US3273440A

US3273440A - Round-shaped harmonica

Info

Publication number: US3273440A
Application number: US266091A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ts Ui Shin-Hua
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-03-18
Filing date: 1963-03-18
Publication date: 1966-09-20
Anticipated expiration: 1983-09-20

Description

Sept. 20, 1966 SHIN-HUA TSUI 3,273,440

ROUND-SHAPED HARMONICA Original Filed May 5, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 T5 01, 1 ql V VL-NTOR /MMM BY a ATTORNEYS SHIN P 20, 1966 SHIN-HUA TS'UI ROUND-SHAPED HARMONICA 4 Sheets$heet 5 Original Filed May 5, 1961 N VEN TOR SHIN HUA Ts UI 1 int M WM ATTORNEYS P 20, 1956 SHIN-HUA TSUl 3,273,440

ROUND-SHAPED HARMONICA Original Filed May 5, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

52-3 5Z2 SHIN-HUA Ts ur 3 INVENTOK 53-3 aw 45 43 53 I 53-7 I 38 BY M Q A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,273,440 ROUND-SHAPED HARMUNICA Shin-Hua Tsui, 734 Kings Road, Hong Kong Substituted for abandoned application Ser. No. 113,590, May 5, 1961. This application Mar. 18, 1963, Ser.

20 Claims. (Cl. 84-377) This invention relates to harmonicas.

Musical notes or chords are produced in a harmonica by blowing or drawing into a mouthpiece formed with a number of reed passages co-operating with reed chambers in a reed assembly; two reeds, a blow reed and a draw reed, are generally associated with each re'ed chamber. In known harmonicas the mouthpiece is fixed relatively to the reed assembly and has a number of reed passages each of which co-operates with a respective reed chamber, and in order to select different notes or chords it is generally necessary for the player to move his mouth across the mouthpiece. This is liable to cause discomfort to the players lips and one object of the present invention is to provide an improved harmonia construction which does not cause such discomfort.

A further disadvantage of conventional harmonicas is that only two chords, usually the tonic and dominant major chords, are generally available, these chords being selected by blowing and drawing respectively. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a harmonica which makes available a wider selection of accompanying chords.

Other objects and advantages of the improved harmonica of this invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of four embodiments of the inventoin with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the first embodiment;

FIGURE 2 is a front view showing the mouthpiece;

FIGURE 3 is a section on line III-III in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan view of the first embodiment, part of the casing being removed to show the reed assembly;

FIGURE 5 shows a detail of the reed assembly;

FIGURE 6 is a section on line VIVI in FIGURE 4-;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the mouthpiece of the second embodiment;

FIGURE 8 is a front view of the mouthpiece;

FIGURE 9 is a section on line IXIX in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a section on line XX in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is a section on line XIXI in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 12 is a top plan view of the third embodiment;

FIGURE 13 is a front view thereof;

FIGURE 14 is a section on line XIV-XIV in FIG- URE 12;

FIGURE 15 is a section on line XVXV in FIG- URE 13;

FIGURE 16 is a top plan view of the fourth embodiment;

FIGURE 17 is a front view thereof;

FIGURE 18 is a section on line XVIIIXVIII in FIG- URE 16;

FIGURE 19 is a section on line XIX-XIX in FIG- URE 17;

FIGURE 20 is a section on line XX-XX in FIGURE 17; and

FIGURE 21 is a section on line XXIXXI in FIG- URE 20.

The first harmonica, which is illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 6, is designed for the production of solo notes and accompanying chords, and comprises a generally circular casing, a mouthpiece, and a reed assembly within the 3,273,440 Patented Sept. 20, 1966 casing. The casing is formed by an upper casing member 1 and a co-operating lower casing member 2, these members being saucer-shaped and co-operating at the median plane of the instrument. The member 1 is formed with an integral extension 11 to form a mouthpiece having a cover 3. The casing members are fastened together by screws 7 and 8 which engage a screwthreaded bore in a short cylindrical shaft 4 extending between the casing members and set at the central axis of the casing. The mouthpiece 11 is formed with five reed passages, 12, 13, 14, 1-5 and 1-6, which are arranged to co-operate with selected reed chambers in the reed assembly, as hereinafter described.

