Electric stringless toy guitar

• US 4,974,486 A
• Filed: 09/19/1988
• Issued: 12/04/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stephen M. Wallace
• Original Assignee: Stephen M. Wallace
• Inventors: Wallace, Stephen M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grimley, A. T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Matthew S.
• Application Number:
  US07/245,562
• Time in Patent Office: 806 Days
• Field of Search: 84/DIG. 4, 84/1.01, 84/1.03, 84/1.14-1.16, 84/1.13, 84/1.25-1.28, 84/DIG. 12, 84/601, 84/602, 84/609-615, 84/618, 84/622 , 84/625, 84/626, 84/627, 84/629, 84/634-638, 84/671-672, 84/678, 84/684, 84/692, 84/694, 84/695, 84/701-703, 84/706, 84/713-715 , 84/DIG. 2, 84/DIG. 22, 84/DIG. 29, 84/DIG. 26, 446/408, 446/143
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/225 Portamento, i.e. smooth continuously variable pitch-bend, without emphasis of each chromatic pitch during the pitch change, which only stops at the end of the pitch shift, as obtained, e.g. by a MIDI pitch wheel or trombone pitch bend with emphasis of each chromatic pitch during pitch change, e.g. glissando, G10H2210/221
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 5/10 using generation of non-sinusoidal basic tones, e.g. saw-tooth G10H5/06 takes precedence

Abstract

An electronic musical instrument shaped like an electric guitar sounds individual notes that are synthesized to sound like an electric guitar. These notes may either be selected randomly selected by a player or from segments of prearranged musical tracks. The instrument provides for maintaining the tempo of manually played or preprogrammed notes, synchronizing the transitions between sequentially selected musical tracks, overlaying manual notes on the tracks, and a number of electric guitar-like sound effects including vibrato, chorus, overdrive, slurs and soft picks.

Claims

1. An electric musical instrument comprising:

means for storing information defining notes and timing of different preprogrammed musical tracks;

a number of manually operable track buttons, each associated with a different preprogrammed musical track;

a number of manually operable note buttons, each associated with a different musical note; and

means for sounding the notes of a preprogrammed musical track in response to the activation of the associated track button and for sounding the manual notes in response to the activation of the associated manual note button;

wherein if a second track button is activated while a previously activated track button is still active, the sounding of the first musical track is suppressed and the second musical track is sounded from an intermediate time position in the second musical track corresponding to the time position in the first track at the time the second track button is activated.

2. An electric musical instrument comprising:

means for storing information defining notes and timing of different preprogrammed musical tracks;

a number of manually operable track buttons, each associated with a different preprogrammed musical track;

a number of manually operable note buttons, each associated with a different musical note; and

means for sounding the notes of a preprogrammed musical track in response to the activation of the associated track button and for sounding the manual notes in response to the activation of the associated manual note button;

wherein if a second track button is activated while a previously activated track button is still active, the sounding of the first musical track is suppressed and the second musical track is sounded from an intermediate time position in the second musical track corresponding to the time position in the first track at the time the second track button is activated,

wherein the musical tracks are composed so as to have the same meter and musical key, and wherein the musical tracks have been written using major, minor, and pentatonic scales and the manual notes belong to the pentatonic scale.

3. An electric musical instrument comprising:

means for storing information defining the notes and timing of the different preprogrammed musical tracks;

a number of manually operable track buttons, each associated with a different preprogrammed musical track;

a number of manually operable note buttons, each button associated with a different musical note;

tone generator means for generating an electrical signal corresponding to the notes of a preprogrammed musical track in response to the activation of the corresponding track button and for generating an electrical signal corresponding to a note in response to the activation of each of the corresponding note buttons, wherein the notes of any preprogrammed musical track are suppressed during the generation of the electrical signal corresponding to a note associated with a manually activated note button;

clock means for generating a beat; and

tempo means for synchronizing the electrical signals corresponding to notes of the preprogrammed musical track and the note buttons with the beat.

