US3808935A - Cup-mouthpiece with divisible shank - Google Patents

Abstract

The shank surrounding the backbore of the mouthpiece of a cupmouthpiece wind instrument is made divisible into an outer shank sleeve and an inner shank core. Without necessitating modification of the main mouthpiece body, the shank sleeve may be exteriorly tapered to fit any particular instrument in which the mouthpiece assembly is to be used. Also, fine adjustments may be made conveniently in the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap, which in turn permit fine adjustments of both the low-range and the highrange response of the instrument.

Description

United States Patent [191 Reeves May 7, 1974 1 CUP-MOUTHPIECE WITH DIVISIBLE SHANK [76] Inventor: Robert Sims Reeves, 711 N.

Ridgewood, Hollywood, Calif. 90038 [22] Filed: July 9, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 161,241

[52] US. Cl. 84/399 [51] Int. Cl. GlOd 9/02 [58] Field of Search 84/398, 399

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,474,698 10/1969 Anbo 84/399 2,758,497 8/1956 Sarad 84/399 3,191,483 6/1965 Williams 84/398 Primary Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin Attorney, Agent, or Firm Flehr, l-lohbach, Test, Albritton & Herbert [57] ABSTRACT The shank surrounding the backbore of the mouthpiece of a cup-mouthpiece wind instrument is made divisible into an outer shank sleeve and an inner shank core. Without necessitating modification of the main mouthpiece body, the shank sleeve may be exteriorly tapered to fit any particular instrument in which the mouthpiece assembly is to be used. Also, fine adjustments may be made conveniently in the mouthpieceto-leaderpipe gap, which in turn permit fine adjustments of both the low-range and the high-range response of the instrument.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures )ATENTEDMAY "H9 $808,935

sum 1 OF 2 24 26 Y 2| i g m F\G. IA

PRIOR ART MOUTHPlECE-TO- THROAT RECEIVER LEADERPIPE GAP I/ C K E .7

UP I -W SHANK BACKBORE LEADERPIPE HG. H3

PRIOR ART INVENTOR. ROBERT SIMS RE EVES #M, Wow mm W ATTORNEYS PATENTEDMAY 1914 3308.935

SHEET 2 BF 2 1;. 2w WWII/1111101 It...

INVENTOR. ROBERT sums REEVES 1%, AM 04%; M v I ATTORNEYS CUP-MOUTHPIECE WITH DIVISIBLE SHANK FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to mouthpieces for cupmouthpiece musical wind instruments, including trumpets, alto horns, trombones, baritone horns, tubas etc. The invention particularly concerns a mouthpiece with a divisible shank permitting delicate adjustments of high-range and low-range response of the instrument.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The subject of mouthpieces for cup-mouthpiece wind instruments has been discussed extensively in the musical literature. But unfortunately, most of the discussions have been based on inadequately supported, however well-intentioned, reasoning. Meaningful scientific experiments are beginning to be performed and reported in some of the acoustic literature, but the over-all processes of tone generation by the lips and reinforcement of the lip vibrations by reflected air waves, and the influences upon these processes of the shape details of the mouthpiece air column are still not well understood, even by the acoustic specialists who are studying them. So, the playing musician must still rely largely on empirical knowledge in the selection and fitting of mouthpieces.

Part of the empirical knowledge about mouthpieces is based upon so-called common sense, or upon superficially apparent reasonableness, and it persists mainly because no carefully controlled experiments have been performed to show that what seems obviously right may actually be wrong, and what makes it wrong is that one or two unobvious factors in fact dominate and counteract the obvious ones. It seems intuitively obvious that the bore of a wind instrument should be smooth from beginning to end. Because of this intuitive obviousness, there was great resistance to the introduction of lengthchanging valves into wind instruments a century-and-ahalf ago. Wind instrument players believed that the angular bends being introduced into the air columns of their instruments would disrupt the smooth flow of the air and would thereby roughen the tones to be produced. Wind instrument playing is so largely controlled by subjective factors that some of the players who believed that non-smooth bores would product nonsmooth tones were able to demonstrate to their own satisfactions and those of their friends that this was really so. Actually, we now know, because harmonic content of a tone is something we can easily measure with modern acoustic equipment, and also because we have supporting acoustic theory, that non-smooth portions in bores tend to filter out high frequencies preferentially, and so, to the extend that they tend to affect the tone quality at all, they tend to make it mellower.

