Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SOUND PICK-UP AND SOUND MODIFYING DEVICE WITH INTERNAL
COMPONENT PLATFORM FOR REMOVABLE ATTACHMENT TO ACOUSTIC
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a removable and exteriorly mountable sound
pick-up and sound modifying device that is attachable to an acoustic musical
instrument
without having to modify the sound box of the instrument or connecting
electronic
devices thereto or interfering with the sound hole of the sound box.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known in the art to interface electric stringed instruments such as
electric
guitars to electronic systems to amplify and an modify the sound of the
instrument by
playing music with the strings of the instrument. Such instruments are also
provided
with a multitude of controls mounted on the body of the instrument, such as a
volume
knob, tone knobs, jacks, a pick-up selector and analog vibration pickups to
detect string
vibrations and convert the vibrations into electronic sound signals which are
then mixed
and amplified to generate synthesized musical sounds.
Various electronic devices have been adapted to the sound box and sound hole
of acoustic stringed instruments in an attempt to amplify and modify the sound
of the
instrument in a similar fashion as the electric stringed instruments. However,
with
acoustic musical instruments it is important that the quality of the soundbox
of the
instrument not be affected by such devices as it is the part of the instrument
that
generates the quality of the sound produced by the sound vibration of the
strings. A
quality acoustic musical instrument may also be very costly due to its
construction and
the quality of its material and workmanship. It is therefore very important
not to modify
the soundbox or interfere with sound hole of the instrument, as well as the
bridge
connected to the top soundboard, by securing objects to the outer and/or inner
surface
of the soundbox or modify the bridge and saddle on the top soundboard or
interfere in
anyway with the sound hole.. Known devices are usually permanently secured to
the
acoustic musical instrument and does not permit removal thereof or ease of
removal
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should the user person wish to play the instrument with its natural sound.
This is
particularly so with an expensive acoustic musical instrument.
With reference to US Patent No. 5,614,688 there is disclosed the attachment of
electronic components to the sound box of a violin or acoustic guitar with the
pick-up
cable extending in the body of the sound box and connecting to a jack secured
to the
body of the sound box. Therefore, the installation of such devices requires
modification
to the top soundboard and requires the attachment of a transducer assembly
which
interferes with the sound hole thereby obstructing the sound escaping from the
sound
box of the instrument which is no longer the natural sound of the instrument.
US Patent 8,907,200 describes a transducer mounting kit which is installed in
the
sound hole of an acoustic guitar. Such kit is elaborate and results in a
complete
transformation of the guitar with the soundbox characteristics completely
modified as
well as the sound emanating therefrom.
The use of transducers as sensors for detecting vibrations in an acoustic
musical
instrument such as a guitar is well known in the art, but again these
installations
require modifications to the sound box and/or the sound hole thereof. A
furhter example
thereof is made with reference to US Patent Publication 2010/0218665 wherein
hard
dense timber braces are secured in a certain disposition to the inner surface
of the top
sound board of the sound box by such means as glue and a transducer is secured
to
one of the braces by a nut and bolt assembly. Such inner assembly is said to
more
readily transmit the detected vibrations to the transducer. The brace and the
transducer
may also be of a unitary construction. The transducer also has a cable, not
shown but
obvious , to connect to a jack which is obviously secured to the body of the
instrument
to output its detected signals to a remote device for sound amplification
and/or
modification. Again, a permanent modification is made to the acoustic sound
box
affecting its natural sound and such modification is permanent which mmeans
that the
instrument is not intended to be played as a conventional guitar generating a
natural
sound from the acoustics of its sound box.
US Patent Publication 2014/0224099 describes a sound augmentation and
mixing system for an acoustic musical instrument such as an acoustic guitar.
Such
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system requires devices coupled to the sound box and sound hole of the
instrument. A
sound pick-up device, such as a microphone, is secured in the sound hole of
the
soundbox and thus requiring modification to the sound box as well as affecting
the
quality of the natural sound that should be emanating therefrom when the
strings are
plucked to generate sound waves. The audio signal picked up by the microphone
is
connected by a cable, which cable is disposed on the top sound board of the
sound box
or inside the sound box depending on the location of the housing of the sound
augmentation system. This system results in an obstruction to the hand of a
person
plucking the strings as well as interference with the sound box. In one of its
embodiments, the housing of the sound augmentation system is attached to the
bottom
board of the sound box, by suitable means with the preferred one being a
magnetic
coupling wherein a magnetic pad is secured to the back board of the sound box
and the
housing is provided with magnetic legs to attach thereto. In all embodiments
described
to secure the housing to the back board, the natural sound of the sound box is
affected.
