US3657464A - Musical wind instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

A musical wind instrument of the open tube type such as a saxophone is disclosed herein and includes a hollow body portion having an upstream upper part and a downstream relatively lower part, each part being provided with a plurality of upper and lower tone holes respectively. An upper tone changing subassembly, disengageably mounted to the upper part of said body portion includes a plurality of keys and key-cups which are conventionally operated by the fingers of the left hand for opening and closing individual ones or various combinations of the upper tone holes to vary thereby the tonal qualities of the instrument. In like manner, a lower tone changing sub-assembly is disengageably mounted to the lower part of said body portion and includes similar components which are conventionally operated by the fingers of the right hand for opening and closing the lower tone holes.

Description

United States Patent Pascucci [54] MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENT [72] Inventor: Vito Pascucci, Kenosha, Wis.

[73] Assignee: G. Leblanc Corporation, Kenosha, Wis.

[22] Filed:

Aug.2l, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 65,920 I 52 U.S.Cl

[151 3,657,464 Apr. 18, 1972 Primary Examiner-Richard B; Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-John F. Gonzales Attorney-Olson, Trexler, Wolters & Bushnell [5 7] ABSTRACT A musical wind instrument of the open tube type such as a saxophone is disclosed herein and includes a hollow body portion having an upstream upper part and a downstream relatively lower part, each part being provided with a plurality of upper and lower tone holes respectively. An upper tone changing sub-assembly, disengageably mounted to the upper part of said body portion includes a plurality of keys and key-cups which are conventionally operated by the fingers of the left hand for opening and closing individual ones or various combinations of the upper tone holes to vary thereby the tonal qualities of the instrument. In like manner, a lower tone changing sub-assembly is disengageably mounted to the lower part of said body portion and includes similar components which are conventionally operated by the fingers of the right hand for opening and closing the lower tone holes.

5 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures AUX) Patented April 18, 1972 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 34 (act) Patented April 18, 1972 3,657,464

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J50 .1% J40 JZZYD) J34 Patented April 18, 1972 3,557,464

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENT SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to musical wind instruments and more particularly to Saxophones.

DISTINCTION OVER THE PRIOR ART AND OBJECTS Musical wind instruments of the open tube type such as saxophones are well known and include a plurality of appropriately positioned tone holes which when individually opened and closed or when opened and closed in predetermined combinations produce varying tonal qualities. In order to achieve these opening and closing operations, the prior art discloses tone varying components such as closure members in the form of key-cups and pads which are individually and permanently mounted to the body portion of the instrument. While such an arrangement does not take away from the tonal quality of the instrument, it does create several drawbacks. For example, by requiring that the tone varying components be individually and permanently fixed to the body portion of the instrument, cost and time in constructing and assembling the same are substantially increased. Further, in the event that one or more of these permanently affixed tone varying components should become damaged or should otherwise function improperly, the entire instrument would necessarily have to be placed in a repair shop, which would thereby eliminate use of the instrument during this interim. In addition, due to the many components which project from the body portion, conditioning such as cleaning or polishing of the body portion is made more difficult.

Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved musical wind instrument of the open tube type, such as a saxophone, which is economical to manufacture and which can be assembled in a rather simple and rapid manner.

A further general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved musical wind instrument of the open tube type, such as a saxophone, having a plurality of tone varying components which are easily assembled to and removable from the body portion of the instrument.

Still a further general object of the present invention is to provide a musical wind instrument of the above-stated type having components which if damaged may be easily removed from the remainder of the instrument and repaired or replaced without submitting the entire instrument to the repair shop.

Yet another general object of the present invention is to provide a musical wind instrument of the above-stated type which provides easy accessibility to its body portion for cleaning, polishing or otherwise conditioning the body portion.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a musical wind instrument of the above-described type having a plurality of tone changing sub-assemblies which carry a majority of the instruments components and which are disengageably mountable to the body portion of the instrument so that these components can be easily assembled with and removed from the body portion.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of making and assembling a musical wind instrument of the open tube type, such as a saxophone.