The present invention concerns one specific nonsmoothness in the bore of a wind instrument: the mouthpiece-to-leader-pipe gap.

The conventional way of constructing cupmouthpiece wind instruments is to make a dismountable mouthpiece whose proximal end comprises the rim to be applied to the lips, and the cup into which the pulsed air is blown toward and into the mouthpiece throat. The distal end of the mouthpiece is an externally tapered shank surrounding an internally tapered backbore. The mouthpiece is mounted in the wind instrument by inserting the tapered shank into a correspondingly tapered receiver which is either permanently attached to or integral with (as in a trombone, for example) a leaderpipe of the wind instrument. During handling and playing, the mouthpiece is held in the wind instrument only by the friction of the tapered fit. After playing, the mouthpiece is removed by grasping the cup end with the hand and exerting a twisting pull.

The specific part of the mouthpiece-instrument arrangement that is of interest here is the relationship or projection of the mouthpiece into the instrument and the gap that sometimes exists between the distal end of the mouthpiece shank and the proximal end of the leaderpipe (as in a trumpet) and to the choke or constriction (as in a trombone).

Although nearly all modern wind instrument manufacturers use the same nominal taper for their mouthpiece shanks and for their mating receivers (0.05 inch per inch) it is still an impracticality in mass production to make all mouthpieceshanks of identical diameters within say, 0.001 inch, so mouthpieces and receivers that are intended to be interchangeable actually cannot be depended upon to be of precisely the same size. An individual tapered shank cannot be depended upon to go precisely the same distance into each receiver, and different mouthpiece shanks cannot be depended upon to go precisely the same distance into an individual receiver. If it were possible to depend upon a single precise penetration distance, there is little doubt that all modern manufacturers would make the mouthpiece shank penetrate to the exact distance at which it would butt against the leaderpipe, and with the inside diameters of the mouthpiece backbore and the leaderpipe being generally the same at that point, the two parts would form a smooth junction (smooth in the sense of having no abrupt jump in diameter, still not smooth in a slope sense, because in all modern instruments the taper changes at that location).

Because it is impractical in mass production to assure a perfect butting, and because it would spoil the frictional holding of the male shank in the female receiver if the shank end butted too soon, the practical course in mass production is to design the tapered male shank a little large on purpose,'so that butting will be highly improbably, even with some expected variation in produced dimensions. Therefore, in commercial, massproduced wind instruments, one. expects to find a mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap. E. g., in trumpets, the gap may be from one thirty-second to one-fourth inch long, and the diametral jump at the gap may be about one-sixteenth inch.

Before taking up the authoritative opinions in the musical literature about the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap, it is appropriate here to mention a reference in the patent literature to the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap. The Kent patent, U. S. Pat. No. 2,987,950, pictures and describes the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap, and one of its specific effects, the effect on intonation. The effect on intonation is described in terms of effective length change due to the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap. FIG. 6 of the Kent patent shows maximum effective length change" of the order of two-tenths of an inch over the entire playing range due to the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap. FIG. 8 of the same patent shows an effective length change of 10 inches (50 times 0.2) over the same playing range, due to the bell. So it will be appreciated therefore that the very small intonation effect due to the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap is completely masked, for all practical purposes, by bell design features. However, for the purposes of this present patent application, the important point is not just that the intonation effect of the mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap is very small, it is that the present application is actually not concerned with intonation, but with response, the ease with which the notes of the instrument respond to excitation by the player. More will follow in this hereinbelow. The Kent patent contains no teaching about the effect of the mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap upon response. The US. Pat. No. 3,474,698 to Seisai Anbo taught that the mouthpieceto-leaderpipe gap was one of the major causes of deteriorating the sounds of brass musical instruments and accordingly the object of that patent was to provide a device for insuring that the end of the mouthpiece would abut the rear end of the leaderpipe.

