US2641950A - Harmonica - Google Patents

Description

June 16, 1953 J. WEST ETAL HARMONICA Filed July 30, 1948 INVENTORS LI :1 5 eph West Tla ck Brook 5]] ank BY M 1 IIIIII/f/ ATTORNEY Patented June 16, 1953 HARMONICA Joseph West, Finchley, London, and Jack Brooksbank, Morden, England Application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,684 In Great Britain April 23, 1948 Claims. 1

This invention relates to harmonicas and is directed towards the construction of an improved construction which enables the number of parts to be reduced greatly in relation to the construction heretofore employed.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a harmonica having in combination a singlepiece body provided with blow holes, reed slots, sound chambers and reed-receiving grooves, and removable reeds fitted in said grooves.

In the preferred construction the reeds singly or in groups are provided with dove-tailed ends fitting into corresponding grooves in the body.

The harmonicas of the present invention are particularly suitable for moulding from synthetic resins and other suitable materials known commercially as plastics.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective rear view, partly in section, of a preferred construction of harmonica according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the way in which the reeds fit into the body,

Fig. 3 shows a section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 shows a section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1.

In the harmonica illustrated we have a singlepiece body A in which blow holes 4, sound chambers 6, reed slots 1 and dovetails 8 are moulded in one operation.

The reeds B are formed with blades 9 and I0 which extend from dovetail end portions 9, 10 which fit into corresponding grooves 8 and are of greater depth and breadth at the dovetail ends than for the remainder of their lengths. When the reed is in position the air slot 1 is sealed by the end portions 9, l0, leaving the blade of the reed free to vibrate in the slot.

The blades 9' of the reeds B are so positioned relative to the head of the reed that when the blade is moulded in line with the narrowest face of the dovetail 9 the reed represents a draw reed. Similarly when the blade ID of the reed is moulded in line with the widest face of the dovetail I0 the reed represents a blow reed. The thickness of the head of the reed is sufficient to allow the blades 9, l0 of the reeds, when assembled to the body, to be in a relative position on the chamber side 6 of the slot 1 or the blow hole side 4 of the slot 1 respectively to allow them to function as a draw or blow reed respectively, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.

We claim:

1. A harmonica comprising, in combination, a single-piece molded body having blow holes, sound chambers, reed slots between said blow holes and sound chambers, and dovetailed reedreceiving grooves at one end of said reed slots and openin through one side of the body, and reeds extending from dovetailed base portions which are removably fitted in said grooves.

2. A harmonica comprising, in combination, a

body having blow holes, sound chambers, reed slots between said blow holes and sound cham bers, and dovetailed reed-receiving grooves at one end of said slots and opening through one side of the body, and individual reeds extending from dovetailed bases removably fitted in said grooves, said reeds being of greater depth at their dovetailed ends than for the remainder of their lengths.

3. A harmonica comprising, in combination, a body having blow holes, sound chambers, reed slots between said blow holes and sound chambers and dovetailed reed-receiving grooves at one end of said slots and opening through one side of the body, and individual reeds extending from dovetailed bases removably fitted in said grooves, said reeds being of greater depth and breadth at their dovetail ends than for the remainder of their length.

4. A harmonica, comprising a molded onepiece body portion formed with a partition having blow holes and sound chambers, slots formed in the partition to afiord communication between the blow holes and the sound chambers, undercut grooves formed in the partition in line with and wider than the slots, and removable single reeds, one end of the reeds being wider and thicker than the main portions of said reeds and the side walls of the wider and thicker ends being bevelled to fit in the undercut grooves.

5. A harmonica, comprising a molded onepiece body portion formed with a central partition formed with blow holes in the front edge and closed at the rear edge, the central partition forming in the body portion upper and lower sound chambers, the partition having slots which communicate with the upper and lower sound chambers and the blow holes, the rear upper and lower surfaces of the partition having under-cut grooves in line with and wider than the slots, reeds having their rear ends wider than the body portion of said reeds, the widened ends of the reeds being seated in and confined in the undercut grooves, and the body portions extending over the slots.

JOSEPH WEST. JACK BROOKSBANK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 173,652 Lightsinger Feb. 15, 1876 254,882 Munroe Mar. 14, 1882 471,183 Miller Mar. 22, 1892 1,269,511 Roberge June 11, 1918 1,577,899 Dusinberre Mar. 23, 1926 1,817,109 Stein et a1 Aug. 4, 1931 2,572,818 Rosenheim Oct. 23, 1951 2,620,702 West et a1 Dec. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 526,662 France of 1921

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