THUMB RELIEF FOR A WIND INSTRUMENT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a thumb rest for a wind instrument with the features of the preamble of claim 1, as well as a wind instrument with a body and a thumb rest, and the use of a thumb rest for playing a wind instrument with the features of the preamble of claim 13. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] Document DE 41 13 871 C2 discloses a thumb rest for a clarinet, comprising a mounting sleeve screwed onto the clarinet and a bearing piece within the sleeve. A thumb stop is attached to this bearing piece, which rests on the player's thumb while playing the clarinet. To allow for optimal adjustment to the player, the thumb rest has various degrees of freedom: it can be moved along the length of the clarinet, it can be rotated around the clarinet's longitudinal axis, and a ball joint is provided so that the orientation of the thumb stop can be changed. Thus, the thumb rest can be optimally adjusted and fixed in place according to the player's preferences before playing.

[0003] The thumb rest described in US document 4,348,935 A also allows the player to adjust the thumb rest before playing and fix it in the desired position. This is achieved by adjusting the thumb rest lengthwise along the wind instrument. Additionally, the thumb rest can be rotated around a pivot axis parallel to the instrument's longitudinal axis, defined by a sleeve that holds the thumb rest.

[0004] Similar thumb supports are also known from documents DE 18 57 331 U, WO 2015 104 864 A1 and US 2016 071 502 A1. REVELATION OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The object of the invention is to provide a thumb rest for a wind instrument that enables the most comfortable playing of the wind instrument possible.

[0006] The problem according to the invention is solved by a thumb rest with the features of independent claim 1, a wind instrument with such a thumb rest with the features of independent claim 12, and by the use of a thumb rest according to the features of independent claim 13.

[0007] The invention is based on the understanding that, while the orientation and position of thumb rests known from the prior art can be optimally adjusted for the player beforehand, fatigue, stiffness, and / or an unpleasant pressure sensation can still occur, especially during prolonged playing of the wind instrument. The invention therefore proposes a design that allows for maximum variability of the thumb rest, particularly during playing, to enable a varied yet stable posture.

[0008] A thumb rest according to the invention for a wind instrument comprises an adapter with which the thumb rest can be attached to the wind instrument and, in particular, to its body. For example, the adapter can be slipped or clipped onto the wind instrument. Other possibilities include screwing the adapter to the body or attaching it to it by means of a material bond, for example, by gluing or soldering to existing metallic parts of the body.

[0009] Furthermore, the thumb rest features a bearing and a thumb stop attached to the bearing. The bearing can be integral to the adapter. However, it is usually a separate component that is attached to the adapter during playing, although this attachment can be detachable, for example, to adjust the position and orientation of the bearing and the attached thumb stop before playing.

[0010] In contrast to thumb rests known from the prior art, the thumb rest is permanently connected to the bearing piece, and thus remains movable even during playing. A joint is provided for this purpose, connecting the thumb rest to the bearing piece. The joint is designed such that one or more degrees of freedom of rotation provided by the joint are maintained even during playing. In other words, the joint in the thumb rest according to the invention is non-fixable. This means that the joint does not allow for setting an individual, but then fixed, playing position. Rather, the mobility achieved by the joint between the thumb rest and the bearing piece is maintained permanently, particularly during playing. This ensures that the thumb rest remains permanently rotatable relative to the bearing piece within a rotation range defined by the joint.The rotation range typically covers an angle of a few degrees or even tens of degrees. This means that the player does not adopt a one-sided playing posture when playing a wind instrument, but rather a constantly changing playing position and thus a changing load on the thumb.

[0011] The thumb rest according to the invention can be used particularly with wind instruments whose body is held primarily in a vertical direction during playing, such as a clarinet or oboe. To comfortably support the weight of the wind instrument while playing, a thumb rest is helpful, the thumb stop of which is oriented essentially perpendicular to the downward force of the weight. With the thumb stop oriented transversely, the thumb rest rests on the thumb, thus preventing the wind instrument from slipping. In this way, a large part of the weight is borne by the thumb via the thumb rest, and the player needs less force to grip the wind instrument between their fingers.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the joint is designed as a pivot joint with exactly one axis of rotation. This is sufficient for varying the playing position of the wind instrument. However, the joint, which movably connects the thumb rest to the bearing piece, can also provide multiple degrees of rotational freedom. For example, the joint can be designed as a ball joint with multiple axes of rotation, around which the thumb rest can be rotated relative to the bearing piece.