These and other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of an alto saxophone constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an opposite side of the saxophone of FIG. 1, however with various disengageable components removed therefrom so as to display the body portion of the instrument;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower tone changing sub-assembly which is disengageably mountable to and cooperates with the body portion of the saxophone for varying the tonal quality thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the support member used with the sub-assembly of FIG. 3 for mounting the latter to the saxophone s body portion;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side perspective view showing the lower tone changing sub-assembly mounted to the saxophone's body portion;

FIG. 6 is a top sectional view taken generally along line 6- 6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top sectional view taken generally along line 7- 7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along line 8-8 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of an upper tone changing sub-assembly which is disengageably mountable and cooperates with the body portion of the saxophone for further varying the tonal quality thereof;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the support member used by the upper tone balancing sub-assembly for mounting the latter to the saxophones body portion;

FIG. 11 is a broken and enlarged perspective view showing the upper tone varying sub-assembly mounted to the saxophones body portion;

FIG. 12 is a top sectional view taken generally along line 12-12 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a top sectional view taken generally along line 13-13 in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along line 14-14 in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 15 is an enlarged front perspective view of the saxophone with the upper and lower tone varying sub-assemblies removed therefrom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As is well known in the art, in order to vary the tonal quality of an alto saxophone or other like instrument, the body portion thereof is provided with a plurality of appropriately positioned tone holes which are opened and closed, either individually or in predetermined combinations. In order to achieve this opening and closing operation, closure members, in the form of padded key-cups, are mounted to the body portion and disposed over the tone holes. These closure members are supported for pivotable movement between first positions for opening the tone holes and second positions for closing the tone holes, various finger pieces and levers being mechanically linked to the individual closure members for actuation thereof. It is to be understood that while it takes various tone hole combinations to make up a particular musical key or note, the major tone holes are given specific key names.

With the above in mind and referring to the drawings, wherein like components are designated by like reference numerals, an alto saxophone constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 and designated by the reference numeral 10. The saxophone comprises an elongated hollow body 12, tapering in diameter from top to bottom, and having an upturned and outwardly flaring bell 14 connected to the lower end of the body by a U-shaped hollow portion 15. The body is provided at the upper end with the usual neckpipe receiver 16 and neck-pipe receiver screw 18. An angulated neck-pipe 20 fits in the receiver, and is clamped in place by the screw. The neck-pipe has a brace 22 thereon, and at the upper end thereof is provided with a generally cylindrical cork covering or overlay 24 on which a mouthpiece 26 fits.

Most of the keys, although by no means all thereof, are shown in FIG. 1, although the figure is on a sufficiently small scale so that most of the connections and mechanisms are not shown in detail. An upper tone changing sub-assembly 28 which is conventionally manipulated with the fingers of the left hand, and a lower tone changing sub-assembly 30 which is conventionally manipulated by the fingers of the right hand, provide saxophone with a majority of its various key or note producing components, as stated above, which function to open and close various tone holes formed in the body 12, bell l4 and portion of the instrument. As will be seen hereinafter, upper sub-assembly 28 and lower sub-assembly 30 are disengageably assembled, in a rather simple and rapid manner, to the upper and lower ends, respectively, of body portion 12.

Aside from upper tone changing sub-assembly 28 and lower tone changing sub-assembly 30, the alto saxophone is also provided with various independent tone varying components which are rigidly affixed to the body portion of the instrument. Thus, there is in the neck-pipe an octave hole 32 closed by an octave key-cup 34 having an upper lever portion 36 overlying the neck-pipe and pivotally mounted at 38. The bottom or tail end of the lever is split and encircles the lower portion of the neck-pipe and receiver, and has a bight 40 engaged by a mechanism (not shown) controlled by a thumb spatula or octave lever 42, the lever being conventionally actuated by the thumb of the left hand for closing octave hole 32. The remaining individually and permanently affixed tone changing components will be described after a more detailed recitation of sub-assemblies 28 and 30.

Turning to FIG. 2, saxophone 10 is shown with upper and lower tone changing sub-assemblies 28 and 30 disengaged and removed from body 12 so that a plurality of tone holes formed in the body are more clearly illustrated. It is to be understood that these tone holes are conventionally shaped, sized and positioned for producing the various tonal qualities to be described below, and that each includes an upwardly projecting and circumscribing flange portion for receiving a padded key-cup, in a manner to be described below.

The first tone hole to be noted is high E tone hole 44 which is positioned at the top of body 12 just below neck-pipe receiver 16, and which lies in a vertical plane passing through both body 12 and bell 14 so as to thereby face the bell. Located on a vertical line extending downwardly from tone hole 44 are spaced- apart tone holes 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54, which respectively represent an auxiliary tone hole, the B tone hole, the B or Biz tone hole, and two further auxiliary tone holes.

The high C tone hole 56 is positioned horizontally between tone holes 46 and 48 and approximately 120 to one side therefrom. Directly below tone hole 56, is B; tone hole 58 which is in approximate horizontal alignment with tone hole 50. As will be described hereinafter, these tone holes (44 to 58) are opened and closed solely by the padded key-cups provided with upper tone changing sub-assembly 28 in a manner to be described hereinafter.

