WO2014111964A1

WO2014111964A1 - Accordion with separate air supplies to reed blocks

Info

Publication number: WO2014111964A1
Application number: PCT/IT2014/000014
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tonino MANCINI
Original assignee: Mancini Tonino
Priority date: 2013-01-18
Filing date: 2014-01-16
Publication date: 2014-07-24
Also published as: ITRM20130031A1

Abstract

An accordion with separate air supplies to reed blocks has a bellows (1), a resonance chamber having a wall (2) and a keyboard (3) that controls, by a plurality of levers (6, 8), a plurality of valves (7, 9) that close ports (n, b) of a holed plate (10) in communication with three reed blocks (17, 18, 19). The reed block (18) being intermediate between the others is enclosed in a box (22) sealed inside the resonance chamber. The box (22) has end walls (23, 24) communicating with the outside of the accordion through a pair of holes (27, 28) formed in the wall (2) of the resonance chamber, the hole (27) being connected through a rigid pipe (29) to a mouthpiece (30), and the other hole (28) putting the inside of the box (22) in communication with the atmosphere upon an opening of a vent valve plug (32).

Description

ACCORDION WITH SEPARATE AIR SUPPLIES TO REED BLOCKS

Technical field

The present invention relates to an accordion with separate air supplies to reed blocks. The accordion in question can be both a piano accordion and a chromatic button accordion.

Background art

It is known that the accordion is a musical instrument consisting of one or more series of reeds carried by the reed blocks and placed in vibration through key valves by air emitted from a bellows operated by a player.

French patent No. 1 ,373,637 describes an instrument in which the air is not supplied by the bellows but is input into the instrument by either a compressor or a compressed air tank. It is easily understood that a continuous supply of air causes a too smooth and expressionless sound through the instrument.

U.S. Patent No. 221,148 describes an instrument obtained by a combination of an accordion and a wind instrument like flutes. A bellows of the accordion supplies air to reeds actuated by button-controlled valves, and the wind instrument is controlled by other valves acting on cassotti. The sound of the flutes may be combined or not with that of the accordion reeds. It is evident that the combined instrument according to patent N. 221,148, despite having a dual air supply, i.e. by the bellows and the wind instrument, retains the original voices of the instruments that constitute it. Some key musical instrument have been manufactured being supplied by an air source other than the bellows. By way of an example a portable air key musical instrument described in Italian patent N. 1314379 can be cited. The instrument, known as vibrandoneon, comprises a resonance chamber provided with vent openings and at least a keyboard, and a compartment of accumulation of air under pressure being internally delimited by the resonance chamber and communicating therewith via reed blocks. The keys are connected through a small arm to a valve pad designed to open and close a respective air outlet of the reed blocks. The accumulation compartment of the instrument is connected to a pipe terminating at the free end thereof with a mouthpiece for the lips of a player. The air vibrates one or more reeds at a time, each of which produces a different musical note after the respective key being pressed.

Because this instrument is usually supplied with air that is only blown from the mouth of the player, it should be understood that it is quite tiring. In addition, sound capabilities of the instrument are very limited because it has only two parallel rows of cells made in the reed block through which the air that vibrates the reeds passes. Disclosure of invention

In this context, the technical task underlying the present invention is to propose an accordion that overcomes the drawbacks of the key musical instruments mentioned above.

In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide an accordion able to create a solo voice controlled directly by the player both blowing and aspirating, all the other instrument's "singing voices" being excluded.

A further object of the present invention is to propose an accordion in which the voice can be accompanied by the bass rhythm section without suffering the influence of the dynamics and the volume.

Another object of the invention is to provide an accordion through which rhythmic effects in a single mode or complementary between the two sections can be created, namely the bass section and the section of the singing voices.

A further object of the invention is to create an accordion in which a voice can be played together with one or more voices of the instrument or used only to strengthen certain phrases or periods in an immediate way without the need of actuating any register.

The technical task mentioned and the aims specified are substantially achieved by an accordion with separate air supplies to reed blocks, comprising a bellows, a resonance chamber having a wall and a keyboard that controls, by a plurality of levers, a plurality of valves that close ports of a holed plate in communication with three reed blocks, wherein the reed block being intermediate between the other two reed blocks is enclosed in a box that is sealed inside the resonance chamber, the box communicating with the outside of the accordion through a pair of holes formed in the box and concentrically in the wall of the resonance chamber, a hole in the box being connected through a rigid pipe to a mouthpiece, and the other hole being provided with a vent valve plug for putting the inside of the box in communication with the atmosphere upon an opening of said vent valve plug.