The reed assembly is rotatably mounted on the shaft 4 between

gaskets

5 and 6, and comprises a body member 9 and upper and

lower reed plates

10 and 11, which cooperates to form seventeen reed chambers 9-1, these chambers terminating in openings that are equally spaced along the circumference of the reed assembly. Each reed plate is formed with seventeen openings 10-1 and 11-1 which are associated with the seventeen reed chambers and carries at each such opening a T-shaped reed 12 which is welded to a seating 104 (or 11-4) and a shutter 13 which is welded to a seating 103 (or 113). The shutters act as valves to close one or other openings 104, 111 in each reed chamber in accordance with whether the player is blowing or drawing. The reed plates are provided with five small holes, such as 102, for the insertion of glue to secure the reed plates together. A small square-sectioned groove 9-4 (see FIG- URE 6) is provided in the body member 9 for the insertion of a screw driver whereby to dismantle the reed assembly when necessary.

In order to produce different notes and chords on the instrument it is necessary to rotate the reed assembly so as to bring selected reed chambers 91 into alignment with the passages formed in the mouthpiece, and this is done by means of a push-pull button 9-2 secured to the reed assembly and extending through a circumferential slot 1-7 in the edge of the casing. As shown in FIG- URE 4, the reed assembly is arranged to provide four octaves; the notes G C C E are produced by blowing and the notes A B D F by drawing. The reed passages 12 to 16 are aligned with five adjacent reed chambers, in each position of the reed assembly, which produce the notesGorA,CorB,CorD,EorFandGorArespectively depending on whether the player is blowing or drawing. The

end passages

12 and 13 co-operate with single chambers for the production of notes one octave apart and the

passages

14, 15 and 1 6 cooperate with intermediate chambers for the production of accompanying chords. By suitable tonguing any of the passages can be blocked so as to make available either a bass solo or a soprano solo one octave higher, with or without accompaniment. The body mmeber 9 and the

reed plates

10 and 11 are provided with fan-shaped openings 93 to permit the sound to come forth. In order to facilitate the selection of the reed chambers by rotation of the reed assembly, the upper casing member 1 is marked with numerals 1 to 7 extending round its edge. These numerals are arrange-d in pairs 5 6, 1 7, 1 2, and 3 4, corresponding to the notes G A, C B, C D and E F respectively, and when the button 9-2 is brought into register with one pair of numerals, a reed chamber for producing the corresponding pair of notes is brought into alignment with each of the

reed passages

12 and 13. Air exit holes 17 are provided in the upper casing member 1, and by suitable fingering of these holes the volume of sound may be controlled or trills may be produced.

Referring now to FIGURES 7 to 11, the second embodiment of the invention is very similar in construction to the first, but differs in respect of the mouthpiece, which will now be described in detail. As in the preceding example the casing of the instrument is formed by an upper casing member 14 and a lower casing member 15 and the mouthpiece 14-1 is formed by an integral extension of the upper casing member. The mouthpiece has a cover formed by the cover members 16 and 17. The mouthpiece has two reed passages 14-2 and 14-3 which co-operate with reed chambers in the circular reed assembly for the production of solo notes, and a third passage 14-4 with which is associated a further fixed reed assembly for the production of accompanying chords independently of the position of the main reed assembly. The further fixed reed assembly comprises an upper reed .bank 18 and a lower reed bank 19, each of which comprises an apertured plate carrying shutter valves 21 and reeds 20. Each reed bank is designed for the production of six notes and has six corresponding apertures, six reeds, and six shutters. The bank 18 has three reeds welded to its lower surface for the production of notes G, C and E by blowing, and three reeds welded to its upper surface for the production of notes A, C and F by drawing. In a similar manner the lower reed bank has three blow reeds for the production of the notes G, C and E and three draw reeds for the production of the notes G, B and D. An upper cover piece 22 and a lower cover piece 23 are fixed to the mouthpiece 14-1, these cover pieces being hollow so as to form sound chambers. Air passages extending from these sound chambers terminate at finger holes 22-2 and 23-2 in the

cover pieces

22 and 23. Further holes 22-3 and 23-3, which serve no musical purpose, are provided to give a symmetrical appearance.