Turning now to those tone holes which are opened and closed solely by the padded key-cups of lower tone changing sub-assembly 30, attention is directed to tone holes 60 and 62 which represent auxiliary tone holes and which are vertically spaced directly below tone hole 54, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Directly below tone holes 60 and 62 are the low F, low E and low D tone holes 64, 66 and 68, respectively. In addition to opening and closing these tone holes, lower sub-assembly 30 opens and closes the lower ,Bl tone hole 70, the lower B tone hole 72 and the O tone hole 74. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 15, the tone holes 70 and 72, which are vertically spaced from each other, are positioned on one side of the bell 14, while tone hole 74 is positioned on one side of U-shaped portion 15.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, lower tone changing sub-assembly 30 is shown in detail and includes an elongated support member 76 (FIG. 4) defined by opposite longitudinal sides 78 and 80, a flat longitudinal edge 82 and an opposite scalloped longitudinal edge 84. The support member, which is provided for disengageably mounting the lower sub-assembly 30 to the remainder of saxophone 10, includes at its top end thereof a flange portion 86 extending downwardly and outwardly from scalloped edge 84, as illustrated best in FIG. 4. A connecting flange 88, which is formed with and which extends outwardly from the free end of flange portion 86, is adapted to engage against and be rigidly fixed to a pair of horizontally spaced cooperating flanges which are formed with the top outer surface of bell 14 and which face body 12, as illustrated best in FIGS. 2 and 6. Connecting flange 88 is disengageably affixed to flanges 90 by screw means or other suitable fastening devices (not shown) which are insertable through cooperating apertures 92 and 94 in the respective flanges.

Support member 76 is also secured to one side of body 12 by a connecting flange 96 which is formed with and extends outwardly from the topmost edge 82 of member 76. Flange 96 is adapted to engage against a cooperating flange 98 (FIGS. 2 and 5) which is formed with one side of body 12 in horizontal alignment with tone holes 50 and 58. Connecting flange 96 is disengageably affixed to flange 98 by screw means or other such devices which are insertable through cooperating aper tures 100 and 101 located in these respective flanges.

With the top end of support member 76 connected to bell l4 and body 12 of the saxophone 10 in the aforementioned manner, it should be noted that the lower end of the support member is rigidly held to the upwardly facing surface of U- shaped portion 15 by a support pin 102 extending through and rigidly held by sides 78 and 80. As illustrated best in FIGS. 5 and 8, two laterally spaced flanges 104 are formed with the upwardly facing surface of U-shaped portion 15 for receiving therebetween an end portion of support member 76. With this end portion so positioned, a pair of aligned grooves 106 positioned within the top edges of flanges 104 receive opposite ends of support pin 102 for rigidly maintaining the support member in a position substantially parallel with body 12, as can best be seen in FIG. 5.

In order to support a mechanical coupling assembly, to be described hereinafter, which in turn supports a plurality of padded key-cups, also to be described hereinafter, support member 76 includes a plurality of key-cup supporting flanges. The first of these key-cup supporting flanges to be noted is designated by the reference numeral 108 and extends outwardly from side 78 of the support member and near the top end thereof.

A second key-cup supporting flange 110, which is vertically spaced a short distance below flange 108, extends outwardly and rearwardly (towards flat edge 82) from side 78 in a curvilinear fashion. Positioned directly below this last-mentioned key-cup supporting flange, are six additional vertically spaced and substantially U-shaped key- cup supporting flanges 112, 114, 116, 118, and 122, each of which is formed at one end with side 78 and which extends in a U-shaped fashion towards the back edge of support member 76, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

A key-cup supporting flange 123 is also formed with side 78 between flanges 118 and 120, and extends outwardly and rearwardly from the side. In addition to these key-cup supporting flanges, support member 76 further includes three additional key-cup supporting flanges, the first of which is designated by the reference numeral 124 extending outwardly from and at the topmost edge of side 80. Positioned directly below this flange in a horizontal plane extending between flanges 112 and 114 is the second additional key-cup supporting flange 126, which is formed with and extends outwardly and forwardly from side 80 in a curvilinear fashion similar to that of flange 110. Finally, a key-cup supporting flange 128, which is provided directly below flange 126 and in approximate horizontal alignment with flange 118, is provided and extends outwardly from opposite sides 78 and 80, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Turning to FIG. 3, lower tone changing sub-assembly 30 further includes a plurality of padded circular key-cups which are sized to cooperate with corresponding tone holes for opening and closing the latter in a manner to be described hereinafter. In order to achieve this opening and closing operation, the key-cups are mechanically linked to and manipulated by a coupling assembly 130 which is in turn mounted to elongated support member 76.

