Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02617371 2008-01-08
LIGHT UP DRUM
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims benefit to United States Provisional
Application
No. 60/883,926, filed January 8, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is
incorporated herein
by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Percussion instruments, including drums, have been in existence for a
long time
and are vital parts of most bands. Drums, as with other musical instruments,
can have
various colors, shapes, etc. to indicate the band or the band's name, to
reflect the
likes/personality of the musician playing the instrument, to be appealing to
an audience
viewing a performance, etc.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In general, in an aspect, the invention provides a system including a
drum shell
providing opposed first and second apertures, a support connected to the shell
and
configured to engage with a horizontal surface to help stabilize the shell, a
resonant drum
head attached to the shell and disposed across the first aperture provided by
the shell, a
batter drum head attached to the shell and disposed across the second aperture
provided by
the shell, a sensor disposed and configured to sense striking of the batter
drum head and to
provide indications of drum strikes, images configured to be selectively
illuminated, and a
controller coupled to the images and the sensor and configured to respond to
the indications
of drum strikes from the sensor by actuating, to illuminate, at least one of
the images on the
resonant drum head.
[0004] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the
following
features. The images are disposed on the resonant drum head. The controller is
configured
to actuate the images, at least one at a time, in a sequence in response to a
series of strikes
of the drum being indicated by the sensor. The sensor is configured to sense
sound and to
provide one of the indications of drum strikes when the sensed sound exceeds a
threshold
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sound level. The sensor is configured to provide the indications of drum
strikes such that
the indications indicate intensity levels of the strikes. The controller is
configured to actuate
the images in accordance with the intensity levels of the strikes indicated by
the sensor. The
system further includes a demonstration mechanism removably coupled to the
controller
where the controller is configured implement a demonstration by actuating the
images in a
demonstration sequence in response to actuation of the demonstration
mechanism. The
controller is configured to actuate the images with a constant intensity level
during
demonstration. The sensor is configured to sense vibration and to provide one
of the
indications of drum strikes when the sensed vibration exceeds a threshold
vibration level.
[0005] In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a musical
instrument system
including a musical instrument body, images disposed on the musical instrument
body and
configured to be selectively illuminated, the images comprising
electroluminescent material,
a sound sensor disposed and configured to sense sounds in a vicinity of the
musical
instrument body and to provide electrical indications of abrupt increases in
sound, and a
controller coupled to the images and the sensor and configured to respond to
the indications
of abrupt increases in sound from the sensor by actuating, to illuminate, at
least one of the
images on the musical instrument body in a predetermined sequence for each
successive
indication of an abrupt increase in sound.
[0006] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the
following
features. The sensor is configured to provide the indications such that the
indications
indicate intensity levels of the sounds. The controller is configured to
actuate the images in
accordance with the intensity levels of the sounds indicated by the sensor.
The system
further includes a demonstration mechanism removably coupled to the controller
where the
controller is configured implement a demonstration by actuating the images in
a
demonstration sequence in response to actuation of the demonstration
mechanism. The
controller is configured to actuate the images with a constant intensity level
during
demonstration.
[0007] In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a drum set
including a bass
drum including a shell, a batter head, and a resonant head, images disposed on
the batter
head and comprising electroluminescent material configured to be selectively
illuminated, a
sound sensor disposed and configured to sense striking of the batter drum head
and to
provide indications of drum strikes, a controller coupled to the images and
the sensor and
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configured to respond to the indications of drum strikes from the sensor by
actuating, to
illuminate, at least one of the images on the resonant drum head in accordance
with a
predetermined pattern of image illuminations such that for each received
indication of a
drum strike, the controller causes a change in which of the at least one image
is illuminated,
a package containing the bass drum, the sound sensor, and the controller, and
a
demonstration mechanism removably coupled to the controller and retained by
the package
such that the demonstration mechanism can be accessed and actuated while in
retained by
the package, where the demonstration mechanism is configured to communicate
with the
controller to implement a demonstration in response to actuation of the
demonstration
mechanism to actuate the images in a demonstration sequence.
[0008] Embodiments of the invention may provide one or more of the following
capabilities, among others. Visual images can be actuated in accordance with
audible
pulses. Images on a drum set can be illuminated in response to drum strikes. A
sequence of
one or more images at a time on a musical instrument can be stepped through in
response to
multiple sound pulses such as drum strikes. A demonstration sequence of images
on a
musical instrument in a package can be actuated in response to activation of a
"try me"
button accessible while the musical instrument is in the package. A "try me"
feature can be
provided with a musical instrument and can be removed, e.g., after opening a
package
containing the musical instrument.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary drum set.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a side view of the drum set shown in FIG. 1 disposed in a
package.
