EP2561507A1 - Improvement for a harmonica - Google Patents

Abstract

The harmonica (1), according to the invention, comprises a comb (2) or back plate holding at least one blade holder (3, 4) on which sound blades and a peripheral shell enabling the harmonica to be gripped are mounted, said shell comprising at least one cover (5, 5). Each blade holder (3, 4) that the harmonica comprises is sandwiched between the bearing surface in question of the comb (2) and the corresponding cover (5, 5) by a pressure means (8) that tends to urge said cover (5) toward the comb (2) and that is installed between the mouthpiece surface (7) of the instrument and the bearing tabs (51) located on the mouth (6) side of the instrument.

Description

 Improvement for harmonica

 Technical field of the invention

 The present invention relates to an improvement to simplify the construction of a harmonica while facilitating its maintenance and improving its sound performance through an optimization of its sealing against air leaks.

State of the art

 The maintenance of harmonicas of the prior art is often tedious because their disassembly is long and delicate and it also requires the use of special tools, including the use of very small screwdrivers imposed by very small screws that are fragile and delicate to unscrew as much as to put back in place.

Moreover, these harmonicas of the prior art suffer from a poor performance on the aeraulic plane, and therefore consequently on the sound level, in particular because of the very penalizing air leaks which take place at the level of the mouth of the instrument between the comb, the blade holders and the caps and because the said caps do not exert all along the mouth face pressure sufficient to ensure sealing between these elements between them.

Various patents filed in the field of the harmonica propose solutions to try to solve this problem among which we can cite the patents US 2,595,381 A, WO 93/23846 A1, JP 48096932 U, US 4,342,250 A which all show or describe harmonicas comprising a comb sandwiched between two blade holders held pressed against the comb by two covers tending to approach one another under the action of clamping screws or equivalent devices located in the immediate vicinity longitudinal ends of said covers therefore outside the areas of the harmonica in which are located the air channels feeding the sound waves of the instrument.

This conventional embodiment adopted by the majority of existing products actually provides at the end zones of the harmonica plating satisfactory and therefore a satisfactory seal against air leakage between the comb, the blade and the covers with regard to the zones situated in the immediate vicinity of said screws, therefore on the one hand at the level of the air ducts supplying the bass blades of the instrument and, on the other hand, at the air ducts supplying the blades acute of the instrument. However, these pressure means located near the ends of the instrument are totally inoperative for the entire central longitudinal portion of the harmonica in which are implanted the vast majority of the sound waves of the instrument and this is the reason for which in this central area, it uses screws to ensure the veneer of the blade holder against the comb, said screws passing through a blade holder and the comb to be screwed into the opposite blade holder. While this arrangement ensures effective plating of the blade holder against the comb which prevents any air leakage between said comb and the blade holders, it does not provide any solution against air leakage between the covers. and the blade carriers operating along the longitudinal central portion of the mouth face where the lip of each of the two covers, which are held pressed against the blade holders by their two ends, plate only never sealingly against the corresponding outer face of said blade holders.

 In an attempt to solve this problem, US Pat. No. 2,595,381 A proposes the use of an elastic metal clip disposed at the mid-length of the instrument and which hooks onto the rear edges of the hoods located on the side of the roof of the roof. instrument. However it is easily understood that despite the frames by which said hoods bear against the blade holders the pressing pressure exerted by the staple midway length of these covers at their rear edge located on the side of the flag can only amplify again, at the mouth, the yawn of the lip of each of the two covers relative to the outer face of the blade holder and this all along the central part of the mouth of the instrument which explains that this provision has never been adopted in practice.

Object of the invention

 The present invention therefore aims to obviate these drawbacks and, to achieve its objectives, it aims first of all to ensure a quick and easy disassembly of the blade holder for tuning and cleaning operations of the harmonica while ensuring in addition, an optimum seal is provided all along the mouth face between the covers, the blade plates and the corresponding bearing faces of the harmonica comb or base plate against which the said plates supporting the sound blades of the harmonica are applied; instrument.

To do this, the invention proposes a particular design of the covers and clamping means associated with them, said clamping means being implanted as close as possible to the mouth face at different points along the length of the harmonica and not located only at the end zones of the hoods as is the case in the harmonicas of the prior art. Under the action of tightening the pressure screws, and in particular screws arranged in the central zone of the instrument, each of the two covers pivots around the end of its legs bearing against the blade-holder on the side of the roof of the instrument until, in the manner of the two jaws of a pincer, by cantilever effect, all along the mouth face of the instrument the lip of each of the two covers are strongly applied against the blade holders by pressing them against the comb so as to ensure a perfect seal between all these elements including in the central part of the mouth face where the devices of the prior art fail.

Furthermore, to enable the rapid vibration of powerful sound waves, the invention proposes arrangements of said covers and if necessary the comb designed to ensure optimum supply of air to said blades, in particular with regard to the serious sound waves that require a high airflow for their vibrations. The invention also proposes a particular conformation of the air circulation ducts supplying the sound strips aimed both at allowing the passage of powerful clamping screws through certain lateral partition walls of the channels as well as at optimizing the flows of the air flows in said channels.

The improvements proposed in this invention are applicable to all types of harmonicas as well harmonicas of the low type, tremolos or diatonic which each air channel feeding one or more sound blades is connected directly to a single mouth hole that harmonicas of the chromatic type having a sliding or pivoting air distributor for selectively sending to a first channel, feeding at least one blown blade and at least one aspirated blade, or to a second channel, also supplying at least one blown blade and at least one blade sucked, the air sucked or the air blown by the player into a mouth hole common to these two adjacent air channels.

The arrangements of the instrument proposed in this invention therefore constitute a relevant answer to the problems of maintenance as well as to the problems of airtightness and ventilation efficiency encountered in the harmonicas of the prior art.

Beforehand, to facilitate the description and understanding of this document, we first agree that the harmonica described is positioned vertically so that the mouthpiece constituting the part of the instrument in contact with the musician's mouth constitutes the upper part of the instrument while the opposite part, the flag, by which emits the sounds emitted constitutes the lower part of the instrument.

We therefore agree that the harmonica according to the invention, which may be of symmetrical or non-symmetrical external shape, is here positioned in such a way that its mean longitudinal plane Pm is arranged vertically, said plane Pm being the vertical plane passing through. substantially mid-thickness of the instrument and thus passing substantially through the middle of the mouth holes and passing near the middle of the flag of the instrument. Of course, in the case where the entire part of the instrument disposed on one side of said mean longitudinal plane Pm is identical to the entire part of the instrument disposed on the other side of this mean longitudinal plane Pm, this plane Pm constitutes then also the longitudinal plane of general symmetry of the instrument Ps.

 Finally we agree to call blades bladed blades fixed on the face of the blade holder oriented on the inner side of the air channels while the blades said sucked will be the blades fixed against the face of the blade holder located outside the air channels. In the present description, therefore, we will not take into account the fact that the so-called blown blades, whose main purpose is to enter into vibration by producing a sound when the player blows into the instrument, may in certain game techniques, enter in action even during aspiration. The same applies to so-called aspirated blades that can come into action during blowing in certain game techniques that occasionally force the blades to vibrate under the action of a directional flow of air contrary to that for which they have originally designed, but which, of course, remains their main mode of vibration. In the same way when the text mentions the term of face of admission of the air it is always the face by which the air enters to pass through the window concerned by causing the passage in vibration the corresponding blade and conversely, when the text evokes the term "exhaust face" it is the face through which the air leaves after passing through said window and this always with reference to the type, respectively sucked or blown, of the lamella associated with the window concerned.

