EP2652731A1

EP2652731A1 - Musical instrument with video display

Info

Publication number: EP2652731A1
Application number: EP12819431.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Troy BOUDREAUX; Vince DUNDEE; Angel BANCHS; Jeremy Hochman; Jimi CROKER; Ron HOAG
Original assignee: Revolution Display LLC
Current assignee: Revolution Display LLC
Priority date: 2011-07-29
Filing date: 2012-07-03
Publication date: 2013-10-23
Also published as: WO2013019357A1; EP2652731A4; CN103843060A; KR20140057307A; JP2014526064A

Abstract

Disclosed is a musical instrument comprising a case or a body having an outer surface. The musical instrument includes a video display attached to or video display elements embedded in at least a portion of the outer surface.

Description

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WITH VIDEO DISPLAY

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/513,503, filed July 29, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field

[0002] This application relates to musical instruments and more particularly to musical instruments that include video, as well as audio, elements.

Background

[0003] Viewers of musical performances have come to expect more and more of the visual component accompanying the audio experience. Consequently, it is a desideratum to enhance a viewer's experience by modifying instruments, including stringed instruments, such as guitars, so that they include video displays while the instruments are played during a performance. To be effective, the video display must provide the colors and resolution necessary produce the effects expected by sophisticated viewers. Therefore, it is a further desideratum for video displays that provide state-of-the art displays. In addition, a musician should not find the video displays obtrusive and the video displays should not affect the sound of the instruments. Therefore, it is a still further desideratum, for video displays that do not interfere with either a drummer's performance or the performance of an instrument. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Now in accordance with the invention there has been found a musical instrument that satisfies these and related needs. In one aspect, the musical instrument comprises a case, such as a piano, or a body, such as a stringed instrument, including an electric guitar, with an outer surface.

[0005] The musical instrument has a video display attached to at least a portion of the outer surface and, in some aspects, the musical instrument is an electric guitar and the video display is coextensive with the front surface of the electric guitar. In some aspects, the video display is a light emitting diode display or a liquid crystal display.

[0006] In another aspect, the musical instrument includes a plurality of video display elements embedded in at least a portion of the outer surface and in some aspects; the video display elements are coextensive with the surface of the electric guitar. In some aspects, the video display elements are light emitting diodes or liquid crystals. And in some aspects, the electric guitar includes a non-magnetic pickup, such as an optical or a piezo-electric pickup, operably attached to the body.

[0007] And in some aspects, the electric guitar includes a non-magnetic pickup, such as an optical or a piezo-electric pickup, operably attached to the body.

[0008] In another aspect, the musical instrument is part of a musical instrument system additionally comprising an external image processor element and, in some aspects, an image processor for processing received images, operably connected to the video display. And in another aspect, the musical instrument is part of a musical instrument system further comprises a wireless receiver element coupled to the image processor element, wherein the wireless receiver element is configured to receive an image for providing the image to the image processor element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the disclosure set forth herein can be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings, where:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a front plan view of an exemplary musical instrument;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first exemplary musical instrument system;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a second exemplary musical instrument system;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a third exemplary musical instrument system;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary pickup used in the musical instrument of FIG. 1 ; and [0015] FIG. 6 is an electrical schematic diagram of a circuit arrangement used by a pickup and an audio processor in the musical instrument of FIG. 1.

[0016] It is to be noted that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Particular aspects of the invention are described below in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating its principles and operation. In some instances, well known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0018] It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that various modifications may be made, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described below. For example, while specific reference is made to an electric guitar, it can be appreciated that the system and method are of equal utility with other musical instruments, such as pianos and other types of musical instruments capable of producing vibrations, including violins, harps, cellos, basses and the like.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a front plane view of an exemplary electric guitar 100 capable of producing vibrations. The guitar comprises a body 112 with a front surface 113 and a neck 114. A video display 116 is coextensive with a least a portion of the front surface of the body and in the aspect shown in FIG. 1 is coextensive with substantially the entire front surface of the body. In one aspect, the musical instrument has a non-magnetic pickup 118 for detecting vibrations on a plurality of strings 120 and converting the vibrations into signals for conversion to sound.

[0020] The plurality of strings 120 of the guitar 100 can be seen anchored to a tailpiece 122. The strings are suspended by a bridge 124. Preferably, a vibration dampening pad or pads 126 can be used to limit vibrations of the portion of the strings, between the tailpiece and the bridge. After the bridge, the vibrating portion of the strings proceed down the neck 114 of the instrument to a nut 128, and then on to tuning machines 130.

