Pipe Organ Tuning Device with Adjustable Collar
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tuning methods for pipe musical instruments, such as organs, are inefficient, irreversible, and lack precision, requiring specialized manual skills, long execution times, and often result in instability or damage to the instruments, especially when trying to achieve precise frequency adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A tuning device comprising a support collar and a movable tubular portion with adjustable engagement means, allowing for precise sliding adjustments at the terminal end of the pipe without altering the pipe's structure, enabling quick, reversible, and precise tuning of pipe musical instruments, including antique ones, by varying the resonator's length to achieve desired frequencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional cylindrical tuning is used, then manual tuning capability is achieved, but tuning time is very long and precision is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tuning device as an intermediary tool between the tuner and the pipe. This device includes a support collar that fits onto the pipe and a tubular portion with engagement means that can be adjusted along the pipe's longitudinal axis. The engagement means can be positioned at different locations to precisely control the effective length of the resonator, enabling accurate frequency tuning without lengthy manual procedures.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional cylindrical tuning with correction pegs is used, then frequency adjustment is possible, but the tuning becomes irreversible and the pipe structure is altered
Solution Approach 1:
The tuning device serves as a reversible intermediary that attaches to the pipe without permanently altering its structure. The support collar and tubular portion can be installed and removed without damaging the pipe, allowing tuning adjustments to be reversed or modified later. This is particularly important for antique organs where preserving original pipe characteristics is essential.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement means are designed to be movable along the longitudinal axis of the pipe, allowing dynamic adjustment of the resonator's effective length. This movable mechanism enables flexible tuning adjustments without committing to permanent structural changes, maintaining both reversibility and adaptability.
3Measurement precision
If correction pegs are abutted against the pipe top, then frequency adjustment is achieved, but the pipe may break due to stress concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The tuning device is segmented into separate components: a support collar that fits onto the pipe, and a tubular portion with engagement means. This segmentation distributes the mechanical interaction along the pipe's length rather than concentrating stress at the top, reducing the risk of pipe breakage while maintaining tuning precision through adjustable engagement positions.
4Measurement precision
If tear tuning is used, then frequency adjustment is possible, but the pipe walls are enlarged and the technique is destructive
Solution Approach 1:
The tuning device acts as a non-destructive intermediary that achieves frequency control through adjustable engagement means along the pipe's length, eliminating the need for destructive tear tuning that enlarges pipe walls. The device maintains precise frequency control while preserving the pipe's original structural integrity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device significantly reduces tuning time to 10 minutes, allows for precise tuning of different registers, and maintains instrument integrity, enabling adaptation to various temperature conditions and historical repertoires without damaging the pipes, while being reversible and compliant with international restoration standards.
Implementation Method 1
a tubular portion (7), movable during use, provided for being slidably mounted on the resonator of the pipe C, at the free and/or upper and/or terminal end thereof... varying the mutual distance between the support collar (2) and the tubular portion (7) in order to determine the tuning of the pipe C
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5~6
AI summary
Tuning device for pipe musical instruments, in particular for a pipe organ possibly provided with a resonator, comprising: - at least one support collar (2), fixed during use, applicable to a pipe (C) at a preset distance from the free and/or terminal and/or upper end thereof, the pipe extended along a longitudinal symmetry axis (X) thereof; - at least one tubular portion (7), movable during use, slidably applicable on the pipe (C) at the free and/or terminal and/or upper end thereof; - adjustment means (8) between the at least one tubular portion (7) and the at least one support collar (2), provided for adjusting the distance between the at least one tubular portion (7), movable during use, and the at least one support collar (2), fixed during use.