This agreed, the instrument according to the invention consists of the following elements:

a main body for gripping the instrument, comprising either two covers sandwiching between them the comb or a single cover applied against the comb whose face opposite to said cover then constitutes the other face of the peripheral shape of the instrument . The lower face of said main body is open to serve as a flag while its upper face, opposite to the flag, constitutes the mouth of the mouthpiece of the instrument in which are arranged the mouth holes through which the musician insufflates or sucks the air that vibrates sound reeds, or sound waves, of the instrument. The outer shell of said main body may be symmetrical or not with respect to the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument and may also be generally symmetrical or not with respect to the vertical plane passing through the mid-length of the instrument,

 an element called box spring or comb arranged in part at least inside the cavity in the main body. In this comb, which is or not a monolithic assembly with the main body, are arranged a plurality of air channels whose respective lengths are related to the length of the blades they feed,

 at least one blade holder held pressed against the corresponding bearing areas of the comb, which support zones are formed in particular by the edge of the side walls separating the air channels between them.

 several vibrating sound blades, free reed type, consisting of thin slats attached by one of their two ends to the blade holder by any means of attachment such as rivet, staple, screw, glue, welding point or clipping. Under the combined action of the force of the air sucked or blown by the musician and the flexural elasticity of said slats, the free end of these slats can oscillate on either side of a position of equilibrium passing through a window slightly larger dimensions arranged through the plate-bearing concerned,

 pressure means for applying the blade plate (s) against the comb and, where appropriate, additional sealing means to prevent air leakage between the different elements: the blade plate (s) , the comb and the hood (s),

 if necessary, means that can be selectively engaged or disengage ensuring proper positioning and retention of the blade holders against the corresponding face of the comb when the caps -presseurs have been disassembled

According to a first characteristic, the two planes passing through the faces of the blade holders bearing against the corresponding faces of the bed base may be parallel to each other or, on the contrary, be concurrent, thereby constituting either a dihedron whose edge common to said two planes is positioned from side of the instrument, in the space beyond it and said dihedral is then open towards the mouth of the instrument is on the contrary the two planes are concurrent between them in such a way that they constitute a dihedron whose common edge is positioned on the side of the mouth of the instrument in the space beyond it and said dihedron is then open towards the flag of the instrument. According to another characteristic, to allow the production of channels of particular shape the bed can advantageously be made in two parts assembled together, for example at the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument, by gluing, clipping welding or any other medium and in particular simply by screwing the clamping screws hoods that take the comb sandwiched between them, this mode of assembly with the advantage of keeping the possibility of separating at will the two half box springs for easy cleaning.

According to another characteristic, the bed base may advantageously be made of a slightly elastically deformable material in order to fit any deformation of the blade-holding plates, thus avoiding any air leakage between the faces of the blade carriers and the corresponding faces of said bed base.

According to another characteristic of a particular embodiment, the bed base is a monolithic assembly with the upper cover and / or with the lower cover.

According to an important feature of a preferred embodiment, the blade holders are not secured to the comb by screws which must be disassembled to separate said blade holder comb as is the case for the harmonicas of the art previous but they are sandwiched between the comb and the corresponding bearing face of the cover concerned, the latter being of rigid construction not to deform under the pressure of pressure means exerted against the outer face of said cover to bring closer this one of the comb. The rigidity of the hood (s) can be obtained by thickening and / or by ribbing, especially in the form of ribs arranged against the inside face of the hood.

 The pressure means may advantageously consist of at least one screw whose head bears against the outer face of the cover concerned and whose threaded portion is screwed either directly into the comb or into the opposite cap or into a threaded bushing the comb is still in a female screw whose head bears against the outer face of the opposite cowl. The screws can also be all of the female type and come to screw into solid dowels or not comb.

According to another characteristic, the screws may advantageously be flexible in their longitudinal direction to better accompany the slight angular tilting movement that they perform when, under the force generated by the pressure means, their bearing lugs come into contact with the blade holder and that their lip comes down against the blade holder at the mouth of the instrument. This longitudinal flexibility of the screws can be obtained by the use of a material having the appropriate qualities of flexibility and / or by a particular geometry of the screw whose unthreaded portion of the rod can advantageously be of a diameter smaller than the diameter. the threaded part. Indeed, if the middle portion of the screw must be thin to be flexible, the threaded part of the screw must be of sufficiently large diameter to represent a peripheral surface large enough to ensure the shear strength of the threads and corresponding threads, especially if these are made directly in covers made of thermoplastic material or thermosetting material or light alloys.

According to an important characteristic, the harmonica according to the invention comprises at least one screw, as described above, implanted in the part of the instrument which is delimited, in the longitudinal direction of the harmonica, by the most serious and by the sharpest blade. To be more precise, it can therefore be said that the instrument comprises at least one pressure screw disposed in the part of the instrument between the two planes arranged perpendicularly to the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument and passing one through the longitudinal axis of the air circulation channel feeding the highest blade of the instrument and the other by the longitudinal axis of the channel supplying the lowest sound wave of the instrument

According to another characteristic, the longitudinal axis of at least one of the clamping screws of the pressure caps is positioned at a distance from the mouth face lower than the distance separating said mouth face from the bottom of the channel of air circulation feeding the most serious blade of the instrument.

 According to another embodiment, the harmonica according to the invention comprises at least one clamping screw of the pressure caps passing through a lateral separation wall of two adjacent channels and the axis of the rod of said screw is positioned at a distance from the mouth face lower than the distance separating said mouth face from the bottom of the longer of the two air channels adjacent to the partition wall traversed by said screw shank.

According to another important characteristic, in the lower zone of the instrument situated between the pressure screw concerned and the face of the horn of the instrument, each of the pressure caps bears against the outer face of the blade holder, either directly by a support leg which then forms with said hood a monolithic assembly either by means of an insert support lug secured to said cover and / or to the blade holder concerned. The above-mentioned clamping screw thus occupies an intermediate position between the mouth face of the instrument, at the level of which is the upper end of the blade holder against which the lip of the pressure cap rests, and the tab of the hood exerting its support in the vicinity of the lower end of said blade holder located on the side of the flag of the instrument.

 The hood resting against the blade holder by its support lug ensuring the veneer against the comb of the lower part of the blade holder, therefore the portion of the blade holder located on the side of the flag of the instrument, it is understood since cantilever effect the pressure exerted by the screw described above against the outer face of the cover will translate, on the mouth of the instrument, by a very large clamping effect of the lip of the pressure cap against the corresponding outer face of the blade holder which will thus find itself strongly pressed against the comb avoiding air leakage at the mouth as well between said comb and the blade holder as between the blade holder and said cover.

According to a particular embodiment, the harmonica according to the invention comprises one or two covers ensuring the firm plating of the blade holder (s) against the corresponding face (s) of the comb as described above and said covers are made in such a way as to to be sufficiently rigid so that, by cantilever effect both in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction, a single screw disposed substantially mid-length of the instrument or ideally two screws located substantially one third and the other at two thirds of the length of the instrument are sufficient to ensure the maintenance of the various elements between them and the seal between each of the faces by which said elements are pressed against each other. Such a provision represents of course a very big advantage in terms of ease of maintenance through a very quick and easy disassembly of the various elements constituting the harmonica but it is also of great economic interest, such a harmonica proving much less expensive to produce a harmonica of the prior art having multiple screws of different shapes, diameters and lengths for some to clamp the blade holder against the comb and for others to fix the covers.

According to other embodiments, the harmonica according to the invention comprises 3 or 4 clamping screws as described above exerting their action on the pressure caps which comprise appropriately distributed support tabs positioned on the one hand in the lower region of the blade-holders extending in the longitudinal direction of the instrument between the sound waves and the horn of the instrument and secondly in the lateral zones of the blade-holders extending between the sound waves acute and the neighboring end of the blade holder as well as between the serious sounding blades and the adjacent end of the blade holder concerned. These various support lugs thus provide a clamping on three of the four sides of the blade-holders while, by cantilever effect, the upper lip of the bonnet ensures the veneer of the fourth side of the blade-holder against the comb over the entire length from the mouth. The blade holder in question thus benefits from a bearing effect against the comb acting on its entire periphery, which can advantageously be supplemented if necessary by central support zones positioned in the central zone of said blade carrier. by means of central support lugs integral with the blade holder or the relevant bonnet. The central support lugs mentioned above are therefore located between two adjacent clamping screws and therefore between the free end and the fixed end of two contiguous sound blades and advantageously opposite the wall of the comb separating the two air circulation channels feeding the two sound blades mentioned.

According to another embodiment, additional support and pressure means for pressing the blade holder against the comb may advantageously be implanted between the region of the blade holder on which bears the pressure cap lug and the zone opposite said blade holder, located on the mouth side, on which press the lip of said pressure cap. These additional means of support and pressure may consist of either support lugs through which the relevant pressure cap presses directly on the blade holder as described above or a resiliently deformable element such particular a spring or an element made of elastically deformable material is inserted between the bearing lug concerned and the corresponding outer face of the blade holder or between the cap and the corresponding outer face of the blade holder. According to a particular embodiment, these complementary support means consist of a helical spring or a ring-shaped seal or any other shape arranged concentrically with the axis of the pressure screw concerned.