[0011] FIG. 3 is an end view of an exemplary drum with an exemplary composite
image
disposed on a drum head and divided into selectively-activated component
images.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bass drum, a vibration sensor, and a
controller.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for providing changing
visual
images on a drum. For example, a drum set includes a drum head that has
several patterns
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or images on it formed by electroluminescent (EL) material. The various images
are each
connected via separate lines to a controller. The controller sends current to
the EL images
from a power source to cause the images to light up in response to indications
from a sound-
to-electricity transducer that the drum has been struck. The controller sends
signals to the
images to cause the various images to be actuated in a desired sequence. The
images can be
actuated one at a time, or in simultaneous combinations. This drum set is
exemplary,
however, and not limiting of the invention as other implementations in
accordance with the
disclosure are possible.
[0014] Referring to FIG. 1, a drum set 10 includes a bass drum assembly 11, a
floor tom
14, a tom 16, a snare drum 18, hi-hat cymbals 20, a crash cymba122, and a foot
peda124.
The foot peda124 can be stepped on to strike a batter head 25 with a beater 26
to induce
sound in a bass drum 12, of the bass drum assembly 11, and cause a resonant
head 32 to
vibrate.
[0015] The bass drum assembly 11 includes the bass drum 12, that includes
images 30,
lead lines 38, and contact pads 39. The bass drum 12 includes legs 13
connected to a shell
15 to stabilize the drum 12 on a floor. The drum 12 further includes the
resonant head 32
on which is disposed a set of images 30. The images 30 are made of
electroluminescent
(EL) material and, here, are three nested stars. The stars are connected via a
set of
conductive lines 38 to the connector 50. The lines 38 can be physically
separate, or in a
ribbon cable, or in another arrangement. Here, the lines 38 are separate,
printed conductors
disposed on an interior side of the resonant head 32, opposite the set of
images 30, and
connected to the images 30 through the resonant head 32. The lines 38 pass
through the
head 32 near an edge/perimeter of the head 32 and are connected to the contact
pads 39 for
connection to a controller 36.
[0016) The drum assembly 11 further includes a transducer 33, a power source
34, and the
controller 36. The controller 36 is connected via lines 50 to contact pads 52
that are
disposed to press against, and make electrical contact with, the contact pads
39 with the
resonant head 32 attached to the shell 15 of the drum 12. The power source 34
is
configured to provide power to the controller 36, to the images 30 (preferably
through the
controller 36, but possibly directly), and to the transducer 33. The
transducer 33 includes a
microphone 35 disposed inside the drum 12 and is configured to receive energy
of sound
waves from the batter head and/or the resonant head 32 of the drum 12 and to
convert this
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sound energy into electrical energy. The transducer 33 is further configured
to provide this
electrical energy to the controller 36 to indicate that the drum 12 has been
struck by the
batter 26 of the foot pedal 24. The transducer 33 indication can indicate the
intensity of the
sound, and thus the intensity of the strike on the drum 12. The strike
intensity can be
indicated in a variety of manners, such as with the intensity of the signal
corresponding to
the strike intensity (e.g., an analog voltage level proportional to the strike
intensity), or with
the format of the signal varying according to the strike intensity, e.g., a
digital 1100
indicating a strike of greater intensity than a digital 001Ø
(0017] The controller 36 is configured to cause the images 30 to be actuated
in response
to the drum 12 being struck. The controller 36 responds to the indications
from the
transducer 33 that the drum 12 has been struck by controlling power from the
power source
34 to one or more of the images 30. The controller 36 is connected to the
power source 34
and the connector 50 and is configured to regulate power flow from the source
34 to the
connector 50, and thus the image(s) 30. The controller 36 contains a stored
sequence of
which image(s) is(are) to be selected/actuated, and steps through the sequence
each time a
strike of the drum 12 is indicated by the transducer 33 to thus sequentially
provide power to
the selected images 30. The controller 36 can repeat the sequence when the
sequence is
finished. The controller 36 can cause one or more of the images 30 to be
actuated/illuminated at any given time. Thus, for example, the controller 36
may cause the
outer-most image 30 to be powered and thus lit, then both the inner-most and
outer-most
images to be lit, then just the middle image, then the inner-most, followed by
the middle,
followed by the outer-most. Any number of sequences can be stored and
implemented by
the controller 36. For example, the controller 36 can cause the images 30 to
appear to chase
each other, to pulse, to fade in and out, etc. The controller 36 preferably
actuates the
image(s) 30 to light up proportionally to the intensity of the drum strike
such that a harder
drum strike will cause the actuated image(s) 30 to light up more than in
response to a softer
drum strike. The controller 36 can regulate the amount of power provided to
the selected
image(s) 30 to light the image(s) 30 in accordance with the strike intensity.
