US3757025A

US3757025A - Harmonicas

Info

Publication number: US3757025A
Application number: US00207011A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Huang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-12-13
Filing date: 1971-12-13
Publication date: 1973-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-04
Also published as: DE2260752A1

Abstract

A harmonica in which a slide is shiftable for placing openings of a mouthpiece in communication with selected chambers formed in a body of the harmonica and communicating with reeds carried by reed plates which extend over the body chambers. The slide is in direct slidable contact with the mouthpiece and body and has a low coefficient of friction with respect thereto, so that no guiding structure is required to guide the slide. The reed plates are situated between covers which are formed with sound chambers respectively communicating through the reeds with the body chambers, these sound chambers having rear openings. These covers may be provided with forward openings respectively communicating with the sound chambers and the covers are provided with controls for selectively opening and closing these forward openings. Also, the slide is shifted by the operator through a mechanism which requires the operator only to displace a manually operable member through a fraction of the distance that the slide is moved.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Huang 1 1 Sept. 4, 1973 1 HARMONICAS Cham-Ber Huang, 257 Benson Ave., Elmont, NY. 11003 221 Filed: Dec. 13, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 207,011

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl 84/377, 84/452 P [51] Int. Cl. Gl0d 71/12 [58] Field of Search 84/377, 378, 452 P [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,339,790 1/1944 Magnus 84/377 3,149,527 9/1964 Kraft.... 84/377 2,565,100 8/1951 Tate 84/377 2,384,758 9/1945 Magnus 84/377 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin Atl0rneyAleX Friedman et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A harmonica in which a slide is shiftable for placing openings of a mouthpiece in communication with selected chambers formed in a body of the harmonica and communicating with reeds carried by reed plates which extend over the body chambers. The slide is in direct slidable contact with the mouthpiece and body and has a low coefficient of friction with respect thereto, so that no guiding structure is required to guide the slide. The reed plates are situated between covers which are formed with sound chambers respectively communicating through the reeds with the body chambers, these sound chambers having rear openings. These covers may be provided with forward openings respectively communicating with the sound chambers and the covers are provided with controls for selectively opening and closing these forward openings. Also, the slide is shifted by the operator through a mechanism which requires the operator only to dis place a manually operable member through a fraction of the distance that the slide is moved.

18 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures Pmmms 41915 SHEET 1 (IF 9 INVENTOR. CHAM-BER HUANG ATTORNEYS BER HUANG wmu INVENTOR.

w s a g M SHEET 2 OF 9 ATTORNEYS If PNEMEBW 4m ,757,025

' I sum 3 or 9 Q4 /22 /26 3 Fig-i ma E? w f i 3 i 72 64 62 1 i INVENTOR. (HAM-BER HUANG BY @144 WW LEF ATTORNEYS PATENIED SEP M975 SHEEI 5 [BF 9 FIG; if

W "mun? w FIG I2 40 INVENTOR. 32 CHAM -BER HUANG mmw 5 ATTORNEYS mmngu SEP 4 ms SHEU 7 OF 9 'FIG. /5 224 FIG. /7

FIG. 18

INVENTOR. CHAM-BER HUANG ATTORNEYS mamas 41w 3.757.025

SHEU 8 0F 9 FIG. 20

INVENTOR. (HAM-BER HUANG sum 8 9 INVENTOR. CHAM'BER HUANG M l M ATT 1 HARMONICAS The present invention relates to harmonicas.

More particularly, the present invention relates to that type of harmonica where a shiftable slide is situated between the mouthpiece and chambers for selectively opening and closing the latter.

In conventional harmonicas of this type the slide generally takes the form of a flat metal member, and suitable guides are provided for guiding the slide for longitudinal movement. The result is that such conventional harmonicas require a large number of parts for the slide assembly, and the flat metal slide requires a considerable amount of free space around it to assure an easy movement of the slide. As a result there is an undesirable amount of air leakage along and around the slide member preventing the harmonica from having an ideal degree of air-tightness. Also, the result is that the sound produced by the harmonica cannot be as powerful as desired and it is difficult for the operator to create the required fiow of air through the harmonica.

Such conventional slide arrangements either partially block the chambers with the slide shifting through a distance equal to half the width of a chamber, or the chambers may be fully open when the slide is shifted through a full space. In the position where the slide arrangement of the conventional harmonicas provides only a partial opening of the chambers, the exhaling and inhaling operations carried out by the operator to create the required air flow is retarded and opposed because of the narrow chamber openings through which the air is required to flow, with the result that the sound of the harmonica is undesirably weakened and the volume is subdued. On the other hand, where the slide arrangement is positioned to provide fully open chambers, the operator is required to displace the slidecontrol button through a distance sufficient to achieve fully open chambers, and this distance is undesirably large so that the operator cannot displace the control for the slide through the required distance with the required speed. The result is that the technique with which the instrument is manipulated is necessarily retarded and undesirably slow.

A further drawback of conventional harmonicas resides in the fact that they are capable of achieving only a limited range of tonal variation and volume. The musical sounds which are created with conventional harmonicas are not as loud as is sometimes desired, and the quality of the sound has only a limited range of variation. Although this latter problem is alleviated to some extent by cupping of the harmonica in a variety of ways by the hands of the operator, even with these latter manipulations the tonal range, quality, and volume is undesirably limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a harmonica which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide for a harmonica of the above general type a slide which does not require any guiding structure so that in this way the construction of the harmonica is greatly simplified and the number of components required is greatly reduced.

Furthermore it is an object of the present invention to provide a harmonica which while having a shiftable slide nevertheless is provided with a high drgree of airtightness while at the same time assuring an easy, ready movement of the slide with substantially no resistance to shifting thereof.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide for a harmonica a manually operable means connected to the slide for shifting the latter through the required distance with the operator being required to displace a manually operable member only to a fraction of the distance through which the slide is displaced.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide for a harmonica sound chambers which will greatly increase the possible variations in the quality of the sound produced by the instrument.