According to another characteristic, the harmonica according to the invention comprises elements which protrude from the faces of the comb against which the blade holders are pressed and which elements collaborate with holes of complementary shapes and dimensions arranged in said blade holders for that they can come to be pressed against the comb only when they are correctly mounted that is to say only when they are on the one hand positioned on the right side of the comb and on the other hand arranged in the right meaning, the sharpest blade is then positioned in front of the shortest air circulation channel while the lowest sound blade is positioned in front of the channel the longer and this in order to avoid any bad assembly that may irreparably damage the sound blades that are very fragile.

According to another characteristic, the comb advantageously comprises means ensuring the proper positioning and the holding in place of the blade holders, these means consisting in particular of elements in the form of hooks arranged in relief with respect to the face against which the door bears. -lames concerned, said hooks being implanted in the comb at one of the peripheral edges of said blade holder when it is put in place. For the introduction of the blade holder it is therefore sufficient to slide the concerned edge thereof into the hook or hooks so that the inner face of the blade holder comes then bear against the corresponding outer face of the comb while the outer face of said blade holder bears against the corresponding inner face of the hooks. These hooks may consist of inserts joined to the comb but they may also advantageously constitute with it a monolithic assembly leaving directly molding when the comb is made by a molding process.

In contrast to the embodiment described above, it can also be conceived that these attachment and positioning means of the blade carriers consist of integral elements of the concerned blade holder collaborating with complementary means arranged in the comb .

According to another characteristic of the invention, the harmonica according to the invention comprises immobilization means ensuring the maintenance of the plated blade holders against the relevant face of the comb when the pressure caps of the instrument have been deposited so to prevent said blade holder from falling when they are no longer sandwiched between the comb and the cover as described above. These integral immobilization means in all or part of the comb or the blade holder concerned may in particular consist of hooks in the form of clips integral with the comb and which can deform by elasticity during the introduction of said blade holder to come s engage against the outer face of the blade holder which is thus pressed against the comb. These means for immobilizing the blade holders may also consist of cams or latches pivotally mounted about an axis disposed substantially perpendicular to the blade holder concerned or sliding screws which may advantageously be cam-type associated with return means enabling it to engage automatically in the immobilization position of the blade holder when it is brought into its pressed position against the comb. According to another embodiment, the immobilization means are constituted by at least one U-shaped double hook traversing the comb from one side and able to pivot about its central part so that one of its two branches can firmly press against the outer face of the first blade holder while the second branch is pressed firmly against the outer face of the second blade holder.

According to another characteristic of the openings are advantageously arranged directly through the large longitudinal faces of one or both covers that includes the instrument and at least on the side of at least some of the blades sucked, said openings being advantageously positioned in screws to the free end of the aspirated blades concerned and between the mouth face of the instrument and the grip area of the instrument covered by the hand of the player when he holds the harmonica. These openings are intended to beneficially provide a short circuit of air supply, directly through the cover concerned, especially for the aspirated sound blades, the corresponding part of the windows, swept by the free part of the sound blade during its oscillations, through which the air flows must pass during these oscillations is located far from the pavilion through which must pass all the air flow aspirated in the conventional arrangements of the prior art. These openings are intended, on the other hand, to allow a better diffusion of the sounds emitted, in particular by said suction blades penalized in terms of their sound efficiency by their positions set in the bottom of the covers.

According to another characteristic, in order to increase as much as possible the plating force of the blade holder against the comb exerted by the pressure cap at the mouth of the instrument, the pressure means constituted by pressure screws are implanted on the as close as possible to said mouth face and so that the stem of said screws does not come to encroach inside an air circulation channel, the longitudinal axes of at least some of said air channels can be oriented from slightly oblique with respect to the mouth face of the instrument. With this arrangement, without increasing the spacing of the mouth holes, the lateral partition walls of the channels between them widens as one moves away from the mouth face to get closer to the pavilion, thus offering rapidly to the partition wall concerned a width sufficient for the relevant pressure screw can be implanted through said partition wall being positioned at a distance from the mouth face of the lower instrument to the distance from said face mouthpiece which is located at the bottom of the longer of the two air circulation channels adjacent to the wall in which is implanted the clamping screw mentioned above. According to a particular embodiment to allow the implantation of several pressure screws as close as possible to the mouth face as described above, the air flow channels that includes said comb are divided into several groups. Within each of these groups, the longitudinal axes of said channels are advantageously parallel to each other while said longitudinal axes of one of said groups of channels are divergent with respect to the longitudinal axes of the channels of another group of channels adjacent to each other. such that the dividing wall separating the two contiguous air channels belonging to two neighboring groups widens as one moves away from the mouth face to approach the face of the flag of the instrument.

According to an alternative embodiment, the air channels are divided into three groups, the longitudinal axes of the channels occupying the central part of the harmonica are arranged perpendicularly to the mouth face of the instrument while the longitudinal axes of the channels of each of the other two groups are symmetrically divergent relative to the plane disposed perpendicularly to the mouth face and passing through the half-length of the instrument. Within each of the three groups described above, the longitudinal axes of the channels constituting said group are advantageously parallel to one another.

The various arrangements proposed for the air circulation channels themselves are primarily intended to facilitate the circulation of air flows by avoiding swirling movements that penalize the responsiveness of the sound waves by delaying their setting vibration as well as their braking when the flow of air is reversed in the same channel, from a blown stream to a sucked flow and vice versa, which is very frequently the case during the game.

 A second objective is to ensure that the flow of air blown as the air flow aspirated orientation of the air streams so that their angle of attack relative to the sound waves they drive, are optimal allowing thus saving air opening the possibility of animating blades more powerful and / or more serious and / or more numerous.

To do this, according to a first embodiment, at least some of the air channels are conical, their width measured in the longitudinal direction of the instrument at the mouth face being greater than their width at their level. end located on the side of the flag of the instrument and this so as to increase the pressure of the air blown at the free end of the blown blades while also creating an optimal vacuum at the free end of the blades aspirated. According to another embodiment, the width of at least some of the air channels, measured in the longitudinal direction of the instrument, is, at mid-length of said channels, a value less than the width of said channels measured at level of the free end of the aspirated blade and at the free end of the suction blade both contained in the air channel considered.

According to another characteristic, the width of the channels supplying the bass blades of the instrument is smaller than that of the channels feeding the sharp blades of the instrument.

According to another characteristic, the bottom of the air circulation channels located on the side of the horn of the instrument is of semicircular shape or of semi-elliptical shape to allow an optimal flow of the blown air flows.

According to another embodiment, the two lateral flanks of at least some of the air channels are helically shaped to create a double vortex in each of said channels, the two vortices being arranged symmetrically in each channel with respect to the plane passing through the axis. of the two blades concerned. In this embodiment for the first face of the bed base against which the first blade rests, the longitudinal edges of the channel considered generally go away from each other when one moves away from the mouth of the instrument to approach the flag in other words said edges of said channel are closer to each other at the mouth of the mouth of the instrument they are at the level of the zone d end of the channel and vice versa, for the same channel, on the other side of the bed against which rests the other blade holder, the longitudinal edges of said channel are generally approaching one another when the one moves away from the mouth of the instrument to get closer to the flag, in other words said edges of said channel are farther apart from each other at the mouth of the mouth of the instrument. are at the end zone of the channel.

 Such an arrangement also makes it possible to give priority to the ability of the instrument to produce the natural basic notes of each of the blades under the aspirated or blown air streams which correspond to their specificity or, on the contrary, to favor the ability of the instrument to produce so-called "altered" notes that require the sound blades to be solicited under suction or blown air flows in the opposite direction to those corresponding to their specificity.

Thus, for the instrument to be primarily specialized in the production of natural basic notes, the blade holder supporting the aspirated blades will then be mounted against the face of the bed base in which, for each of the channels considered the longitudinal edges of said channel are closer to each other at the mouth face than they are near the bottom of the channel and the holder blades supporting the blown blades will then be mounted against the face of the bed base in which, for each channel considered the longitudinal edges of said channel are further apart from each other at the mouth face that they do not are near the bottom of the canal.