This instrument is played in a very similar manner to the first, as regards the production of solo notes, but dif fers as regards the production of chords. Solo notes are produced with the passage 14-4 being blocked by the tongue, but this passage is unblocked and one or other of the finger holes 22-2 and 22-3 uncovered to produce chords. The tonic chord is produced by blowing with one or both finger holes uncovered. The dominant chord GBD is produced by drawing with the finger hole 22-2 covered and finger hole 23-2 uncovered. The subdominant chord ACE is produced also by drawing, with the finger hole 22-2 uncovered and the finger hole 23-2 covered.

Referring to FIGURES 12 to 15, the third harmonica is of smaller size than the preceding harmonicas and is designed primarily for children. This instrument is capable of producing only solo notes. The construction is essentially the same as that of the first embodiment and will not be described in detail except insofar as it differs from that embodiment. Instead of having seventeen reed chambers providing a range of four octaves, the reed assembly has only nine reed chambers providing a range of two octaves. The arrangement of notes is as before, however, and the reed chambers are selected, by rotating the button 9-2 to positions indicated by the pairs of numerals 5 6, 1 7, 1 2 and 3 4 on the upper casing member, 14 to bring a selected chamber into alignment with the one reed passage 24-2 formed in the mouthpiece 24-1. The mouthpiece is formed with cavities 24-3 on each side of the passage 24-2 for the sake of economy of material. In a modification of this construction, not shown, there are two reed passages 24-2 which coaoperate with reed chambers situated one octave apart.

Referring now to FIGURES 16 to 21, which illustrate the fourth embodiment of the invention, the harmonica comprises a generally circular casing, a mouthpiece, and two co-axial circular reed assemblies mounted within the casing. The casing is formed by an upper casing member 37 and a lower casing member 38, these members being saucer-shaped and cooperating at the median plane of the instrument. The member 37 is formed with an integral mouthpiece 37-1 having an upper cover 39 and a lower cover 40. The casing members are fastened together by

screws

44 and 45 which engage a screw-threaded bore in a short cylindrical shaft 41 extending between the casing members and set at the central axis of the casing. The mouthpiece 37-1 is formed with five reed passages 37-2, 37-3, 37-4, 37-5 and 37-6 which are arranged to co-operate with selected reed chambers in the reed assemblies, as hereinafter described.

The reed assemblies are mounted for independent rotation about the fixed shaft 41, gaskets 42 and 43 being fitted between these assemblies and the casing members. The upper reed assembly, which is of the same construction as the reed assembly in the first embodiment of the invention, is used in the production of solo notes. This assembly comprises a body member 46 and upper and lower saucer-shaped

reed plates

47, 48 which co-operate to form seven-teen reed chambers. Each reed plate is formed with apertures 47-1, 48-1 and has associated reeds 49 and shutters 50. The lower reed assembly comprises a body member 51 and upper and lower

saucershaped reed plates

52 and 53 which co-operate to form reed chambers 51-1 with which are associated reed plate apertures 52-1, 53-1, reeds 54 and shutters 55. Small holes 47-4 and 52-4 are formed in the

reed plates

47 and 52 for the insertion of mucilage to secure the reed plates of each assembly together. A groove 46-2 is formed in the member 46 to provide access for dismantling when necessary and a similar groove is formed in the member 51.

There are sixteen reed chambers 51-1, which are spaced along the circumference of the lower reed assembly, the reed chambers being grouped in two spaced groups of eight. Each

plate

52, 53 has sixteen apertures 52-1, 53-1 and the reeds are welded to seatings 52-2, 53-2 beneath the plates while the shutters 55 are welded to seatings 52-3 and 53-3 on top of the plates. The upper and lower reeds 54 in each reed chamber 51-1 are designed to produce the same note, but one is vibrated by blowing and the other is vibrated by drawing. Each group of reed chambers 51-1 is arranged to produce the series of notes D B G E C A F D, one group being provided for bass accompaniment and the other for soprano accompaniment. A further set of reed chambers for alto accompaniment may be added if desired.