Appropriately, the air source is the player with his mouth.

Thanks to the accordion according to the present invention applications hitherto not possible can be obtained.

In particular, by excluding all the other singing voices by a suitable mute register, a solo voice directly controlled dynamically by the breath of the player is provided. The voice sounds by both blowing and aspirating. This allows the player to take a breath in too long musical phrases or to produce certain dynamic effects more easily than before.

Thanks to the control of air supplied separately from the bellows the voice may be accompanied by the bass rhythm section without being influenced by the dynamics and the volume. This will allow, for example, the player to play at low volume with the bass rhythm section, and give greater emphasis and color to the theme.

Thanks to the accordion according to the invention rhythmic effects in a single mode or complementary between the two sections can be used, namely the bass section and the singing voice section. For example, so-called Bellows Shake can be made and simultaneously a melody can be played.

The voice located inside the box can be played either together with one or more voices of the instrument, or used only to strengthen or enhance, if desired, certain phrases or periods in an immediate way, without the need to physically push any register. This can come in handy particularly in live performances.

Brief description of drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the indicative, and therefore non-limiting, description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an accordion with separate supplies of air to the reed blocks, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a transversely cross-sectioned and cut schematic perspective view of an accordion according to the present invention, while two keys of its keyboard are pressed; - Figure 2 is a partially exploded cross-section taken along line A-A in Figure 1 ; and

- Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an intermediate reed block in Figure 1. Description of an embodiment of the invention

Referring to Figure 1, a transversely cross-sectioned and cut schematic perspective view of a third accordion according to the present invention while two keys of its keyboard are pressed.

Conventionally, the accordion has a bellows 1, a resonance chamber having a wall 2 and a keyboard 3. The keyboard 3 includes black keys generally indicated as 4 and white keys indicated generally as 5. The black keys 4 are individually connected by black key levers 6 to upper valves 7, and the white keys 5 are individually connected by white key levers 8 to lower valves 9. The upper valves 7 and the lower valves 9 are intended to close ports formed in a perforated plate 10 as shown in Figure 2 which is a cross-section taken along line A-A in Figure 1. Denoted as n in the perforated plate 10 are the ports to be closed by the upper valves 7 being actuated by the black keys 4 through black key levers 6, and b the ports to be closed by the lower valves 9 actuated by the white keys 5 through the white key levers 8.

The ports n e b are formed in the perforated plate 10 in parallel rows indicated with reference numeral 11, 12 , 13, 14 , 15, 16. Therefore, the rows 11, 12, 13 of ports n are closed by the upper valves 7 actuated by the black keys 4, and the ports b are closed by the lower valves 9 operated by the white keys 5.

As shown in Figure 2, associated to the pairs of rows of ports 11 and 12 is a first reed block denoted as 17, associated to the pairs of rows of ports 13 and 14 is a second reed block or intermediate reed block denoted as 18, and associated to the pairs of rows of ports 15 and 16 is a third reed block 19 .

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the reed blocks 17, 18, 19 have traditionally reeds or strips generally indicated as 20 and traditional leather valves generally indicated as 21. The reeds 20 of the first reed block 17 and the third reed block 19 are of a same first voice, for example clarinet voice, in correspondence of the row of ports 11 and 15, and of a same second voice, for example, a violin voice, in correspondence of the row of ports 12 and 16. The ports n of the rows of ports 11 and 12 are closed by the black keys 4, while the ports b of the rows of ports 12 and 16 are closed by the white keys 5.

According to the invention, the ports n in the rows 13 and 14 corresponding to the reeds 20 of the second reed block 18 are closed by the upper valves 7 controlled by black keys 4 and by the lower valves 9 controlled by the white keys of the keyboard 3 respectively. Furthermore, the intermediate reed block 18 according to the invention is enclosed in a box 22, which is located inside the resonance chamber like the other reed blocks. The box 22 may be made of plastic material so that it is made with a concave bottom which surrounds the reed block 18. The box 22 may have a seal (not shown) in its peripheral contact with the perforated plate 10, so that the interior of the box 22, namely the reed block 18, is isolated with respect to the resonance chamber in which it is located.