Conversely if one wishes to find a compromise allowing to obtain of course the natural notes of the blades but however less stable than in the aforementioned assembly while facilitating the obtaining of the so-called notes "altered" it it will suffice to make a bed base inverted by symmetry with respect to the longitudinal longitudinal plane Px of said bed base so that for the blade holder supporting the blown blades for each of the channels considered the longitudinal edges of said channel are closer to each other at the level of the mouth face that they are in the vicinity of the opposite end of the channel and the blade holder supporting the suctioned blades will then be mounted against the face of the bed base in which, for each of the channels considered the Longitudinal edges of said channel are further apart from each other at the mouth face than they are in the vicinity of the opposite end of the channel.

According to another characteristic of a particular embodiment, the mouth hole of at least some of the channels comprises a fin whose mean plane positioned substantially at the mid-width of said hole is arranged perpendicularly to the mean longitudinal plane of the harmonica . This spoiler extends in the direction of the interior of the channel from the immediate vicinity of the mouth face of the instrument and has a teardrop shape intended to prevent turbulence of the sucked air flows or blown. Its purpose is to split said air flows sucked and blown on the one hand, during blown air flows, to best limit the inadvertent escape of the air blown by the area of the suction window left gaping by the opening of the blade sucked when it is at rest and it is further the purpose, during the air flow sucked, to channel the sucked air threads to the side edges of the sucked blade so optimizing the localized depression sought at the end of the blade sucked in said sucked air flow.

According to another characteristic, at least some of the channels comprise a longitudinal inner wall arranged substantially parallel to the mean longitudinal plane Pm interconnecting two adjacent channel separation side walls and said longitudinal wall is configured in the form of a tapered wing to create, by effect venturi, a depression at the free end of the aspirated blade to close the window concerned to avoid air leaks blown when the player blows to animate the blown sound blade of the channel concerned.

According to another preferred embodiment, the harmonica has only one blade holder on which are mounted all the blown blades and all the blades sucked. Each of the air circulation channels feeds at least one blown blade and one aspirated blade. The two blades served by the same air channel are disposed in line on either side of the respective blade carrier and their respective longitudinal axes are coplanar with the longitudinal axis of said air channel while the oscillating free parts of said two sound blades stretch in two diametrically opposite directions with respect to each other. The aspirated blade is fixed against the outer face of the blade holder and against the face of the blade holder oriented on the side of the corresponding cap while the blown blade is fixed against the face of said blade holder pressed against the bed base. The fixed end of each of the two blades can be fixed and maintained pressed against the blade holder either by welding, gluing, riveting or even better with the aid of a single screw common to the two blades or using several screws common or not to both blades.

According to a characteristic of a particular embodiment, in logical correlation with the respective amplitudes of the oscillations of the free end of each of the sound waves which are themselves in direct relationship with the respective lengths of said sound waves, the thickness of the At least one of the blade carriers that comprises the harmonica is advantageously more reduced at the level of the sharp sound blades than it is at the level of the sound waves.

According to another feature of a particular embodiment, the harmonica comprises two blade holders each supporting a single type of blown or aspirated sonic blades and the arrangement of said blade holders is inverted with respect to the conventional arrangement in which, when the instrument is in play position and, compared to the harmonicist, the bass blades are on the left and the sharp blades are on the right, the blade holder supporting the blades sucked is arranged in the lower part of the instrument while the blade holder supporting the blown blades is disposed in the upper part of the instrument. In the proposed inverted arrangement the blade holder supporting the extracted sound blades is thus disposed against the upper face of the comb while the blade holder supporting the blown blades is disposed against the lower face of the comb. This inverted arrangement greatly facilitates the evacuation directly to the outside of the saliva instrument and micro detritus whereas with the conventional arrangement these are found trapped in the cul-de-sac constituted by the bottom the canal from where they can not escape because of the closed zone at acute angle constituted by the fixed part of the suction blade arranged in the lower part of the channel concerned. Conversely, the proposed inverted arrangement allows said waste to be easily discharged to the outside through the window of the blade holder in which oscillates the free portion of the blown blade concerned which is located at the bottom of the instrument and this evacuation to the outside is all the more effective because it is provided by the self-cleaning effect conjugate gravity, vibrations of the blown blade and blown air flows.

According to another characteristic for at least some of the windows that comprises the blade holders, in the portion of the window through which the free portion of the sound blade during its oscillations the thickness of the blade carrier has variations in thickness in stairs and / or crenellations and / or waves and / or any other shapes.

These variations in the heights of the lateral faces of the window can be achieved both in the face of the blade holder located on the air inlet side, therefore in the face of the blade holder against which the sound blade is fixed, than in the face opposite located on the exhaust side of the air. These thickness variations can be made both hollow and raised with respect to the general plane passing through the relevant face of the blade holder and they can be produced locally individually for each of the windows as well as being produced by longitudinal profiling of the blade holder.

These arrangements made in the lateral faces of the windows allow multiple successive phase shifts between the openings and closures of the window by the free part of the sound blade during its oscillations, which openings and closures result in a complex hash of the air flow which passes through said window thus generating multiple harmonics beneficially enriching the range of the note emitted.

According to another important feature of a particular embodiment, the harmonica according to the invention comprises at least one ventilation tunnel allowing a free flow of air and sound directly between the space located on the side of the mouth of the instrument and at least one of the two internal volumes of the harmonica delimited by the inner face of the cover concerned and the outer face of the corresponding blade holder. This tunnel of direct circulation of air and sound, thus having no sound blade on its path, is arranged in at least part, if not all, of the thickness of the comb and one of its two ends opens on the side of the mouth of the instrument, or even directly in the mouth of the mouth of the instrument, while its other end opens into the interior of the body of the harmonica so between the holder affected blades and the corresponding hood inner face . For harmonicists classically arranging their instrument that is to say, so that while they play the bass blades are positioned on the left and sharp blades on the right the above-described ventilation tunnel can therefore advantageously carry the denomination of channel 0 insofar as it will be positioned to the left of the number 1 channel feeding the most serious blade of the instrument as opposed to channel number 10 feeding the sharpest sound blade for a conventional diatonic harmonica with ten mouth holes.

 According to a preferred embodiment, the region of the mouth face of the instrument into which the inlet of the ventilation tunnel described above is located is arranged in the rectilinear extension of the mouth face into which the mouths open. mouth of the instrument, but said zone may also advantageously be offset or be arranged obliquely with respect to the mouth face of the instrument into which the air channels supplying the sound waves open, in order to ensure a better clearance of the entrance of said ventilation tunnel when the player's mouth is positioned vis-à-vis the mouth holes feeding the bass blades of the instrument.

According to a first embodiment, the harmonica comprises at least one ventilation tunnel serving selectively only one of the two blade carriers supplemented, if necessary, by a second tunnel selectively serving the second blade holder.

According to another preferred embodiment, the ventilation tunnel simultaneously serves the two blade holders in such a way that the two internal volumes of the harmonica situated on either side of the comb and which are conventionally separated from each other. other by the comb can communicate with each other through the ventilation tunnel serving jointly these two internal volumes.

This or these ventilation tunnels have for first vocation to ensure an optimal supply of air of the serious blades and in particular of the badly aspirated blades which are penalized by the position locked away from the flag of the ends of their windows through which the flow of Aspirated air said ends of the windows located close to the mouth in a cul de sac that constitutes the corresponding inner face of the cover and the blade holder concerned.

This or these ventilation tunnels have as second vocation to allow a better diffusion towards the outside of the instrument of the sounds emitted by the different sound waves and they thirdly have third vocation to allow the harmonica player to better hear the sounds emitted by his instrument, especially when he plays in a group and that the sounds emitted by his harmonica are covered by those produced by the other musicians. For to optimize the efficiency of said ventilation tunnel with regard to the latter objective, a tube intended to convey the sounds emitted by the harmonica may advantageously be connected to the entrance of the ventilation tunnel to constitute an acoustic tube, the first end of said acoustic tube being connected to the entrance face of the ventilation tunnel, so the side of the mouth of the mouth of the instrument, while the other end of this tube is connected to a headset slipped into the player's ear.

Finally, according to another feature of a particular embodiment intended on the one hand to provide sufficient space to implant the entrance of the ventilation tunnel between the mouth hole feeding the most serious blade of the instrument and the adjacent end of the instrument and secondly to facilitate and make more comfortable the game technique known to those skilled in the art under the English term of "Tongue blocking" the axis of the mouth hole feeding the most serious blade of the instrument is located at a distance from the corresponding longitudinal end of the upper mouth face to the distance at which is positioned the axis of the mouth hole feeding the sharpest blade of the relative to the corresponding longitudinal end of said mouth face.