In professional musical literature, the mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap is condemned, and prescribed to be eliminated. Two examples from the literature are given here:

Renold O. Schilke of the Schilke Co., Chicago, Ill.,

ays? hi bo kletMsqthp s Brass (1967- by turning down the shank a bit on a lathe. If you are a discriminating teacher, player, or music merchant, it

is most desirable that a particular mouthpiece fit the instrument exactly.

Robert Weast, a well-known professional trumpet player and teacher, says EriThe Brass World? (Vol. '4, No. l, 1968, p. 315): The player himself must rn ake the effort to have a repairman seat the end of his mouthpiece against the end of the leadpipe proper.

To the best of the present inventors knowledge and belief, the cited authorities are representative of all of the wind instrument players who have concerned themselves with the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap.

Cup-mouthpieces are made in a wide variety of internal configurations to achieve certain desired playing characteristics. One important part of a mouthpiece is the backbore, the shape and size of which has a discernable effect on both tone quality and playing response of the instrument. A player who finds satisfactory the response of a particular mouthpiece, including its backbore when used with one instrument, may find the response unsatisfactory when the same mouthpiece is used with another instrument. I have found that by adjusting the amount of projection of the mouthpiece into the instrument, the preferred mouthpiece may produce a satisfactory response in several different instru- V ments which the player employs in performance. Heretofore, however, there has been no satisfactory arrangement for selectively adjusting the amount of projection of themouthpiece shank into the musical instrument to the end that the same mouthpiece body (including rim, cup, throat and backbore) may be used with several different instruments. Desirably, the mouthpiece should have with each instrument an amount of projection or intrusion selected in relation to optimum response of the instrument.

Conversely, the same model of instrument is designed to by played in performance by players preferring vastly different mouthpieces with differing backbores. Such backbores may be either rapid taper, straight taper, slow taper etc. in shape. The particular model of instrument may not respond entirely satisfactorily to certain mouthpiece backbores, responding in a stuffy manner with some and in a loose manner with others. I have-found that the response of an instrument is improved significantly to many players if there is slightly less projection into the instrument of a mouthpiece with a rapid taper backbore than is the case with a mouthpiece having a straight or slow tapered backbore. But heretofore there has been no effective means of readily adjusting the mouthpiece projection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS In summary the invention resides in a musical instrument of the cup-mouthpiece type having a leaderpipe with a mouthpiece receiving portion at one end. The leaderpipe is shaped internally such that the smallest internal diameter portion is located adjacent to the mouthpiece receiving portion. The improvement comprises a cup-mouthpiece assembly including a mouthpiece body having a rim at the proximal end thereof and being internally configurated to include cup, throat, and backbore portions. The mouthpiece assembly has a shank divisible into an outer shank sleeve and an inner shank core, the shank sleeve and core mating along a surface of revolution co-axial with respect to the backbore. The exterior portion of the outer shank sleeve is configurated complimentary to the interior of the mouthpiece receiving portion and is dimensioned to present the distal end of the mouthpiece assembly in a selected spaced relation to the smallest diameter portion of the leaderpipe.

An object of the invention is to provide for improvement in playing response of a cup-mouthpiece musical instrument by affording selective adjustment of the projection of the cup-mouthpiece shank into the instrument.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cupmouthpiece which may be employed with a number of musical instruments of the same general character, the mouthpiece being adapted to cooperate with each instrument so as to produce optimum playing response.

Another object of the invention is to provide acupmouthpiece with a divisible shank so-that the amount of projection of the mouthpiece into the instrument may be selected in relation to optimum response of the instrument and mouthpiece combination.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cupmouthpiece of the type described having an outer shank sleeve and an inner shank'core wherein the outer shank sleeve may be advanced or retracted axially with respect to the inner shank core and held in a selected position.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A and 1B are definitional diagrams showing a trumpet and mouthpiece and the parts of a conventional cup-mouthpiece and leaderpipe arrangement, and showing particularly the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of the present inventron;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional view showing a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a transverse sectional view along the lines 3A-3A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a view like FIG. 3 showing a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view like FIG. 3 showing a fourth preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 3 showing a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the parts of a conventional cup-mouthpiece 18 in the region where it attaches to the leaderpipe of the musical instrument are shown as pertains to the construction commonly employed in the trumpet 21 wherein the receiver member is fixedly secured to one end of the leaderpipe. The shank of the cup-mouthpiece projects into the receiver. On the other hand, in the case of a trombone (not shown) the receiver and leaderpipe may be formed from the same piece of tubing and a constriction sometimes called the choke" is disposed proximate to that portion of the leaderpipe which contains the trombone mouthpiece shank. In both cases the smallest diameter of the leaderpipe is located adjacent to the mouthpiece receiving portion.

