Hybrid wind musical instrument and electric system for the same
AssigneeYamaha Corporation
InventorNaoyuki Onozawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hybrid wind musical instrument is a combination of an alto saxophone and an electronic system, and a player has an option between acoustic tones and electronic tones to be produced during performance; the electronic system includes sensors monitoring selected component parts of the key mechanism so as to determine the electronic tones intended to be produced by the player, and plural combinations of pieces of magnet and Hall-effect elements serve as the sensors: However, the component parts of key mechanism are arranged in a narrow space over the surface of tubular instrument body; driven parts are attached to the selected component parts so as to bridge gap between the selected component parts and the Hall-effect elements remote from the selected component parts.
Claims20
A hybrid wind musical instrument for selectively producing acoustic tones and electric tones, comprising:
- a tubular instrument body defining a vibratory column of air therein;
- a wind inlet piece connected to said tubular instrument body, and blown by a player for vibrations of said vibratory column of air;
- a key mechanism provided on a surface of said tubular instrument body, and including plural component parts selectively driven by said player for specifying a pitch of said acoustic tones and a pitch of said electric tones;
- and
- an electric system including
- first sensors monitoring movements of selected ones of said plural component parts and having respective movable parts and respective stationary parts so as to produce first detecting signals representative of pieces of performance data through relative motion between said movable parts and said stationary parts,
- second sensors monitoring the blow into said wind inlet piece for producing second detecting signals representative of other pieces of performance data,
- driven parts connected to said selected ones of said component parts and retaining said movable parts so that said movable parts are moved in the vicinity of said stationary parts, and
- a control unit connected to said first sensors and said second sensors for producing an electric signal representative of said electric tones to be produced on the basis of said pieces of performance data and said other pieces of performance data.
An electric system for a hybrid wind musical instrument including a tubular instrument body, a wind inlet piece and a key mechanism, comprising:
- first sensors monitoring movements of selected ones of component parts of said key mechanism, and having respective movable parts and respective stationary parts so as to produce first detecting signals representative of pieces of performance data through relative motion between said movable parts and said stationary parts;
- second sensors monitoring blow into said wind inlet piece for producing second detecting signals representative of other pieces of performance data;
- driven parts connected to said selected ones of said component parts, and retaining said movable parts so that said movable parts are moved in the vicinity of said stationary parts;
- and
- a control unit connected to said first sensors and said second sensors for producing an electric signal representative of said electric tones to be produced on the basis of said pieces of performance data and said other pieces of performance data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.