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Fun with Google Patent Search.
I spent a good several hours marveling at Google Patent Search engine recently. It is an amazing resource – its scope is huge. I imagine that researchers would find this to be a very useful secondary research tool.
An interesting feature is that once a specific item is found, the user can backtrack (or “forward track”) references cited by each patent. It is then possible to trace the history of a design to some of the earliest (or latest) patents on record.
For example, using this method I found an early patent for the cylindrical valve from 1855. The owner is a Gustavus Hammer of Cincinnati, Ohio and this is the earliest patent I could find for this valve as applied on a musical instrument. While this does not mean that Mr. Hammer invented the cylindrical valve, it does show that he was among the first to capitalize on it.
For a researcher, the details of this patent could be of value. It could be a launching point for further study.
Numerous modern-day patents reference the 1949 Hubley Horn design. It was the earliest patent of a descant horn design that I could find.
I love the author’s description of cracked horn notes (“clams”):
Browsing through various inventions that have been tried out over the years was fun and informative. My search included:
- The “Hornette” – a combination horn and cornet.
- A horn with cork blockings instead of solder to dampen vibration…seems antithetical to what a horn should do, but interesting to check out…
- The detachable lead pipe – Holton/Leblanc got this one first.
- “Crossover” mouthpieces to make switching between brass instruments easier.
- Through an article in the Horn Call and another online at hornplayer.net, I have known about the much fabled and infamous Veneklausen horn for years. It was interesting to inspect its finer details.
- The 1965 Kravka Horn by Amati (possibly the same inventor of the Amati water key?). It looks like that it was an attempt to eliminate sharp bends in the traditional horn design, replacing them with wider, round curves.