Generally speaking, the coupling assembly comprises various pin elements (not shown) which are rigidly held within aligned apertures provided through aligned key-cup supporting flanges, as will be seen below. Tubular hinge rods are disposed around these pin elements between various key-cup supporting flanges and are mounted thereat for rotational or pivotable movement around their longitudinal axes. It is to be understood, that while only the hinge rods will be referred to hereinafter, such reference also contemplates the use of these pin elements and the manner in which the rods pivot.

Referring now in detail to lower tone-changing sub-assembly 30, the first padded key-cup to be noted is the D keycup 132. This key-cup includes a pivot arm 134 extending rearwardly from the key-cup and rigidly connected at its free end to a hinge rod 136. This hinge rod is in turn mounted for pivotable movement between key- cup supporting flanges 118 and 120, the hinge rod being disposed around a pin element extending through apertures 138 in supporting flanges 112 to 122 (FIG. 4). With sub-assembly 30 mounted to the remainder of saxophone 10, as illustrated best in FIG. 5, keycup 132 is disposed over tone hole 68 for opening and closing the latter upon pivotable movement of the key-cup, a finger piece 140 being provided for actuating or manipulating the key-cup. The key-cup is biased in its opened position by a needle spring 142 extending from an aperture 144 in key-cup supporting flange 120, the needle spring being mounted at its otherwise free end to a spur 146 rigidly mounted to the top end of hinge rod 136.

The E key-cup 148, which is positioned directly above keycup 132 and which includes a finger piece 150, is pivotably mounted by a pivot arm 152 to a hinge rod 154 which is located between key- cup supporting flanges 116 and 118 so as to open and close E tone hole 66, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Like key-cup 132, key-cup 148 is biased in its opened position by a needle spring 155 extending from an aperture 156 located in supporting flange 118, the free end of the needle spring being rigidly held in place by a spur 158 mounted to the top of hinge rod 154. In fact, it is to be understood that all of the remaining key-cups to be described below are biased in this same manner and in the open position unless otherwise indicated. However, in order to minimize the complexity of FIG. 3, such biasing means will not be shown and reference is made to the above descriptions.

Two auxiliary padded key- cups 160 and 162, which are provided for opening and closing auxiliary tone holes 60 and 62, respectively, include respective pivot arms 164 and 166. Pivot arm 164 is connected to a hinge rod 168 located between keycup supporting flanges 112 and 113, while pivot arm 166 is mounted to a hinge rod 170 located directly below supporting flange 114.

Both auxiliary key- cups 160 and 162 are simultaneously actuated or moved from their opened to closed positions by the actuation or pivotable movement of key-cup 148 by a coupling arm 172. Coupling arm 172 is connected at one end to a hinge rod 174 located directly beneath supporting flange 118 and at its other end to the pivot arm 166 of key-cup 162. Upon pivoting key-cup 148 from its opened to its closed position, the coupling arm is caused to pivot in the same direction which in turn simultaneously pivots auxiliary key-cup 162 to its closed position. A flange 176 rigidly connected to the back side of key-cup 162 and extending over the back side of keycup 160 causes the latter to pivot in unison with key-cup 162 and key-cup 148.

The F padded key cup 178 which is provided for opening and closing F tone hole 164, includes a finger piece 180 and a pivot arm 182 which is connected to hinge rod 184, the hinge rod being located directly above key-cup supporting flange 116, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Like key-cup 148, when key-cup 178 is moved from its biased open position to its closed position, it causes simultaneous pivotable movement of coupling arm 172 which as stated above moves key- cups 160 and 162.

While both auxiliary key- cups 160 and 162 are opened and closed simultaneously as described above, it should be noted that the key-cup 160 is also maintained in its closed position by a flange (not shown) in the form of a moment am, one end of this flange being biased against the pivot am 164 of keycup 160 for achieving this end. The other end of the flange or moment arm is rigidly connected to a hinge rod 186 (FIG. 1) which is mounted for rotation to a pin element (not shown) connected at respective ends within aperture 188 (FIG. 4) of key-cup supporting flange 124 and aperture 190 of key-cup supporting flange 126. The auxiliary key-cup 160 is allowed to move to its biased opened position by a lever 199 (G lever) which is rigidly connected to hinge rod 86 for rotating the same, and which upon rotation causes the flange or moment arm to move away from pivot am 164 and thus allow the pivot arm and associated auxiliary key-cup to move to its biased position.