[0013] When a thumb rest is mounted on a wind instrument, the pivot point of the joint is oriented essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the instrument's body and essentially radially to its circular cross-section. On a clarinet, the thumb rest is usually mounted so that the thumb rest is located on the side of the clarinet's body opposite the keys. If the pivot point is oriented radially to the cross-section of the body, this means that the clarinet, resting on the player's thumb, can rock slightly from side to side. However, it cannot, or can only to a limited extent, swing freely forwards and backwards. This could be unfamiliar or even undesirable for a player, as the necessary compensatory movement with the fingers could affect the force required when pressing the keys. That is to say,The proposed orientation of the thumb rest and the orientation of the pivot axis result in a flexible playing position for the player without impairing the playing itself. However, the pivot axis, or at least one of them, can also have any other orientation, preferably oriented laterally to the circular cross-section of the body.

[0014] The joint can be designed in any way. As explained above, it can be a pivot or ball joint, and the joint can be implemented in various ways. The joint can be wholly or partially integral to the thumb stop and the bearing piece. Specifically, the thumb stop can be rotatably mounted on the bearing piece.

[0015] If the bearing piece and the thumb stop have complementary bearing surfaces, particularly good support of the thumb stop on the bearing piece can be achieved, contributing to the best possible and well-guided movement of the thumb stop relative to the bearing piece. For example, the bearing surface of the thumb stop is convex, while the complementary bearing surface of the bearing piece is concave with a corresponding radius of curvature. Conversely, the bearing surface of the bearing piece can also be convex, while that of the thumb stop is concave.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the thumb stop has a recess, with a shaft of the joint extending into or through the recess, so that the thumb stop is rotatably mounted on the shaft. The shaft of the joint defines the axis of rotation about which the thumb stop can rotate.

[0017] The shaft can be formed integrally with the bearing piece. To anchor the thumb stop to the shaft, the shaft can have an end piece. To name just a few examples, the end piece can be a thicker section at an end of the shaft protruding through the thumb stop recess, or a nut screwed onto the end, or a cap snapped on. The thumb stop can also be clipped onto the shaft of the bearing piece, with an end piece preventing it from slipping off the shaft.

[0018] Alternatively, the shaft of the joint can be integrally formed with the thumb stop, with the shaft being rotatably mounted, for example, in a receptacle of the bearing piece. For this purpose, the shaft can have a spherical end section which is clipped into a spherical receptacle of the bearing piece. Another possibility is that the thumb stop has a pin-shaped shaft that extends through a through-hole in the bearing piece and is anchored therein by a nut screwed onto the end or by some other end piece.

[0019] The joint shaft can also be designed separately from the thumb stop and the bearing piece. For example, the joint can include a screw or a bolt. The shaft of the screw or bolt then forms the joint shaft, on which the thumb stop is rotatably mounted about the axis of rotation defined by the shaft. For connection to the bearing piece, the screw or bolt can be screwed into a corresponding thread in a recess of the bearing piece. The thumb stop can be rotatably held between the head of the screw or bolt and the bearing piece by means of a head, thus securely holding it in place.

[0020] The joint can be designed so that the ease of rotation of the thumb stop relative to the bearing piece is adjustable. A player can thus define the degree of movement the thumb stop should have. If the thumb stop is held, for example, between an end piece (such as a screw or bolt head) and the bearing piece, the ease of rotation can be adjusted by the clamping force applied by the end piece against the bearing piece. For instance, the clamping force can be varied by changing the position of the end piece (e.g., by screwing the screw / bolt in or out). Alternatively, a spring or elastic buffer element can be provided that acts on the thumb stop and presses it against a bearing surface of the bearing piece. By compressing or...By relieving the pressure on the spring or buffer element, the resulting contact force and thus the ease of turning can be adjusted.