The controller
36 comprises a processor and a memory that stores computer program software
code
containing computer-readable, computer-executable instructions for controlling
the
processor to perform functions described here.
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[0018] Referring also to FIG. 2, the drum assembly 11 further includes a "try-
me" button
40 that is removably connected to the controller 36 by a line 42. The line 42
may be
disconnected, e.g., after purchase of the drum set 10, from the controller 36
to disable the
try-me feature. While connected to the controller 36 via the line 42, e.g.,
while in or
otherwise retained by a package 58 on a store shelf, the button 40 can be
pressed (here,
through an opening in packaging of the drum set 10) to initiate a sample
sequence of
illumination of the images 30. The controller 36 can respond to actuation of
the button 40
by sequentially illuminating the images 30, e.g., for a short period of time,
or for a full cycle
of a stored sequence of illumination, for a predetermined number of sequential
actuations,
or until the try-me button is pressed again, etc. Preferably, the intensities
of the images 30
during a try-me demonstration are at a similar level (i.e., the intensity is
constant).
[0019] Other embodiments are within the scope and spirit of the invention. For
example,
different images on a drum head may be provided than the stars shown.
Different images
may be provided on a single drum head, e.g., a star and a circle. Non-nested
images may be
provided on a drum head. Further, an image can comprise several component
images that
are selectively actuated by the controller. For example, referring to FIG. 3,
a drum 80
includes a composite image 60 that is divided into five component images 62,
64, 66, 68, 70
that can be selectively actuated. The images 62, 64, 66, 68, 70 could be
actuated one or
more at a time, in different sequences, etc.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 4, a drum assembly 86 includes a drum 88, a vibration
detector
90, and a controller 94. The vibration detector 90 is configured to detect
vibrations due to a
drum strike (here, on a batter head 92, but detectors could be configured and
disposed to
detect vibrations on the resonant head and/or the drum shell, etc.) and
provide indications of
the drum strike to the controller 94 for actuating EL images and/or other
electrically-
controlled visual items, e.g., light-emitting diodes (LEDs), incandescent
lights, etc. These
indications due to vibrations may be in lieu of or in addition to indications
of sound detected
by a transducer. Further, detected sound waves and/or vibrations can be
filtered, e.g., by a
filter 96 in the transducer 33 (FIG. 1) for sound and/or by a filter 98 in the
vibration detector
90 (FIG. 4), to screen out frequencies other than those of' drums in a drum
set, or other than
those from a bass drum (or other selected drum). The filter can impose minimum
threshold
levels of sound/vibration and not report sounds/vibrations below such minimums
and/or can
filter out non-spike noises (e.g., to eliminate constant-on situations, e.g.,
due to drum rolls).
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For example, a noise may be required to be above a minimum absolute intensity
and also
above an intensity relative to a currently-detected intensity (e.g., such that
during a drum
roll, particularly hard strikes are reflected in image changes/illuminations).
[0021] Other embodiments are within the scope of the invention. For example,
while
selectively-lit images have been shown as being disposed on a resonant drum
head of a bass
drum, one or more selectively-activated images may be disposed elsewhere,
e.g., on drum
shells. Further, the available images or combinations of images may be
selected in random
order. Also, multiple sequences for activating images inay be stored and
implemented (e.g.,
sequentially, in random order, etc.) by the controller. Further still,
techniques/sequences
may be combined for actuating images (e.g., interlacing techniques), e.g.,
over time. A
constant-on actuator can be provided to cause the controller to illuminate the
images in a
sequence regardless of, or in addition to, actuations due to striking of a
drum. Further,
while the try-me button 40 was shown in FIG. 2 as being actuatable through an
opening in
the packaging 58, different packaging configurations may be used. For example,
packaging
may be used that provides a flexible, clear membrane and the try-me button may
be
disposed under this membrane and selectable by pressing on the button through
the
membrane.
[0022] Still other embodiments are within the scope of the invention.
[0023] Further, while the description above refers to "the invention," more
than one
invention may be disclosed.
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