A C padded key-cup 200, which is provided for closing and opening 0' tone hole 74, includes a pivot arm 202 connected to a hinge rod 204 mounted between key-cup supporting flanges and 122 and in vertical alignment with hinge rod 136. Key-cup 200 is biased in the same manner as described above, i.e., by utilizing a needle spring (not shown) but is biased in a closed position as opposed to an opened position. The key-cup is pivoted to its opened position by a C lever arm 206 which is connected to a hinge rod 208 extending from an aperture 210 in key-cup supporting flange 110 to an aperture 212 in key-cup supporting flange 123. Upon actuation of lever arm 206, hinge rod 208 is pivoted, which due to a coupling mechanism 214 connected to both hinge rod 208 and 204, causes the last-mentioned hinge rod to pivot in an opposite direction. This in turn drives key-cup 200 from its closed to its opened position. It should be noted that lever arm 206 is coupled to lever arm 199 by a key 215 so that, upon actuation of the former, the latter lever arm will also move, which in turn will allow key-cup to move to its biased opened position.

A lower B padded key-cup 216, which opens and closes lower B tone hole 72, is provided by lower tone changing subassembly 30 and includes a pivot arm 218 connected to a hinge rod 220 which extends between apertures 222 and 224 in respective key- cup supporting flanges 118 and 120. Keycup 216 is pivoted between its opened and closed positions by a B lever arm 226. Specifically, lever arm 226 is connected to and pivots a hinge rod 228 which is mounted within apertures 230 and 232 of key- cup supporting flanges 108 and 128. This last-mentioned hinge rod in turn is coupled (by means not shown) to hinge rod 220 for pivoting the latter and thereby moving key-cup 216. It should be noted, that lever arm 226 is coupled to lever arm 199 in the same manner as that of lever arm 206, so that upon actuation of lever 226 this will cause lever arm 199 to be actuated.

The remaining key-cup provided by lower tone changing sub-assembly 30 is that of the .3 key-cup 234 which is provided for opening and closing B tone hole 70. Key-cup 234 includes a pivot arm 236 connected to a hinge rod 238 which extends between an aperture 240 in key-cup supporting flange 116 and aperture 222 in key-cup supporting flange 118. Keycup 234 is moved between its opened and closed positions by pivoting hinge rod 238, which in turn is accomplished by actuating the B lever arm 244 which is connected to and pivots hinge rod 246 (FIG. 1) extending between an aperture 248 in supporting flange 124 and an aperture 250 in supporting flange 128. This last-mentioned hinge rod is mechanically coupled (by means not shown) to the hinge rod 238 for coupling the pivoting movement of the former to the latter. It is to be noted, that lever arm 244 is coupled (by means not shown) to levers 199, 206 and 226 so that upon actuation of lever 244 these other levers will be actuated in unison therewith and thereby move their corresponding key-cups in the manner described above.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 to 14, and particularly FIG. 10, upper tone changing sub-assembly 28 is shown in detail and includes an elongated support member 260 defined by opposite longitudinal sides 262 and 264 and opposite longitudinal edges 266 and 270. This support member, which is provided for disengageably mounting the upper sub-assembly 28 to the remainder of saxophone 10, includes at its top end thereof a flange portion 271 which extends outwardly from edge 270. A connecting flange 272, which is formed with and extends outwardly from the free end of flange portion 271, is adapted to engage against and be rigidly affixed to a pair of horizontally spaced cooperating flanges 274 (FIG. 15) which is formed with body 12 of saxophone 10 just beneath the neckpipe receiver 16 and above and slightly to one side of tone hole 44, as illustrated best in FIG. 15. Connecting flange 272 is disengageably but rigidly affixed to flanges 274 by screw means or other suitable fastening devices (not shown) which are inserted through cooperating apertures 276 and 278 in the respective flanges.

Support member 260 is also secured to body 12 at a position in vertical alignment with and a substantial distance below flanges 274 by a connecting flange 280 which is formed with side 262 of support member 260 and which extends outwardly from edge 270, as illustrated in FIG. 10. This flange is adapted to engage against the cooperating flange 282 (FIG. 15) which is formed with body 12 at a point to one side of and between tone holes 52 and 54. Connecting flange 280 is disengageably affixed to flange 282 by a screw or other suitable device (not shown) which is inserted through cooperating apertures 284 and 286 defined by these flanges.

Referring to FIG. 14, support member 260 is shown to include an outwardly extending flange 288 having a downwardly extending bight 290 which fits within a cavity or channel 292 of a cupped flange 294 formed with body 12 at a position adjacent to one side of tone hole 62. This connection secures the lower end of support member 260 to body 12 at a point directly below and in vertical alignment with flanges 274 and 282.