The reed passages 37 -2 and 37-3 in the mouthpiece extend upwardly and co-operate with reed chambers in the upper reed assembly for solo playing, and the chambers are selected by rotating the assembly about its axis by means of a pushpull button 46-4 to bring the required chambers into alignment with these reed passages. The reed passages 37-4 and 37-6 extend downwardly to cooperate with the lower reed assembly, which is rotatable to bring the required combination of reed chambers into alignment with these passages by means of four rounded thumb holes 51-2, 51-3, 51-4 and 51-5 in the body member 51. In order to produce accompanying chords the left thumb is inserted into the appropriate thumb hole, 51-2 for base accompaniment in a major key, 51-3 for bass accompaniment in a minor key, 51-4 for soprano accompaniment in a major key and 51-5 for soprano accompaniment in a minor key, access to these holes being afforded by a slot 38-1 at the edge of the casing. When for example, the left thumb is inserted into the hole 51-2 and moves the hole to a position at the middle of the slot 38-1, the reed chambers producing the notes C E G are brought into alignment with the reed passages 37-4, 37-5, 37-6 and the tonic major chord may be sounded by blowing or drawing. When this hole is moved to each of its end positions the dominant major and subdominant major chords may be sounded. By inserting the left thumb in any one of the holes 51-3, 51-4, or 51-5 and manipulating the lower reed assembly in a similar manner, a different selection of chords is made available.

Having thus described the invention, what the applicant claims to be new, and desires to secure by Letters Patent, are as follows:

1. A harmonica comprising a disk-shaped reed assembly having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening at the circumferential edge of the assembly, a casing enclosing said reed assembly, hub means secured within said casing, the reed assembly being rotatably mounted on said hub means, a mouthpiece extending from said casing, said mouthpiece having a number of internal wind passages therein positioned to cooperate with a corresponding number of said openings, and means coupled to the reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about said hub means to bring a selected group of said openings into cooperating alignment with the wind-passages of said mouthpiece.

2. A harmonica comprising a casing consisting of a pair of cooperating saucer-shaped casing members secured together with their rims in abutment, hub means secured between said members, a dlSkwShflPEd reed assembly r0- tatably mounted on said hub means, said assembly having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening at the circumferential edge of the assembly, a mouthpiece integral with and extending from said casing, said mouthpiece having internal wind passages therein positioned to cooperate with a number of said openings, and means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about said hub means to bring any selected group of said openings into cooperating alignment with said wind passages.

3. A harmonica comprising a hollow casing, a mouthpiece extending from said casing, said mouthpiece having a number of internal wind passages therein, a reed assembly rotatably mounted within said casing, said reed assembly comprising a circular body portion having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening, the openings from the respective reed chambers being uniformly spaced along the edge of said portion, a circular reed plate secured to each side of said body portion, and a series of radially disposed reeds mounted on each reed plate and cooperating with said reed chambers, and manually controlled means secured to said reed assembly for rota-ting the assembly to bring a selected group of said openings into cooperating alignment with said internal wind passages.

4. A harmonica according to claim 3, wherein each reed plate comprises a metal disk having therein a series of radially disposed slots cooperating with the reed chambers, the reeds being secured to one side of the disk and cooperating with said slots, and wherein a series of valve closure members are secured to the other side of the disk disk closing the slots, said members being opened by the passage of wind in only one direction through the slots.

