MUSICAL SYSTEM FOR SIGNAL PROCESSING AND STIMULUS OF MULTIPLE VIBRATING ELEMENTS

• US 20020056358A1
• Filed: 05/15/1999
• Published: 05/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NRI R&D Patent Licensing, LLC (Advanced Touchscreen and Gesture Technologies, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lester F. Ludwig
• Inventors: LUDWIG, LESTER F.
• Granted Patent: US 6,610,917 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/738
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0058 Transmission between separate instruments or between individual components of a musical system G10H1/0083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/348 Switches actuated by parts of the body other than fingers
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/46 Volume control
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/521 Hall effect transducers or similar magnetic field sensing semiconductor devices, e.g. for string vibration sensing or key movement sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/525 Piezoelectric transducers for vibration sensing or vibration excitation in the audio range; Piezoelectric strain sensing, e.g. as key velocity sensor; Piezoelectric actuators, e.g. key actuation in response to a control voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/095 Spint zither, i.e. mimicking any neckless stringed instrument in which the strings do not extend beyond the sounding board
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/101 Spint koto, i.e. mimicking any traditional asian-style plucked zither with movable bridges
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/115 Spint sitar, i.e. mimicking any long-necked plucked string instrument with a large number of additional non-playable sympathetic resonating strings or an additional gourd-like resonating chamber
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/145 Spint guitar keyboard, i.e. mimicking a combination of a guitar-like instrument, with or without strings, and a piano-like keyboard, e.g. with white and black keys arranged like on a piano
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/271 Spint gong, i.e. mimicking circular flat, nippled or bowl-shaped metallic percussion instruments G10H2230/321 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/18 using a string, e.g. electric guitar mechanical features G10D1/085
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/26 : using electric feedback
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/10 : Feedback

Abstract

An apparatus and method for musical instruments with multiple vibrating elements where multiple-channel electronic signal handling and processing is used to produce diverse musical timbre, effects, and control. A plurality of vibrating elements are coupled, individually or in distinct possibly overlapping groups, to sense transducers which are in turn used to drive signal processors and/or vibration stimulating drive transducers. Sense transducer signals may be mixed prior to signal processing and signal processor outputs may be mixed prior to final system output. All mixing and signal processing can be controlled dynamically, and/or by pre-programming. The invention provides for drive transducers to be electromagnetic and/or piezo, for visual indicators (such as LEDs) to show the activity of each drive transducer, and for the drive transducers to be fed signals from an external source. The invention also provides for overtones in signals from sense transducers to be used to derive control signals for controlling synthesizers, lighting, signal processors, etc., for example via MIDI.

Claims

1. The creation of a feedback environment by taking the signal created by a transducer, said transducer stimulated by one or more vibrating element(s), amplifying said signal, and restimulating said vibrating element(s) with an electromagnet driven by said amplified signal.

2. The system of claim 1 with signal processing applied prior to amplification

3. The system of claim 1 with transducers and electromagnets permanently attached to the instrument.

4. The system of claim 1 with traditional guitar pickups used for transducers and as electromagnet

10. A system combining claim 1 and claim 5 to create a meta-instrument where individual vibrating elements can be stimulated and signal processed on an individual basis.

11. A system combining claim 2 and claim 5 to create a meta-instrument where individual vibrating elements can be stimulated and signal processed on an individual basis.

12. The system of claim 4 augmented with the system of claim 3 so as to also control external equipment (e.g., synthesizers, signal processors, lighting, etc.) with the overtone series behavior of each vibrating element.

5. A system for separately applying signal processing to individual transducer signals, each said transducer stimulated by a single vibrating element within a musical instruments with a plurality of vibrating elements.

6. The system of claim 5 with signal processors allocated to specific transducer signals as chosen by a user.

7. The application of claim 5 to replacement, augmentation, and/or generalization of the mechanical pitch changing apparatus of the pedal steel guitar.

8. The application of claim 5 to changing the pitches of individual vibrating elements in fixed scale instruments (sitars, harps, mbiras, etc.)

9. A system for the detection of dynamic characteristics of the overtone series for a vibrating element based on a known model of overtone series in such a way that said detected dynamic characteristics can be used to control external equipment (e.g., synthesizers, signal processors, lighting, etc.).

a. The system of claim 9 for fixed-pitch vibrating elements.

b. The system of claim 9 for variable-pitch vibrating elements.