In order to support a mechanical coupling assembly, to be described hereinafter, which in turn supports a plurality of padded key-cups for opening and closing tone holes 44 to 58, support member 260 includes a plurality of key-cup supporting flanges. The first of these flanges to be noted is designated by the reference numeral 294 and extends outwardly from side 262 at the top of support member 260. Proceeding downwardly from key-cup supporting flange 294, support member 260 includes key- cup supporting flanges 296, 298, 300, 302,304, 306, 308, 310 and 312, each of which is formed with and extends outwardly from support member 260 in a manner illustrated in FIG. 10.

Turning to FIG. 9, upper tone changing sub-assembly 28 is shown to further include a plurality of padded circular keycups which are sized to cooperate with corresponding tone holes for opening and closing the latter in the same manner as described with respect to sub-assembly 30. In order to achieve this opening and closing operation, the key-cups are mechanically linked to and manipulated by a coupling assembly 314 which is, in turn, mounted to support member 260. Like coupling assembly 130, coupling assembly 314 comprises various pin elements (not shown) which are rigidly held within aligned apertures provided through aligned key-cup supporting flanges. In the same manner, tubular hinge rods are disposed around these pin elements between various supporting flanges and are mounted thereat for rotational or pivotable movement about their longitudinal axes.

Referring now in detail to the upper tone changing sub-assembly 28, the first padded key-cup to be noted is the high E key-cup 316 which opens and closes tone hole 44, and which includes a pivot arm 318 rigidly connected to the top end of a hinge rod 320. This last-mentioned hinge rod is mounted for longitudinal rotation to key- cup supporting flanges 296 and 310 at respective apertures 322 and 324 and is pivoted by a lever arm 326 rigidly connected thereto for moving key-cup 316 between its opened and closed positions.

The upper C key-cup 328, which is positioned between and to one side of the high E and Biz tone holes 48 and 50, is mounted by a pivot arm 330 to a hinge rod 332 (FIG. 1) located between key- cup supporting flanges 300 and 302 and opens and closes the C tone hole 56, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Supporting flanges 300 and 302 include apertures 334 and 336, respectively, for supporting this last-mentioned hinge rod. Like key-cup 316, key-cup 328 is biased in its opened position and closed by a lever arm 338 which is positioned directly below the lever arm 326 and which is connected to the bottom end of a hinge rod 340 (FIG. 1), the hinge rod 340 extending between apertures 342 and 344 in respective keycup supporting flanges 300 and 310. A mechanical linkage (not shown) is coupled to the two hinge rods 332 and 340, so that upon pivotable movement of the latter by actuation of lever arm 338, pivot arm 330 is caused to simultaneously pivot about its longitudinal axis for driving key-cup 328 from its biased opened position to its closed position.

The B tone hole 58 is opened and closed by a key-cup 343 which is positioned directly below the key-cup 328, and which operates in the same manner as the last-mentioned key-cup. Specifically, a lever arm 345, positioned directly below the lever arm 338, as illustrated in FIG. 9, is connected to and pivots a hinge rod 346 which is mounted for rotation within apertures 348 and 350 in flanges 306 and 288, respectively. Upon pivotable movement of this last-mentioned hinge rod, another hinge rod 352, which is mechanically coupled by means not shown to hinge rod 346, is pivoted in like manner. Hinge rod 352 is mounted between supporting flanges 304 and 306, and is connected to the pivot arm 354 of key-cup 343 for moving the latter between its opened and closed positions upon the previously described'movement of hinge rods 346 and 352.

An auxiliary key-cup 356 is provided for opening and closing the auxiliary tone hole 54 and includes a pivot arm 358 which is connected to a hinge rod 360 mounted for rotation within apertures 362 and 364 in respective key- cup supporting flanges 294 and 308. A finger piece, in the form of a lever arm 366 is formed with hinge rod 360 for pivoting key-cup 356. In addition, a coupling flange 368, formed at the top of the hinge rod, extends outwardly therefrom and cooperates with octave lever 42 (FIG. 1) in a manner to be described hereinafter.

The auxiliary tone hole 46 and adjacent high H tone hole 48 are simultaneously opened and closed by two key- cups 370 and 372 which are connected to adjacent respective hinge rods 374 and 376 extending between key- cup supporting flanges 298 and 300. Simultaneous movement of these two cups is provided by a coupling arm (not shown) connecting the two, the coupling arm being initially driven by key-cup 372 which includes a finger piece 378, as illustrated in FIG. 9. A finger piece in the'form of a lever arm 380 is mounted to a hinge rod 382, which rod is positioned above and adjacent to hinge rod 374. This last-mentioned lever arm extends over both key- cups 370 and 372 for moving these key-cups in the same manner as just recently described. In addition, lever arm 380 is coupled, in a manner to be described below, to an F key assembly which also will be described below.

