Whistle with non-spherical pea

A whistle that includes a pea formed of two semi-spheres coupled together to form a non-spherical shape. The non-spherical shape results in unpredictable movement of the pea in a chamber of the whistle so as to produce a trill. An interior surface of the chamber may include flat portions that further cause unpredictable movement of the pea to produce the trill.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to whistles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A whistle produces a sound at a frequency when air is blown into the whistle chamber. A whistle having more than one chamber of different sizes may produce a sound for each chamber of a different frequency. Placing a pea (e.g., ball, sphere, object) in a chamber causes the frequency of the sound from the chamber to vary (e.g., trill) as the pea moves in the chamber.

A pea formed of two semi-spheres that are coupled together to form a non-spherical shape produces a unique trill because the shape of the pea causes unexpected movement of the pea in the chamber.

In an implementation of a whistle that includes a pea formed of off-set semi-spheres, whistle100, as shown inFIGS. 1-11, includes lid110and body120.

Body120includes tongue136that separates (e.g., splits) pea flute134in to a first portion and a second portion. Air flows through both the first portion and the second portion of pea flute134to enter pea chamber130. An end portion of tongue136enters pea chamber130to form turbulator138. Turbulator138introduces turbulence into the air in pea chamber130. Turbulence in the air that enters pea chamber130applies a force (e.g., pushes) on pea1110to move pea1110around in pea chamber130.

A body provides structure for forming cavities, openings, passages, and a loop. A lid mechanically couples to the body. A lid provides structure for covering cavities to form chambers, forming outlets from chambers, and covering passages to form flutes. A lid may be mechanically coupled to a body using any conventional coupling process such as gluing, welding, friction fit, or snap fitting. A body and a lid may be formed of the same material or of different materials. A body and/or a lid may be formed of a single material or a combination of materials.

A body may include ribs for ascetic purposes, to reduce a weight (e.g., mass) of the body, and/or to increase the strength of the material that forms the body. A body and/or lid may include protrusions (e.g., bumps, ribs, grips) on an exterior of the body and/or lid, preferable on the sides thereof, to provide a surface for a human to manually grip the whistle. A body may include a loop that forms a passage through a portion of the body. The loop may couple to a lanyard and/or key ring via the passage.

A body may include a portion of a grip and a lid another portion of the grip so that the combination of the body and the lid forms a grip suitable for griping with a user's mouth and/or teeth to operate the whistle without manual support.

A flute comprises a passage that directs a flow of air into a chamber. A restrictor reduces the area of the flute at the entrance to the chamber to control the flow of air into the chamber. A restrictor may increase the pressure of the air that enters a chamber. A restrictor may increase the pressure of the air that enters a chamber proportionally to the amount the restrictor reduces the area of the flute at the entrance of the chamber.

A chamber receives a flow of air. A chamber includes an outlet for allowing the escape of air. The escape of air from the chamber produces a sound at a frequency. For a given air flow, a larger chamber produces a sound at a lower frequency than the frequency of the sound produced by a smaller chamber.

A body may include a convex wall for increasing a volume of one or more chambers in an assembled whistle. An external surface of the convex wall is convex and may appear to have a dome-like shape. A convex wall may be of constant thickness so that an internal surface of the chamber is concave as the external surface is convex. A convex wall may be of varying thickness so that portions of the internal surface of the chamber are concave while other portions of the internal surface of the chamber are not concave. A lower portion of an internal surface of the convex wall may be flat to provide a floor in the chamber. An upper portion of an internal surface of a chamber may be flat to provide a ceiling in the chamber. A flat floor and/or a ceiling in a chamber may interact with a pea to influence movement of the pea in the chamber differently than a concave surface.

A pea may be positioned in a chamber. The size of a pea is greater than the size of the outlet of the chamber, so that the pea cannot exit the chamber. Movement and/or turbulence of air through a chamber acts on a pea to move the pea within the chamber. A pea may move consistent with movement of air in a chamber until the pea contacts an interior surface of the chamber. Contact of the pea with an interior surface of the chamber results in a change in the direction of the movement of the pea according to know, but possible complex in this situation, laws of physics.

Physical characteristics of the pea, such as shape, surface area, and resilience influence how a collision with an interior wall of a chamber affects the direction and speed of movement of the pea. Physical characteristics, in particular shape and surface area, determine the movement of the pea responsive to air flow and/or turbulence. Air flow on a flat surface of a pea may affect movement of the pea differently than air flow on a rounded (e.g., spherical, convex) portion of the pea. Physical characteristics, in particular shape and resilience, determine the movement of the pea responsive to a collision by the pea with an interior (e.g., internal) surface of a chamber. A pea having uneven surfaces or flat surfaces, as opposed to round or spherical, may move (e.g., slide, transpose) along a wall for a distance before the pea bounces from a surface. A pea may bounce from a surface in response to a non-spherical portion and/or a spherical portion of the pea contacting a surface.