5. A harmonica comprising a casing consisting of two saucer-shaped casing members secured together with their rims abutting in the medial plane of the casing, said casing having a slot extending along its edge in said medial plane, hub means secured centrally within said casing, said hub means including a shaft extending between the casing members, a reed assembly comprising a circular body portion rotatably mounted on said shaft, said body portion having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening, the openings from the respective chambers being uniformly spaced along the edge of said portion, a circular reed plate secured to each side of said portion, and a series of reeds on each reed plate cooperating with said reed chambers, a mouthpiece integral with and extending from said casing, said mouthpiece having internal wind passages therein positioned to cooperate with selected openings in said body portion, and a manual control member secured to the body portion and extending through said slot for rotating the reed assembly about said shaft to bring a selected group of said openings into cooperating alignment with said wind passages.

6. A harmonica comprising a disk-shaped reed assembly having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening at the circumferential edge of the assembly, a casing enclosing said reed assembly, hub means secured within said casing, the reed assembly being rotatably mounted on said hub means, a mouthpiece extending from said casing, said mouthpiece having a single wind passage extending therethrough and positioned to cooperate with an opening of a reed chamber, and means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about said hub means to bring a selected opening into cooperating alignment with said wind passage.

7. A harmonica comprising a casing consisting of a pair of cooperating saucer-shaped casing members secured together with their rims abutting in the medial plane of the casing, said casing having a slot extending along its edge in said medial plane, a mouthpiece integral with and extending from the casing, said mouthpiece having a single wind passage therein terminating in an opening within the casing, hub means centrally secured within the casing, the hub means including a shaft extending between the casing members, a reed assembly within said casing, said reed assembly comprising a circular body portion rotatably mounted on said shaft, said body portion having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening therein, the openings from the respective chambers being uniformly spaced along the edge of said portion, a circular reed plate secured to each side of said body portion, and a series of reeds mounted on each reed plate cooperating with said reed chambers, and manual control means secured to said body portion and extending through said slot for rotating the reed assembly to bring any selected reed chamber opening into cooperating alignment with the opening of said wind passage.

8. A harmonica comprising a disk-shaped reed assembly having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening therein opening out of the circumferential edge of the assembly, a circular casing enclosing the reed assembly, a hub secured centrally within the casing, the reed assembly being rotatably mounted on the hub, a mouthpiece extending from the casing, the mouthpiece having at least one internal wind passage extending therethrough and positioned to cooperate with a selected one of said openings, means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about the hub to bring any selected opening into cooperating alignment with said wind passage, said mouthpiece further having a chamber therein having an inlet opening and exit passages terminating at finger holes, and a further reed assembly fixedly mounted in said chamber.

9. A harmonica according to claim 8, wherein the further reed assembly comprises a pair of reed plates each of which is disposed between said inlet opening and a respective said exit passage, each plate carrying a set of blow reeds and a set of draw reeds for producing dilferent musical chords.

10. A harmonica comprising a casing consisting of two saucer-shaped casing members secured together with their rims abutting, hub means centrally secured within said casing, a first reed assembly mounted within said casing, said first reed assembly comprising a circular body portion rotatably mounted on said hub means and having a series of reed chambers therein each having an opening at the edge of said body portion, a circular reed plate secured to each side of said body portion, and a series of reeds mounted on each reed plate cooperating with said reed chambers, a mouthpiece extend-ing from the casing, .said mouthpiece having at least one internal wind passage positioned to cooperate with a selected reed chamber, means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate said first reed assembly about said hub means to bring any selected reed chamber opening into cooperating alignment with said wind passage, said mouthpiece further having a chamber therein having an inlet opening and exit passages terminating at finger holes, and a further reed assembly fixedly mounted in said chamber.

7 '11. A harmonica comprising two disk-shaped reed assemblies each having a series of reed chambers there-in each having an opening therein, the openings from the respective chambers being uniformly spaced along the circumferential edge of the reed assemblies, a casing en- .closing said reed assemblies, hub means secured within said casing, said reed assemblies being rotatably mounted on said hub means, a mouthpiece extending from the casing, said mouthpiece having at least one internal Wind passage therein positioned to cooperate with a selected reed chamber opening of one reed assembly and at least one further internal wind passages positioned to cooperate with reed chamber openings of the other reed assembly, and means coupled to at least one of said reed assemblies to rotate said reed assemblies independently about the hub means to bring selected reed chamber openings therein into cooperating alignment with respective wind passages of said mouthpiece.

