US291548A - Hexey c - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

H. C. SWAN.

TOY WHISTLE. No. 291,548. Patented Jan. 8, 1884.

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Unirse S'rsfrns Ferner HENRY C. SWAN, OF SVNTILLE, PEXXSYLVAXA.

TOY WHlSTL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of letters Patent No. 291,5118, dated January 8, 1384.

Application filed June 4, 1583. (Xo model.)

To @ZZ whom. it may concern:

Be it known that l, HENRY C. Swart, a citig zen of the United States, residing at Swanville, in the county of Erie and State of Fennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Toy lVhistle or Device to Aid a llhistler in Producing Musical Sounds, of which the following isafull, clear, and exact description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof'.

My invention relates to a device for whislling, or to aid the whist-ler in producing musical sounds in a. clearer, better tone, and with much less exertion tothe operator, than is required in whistling without the aid of my device; and to this end my invention consists of a block, disk, plate, or other suitable form, made of metal, glass, hard rubber, Celluloid, wood, artificial ivory,.or other suitable material, having an opening orhole therethrough, said opening or hole being so constructed that a person holding the device between his lips, or lips and teeth, or holding it to the mouth and blowing through it, can whistle the scale or tunes, trill, or make calls, as these are ordi narily donc by a good whistler with the lips only.

lily invention consists, further, in certain details of construction, which will be fully described hereinafter, and pointed out inthe claims.

Figure lisaside elevation. Fig. 2 isaview of the inner end, and Fig. 3 is a view of the outer end, of the whistle. Fig. et is a vertical sectional viewin the line .t of Fig. l. Figs. 5, G, 7, 9, l1, 12, and 13 show inodiiieations in the forms of construction, all tending to produce the same result. Fig. 8 is a sectional view, showing athin disk introducedinto the device shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line y y of Fig. 9.

A is the body of the whistle, which is made of glass, metal, hard rubber, cclluloid, wood, artificial ivory, or other suitable material, and of a size and shape to be conveniently placed between the lips or lips and teeth of the operator. It may, however, be made of a size larger than would conveniently be received by` the lips or lips and teeth, and bethus adapted to be placed againstthe lips when puckered.

as in the ordinary manner ol' whistling. The body of the whistle is provided with a diaphragm or partition, a., having a central hole or aperture, c, extending therethrough, the inner end of which opens outinto an air-chamber, g, which acts as a pocket or cushion for the pressure of air from the lungs. The edges of said aperture where it enters the chamber gare clear cut and well defined, as shown at o, so as to produce a sharp angle at the point where t-he air enters the aperture c, this form having been found to produce the best results. The outer end of the aperture cis beveled or flares outwardly, as shown at d, and opens or terminates in the flaring mouth l1, so as to permit the ready escape ot' the air in sound-waves with but little enen tion to the operator, the tone, pitch, or sound produced being controlled by the inuscular action of the tongue and throat, and the volume of air passed through the opening c, as is done in the act of ordinary whistling.

In Fig. 5 l have shown the hole or opening c made of the same diameter throughout its entire length, but with a deeper bevel, d. This form ot' construction will admit of a slight reaming or beveling of the inner orifice of the hole c, and breaks up the well-defined corner or sharp edge, as shown at o.

Fig. G shows another form ot' whistle, in which the hole e is of the same diameter from the inner to the outer end.

In Fig. 7 l have shown a combination 0l' the devices shown in Figs. l and 5, with the addition of a thin disk, c, (sce Fig. 8,) having an opening, f, through it, and closely fitted against the inner end of the hole c, the open ing f being concentric with the hole c.

ln Fig. 9 l show a double whistle, or two whistling or sound-producing openings combined in one block, disk, or plate, as shown in Fig. 10. l make the holes c c of different lengths and sizes, which has the effect of pro` ducing tones or sounds of different pitch and volume, and thus enables the operator to play or carry two parts of a tune at one and the saine time; or, by the same construction, l may combine two or more than two whistles by increasing the number of sound-producing apertures c, or by combining them with the IOO e gemas main opening in the block, as shown in Fig. 18, or by having separate openings, as shown in Fig. 10.

In Fig. ll I have shown the application of my whistle to a horn or extended tube, which may be provided with holes or keys, and manipulated as in fes, flutes, horns, or other wind-instruments, and the main advantage gained by this use of my device is that the heavy pressure on the lips by the instrument is obviated, as the puckering of the lips upon the whistle does not weary or strain the mus cles of the lips, as is the case in producing sounds with the lips without this internal support. Furthermore, the sound is produced at a point where the lips come in con.- tact with the sides of the whistle, and not within the tube or instrument, as is the case with the ordinary mouth-piece used in playing the fife or other wind-instrument.