According to another feature of a particular embodiment, the mouth face of the instrument is slightly convex in the longitudinal direction of the instrument and this to allow a lower pressure of said mouth face against the commissures of the lips while preserving a position of the sound blades with respect to the player's oral cavity, which is identical to that obtained with the conventional rectilinear mouth faces

Brief description of the drawings

Other advantages and features will emerge more clearly from the following description of the various embodiments shown by way of nonlimiting examples and represented in the appended drawings in which:

^■ Figures 1 to 14a correspond to a first embodiment of a harmonica according to the general outer shape of generally symmetrical invention having two blade-holders.

^■ Figures 15 to 26a show a second embodiment of a harmonica according to the asymmetric external shape of invention having two blade-holders.

^■ Figures 27 and 28 show two comb embodiments, the longitudinal axes of the channels are not all parallel to each other. ^■ Figures 29 to 34 show the another embodiment of a harmonica according to the asymmetric external shape of invention comprising a single door-leaf and of which the air flow channels are not all parallel to each other.

^■ Figures 35-49 show particular arrangements of cutter equipping a harmonica according to the invention.

^■ Figures 50 and 53a show arrangements according to the invention fitted to a chromatic harmonica of the type comprising a sliding air distributor.

Description of various embodiments

Before the explanations that follow it is important to clarify that to make the drawings more readable and more explicit, in some of the figures in this document, the thicknesses of the cutterheads as well as those of the soundblades were voluntarily greatly increased by compared to their actual thickness. Similarly, the lateral games between the lateral edges of the sound waves and the corresponding edges of the windows through which they oscillate as well as the gaps between the end of said lamellae and the corresponding slice of said windows which in reality are of the order of 5-10 / ^100th of a millimeter summers here have largely increased to facilitate understanding of the drawing.

Figures 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 are external views of the fully mounted harmonica, respectively shown from above, side mouth of the instrument, seen from the front and seen from below, so side instrument flag , while the views 6 and 12 correspond to side views of the instrument Figure 6 showing the end of the harmonica located on the side of the acute blades of the instrument while Figure 12 shows the end of the harmonica located on the side of the serious blades.

Figure 4 is a front view of the instrument after removing the cover covering the blade holder supporting the blown blades.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines FF of FIGS. 2 and 4 showing a first embodiment of the means intended to ensure the veneer and the immobilization of the blade-holders against the comb when the pressure caps are dismounted and Figure 5 Bis is a cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of these plating means and immobilization.

FIGS. 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views according to the corresponding references shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Figures 13, 14 and 14a are views, respectively front and top showing the comb alone while Figure 14 Bis shows an enlargement of a portion of Figure 14.

This specifies, in the views 1 to 14 bis, the harmonica 1 comprises: a comb 2 or bed base in the thickness of which are formed a plurality of air circulation channels 200 arranged side by side being separated from each other by lateral walls disposed transversely, therefore perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the instrument, one of the end faces of each of said partition walls coming to bear against the inner face of the blade holder 3 on the face outside of which are mounted the sonorous blades sucked while the other end of said partition wall abuts against the inner face of the second blade holder 4 against which are mounted the sound waves blown. The blade holders 3 and 4 are arranged obliquely with respect to each other, the planes passing through their respective bearing faces against the corresponding bearing faces of the comb 2 constituting here a dihedron open towards the face mouthpiece of the instrument at an angle greater than 0 ° and preferably between 3 and 10 °, preferably between 4 and 7 °. a peripheral shell for holding the harmonica in hand, said shell consisting in particular of two pressure caps 5 and 5 ensuring on the one hand the amplification of sounds and their projection towards the flag 6 of the instrument, and on the other hand the veneering of the blade holders 3 and 4 against the corresponding faces of the comb 2.

A mouth face 7 into which open the mouth holes through which the harmonicist sucks or breathes air which vibrates the sound waves of the instrument, each of the mouth holes serving at least one channel of 200 air circulation supplying at least one sound blade.

FIGS. 4, 7 and 7a show the principle of operation of the presser caps 5 and 5 ensuring the retention and the plating of the sucked blade holder 3 and the blown blade holder 4 against the corresponding faces of the comb 2. Each of the two blade holders 3 and 4 is put in place against the comb by first being slid vertically inside the lower hooks 202 integral with the comb 2 and then folded against the corresponding lateral face of the comb 2, each of the two holes formed in the end zones of the blade holder coming to fit around a protruding element 201 of complementary shape here consisting of a flange projecting from the bearing face of the comb with which said collar constitutes here a monolithic whole.

When the two blade holders 3 and 4 have thus been put in place, the two pressure caps 5 and 5 are in turn positioned by being correctly positioned by means of centering tubular pins 50 and 50 constituting a monolithic assembly with the cover concerned, each of said pins being housed in a hole of complementary shape formed through the comb 2. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 7 and 7 Bis the centering pins 50 are arranged concentrically to the clamping screw 8 corresponding but it is also conceivable to dissociate the clamping means means ensuring on the one hand the correct positioning of the hood or caps relative to the comb and on the other hand avoiding the reversal of hoods assembly. Thus, these positioning means may consist of pins integral with the hood which is housed in housings of corresponding shape arranged in the comb or on the contrary nipples secured to the comb being housed in housing of complementary shape arranged in the corresponding cover.

Each of the two pressure caps 5 and 5 bears against the outer face of the respective blade carrier 3, 4 on the one hand, on the mouth side 7 of the instrument, by its upper lip all along the upper zone of the carrier. blade extending in the longitudinal direction of the instrument on the side of the mouth face and materialized in shaded area 9 in Figure 4 and on the other side of the flag 6 of the instrument by support legs 51 integral with the cover concerned and coming directly on the outer face of the blade holder in areas, shown in shaded areas 10 in Figure 4, positioned in the lower part of said blade holder.

The two pressure covers 5 and 5 are then pushed towards the comb by pressure means, which here consist of three clamping screws 8 implanted between the mouth face 7 of the instrument and the support lugs 51. side 6 of the instrument. These three screws 8 pass through the cover 5 located on the side of the blades sucked and then the two blades 3 and 4 and the comb 2 to be screwed into the opposite cap 5 located on the side of the blown blades. According to an important characteristic, the axes of the clamping screws 8, which here constitute the pressure means, are located at distances d1 and d2 from the mouth face 7 which are smaller than the distance d3 separating said mouth face 7 from the mouth. upper edge of the support zones 10 which upper edge thus corresponds to the upper edge, and therefore to the edge facing the mouth of the instrument, the contact area between the bearing lug 51 concerned and the corresponding face of the blade holder. It is necessary to underline the importance of the screw 8 which is arranged at mid-length of the instrument being thus positioned in the alignment of the longitudinal axis of the wall of the comb separating the channels of the two sound waves located on the side and else of the plane passing through the mid-length of the instrument arranged perpendicularly to the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument.

The covers 5 and 5 being of rigid construction so as not to be deformed under the force, by cantilevering effect the pressure forces along F1 generated by these screws 8 tending to bring said covers against the comb 2 are reflected both at the level of the support legs 51 by a pressing force on the zones 0 along F2 and by a bearing force along F3 distributed throughout the contact zone 9 between the upper lip of the cover and the corresponding face of the blade holder concerned. Each of the two blade holders 3 and 4 is thus sandwiched between the corresponding cover and the relevant face of the comb 2 under high pressure forces which ensure the perfect veneer of the inner faces of the blade holders 3 and 4 against the faces. corresponding outer surfaces of the comb 2 thus ensuring an optimum seal against air leakage.

Figures 13, 14 and 14a show in more detail the comb 2 of the harmonica shown in the previous figures.

In this embodiment, at the mouth face of the instrument, all the mouth holes which constitute the inlet holes of the air flow channels are of the same width but the respective widths of said channels. air circulation are then degressive bass to treble and this consistent with the respective dimensions of the different blades that are degressive bass to acute. In their upper part, from the mouth face 7 of the instrument, the side walls separating two contiguous channels are interconnected by a connecting wall 204 arranged parallel to the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument so that in their upper part the air circulation channels 200 that comprises this comb 2 are thus closed on three of their sides while they are then open on their two sides and cross the entire thickness of the comb in their lower part . The connecting wall 204 supports a fin 203 whose median plane P1 is coplanar with the median longitudinal plane of the channel 200 concerned, said plane P1 being thus disposed perpendicular to the average longitudinal plane Pm of the harmonica. This fin 203, advantageously in the form of a drop of water when viewed in front view as shown in Figure 14, divides the air flow sucked and blown for all at once to ensure a better flow of the air streams blown towards the free end of the blown blade and increase the depression generated at the longitudinal edges of the free portion of the blade sucked during the sucked flows. As shown in these figures, the length L1 of said fin is less than the half-thickness of the comb 2 so that its end is in the vicinity of the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the harmonica but it could be otherwise, the length L1 may be such that said flap through the channel over its entire thickness.