The Biz key-cup 390, which includes a finger piece 392 and a pivot arm 394 is mounted to a hinge rod 396 for opening and closing Biz tone hole 50. Hinge rod 396 is mounted for longitudinal rotation within apertures 398 and 401 in respective key- cup supporting flanges 300 and 312, as illustrated in FIG. 10. It should be noted that key-cup 390 is also coupled to the previously mentioned coupling arm (not shown) for simultaneously moving auxiliary key-cup 370. It should further be noted, that a flange in the form of a moment arm 400 is rigidly connected at the bottom of and to hinge rod 396 and extends outwardly and beneath the flange 176 formed with the rearward side of key-cup 162, as illustrated best in FIG. 1. In this manner, upon pivoting this last-mentioned key-cup from its opened to closed position, key'cup 390 is forced to move simultaneously therewith.

The final key-cup provided by upper tone changing sub-assembly 28 is that of an auxiliary key-cup 402 which is pivoted about a hinge rod (not shown) by a finger piece in the form of a lever arm 404, the lever arm being connected to the top of the hinge rod while the key-cup is connected to the bottom thereof by a pivot arm 406. The hinge rod is positioned between flanges 302 and 304 so that key-cup 402 opens and closes tone hole 54. As illustrated in FIG. 9, lever arm 404 is positioned directly over the key-cup 390 so that, upon actuation of this lever for moving key-cup 402 from its opened to its closed position, key-cup 390 is caused to move in like manner and thus move the various components connected therewith, as described above.

Turning now to those components which are individually and rigidly a part of the saxophone 10, attention is directed to FIG. 15 in conjunction with FIG. 1 where the low C key-cup 408, having a key guard 410, is shown positioned to one side of U-shaped portion 15. This key-cup covers the low C tone hole 412 formed through the U-shaped portion. On the rearward side of U-shaped portion 15 leading up to body 12 and slightly above key-cup 408, an E key-cup 414 (FIG. 1) having a key guard 416 is provided for opening and closing an E tone hole 418 (FIG. 2) formed in the U-shaped portion.

With reference specifically to FIG. 1, the low C key-cup 408 will be seen to be fixed on an angulated pivot arm 420 fixed to the hinge rod 422 pivoted between the inner pivots of a pair of spaced posts 424 and 426. A low C spatula key or lever arm 428 also is fixed to the hinge rod 422. The upper edge of the spatula key is provided with a roller 430 rotatable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the hinge rod 422. In like manner, key-cup 414 is moved between its opened and closed positions by an E spatula key or lever arm 434 having an identical roller 436. Lever arm 434 is connected to the pivot arm 438 of key-cup 414 through an appropriate linkage assembly including connecting arm 440, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Both the low C and E key-cups are biased in their opened positions by utilizing needle springs (not shown) in the manner described above.

Returning to FIG. 15, and directing attention to the lower side portion of saxophone body 12, a longitudinally extending F spatula key 442 is shown spaced to the left of tone holes 62, 64 and 66, and is pivoted about a transversely extending pin 444 between a pair of posts 446. The spatula key 442 at its upper end carries an F* padded key-cup 448 for opening and closing a cooperating tone hole (not shown) formed in body 12. The lower or tail end of the spatula is provided with a finger piece 450. A leaf spring (not shown) biases the key-cup 448 in a closed position, while a heel 452 on the spatula key limits depression thereof under the influence of the artists finger.

Turning to FIG. 2, three additional longitudinally extending spatula keys 454, 456 and 458, which represent the respective keys of high F, D and high D are shown. These spatula keys function in the same manner as F spatula key 442, as described above. That is, spatula keys 454, 456 and 458 include at their common top ends respective key- cups 460, 462 and 464, which open and close cooperating tone holes (not shown) formed in the top portion of saxophone body 12. Each of these spatula keys further includes respective finger pieces 466, 468 and 470. All three spatulas are mounted to body portion 12 and pivoted in the same manner as described with respect to spatula key 442, and reference is made thereto.

It is to be noted that high F spatula key 454 may not only be actuated by pressing down on its finger piece 466, but also by pressing down on alternate F lever arm 380. This is accomplished by a coupling arm 472 (FIG. 2) which is pivoted about a transversely extending pin 473 mounted to vertically spaced posts 476. Opposite ends of the coupling arm extend beneath spatula key 454 and lever arm 380, respectively, so that upon actuation of the latter the former is moved from its closed to its opened position.

Returning briefly to FIG. 1, the thumb spatula or octave lever 42 is shown and, as stated above, is provided with an octave key-cup 34 for opening and closing octave tone hole 32. In addition, octave lever 42 includes a'second octave key-cup 478 which simultaneously opens and closes a cooperating octave tone hole (not shown) formed in the saxophone body 12. However, this latter octave key-cup is prevented from moving to its opened position by coupling flange 368 when lever arm 366 is in its depressed position.