Furthermore it is an object of the present invention to provide for a harmonica a control capable of achieving a sound whose volume is far greater than has heretofore been possible while at the same time greatly enhancing the quality of the sound produced by the instrument.

In general it is an object of the present invention to provide a harmonica which can accomplish the above objects while at the same time being composed of relatively simple rugged elements which enable the harmonica to have a long operating life and to be manufactured at relatively low cost while at the same time assuring a comfortable easy manipulation of the harmonica with an achievement of an almost unlimited variation in the properties of the sound produced by the instrument.

According to the invention the harmonica includes an elongated body having between opposed ends thereof upper and lower surfaces as well as front and 1 rear edges. Between its upper and lower surfaces the body is provided with a horizontal partition above and below which the body is formed with elongated body chambers extending transversely of the body between its front and rear edges but terminating short of these edges, with the body being formed in the region of its front edge with a series of openings communicating with the body chambers to provide the latter with front open ends. At each side of its horizontal partition the body has a first series of alternate body chambers respectively alternating with a second series of alternate body chambers. The first and second series of alternate body chambers on one side of the partition are respectively in vertical alignment with the first and second series of alternate body chambers on the other side of the horizontal partition. A mouthpiece extends along the front edge of the body and is formed with a series of mouthpiece openings equal in number to the number of chambers on each side of the horizontal partition of the body, with each mouthpiece opening being capable of communication with a pair of body chambers separated by the horizontal partition and situated one over the other. An elongated slide is situated between the mouthpiece and body and is formed with a series of upper and lower, passages extending transversely through the slide, the upper passages being respectively aligned with spaces between the lower passages so that the passages are arranged according to a zig-zag pattern. In one position of the slide the upper passages thereof communicate with the first series of alternate body chambers at the upper side of the horizontal partition while th lower passages communicate with the second series of alternate body chambers at the lower side of the partition, and at this time the slide closes all of the remaining body chambers. The slide is shiftable to a second position where the upper passages communicate with the second series of alternate body chambers at the upper side ,of the partition while the lower passages of the slide communicate at this time with the first series of alternate body chambers at the lower side of the partition. A manually operable means is operatively connected with the slide to shift the latter between its positions. and this manually operable means includes a manually engageable member which is required to be displaced by the operator through only a fraction of the distance through which the slide is longitudinally displaced between the above positions thereof. A pair of reed plates are fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of the body and have reeds communicating with the several body chambers. These reeds are situated between outer covers which are respectively formed with sound chambers communicating through the reeds with the several body chambers, respectively, and these sound chambers have rear open ends to provide for air and sound flow in either direction through the sound chambers, reeds, body chambers, slide passages, and mouthpiece openings. The covers may be provided with forward openings situated forwardly of their rear openings and respectively communicating with the several sound chambers, and a control means is available to the operator for closing and opening the forward openings of the covers. In addition the covers may be provided with partitions dividing each sound chamber into an outer and inner sound chamber portion. The forward openings communicate with the outer sound chamber portions and the body may be formed with rear bores providing communication between the sound chambers of the pair of covers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of a harmonica according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the harmonica of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view of the harmonica of FIGS. 1 and 2, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 5 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view of the harmonica of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 5 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional elevation of the harmonica of FIGS. 1-3, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a perspective illustration of another embodiment of a slide according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary partly sectional perspective illustration of the manner in which the slide of FIG. 6 coacts with other components of the harmonica;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a cover of the harmonica of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the cover of FIG. 8 as seen when looking toward the lower surface thereof;

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal elevation of part of a control means for closing and opening forward openings of each cover;

FIG. 14 is a front elevation of the harmonica of FIGS.

l and 2 illustrating another position of the slide;

FIG. 15 is a transverse sectional elevation of another embodiment of a harmonica according to the invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective illustration of a slide which is used in the harmonica of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a transverse sectional elevation of a cover of the embodiment of FIG. 15 taken at a location where relatively long sound chambers are provided;

FIG. 18 is a transverse sectional elevation of a cover of FIG. 15 taken at a location where a relatively short sound chamber is provided;

FIG. l9 is a top plan view of a cover of the embodiment of FIG. 15;

FIG. 20 shows the cover of FIG. 19 as it appears when looking toward the lower surface thereof;

FIG. 21 is a top plan view of a further embodiment where the harmonica of FIG. 15 is provided at each cover with forward openings capable of being open and closed by a control means illustrated in FIG. 21; and

FIG. 22 is a transverse sectional elevation of the harmonica of FIG. 21 provided, however, with the slide of FIGS. 1-5.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, one embodiment of the harmonica according to the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. l-5 and 8-14. The harmonica 30 of this embodiment includes .a body 32 shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5. This body 32 may be made of any suitable plastic, for example. The body 32 has an elongated front edge 34 and an elongated rear edge 36. It also has an upper surface 38 and a lower surface 40. These edges and surfaces extend between the opposed ends 42 and 44 of the body 32. Between its top and

bottom surfaces

38 and 40 the body 32 has a horizontal partition 46. Above and below this partition 46 the body 32 is formed with transversely extending body chambers extending perpendicularly to the front and rear edges of the body but terminating short of these edges. These body chambers include at the upper side of the partition, as shown in FIG. 4, a first series of alternate body chambers 48a, 48b, 480, etc. and a second series of

body chambers

50a, 50b, 500, respectively alternating with the chambers 48a, 48b, 480, etc. These body chambers shown in FIG. 4 are respectively aligned with corresponding body chambers situated beneath the horizontal partition 46. Thus, FIG. 5 shows a pair of these body chambers 50c respectively in vertical alignment with each other. At the region of its front edge, the body 32 is formed with openings 52 providing the several body chambers with front open ends, as is most clearly shown in FIG. 5. Also at its front edge 34 the body 32 is formed with an elongated groove 54 of half-round or semicircular cross section, as shown in FIG. 5, this groove serving a purpose referred'to below.

At the region of its rear edge 36 the body 32 is formed with a series of vertical bores 56 respectively aligned with the several pairs of upper and lower body chambers.

