United States Patent (19) (11) 3,865,005 Carree (45) Feb. 11, 1975

Transcription

1 United States Patent (19) (11) 3,865,005 Carree (45) Feb. 11, ) WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT 2,560,083 7/1951 Bullock... 84/385 75) Inventor: Robert Victor Carree, Mantes-la-Ville, France Primary Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin 73) Assignee: Buffet Crampon, Paris, France Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert E. Burns; 22 Filed: Aug. s 22, as a y 1973 Emmanuel J. Lobato, Bruce L. Adams (21) Appl. No.: 390, Foreign Application Priority Data 57) ABSTRACT Sept. 15, 1972 France A wind musical instrument having a shaft supported 52) U.S. Cl... 84/380, 84/385 on a body and a key mounted for rotation on the (51 int. C.... G10d 7/08 shaft, wherein a stop lever is mounted in contact with 58) Field of Search... 84/380, 382, 384, 385 the key and another key is disposed adjacent the first key through an adjacent edge, the shaft being ar 56 References Cited ranged a selected distance from said adjacent edge. UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,555,980 6/1951 Loney... 84/385 8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures

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5 WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to wind musical instruments and, more particularly, to those of the saxophone fam ily. A saxophone consists of a conical tube or body pro vided with a mouthpiece and formed with openings in its side over which shutters or stops are respectively ap plied. Each stop is carried by a lever mounted on the body. The other end of the lever terminates in a key. By applying finger pressure to the key, the saxophonist removes the stop from its opening and obtains the de sired sound. The position of the keys, integral with their lever, is determined once and for all during manufacture of the instrument. It cannot be adapted to suit the particular hand technique of each individual saxophonist. Deformation of the key by twisting to adapt it to the hand of the saxophonist or by accidental shock often affects the stop, multiplied by the arm of the lever. The lever itself can also be buckled during deformation of the key. When two keys are adjacent one another and have to be depressed successively, but with a brief interval in between, by the little finger of the saxophonist, the lit tle finger which has been lowered to depress the first key is situated below the contact surface of the second key. It is unable to slide from one to the other due to the difference in level between the two keys. The saxo phonist has to remove his little finger, displace it per pendicularly to this first movement, and then lower it onto the contact surface of the second key. It follows that even virtuosos are unable to follow the tempo of certain pieces of music. It is not possible to overcome this difference in level, so detrimental to the quality of the music, by shortening the lever because all this does is to reduce the amount of leverage available to the lit tle finger for lifting the stop which would greatly fatigue the finger of the saxophonist who has to depress the key thousands of times. It has been proposed to provide the adjacent edges of the keys with rollers so as to form a rounded driving edge which carries the finger towards the second key. Unfortunately, the difference in level remains. It has also been proposed to mount the two keys for rotation about a common shaft extending along the op posite edges. The increase in the distance between the keys which are no longer really adjacent, and the need to have the top of the shaft projecting beyond the contact surfaces of the two keys for passing from one to the other, increases the transfer time. Above all, to have sufficient leverage for depressing the key, the lit tle finger has to be withdrawn from the opposite edges. The path between the most remote edges of the keys is thus too long and the difference in level is considerable. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to obviate all these dis advantages and to make it possible to produce an in strument of the saxophone type in which the deterio ration in the adjustment of the stop on its orifice is avoided, the positions of the keys can be adjusted as re quired and the transfer of the finger from one key to an adjacent key is facilitated and can be carried out very quickly by sliding, the little finger always remaining in the vicinity of the adjacent edges of the keys. 3,865, BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The saxophone according to the invention comprises a key in contact with a stop lever and mounted for rota tion about a shaft carried by the body of the instrument and parallel to the edge of the key adjacent another key. The shaft is arranged at a distance from the adja cent edge, especially below the other key where it is protected against impact and, preferably, at a certain distance calculated on a line perpendicular to the me dian plane of the two keys which is parallel to the adja cent edges. FURTHER FEATURES OF THE INVENTION As a result, the lever arm of the finger which de presses the key is sufficiently long not to cause any fa tigue, even if the finger is applied to that zone of the key closest to the adjacent edge. The finger no longer has any need to move far from this edge. Accordingly, it remains very close to the other key. It is even possible for the finger no longer to have to be moved by transla tion by resting it on both keys at once and imparting solely a rotational movement to it, followed by a push ing movement towards one or other of the keys, de pending on the sound required. In general, the other key is mounted symmetrically with respect to, and in the same way, as the first key. It is of advantage for the position of a support for the two shafts to be adjustable in relation to the body. In this way, it is readily possible to adjust the position of the keys and, in particular, to mount them for rota tion about a radial axis in relation to the body and/or with variable clearance from the body. In order to compensate for this clearance and to pre vent the key from following a free course before being applied to the lever, it is advisable to insert, between the key and the lever, a spacer member preferably mounted on the lever or on the key. In one embodiment of the invention, the key is car ried by a support engaged telescopically with a sleeve fixed to the body, the relative angular and/or engage ment positions being maintained by a retaining means. In general, the key is mounted on the spindle or shaft by an arm whose fixing zone is near the adjacent edge of the key, so as to leave free the median or opposite zones furthest away from the other key which come into contact with the lever. The zone defining the surface of contact between the key and the lever is with advantage slightly inclined. along a radius of the circle described by the key about its axis of rotation so as to compensate for any misad justment of the relative positions of the lever and key. Even if the lever is situated further away from the adja cent edges of the keys than intended, its displacement, perpendicularly of the body, under the pressure of the key remains substantially the same because the greatest displacement of that zone of the key in contact with the lever is compensated, due to its greater distance away from the axis than intended, by the distance between this zone and the lever in its unintended position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description. In the accompanying drawings, given solely by way of example:

6 3 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a saxophone according to the invention. FIG. 2 is an elevation of part of the saxophone shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side elevation corresponding to FIG. 2. FIGS. 4 and 5 are, respectively, exploded detailed views, partly in section, of the means for adjusting and compensating clearance as incorporated in the embodi ment illustrated. FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating comparatively a conventional saxophone and a saxophone according to the invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The saxophone shown in FIG. 1 comprises a body 1 provided with a mouthpiece 2 and formed with open ings over which stops R mounted on levers L are ap plied. The levers are operated by means of keys. Thus, in FIG. 2, a lever is made up of a shaft 3 mounted on the body 1 through bearings 4, and of two arms 5 and 6 integral with the shaft. The arm 5 carries a stop 7. The angled arm 6 terminates beneath and comes into contact with a key 8. Similarly, another key 9, adjacent the edge 10 of the first key, is connected to a stop 11 through an indepen dent, similar rod forming a lever. As shown in FIG. 3, the keys 8, 9 are mounted on the body 1 through a radial sleeve 12 which is fixed to the body and in which a grooved rod 13 (FIG. 4) telescopi cally engages. A screw 14 screws into a radial thread 15 (FEG. 4) in the sleeve and its end is accommodated in one of the grooves 16 of the rod 13 at the particular point in this groove selected by the saxophonist. A plate 17 is fixed to the rod 13. Two pairs of balls 18, 19 (FIG.2) are fixed to the plate 17, forming bearings for two shafts 20 and 21, respectively, which are situated in a plane parallel to the axis of the body and which are integral with two arms 22 and 23, respectively, the end of one of which is fixed to the key 8 and the end of the other to the key 9. The zone 24 where the arm 22 is fixed to the key 8 is close to the edge 10. The zone 25 of contact with the arm 6 is inclined relative to the axis of the body 1 and moves away from it proportionally to its distance from the shaft 20. Accordingly, the zone 25 extends substan tially in the extension of the arm 22, i.e., on a radius of the circle of rotation described by the key 8. A spacer member 26 screws into a thread 27 in the arm 6 (FIG. 5). In order to adjust the position of the keys, the saxo phonist unscrews the screw 14 and adjusts the penetra tion of the rod 13 into the sleeve 12 in dependence upon the required interval between the keys 8, 9 on the one hand and the body 1 on the other hand. He then turns the rod 13 in the sleeve 12 to adjust the position of the keys about the axis of the sleeve 12. He maintains the selected position by screwing the screw 14 and engaging the end thereof in one of the grooves 16 of the rod 13. He brings the zone 25 into contact with the arm 6 by unscrewing the spacer member 26. The comparative functions of conventional saxo phones and the saxophone according to the invention are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIGS. 6A and 7A, the saxophonist is not depress ing either of the keys 8, 9, whilst in FIGS. 6B and 7B 3,865, he has depressed the key 8 and is preparing to depress the key 9. In FIG. 6B, he has to raise his finger to overcome the difference in level D between the two keys. In FIG. 7B, the contact zone 25 has been depressed through a distance D to release the stop from the ori fice. However, the edge 10 of the key 8, although moved slightly away from the key 9, has remained at substantially the same level as the key 9 due to the rota tion of the key 8 about the shaft 20 parallel to the edge 10. The saxophonist is able to slide his finger easily from one key 8 to the other key 9 because, since the shaft 20 is remote from the adjacent edge of the key 8, his finger is able to remain in the vicinity of this edge when it depresses the key 8. It remains close to the key 9 both in the horizontal and in the vertical direction so that it can be transferred to the key 9 through a simple rotational movement about its own axis. I claim: 1. On a woodwind musical instrument, a supporting structure for two keys positioned to be played by the same finger, comprising: an instrument body; means mounted on said body for supporting first and second shafts, said shafts being mounted parallel to each other with the plane defined by said shafts being parallel to the axis of said body; a first key connected to said first shaft by an arm, said first key being located above said second shaft; a second key connected to said second shaft by a sec ond arm, said second key being located above said first shaft; each of said keys having an edge facing the other key with both of said edges being positioned adjacent to one another and being located the same distance from said body; first and second stops, first and second levers mounted on said body for ro tation about third and fourth shafts, said first lever having one end connected to said first stop and a second end underlying said first key and adapted to be actuated by depression of said first key; and said second lever having one end connected to said sec ond stop and a second end underlying said second key and adapted to be actuated by depression of said second key. 2. An instrument according to claim 1, wherein the zone defined by the surface of the key in contact with the lever extends substantially along a radius of the cir cle described by the key about its axis of rotation. 3. An instrument according to claim 1, wherein the position of said supporting means is adjustable in rela tion to said instrument body. 4. An instrument according to claim 3, wherein said supporting means is mounted for rotation about a ra dial axis relative to said instrument body. 5. An instrument according to claim 3, wherein said supporting means is adjustably mounted a variable dis tance in relation to said instrument body. 6. An instrument according to claim 5, wherein a spacer member is connected to said second end of said first and second levers for compensating the clearance between a key and its lever, 7. An instrument according to claim 3, wherein said supporting means is engaged telescopically with a sleeve fixed to said instrument body, the relative angu

7 3,865, lar and/or engagement positions being maintained by a and second shafts, a retaining screw being screwed into retaining means. 8. An instrument according to claim 7, wherein said a radial thread in the sleeve and engaged at one of its supporting means comprises, engaged in the sleeve, a ends in one of the grooves of the rod. grooved rod integral with a plate supporting said first 5 sk k k is sk O