Ocarinas with an inner liner and an outer shell

#The present invention relates generally to musical wind instruments, and is more specifically directed to ocarinas having a protective inner liner disposed within an attractive outer shell.

#A flute is a type of wind instrument in which the impingement of air on an edge as the air passes into a sound chamber causes the air to oscillate to produce an audible tone. One type of flute is a whistle flute or fipple flute, which employs a whistle-type mouthpiece and is among the most ancient of all musical instruments. In this family are the recorder (also known as the fipple flute or English flute), the flageolet, and the ocarina (also known as the globular flute or the vessel flute). The ocarina dates back to antiquity and is reported to be of South American or Central American descent, though there are indications of its use in other parts of the ancient world.

#Most types of wind instruments employ an open-ended tubular- or conical-shaped cavity to produce sound, whereas ocarinas utilize an enclosed sound chamber or cavity. Ocarinas have at least one airway that directs an airstream across a fipple window to impinge upon a fipple edge, at least one sound chamber, and a plurality of toneholes that penetrate into the enclosed chamber and that are used to control the pitch sounded by the instrument.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, an ocarina.

#FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an ocarina having an inner liner and an outer shell.

#FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional representation of the toneholes of an ocarina.

#Referring to FIG. 1, an ocarina is shown generally at 10. The ocarina 10 includes an instrument body 12 perforated with a plurality of apertures. The apertures facilitate airflow communication through at least one inner chamber defined by the instrument body 12 and include an airway 14 through which air is blown into the ocarina 10, a fipple window 16 from which at least a portion of the received air is expelled, and a plurality of toneholes 18. Air is propelled through the airway 14 and impinges on a fipple edge, causing the air in the sound chamber 12 to oscillate, which produces sound waves having a frequency and an amplitude. When the toneholes 18 are selectively obstructed during the forcing of air through the airway 14, the frequency and amplitude at which the air in the sound chamber oscillates is varied, thereby producing tones of varying pitches. The obstruction of the toneholes 18 is effected by a person placing their fingers over the toneholes 18 to fully or partially close the openings. Generally, uncovering more toneholes causes the air in the sound chamber to oscillate more rapidly, which raises the pitch of the note sounded by the ocarina.

#Referring now to FIG. 2, the instrument body of the ocarina 10 comprises an outer shell 20 disposed substantially completely around an inner liner 22, preferably in an interference fit. The term “substantially completely around” is intended to indicate the enclosing of the inner liner except at the holes through which air is introduced to or expelled from the instrument body. The inner liner 22 comprises at least one wall 24 that cooperates with an adjacent surface 26 to define at least one sound chamber 28. The inner liner 22 further comprises a cover 30 that cooperates with the wall 24 to close the chamber 28. The forcing of air across the fipple edge and into the closed chamber 28 and through the fipple window 16 produces a tone. Both the chamber 28 and the cover 30 are fabricated from any material that is sufficiently stable, durable, water resistant, and of relatively poor heat conductivity. Materials from which the chamber 28 and the cover 30 may be fabricated include, but are not limited to, thermoplastic polymers, thermosettable polymers, combinations of the foregoing polymers, and the like. When assembled, the inner liner 22 is of sufficient structural integrity to define a functioning ocarina.

#The toneholes 18 are preferably molded into the cover but may be drilled, bored, or otherwise formed in the cover 30. Generally, two rows of toneholes 18 are disposed in the cover 30, the toneholes 18 of each row being disposed to allow sufficient space between the various toneholes to accommodate a musician's fingers. The diameters and depths of the various toneholes 18, rather than their precise location, determine the resulting pitch. A plurality of toneholes 32 may also be disposed at the surface 26 adjacent to the wall 24, such toneholes 32 being selectively obstructable by the thumbs of the person playing the ocarina 10. The smaller toneholes 18 disposed in the cover 30 or the smaller toneholes 32 disposed in the surface 26 may be counterbored, as is shown in FIG. 3, to allow the person playing the ocarina to more easily locate the toneholes 18 or the toneholes 32.