Resiliency of the material that forms the pea may determine the movement of the pea upon collision with an interior surface.

A shape of the interior of a chamber further determines how a pea moves in a chamber responsive to air flow, turbulence and/or collisions. A chamber with a substantially uniform interior surface may result in substantially uniform movement of the pea. A chamber with a non-uniform interior surface may result in more random movement of the pea. For example, a chamber that has a substantially concave shape may include a surface that is substantially flat. A flat portion (e.g., bottom, floor, top, ceiling) on an interior surface causes different movement of the pea responsive to a collision than a collision with substantially concave portions.

Movement of the pea responsive to the flow of air, turbulence, and/or collisions alters the sound made by the air as it exits the outlet of the chamber so that the frequency of the sound is altered between a first frequency and one or more other frequencies. The alteration of frequency is referred to as a trill. Movement of the pea responsive to the air flow, turbulence, and/or collisions determines the characteristics (e.g., speed of change, change in frequency) of the trill.

For example, body120mechanically couples with lid110to form whistle100. Body120includes cavities, openings, and passages so that coupling body120with lid110forms pea chamber130, pea outlet132, pea flute134, low pressure chamber140, low pressure outlet142, low pressure flute144, high pressure chamber150, high pressure outlet152, and high pressure flute154. Body120and lid110include protrusions that form grips170to aid manual grasping of whistle100. Body120and lid110include protrusions that form grip160to aid gripping of whistle100by a mouth or teeth of a user while providing air flow from the user's lungs to the flutes. In one implementation, body120and lid120are formed of a plastic and body120couples lid110by welding.

Body120includes ribs410,510,610, and612in a bottom portion of the exterior of body120. Body120includes convex wall420in the bottom portion of body120. Convex wall420provides increased volume on an interior of whistle100to increase the volume of the interior of at least pea chamber130. Convex wall420may further provide increase volume to low pressure chamber140and/or high pressure chamber150. A two-dimensional view of the shape of the internal volume of pea chamber130from the side of body120is shown inFIG. 9. The concave shape of the interior of pea chamber130is altered by flat surfaces floor920and ceiling940. Floor920and/or ceiling940interact with pea1110to influence movement of pea1110within pea chamber130.

Low pressure flute144directs air flow past restrictor1020into low pressure chamber140. High pressure flute154directs air flow past restrictor1010into high pressure chamber150. Restrictors1010and1020reduce an area of low pressure flute144and high pressure flute154respectively to increase the pressure of the air flowing into low pressure chamber140and high pressure chamber150respectively. Restrictor1010restricts the area of the passage of high pressure flute154more than restrictor1020restricts the passage of low pressure flute144, so that the pressure of the air entering the high pressure chamber150is greater than the pressure of the air entering the low pressure chamber140.

Pea flute134directs air into pea chamber130. Pea flute is split (e.g., separated) into two portions by tongue136. Splitting pea flute134into portions increases the turbulence of the air entering pea chamber130. An end portion of tongue136, turbulator138, projects from pea flute134into pea chamber130. Turbulator138increases the turbulence of the air in pea chamber130.

Pea chamber130receives a flow of air from (e.g., via) pea flute134. Air exits pea chamber130via pea chamber outlet132. Low pressure chamber140receives a flow of air from low pressure flute144. Air exits low pressure chamber140via low pressure outlet142. High pressure chamber150receives a flow of air from high pressure flute154. Air exits high pressure chamber150via high pressure outlet152. An area of low pressure chamber140is greater than the area of pea chamber130which is greater than the area of high pressure chamber150. For a given volume of air flow, the air that exits low pressure outlet142produces a sound at a frequency that it less than the frequency of the sound produced when air exits high pressure outlet152of high pressure chamber150. The higher pressure of the air entering high pressure chamber150as opposed to the pressure of the air entering low pressure chamber140further contributes to the higher frequency of the sound that exits from high pressure outlet152as compared with the frequency of the sound that exits from low pressure outlet142.

Pea1110is positioned in pea chamber130. Air flow and/or turbulence in the air that enters pea chamber130apply a force (e.g., pushes) on pea1110to move pea1110around inside pea chamber130. Pea1110may be positioned in pea chamber130prior to mechanically coupling lid110to body120. Pea1110, when formed of a resilient material (e.g., rubber), may be deformed and pushed into pea chamber130via pea chamber outlet after lid110is mechanically coupled to body120.