In Fig. l2 I have shown still another modification, in which the outer and `inner ends of the hole c are enlarged to a greater or less degrec, and in which the inner end of the aperture c may bc slightly enlarged by abeveled edge.

As before stated, Fig. 13 shows a compound whistle, in which any of the hereinbefore described forms of hole c may be used, said holes being of different sizes, to -produce varying, diierent, or the same sounds, and opening into the air-chamber g in the inner end ofthe whistle.

I do not limit myself to the precise form or size or depth of the hole c, or to the contour of the device; but experiments have shown that a hole in which the length is a little less than the mean diameter produces the best results. The approximate diameter may be from three thirtyseconds to three-sixteenths of an inch, but may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention; neither do I wish to limit myself to a toy whistle as the sole use to which my device can be put, as it is obvious that it can be applied to musical instruments, to the handles of canes, whips, and umbrellas. It can be applied to speakingtubes as a call, and to other toys in which whistles are used, or be worn as awatch-charm or bangle.

The operation of my device is as follows: rIhe whistle is placed between the lips or lips and teeth, or is held against the lips when puckered, as in the preparatory step in the ordinary whistling, with the air chamber or cavity g next to the mouth or teeth. The operator then blows through the device with a much less volume of air than is required in whistling in the ordinary manner. The eurrent of air passes out through the hole c into the enlarged pening d, and produces the proper vibrations of the air to make a clear whistling sound, which is or can be controlled by the movements of the tongue, the muscles of the mouth and throat, together with the volume of air and the velocity with which it is forced through the hole c by the eEort of the operator, as in the ordinary manner of whistling.

By the laws of air vibrations to produce musical sounds, a large long tube or cavity produces deep full tones, while a small shallow tube or cavity produces high thin tones; but by the use of my device a good whistler, by a skillful use of the muscles of the mouth,tongue, and throat, and the breath, is enabled to vary the pitch, tone, and volume of sound by the saine whistle; and, furthermore, my device enables the whistler to produce musical sounds with greater facility, while those who cannot whistle a tune are enabled to do so with my device if they can but give the proper rhythmical propulsion to their breath.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. A whistle, or device to aid in whistling, provided with an aperture or apertures, such as described, and adapted to be held by or within the lips of the operator, the tones or musical sounds of varying pitch being produced as in the ordinary manner of whistling.l

2. A whistle composed of a block, disk, plate, or other suitably shaped piece of metal, glass, or other material having ahole through it, formed as described, so as to produce the proper vibrations in the air blown through it tomake a whistling sound, which can be varied by the muscular action of the mouth, tongue, and throat, and by the breath, as in the ordinary manner of whistling, so as to produce all the notes of the musical scale7 as set forth.

3. A block, disk, plate, or any suitablyshaped piece of metal or other material, having therein or therethrough one or more holes so formed that when the air or the breath is forced through it the proper vibrations of the air will be made to produce a whistling sound, which can be perfectly controlled by the muscles of the mouth, tongue, throat, and volume of air exhaled from the lungs to produce the notes of the musical scale, as set forth.

4. A whistle composed of a block, disk, plate, or any suitably-shaped piece of metal, glass, orV other materialvhaving two or more holes in or through it of such shape as when adjusted to the mouth or lips and air being blown therethrough will produce two or more distinct or independent tones, each hole producing a tone differing in pitch from any one of the other holes,which can be varied by the muscular action of the mouth, tongue, and throat, and breath, and made to produce the notes of the musical scale, as set forth.

5. A whistle composed of a block, disk, plate, or any suitablyshaped piece of metal, glass, or other material, having aholethrough it, one end of which is smaller than the other, with a smooth sharply-finished edge, through which the air or the breath being forced a whistling sound will be produced, which can lOO IIO

be Controlled by the mouth7 tongue, throat, 7. A Whistle composed of a block or cylinand breath, so as to produce the notes of the der of metal or glass, having a diaphragm or 1nusiealseale,as set forth. partition7 a, therein, said diaphragm being 6. In a Whistle composed of any suitablyprovided with a Central perforation, c, which D shaped pieee of nietal, glass, or other niateterminates inthe cavities or ehaxnbersgand 71, 15

rial, the combination of the chambers 7L and g as and for the purpose set forth.

with the hole c, having at one end the haring HENRY C. SWAN. edge d, and the other end, o, finished with a Witnesses: smooth square shoulder or edge, as and for L. BACON,

'1o the purpose set forth. W. E. @narrare

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