[0021] To attach the thumb rest to the wind instrument, and especially to its body, the adapter can be clamped to the body and / or bonded to it. For clamping, the adapter can, for example, have a clamp that grips the body. A bonded connection can be achieved by gluing or screwing the adapter to the body. Another option is to attach the adapter to an existing metal component, for example, by soldering. Such a component could be, for example, a metal ring of a fingering system or a metal ring at a joint between different parts of the body. The advantage of soldering to such a metal ring is that this type of connection does not affect the sound-producing components of the wind instrument. The sound of the wind instrument is therefore not, or at least hardly, affected.

[0022] The optimal position and orientation of the thumb rest and thumb stop depend on the individual needs of the player, and these can change over time. Therefore, it may be desirable not to fix the position and orientation for a player during the initial setup, but to allow for flexible adjustments later.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the bearing piece is slidably mounted in a receptacle formed by the adapter, so that the bearing piece—when the thumb rest is mounted on the wind instrument—can be moved longitudinally along the body of the instrument, at least to a predetermined extent. This allows the position of the bearing piece, and thus of the thumb rest, to be adjusted longitudinally along the body and fixed in the position desired by the player. If the position needs to be changed later, the fastening between the bearing piece and the adapter can be loosened, allowing the bearing piece to be moved longitudinally relative to the adapter and the fastening to be reattached. A screw, for example, can be used for this releasable fastening, clamping the bearing piece in the receptacle formed by the adapter.

[0024] As a further embodiment, the receptacle formed by the adapter can be sleeve-like with an annular free cross-section. If the bearing piece is pin-shaped with a cross-section complementary to the annular cross-section, the bearing piece can be rotatably mounted in the receptacle. This means that the bearing piece (and thus also the associated thumb stop) can be moved not only up and down longitudinally relative to the adapter to adjust the optimal position for the player, but also rotated around the axis of rotation defined by the receptacle, which is essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the instrument body. The angle at which the thumb stop protrudes from the instrument body can therefore be adjusted. Once a player has found the optimal position, this setting can be fixed, for example, by tightening a screw.

[0025] Furthermore, the solution according to the invention relates to a wind instrument, in particular a clarinet, with a body and a thumb rest according to the invention attached to the body. The thumb rest can be permanently attached to the body of the wind instrument by means of the adapter, e.g., by a soldered connection between the adapter and a metallic component such as a metal ring provided on the body. The descriptions of the thumb rest according to the invention apply accordingly to further exemplary embodiments.

[0026] The invention also relates to the use of a thumb rest for a wind instrument, comprising an adapter for attaching the thumb rest to the body of the wind instrument, a bearing element arranged on or formed by the adapter, and a thumb stop which is arranged on the bearing element and pivotally connected to it. This can be, in particular, a thumb rest according to the invention. According to the invention, the joint for the pivotal connection of the thumb stop to the bearing element is unfixed, so that the thumb stop is rotatably mounted relative to the bearing element during playing. This use differs from solutions known in the prior art, in which the thumb stop is fixed in its position and orientation for playing the wind instrument.To prevent a one-sided playing posture, the invention proposes to mount the thumb rest so that it can be rotatably mounted relative to the bearing element, particularly during playing, thereby allowing the position and / or orientation of the thumb rest to be variable even while playing. The descriptions of the thumb rest and wind instrument according to the invention apply accordingly to further exemplary embodiments.

