US2463630A

US2463630A - Musical whistle

Info

Publication number: US2463630A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1949-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 1966-03-08

Description

March 8, 1949. v. R. KIMPLE 2,463,630

- MUSICAL WHISTLE Filed May 1, 1946 z; V'ryz'lRffi'm vla Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL WHISTLE Virgil R. Kimple, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 1, 1946, Serial No. 666,366

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a novel construction of musical instrument and more particularly to a musical whistle adapted to be held between the lips and operated by exhaling air therethrough.

More particularly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a whistle provided with a tongue rest against which the tongue is placed and by means of variation of pressure and movement of the tongue relatively thereto variations of tone and pitch of the sounds produced by the whistle may be accomplished for realistically simulating the whistles of various birds.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a whistle of extremely simple construction which is capable of being economically manufactured and sold, which is safe to use and which may be readily maintained in a sanitary condition.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the musical whistle;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the whistle;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2 and showing the whistle in an applied position in the mouth, and

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of the whistle.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the musical whistle in its entirety is designated generally I. The whistle 1 may be formed of any suitable material including plastics, rubber, wood or rubber composition and may be molded from a single piece of any one of such materials.

The whistle 1 includes a body portion, designated generally 8 having a plate 9 projecting outwardly from its forward side and intermediate of its upper and lower ends. The plate 9 is laterally enlarged adjacent its outer, free end, as best seen in Figure 3, for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent. A bottom plate 10 projects outwardly from the lower end of the body 8 and is disposed beneath a portion of the plate 9. The plate I is relatively short and is tapered from its inner to its outer end, as best seen in Figure 4.

As best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the forward part of the upper portion of the body 8 is outwardly bowed laterally or horizontally and rearwardly curved from the plate 9 upwardly, as indicated at H. As best seen in Figure 6, the rear portion of the upper part of the body 8 is provided with a centrally disposed vertical groove 12 which opens into the outer portion l l adjacent the upper end thereof. The inner face of the upper portion of the body 8 is provided with corresponding inwardly bowed surfaces l3, located on either side of the groove l2 and forming a tongue rest, as illustrated in Figure 5.

As best seen in Figure 5, the lower end of the groove [2 is defined by a horizontal wall [4 which is disposed on substantially the same plane as the plate 9 and which is provided with an opening l5 located adjacent the inner wall of the groove [2. The opening l5 converges downwardly, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

The inner face of the lower portion of the body 8, which is disposed below the wall l4, includes an upper portion l6 which forms a rearwardly extending continuation of the portions l3. Beneath the lower rear face portion IS, the rear face of the body 8 is inclined downwardly and outwardly toward the bottom plate ID as seen at H. The inner surface of the lower portion of the body 8 is provided with a vertically extending groove l9 which extends from the underside of the wall hi to the lower end of the body 8.

Beneath the plate 9 and the wall M, the body 8 is provided with a forwardly and rearwardly extending opening [8' the lower end of which is flared toward the forward end of the body 8 to form an upwardly extending projection 20 which extends upwardly from the bottom plate l0 and which has an upwardly and rearwardly inclined forward face 2| which defines the flared lower portion of the opening I8. The rear face of the extension 20 defines the inner wall of the lower portion of the groove l9 and the upper portion of said groove l9 communicates with the inner end of .the opening 18 and forms a part thereof. As best seen in Figure 5, the upper portion of the inclined face 2| is disposed substantially beneath the opening l5 which opens into the opening 18.

Referring specifically to Figure 5, the body portion 8 is adapted to be positioned in the mouth with the upper lip resting on the plate 9 and the lower lip engaging against the underside of the plate ID. The upper and lower lips and the tongue of the user are indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5 at 22, 23 and 24, respectively. With the lip rests 9 and i0 thus disposed between the

lips

22 and 23, the outer surface 8 is positioned against the inner side of the upper lip 22 and is shaped to generally conform thereto. The

tongue 24 is placed with the tip thereof against the lip rest formed by the portions it. With the instrument I thus disposed in the mouth, the user exhales through the mouth causing air to be directed, as indicated by the arrows 24 in Figure 5, over the tongue and into the upper portion of the groove l2, through the opening 15 and outwardly through the opening 18.