FIG. 2 shows a mouthpiece 19 of the present invention wherein a backbore 20 is surrounded by shank 22,

which still, as in its conventional form, projects into receiver 24, which also surrounds and permanently attaches to the end of leaderpipe 26 establishing therebetween a desired mouthpieceto-leaderpipe gap 23. However, shank 22 is not the conventional single piece of metal projecting into receiver 24. To the right of the stopping shoulder 28 of enlargement 30, the shank is divisible into two pieces, the inner shank core 32, and the outer shank sleeve 34. In one preferred form, represented by FIG. 2, the division or mating surfaces between the inner shank core 32 and the outer shank sleeve 34 is a right circular cylinder (of constant diameter) so that the sleeve slides upon the core in frictional contact both rightward and leftward, but achieves its intended useful position when it is slid leftward until end rim 36 seats against stopping shoulder 28. However, itwill be appreciated that the division between the inner shank core and the outer shank sleeve does not have to be a right circular cylinder. The shank can be divisible along any surface of revolution co-axial with the backbore, whose diameter decreases monotonically toward the distal end (toward the right in the present figures) so that the shank sleeve may be removed. FIG. 4 represents a mouthpiece assembly in which the division or mating surfaces 37 is a right circular cone, and the shank sleeve comes to its useful position upon the shank core not by abutting a stopping shoulder 28, but by reaching a position where the exterior taper of the shank core continuously contacts the interior taper of the shank sleeve, and the continuous contact along the surfaces 37 prevents further motion.

I have found that the cylindrical type of division is usually preferrable because of the positive accuracy of positioning I can achieve using the abutment of end rim 36 against stopping shoulder 28.

The only relative disadvantage of a constant diameter, cylindrical, division between the inner core and outer shank is that a small diametral difference must be maintained between the outside of the core and the inside of the sleeve if the sleeve is to be removable and replaceable, and therefore it is not possible for this type of division to form a good air sea] such as is formed naturally by two mating tapered surfaces. For this reason, in the case of cylindrical division, I provide an air seal between the inner core and outer shank as shown in FIG. 2. An annular groove 38 is cut into shank core 32, into which is inserted O-ring 40. The outside diameter of the O-ring is larger than the outside diameter of the shank core, so the inside diameter of shank sleeve 34 is enlarged at the location of the O-ring and also at all locations that are to be to the left of the O-ring so that the shank sleeve may still be slid leftward to abut stopping shoulder 28. The diametral enlargement inside the shank sleeve is, of course, made just sufficient for the end of the sleeve to pass snugly over the O-ring, while still making an effective air seal.

OPERATION In practice, for each model of mouthpiece that I make, having one definite size of inner shank core, I make and keep on hand, a set of several outer shank sleeves of substantially identical lengths and those lengths are such that the distal ends of the sleeves are flush with the distal end of the core, the end that forms one side of the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap 23. The several sleeves also all have the same external taper; they differ significantly only in the beginning (and of course, ending) diameter of that taper. I make the diameters differ by an amount that produces a difference in the penetration distance of the mouthpiece of, say one-thirty-second inch. (It will be appreciated that when the external taper is 0.050 inch per inch, the diametral difference between members of a set must be 0.0016 inch, within a ten-thousandth of an inch.) Usually, I maintain a set of at least eight sleeves, which can produce, with a particular sized mouthpiece eight penetration distances, and therefore eight sizes of mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap 23. Because the receiver dimensions and the leaderpipe end dimensions of various cup-mouthpiece wind instruments may be expected to' have a rang of variation, if I want to be able to produce eight different penetration distances with any given instrument, I must have on hand more than eight sizes of shank sleeves for each mouthpiece size.