[0021] The video display 116 can be implemented in any number of forms, including implemented as a plurality of display elements. Suitable display elements include light emitting diodes (LEDs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), fiber optics and the like. Each display element in the video display may also output at various light frequencies and at various luminosities to vary the brightness. The layout and configuration of the video display may vary to provide more or fewer display elements, lower or higher densities, and different patterns of the display elements.

[0022] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the video display 116 can include regularly spaced display elements. In other aspects, the display elements are irregularly spaced, or are spaced to provide a specific configuration. Further, in some aspects, the size of each display element is varied to provide more or less display surface area on the instrument.

[0023] In some aspects, the video display 116 is applied to at least a portion of the front surface of a guitar. In other aspects, the video display is applied to at least a portion of the sides and the back of the guitar or any combination thereof.

[0024] In some aspects, the video display 116 is a flexible LED display comprising a flexible substrate in the form of a printed circuit board (PCB) for supporting a plurality of LEDs. The LEDs can be, for example, conventional LEDs, organic LEDs (OLEDs) or polymer LEDs (PLEDs). And in some aspects, the video display 116 is formed of a flexible housing mounted to a first side of the flexible substrate and a flexible cover mounted to a second side of the flexible substrate. The flexible cover comprises an array or matrix of apertures which allow passage there through of light emitted by the LEDs. The cover reflects ambient light and improves the contrast ratio of the display modules. The housing and the cover can be made of a plastic material, such as thermoplastic polyurethane.

[0025] In some aspects, it may be advantageous to use two or more interconnected video displays.

[0026] In some aspects, the video display 116 is affixed to the surface 113 of the guitar 100. And in some aspects, the video display is removably affixed to the guitar. The video display can be affixed using any suitable means. For example, in some aspects, a video display having a flexible housing is affixed to the front surface of a guitar using an adhesive.

[0027] In other aspects, the video display 116 is formed of a plurality of LEDs embedded in at least a portion of the front surface of the guitar.

[0028] In an aspect shown in FIG. 1, the guitar 100 includes a single nonmagnetic pickup 118. In other aspects, two or more non-magnetic pickups can be used. In another aspect shown in FIG. 1 , the non-magnetic pickup is positioned along the strings adjacent to the bridge 120. However, in other aspects, the one or more non-magnetic pickups can be positioned anywhere along the vibrating portion of the strings. Suitable non- magnetic pickups include both optical and piezo-electric pickups.

[0029] The musical instrument 100 further includes a tone control dial knob 140 for adjusting the tone and a volume control dial knob 150 for adjusting the volume. In an aspect shown in FIG. 1, the instrument includes a plurality of jacks 171, 172, 173, and 174 for interfacing with a variety of input and output connectors, as described herein. For example, the instrument shown in FIG. 1 includes jacks 171 and 172 for receiving power inputs to power the video display 116 and the pickup element 120. The instrument includes a jack 173 for the output of the pickup element. Further, the instrument includes an input jack 174 for receiving data to provide to the video display 116. The data input jack is coupled to the video display via ribbons (not shown) and together they communicate data signals to the video display in the form of the PCB from image processor (shown in FIGS. 2-4). Although a specific configuration of jacks is illustrated, a different configuration that may include a different number of jacks may be used to implement the teachings herein. For example, the instrument may include only one connector for interfacing with the variety of inputs and outputs.

[0030] FIG. 2 a block diagram illustrating a first exemplary musical instrument system 200. In one aspect of the exemplary musical instrument system, a musical instrument 210 includes an optical pickup 118. The optical pickup has a pickup circuit 220 consisting of photon emitters and photodetectors for detecting string movement and vibrations and converting the vibrations to a signal that may be processed into sound. In turn, the pickup circuit provides the signals to an internal audio processor 230. The signal from the audio processor is provided to an external system through pickup audio output 235. As seen in FIG. 5, the optical pickup has a housing for reducing or eliminating interference to the pickup circuit.

[0031] The musical instrument system 200 includes an external video processor 250 for processing a video input 260. In the aspect shown in FIG. 1, the video input is linked through video input jack 173. In another aspect, the video processor is wirelessly linked to the instrument. [0032] The video input 260 can be provided from various sources in accordance with various aspects of the invention. In one aspect, the video input represents a video stream from a computer system. In another aspect, the video input represents a video stream generated by a video signal generator that includes a local memory card. In yet another aspect, the video input represents a video stream streamed from a network that may be wired or wireless. In still yet another aspect, the video input represents a video stream that is transmitted via wireless signals.