A pair of

reed plates

58 and 60 are respectively fixed to the upper and

lower surfaces

38 and 40 of the body 32, these reed plates being made of metal, for example, and being formed with passages along which metal and plastic reeds 62 extend in alignment with the several body chambers, these reeds having different lengths and the body chambers having lengths and depths in accordance with the reed lengths, as is well known.

An elongated mouthpiece 64 extends along the front edge 34 of the body 32 and is fixed to the latter, as by screws 66. This mouthpiece also may be made of any suitable plastic, for example, and it is formed with a series of mouthpiece openings 68 which extend through the mouthpiece 64 with the number of openings 68 equal to the number of body chambers on each side of the horizontal partition 46. The size of the openings 68 is such that each opening can communicate with a pair of vertically aligned body chambers, and the longitudinal distribution of the mouthpiece openings 68 is the same as the longitudinal spacing of the body chambers on each side of the partition 46. The mouthpiece 64 has a flat rear surface 70. Its front exposed surface is suitably rounded while this rounded front exposed surface merges into inclined exposed surfaces having therebetween an angle on the order of 225 so that the mouthpiece is comfortable to the operator.

As is apparent particularly from FIG. 5, each opening 68 is of a somewhat reduced diameter at its front end portion. The rear end portion of each opening 68 extends all the way up to the rear surface 70 which slidably engages an elongated slide 72. This elongated slide 72 has a front flat surface 74 which directly and slidably engages the rear flat surface 70 of the mouthpiece 64. The slide 72 is of a half-round semi-circular contour in cross section matching the cross section of the groove 54 and received in the latter with the curved rear surface of the slide slidably and directly engaging the body 32 in its groove 54. Thus it is unnecessary to provide any guiding structure for the slide. The slide is made of a material such as Teflon, for example, which has an extremely low coefficient of friction so that it is freely shiftable with respect to the mouthpiece and body with which it is directly in engagement, and thus there is very little resistance to the movement of the slide and at the same time no special guide structure is required.

The slide 72 is formed with a series of upper transverse passages 76a, 76b, 76c, etc., as shown in FIG. 4. Also, the slide is formed with a series of lower transverse passages 78a, 78b, 78c, etc. also as shown in FIG. 4. The transverse passages 76a, 76b, 76c, etc. are respectively vertically aligned with the spaces between the transverse passages 78a, 78b, 780, etc., so that in this way the transverse passages of the slide 72 have a zig-zag arrangement or pattern. All of these slide passages have front inlet ends 80, as shown for the passage 78d in FIG. 5, and these inlets 80 are substantially the same size or area as the mouthpiece openings 68 so that the latter have a substantially unobstructed communication with the transverse slide passages.

The screws 66 at the ends of the mouthpiece 64 serve not only to fix the mouthpiece to the body 32 but in addition they serve to fix to the ends of the groove 54 a pair of rubber blocks 82 and 84 which close the groove and serve as stops to determine the end positions between which the slide 72 is shifted. Because these stops are made of rubber a quiet operation is achieved for the slide and at the same time its end positions are accurately determined. In the position of the slide 72 which is shown in FIG. 4, the slide passages 76a, 76b, 76c, etc. respectively communicate with the first series of alternate body chambers 48a, 48b, 48c, etc., while the second series of

alternate body chambers

50a, 50b, 50c, etc. are closed at this time. At the same time, the

several passages

78b, 78c, 78d 781 respectively communicate with the second series of alternate body chambers which are respectively situated beneath the partition 46 in alignment with the

several body chambers

50a, 50b, 500, etc. illustrated in FIG. 4, so that in the position of the slide 72 shown in FIG. 4 the several openings 68 of the mouthpiece 64 will communicate with the first series of alternate chambers at the upper side of the partition 46 and with the second series of alternate chambers at the lower side of the partition 46.

When the slide 72 is shifted to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, into engagement with the block 84, the first series of alternate body chambers 48a, 48b, 480, etc. at the upper side of the partition 46 will be closed while the transverse passages 76a, 76b, 76c, etc. will now place mouthpiece openings 68 respectively in communication with the second series of

alternate body chambers

50a, 50b, 500, etc. at the upper side of the partition 46. At this time the transverse slide passages 78a, 78b, 780, etc. will provide communication between mouthpiece openings 68 and the first series of alternate body chambers situated beneath the partition 46 respectively in alignment with the body chambers 48a, 48b, 480, etc. shown in FIG. 4.

A manually operable means 86 is accessible to the operator for displacing the slide 72 between its end positions. This manually operable means 86 is shown most clearly in FIG. 4. The manually operable means 86 includes an elongated plunger 88 which is axially shiftable in a bore 90 which is formed in the body 32. A spring 92 urges the plunger 88 out to the position shown in FIG. 4 where the free end 93 of the plunger 88 is freely accessible to the operator. At its right end portion, as viewed in FIG. 4, the slide 72 is formed with an opening 94 for receiving an end 96 of a swingable lever 98 which is supported for swinging movement on a vertical pivot 100 fixed to the body 32 with the lever 98 being freely swingable in a chamber 102 which is formed in the body 32 at the region of its end 44. The plunger 88 is formed with an opening 104 which receives the other end of the lever 98. It will be noted that the pivot 100 is located closer to the plunger 88 than the slide 72 so that the lever arm extending to the slide is longer than the lever arm extending to the plunger. The spring 92 forms a spring means acting on the manually operable means 86 for normally holding the slide 72 in the end position shown in FIG. 4. When the operator pushes the plunger 88 inwardly toward the body 32 the lever 98 is swung in opposition to the spring means 92 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4, displacing the slide 72 to the right into engageple the lever arm extending to the slide is approximately twice as long as the lever arm extending to the plunger so that the latter need only be moved through one half the distance that the slide is moved. When the operator releases the plunger 88 the spring means 92 returns the slide automatically to the position shown in FIG. 4. Thus a rapid convenient shifting of the slide between its end positions is achieved with very little frictional resistance because of the low coefficient of friction at the surfaces which slidably engage each other where the slide directly contacts the mouthpiece and body.

