Brass-wind musical instrument mouthpiece with radially asymmetric lip restrictor

• US 5,353,673 A
• Filed: 09/07/1993
• Issued: 10/11/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: John H. Lynch
• Original Assignee: John H. Lynch
• Inventors: Lynch, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gellner, Michael L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): STANZIONE, PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US08/116,913
• Time in Patent Office: 399 Days
• Field of Search: 84/383 R, 84/398
• US Class Current: 84/398
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 9/03 Cupped mouthpieces

Abstract

A mouthpiece for brass-wind musical instruments has at one end a shank (22) that is inserted into the brass-wind instrument, and at the opposite end an enlarged head containing a cavity called the cup, this cup having a rim surface (34) that is adapted to be pressed against the lips of the user. The shank (22) contains an air passageway (24) which extends to the cup for the purpose of conducting air and lip vibrations into the instrument. Incorporated into the cup, rim surface (34) or both is a lip restrictor (28) for limiting the amount that, the users bottom lip enters the mouthpiece. This lip restrictor (28) extends upper register and eases playing effort without affecting tone.

Claims

1. A mouthpiece for brass-wind musical instruments, said mouthpiece comprising:

(A) an enlarged head portion forming and comprising a cavity, hereinafter called a cup, said cup comprising upper and lower interior cup surfaces, and an annular rim surface that smoothly, circumferentially and continuously abuts said upper and lower interior cup surfaces, said upper interior cup surface being an essentially conventional, concave, and inwardly tapered surface of revolution,

(B) a convex, radially asymmetric lower-lip restrictor comprising a radially asymmetric bulge in said lower interior cup surface, said radially asymmetric bulge being relatively wide circumferentially of the cup, disposed essentially toward the front of the lower half of the cup, occupying up to essentially one half of the cup volume, horizontally spanning the cup, smoothly merging with said annular rim surface and configured so as to preferentially contact and compress a user'"'"'s lower lip only, and

(C) an elongated, tapered, substantially tubular shank adjacent to and connected to said enlarged head portion and adapted to be connected to one of said brass-wind musical instruments, said elongated, tapered, substantially tubular shank containing an air passageway extending into said cup for passing air and lip vibrations of a user'"'"'s lips into one of said brass-wind musical instruments.

2. A mouthpiece in accordance with claim 1 wherein, said cup comprises upper and lower juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups, said upper and lower, juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups being formed by passing a horizontal geometric plane through said cup parallel to an axis of said mouthpiece, said axis extending through said cup and said elongated, tapered, substantially tubular shank, the upper of said juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups having a substantially concave surface, and the lower of said juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups having a substantially convex surface, said convex, radially asymmetric lower-lip restrictor comprising a leading edge of said juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cup having said substantially convex surface, said leading edge smoothly abuting said annular rim surface.

3. A mouthpiece in accordance with claim 1 wherein, said cup comprises upper and lower, juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups, said upper and lower, juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups being formed by passing a horizontal geometric plane through said cup parallel to an axis of said mouthpiece, said axis extending through said cup and said elongated, tapered, substantially tubular shank, the upper of said juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups having a substantially concave surface, and the lower of said juxtaposed, complimentary fractional cups having a compound surface, said compound surface comprising a leading convex portion which smoothly abuts said annular rim surface, and a substantially concave remainder which smoothly joins said leading convex portion with said air passageway, said convex, radially asymmetric lower-lip restrictor comprising said leading convex portion of said compound surface.