To find the optimum mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap for a particular player using a particular instrument and a particular mouthpiece, I have found it advantageous to begin first with a shank sleeve that produces what is almost certainly too great a mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap, say eight-thirty-seconds inch. Then I have the player play some passages in his lower register, using normal tonguing. With this great a gap, the tones will seem to the player to start late, meaning probably that the build-up of oscillations in the air column is slower than that to which he is accustomed. To the listener, the tones will not sound as clear as the tones that can be made by that some player under good conditrons.

Next, I replace the first-tested shank sleeve with one of smaller diameter, so that the mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap is diminished, say, one-thirty-second inch. The mentioned undesirable effects in the lower register will be diminished. In fact, the undesirable lower register effects would continue to diminish with decreasing gap size up until the gap were decreased to zero, but unfortunately, undesirable high range effects begin to appear before the gap is decreased to zero. So as soon as the gap is decreased enough for the low range playing just to become comfortable for the player, I have him start some passages in his upper range.

As the gap is decreased, the upper register begins to suffer. In trumpeters jargon: the notes seem to lose their center. Also the top part of the normal range of that particular trumpeter may become difficult, or even disappear! Some gap seems to be needed for confident excitation of tones in the extreme upper register.

The proper compromise is reached when the lower register has been made comfortable without impairing the upper range. This determines what particular size of shank sleeve that particular player needs for that particular instrument being used in the tests, to achieve just the right mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap.

It should be especially noted that the tests being described here are not intonation tests, but response tests. The proper relative tuning between the upper and lower notes of the instrument is not being tested, but rather the way in which the instrument responds to the effort of the player to get both the upper and the lower notes started, and to sustain those notes.

It will be appreciated that the testing procedure with the actual player, as described above, could not be subject to hard and fast rules, and that variations between players, and types of music that they play may require variations in procedure too numerous even to attempt to cover here. Some very exacting players who have been through the described procedure have selected two sizes of shanks to use with the same mouthpiece to produce two different sizes of mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap each having relative advantages in some particular type of required playing.

However, whatever are the individual variations in the use of my invention, it will be appreciated that the invention enables rapid, empirical testing to find the most desirable mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap or mouthpiece-to-instrument penetration, and then en ables exact fixing of that gap or penetration during fu- FIGS. 3 through 6 illustrate other preferred embodiments of the invention and parts corresponding to those previously described will be provided with a letter suffix, e. g., a, b, c and d, respectively, for the four other preferred embodiments.

FIGS. 3 and'3A represent an embodiment in which the mouthpiece-to-leaderpi'pe gap is regulated by inserting spacer washers 50'(e. g., each 1/32 inch thick) between the stopping shoulder 28a and the end rim 36a. The outer shank sleeve is made secure upon the inner shank core by means of setscrew 54 which squeezes together two cars 52 between which is a slot 58 parallel to a plane through the axis of backbore 20a.

FIG. 4 shows another preferred form of the invention wherein the mating surfaces between the outer shank sleeve and inner shank core are a surface of revolution 37 which is a right circular cone.

FIG. 5 represents an embodiment in which adjustability between the inner shank core and outer shank sleeve is achieved in a continuous manner, permitting infinitely fine variations in the mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap. A helical groove 44 is made in the cylindrical surface of the inner shank core 320. A follower-setscrew 46 residing in shank sleeve 34c protrudes into groove 44. If the setscrew is loosened, it causes sleeve 34c to move axially .upon core 320 when sleeve 340 is rotated about their common axis. When setscrew 46 is tightened it prevents all relative motion, axial and circumferential, and, fixes the mouthpiece-toleaderpipe gap. Graduations 48 on stopping shoulder 280 may be provided, which in conjunction with an index mark 56 on end rim 360, will indicate the circumferential position, and therefore, in turn, the axial position, of shank sleeve 34c upon shank core 320.