The

reed plates

58 and 60 are respectively covered by a pair of

elongated covers

104 and 106 which also may be made of a suitable plastic. These covers 104 and 106 may be fixed as by any suitable screws or the like directly to the body 32. The exterior exposed upper and

lower surfaces

108 and 110 of the

covers

104 and 106, respectively, form continuations of the inclined upper and lower surfaces of the mouthpiece 64 although these exposed

surfaces

108 and 110 may have therebetween an angle on the order of 18, for example. The

covers

104 and 106 have the same construction. The cover 104 is shown as it appears from the exterior in FIG. 8 and as it appears from the interior in FIG. 9. The interiors of the

covers

104 and 106 are hollow and divided by vertical partitions 112 into a series of sound chambers l 14 equal in number to the number of body chambers at each side of the partition 46 and respectively communicating with these body chambers through the reeds. In the illustrated example each cover is also provided with a substantially horizontal partition 116 dividing each sound chamber 114 into an outer sound chamber portion 114a and an inner sound chamber portion 1 14b. The horizontal partitions 116 of the

covers

104 and 106 are formed at the region of their rear edges with openings 118. Thus, through these openings 118 the vertically aligned inner and outer sound chamber portions 114a and 1l4b of each sound chamber 114 are in communication with each other. Moreover, the sound chambers 114 have open rear ends providing for a free flow of air and sound waves in either dirction through the sound chambers, past the reeds, through the body chambers and slide passages, and through the mouthpiece openings 68. The bores 56 of the body 32 provide communication between the sound chambers 114 of the covers.

As is apparent from FIG. 9, the several openings 118 are of successively increasing lengths so that the lengths of the sound chambers will conform to the lengths of the body chambers achieving a pitch which gradually increases as the sound and body chambers become shorter so that relatively low sounds are provided at the longer body and sound chambers while higher tones are achieved at the shorter body and sound chambers.

According to a further feature of the invention the

covers

104 and 106 are respectively formed with forward openings 120 extending from the

exterior surfaces

108 and 110 through the covers into communication with the outer sound chamber portions 114a. The

covers

106 and 108 carry a control means for controlling the opening and closing of the forward openings 120. This control means includes a pair of tubes 122 fixed to the

covers

104 and 106, respectively, with each tube 122 being formed with a pair of opposed openings 124 aligned with each forward opening 120. Each tube 122 supports for rotary movement in its interior an elongated rod 126 formed with transverse openings 128 also respectively communicating with the several openings and thus with the several sound chambers when the rods 126 of the control means have the angular positions illustrated in FIG. 5.

As is shown most clearly in FIGS. 10 and 11, each of the rods 126 carries a knurled sleeve 130 at its opposed ends to facilitate turning of the rods 126 respectively in the tubes 122. As is shown in FIG. 11 the ends of each rod 126 have a square cross section to be received in a square bore formed in each sleeve 130, and a pair of screws 132 serve to fix the sleeves 130 to the rods 126. These sleeves 130 are provided at their exterior surfaces with elongated gear teeth 134 so that in effect these sleeves 130 also serve as gears.

The angularly turnable rods 126 which form the control means for closing and opening the forward openings 120 according to a further feature of the invention are interconnected by a transmission means which causes both of the rods 126 to assume simultaneously positions where all of the openings 120 are either open or where all of these openings are closed. Thus, in the position shown in FIG. 5 all of the openings 120 are open.

Referring to FIG. 12, it will be seen that the transmission means which interconnects the rods of the control means includes an intermediate gear sector 136 accommodated in a transverse opening of the body 32 on a pivot 138. This gear 136 meshes with the pair of sleeves 130 at the left end of the harmonica, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. The gear sector 136 is formed with an arcuate slot 140 the center of which is in the axis of turning of the gear sector 136, and the body 32 carries a pin 142 extending through the slot 140 so as to limit the extent to which the gear 136 can be turned. When the upper end of the slot 140 engages the pin 142, as shown in FIG. 12, all of the forward openings 120 are open and communicate with the outside through the openings 128 of the rods 126. When the lower end of the slot 140 engages the pin 142, the rods 126 close the forward openings 120. As is apparent from FIG. 12, the

reed plates

58 and 60 are formed with slots respectively aligned with the slot in the body 32 which accommodates the gear sector 136 so that the latter extends through the slots of the reed plates as well as through the slot in the body 32.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show the harmonica of the invention as it appears from the front when looking toward the mouthpiece 64. The slide 72 is shown in FIG. 13 in the position of FIG. 4 where the plunger 88 of the manually operable means 86 is in its outer normal position. It will be noted that the slide 72 blocks the alternate series of body openings above and below the partition in the manner shown in FIG. 13. However, when the plunger 88 is pushed in to the position of FIG. 14, the slide 72 has been shifted to the right so as to close the-body chambers which are open in the position of FIG. 13 and open the body chambers which are closed in the position of FIG. 13.

It will be noted that because of the flat surfaces of the mouthpiece and slide which engage each other the slide cannot turn about its axis. The slide 72 can only move through a distance corresponding to a full space opening so that there are no partial openings of the body chambers and air flow is always easy to produce.

However, it will be noted that the plunger of the manually operable means 86 is situated at the right rear portion of the harmonica where it can very conveniently be engaged by the right hand, to be pushed by the index finger of the right hand for a right-handed operator. A left-handed operator will hold the harmonica in an inverted position with respect to the position shown in the drawings. Because the manually operable means is situated at the rear portion of the harmonica the cupping operations can be carried out in an extremely convenient manner, with an operator who has even relatively small hands being capable of covering a relatively large area at the back of the harmonica for better tonal control.

The covers provide through their sound chambers acoustic controls for all of the body chambers. These sound chambers have the outer and inner portions referred to above and have various lengths and heights in accordance with the frequencies of the reeds. The inner sound chamber portions will provide for all of the reeds a properly resonated pitch. The sound chambers result in a more brilliant, more rounded and musically more pleasant sound. The control means formed by the rotary rods 126 enable the outer sound chambers to be closed or opened simply by turning one of the rods. This can conveniently be carried out by the thumb of the right hand which is always located at the region of the right corner of the harmonica when the hands are properly holding the harmonica, and through the gear transmission shown in FIG. 12 both of the rods 126 can be angularly turned simultaneously. When the outer sound chamber portions 114a are closed the harmonica has a relatively mellow sound while when these outer sound chamber portions 114a are opened, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a far more brilliant sound is achieved and it is possible to provide even a blasting sound if the operator produces an attack with a strong breath.