This is not an important factor to the system described as its purpose is the
modify and
augment the sound of the instrument and this is achieved by feeding back the
sound
picked up by the microphone into the electronics housed in the housing or
attached to
the back board of the sound box and amplified and mixed with spatial sound
effects
such as reverb, echo, delay, etc and fed back into the soundboard by a
vibrating driver
of the housing positioned on the back board of the sound box.
It is also known to modify the bridge and saddle of an acoustic musical
instrument
by altering the forces applied to the strings of the instrument to emulated
musical
sounds. Reference to US Patent Publication 2009/0064853 discloses such complex
bridge construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a removable and exteriorly
mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device which substantially
overcomes
the above mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a removable and
exteriorly mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device that is
attachable to
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certain acoustic musical instruments without altering or modifying the sound
box and/or
sound hole of the instrument whereby not to affect the natural sound intended
to be
generated by the sound box.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a removable and
exteriorly mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device that is easy to
install
and remove from an acoustic musical instrument wherein the instrument can be
played
with or without the device.
It is a still further feature of the present invention to provide a removable
and
exteriorly mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device that is provided
with a
platform for the mounting of electronic components, chips, connectors,
batteries, etc
and which platform is made readily accessible.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a removable and
exteriorly mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device wherein an
iphone can
be removably coupled thereto and connectable to interior electronic circuit
components
by cable or wireless whereby to receive sound wave vibrations for transmission
to
external devices or to modify sound wave vibrations produced by the instrument
and
transmitted back into the sound box through the device to alter the sound
generated by
the sound box.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a removable and
exteriorly
mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device wherein the housing is
spring
biased attached between the saddle of the instrument and back wall of the
sound box
and elevated from the top soundboard of the sound box.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a removable and
exteriorly
mountable sound pick-up and sound modifying device wherein reverberation
springs
are supported in the housing and attached to a sound captor to introduce a
reverberation sound which modifies the sound vibrations of the strings which
are
coupled to the sound captor and transmitted into the sound box and also picked
up by
a transducer to produce signals for transmission to electronic devices for
amplification
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and/or processing or for feedback into the sound box of the instrument by one
or more
vibration speakers coupled to the device after being electronically modified.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention
provides a removable and exteriorly mountable sound pick-up and sound
modifying
device for an acoustic musical instrument. The device has a support platform
and is
adjustably mounted on a clamp support adapted for removable clamping over a
portion
of a top soundboard of a sound box of the acoustic musical instrument. A sound
captor
is spring biased against an abutment formation at a front end of the device
and
displaceable forwardly thereof against a spring force. The sound captor is
shaped for
abutting retention against a saddle of the acoustic musical instrument. The
sound
captor further has string contacting fingers formed integrally and forwardly
thereof and
disposed in contact with sound producing strings of the acoustic musical
instrument for
conducting sound wave vibrations from the strings when vibrated by a user
person to
conduct said natural sound vibrations to a transducer associated with the
sound captor
for converting the natural sound wave vibrations into corresponding electrical
signals.
The support platform has a top support surface for mounting of elements for
association
with the sound wave vibrations. A cover is secured to the platform to form a
housing
concealing the elements. The device is configured to he mounted on the
acoustic
musical instrument without alterations to the sound box or obstruction to the
sound hole
of the sound box.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an acoustic guitar having secured thereto
the
removable sound pick-up and sound modifying device of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a fragmented side view showing the device of the present invention
and its spacing above the top soundboard of the sound box with the sound
captor
retained in tension abutment on the saddle of the instrument;
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the device
of
the present invention;
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Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmented view illustrating the mounting of the
transducer on the transverse bridge section of the sound captor;
Figure 5 is a bottom view of the housing illustrating the platform adjustably
mounted on the clamp support base;
Figure 6 is a plan view of the clamp support base and the location of the
vibrating
speakers mounted to the bottom wall of the platform when the clamp is in a
certain
position relative to the size of an acoustic guitar to which it is mounted on,
and
Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view similar to Figure 3 illustrating a
second
embodiment of the device of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1, there is
shown
generally at 10 an acoustic guitar musical instrument to which is mounted the
removable sound pick-up and sound modifying device 11 of the present
invention. It is
pointed out that the configuration of the embodiment of the device 11
described herein
is not mountable on certain other type acoustic musical instrument without
modifications
thereto, where possible, and may result in a quite different than the one
illustrated
herein.
