Piccolo
OwnerKanichi Nagaharainventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is directed towards an improved piccolo. The present invention incorporates several innovative design features that collectively enhance the sound and notes produced by the piccolo and also eases the playing transition between the piccolo and other instruments such as the flute. The present invention features a piccolo having an enlarged cylindrical-bore main body section and an enlarged conical bore headjoint section, enlarged toneholes for better ventilation and intonation, and an improved thumb key mechanism and other mechanisms for attaining notes of a heretofore unattainable tone quality, as well as a footjoint section which extends the lower range of the piccolo by three notes.
Claims31
An improved piccolo comprising:
- a body section having a cylindrical bore therethrough wherein the cylindrical bore through said body section is centered about and coincident with a longitudinal axis of the piccolo and uniform in diameter throughout the entirety of said body section;
- a headjoint having a conical bore therethrough wherein the conical bore through said headjoint is centered about and coincident with the longitudinal axis of the piccolo and varied in diameter from a diameter equal to the diameter of said body section's cylindrical bore at one end of said headjoint to a diameter less than the diameter of the cylindrical bore of said body section at other end of said headjoint whereby the longitudinal axis of said headjoint and the longitudinal axis of said body section are aligned and engaged such that the end of said headjoint having a conical bore diameter equal to the diameter of said body section cylindrical bore are matingly interfaced one to the other;
- and
- a metal-to-metal stepped interface tenon wherein said metal-to-metal stepped interface tenon comprises a stepped headjoint metal collar having an outer mating surface and an inner mating surface and a stepped body section metal collar having an outer mating surface and an inner mating surface wherein the headjoint metal collar and the body section metal collar slidingly engage, forming an airtight seal at the mating headjoint and body section inner mating surfaces.
An improved piccolo or piccolo-type musical instrument having an improved thumb key mechanism, said improved thumb key mechanism comprising a thumb key having a short length of tubing integrally connected in perpendicular relation to a longitudinal arm of said thumb key;
- a thumb lever further comprising a short length of tubing integrally connected in perpendicular relation to a longitudinal arm of said thumb lever, said thumb key and said thumb lever slidingly engaged in stacked relation and pivotally mounted to the piccolo on a shaft in a double-sleeve configuration wherein said thumb lever short length of tubing and said thumb key short length of tubing are interdisposed one inside of the other about said shaft, the musical instrument further comprising a B-flat shake key couplingly linked to said improved thumb key mechanism thumb lever and rotationally linked to a B-flat key whereby depressing the thumb lever actuates the couplingly linked B-flat shake key which then rotationally moves the B-flat key such that the B-flat key closes the B tonehole for the purpose of better lever action.
An improved wooden piccolo comprising:
- a body section having a cylindrical bore therethrough wherein the cylindrical bore through said body section is centered about and coincident with a longitudinal axis of the piccolo and uniform in diameter throughout the entirety of said body section;
- a headjoint having a conical bore therethrough wherein the conical bore through said headjoint is centered about and coincident with the longitudinal axis of the piccolo and varied in diameter from a diameter equal to the diameter of said body section's cylindrical bore at one end of said headjoint to a diameter less than the diameter of the cylindrical bore of said body section at other end of said headjoint whereby the longitudinal axis of said headjoint and the longitudinal axis of said body section are aligned and engaged such that the end of said headjoint having a conical bore diameter equal to the diameter of said body section cylindrical bore are matingly interfaced one to the other;
- a metal-to-metal stepped interface tenon wherein said metal-to-metal stepped interface tenon comprises a stepped headjoint metal collar having an outer mating surface and an inner mating surface and a stepped body section metal collar having an outer mating surface and an inner mating surface wherein the headjoint metal collar and the body section metal collar slidingly engage, forming an airtight seal at the mating headjoint and body section inner mating surfaces;
- and
- wherein said piccolo is wooden.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.