Basically, it is possible to achieve with the harmonica of the invention four different tonal colors. When the outer sound chamber portions 114a are closed, handcupping close to the back of the harmonica will produce a tightly muted sound while uncovering these rear open ends of the sound chambers will produce an open, louder sound. With the outer sound chambers 114a fully open at the forward openings 120, cupping at the back of the harmonica will produce a highly brilliant but rounded sound whereas no cupping at the rear open ends of the sound chambers will result in a brilliant and blasting sound. Moreover, various degrees of hand-cupping and various degrees of opening and closing of the outer sound chamber portions 114a will provide an endless variation of tonal colors between the above four basic tonal colors. If desired it is possible to provide mechanical devices to replace hand-cupping.

The embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 is identical with'that described above except for the structure of the slide. In this case the slide 72 may also be made of a material having a low coefficient of friction such as Teflon. However the slide 72 is composed of a series of vertical plates 152 bridged by and fixed to longitudinally extending plates 154 with these plates being fixed to a pair of end members 156. All of the

components

152, 154, and 156 provide the slide 72 with the half-rounded contour referred to above, and this slide 72 will thus have the upper series of transverse passages vertically aligned with the spaces beneath the lower series of passages. As is apparent from FIG. 7 the slide 72 can be moved between a pair of end positions.

The embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 15-20 is simpler than the structure described above but nevertheless is capable of achieving almost all of the outstanding results referred to above. Referring to FIG. 15, the harmonica 200 illustrated therein includes a body 202 which is substantially identical with the body 32 described above. The only difference is that the front edge region 204 is not provided with a groove corresponding to the groove 54. Instead at the front edge region the body 202 has a flat surface 206. Otherwise the body 202 is identical with the body 32. The

reed plates

208 and 210 are fixed to the body 202 and may be identical with the above-described reed plates. The mouthpiece 212 of FIG. 15 is in fact identical with the mouthpiece 64.

However, in the embodiment of FIG. 15, there is situated between the mouthpiece 212 and the body 202 a slide 214 shown most clearly in FIG. 16. Thus, this slide 214 is in the form ofa flat strip 216 made, for example, of a material such as Teflon which has a low coefficient of friction. This slide 214 has at its right end region, as viewed in FIG. 16, an opening 218 for receiving the front end of the lever 98. The slide 214 is thus shifted with the embodiment of FIG. 15 in exactly the same way as described above.

However, the slide 214 is formed with a series of upper notches 220 and a series of lower notches 222 which are respectively in vertical alignment with the spaces between the upper notches, as is apparent from FIG. 16. It is these

notches

220 and 222 which form the transverse passages for placing the openings of the mouthpiece in alignment with different sets of body chambers as referred to above.

A further difference with the embodiment of FIG. 15

i is that the

covers

224 and 226 are simpler than the covers of the embodiment of FIG. 1. These covers 224 and 226 are fixed to the body 202 in exactly the manner described above and thus cover the reed plates. The

covers

224 and 226 are provided at their hollow interiors with vertically extending partitions 228, some of which are visible in FIG. 19 and all of which are visible in FIG. 20, so that at their hollow interiors the covers define between the partitions 228 and the sound chambers 230. All of the sound chambers 230 have open rear ends. FIGS. 17 and 18 are transverse sections taken at different locations longitudinally of the cover 224 which is illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20. Of course the cover 226 has an identical construction. As is apparent from FIGS. 17 and 18, as well as from FIGS. 19 and 20, progressing from one end toward the other end of each cover, the sound chambers 230 have different sizes and configurations. The sound chamber 230 which is illustrated in FIG. 17 is adjacent the left end of the cover 224, as viewed in FIGS. 19 and 20, while the sound chamber 230 which is shown in FIG. 18 is adjacent the right end of the cover shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. This chamber of FIG. 17 is relatively long and deep and corresponds to a part of the harmonica which will provide a low, deep sound, whereas the shorter and shallower chamber 230 of FIG. 18, situated nearer to the right end of the cover 224 of FIGS. 19 and 20, will produce a sound of higher pitch. Of course the several sound chambers 230 are respectively in alignment with the several body chambers, as described above. The inner chambers 114b of the embodiments of FIGS. 114

would have substantially the same dimensional characteristics as sound chambers 230 of FIGS. 15-20. Each of inner sound chambers 1l4b and sound chambers 230 are dimensioned for substantial resonance at the tone of the reed associated therewith.

Thus, the embodiment of FIGS. I520 is considerably simpler in that a far simpler slide 214 is provided and the

covers

224 and 226 are of a simpler construction. Nevertheless the slide 214 is easily shiftable through an increment which corresponds to a full space and provides an air-tight assembly with low friction. Also, even though the sound chambers 230 are not divided into inner and outer chamber portions and even though the

covers

224 and 226 do not have forward openings which can be closed and opened by a control means as described above, nevertheless with this embodiment the sound chambers 230 coast with the body chambers to achieve a variation in tonal range and quality, particularly with cupping manipulations at the rear of the harmonica, which is far beyond the results which can be achieved with conventional harmonicas.

The embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22 combines the features of both of the embodiments described above. Thus, with the embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22 the illustrated harmonica 250 has a body 252, a mouthpiece 254,

reed plates

256 and 258, and a slide 260 all of which are identical with the embodiment of FIG. 1. In fact the only difference between the embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22 and that of FIG. 1 resides in the construction of the

covers

262 and 264. These covers are similar to the

covers

224 and 226 in that they are formed to define, with the body chambers sound

chambers

266 and 268 which are identical with the sound chambers 230 referred to above in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. -20. However, with the embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22 the

covers

262 and 264 are provided with

forward openings

270 and 272. These openings communicate respectively with the several sound chambers 266. It will be noted that the openings 270 are inclined oppositely to the openings 120. However the

covers

262 and 264 carry at the forward openings 270 and 272 a control means 274 which is identical with the control means described above for closing and opening the forward openings 120. Thus, the control means 274 includes outer tubes 276 fixedly carried by each cover and supporting for turning movement an inner rod 278 formed with transverse bores aligned with the

several openings

270 and 272 as well as with opposed openings in the outer tube 276. These rods are fixed at their ends to the gears or sleeves 280 which correspond in all respects to the gears or sleeves 134 and which are interconnected at one end of the harmonica by a transmission means as described above and shown in FIG. 12.

Thus, with the embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22 the slide assembly of the harmonica of FIG. I is used while covers similar to those of FIGS. 15-20 are used, these covers however being provided with the control means of the invention at forward openings which are formed in the covers, so that added brilliance or blasting can be achieved by manipulation of the control means 274, in the manner described above.

It is apparent, therefore, that with the invention it is possible to achieve not only with the embodiment of FIGS. I-l4 but also with the simpler embodiments of FIGS. 15-22 tonal qualities which are highly desirable while still providing a relatively simple construction which will operate very effectively and in a highly convenient manner.

What is claimed is:

1. In a harmonica, an elongated body having opposed ends, upper and lower surfaces, and front and rear edges extending between said opposed ends, said body having between said upper and lower surfaces thereof a horizontal partition and being formed above and below said horizontal partition with a plurality of elongated body chambers extending transversely of said body perpendicular to said front and rear edges thereof and terminating short of said front and rear edges, said body being formed at the region of said front edge thereof with openings providing said body chambers with front open ends, respectively, said body chambers including above and below said horizontal partition a first series of alternate body chambers and a second series of alternate body chambers which respectively alternate with said first series, and said first and second series of alternate chambers on one side of said horizontal partition being respectively aligned with the first and second series of alternate body chambers on the other side of said horizontal partition, a pair of reed plates fixed to said upper and lower surfaces of said body and having reeds aligned with said body chambers, the latter having lengths and depths according to the lengths of the reeds, a mouthpiece extending along the front edge of said body and formed with a series of openings equal in number to the number of body chambers on each side of said horizontal partition with each mouthpiece opening communicating with a pair of said body chambers separated by said horizontal partition and situated one over the other, an elongated slide situated between said mouthpiece and body and also extending along the front edge of the latter, said slide being formed with a series of upper and lower passages extending transversely therethrough according to a zigzag pattern where the upper series of passages are vertically aligned between the lower series of passages for providing communication in one position of said slide between said mouthpiece openings and said first series of alternate body chambers on the upper side of said horizontal partition and said second series of body chambers on the lower side of said horizontal partition while providing in an axially displaced second position of said slide communication between said mouthpiece openings and said second series of alternate body chambers on said upper side of said horizontal partition and said first series of body chambers at the lower side of said horizontal partition, manually operable means carried by said body and operatively connected with said slide for shifting the latter longitudinally between said positions thereof, said slide directly engaging said,

body and mouthpiece and being formed of a plastic material having a low coefficient of frictionwith respect thereto and at least one pair of engaging longitudinal surfaces of said mouthpiece, body, and slide which slidably engage each other being flat to prevent turning of said slide about its longitudinal axis, and a pair of elongated covers covering said reed plates and respectively being formed with transversely extending sound chambers communicating through said reed plates with said body chambers, said sound chambers having open rear ends for providing a path for air and sound waves in either direction through said sound chambers, reed plates, body chambers, slide passages and mouthpiece openings.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said slide is made of a plastic including Teflon for providing the low coefficient of friction at the surfaces of direct sliding contact between said slide, on the one hand, and said mouthpiece and body, on the other hand.

3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said elongated slide is of a half-round contour in cross section and has a front flat surface engaging said mouthpiece, the latter having a rear flat surface directly engaging said front flat surface of said slide, said body being formed with a groove of half-round contour in cross section matching the cross section of said slide and said a groove being defined by a surface directly engaging the correspondingly curved surface of said slide, the latter being formed at said front surface thereof with inlets to said passages all aligned respectively with said mouthpiece openings and having an area substantially equal to the area of said mouthpiece openings while said passages become gradually narrower in a direction from said front surface of said slide toward said rear curved surface thereof where said passages respectively communicate with said body chambers.

4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said elongated slide and said mouthpiece respectively have front and rear flat surfaces directly and slidably engaging each other while said slide and body respectively have curved surfaces directly and slidably engaging each other with said curved surface of said body forming a groove in which said slide is accommodated, the latter being composed of a series of vertical plates alternately bridged by upper and lower plates for providing the zigzag pattern of transverse passages and the space between said vertical plates corresponding to the size of the mouthpiece openings so that the latter communicates in a substantially unobstructed manner with the selected series of body chambers.

5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said slide is in the form of a flat plate directly and slidably engaging said mouthpiece and body and formed with a series of upper and lower notches which respectively form said passages.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said body is formed at the region of its rear edge with vertical bores respectively providing communication between the sound chambers of said covers.

7. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said manually operable means includes an elongated plunger housed in said body for longitudinal movement and projecting beyond one end of said body to be accessible to the operator, said body carrying the swingable lever which forms part of said manually operable means and which has opposed ends operatively connected on the one hand with said plunger and on the other hand with said slide so that in response to movement of said plunger said slide will be longitudinally shifted, said lever having between said opposed ends a pivot axis located closer to said plunger than said slide so that said plunger need only be displaced through a fraction of the distance that said slide is displaced in order to be moved between said positions thereof.

8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein a'spring means is carried by said body and acts on said manually operable means for yieldably holding said slide in one of said positions thereof, said manually operable means being actuated in opposition to said spring means for displacing said slide longitudinally to the other of its positions.