4. An electric musical instrument as in claim 3 wherein the tone generator further comprises means for resuming play of the musical track after the release of the note button at the same place in the track as it would have been if the play of the track had not been suppressed in response to the track button being activated during the activation and release of the note button.

5. An electric musical instrument comprising:

a number of manually operable note buttons, each associated with a different musical note;

means for sounding a musical note in response to the activation of each of the note buttons;

wherein operating a first note button causes the sounding of a first note having an attack characterized by a first amplitude and operating a second note button while continuing to operate the first note button causes the sounding of a second note having an attack characterized by a second amplitude that is less than the first amplitude.

6. An electric musical instrument as in claim 5 further comprising:

means for storing the order of operation of the note buttons;

if the second note button is released, and the first note button is still operated, the first musical note is sounded with no abrupt change in amplitude between the sounding of the second and first musical notes.

7. An electric musical instrument including a tone generator for simulating an electric guitar comprising:

a number of manually operable note buttons, each button associated with a different musical note;

means for generating a audio signal having a frequency of a musical note in response to the activation of each of the corresponding note buttons;

means for generating an envelope signal in response to activation of each of the corresponding note buttons; and

means for modulating the amplitude of the audio signal with the envelope signal;

wherein the envelope signal of a first musical note is decayed at an accelerated rate in response to the play of any subsequent musical note and the decay time constant for the accelerated rate is in the range of 10-50 milliseconds and the duration of the accelerated decay is greater than the time constant.

8. An electric musical instrument including a tone generator for simulating an electric guitar as in claim 7 wherein the envelope signal comprises two sequential segments, an attack and a decay, the attack having a time constant of less than one millisecond and the decay having a time constant greater than one second.

9. An electric musical instrument including a tone generator for simulating an electric guitar twang effect, the tone generator comprising:

frequency generator for providing a periodic waveform having a first frequency;

envelope generator for providing an envelope signal having an attack and decay;

duty cycle modulator coupled to the frequency generator and to the envelope generator for providing an output signal having the first frequency and having a duty cycle proportional to the amplitude of the envelope signal.

10. A pitch bending circuit capable of changing the frequency of a periodic signal in discrete amounts for use in a musical tone generator, the pitch bending circuit comprising:

a digital-to-analog converter for providing an analog signal proportional to a digital value;

a tuning potentiometer coupled to the digital-to-analog converter for providing a pitch signal proportional to the analog signal and the position of the potentiometer;

a bias signal generator for generating a bias signal for selectively varying the bias signal upward by a factor of the twelfth root of two, or by twice that amount, corresponding to a musical half-step and whole-step, respectively; and

a voltage controlled oscillator coupled to the bias signal generator and to the tuning potentiometer for providing a periodic signal having a frequency proportional to the pitch signal and inversely proportional to the bias signal.

11. An electric stringless guitar capable of emulating a finger vibrato comprising:

a number of manually operable note buttons, each associated with a different musical note;

means for sounding a note in response to the activation of each of the note buttons; and

means for engaging a vibrato effect if a note button is held for longer than preset period of time.

12. A frequency generator for use in a musical tone generator comprising:

a digital-to-analog converter for providing an analog signal proportional to a digital value;

a tuning potentiometer coupled to the digital-to-analog converter for providing a pitch signal proportional to the analog signal and the position of the potentiometer;

a bias signal generator for generating a bias signal for selectively varying the bias signal upward by a factor of the twelfth root of two, or by twice that amount; and

a voltage controlled oscillator coupled to the tuning potentiometer and coupled to the bias signal generator for providing a periodic signal having a frequency proportional to the pitch signal and inversely proportional to the bias signal;

wherein said bias signal generator further comprises means for limiting the slew rate of the bias signal such that it takes more than 20 milliseconds for the bias signal to slew upward by a factor of the twelfth root of two.