MUSICAL HORN ACOUSTIC PATH MODIFICATIONS

• US 3,886,837 A
• Filed: 06/18/1973
• Issued: 06/03/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mark S. Veneklasen
• Original Assignee: Mark S. Veneklasen
• Inventors: Veneklasen, Mark S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tomsky, Stephen J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gonzales, John F.
• Application Number:
  US05/371,126
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 84/388,397,392-394,387,390,391
• US Class Current: 84/388
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 9/04 Valves; Valve controls

Abstract

A wind instrument wherein the strength of acoustical resonances is made more nearly uniform and independent of the length of tubing, or specifically independent of the use or choice of one or more valves.

Claims

1. In a horn having a mouthpiece and a bell, he combination comprising;

a. tubing and valving providing a direct relatively shorter acoustic path between said mouthpiece and said bell and including a loop section, and an alternate acoustic path longer than the direct path and including a crook section, both of said acoustic paths having multiple bends, b. the valving movable to control which of said sections is connected in the acoustic path between said mouthpiece and bell, c. the relatively shorter acoustic path including said loop section having at least as many bends as the relatively longer acoustic path including said crook section, and wherein d. said valving has separate loop and crook passages for the shorter and longer acoustic paths respectively, the loop passages being substantially tortuous and the crook passages being substantially straight.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said valving loop passages and the loop section in the shorter acoustic path filter transmitted harmonic resonances tending to match the harmonic resonance attenuation imposed by the associated crook section.

3. The combination of claim 1 together with a second like set of tubing and valving tuned to a different musical key, and control valves for connecting either of said sets of tubing and valving into operative communication between said mouthpiece and said bell.

4. The combination of claim 2 wherein each valving loop passage has a cross section progressing from substantially circular at the interfaces with the adjacent tubing to substantially non-circular within said valving mediate said interfaces.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said valving comprises a movable valve body containing said separate passages.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said loop passage is substantially U-shaped.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said loop passage is substantially S-shaped.

8. The combination of claim 5 wherein said loop passage itself is the entire loop section for the shorter acoustic path.

9. The combination of claim 5 wherein said valve body contains a pair of loop passages that connect a loop section external to said valve body into the shorter acoustic path.

10. The combination of claim 1 wherein the valving includes a valve having a movable body containing a first tortuous passage means movable into series communication with the main horn tubing, and a second non-tortuous passage means movable into series communication with said crook section.

11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said loop section consists of said first tortuous passage means.

12. The combination of claim 10 wherein said first tortuous passage means includes a pair of through passages each of which is generally U-shaped lengthwise thereof.

13. The combination of claim 10 wherein said first tortuous passage means includes a through passage which is generally S-shaped lengthwise thereof.

14. In a horn having multiple sections, a mouthpiece, playing valves and crooks, and a bell, a. a switching valve immediately adjacent the mouthpiece terminus and initiating entirely separate leadpipe tapers communicating with the respective passages of the valve, and joining with the respective horn sections, b. separate terminal tapered tubing branches leading from the respective horn sections toward the horn bell, and communicating with the bell via another switching valve.

15. The embodiment of any horn, wherein at least one playing valve includes a valve body and a housing therefor relative to which the body is movable, wherein a. the body contains at least one acoustical passage located in one or more of its playing positions, relative to the normal orientation of the instrument for playing, to act as a reservoir for condensation in adjacent tubing, b. the housing containing a bleed port traversed by the aforementioned passage durinG valve body movement in the course of playing.

16. In a horn-type musical instrument wherein notes are selected by valves that insert additional crooksections into series with the tubing that forms an acoustic path between the horn mouthpiece and bell, the improvement comprising:

configuring the note selection valves so that when not depressed the shorter length acoustic path includes plural convolutions that attenuate higher harmonic components, and so that when depressed, the inserted crook sections form a longer acoustic path with fewer convolutions, said longer path attenuating approximately equally the same harmonic components that are attenuated by the plural convolutions in the shorter path, whereby uniform tonal quality and playing characteristics are achieved for all notes.

17. A horn according to claim 16 wherein said note selection valves each include an internal tortuous passageway that is within the acoustic path only when that note selection valve is not depressed.

18. A horn according to claim 16 including a pair of note selection valves, each valve having a rotatable body containing a pair of generally straight parallel through passageways, said valves being mounted in offset relationship to each other so that when either valve body is in a first orientation the acoustic path includes a generally U-shaped passage of which the tubing to the inlet and outlet of the valve comprises the legs of the U-shaped passage and one of the through passageways in the valve body comprises the base of the U-shaped passage, and that when the valve body is in a second orientation approximately at a right angle to said first orientation a crook is inserted into the acoustic path via both parallel through passageways of said valve body.

19. A horn comprising:

tubing and valve means together forming a convoluted acoustic path of minimum length, additional crook sections of tubing, said valve means, when actuated, operatively inserting said crook sections into said acoustic path to increase the effective length thereof to produce notes of lower fundamental frequency while decreasing the total number of bends in the acoustic path, so that generally equal harmonic content of all notes results.

20. A horn according to claim 19 wherein each of said valve means comprises a valve having an inlet and an outlet and having a movable valve body, said volve body having a first internal passageway of tortuous configuration, said first passageway interconnecting said inlet and outlet so as to be inserting in said acoustic path when said valve body is in a first orientation, said valve body also having a pair of direct, non-tortuous passageways that interconnect one of said crooks into said acoustic path via said inlet and outlet when said valve means is actuated to place said valve body in a second orientation.

21. A horn according to claim 20 wherein said tortuous first internal passageway is generally S-shaped.

22. A horn according to claim 20 wherein said tortuous first internal passageway is generally U-shaped.

23. A horn according to claim 20 wherein said tortuous first internal passageway is of non-uniform cross-section lengthwise thereof.

24. A horn according to claim 20 wherein said tortuous first internal passageway includes a completely interior generally U-shaped loop, the ends of said loop being connected to first and second passageway sections leading respectively to said inlet and outlet and forming extra bends with the legs of said loop, so that said internal passageway includes in the following order a first extra bend between said inlet and the loop, the bends of the loop, and a second extra bend between the loop and said outlet.

25. A horn according to claim 20 wherein said valve is of the Vienna double piston type and wherein said valve body consists of two pistons that move in unison, each of said pistons containing a respective one of said pair of direct, non-tortuous passageways, each of said two pistoNs also containing a generally L-shaped passageway, said two L-shaped passageways being connected together to form said tortuous first internal passageway.

26. In a brass musical instrument of the type in which the fundamental frequency of the note being played is established by the length of the tubing in the acoustic path, and wherein notes are selected by valved insertion of loop or crook sections or tubing, the improvement for obtaining more uniform tonal quality and easier excitation of all notes, comprising:

tubing forming a path between the horn mouthpiece and bell, and valves for alternately inserting a loop or a crook into said path, insertion of a loop providing a relatively shorter but more convoluted acoustic path, insertion of a crook providing a relatively longer but less convoluted path, the harmonic attentuation of either path being approximately equal.

27. A musical instrument according to claim 26 wherein each of said valves includes a movable valve body having a pair of convoluted through passages via which said loop is inserted into said acoustic path when said valve body is in a first orientation, and having a pair of straight passages via which said crook is inserted into said acoustic path when said valve body is in a second orientation.

28. In a horn having multiple sections each including its own playing valves and crooks, said sections sharing the same mouthpiece and bell, the improvement comprising;

a switching valve immediately adjacent the mouthpiece terminus, and entirely separate tapered leadpipes connecting the outlets of said switching valve with the respective horn sections.