embodiment is described.

The invention also provides a method of making a muscial instrument comprising the steps of integrally moulding the longitudinal portions from a plastics material and subsequently joining the portions along the abutment faces thereof.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a plan view of the interior of an upper longitudinal portion of the body of a musical instrument according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the exterior of the portion of Figs. 1 and 2 with keys attached; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the interior of a lower longitudinal portion corresponding to the upper portion of Figs. 1 to 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the exterior of the portion of Figs. 4 and 5; Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines VII-VII shown in Figs. 1 and 4 with the upper and lower longitudinal portions joined together; Fig. 8 is a side view of a first key;; Fig. 9(a) is a side view of a second key Fig. 9(b) is an end view of the second key of Fig. 9(a); Fig. 10(a) is a side view of a third key; Fig. 10(b) is an end view of the third key of Fig. 10(a); Fig. 10(c) is a plan view of the third key of Figs.

10(a) and 10(b); Fig. ll(a) is a section through the cover of any one key; and Fig. ll(b) is a sectional view of a seal for use with the key cover of Fig. ll(a).

A clarinet according to the invention has a body comprising two longitudinal portions moulded separately from a plastics material. Figs. 1 to 3 show an upper longitudinal portion 10 having a substantially half-cylindrical shape. The upper portion 10 has an outer part-cylindrical surface 11, an inner part-cylindrical surface 12 and two abutment faces 13.

the inner surface 12 is perfectly uniform in cross section for the majority of the length of the upper portion 10 and diverges towards one end 10' of the upper portion 10.

Apertures 15 are arranged colinearly along the upper portion 10 and are located midway between the abutment faces 13. The apertures 15 are spaced along the upper portion 10 at predetermined positions such that a required range of notes may be obtained when the instrument is played. Each aperture 15 has a conical countersink 16 adjacent the inner surface 12 by means of which the quality of the notes is improved. The apertures 15 and countersinks 16 are moulded integrally with the upper portion 10.

Also moulded integrally with the upper portion 10 are substantially T-shaped grooves 17 located in the abutment faces 13 adjacent the outer surface 11. Each T-shaped groove 17 in the upper portion 10 correspondes to a similar T-shaped groove in a lower portion as described below. Corresponding T-shaped grooves combine to form a T-shaped recess in the instrument body which are adapted to receive keys as described below in a snap-fit manner.

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the exterior of the upper portion 10 with three keys 80, 90, 100 attached by means of grooves 17. The keys 80, 90, 100 are adapted to cover apertures 15 and are described in detail below.

Keys 80 and 90 are pivotable about key supports 21 located on the outer surface 11 and which are also integrally moulded with the upper portion 10.

Figs. 4 to 6 show a lower longitudinal portion 40 suitable for joining to the upper portion 10 shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The lower portion 40 also has a substantially half-cylindrical shape, with an outer part-cylindrical surface 41, an inner part-cylindrical surfa-ce 42 and two abutment faces 43. The inner surface 42 is perfectly uniform in cross section for the majority of the length of the lower portion 40 and corresponds to the uniformity of the inner surface 12 of the upper portion 10. The inner surface 42 diverges towards an end 40' of the lower portion 40.

Apertures 45 are arranged colinearly in the lower portion 40 and are located midway between the abutment faces 43. The apertures 45 are surrounded by tubular protrusions 46 extending beyond the outer and inner surfaces 41, 42 of the lower portion 40. The protrusions 46 improve the quality of the notes produced by the instrument and are moulded integrally with the lower portion 40.

As mentioned above, T-shaped grooves 47 corresponding to those of the upper portion 10 are located in the abutment faces 43 adjacent the outer surface 41. The grooves 47 are also moulded integrally with the lower portion 40. The grooves 47 are located in the abutment faces 43 such that they will be aligned with the grooves 17 of the upper portion 10 when the upper and lower portions 10, 40 are joined by their abutment faces 13, 43. The lower portion 40 may also comprise a thumb rest (not shown) which may be adjustable or fixed.

Fig. 7 shows a section taken through the body 70 of an instrument comprising an upper portion 10 and a lower portion 40. The lines VII-VII shown in Figs. 1 and 4 indicate the section taken. The inner surfaces 12, 42 form a perfectly cylindrical bore for the body 70 when the portions 10, 40 are joined by welding along their abutment faces 13,43. The grooves 17,47 combine to form T-shaped recesses 77 in the side of the body 70 for receiving keys in a snap-fit manner.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 show keys 80, 90, 100 adapted for use with a body 70 as described above. In Fig. 8, the key 80 has resilient feet 81 which may be received by a recess 77 in the body 70 (see Fig. 7). The feet 81 may be pressed together against the resilient bias and snap-fitted into the recess. The key 80 also has pivot bases 82 which abut against the key supports 21 shown in Fig. 3 and about which the key covers 83 pivot. The key covers 83 are adapted to cover and seal an aperture 15 when pressed towards the body 70. The key covers 83 are urged away from the body 70 by means of a spring section 84 shaped to provide sufficient resilience to retain the key covers 83 in a position away from the body 70 when not required to seal an aperture, but also allowing the key covers 83 to be pressed towards the bódy 70 with little effort. The length of the spring portion 84 is such that the key 80 cannot be displaced from the key supports 21 once the foot 81 has been engaged with the recess.

Figs. 9(a) and (b) show a key 90 similar to that shown in Fig. 8. The key 90 has two sets of resilient feet 91, each adapted to be snap-fitted into a recess 77 (see Fig. 7). Fig. 9(b) shows a side view of the spring portions 94 which retain the key covers 93 in the required position until pressure is applied.