[0027] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the claims, the description, and the drawings. The advantages of features and combinations of features mentioned in the description are merely examples and can have an effect alternatively or cumulatively, without necessarily requiring that the advantages be achieved by embodiments of the invention. The features mentioned in the claims and the description are to be understood with regard to their number as meaning that exactly that number or a greater number than the stated number is present, without the need for an explicit use of the term "at least." Thus, for example, if one rotational degree of freedom is mentioned, this is to be understood as meaning that exactly one rotational degree of freedom, two rotational degrees of freedom, or several rotational degrees of freedom are present. These features can be supplemented by other features or be the only features of the respective product.The reference numerals contained in the claims do not constitute a limitation of the scope of the subject matter protected by the claims. They serve only to make the claims easier to understand. PREFERRED EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Further measures improving the invention are described in more detail below, together with a description of preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the figures. The figures show: Figure 1 shows a section of a clarinet with a thumb rest attached; Figure 2 shows a section of Figure 1 Figure 3 shows an adapter for the thumb support according to Figure 1 and its assembly on the body of the clarinet; Figure 4 Individual parts of the thumb rest according to Figure 1 in disassembled and assembled state.

[0029] In figure the Figures 1 to 4A thumb rest 1 according to the invention is shown, which in the illustrated embodiment is attached to the body 2 of a clarinet 3.

[0030] The thumb rest 1 comprises an adapter 4 by which the thumb rest 1 is attached to the body 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the adapter 4 is connected, for example, by a soldered connection to a metal ring 5 of the body 2 of the clarinet 3. This type of connection ensures a secure attachment of the thumb rest 1 to the clarinet 3, which has particularly little influence on the sound-producing parts of the clarinet 3.

[0031] Furthermore, the thumb support 1 comprises a bearing piece 6 and a thumb stop 7 rotatably mounted relative to the bearing piece 6. For rotatable mounting, a joint 8 in the form of a swivel joint with exactly one axis of rotation 9 is provided.

[0032] As particularly in Figure 4As shown in detail, the bearing piece 6 comprises a pin-like section 10 with a circular cross-section and an end bearing section 11 for the thumb rest 7. The pin-like section 10 serves to mount the bearing piece 6 to the adapter 4. Specifically, the adapter 4 has a receptacle 12 with a free cross-section complementary to the cross-section of the section 10. A screw 13 is provided to fix the bearing piece 6 in the receptacle 12, allowing the pin-like section 10 of the bearing piece 6 to be clamped in place. If a player wishes to adjust the thumb rest 1 for optimal comfort before playing, they can loosen the screw 13. In the loosened state, the bearing piece 6 can be adjusted as shown in the diagram. Figure 2As indicated, the bearing piece can be moved in two ways: firstly, along the longitudinal axis 14 of the body 2 of the clarinet 3; and secondly, around the longitudinal axis 15 of the bearing piece 6, which is essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis 14 of the clarinet 3. Once the optimal position and orientation for the player has been set, this setting can be secured by tightening screw 13.

[0033] The thumb stop 7 indicates - as particularly in Figure 4As shown in detail, a support surface 16 rests on the thumb rest 7 on the player's thumb. For a comfortable feel, the support surface 16 can be padded. For example, a felt or rubber covering can be provided in the area of ​​the support surface 16. The support surface 16 is essentially oriented perpendicular to the acting weight of the clarinet 3, thus providing comfortable support for the weight of the clarinet 3 during playing.

[0034] According to the invention, the thumb stop 7 is rotatably mounted relative to the bearing piece 6, particularly during playing. In the illustrated embodiment, a joint 8, designed as a pivot joint, is provided for this rotatable mounting. The joint 8 comprises a screw 17. The shank 18 of the screw 17 extends through a recess 19 in an eyelet 20 of the thumb stop 8 and its end is screwed into a recess 21 in the bearing section 11 of the bearing piece 6. Thus, the thumb stop is rotatably mounted relative to the bearing piece 6 about the shank 18 of the screw 17, which defines the axis of rotation 9 of the joint 8. The angular range through which the thumb stop 7 can rotate about the axis of rotation 9 is approximately 180° in the illustrated embodiment.

[0035] The head 22 of the screw 17 securely holds the thumb stop 7 to the bearing piece 6. The tightness of the clamping action between the bearing piece 6 and the head 22 of the screw 17, and thus the ease with which the screw 17 is screwed into the thread in the recess 21 in the bearing section 11, can be adjusted. This ultimately determines how easily the thumb stop 7 rotates around the axis 9 during playing.