The present embodiment was developed specifically for an acoustic guitar 10
and
as herein illustrated it is comprised of a sound box 12 having a top sound
board 13 with
a sound hole 14 through which sound produced by vibrating the strings 15 will
escape
from the sound box after having been acoustically modified by the sound box.
Of
course, the quality of the material forming the sound box and the expert
workmanship in
its construction will have an effect on the quality of the natural sound
produced by the
sound box. The sound box 12 has a surrounding sidewall 16 and a back board 17.
The
strings 15 are mounted under tension between tensioning pegs, not shown but
obvious
to a person skilled in the art, mounted at a top end of the neck 18 and an
attachment
block 19 mounted rearwardly of the saddle and bridge assembly 20 secured
rearwardly
of the sound hole 14 and better illustrated in Figure 4.
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With additional reference to Figures 2 to 6 there is now described the
construction
and operation of a fist embodiment of the sound pick-up and sound modifying
device 11
of the present invention. The device 11 is formed with a support platform 21
on which
can be mounted electronic circuit boards 22 and electronic chips 23, such as
Blue Tooth
or USB chips. The support platform 21 is molded from suitable plastics
material and
has a back wall 24 formed with holes 25 or cavities 26 adapted for the
mounting of
different type connectors such as USB port connectors or plug connectors to
connect
the circuit components mounted in the device to remote devices such as sound
amplifiers and speaker housings. The support platform 21 is also formed with a
front
abutment wall 27 for a purpose as later described. A removable or permanently
securable cover 28 is detachably secured over the support platform or
permanently
fused welded thereover. By making the cover removable ease of access to the
circuitry
and hardware is provided for modification or repair thereof.
The cover 28 is formed with a rear wall 29 having a cavity 30 complimentary to
the cavity 26 to form a securement for an attachment end 31' of an internal
cylindrical
connector 31 which may house electronic components and provide a direct
connection
to a transducer assembly 32. A 9 volts battery 33 provides the power supply
for the
circuitry housed on the platform and the transducer 34. An access opening 35
is
formed in the support platform 21 for access to the battery for replacement. A
detachable door 36 closes the opening 35. The opposed sidewalls 37 of the
cover 28
may be provided with indentations 38 for receiving a removable and adjustable
attachment for supporting an iphone on the top surface 39 of the cover 28. The
support
platform 21 and the cover 28 constitutes a housing. The open front end of the
cover 28
is provided with posts 29' aligned with the connecting arms 62 of the sound
captor 60,
as will be described later, to prevent the captor 60 from detachment over the
front
abutment wall 27.
As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the support platform 21 is adjustably secured to
a
clamp support 40. The clamp support 40 is also molded from plastics material
and is
formed as an L-shaped clamp support defining a flat support slide wall 41
sliddingly
coupled to the support platform 21, and a rear downwardly extending and
substantially
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transverse abutting end clamp wall 42. The end clamp wall 42 is formed with
spaced
leg formations 43 each having a cushion foam pad 44 glued thereover not to
scratch
the side wall of the acoustic musical instrument to which it is clamped on. A
pair of
spaced apart spacer ribs 45, as shown in Figures 2 and 5, are formed on the
outer face
46 of the clamp support slide wall 41 to support the clamp wall outer face 46
elevated
from the top surface 13' of the top soundboard 13 with as little contact as
possible not to
affect the natural sound of the sound box 12. It is important with the present
invention to
provide a sound pick-up and sound modifying device incorporating a component
mounting platform and wherein the device can be easily attached and detached
to an
acoustic musical instrument, herein a guitar 10, whereby the instrument can be
played
in its natural unaltered state or in a modified state to generate a modified
sound by
attaching the device of the present invention thereto.
With additional reference to Figure 6, the sliding adjustable attachement of
the
slide wall 41 with the support platform 21 is constituted by providing opposed
elongated
parallel channels 50 in the outer face 46 of the support platform 21 with
equidistantly
spaced side notches 51 for engagement with one or two tooth formations 52, see
Figure 6, formed in opposed flexible finger engaging arms 53 integrally formed
with the
clamp support 40. This is a well known type of adjustable connection. The
clamp
support 40 also has an open-end cavity 54 formed therein for the passage of
one or
more vibrating sound transmitting speakers 55 securable to the outer face 46
of the
support platform.