As shown in these FIGS. 14 to 14a, the connecting wall 204 is disposed on the side of the sucked blade holder 3, thus favoring the operation of the aspirated and blown sound strips when they are driven by a flow of air, respectively sucked or blown, corresponding to their main mode of use but it is also possible to reverse the position of said flap and the connecting wall which supports it by then placing said wall on the side of the blown blade holder 4 and for the purpose of intentionally making more unstable the flow of the air streams so as to promote the vibration of the sound waves sucked and blown under the inverted air flow so respectively blown and sucked to produce altered notes or notes over-breathed or superaspirated notes tessitures particular which are sought after in certain types of music.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show, moreover, that the harmonica according to the invention comprises means intended to hold and hold the blade holders 3 and 4 against the comb 2 when the pressure caps 5 and 5 have been deposited. These means here consist of a double U-shaped hook 205 traversing the comb 2 in all its thickness and pivotable about an axis 2051 arranged concentrically with the central cylindrical portion of the hook 205, said axis 2051 being positioned perpendicular to the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument. The double hook 205 can therefore pivot about the axis 2051 to move from a disengaged position in which its support pins 2050 and 2050 are not in contact with the blade holders, as shown in dashed lines in the figure 4, in an engaged position, shown in continuous lines in Figure 4 and in Figure 5, wherein said lugs 2050 and 2050 bear against the corresponding outer face of the blade holders concerned to ensure the plating and immobilization of said blade holder against the corresponding face of the comb 2, said comb 2 being thus sandwiched between the two blade holders 3 and 4. FIG. 5a shows an alternative embodiment in which the means ensuring the retention and immobilization of the blade holders 3 and 4 when the pressure caps are dismounted consist of two hooks 206 and 206 coming out directly from the molding during the realization of the comb with which they thus constitute a monolithic whole. These hooks can fold slightly by simple elastic bending to allow the introduction of the blade holder against the outer face of which said hooks are then supported as soon as the blade holders are correctly positioned. As represented in this FIG. 5a, the face of the hooks oriented on the side of the respective blade carrier is advantageously shaped as a convex curved ramp so that the hook can be erased by itself, in the manner of a door cam spout, when the corresponding edge of the blade holder concerned slides against said ramp. Of course a simple push of the finger outwardly applied against said curvilinear face allows to release immediately the blade holder when the player wishes to disengage it from the comb against which it was supported.

 As shown in FIGS. 2 and 12, intake vents 55 are arranged at the ends of the covers 5 and 5 situated on the side of the low-level blades, said gills being located at least in part, if not advantageously in all, in the upper third h / 3 of the height h of the hoods so as to be located outside the hood area covered by the hand of the harmonica player holding the instrument.

FIGS. 15 to 26 Bis show another embodiment of an asymmetrically shaped harmonica when viewed from the front as shown in FIGS. 15 and 21, the distance separating the mouth face from the hole of FIG. mouth corresponding to the most serious blade of the corresponding opposite face constituting the flag of the instrument being more than twenty percent (20%) greater than the distance separating the mouth face from the mouth hole corresponding to the blade more acute of the corresponding opposite face constituting the flag of the instrument. Such an asymmetrical shape is particularly interesting on the one hand to present optimal ergonomics in terms of holding the instrument in hand with one hand while limiting the weight of the part of the instrument

Such an asymmetrical shape is particularly interesting in terms of ergonomics since it allows one hand to concentrate the bulk of the volume and weight of the instrument in the hand that holds both the harmonica using thumb and forefinger and the microphone using the other fingers and it also allows to reduce the height of the part of the harmonica located on the side of the sharp blades which facilitates the different actions of the second The purpose of making effects is to modify the sounds emitted by the instrument. Figures 18 and 24 show that the channels have the general shape of an 8, each of said channels having at the free end of the blade sucked a wide chamber 207 of generally circular shape of width L2 and another wide chamber 208 also of generally circular shape of width L2, but which could also be of a width different from L2, arranged at the free end of the blown blade while the flanks of the channel which connect said chambers 207, 208 are of shapes convex curvilinear lines such that the width L3 of said channel measured in the vicinity of its half-length is less than the width L2 of the channel measured at the free end of the aspirated sound blade and also less than the width L2 of the channel measured at the level of the free end of the blown sound blade fed by said channel.

Such an arrangement offers several advantages among which is to have side walls separating the channels from each other by a sufficient width at the mid-length of said channels in order to be able to implant the clamping screws 8 of the presser caps 5 and 5 closer. the mouth of the mouth that does not allow the combs of the prior art whose said channel separation walls are too narrow to allow the realization of a hole of sufficient diameter for the passage of a robust pressure screw .

As can be seen in FIG. 24, this design makes it possible to implant the screws 8 for clamping the pressure caps 5 at distances, respectively d5, d6, d7, from the mouth face of the instrument, all of which are smaller than the distance d9 separating said mouth face from the bottom of the channel feeding the highest blades of the instrument. As also shown in these two figures 18 and 24 three clamping screws 8 distributed along the instrument and all implanted between the sound waves are sufficient to ensure perfect clamping of the two presser caps 5 and 5 without having to resort to screws housed at the end areas of the instrument or they are detrimental to the openings of the covers made in the side walls of the covers to ensure better sound dispersion and optimal air supply of the blades.

The harmonica shown in Figures 15 to 20 comprises two ventilation tunnels 209 and 210 arranged symmetrically on either side of the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the instrument, the two tunnels 209 and 210 being separated from one of the other by a wall 21 disposed symmetrically with respect to the plane Pm.

As shown in particular in Figure 18 these tunnels are straight and their longitudinal axis is here arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sound blades. The entrance of the tunnels 209 and 210 is in the plane of the mouth face in which open the mouth holes of the air channels feeding the sound blades and this input of the tunnels 209 and 210 is positioned between the hole mouthpiece bearing usually the number 1 hole denomination, feeding the most serious blade of the instrument and the corresponding longitudinal end closest to the instrument.

The tunnels 209 and 210 then pass between the inner face of the respective blade holder, respectively 3 and 4, and the comb 2 and then they traverse said blade holder through a window made in it to open into the space interior delimited by the inner face of the cover 5 and the outer face of the blade holder sucked for the tunnel 209 while the tunnel 210 opens into the space delimited by the inner face of the cover 5 and the outer face of the blade holder blown 4. These two tunnels putting in direct communication the interior of the harmonica with the outside space located on the side of the mouth allow on the one hand an optimal supply of air of the blades, very appreciable in particular of the blades sucked, and of on the other hand a maximum diffusion of the sounds emitted by the instrument since we know that where the air passes the sound passes.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 15, 17 and 18, this harmonica comprises three screws 8 for clamping the covers and, by means of the support lugs 51 of the bonnet 5 concerned, each of these three screws 8 exerts on the blade holder concerned a bearing force in four distinct zones arranged around said screw and represented in shaded areas: on the one hand a bearing zone 9 located at the mouth face of the instrument and a diametrically opposed bearing zone 10 located on the side of the flag of the instrument and on the other hand two support zones 101 and 102, or 102 and 102 for the central screw, located on either side of said screw in the longitudinal direction of the instrument. It follows that the concerned blade holder is thus held firmly pressed against the comb by a multitude of support zones ensuring a maximum seal against air leakage between said blade holder and the comb, and this as well at the periphery of said blade holder at the level of the channel separation walls.