12. A harmonica comprising a casing of circular shape, said casing having a cylindrical wall and two end walls, a mouthpiece extending radially from the cylindrical wall, hub means secured centrally within the casing and including a shaft extending between said end walls, said shaft having a pair of coaxial axle portions and a shoulder between said axle portions, a pair of reed assemblies mounted in the casing, each reed assembly comprising a circular body portion rotatably mounted on a respective axle portion and having a series of reed chambers therein, each chamber having an opening therein, the openings from the respective chambers being uniformly spaced along the edge of the body portion, a circular reed plate secured to each side of said body portion, and a series of reeds mounted on each reed plate cooperating with respective reed chambers, said mouthpiece having at least one internal wind passage positioned to cooperate with a selected one of said openings in one reed assembly, and a plurality of wind passages positioned to cooperate with selected openings of the other reed assembly, and respective manual control means on said reed assemblies for rotating the reed assemblies to bring selected reed chambers therein into cooperating alignment with respective wind passages in the mouthpiece.

13. A harmonica comprising a circular casing having a central axis and a circumferential edge, the casing having an internal cavity, a circular reed assembly having a central axis and a circumferential edge, said reed assembly being coaxial with the casing and being rotatably mounted in said cavity, the reed assembly having a series of soundproducing reed chambers therein, each chamber having an opening therein, the openings in the respective chambers being spaced along the circumferential edge of the assembly, a mouthpiece extending from the circumferential edge of the casing, said mouthpiece having at least oneinte'rnal wind passage therein terminating in an opening in said cavity in juxtaposition to the edge of said assembly, and means coupled with said reed assembly for rotating the assembly about its axis to bring any selected reed chamber opening into juxtaposition with said terminal opening of the wind passage.

14. A harmonica comprising a casing, a mouthpiece positioned in fixe-d relation to the casing, said mouthpiece having at least one internal wind passage therein, a reed assembly rotatably mounted within said casing and cooperating with said mouthpiece, said reed assembly comprising a circular body portion having a series of reed chambers therein spaced circumferentially along the edge thereof, two circular reed plates secured one to each side of said body portion and a series of reeds mounted on the reed plates and fixed to said reed chambers, hub means secured within said casing, said hub means being positioned centrally with respect to the reed assembly, the reed assembly being rotatable about said hub means, and means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about said hub means to bring any selected reed chamber into alignment with said wind passage.

15. A harmonica comprising a casing, said casing consisting of two saucer-shaped casing members secured together with their rims abutting one another, a mouthpiece integral with one said casing member, a lower cover for said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece having a plurality of wind passages therein, a reed assembly mounted within said casing and cooperating with said mouthpiece, said reed assembly comprising a circular body portion having a series of reed chambers therein spaced circumferentially along the edge thereof, two circular reed plates secured one to each side of said body portion and a series of reeds mounted on the reed plates and cooperating with said reed chambers, hub means secured within said casing, said hub .means being centrally positioned with respect to the reed assembly, said reed assembly being rotatably mounted on said hub means, and means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about said hub means to bring any selected group of reed chambers into alignment with said wind passage.

1-6. A harmonica comprising a casing of circular form, said casing consisting of two saucer-shaped casing members secured together with their rims abutting, and having an arcuate slot extending along the edge thereof, a mouthpiece integral with said casing, said mouthpiece having an internal wind passage therein, a circular reedassembly mounted Within said casing coaxially therewith, said reed assembly comprising a circular body portion having a series of reed chambers therein spaced circumferentially along the edge thereof, two circular reed plates secured one to each side of said body portion and a series of reeds mounted on the reed plates and cooperating with said reed chambers, hub means positioned on the axis of said casing and reed assembly, said reed assembly being rotatably mounted on said hub means, and an actuating member secured to said reed assembly and extending through said arcuate slot for rotating the reed assembly about said hub means to bring any selected reed chamber into alignment with said Wind passage.