With reference to Figures 1 and 4, there will be described the construction
and
operation of the sound captor 60. The sound captor 60 is integrally formed
from a flat
rigid metal sheet to define a transverse bridge section 61 with rearwardly
extending
opposed spring connecting arms 62. Three saddle abutting formations 63 depend
forwardly and downward of the transverse bridge section 61 for abutment
against a
forward face 58 of the saddle 56 secured to the bridge 57 and affixed to the
top sound
board 13 of the guitar 10 behind the sound hole 14, as illustrated. Each of
the saddle
abutting formations 63 has a forwardly projecting bottom extension section 64
having
opposed transversely extending string contacting finger 65 lying in a common
horizontal
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plane for contact engagement with the underside of the strings15 of the guitar
and
forwardly of the saddle 56 to pick up the sound vibrations in the strings 15
when
vibrated. A tension coil spring 65 is secured at a rear attaching end 65'
thereof to a post
66 formed with and projecting from the top surface 46' of the platform 21, and
at a
forward attaching end 65" to a hole 62' formed near the free end of an
associated one
of the spring connecting arms 62. As shown, there are two springs 65 connected
to a
respective one of the spring connecting arms 62 to bias the transverse bridge
section
61 of the sound captor 60 against the front abutment wall 27 of the platform
21.
As shown more clearly in Figures 3 and 4, the transducer 32, which is an off
the
shelf transducer, is formed as an elongated metal rod and it is secured
captive on the
top surface of the transverse bridge section 61 by a non-metallic body 70,
which could
be formed in sections, disposed on top of the transducer 32, and an elongated
bottom
support cap 71 having opposed attaching fingers 72 to engage opposed end
cavities 73
of the body 70. A thin damping spacer 74 is secured to the top surface of the
transverse bridge section 61 to prevent metal-to-metal contact between the
metal
transducer and the bridge section 61 which is also metallic. The spacer 74 is
constructed of tusk but other suitable material may be used, such as ivory,
wood or
combinations thereof or any other suitable non-metallic damping material.
The device of the present invention is mounted on the guitar 10 by firstly
positioning the sound captor arms 63 between pairs of corresponding strings 15
and the
abutting formations 63 disposed against the front face 58 of the saddle 56, as
shown in
Figure 4. The device or housing is then pulled back to stretch the springs
whereby the
front abutment wall 27 of the platform, as shown in phantom lines, is space
rearwards
of the saddle 56. The clamp leg formations 43 are then positioned to rest
against the
top portion of the rear end of the guitar side wall 16, as shown in Figure 1.
The sound wave vibrations from the strings picked up by the transducer through
the sound captor are converted into corresponding electrical signals which are
inputted
via wire connection 75 into local circuitry mounted on the support platform 49
for local
amplification and/or mixing and for retransmission back into the sound box 12
through
small speakers or vibrators 55 to mix with the sound vibrations of the strings
transmitted
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into the sound box through the saddle to produce a modified sound coming out
of the
sound hole 14. In this embodiment the speakers 55 would be resting on the top
sound
board 13. Alternatively, the sound signals from the local circuitry 22 mounted
on the
platform 21 could be transmitted back into the sound box by electrical
connections 85
from the internal circuitry to the spring connecting arms 62 of the sound
captor 60. The
output sound signals from the transducer 34 may also be transmitted wirelessly
by
internal circuitry or conventionally though a plug jack 76 to a remote
amplifier or sound
processor and speaker system or simply for recording.
As illustrated in Figure 3 a USB and Blue chip component is mounted on the
support platform 21 to input programmed sound signals into the device from an
iphone
which can be attached to the top surface of the housing cover 28, as shown in
Figure 1.
The iphone 77 as shown in Figure 1 is attached by a double adhesive tape not
shown.
A USB connector cable 78 may also provide the communication link between the
iphone 77 and the circuits mounted on the platform.
Referring now to Figure 7 there is illustrated another embodiment of the
device of
the present invention wherein the tension springs 65 of the Figure 3
embodiment are
replaced by long reverberating tension springs 80. The reverberating springs
80 are
attached at their rear hook end 81 to lugs 82 formed integral with the rear
wall 24 of the
platform 21. The front end of the springs have their hook end 83 attached to
the spring
connecting arms 62 of the sound captor 60. Accordingly, the springs 80 which
are in
tension with the sound captor 60 create reverberating sound or echos of the
natural
sound vibrations transmitted into the captor by the plucking of the strings of
the
instrument to modify the sound vibrations captured by the transducer and also
transmitted back into the sound box of the guitar through the saddle and
bridge in
contact with the top soundboard and into the sound box and thus modifying the
sound
coming out of the sound hole. The sound signals outputted from the transducer
may
also be transmitted back into the instrument or mixed with sound tones
inputted from an
iphone or transmitted to remote electronics equipment for processing,
amplifying or
recording.
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It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious
modifications of
the embodiment described herein provided such modification fall within the
scope of the
appended claims.
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