Wind instrument finger exercise device

• US 20060090630A1
• Filed: 11/02/2004
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marielle Woods
• Original Assignee: Marielle Woods
• Inventors: Woods, Marielle
• Granted Patent: US 7,351,897 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/465
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/023 Wound springs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/05 Linearly-compressed elements A63B21/028 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/16 for hands or fingers for teaching typing G09B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/06 Devices for exercising or strengthening fingers or arms; Devices for holding fingers or arms in a proper position for playing for teaching typing G09B13/00; exercising apparatus for developing or strengthening the muscles for physical training A63B21/00, A63B23/00

Abstract

A wind instrument manifesting a trumpet and a French horn, for example, is for exercising the fingers includes key plungers arranged on a top wall of a housing with the plungers supported by a movable plate in the housing chamber. Springs are associated with each plunger for providing a resilient load on each plunger manifesting the load on valve operating key plungers of a corresponding wind instrument. A mechanism displaces the plate to place a load on the plungers representing a horn or a trumpet or other instruments. A thumb wheel is provided on a screw in a mechanical mechanism to displace the plate. A reversible DC motor is coupled to a screw in an electrically activated mode to displace the plate in opposite directions by reversing the polarity of a current applied to the motor. Two switches reverse the current polarity. Three plungers are associated with the housing top wall and a fourth plunger manifesting a French horn is associated with a housing end wall for exercising the thumb. A rear wall is curved and the front wall is planar to manifest either a trumpet or a horn depending upon orientation of the device in the user'"'"'s hand.

Claims

1. A finger exercise device for a wind instrument comprising:

a housing having a chamber defined by a planar front wall and an arcuate opposite rear wall defining a longitudinal axis therebetween, a top wall, and a bottom wall, the axis extending in the region between the top, bottom, front and rear walls, the arcuate wall manifesting the configuration of a horn wind instrument and the planar wall manifesting a different wind instrument; and

a plurality of finger exercising resiliently mounted first plungers associated with the top wall and depending from the top wall into the cavity between the front and rear walls, each plunger simulating the spacing, configuration and load on the plungers of a corresponding wind instrument, all said plungers manifesting the spring tension and spacing of corresponding valve operating plungers on the horn and on the different wind instrument.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the arcuate rear wall is a segment of a circular cylinder.

3. The device of claim 1 including a support member in the cavity and a plurality of springs mounted on the support member, each spring coupled to a different plunger for providing a resilient load on each plunger, the load on each plunger manifesting a corresponding load on the finger plungers of a corresponding wind instrument.

4. The device of claim 1 including an adjustment mechanism in the cavity and associated with each plunger for adjusting the resilient load on each plunger.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the adjustment mechanism includes elements to adjust the load substantially equally and simultaneously on all of the plungers.

6. The device claim 4 wherein the adjustment mechanism is electrically activated.

7. The device of claim 4 wherein the adjustment mechanism is mechanically activated.

8. The device of claim 1 further including a further resiliently mounted plunger extending into the cavity and associated with a further wall.

9. The device of claim 3 including an actuating mechanism coupled to the support member for adjusting the support member position in the cavity to adjust the spring load on at least some of the plungers simultaneously to the same value.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the actuating mechanism is activated by one of mechanical and electrically activation devices.

11. The device of claim 8 wherein the further wall is one of the bottom and an end wall.

12. A finger exercise device for a wind instrument comprising:

a housing having a chamber defined by a plurality of walls including a front and an opposite rear wall defining a longitudinal axis therebetween, a top wall, a bottom wall and opposite end walls, the axis extending through the end walls;

a first plurality of finger exercising resiliently mounted first plungers aligned in an array in a plane passing through the axis, each plunger simulating the spacing, configuration and load on the plungers of a corresponding wind instrument, the plungers being associated with the top wall and extending into the cavity between the front and rear walls; and

at least one further resiliently mounted plunger associated with a further wall different than the top wall and extending into the cavity between the front and rear walls, all said plungers manifesting the spring tension and spacing of corresponding valve operating plungers on a given wind instrument.

13. The device of claim 12 including at least one support member in the cavity and a plurality of springs mounted on the at least one support member, each spring coupled to a different first plunger for providing a resilient load on each first plunger, the load on each first plunger manifesting a corresponding load on the finger plungers of a corresponding wind instrument, and a spring tension actuating mechanism in the cavity and associated with a second plurality of plungers for displacing the at least one support member to set the resilient load on each plunger of the second plurality to a predetermined value corresponding to the load on the second plurality of plungers of each of a given wind instrument of a plurality of wind instruments.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the actuating mechanism includes one of mechanical and electrical activation device.

15. A finger exercise device for a wind instrument comprising:

a housing having a chamber defined by a plurality of walls including a front and an opposite rear wall defining a longitudinal axis therebetween, a top wall, a bottom wall and opposite end walls, the axis extending through the end walls;

a first plurality of first finger exercising resiliently mounted plungers aligned in an array in a plane passing through the axis, each plunger simulating the spacing, configuration and load on the valve operating plungers of a corresponding wind instrument, the first plungers being associated with the top wall and extending into the cavity between the front and rear walls; and

a mechanism for adjusting the tension on said first plungers simultaneously.

16. The exercise device of claim 15 including at least one further resiliently mounted plunger associated with a further wall and extending into the cavity between the front and rear walls, all said plungers manifesting the spring tension and spacing of corresponding plungers on a wind instrument.

17. The exercise device of claim 15 wherein the mechanism includes a support member for adjusting the spring tension load on the first plurality of said plungers simultaneously.

18. The exercise device of claim 15 wherein the mechanism is electrically activated.

19. The exercise device of claim 16 wherein the further wall is an end wall.

20. The exercise device of claim 15 including a further mechanism for adjusting the spring tension load on a further plunger mounted on a further wall, the mechanism for adjusting the tension of the further plunger one of simultaneously with and separately with respect to the first plurality of plungers.

21. The exercise device of claim 15 including a further plunger mounted on an end wall for exercising the thumb.