Polymeric Trombone with Double Tapering Bore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional wind instruments made from brass or metal are expensive to produce, and existing attempts to use polymeric materials have limitations in achieving the required tonal and tuning adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A wind instrument with a body and leadpipe moulded as a single piece from polymeric material, featuring a double tapering internal bore for tuning and tonal adjustment, where the wall thickness varies along the length, and components such as the bell, tuning slide, and slide braces are manufactured using injection moulding or other polymeric processes, incorporating reinforced materials like glass or carbon fibres for improved performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional metal materials are used to manufacture wind instruments, then the instrument achieves good sound quality and durability, but the manufacturing cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials consisting of polymeric material reinforced with glass fibres or carbon fibres. This composite construction allows the instrument to achieve metal-like strength and acoustic properties while significantly reducing manufacturing cost. The reinforced polymeric material provides both structural integrity and the necessary acoustic characteristics for high-quality sound production.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes variable wall thickness design in the leadpipe and tube sections, creating double tapering internal bores with strategic restrictions. By changing the geometric parameters of the bore profile and wall thickness distribution, the instrument achieves proper tuning and tonal adjustment without requiring expensive metal materials, thus resolving the contradiction between cost and sound quality.
2Ease of manufacture
If polymeric material is used to manufacture the instrument, then the manufacturing cost is reduced and weight is decreased, but the ability to achieve precise tuning and tonal adjustment is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality variations through double tapering internal bores with strategic restrictions at specific locations in the leadpipe and tube sections. The wall thickness is locally varied to create precise bore profile changes, allowing tuning and tonal adjustment at critical positions while maintaining cost-effective polymeric material construction throughout the instrument.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates adjustable tuning slides that allow dynamic modification of the internal bore dimensions. These slides enable players to adjust tuning and tonal characteristics in real-time, providing the precision typically associated with metal instruments while maintaining the cost and weight advantages of polymeric construction.
3Weight of moving object
If the instrument is made from polymeric material, then the weight is reduced and durability is improved, but the structural complexity increases to achieve comparable sound quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the leadpipe and tube section into a single integrally moulded component made from reinforced polymeric material. This integration eliminates the need for separate metal leadpipe components, reducing weight and assembly complexity while maintaining structural integrity through the composite material's inherent strength properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the instrument into modular sections (bell portion, tuning slide, slide braces, outer slide end section) that can be manufactured separately using injection moulding and then assembled. This segmentation allows for optimized manufacturing of each component while maintaining overall structural complexity at acceptable levels through standardized connection interfaces.
Data Source
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AI summary
A musical instrument such as a trombone is manufactured by moulding from polymeric material. The instrument has a moulded body section which has an internal bore through which air is blown by the player. The internal diameter of the bore has a restriction formed thereon so that the diameter of the bore tapers along the section for tuning or tonal adjustment of the instrument.