Patent Publication Number: US-6706958-B1

Title: Instrument reed enhancement device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to musical instruments employing reeds and more particularly to a device for partially constraining a vibrating reed. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In a musical instrument such as a clarinet or saxophone, it is highly desirable to control the vibration of the reed by firmly holding the reed against the mouthpiece both for enhancing the quality of the sound and facilitating the playing of the instrument. Devices have been developed in the prior art to modify the reed such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,132 issued Sep. 18, 1973 to Backus. In Backus, the reed has spaced longitudinal ribs with filler material there between. Other approaches include the placement of various shaped members between the mouthpiece of the instrument and the reed for enhancing the tone such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,827 issued Aug. 16, 1977 to Daglis and U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,032 issued Aug. 24, 1965 to Strathman. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The device of the present invention provides an improvement over the prior art by instead of modifying the reed or cane or adding a modifying insert to the mouthpiece rather utilizes a conventional reed and abuts a hard surface against such reed or cane. This partially restrains the reed or cane making it easier to play the instrument without sacrificing tonal quality. 
     In the device of the invention a ferrous or non-ferrous material such as stainless steel or copper has one of its surfaces coated with an abrasive material such as diamond particles or other hard abrasive substance. This coated surface is abutted against the reed or cane of the instrument by means of a ligature in the case of a reed or string in the case of a cane. The ligature or string is tightened in place to provide firm contact with the coated surface. 
     It is therefore an object of this invention to improve the operation of the reed or cane of a musical wind instrument. 
     It is a further object of this invention to facilitate the playing of a musical wind instrument employing a reed or cane. 
     It is still a further object of this invention to reduce the strain in long time playing of a musical wind instrument employing a reed or a cane. 
    
    
     Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the appliance of the preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing the appliance turned over 180 degrees from the view in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the plane indicated by  3 — 3  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the plane indicated by  4 — 4  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the invention incorporated into an oboe or bassoon; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective cutaway view of the second embodiment; and 
     FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the second embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the Figures, reed  11  is mounted within the mouthpiece  12  of an instrument such as a clarinet or saxophone. In abutment against the reed is an appliance  13 . The appliance may be fabricated of a metal such as copper, titanium, stainless steel other ferrous or non-ferrous material, a synthetic resin or composite material. One of the surfaces  13   a  of the appliance  13  is coated with a hard abrasive material  13   a  such as diamond particles which are preferably 80-180 grit size. The diamond coated surface is slightly curved to match the curvature of he instrument. The reed is retained on the mouthpiece  11  of the instrument with the appliance held tightly in abutment there against by means of ligature  14  and pliable flexible wings  16  attached to the top surface of the appliance. The ligature is tightened in position by means of screws  15  which threadably engage the ligature. 
     Although diamond particles are coated on the appliance in the preferred embodiment other hard material may be employed such as gems and minerals including ruby, sapphire, emerald, agate, other precious or semi-precious gem or mineral, polyethylene or other abrasive substance or gripping material. Also man-made substances such as carbide carbonate, graphite, etc. may be used. The gripping surface  13 A must be hard enough to withstand wear. To provide a long lasting gripping surface, the abrasive should be above 1860 hardness(Knoop-KG/MM2). The diamond coating is formed from industrial diamond particles which are electrolytically bonded to a conductive substrate with the particles being spaced close enough together to form a firmly gripping surface. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 5-8, a second embodiment of the invention installed on a wind instrument such as an oboe or bassoon is shown. Staple  17  made of a ferrous or non ferrous material such as stainless steel or copper is coated with an abrasive coating of a material such as diamond particles  18 . The abrasive coated portion of the staple  18  is abutted against the cane  11  and tightly secured thereto by means of windings of string  20 . The staple is retained within cork holder  19 . Cork holder  19  is retained within the front portion  21  of the body of the instrument. In this manner, the device of the invention is utilized for an oboe, bassoon or similar instrument. 
     While the device of the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, this is intended by way of illustration and example only and not by way of limitation, the spirit and scope of the invention being limited only by the terms of the following claims.