FIGS. 21 to 26 bis show another embodiment of a harmonica according to the invention comprising a ventilation tunnel 212 serving simultaneously by placing them in direct communication with each other the two internal volumes of the harmonica delimited for one by the inner face of the covers 5 and the outer face of the suction blade holder 3 and the other by the inner face of the cover and the outer face of the blown blade holder 4 The longitudinal axis of the tunnel 212 is oriented obliquely or there may even be arranged parallel to said mouth face relative to the mouth face of the instrument according to the angle β less than 90 ° (ninety degrees) and therefore advantageously between 0 ° (zero degrees) and 60 ° (sixty degrees), preferably between 15 ° (fifteen degrees) and 45 ° (forty five degrees) and the entrance of said tunnel 212 opens into a small face also oriented obliquely with respect to the mouth face of the instrument and this to ensure at the same time an optimal flow of air and sounds and to ensure a permanent release of the entrance tunnel 212 even when the mouth of the player is at the mouth of the canal channel feeding the lowest blade of the instrument.

FIGS. 26 and 26 Bis also show that a flexible acoustic tube 500 is connected to the inlet of the tunnel 2 2 situated on the side of the mouth face of the instrument which it can occupy completely or on the contrary occupy only partially to then be able to provide an air inlet for supplying the blade holders 3 and 4. At its other end, this acoustic tube 500, is connected to an ear-shaped tip slipped into the ear of the player to allow the latter to better hear the sounds emitted by his own instrument when playing in a group of harmonicists or when accompanied by other instruments.

The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 27 and 28 show combs whose mouth holes are evenly distributed according to the standard distances of spacing on the side of the mouth of the instrument but the longitudinal axes of some of the circulation channels. air are divergent when moving away from the mouth face to approach the flag of the instrument and this so as to have channel separation walls having a width sufficient to allow the implantation of one or several screws 8 for clamping the covers as close as possible to the mouth face to optimize the cantilever clamping effect all along the mouth face to prevent air leakage between the comb, the blade holders and hoods.

 In FIG. 27, the ten air circulation channels that the instrument comprises are divided into two groups: the longitudinal axes of the first five channels constituting the first group are parallel to each other and the longitudinal axes of the last five holes that constitute the second group are parallel to each other. The longitudinal axes of the channels of the first group are divergent with respect to the longitudinal axes of the channels of the second group so that the wall separating the channel 5 from the channel 6 is sufficiently wide to allow the implantation of a clamping screw 8 substantially at the center of the harmonica, so substantially mid-length and half-way up the instrument in such a way that sufficiently rigid covers make it possible to ensure sufficient airtightness of the instrument against air leaks by means of a single central screw allowing disassembly and reassembly very fast instrument.

In FIG. 22, the air circulation channels are divided into three groups within each of which the longitudinal axes of said channels are parallel to one another and to the wall separating the channel 3 from the channel 4 and that separating the channel 7 from the channel 8 are sufficiently wide to allow the implantation of the clamping screws 8 at the half-length of said channels or at least so that the the axis of each of the clamping screws 8 are positioned closer to the mouth face 7 than are the bottoms of the air flow channels positioned on either side of the clamping screw concerned. It can therefore be said that FIGS. 21 and 22 illustrate two embodiments in which the harmonica according to the invention comprises at least one clamping screw 8 of the pressure caps 5 positioned in a wall separating them from two circulation channels. adjacent air whose respective longitudinal axes are divergent when one moves away from the mouth face 7 of the instrument to approach the flag of the instrument 6. It is also seen that the longitudinal axis of said clamping screw 8 is positioned at a distance from the mouth face 7 of the instrument below the distances separating said mouth face from the bottoms of the air circulation channels adjacent to the mouth. wall in which is implanted the clamping screw 8 mentioned above.

FIGS. 29 to 34 show a particular embodiment in which all the sound waves that the instrument comprises are supported by a single blade holder and over their entire length the air flow channels are closed on three of their longitudinal faces which consist of the comb 2. For each of the air channels, the longitudinal axis of the sucked blade 30 is disposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the blown blade 40 and the two blades arranged head to tail on either side of the carrier. The blades are fixed to the blade holder by a single common screw 11. The single blade holder is inclined along the plane P2 with respect to the mean longitudinal plane Pm.

 As illustrated in Figures 32 and 33, to optimize the veneer of the single blade holder against the corresponding face of the comb 2 flexible support means are located at the pressure screws 8 and interposed between the inner face of the cover and the outer face of the blade holder. These flexible support means consist of elastically deformable elements such as a compression spring 12 as shown in Figure 26 or an elastically deformable element that can in particular have the shape of an O-ring 13 as shown in Figure 27 .

As also shown in FIGS. 16, 19 and 20, FIG. 32 also shows a particular embodiment of the cover 5, the lip 52 of which, at the mouth of the instrument, bears against both the outer face of the blade holder and against the comb covering the edge of the blade holder which further improves the sealing effect of baffle while also offering easier sliding and more comfortable for the lips of the player. FIG. 34 shows a variant in which the cover 5 is made using a stamped sheet metal, said cap exerting its support on the comb via a support lug 14 integral with said blade holder.

FIGS. 35 to 49 show various alternative embodiments of the blade holders equipping the harmonicas according to the invention intended to enrich the range of the sounds emitted by the contribution of additional harmonics generated by the chopping of the air streams during the oscillation of the sound blades through the corresponding windows arranged in said blade holders.

 In the embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 35 to 43, the outer faces of the blade holders 3 and 4 comprise multiple recesses and reliefs in the form of steps 31 and 41 made by profiling the blade-holding plates so that said hollow portions and reliefs thus constitute grooves and ribs respectively recessed and raised relative to the general plane passing through the outer face of the respective blade holder, respectively P3 for the blade holder supporting the suction blades and P4 for the carrying blade holder the blown blades. The thickness variations of the blade carriers are positioned in the region of the window swept by the free portion of the blade during its oscillations so that for the blade holder 3 supporting the blades sucked the grooves constituting said hollows and reliefs 31 extend in the longitudinal direction of the blade holder in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal edge of said blade holder disposed at the mouth of the instrument. On the other hand, for the blade carrier 4 supporting the bladed blades, said grooves extend in the longitudinal direction of said blade carrier in an oblique direction, said grooves at the level of the highest blade of said blade carrier being closer to the blade. upper longitudinal edge of the blade holder disposed on the mouth of the instrument than they are at the level of the most serious blade of said blade holder.

FIGS. 44 to 49 show another embodiment in which the variations in the thickness of the blade doors at the level of the windows through which the sound waves oscillate consist of grooves and ribs 32 and 42 made by machining in the face of the blade. blade holder through which the air escapes as it passes through the window concerned. Said machining is therefore positioned on the outer face of the blade holder 4 supporting the blades blown while they are made on the inner face, so on the side pressed against the comb 2 for the blade holder 3 supporting the blades sucked. The streaks can therefore extend continuously along the entire length of the blade holder supporting the blown blades as illustrated in Figures 44, 45, 46 while for the blade holder supporting the blades sucked, these machining must be interrupted. in order to provide planar spaces of sufficient width to allow sealing without leakage at the edges of the partition walls of the channels between them.

Figures 50, 51 and 52 show a chromatic type harmonica according to the invention. In this embodiment, each mouth hole in the mouthpiece member 16 feeds two airflow channels, the aspirated and blown airflow being selectively directed to one or other of said channels. using a sliding air distributor 15. Each of the two channels contains both a sucked blade and a blown blade respectively mounted on a blade holder 3 supporting all the blades sucked and on a blade holder 4 supporting all the blades blown. The blade holder 3 supporting all the blades sucked and the blade holder 4 supporting all the blades sucked are arranged facing each other, on either side of the mean longitudinal plane Pm of the blade. harmonica and they are positioned obliquely relative to each other so that the planes passing through their bearing face against the comb 2 is a dihedral open towards the mouth of the instrument.

The operating principle of the pressure caps ensuring the maintenance in place and the seal between comb, blade holder and caps by cantilever effect is in all respects similar to that described previously in this document for the harmonicas of the diatonic type having no air distributor.

FIG. 51 is a localized enlargement of FIG. 50 showing in greater detail the principle of adjusting the preload of the spring 17 ensuring the automatic return to the extended position of the sliding air distributor 15 when the player no longer exerts pressure. pressing on the control member constituted by the button 150. The prestressing of said spring 17 can be very easily adjusted from the outside of the instrument, without any disassembly, simply by introducing through the orifice 151 arranged through the control knob 150 the tip of a screwdriver to drive in rotation the threaded stud 18 whose rotation drives in translation the tapped support 19 on which the spring 17 bears. The support 19 being immobilized in rotation but being able to slide in translation along the longitudinal axis of the stud 18, the rotation drive of said threaded stud 18 allows to dose the spring preload and thus adjust the return force it generates to adapt exactly to the wishes of the player.