[0036] The rotational movement is guided on the one hand by the shaft 18 of the screw 17 extending through the recess 19. Additionally, the eyelet 20, as shown in Figure 4 depicted, convexly shaped, so that a convex bearing surface 23 is formed. As also shown in Figure 4As indicated, a corresponding bearing surface 24 of the bearing section 11 is complementary and slightly concave. The interaction of the two complementary bearing surfaces 23 and 24 of the thumb stop 7 and the bearing piece 6 ensures particularly good guidance of the rotary movement. Reference symbol list:

[0037] 1 Thumb rest 2 Body 3 Clarinet 4 Adapter 5 Metal ring 6 Bearing piece 7 Thumb stop 8 Joint 9 Pivot axis 10 Section 11 Section 12 Mount 13 Screw 14 Longitudinal axis 15 Longitudinal axis 16 Bearing surface 17 Screw 18 Shank 19 Recess 20 Eyelet 21 Recess 22 Head 23 Bearing surface 24 Bearing surface

Claims

1. A thumb rest (1) for a wind instrument, in particular a clarinet (3), comprising - an adapter (4) to attach the thumb rest (1) to a body (2) of the wind instrument; - a support piece (6) arranged at the adapter (4) or supported thereby and - a thumb stop (7) that is arranged at the support piece (6), characterized in that the thumb stop (7) and the support piece (6) are connected to one another in an articulated manner by an unlockable joint (8) by which a permanent degree of rotational freedom of the thumb stop (7) with respect to the support piece (6) is provided so that the thumb stop (7) is permanently rotatable with respect to the support piece (6).

2. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the joint (8) is a pivot joint having exactly one axis of rotation (9).

3. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the / an axis of rotation (9) of the joint (8) is oriented radially with respect to the circular cross-section of the body (2) of the wind instrument in the assembled state of the thumb rest (7) at the wind instrument.

4. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support piece (6) and the thumb stop (7) have support surfaces (23, 24) formed complementarily to one another, with in particular one support surface (23, 24) being formed as concave and the other support surface (23, 24) as convex.

5. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thumb stop (7) has a cutout (19) and the joint (8) has a shaft (18) that extends in or through the cutout (19) so that the thumb stop (7) is rotatably supported about the shaft (18).

6. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that the shaft (18) is formed by the support piece (6).

7. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that the shaft (18) is formed by a screw (17) or by a bolt that is screwed into a corresponding thread in a cutout (21) of the support piece (6) so that the thumb stop (7) is rotatably held between the support piece (6) and a head (22) of the screw (17) or of the bolt about the axis of rotation (9) defined by the shaft (18).

8. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thumb rest (7) is held between a termination piece and the support piece (6), wherein it can be set by a pressing force applied to the support piece by the termination piece, how smooth the thumb stop can be rotated, by the position of the termination piece being changeable.

9. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter (4) is connected to the body (2) of the wind instrument by clamping and / or with material continuity.

10. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support piece (6) is received displaceably in the direction of the longitudinal axis (14) of the body (2) in a mount (12) formed by the adapter (4).

11. A thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mount (12) is formed in the manner of a sleeve having an annular free mount cross-section; and in that the support piece (6) is of pin shape with a cross-section complementary to the mount cross-section.

12. A wind instrument, in particular a clarinet (3), comprising - a body (2); and - a thumb rest (1) in accordance with one of the preceding claims fastened to the body (2).

13. Use of a thumb rest (1) for a wind instrument that comprises - an adapter (4) to attach the thumb rest (2) to a body (2) of the wind instrument; - a support piece (6) arranged at the adapter (4) or supported thereby; and - a thumb stop (7) that is arranged at the support piece (6) and is connected thereto in an articulated manner by a joint (8), wherein the thumb rest (1) is in particular configured in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joint (8) is not fixed during the playing of the wind instrument so that the thumb stop 87) is rotatably supported with respect to the support piece (6) during playing.