FIG. 6 represents another embodiment in which outer shank sleeve 34d may be adjusted with respect to the inner shank cord 32d by a set of threads 60 (male on core 32d and female in sleeve 34d). Positive setting of the mouthpiece-to-leaderpipe gap is provided by. a

set of spacer washers 50.

It will be appreciated that all of the above embodiments and others capable of performing the described functions of my invention fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a musical wind instrument of the cupmouthpiece type and including a leaderpipe having a mouthpiece receiving portion at one end, the leaderpipe being internally shaped such that the smallest internal diameter portion is located adjacent to the mouthpiece receiving portion, the combination comprising a cup-mouthpiece assembly including a mouthpiece body having a rim at the proximal end thereof and being internally configurated to include cup, throat and backbore portions, said mouthpiecehaving a shank divisible into an outer shank sleeve and'an inner shank core, said shank sleeve and core mating along a surface of revolution co-axial with respect to said backbore, adjustment means arranged between said outer shank sleeve and said inner shank core including confronting shoulder portions on said outer shank sleeve and said inner shank core and at least one spacer element interposed between said shoulder portions, fastener means securing said shank sleeve to said core, an exterior portion of said outer shank sleeve being 'configurated complimentary to the interior of the mouthpiece receiving portion and being dimensioned to presentthe distal end of said mouthpiece assembly in a-selected spaced relation to the smallest diameter portion of the leaderpipe.

2. The cup-mouthpiece assembly of claim 1 wherein screw threads are arranged. on the mating surface between said outer shank sleeve and inner shank core.

3. In a mouthpiece assembly for use with a musical wind instrument of a type having a leaderpipe with an internal passage with .an open end and a receiver mounted on the leaderpipe with the open end of the leaderpipe extending into the receiver and having a fixed position in the receiver, the receiver having an open-ended internal passage formed by an internal smooth surface, said mouthpiece assembly comprising a mouthpiece and a sleeve removably mounted on the saidmouthpiece, said mouthpiece including cup, throat and shank portions with an air passage extending therethrough, said shank portion having an outer surface formed by a surface of revolution extending from the outer end of the shank portion and extending longitudinally of the shank portion, said sleeve having an internal surface formed by a surface of revolution and having a size so that it can mate with the outer surface of the shank portion by sliding engagement with the outer surface of the shank portion, said mouthpiece and said sleeve including cooperative means for retaining the same as a unitary assembly after they have been assembled, said sleeve having a smooth tapered outer surface formed by a surface of revolution which is adapted to seat in said passage in the receiver and frictionally engaging the smooth internal surface of the receiver to retain said mouthpiece assembly in the receiver with the desired relationship between the outer end of the shank portion and the open end of the leaderpipe, said sleeve forming one of a set of sleeves with each of the sleeves of the set having a different tapered outer surface whereby different sleeves can be used with the same instrument to change the spacing between the outer end of the shank portion and the open end of the leaderpipe or alternatively different sleeves can be used with the same mouthpiece on different instruments to obtain the desired relationship between the outer end of the shank portion and the open end of the leaderpipe.

4. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 3 wherein said outer surface of the shank portion is in the form of a right circular cylinder and the internal surface of the sleeve is in the form of a right circular cylinder. 4

5. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 3 wherein said cooperative means includes means disposed between the shank portion and the sleeve serving as a combination friction retaining means and sealing means.

6. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 5 wherein said cooperative means includes an O-ring.

7. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 3 together with cooperative shoulder means carried by said shank portion and said sleeve for preventing movement of the said sleeve on said shank portion beyond a predetermined position in one direction.

8. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 7 wherein said cooperative shoulder means is positioned so that the outer extremity of the shank portion is substantially flush with the outer extremity of the sleeve when the sleeve is mounted on the shank portion.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. I 3 ,808 ,9 35

DATED May 7, 1974 INV ENTORG) 2 Robert Simms Reeves It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6 line 40 43 change the matter in parenthesis to read (It will be appreciated that when the external taper is 0 .050

inch per inch, the cutting tool of the lathe used in forming the sleeves is shifted radially 0.0016 inch, within a tenthousandth of an inch, between members of a set giving a diametral difference of .0032 inch between members of a set.)