9. The combination of claim 1, wherein said sound chambers are dimensioned to be of gradually increasing height and length relative to the particular sound chamber for producing the highest tone, with the sound chamber for producing the lowest tone being longest and highest.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein each of said sound chambers are dimensioned for substantial resonance at the tone of the reed associated therewith.

ll. Combination of claim 9, wherein said rear sound chamber openings are dimensioned to be of gradually increasing length relative to the particular rear sound chamber opening associated with the sound chamber for producing the lowest tone, with the sound chamber for producing the highest tone having the longest rear sound chamber opening to define the sound chamber of the shortest length.

12. In a harmonica, an elongated body having opposed ends, upper and lower surfaces, and front and rear edges extending between said opposed ends, said body having between said upper and lower surfaces thereof a horizontal partition and being formed above and below said horizontal partition with a plurality of elongated chambers extending transversely of said body perpendicular to said front and rear edges thereof and terminating short of said front and rear edges, said body being formed at the region of said front edge thereof with openings providing said body chambers with front open ends, respectively, said body chambers including above and below said horizontal partition a first series of alternate body chambers and a second series of alternate body chambers which respectively alternate with said first series, and said first and second series of alternate chambers on one side of said horizontal partition being respectively aligned with the first and second series of alternate body chambers on the other side of said horizontal partition, a pair of reed plates fixed to said upper and lower surfaces of said body and having reeds aligned with said body cham bers, the latter having lengths and depths according to the lengths of the reeds, a mouthpiece extending along the front edge of said body and formed with a series of openings equal in number to the number of body chambers on each side of said horizontal partition with each mouthpiece opening communicating with a pair of said body chambers separated by said horizontal partition and situated one over the other, an elongated slide situated between said mouthpiece and body and also extending along the front edge of the latter, said slide being formed with a series of upper and lower passages extending transversely therethrough according to a zigzag pattern where the upper series of passages are vertically aligned between the lower series of passages for providing communication in one position of said slide between said mouthpiece openings and said first series of alternate body chambers on the upper side of said horizontal partition and said second series of body chambers on the lower side of said horizontal partition while providing in an axially displaced second position of said slide communication between said mouthpiece openings and said second series of alternate body chambers on said upper side of said horizontal partition and said first series of body chambers at the lower side of said horizontal partition, manually operable means carried by said body and operatively connected with said slide for shifting the latter longitudinally between said positions thereof, said slide directly engaging said body and mouthpiece and at least one pair of engaging longitudinal surfaces of said mouthpiece, body and slide which slidably engage each other being flat to prevent turning of said slide about its longitudinal axis, and a pair of elongated covers covering said reed plate and respectively being formed with transversely extending sound chambers communicating through said reed plates with said body chambers, said sound chambers having open rear ends for providing a path for air and sound waves in either direction through said sound chambers, reed plates, body chambers, slide passages and mouthpiece openings, said covers respectively having exposed upper and lower surfaces extending forwardly from said rear sound chamber openings toward said mouthpiece, and said covers each being formed forwardly of said rear sound chamber openings with forward openings extending from said exposed surface of each cover into communication with said sound chambers thereof, respectively, and manually operable control means carried by said covers, respectively, for selectively opening and closing said forward openings thereof to control the tonal color of said harmonica.

13. The combination of claim 12 and wherein said control means includes a pair of elongated rods extending across the forward openings of said covers, respectively, said rods being supported for rotary movement by said covers and said rods respectively being formed with transverse bores respectively aligned with said forward openings so that said rods can be turned to angular positions selectively opening and closing said forward openings of said covers. 14. The combination of claim 13 and wherein a transmission means interconnects said rods for transmitting motion therebetween for simultaneously opening all of said forward openings and for simultaneously closing all of said forward openings.

15. The combination of claim 12 and wherein said covers are respectively provided with substantially horizontal partitions dividing said sound chambers into inner and outer sound chamber portions all communieating with said rear sound chamber openings with said inner sound chamber portions directly communicating with said body chambers through said reed plates and each partition of said cover member being formed in the region of said rear sound chamber openings with partition openings respectively providing communication between said inner and outer sound chamber portions of each cover.

16. The combination of claim 15, wherein said inner sound chambers are dimensioned to be of gradually increasing height and length relative to the particular inner sound chamber for producing the highest tone, with the inner sound chamber for producing the lowest tone being longest and highest.

17. The combination of claim 16, wherein each of said inner sound chambers are dimensioned for substantial resonance at the tone of the reed associated therewith.

18. The combination of claim 15, wherein the openings in each of said horizontal partitions are dimensioned to be of gradually increasing length relative to the particular opening associated with the inner sound chamber for producing the lowest tone, with the inner sound chamber for producing the highest tone having the longest partition opening and being of the shortest length.

Claims

1. In a harmonica, an elongated body having opposed ends, upper and lower surfaces, and front and rear edges extending between said opposed ends, said body having between said upper and lower surfaces thereof a horizontal partition and being formed above and below said horizontal partition with a plurality of elongated body chambers extending transversely of said body perpendicular to said front and rear edges thereof and terminating short of said front and rear edges, said body being formed at the region of said front edge thereof with openings providing said body chambers with front open ends, respectively, said body chambers including above and below said horizontal partition a first series of alternate body chambers and a second series of alternate body chambers which respectively alternate with said first series, and said first and second series of alternate chambers on one side of said horizontal partition being respectively aligned with the first and second series of alternate body chambers on the other side of said horizontal partition, a pair of reed plates fixed to said upper and lower surfaces of said body and having reeds aligned with said body chambers, the latter having lengths and depths according to the lengths of the reeds, a mouthpiece extending along the front edge of said body and formed with a series of openings equal in number to the number of body chambers on each side of said horizontal partition with each mouthpiece opening communicating with a pair of said body chambers separated by said horizontal partition and situated one over the other, an elongated slide situated between said mouthpiece and body and also extending along the front edge of the latter, said slide being formed with a series of upper and lower passages extending transversely therethrough according to a zig-zag pattern where the upper series of passages are vertically aligned between the lower series of passages for providing communication in one position of said slide between said mouthpiece openings and said first series of alternate body chambers on the upper side of said horizontal partition and said second series of body chambers on the lower side of said horizontal partition while providing in an axially displaced second position of said slide communication between said mouthpiece openings and said second series of alternate body chambers on said upper side of said horizontal partition and said first series of body chambers at the lower side of said horizontal partition, manually operable means carried by said body and operatively connected with said slide for shifting the latter longitudinally between said positions thereof, said slide directly engaging said body and mouthpiece and being formed of a plastic material having a low coefficient of friction with respect thereto and at least one pair of engaging longitudinal surfaces of said mouthpiece, body, and slide which slidably engage each other being flat to prevent turning of said slide about its longitudinal axis, and a pair of elongated covers covering said reed plates and respectively being formed with transversely extending sound chambers communicating through said reed plates with said body chambers, said sound chambers having open rear ends for providing a path for air and sound waves in either direction through said sound chambers, reed plates, body chambers, slide passages and mouthpiece openings.