With saxophone 10 described in the aforementioned manner, it is apparent that a vast number of components are required in making up the instrument. It is also apparent that the task of individually assembling and rigidly connecting together these various components is an extremely difficult one indeed. Therefore, by providing sub-assemblies 28 and 30, which account for a large majority of these components, the saxophone is capable of being assembled in a rather easy and rapid manner, the sub-assemblies being affixed to the remaining portion of the instrument as described above. In addition, in the event a particular element or component of one of these sub-assemblies becomes damaged, only that particular sub-assembly is required by the repair shop, and a second identical sub-assembly may be provided by the repair shop for use during this interim. Further, by utilizing such sub-assemblies, if the operator or manufacturer desires to polish or clean the saxophone body portion, this may easily be done by merely removing the sub-assemblies.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown, it should be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto, since many modifications may be made. It is therefore contemplated to cover by the present application any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A musical wind instrument of the open tube type such as a saxophone comprising: a hollow body having an upstream upper part and a downstream relatively lower part and having a plurality of upper tone holes located in said upper part and a plurality of lower tone holes located in said lower part; an upper tone changing sub-assembly disengageably mountable to the upper part of said body and including means conventionally operated by the fingers of the left hand for opening and closing individual ones or various combinations of said upper tone holes whereby to produce varying tonal qualities; and a lower tone changing sub-assembly disengageably mountable to the lower part of said body and including means conventionally operated by the fingers of the right hand for opening and closing individual ones or various combinations of said lower tone holes whereby to produce further tonal qualities, each of said sub-assemblies including an elongated bar spanning the sub-assembly and having end portions detachably secured to fittings on said body, said bar being spaced out from mid-body thereby, one end portion of each bar and a respective fitting having interfitting projection and recess means and the other end portion of each bar being secured to the corresponding fitting by rotary fasteners, each sub-assembly further including tone hole closing means positioned between said bar and said body.

2. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hollow body has an upturned bell and wherein the lower sub-assembly is mounted by fittings on said bell.

3. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein the upper sub-assembly has one end portion with a foot thereon and the corresponding fitting has a stirrup receiving said foot.

4. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein the lower sub-assembly bar has one end portion with a crosspin therein and the corresponding fitting has spaced support members with notches therein, the one end portion fitting between said support members with said cross-pin received in said notches.

5. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 2 wherein one end portion of the upper sub-assembly has a foot thereon and the corresponding fitting has a stirrup detachably receiving said foot, and wherein one end portion of the lower sub-assembly has a cross-pin thereon and the corresponding fitting has a pair of spaced supports between which the one end portion is received, said supports having notches therein receiving said cross-pin.

Claims (5)

1. A musical wind instrument of the open tube type such as a saxophone comprising: a hollow body having an upstream upper part and a downstream relatively lower part and having a plurality of upper tone holes located in said upper part and a plurality of lower tone holes located in said lower part; an upper tone changing sub-assembly disengageably mountable to the upper part of said body and including means conventionally operated by the fingers of the left hand for opening and closing individual ones or various combinations of said upper tone holes whereby to produce varying tonal qualities; and a lower tone changing subassembly disengageably mountable to the lower part of said body and including means conventionally operated by the fingers of the right hand for opening and closing individual ones or various combinations of said lower tone holes whereby to produce further tonal qualities, each of said sub-assemblies including an elongated bar spanning the sub-assembly and having end portions detachably secured to fittings on said body, said bar being spaced out from mid-body thereby, one end portion of each bar and a respective fitting having interfitting projection and recess means and the other end portion of each bar being secured to the corresponding fitting by rotary fasteners, each sub-assembly further including tone hole closing means positioned between said bar and said body.

2. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hollow body has an upturned bell and wherein the lower sub-assembly is mounted by fittings on said bell.

3. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein the upper sub-assembly has one end portion with a foot thereon and the corresponding fitting has a stirrup receiving said foot.

4. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 1 wherein the lower sub-assembly bar has one end portion with a cross-pin therein and the corresponding fitting has spaced support members with notches therein, the one end portion fitting between said support members with said cross-pin received in said notches.

5. A musical wind instrument as set forth in claim 2 wherein one end portion of the upper sub-assembly has a foot thereon and the corresponding fitting has a stirrup detachably receiving said foot, and wherein one end portion of the lower sub-assembly has a cross-pin thereon and the corresponding fitting has a pair of spaced supports between which the one end portion is received, said supports having notches therein receiving said cross-pin.

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