17. A harmonica comprising a casing, a mouthpiece positioned in fixed relation to said casing, said mouthpiece having a plurality of internal wind passages, a reed assembly mounted within said casing in movable relation thereto, said reed assembly comprising a body portion having a series of reed chambers therein, reed plates secured to said body portion and reeds mounted on said reed plates cooperating with said reed chambers and means coupled to said reed assembly to move said reed assembly relative to the mouthpiece for bringing any selected reed chamber into alignment with said wind passages.

18. A harmonica comprising a casing, said casing consisting of a pair of saucer-shaped casing members disposed with their rims in abutment, a mouthpiece integral with said casing, said mouthpiece having at least one internal wind passage therein, a cylindrical hub member positioned coaxially between said casing members, means securing said casing members to said hub, a reed assembly mounted within said casing, said reed assembly comprising a circular body portion rotatably mounted upon said hub, said body portion having a series of reed chambers therein circumferentially spaced along the edge thereof, a pair of circular reed plates secured one to each side of said body port-ion, and a series of reeds mounted on said reed plates and cooperating with said reed chambers, and means coupled to said reed assembly to rotate the reed assembly about said hub member to bring any selected reed chamber into alignment with said wind passage.

19. A harmonica comprising a casing, a mouthpiece integral with said casing, said mouthpiece having firstand second internal wind' passages therein, a first reed assembly mounted within said casing, said first reed assembly comprising a circular body portion having a series" of circumferentially spaced reed chambers therein along the edge thereof, two reed plates secured one to each side of said body portion and reeds mounted on said reed plates cooperating with said reed chambers, hub means secured within said casing and positioned centrally with respect to said reed assembly, said reed assembly being rotatably mounted upon said hub means, a second reed assembly mounted within said first wind passage, said second reed assembly comprising a body portion, reed plates secured to said body portion, and reeds mounted on said reed plates, and means coupled to said first reed assembly to rotate the first reed assembly about said hub means to bring any selected reed chamber of said first assembly into alignment with said second wind passage.

20. A harmonica comprising a casing, said casing comprising a pair of saucer-Shaped casing members disposed with their rims in abutment, a mouthpiece integral with one said casing member, said mouthpiece having at least one first wind passage and a plurality of further wind passages, a cover to said mouthpiece, a hub member extending coaxially between said casing members, means securing said casing members to said hub member, a first reed assembly and a second reed assembly, each said assembly comprising a circular body portion rotatably mounted in said hub member, and each having a series of reed chambers therein spaced circumferentially along the edge thereof, a pair of reed plates secured one to each side of the body portion and a series of reeds mounted on the reed plates cooperating with the reed chambers, said reed assemblies being axially spaced upon said hub member,

means operatively associated with said first reed assembly to rotate said first reed assembly about said hub member to bring any selected reed chamber therein into alignment with said first wind passage, and means operatively associated with said second reed assembly to rotate said second reed assembly about said hub member to bring any selected group of reed chambers therein into alignment with said further wind passages.

References Cited by the Examiner LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner.

C. M. OVERBEY, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A HARMONICA COMPRISING A DISK-SHAPED REED ASSEMBLY HAVING A SERIES OF REED CHAMBERS THEREIN EACH HAVING AN OPENING AT THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL EDGE OF THE ASSEMBLY, A CASING ENCLOSING SAID REED ASSEMBLY, HUB MEANS SECURED WITHIN SAID CASING, THE REED ASSEMBLY BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID HUB MEANS, A MOUTHPIECE EXTENDING FROM SAID CASING, SAID MOUTHPIECE HAVING A NUMBER OF INTERNAL WIND PASSAGES THEREIN POSITIONED TO COOPERATE WITH A CORRESPONDING NUMBER OF SAID OPENINGS, AND MEANS COUPLED TO THE REED ASSEMBLY TO ROTATE THE REED ASSEMBLY ABOUT SAID HUB MEANS TO BRING A SELECTED READ ASSEMBLY OPENING INTO COOPERATING ALIGNMENT WITH THE WIND-PASSAGES OF SAID MOUTHPIECE.