3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said elongated slide is of a half-round contour in cross section and has a front flat surface engaging said mouthpiece, the latter having a rear flat surface directly engaging said front flat surface of said slide, said body being formed with a groove of half-round contour in cross section matching the cross sectIon of said slide and said groove being defined by a surface directly engaging the correspondingly curved surface of said slide, the latter being formed at said front surface thereof with inlets to said passages all aligned respectively with said mouthpiece openings and having an area substantially equal to the area of said mouthpiece openings while said passages become gradually narrower in a direction from said front surface of said slide toward said rear curved surface thereof where said passages respectively communicate with said body chambers.

4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said elongated slide and said mouthpiece respectively have front and rear flat surfaces directly and slidably engaging each other while said slide and body respectively have curved surfaces directly and slidably engaging each other with said curved surface of said body forming a groove in which said slide is accommodated, the latter being composed of a series of vertical plates alternately bridged by upper and lower plates for providing the zig-zag pattern of transverse passages and the space between said vertical plates corresponding to the size of the mouthpiece openings so that the latter communicates in a substantially unobstructed manner with the selected series of body chambers.

8. The combination of claim 7 and wherein a spring means is carried by said body and acts on said manually operable means for yieldably holding said slide in one of said positions thereof, said manually operable means being actuated in opposition to said spring means for displacing said slide longitudinally to the other of its positions.

11. Combination of claim 9, wherein said rear sound chamber openings are dimensioned to be of gradually increasing length relative to the particular rear sound chamber opening associated with the sound chamber for producing the lowest tone, with the sound chamber for producing the highest tone having the longest rear sound chamber opening to define the sound chamber of the shortest length.

12. In a harmonica, an elongated body having opposed ends, upper and lower surfaces, and front and rear edges extending between said opposed ends, said body having between said upper and lower surfaces thereof a horizontal partition and being formed above and below said horizontal partition with a plurality of elongated chambers extending transversely of said body perpendicular to said front and rear edges thereof and terminating short of said front and rear edges, said body being formed at the region of said front edge thereof with openings providing said body chambers with front open ends, respectively, said body chambers including above and below said horizontal partition a first series of alternate body chambers and a second series of alternate body chambers which respectively alternate with said first series, and said first and second series of alternate chambers on one side of said horizontal partition being respectively aligned with the first and second series of alternate body chambers on the other side of said horizontal partition, a pair of reed plates fixed to said upper and lower surfaces of said body and having reeds aligned with said body chambers, the latter having lengths and depths according to the lengths of the reeds, a mouthpiece extending along the front edge of said body and formed with a series of openings equal in number to the number of body chambers on each side of said horizontal partition with each mouthpiece opening communicating with a pair of said body chambers separated by said horizontal partition and situated one over the other, an elongated slide situated between said mouthpiece and body and also extending along the front edge of the latter, said slide being formed with a series of upper and lower passages extending transversely therethrough according to a zig-zag pattern where the upper series of passages are vertically aligned between the lower series of passages for providing communication in one position of said slide between said mouthpiece openings and said first series of alternate body chambers on the upper side of said horizontal partition and said second series of body chambers on the lower side of said horizontal partition while providing in an axially displaced second position of said slide communication between said mouthpiece openings and said second series of alternate body chambers on said upper side of said horizontal partition and said first series of body chambers at the lower side of said horizontal partition, manually operable means carried by said body and operatively connected with said slide for shifting the latter longitudinally between said positions thereof, said slide directly engaging said body and mouthpiece and at least one pair of engaging longitudinal surfaces of said mouthpiece, body and slide which slidably engage each other being flat to prevent turning of said slide about its longitudinal axis, and a pair of elongated covers covering said reed plate and respectively being formed with transversely extending sound chambers communicating through said reed plates with said body chambers, said sound chambers having open rear ends for providing a path for air and sound waves in either direction through said sound chambers, reed plates, body chambers, slide passages and mouthpiece openings, said covers respectively having exposed upper and lower surfaces extending forwardly from said rear sound chamber openings toward said mouthpiece, and said covers each being formed forwardly of said rear sound chamber openings with forward openings extending from said exposed surface of each cover into communication with said sound chambers thereof, respectively, and manually operable control means carried by said covers, respectively, for selectively opening and closing said forward openings thereof to control the tonal color of said harmonica.

13. The combination of claim 12 and wherein said control means includes a pair of elongated rods extending across the forward openings of said covers, respectively, said rods being supported for rotary movement by said covers and said rods respectively being formed with transverse bores respectively aligned with said forward openings so that said rods can be turned to angular positions selectively opening and closing said forward openings of said covers.

14. The combination of claim 13 and wherein a transmission means interConnects said rods for transmitting motion therebetween for simultaneously opening all of said forward openings and for simultaneously closing all of said forward openings.

15. The combination of claim 12 and wherein said covers are respectively provided with substantially horizontal partitions dividing said sound chambers into inner and outer sound chamber portions all communicating with said rear sound chamber openings with said inner sound chamber portions directly communicating with said body chambers through said reed plates and each partition of said cover member being formed in the region of said rear sound chamber openings with partition openings respectively providing communication between said inner and outer sound chamber portions of each cover.