Signed and Scaled this fifth Day Of July/977 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON Attesting Officer C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3,808,935

DATED I May 7 1974 INV ENTOR( 1 Robert Simms Reeves it is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below: O

Column 6 line 40 43 change the matter in parenthesis to read (It will be appreciated that when the external taper is 0 .050

inch per inch, the cutting tool of the lathe used in forming the sleeves is shifted radially 0.0016 inch, within a tenthousandth of an inch, between members of a set giving a diametral difference of .0032 inch between members of a set.)

Signed and Scaled this i fifth Day Of July 1977 [SEAL] AIICSI.

RUTH'C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Amslmg ff Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks

Claims (8)

1. In a musical wind instrument of the cup-mouthpiece type and including a leaderpipe having a mouthpiece receiving portion at one end, the leaderpipe being internally shaped such that the smallest internal diameter portion is located adjacent to the mouthpiece receiving portion, the combination comprising a cupmouthpiece assembly including a mouthpiece body having a rim at the proximal end thereof and being internally configurated to include cup, throat and backbore portions, said mouthpiece having a shank divisible into an outer shank sleeve and an inner shank core, said shank sleeve and core mating along a surface of revolution co-axial with respect to said backbore, adjustment means arranged between said outer shank sleeve and said inner shank core including confronting shoulder portions on said outer shank sleeve and said inner shank core and at least one spacer element interposed between said shoulder portions, fastener means securing said shank sleeve to said core, an exterior portion of said outer shank sleeve being configurated complimentary to the interior of the mouthpiece receiving portion and being dimensioned to present the distal end of said mouthpiece assembly in a selected spaced relation to the smallest diameter portion of the leaderpipe.

2. The cup-mouthpiece assembly of claim 1 wherein screw threads are arranged on the mating surface between said outer shank sleeve and inner shank core.

3. In a mouthpiece assembly for use with a musical wind instrument of a type having a leaderpipe with an internal passage with an open end and a receiver mounted on the leaderpipe with the open end of the leaderpipe extending into the receiver and having a fixed position in the receiver, the receiver having an open-ended internal passage formed by an internal smooth surface, said mouthpiece assembly comprising a mouthpiece and a sleeve removably mounted on the said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece including cup, throat and shank portions with an air passAge extending therethrough, said shank portion having an outer surface formed by a surface of revolution extending from the outer end of the shank portion and extending longitudinally of the shank portion, said sleeve having an internal surface formed by a surface of revolution and having a size so that it can mate with the outer surface of the shank portion by sliding engagement with the outer surface of the shank portion, said mouthpiece and said sleeve including cooperative means for retaining the same as a unitary assembly after they have been assembled, said sleeve having a smooth tapered outer surface formed by a surface of revolution which is adapted to seat in said passage in the receiver and frictionally engaging the smooth internal surface of the receiver to retain said mouthpiece assembly in the receiver with the desired relationship between the outer end of the shank portion and the open end of the leaderpipe, said sleeve forming one of a set of sleeves with each of the sleeves of the set having a different tapered outer surface whereby different sleeves can be used with the same instrument to change the spacing between the outer end of the shank portion and the open end of the leaderpipe or alternatively different sleeves can be used with the same mouthpiece on different instruments to obtain the desired relationship between the outer end of the shank portion and the open end of the leaderpipe.

4. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 3 wherein said outer surface of the shank portion is in the form of a right circular cylinder and the internal surface of the sleeve is in the form of a right circular cylinder.

5. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 3 wherein said cooperative means includes means disposed between the shank portion and the sleeve serving as a combination friction retaining means and sealing means.

6. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 5 wherein said cooperative means includes an O-ring.

7. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 3 together with cooperative shoulder means carried by said shank portion and said sleeve for preventing movement of the said sleeve on said shank portion beyond a predetermined position in one direction.

8. A mouthpiece assembly as in claim 7 wherein said cooperative shoulder means is positioned so that the outer extremity of the shank portion is substantially flush with the outer extremity of the sleeve when the sleeve is mounted on the shank portion.

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