The groove l2 forms the tone control groove, the opening 15 the throat and the extension 20 the sounding plate of the instrument. By raising the tongue at its base the size of the space between the tongue and the bottom of the mouth will be increased thus producing an enlarged sound chamber so that low tones will be produced by the whistle 1 when air is directed therethrough as indicated by the arrow 24. Conversely, by lowering the tongue at its base, higher tones will be produced by the air passing through the instrument I. wardly a portion of the top of the tongue will enter the ton-e control groove l2 thereby restricting the size of said groove and providing additional means for producing higher tones. By oscillating the tongue against the tongue rests l3, l3 rapid changing of tones will result resembling the whistle of song birds and by exhaling the breath in an irregular manner accompanied by an oscillation of the tongue, a double tone or yodeling effect may be produced.

The tapered shape of the throat l5 permits a more rapid breaking of the tone to realistically simulate the sharp breaking tones of various song birds.

The enlarged outer portion of the upper lip rest 0 is provided for the purpose of enlarging the over-all size of the instrument I to obviate any possibility of the instrument becoming lodged in the throat of a child.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a wind-type musical instrument, a body portion having upper and lower lip rests projecting forwardly therefrom, the upper portion of said body portion being provided with a vertically disposed inwardly opening groove forming a tone control groove, and said body portion being provided with an opening having an end opening outwardly of the forward part thereof between said lip rests and an opposite, upwardly extending end opening into the lower end of said groove.

2. In a wind-type musical instrument, a body portion having upper and lower lip rests projecting forwardly therefrom, the upper portion of said body portion being provided with a vertically disposed inwardly opening groove forming a tone control groove, and said body portion being provided with an opening having an end opening outwardly of the forward part thereof between said lip rests and an opposite, upwardly extending end opening into the lower end of said groove, said body portion being provided with an upwardly extending sounding plate disposed beneath said opening and having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined forward face.

As the tongue is thrust for- 3. In a wind-type musical instrument, a body portion having upper and lower lip rests projecting forwardly therefrom, the upper portion of said body portion being provided with a vertically disposed inwardly opening groove forming a tone control groove, and said body portion being provided with an opening having an end opening outwardly of the forward part thereof between said lip rests and an opposite, upwardly extending end opening into the lower end of said groove, said last mentioned, upwardly extending portion of the opening being tapered from its upper to its lower end to form a restricted throat.

4. In a musical instrument of the wind type, a body portion adapted to be disposed in the mouth and having forwardly extending spaced upper and lower lip rests, said body portion having a vertically extending inwardly or rearwardly opening groove in the upper portion thereof, a transverse, horizontal partition defining the lower end of said groove, said body portion having an opening extending from front to rear therethrough beneath said partition and between the lip rests, said partition having a downwardly tapered throat connecting said groove and opening.

5. In a musical instrument of the wind type, a body portion adapted to be disposed in the mouth and having forwardly extending spaced upper and lower lip rests, said body portion having a vertically extending inwardly or rearwardly opening groove in the upper portion thereof, a transverse, horizontal partition defining the lower end of said groove, said body portion having an opening extending from front to rear therethrough beneath said partition, said partition having a downwardly tapered throat connecting said groove and opening, said opening having a flared forward end opening outwardly of the body portion between said lip rests, and an upwardly and rearwardly extending sounding plate defining the flared lower portion of said opening and disposed beneath said throat.

6. In a musical instrument of the wind type, a body portion adapted to be disposed in the mouth and having forwardly extending spaced upper and lower lip rests, said body portion having a vertically extending inwardly or rearwardly opening groove in the upper portion thereof, a transverse, horizontal partition defining the lower end of said groove, said body portion having an opening extending from front to rear therethrough beneath said partition and between the lip rests, said partition having a downward- 1y tapered throat connecting said groove and opening, the upper part of said body portion having a concave inner face, in which said roove is formed, forming a tongue rest.

VIRGIL R. KIMPLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,092,507 Putman Apr. 7, 1914 2,197,993 Berry Apr. 23, 1940