Music instrument system and methods

• US 7,504,577 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2005
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Topdown Licensing LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Beamz Interactive, Inc.
• Inventors: Riopelle, Gerald Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher, Marlon T
• Application Number:
  US11/112,004
• Publication Number:
  US 20050241466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 84/723
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/20 for transposition
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/371 Rhythm syncopation, i.e. timing offset of rhythmic stresses or accents, e.g. note extended from weak to strong beat or started before strong beat
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/415 Infrared beams
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/421 Laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/015 PDA [personal digital assistant] or palmtop computing devices used for musical purposes, e.g. portable music players, tablet computers, e-readers or smart phones in which mobile telephony functions need not be used
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/061 MP3, i.e. MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, lossy audio compression
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/255 Optical fibre transmission for electrophonic musical instrument purposes, e.g. hum mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/285 USB, i.e. either using a USB plug as power supply or using the USB protocol to exchange data
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/321 Bluetooth

Abstract

A system and methods which allow even a novice performer to easily play music which is not disharmonious and which is pleasing to the performer and his or her audience. The music is preferably created by a performer breaking one or more beams of light, which are emitted by one or more beam emitters and received, or detected, by one or more beam detectors. When a beam detector determines that a beam has been broken, a trigger is sent to a synthesizer, with such synthesizer preferably being a computer interfaced to the beam detectors via a Universal Serial Bus connection. The synthesizer selects from one or more electronic sounds, based on a pre-programmed collection of sounds, and a sound generator, such as an amplifier and speakers, plays the sound.

Claims

1. A music instrument comprising:

a plurality of electromagnetic beam emitters each adapted to emit an electromagnetic beam;

a plurality of electromagnetic beam detectors each adapted to detect at least one of the emitted beams;

a processor;

a controller responsive to the beam detectors and configured to exchange control signals with the processor as a function of the detectors;

a plurality of music programs configured to permit the processor to generate an electronic signal as a function of the controller; and

at least one sound generator configured to generate audible musical sounds as a function of the electronic signal.

2. The music instrument as specified in claim 1 wherein when one of the beam detectors detects a first state for a prolonged period of time successive said audible sounds are generated.

3. The music instrument as specified in claim 1 wherein the audible musical sounds are sympathetic.

4. The music instrument as specified in claim 2 wherein the audible musical sounds are sympathetic.

5. The music instrument as specified in claim 1 wherein the sound generator is a synthesizer.

6. The music instrument as specified in claim 1 wherein the controller comprises a trigger circuit configured to determine when one said beam detector has changed state.

7. The music instrument as specified in claim 1 wherein each said music program comprises sound elements.

8. The music instrument as specified in claim 7 wherein the sound elements of each said music program comprise a subset of a musical composition.

9. The music instrument as specified in claim 8 wherein the musical composition of each said music program is correlated to each other.

10. The music instrument as specified in claim 9 wherein the musical composition of each said music program is a subset of a song.