Drumstick controller

• US 9,117,427 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gregory A. Piccionelli, Michael M. Gerardi
• Original Assignee: Gregory A. Piccionelli, Michael M. Gerardi
• Inventors: Piccionelli, Gregory A., Gerardi, Michael M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Qin, Jianchun
• Application Number:
  US12/804,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20110030533A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,852 Days
• Field of Search: 847/43, 446/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 13/02 Drums; Tambourines with drumheads
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 13/12 Drumsticks; Mallets pedals for beaters G10D13/11
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 13/26 Mechanical details of electronic drums
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0083 using wireless transmission, e.g. radio, light, infrared
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/32 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/185 Stick input, e.g. drumsticks with position or contact sensors stick for music conducting applications, e.g. conductor baton movement detection G10H2220/206
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/221 Keyboards, i.e. configuration of several keys or key-like input devices relative to one another details of individual keys or key-like devices G10H2220/265; continuous keyboards or keyboards implementing specific musical scales, e.g. quartertone G10H2210/395; switch matrix keyboards, e.g. on guitar necks G10H2220/295
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/355 Geolocation input, i.e. control of musical parameters based on location or geographic position, e.g. provided by GPS, WiFi network location databases or mobile phone base station position databases
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing. conductor baton movement sensing G10H2220/206, angle sensing without reference to gravity G10H2220/391; player body joint angle sensing G10H2220/321
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/401 3D sensing, i.e. three-dimensional (x, y, z) position or movement sensing. movement pattern or gesture sensing G10H2220/201; geolocation sensing G10H2220/355, 3D sensing with accelerometer G10H2220/395
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/251 Spint percussion, i.e. mimicking percussion instruments; Electrophonic musical instruments with percussion instrument features; Electrophonic aspects of acoustic percussion instruments, MIDI-like control therefor gensound percussion G10H2250/435
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 MIDI or other note-oriented file format
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/145 Sound library, i.e. involving the specific use of a musical database as a sound bank or wavetable; indexing, interfacing, protocols or processing therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound beam G10H2220/405
• 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 2240/311 MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/435 Gensound percussion, i.e. generating or synthesising the sound of a percussion instrument; Control of specific aspects of percussion sounds, e.g. harmonics, under the influence of hitting force, hitting position, settings or striking instruments such as mallet, drumstick, brush, hand spint percussion G10H2230/231
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/146 using a membrane, e.g. a drum; Pick-up means for vibrating surfaces, e.g. housing of an instrument

Abstract

A percussion device includes a drumstick assembly and a sleeve. The drumstick assembly includes a drumstick having a base and a tip end, and a drumstick tip secured to the tip end of the drumstick, the drumstick tip including a sensor. The sleeve is disposed about at least a portion of the drumstick including the base thereof, and includes at least one control button, a communication element, and a processor in communication with the at least one control button, the drumstick tip and the communication element. The processor is configured to receive a signal from the drumstick tip and to generate output to the communication element. The output so generated includes a signal that specifies a sound file selected by operation of the at least one control button.

Claims

1. A percussion device comprising:

a) a drumstick assembly comprising

i) a drumstick having a base and a tip end, and

ii) a drumstick tip secured to the tip end of the drumstick, the drumstick tip comprising a sensor, and

b) a sleeve having defined therein a sleeve cavity, the sleeve cavity being occupied by at least a portion of the drumstick including the base thereof, the sleeve comprising

i) at least one control button,

ii) a communication element, and

iii) a processor in communication with the at least one control button, the drumstick tip and the communication element, the processor being configured to receive a signal from the drumstick tip and to generate output to the communication element,

wherein the output comprises a signal that specifies a sound file selected by operation of the at least one control button.

2. The percussion device of claim 1 wherein the sensor is responsive to contact with a surface and generates a signal when the drumstick tip contacts a surface.

3. The percussion device of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a location-determination device and generates a signal when the location of the drumstick tip is determined to be with a specified area.

4. The percussion device of claim 1 wherein the processor comprises a storage element encoded with at least one sound file, and wherein the output signal comprises a signal encoding the selected sound file.

5. The percussion device of claim 1 comprising a plurality of control buttons.

6. The percussion device of claim 5 comprising a first plurality of control buttons arranged on a first portion of the sleeve and a second plurality of control buttons arranged on a second portion of the sleeve.

7. The percussion device of claim 6 wherein the sleeve is configured to conform to a hand of a human user such that the first plurality of control buttons is operable by at least one finger of the human user and the second plurality of control buttons is operable by a thumb of the human user.

8. The percussion device of claim 1 wherein the communication element is a transmitter.

9. The percussion device of claim 8 wherein the communication element is a combined transmitter and receiver.

10. The percussion device of claim 1 wherein the output signal causes an external synthesizer to produce the selected sound file.

11. A system for producing a musical performance comprising

a) a percussion device comprising

i) a drumstick assembly comprising

A) a drumstick having a base and a tip end,

B) a drumstick tip secured to the tip end of the drumstick, the drumstick tip comprising a sensor, and

ii) a sleeve having defined therein a sleeve cavity, the sleeve cavity being occupied by at least a portion of the drumstick including the base thereof, the sleeve comprising

A) at least one control button,

B) a communication element, and

C) a processor in communication with the at least one control button, the drumstick tip and the communication element, the processor being configured to receive a signal from the drumstick tip and to generate output to the communication element,

wherein the output comprises a signal that specifies a sound file selected by operation of the at least one control button,

b) a synthesizer programmed with at least one sound file, the synthesizer further comprising a receiver configured to receive a signal from the communication element of the percussion device, wherein the synthesizer is configured to produce a sound file specified by the output from the processor of the percussion device, and

c) a speaker in communication with the synthesizer.