FIG. 52 shows, for some of the at least sound blades that the instrument comprises, an opening 58 is arranged through the pressure cap covering the blade holder 3 supporting the aspirated blades, said opening, positioned in front of the free end of the aspired blade concerned allowing the flow of air to have direct access to the blade without them having to follow a long, narrow and tortuous path from the flag as it is the case with the harmonicas of the prior art.

It should be noted that if all the figures presented show a comb whose two planes passing through the bearing faces of the blade-holders form a dihedral open towards the mouth, it would not be outside the scope of the invention if The harmonica exhibited the characteristics of this invention by associating them with a comb whose bearing faces of the blade holders would be arranged parallel to each other in the conventional manner or else if said bearing faces were arranged in such a way that the planes which contain them constitute a dihedron open towards the flag of the instrument.

FIGS. 53 and 53bis show that at least some, if not, as represented in these two figures, all of the bearing zones of the pressure caps 5 and 5 against the blade carriers 3 and 4 are equipped with elastically deformable elements 510 and 511 intended to compensate for flatness defects between said areas in contact. The elastic pad 510 mounted at the end of the support lug 51 is configured in the form of a mushroom whose stem is housed in a recess of suitable shape formed in said lug while the elastic element 511 disposed at the level of the lip. upper of said pressure caps is when it consists of a profile of T-shaped cross section whose central wall is housed in a groove extending along the lip of the cover concerned.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown or described herein, but it also includes all technical equivalents as well as combinations thereof.

Claims

1-Harmonica (1) comprising a comb (2) or bed base in the thickness of which are formed a plurality of air circulation channels (200) said comb supporting at least one blade holder (3,4) on which are mounted sound slides (30,40) oscillated by the flow of air generated by the player through the mouth holes opening into the mouth face (7) of the instrument, a peripheral shell for holding in the hand of the harmonica, said shell comprising at least one cover (10, 10) ensuring the amplification of the sounds and their projection towards the horn (6) of the instrument, said harmonica (1) being characterized in that: each blade holders (3, 4) are sandwiched between the respective bearing face of the comb (2) and the corresponding cap (5, 5), said cap (5, 5) bearing against the outer face of the door -lame concerned (3,4) on the one hand, mouth side (7) of the instrument, by its upper lip leaning all the lo ng of the upper region of the blade holder extending in the longitudinal direction of the instrument on the side of the mouth face, and secondly on the side of the flag of the instrument by means of legs of pressing against the outer face of the blade holder concerned in areas between the face of the harmonica constituting the flag (6) of the instrument and the bottom of the air ducts (200) feeding the sound blades pressure means (8) ensure the veneer of the respective blade holder against the corresponding face of the comb (2) and the veneer of said cap (5) against the outer face of the blade holder concerned, said pressure means being constituted by at least one screw (8) implanted in the part of the instrument which is delimited, in the longitudinal direction of the harmonica, by the two planes arranged perpendicular to the mean longitudinal plane (Pm) of the instrument and passing one by the longitudinal axis of the circulation channel of ai r (200) feeding the sharpest blade of the instrument and the other by the longitudinal axis of the channel (200) feeding the lowest sound wave of the instrument. 2- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that:

 the longitudinal axis of at least one of the clamping screws (8) of the pressure caps is positioned at a distance from the mouth face (7) less than the distance separating said mouth face from the bottom of the channel circulating air (200) feeding the worst blade of the instrument,

 - Under the clamping action of said screw (8), the relevant cover (5) exerts against the relevant blade holder (3,4) a bearing force in four distinct zones arranged around said screw (8): on the one hand a support zone (9) located at the mouth face (7) of the instrument and a diametrically opposite bearing zone (10) located on the side of the horn (6) of the instrument, and secondly two support zones (102 and 102) located on either side of said screw (8) in the longitudinal direction of the instrument.

3- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one clamping screw (8) passing through a lateral partition wall of two adjacent channels (200) and in that the axis of the rod said screw (8) is positioned at a distance from the mouth face (7) smaller than the distance separating said mouth face from the bottom of the longer one of the two air channels adjoining the partition wall traversed by said rod quote .

4- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the side of the mouth (7) of the instrument, the lip (52) of the cover (5) bears against both the outer face of the door -lames (3,4) and against the comb (2) by covering the edge of the blade holder concerned (3,4).

5- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises immobilization means (202, 205,206) ensuring the maintenance of the blade holders (3,4,) pressed against the relevant face of the comb (2 ) when the pressure caps (5) of the instrument have been removed.

6 - Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the planes passing through the faces of the blade holders (4,5) resting against the corresponding faces of the bed base (7) are concurrent and constitute a dihedral open in the direction from the mouth of the instrument at an angle. 7- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one ventilation tunnel (209,210, 212) allowing a free flow of air and sound directly between the space on the side of the mouth face (7) of the instrument and at least one of the two internal volumes of the harmonica delimited by the inner face of the cover concerned (5) and the outer face of the corresponding blade holder (3,4) .

8-Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises:

 at least one tunnel (212) serving simultaneously the two internal volumes of the harmonica delimited for one by the inner face of the covers (5) and the outer face of the suction blade holder (3) and for the other by the inner face of the cover and the outer face of the blown blade holder 4, a flexible tube (500) connected at one of its ends to the tunnel inlet (212) located on the side of the mouth face of the nozzle instrument while its other end is connected to an ear-shaped tip slipped into the player's ear to allow the player to better hear the sounds emitted by his own instrument when playing in a group of harmonicists or when accompanied by other instruments.

9- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two blade holders each supporting a single type of blades blown son (4) or aspirated (3) and that when the instrument is in position play and that, compared to the harmonica player, the bass blades are on the left and the sharp blades are on the right, the blade holder supporting the extracted sound blades (3) is arranged against the upper face of the comb (2) while the blade holder supporting the blown blades (4) is arranged against the underside of the comb (2).

10- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that all the sound waves of the instrument are supported by a single blade holder, and in that the two blades served by the same air channel are arranged in line on either side of the respective blade holder and their respective longitudinal axes are coplanar with the longitudinal axis of said air channel, while the oscillating free parts of said two sound blades stretch in two diametrically opposite directions; one compared to the other.

11- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: it comprises at least one clamping screw (8) which is positioned in a wall separating between them two adjacent air circulation channels, the respective longitudinal axes of which are divergent as one moves away from the mouth face (7). ) of the instrument to approach the flag of the instrument (6) the longitudinal axis of said clamping screw of the pressure caps is positioned at a distance from the mouth face of the lower instrument at the distance of said mouth face at which is the bottom of the longer of the two air circulation channels adjacent the wall in which is implanted the clamping screw mentioned above.

12- Harmonica (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that for at least some of the blades sucked it comprises an opening (58) is arranged through the bonnet (5) covering the blade holder (3) supporting the blades sucked and in that said opening (58) is positioned opposite the free end of the suction blade concerned.

13 - Harmonica (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that at least some or all of the bearing areas of the pressure caps (5) against the blade-holders (3, 4) are equipped with elastically deformable elements (510). , 51 1) intended to compensate for flatness defects between said areas in contact.

14 - Harmonica (1) according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 11 characterized in that for at least some of the windows that comprises the blade holders (3,4), in the part of the window through which the part free of the sound blade during its oscillations, the thickness of the concerned blade carrier (3, 4) has thickness variations (31, 41) in the form of stairs, and / or crenellations and / or waves and / or any other form, these variations in height of the lateral faces of the window can be realized both in the face of the blade holder located on the air intake side, therefore in the face of the blade holder against which is fixed the sound blade, that in the opposite face located side exhaust air. These thickness variations can be made both in recess and in relief with respect to the general plane passing through the relevant face of the blade holder and they can be made locally individually for each of the windows as well as be made by profiling the blade holder.

15. Harmonica (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that:

 - in their upper part, from the mouth face (7) of the instrument the side walls separating two contiguous channels are interconnected by a connecting wall (204) arranged parallel to the mean longitudinal plane (Pm) of the instrument such that in their upper part the air circulation channels (200) that includes this comb (2) are closed on three of their sides while they are then open and pass through the whole of the thickness of the comb in their lower part,

 - The connecting wall (204) supports a fin whose median plane (P1) is coplanar to the median longitudinal plane of the channel (200) concerned said plane (P1) being arranged perpendicularly to the mean longitudinal plane (Pm) of the harmonica