US1457623A - Wind instrument - Google Patents

Description

June 5, 1923.

A. F. FAI RCHILD WIND INSTRUMENT Filed Oct. 24, 1921 lllllllillllim Patented June 5, 1923.

ALSON F. FAIRCHILD, OF ELKI-IORN, WISCONSIN.

WIND INSTRUMENT.

Application filed October 24, 1921. Serial No. 510,182.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALSON F. FAIRCHILD,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Elkhorn, in the county of W'alworth and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVind In struments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to musical wind instruments, of the comet and horn type, and the object of the invention is to simplify and improve the construction of the airvalves and correlated parts of such instruments.

As usually constructed, cornets and other wind instruments of this type are provided with three or more cylinders fitted with pistons manipulated bv the .fingers, and each pierced with three air-passages through which the air is transmitted to different looped air-pipes of the instrument as the istons are moved in or out. These air-passages are disposed in peculiar ways, diagonal to the pistons, no two of which are alike. To accurately form the ports or air-passages is a matter of nicety and difficulty, and adds very considerably to the cost in the manufacture of the instrument. In my improved construction the pistons are all alike, and each has but two, easily formed conduits.

The invention is fully disclosed in the description and claims following, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a wind instrument embodying my invention, with the mouth-piece and bell end omitted. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, as seen from below. Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation of one of the pistons, the cylinder being in section. Fig. 4 IS a vertical section of the middle piston, its cylinder and connected pipes. Fig. 5 is a similar section, showing a modification in the construction of the piston. Fig. 6 shows in section another modification, in which the slide-valve is a fiat plate, with attached tubular loops.

In the drawing, the numerals 1, 2 and 3 denote the cylinders of the most common type of horn, to which the mouth-piece, bellpipe and the several looped pipes connect. The piston and cylinder are fitted telescopically, as shown. They may be, respectively,

oi? identical form and structure, and are pierced at 4, 5, 6 and 7 with aligned and equally spaced holes. Cylinders 1 and 2 connect at 5 by ashort, semi-circular loop of pipe 8. Cylinders 2 and 3 are connected 1n the same manner at 6. A little longer loop 10 connects the extreme holes of cylinder 2. A longer loop 11 connects the same holes of No. 3. The mouth-piece connects ivltthfsNo. 3 at 5, and the bell-pipe with No.

Various embodiments of my invention are shown in Figs. 3, 4L, 5 and 6. The upper end of the piston in Figs. 3, I and 5 is substantially the same as in the piston in general use, having a stem 14 provided with a button or key 15, a return-spring 16 set in the slotted upper end of the tube or piston barrel, and a bridge-plate 17 projecting through the slots, and serving as aseat for the spring. Suitable provision is made to prevent the bridge from turning, but this is a wellknown device, and need not be described.

The body of the piston is provided with a pair of semicircular conduits 13 and 13 These conduits are formed of curved pieces of tubing, whose openings coincide with the holes in the piston, and are suitably secured inside the same as by soldering. In the type of piston shown in Fig. 6 a simple, flat plate 13 is used, the construction and at tachment of the conduits being similar, but

very simple mechanically. The abutting face of the receiving cylinder in this case is a flat-guide-plate 2 in which the pistonplate slides, the cylinder being suitably depressed on one side, as shown. The various looped air-pipes connect with this flat guideplate in the same manner as to the cylindrical forms shown in other figures.

The pistons are shown in initial position in Figs. 1, 5 and 6, in which case open tones are produced, the air taking the shortest course, through the mouth-pipe loops 8 and 9 nd the bell-pipe. Fig. 4 shows the piston of No. 2 depressed in which case the air must pass through loop 10. Similarly the depression of the other pistons will cause the air to pass through other loops 11 or 12 as the case may be. When the piston is in the initial position the conduit 18 is not in use, as will be evident from Figs. 5 and 6.

The instrument is played in the same manner as horns in general use, the open tones being the same, and those produced by fingering corresponding to those produced by the same fingering of the ordinary instrument. The tones are clear and pure, and are produced with less effort than is required with other instruments. It is to be noted that the action of the keys is freer and more responsive than in other horns due in part to the fact that the pistons, may be smaller, with a shorter stroke, yet with equal air capacity.

In the matter of manufacture, the con struction has many advantages. Instead of the three parts in other pistons, the head, spring-barrel and piston top, my piston and spring barrel in the cylindrical type, are made from one piece of tubing, and that smaller than others, as above mentioned.

Whether of the cylindrical or flat type, the respective parts are duplicates, any piston fitting any cylinder of its type. This of course greatly simplifies manufacture one horing of holes, for example, serving for all. As there is no diagonal disposition of air-ports, there need be no indentation of their walls anywhere, as is the common prac tice in the construction of the ordinary instrument. So in the fitting, assembling and adjustment of parts, the operations are very simple, since the ports are all in a straight line, and the pistons need only to be guided in such a line, and stopped at the proper terminals.

The invention is adapted for all hand and orchestra horns large or small, the size in any case corresponding to the size of the instrument.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a wind-instrument, a finger operated piston, having plural curved conduits with aligned and equally-spaced inlets and outlets wholly in one side thereof.

2. In a wind-instrument, a linger-operated piston, having two conduits equally spaced with aligned inlets and outlets wholly in one side thereof, and an enclosing cylinder having four aligned holes registering with both ports in one position, and two holes registering with one port in the shifted position of the piston.

3. In a wind-instrument, linger-operated piston, having curved conduits with aligned equally spaced inlets and out-lets wholly in one side thereof, an enclosing cylinder therefor, having an equal number of holes registering with said openings, and looped pipes of various lengths connecting with said holes.

In a wind instrument hzving a plurality of pistons in duplicate, each provided with a pair of curved conduits with aligned openings equally spaced inlets and outlets wholly in one side thereof, a plurality of duplicate cylinders with aligned holes in register Wljll an equal number of said piston openings, a mouth-piece connecting with a hole of one cylinder, a hell-pipe connecting with the opposite corresponding hole of the cylinder farthest therefrom, and looped pipes of various lengths connecting corresponding holes in each cylinder, and opposite holes in pairs of cylinders.

5. Air-controlling mechanism for windinstrtunents, comprising triple cylinders, each pierced at one side only with four aligned air-holes, looped pipes of various lengths connecting the terminal holes of each cylinder, short loops connecting two pairs of holes in different cylinders in staggered order, a n'iouth-piece connecting with one of the remaining holes, and abell-pipe" connecting with the other, and pistons pro vided with curved conduits registering with all of the cylinder holes when opened to normal position, and re 'istering by a single port with another pair of holes, when depressed.

6. In a wind-instrument, a slide-valve, having in one side only four aligned equally spaced openings connected in pairs by curved air-passages, and a guide for said valve, with like aligned and spaced open lugs, and air-pipes leading therefrom.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALSON F. FAIRCHILD. lVitnesses Jnssn JJENKINS, CLAUDE Ponrnn.

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