Pea1110is formed by mechanically coupling semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220. Semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220may be formed of a resilient material (e.g., rubber) that provides some bounce responsive to a collision. Semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220may be formed of the same material or different materials that have different physical properties such as resilience. Semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220may be the same or different sizes. Semi-spheres of the same size have about the same diameter across the flat portion (e.g.,1214,1224) of the semi-sphere.

Semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220include axis1212and axis1222respectively. Axis1212and axis1222are orthogonal to and through the center of flat portion1214and flat portion1224of semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220respectively. Semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220are coupled to each other at flat portions1214and1224. When semi-sphere1210is coupled to semi-sphere1220to form pea1110, axis1212of semi-sphere1210does not align with axis1222of semi-sphere1220. Axis1212is offset from axis1222by distance1230.

Distance1230may range from about 3% of the diameter of the flat portion (e.g.,1214,1224) of the semi-sphere to about 50% of the diameter of the flat portion of the semi-sphere. Preferably, the offset is about 13% of the diameter of the flat portion of a semi-sphere. For example, inFIG. 14, offset1410is about 13 of the diameter of the flat portion of semi-sphere1210.

For example, in an implementation the diameter of flat portion1214of semi-sphere1210and flat portion1224of semi-sphere1220is 0.3 inches plus or minus 0.015 inches. The offset between axis1212of semi-sphere1210and axis1222of semi-sphere1220, which is distance1230, ranges from 0.025 inches to 0.055 inches plus or minus 0.015 inches. Preferably, the offset distance1230is about 0.04 inches plus or minus 0.015 inches. The range of the offset distance1230expressed as a percentage of the diameter of flat portion1214or flat portion1224while taking into consideration the manufacturing tolerance of plus or minus 0.015 inches is about 3.3% to about 23.3%.

In another implementation of pea1110, the flat portion1214of semi-sphere1210has a greater diameter than flat portion1224of semi-sphere1220. For example, inFIG. 15, diameter1510is greater than diameter1520. When semi-sphere1210is coupled to semi-sphere1220to form pea1110, axis1212of semi-sphere1210aligns with axis1222of semi-sphere1220, but because of the difference in diameters of the semi-spheres, pea1110has a flat portion around it because the flat portion1214of the larger diameter semi-sphere1210is exposed and not covered by semi-sphere1220. The amount of the flat portion of the larger semi-sphere that is exposed on each side of the larger semi-sphere may range from about 2% to about 20% of the diameter of the larger semi-sphere.

Air flow and/or turbulence through pea chamber130will operate differently on flat portions1214and1224than on the spherical portions of semi-sphere1210and semi-sphere1220. When pea1110collides with an interior wall of pea chamber130, flat portion1214and/or1224may contact the interior surface and alter the direction of the movement of pea1110responsive to the collision. Collisions of pea1110with flat interior portions (e.g.,920,940) of pea chamber130will cause movement (e.g., bounce) that is different from collisions with the concave interior portions of pea chamber130. A collision of pea1110with floor920or ceiling940may cause pea1110to roll (e.g., move, slide) along the flat surface until flat portion1214or flat portion1224contacts the flat surface. Collisions at boundaries between a flat interior portion and a concave interior portion of pea chamber130will cause movement that is different from collisions with the concave interior portions or the flat portions alone of pea chamber130.

Pea chamber130may include one or more flat interior portions. In one implementation, pea chamber130includes only floor920. In another implementation, pea chamber130includes only ceiling940. In another implementation, pea chamber130includes both floor920and ceiling940. A flat portion of an interior surface of lid110may act as an additional flat surface in pea chamber130. An interior flat surface of lid110may merely extend ceiling940to pea chamber outlet132.

The varied and/or unpredictable movements of pea1110due to its shape responsive to air flow, turbulence, and/or collisions provides whistle100with a unique trill from pea chamber130.

The foregoing description discusses preferred embodiments of the present invention, which may be changed or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. Examples listed in parentheses may be used in the alternative or in any practical combination. As used in the specification and claims, the words ‘comprising’, ‘including’, and ‘having’ introduce an open ended statement of component structures and/or functions. In the specification and claims, the words ‘a’ and ‘an’ are used as indefinite articles meaning ‘one or more’. While for the sake of clarity of description, several specific embodiments of the invention have been described, the scope of the invention is intended to be measured by the claims as set forth below.