Figs. lO(a), (b) and (c) show a different type of key 100 which may be used to cover the holes adjacent ends 10' and 40' of the portions 10,40. The key 100 may be mounted on the instrument body by means of pegs and recesses in the body. Feet 101 are snap-fittable into the recesses and spring portions 104 abut against pegs such that the key cover 103 is retained away from the body when not required to seal an aperture. Extending beyond the feet 101 are pivot portions 105 having pegs 106 which, when pulled by means of e.g. pull-rods (not shown) in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body 70, cause rotation of the pivot portions 105 and thus the key cover 103 against the resilient bias of the spring portions 104. Thus an aperture may be sealed by operation of a pull-rod from a position remote from the aperture.The key 100 may also be shaped such that two such keys may be positioned in opposite directions as shown in Fig. 10(c). The spring portions on such reversed keys may abut against pegs in the opposite sense, such that the key cover seals an aperture until operated by a pull-rod. More than one such key may also be operated by a single pull rod.

All of the above described keys 80, 90, 100 may be integrally moulded from a plastics material. Polyacetyl in its co-polymer form is a suitable material having good resilient characteristics. Each key is replaceable merely by removing the defective key and snap-fitting a new one into the appropriate T-shaped recess. This may be achieved by hand with no tools.

The recesses shown in the embodiment described above are substantially T-shaped. However, it is equally possible to achieve the same result using L-shaped recesses, the aim being to produce an undercut recess by joining two non-undercut grooves or one such groove and a flat surface.

A further feature of the keys 80, 90, 100 is that each key cover 83, 93, 103 may be formed with a cross-section as shown in Fig. ll(a). Inside each cover 113 is a recess 117 moulded integrally with the cover 113 which is adapted for receiving a sealing pad 118 as shown in Fig. 11(b). Such a sealing pad may be made of silicone rubber and is replaceably snap-fitted inside the cover 113 by means of the recess 117 and a small tongue 119 located on the sealing pad 118 which is slightly conical. Such a pad may have a life longer than that of a commonly used hide pad and would be easy and cheap to replace. Small misalignments of the key cover are easily compensated by the resilience of the sealing pad 118.

The body described in detail above must be able to receive a mouth piece and bell in order to become a playable instrument. Conventional connecting portions are provided on. the body to allow conventional wooden bells and mouthpieces to be attached. Bells and mouthpieces may also be integrally moulded from plastics material. Features of a plastics mouthpiece may include a reed guard which may be snap-fitted into place, and ligature mounting portions which may be integrally moulded with the mouthpiece. 'O'-ring seals may be provided between the bell and mouth piece and the body.

The above instrument provides a clarinet of concert standard which has a body mouldable in two longitudinal portions which are subsequently welded together. Many of the features which are customarily hand-tooled on wooden or plastics instruments are moulded integrally with the portions and the cost of hand finishing is thereby substantially reduced. The body is adapted to receive a mouthpiece and bell which maybe classical or moulded from plastics material. Particularly advantageous are the integrally moulded snap-fit keys which may be replaced without the need for tools or special skills.

The resulting instrument is a high quality, robust, inexpensive clarinet suitable for teaching. Vulnerable parts are easily replaceable and the complete instrument is lightweight and easy for e.g. a child of 8-10 years to play. The arrangement of the keys is such that conversion to an alternative clarinet requires miniumum effort.

It is envisaged that other instruments may be constructed in a similar way to that described above.

Sutitable instruments would be the flute, oboe, saxophone and maybe other woodwind or brass instruments. It is also possible to apply replaceable snap-fitting keys to instruments manufactured in other ways. Conventionally mounted keys may also be adapted to receive replaceable snap-fitting sealing pads of synthetic materials, or alternatively, a synthetic sealing pad may be mounted on an existing key without modification by engagement of a resilient outer lip of the sealing pad with the external surface of the key.

Claims

1. A musical instrument having a tubular body comprising two longitudinal portions joined along abutment faces extending along the length of the body such that a central bore is formed within the body.

2. A musical instrument as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the central bore is cylindrical along a substantial proportion of the length thereof.

3. A musical instrument as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the longitudinal portions are each integrally moulded from a plastics material.

4. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the abutment faces are located at either end of a single diameter of the central bore.

5. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of claims 1 to .4, wherein the longitudinal portions have apertures positioned intermediate the abutment faces of each portion.

6. A musical instrument as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the apertures are countersunk adjacent the central bore.

7. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one portion has substantially 'T'-shaped or 'L'-shaped grooves in the abutment faces thereof located such that, on adjoinment the two portions, the grooves form substantially 'T'-shaped or 'L'-shaped recesses in the body for attachment of keys.

8. A musical instrumentxas claimed in Claim 5 or 6, further comprising keys mounted on the body for closing the apertures therein, the keys being removably snap-fitted into the substantially 'T'-shaped or 'L'-shaped recesses.

9. A musical instrument as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the keys are moulded from a resilient plastics material.

10. A musical instrument as claimed in Claim 8 or 9.

wherein the keys comprise removable seals for sealing the apertures.

11. A musical instrument as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the seals are made from silicone rubber.

12. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 11, wherein at least one key is operable by means of a pull-rod actuable from a position remote from the at least one key.

13. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a mouthpiece and a bell removably attached to the body.

14. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the instrument is a clarinet.

15. A musical instrument as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the instrument is a saxaphone.

16 A musical instrument as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the instrument is a flute.

17. A musical instrument substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A method of making a musical instrument as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of integrally moulding the longitudinal portions from a plastics material and subsequently joining the portions along the abutment faces thereof.

19. A method of making a musical instrument substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.