As shown in Figure 2, the housing 22 has end walls 23, 24, end holes 27, 28 passing through the wall 2 of the resonance chamber, and a cover 25 to be closed by screws 26 on the end walls 23, 24. The hole 27 is connected via a pipe 29 to a source of air, that is the air emitted through the player lips at a mouthpiece 30. The rigid tube 29 is swingingly connected by a nut 31 to the wall 2 of the resonance chamber. The other hole 28 of the box 22 puts the inside of the box 22 in communication with the atmosphere through a vent valve with a plug 32. The vent valve plug 32 is normally closed during the use of the instrument, and it is open for the expulsion of the breath condensate of the player. The particular shape of the box 22 and the plastic material from which it is made may facilitate the escape of the condensate.

It is understood that the reed block 18 with its reeds 20 inside the box 22 is sealed from the rest of the resonance chamber, is not influenced by the movement of the bellows and can be operated only when the player blows into or aspirates from the mouthpiece 30.

Referring to Figure 3, there is shown an enlarged perspective view of a second box 33 for intermediate reed block 40, as represented in Figure 1. Inside a cassotto 50 (Figura 1) the box 33 contains the intermediate reed block 40 and is situated between two semi reed blocks 41, 41 against a perforated plate 100 similar to the perforated plate 10 above described.

The box 33 for the containment of the intermediate reed block 40 has a prismatic shape made for example with end walls 34, 35, side walls 44, 44 and a curved bottom 36. The end walls 34, 35 are fastened to the perforated plate 100 by means of brackets 37 or other fastening means.

Made in the end walls 34, 35 of the box 33 are holes 38, 39 in which tubular sections 42, 43 are inserted to be connected with a pipe similar to the pipe 29, and with a vent valve similar to the one closed by the plug 32 as above described, respectively. Both the pipe and the vent valve of the reed block 40 are neither shown nor described. From the foregoing it can be seen that the intended purposes have been achieved, while maintaining the accordion in its traditional structure.

It should be apparent that the described embodiment is not intended to restrict the location of the containment box of the intermediate reed block that can find other location, while remaining associated to valves operated through levers by the keys like the other reed blocks.

Claims

1. An accordion with separate air supplies to reed blocks, comprising a bellows (1), a resonance chamber having a wall (2) and a keyboard (3) that controls, by a plurality of levers (6, 8), a plurality of valves (7, 9) that close ports («, b) of a holed plate (10; 100) in communication with three reed blocks (17, 18, 19; 41, 40, 41), characterized in that the reed block (18; 40) being intermediate between the other two reed blocks (17, 19; 41, 41) is enclosed in a box (22; 33) that is sealed inside the resonance chamber, the box (22; 33) communicating with the outside of the accordion through a pair of holes (27, 28; 38, 39) formed in the box (22; 33) and concentrically in the wall (2) of the resonance chamber, a hole (27; 38) in the box (22; 33) being connected through a rigid pipe (29) to a mouthpiece (30), and the other hole (28; 39) being provided with a vent valve plug (32) for putting the inside of the box (22; 33) in communication with the atmosphere upon an opening of said vent valve plug (32).

2. The accordion according to claim 1, wherein said rigid pipe (29) has an end connected to the hole (27; 38) in the box (22; 33) and the other end connected to the mouthpiece (30) for the lips of the player.

3. The accordion according to claim 1, wherein said box (22) is formed by side walls (23, 24) in contact with the wall (2) of the resonance chamber and with a cover

(25) positioned on the side walls (23, 24).

4. The accordion according to claim 3, wherein the cover (25) is removably fastened on the side walls (23, 24) by screws (26), with seals being interposed.

5. The accordion according to claim 1, wherein said box (33) is formed by side fixed walls (44, 44), a bottom wall (36) and end walls (34, 35) provided with holes

(38, 39) in communication with holes in the resonance chamber by tubular tracts (42, 43).

6. The accordion according to claim 5, wherein said bottom wall (36) is curved.

7. The accordion according to claim 5, wherein said box (33) is mounted on the reed block (40) inside a cassotto (50).