[0033] The musical instrument system 200 further includes a video display power supply 270 for providing power to the video display 116. Further, the instrument system includes an optical pickup power supply 280 for providing power to the optical pickup 118 to power the pickup circuit 220 and audio processor 230.

[0034] In one aspect, the power and video input lines are implemented using an electrical connector, such as an XLR connector. The connecting line type (e.g., copper, fiber, coaxial) used to connect the instrument and the modules can vary in accordance with various embodiments. And in some aspects, the connection lines for the video processor 250 and power lines for the video display power supply 270 and optical pickup power supply 280 are combined in a harness, extending a distance from the instrument. In one aspect, the connection lines extend from 25 to 30 feet from the instrument.

[0035] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a second exemplary musical instrument system 300. In one embodiment of the exemplary system, a musical instrument 310 includes an optical pickup 118. The optical pickup includes a pickup circuit 220 consisting of photon emitters and photodetectors for detecting string vibrations. In turn, the pickup circuit provides signals based on the detected string vibrations to an external audio processor 390. As best seen in FIG. 5, the optical pickup has a housing for reducing or eliminating interference to the pickup circuit.

[0036] The musical instrument system 300 includes an external video processor 250 for processing a video input 260. The video input can be provided from various sources in accordance with various embodiments of the invention as previously described herein (e.g., a video stream, memory card, wireless signals).

[0037] The musical instrument system 300 further includes a video display power supply 270 for providing power to the video display 116. Further, the system includes an optical pickup power supply 280 for providing power to the optical pickup 118 to power the pickup circuit 220. The second exemplary musical instrument system 300 system includes an external audio processor 390 for receiving the output of the optical pickup 118 and processing the signal for sound output.

[0038] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a third exemplary musical instrument system 400. In one aspect, the musical system includes a musical instrument 410 and an external accessory module 420. And in one aspect of the musical instrument system, the instrument comprises an optical pickup 118 that includes a pickup circuit 220.

[0039] The accessory module comprises a video processor 760, a video memory 770, a video display and optical pickup supply battery 780, and an optical pickup audio processor 790. The video processor is configured to receive video signals from the video memory storing the data.

[0040] In one aspect, the accessory module 420 is implemented as a belt pack to be worn by a user. The connection between the accessory module and the instrument 410 may be wired or wireless. For a wireless connection, the instrument 410 may include the video display and optical pickup supply battery 780 on or within the instrument.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an optical pickup 118. The optical pickup includes an elongated, open-ended housing 510 through which the strings 120 pass. The housing comprises a lower housing section 512 and an upper housing section 514 joined to and spaced apart by end sections 516 (one shown). The upper housing section is held to the lower housing section by a friction fit and is thus removable for the purpose of gaining access to other parts of the pickup. Extending from the lower housing section is an elongated, flexible electrical cable (not shown) through which various electrical components may be connected to a pickup processor.

[0042] Located on an insulated deck (not shown) mounted inside the housing 510 are pairs of photon emitters 520 and photodetectors 530. As shown in FIG. 5, in one aspect, one element of each pair is disposed above each string and the other element of the pair disposed below each string. In one embodiment, the photon emitters are arranged on the lower housing section 512, while the photodetectors are arranged on the upper housing section 514. In another embodiment, the photon emitters are arranged on the upper housing section, while the photodetectors are arranged on the lower housing section. In another aspect, both the photo emitters and the photodetectors are arranged on the same housing section, with a reflector located on the opposite housing part.

[0043] One skilled in the art will recognize that the photon emitters can be light sources or electromagnetic radiation sources. The photon emitters can be implemented in any number of forms, including LEDs, OLEDs, fluorescent lights, lasers, incandescent bulbs, and the like. One skilled in the art will recognize that the photodetectors can be implemented in any number of forms, including photoresistors, photodiodes, phototransistors, charge-coupled device (CCD), complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor, reverse-biased LEDs, and the like.

[0044] The photon emitters 520 are mounted on the insulated deck through conventional mounting assemblies, which allow both angular and lateral adjustments in the positions of the photon emitters. The photon emitters illuminate or irradiate the near sides of their respective associated strings, such that the associated strings cast shadows. Such shadows are cast onto a photon-sensitive area of each of the photodetectors 530.

[0045] FIG. 6 illustrates an electrical circuit schematic of an exemplary pickup circuit 610 and an audio processing circuit 620 that may be used to implement the pickup circuit and the audio processer, respectively. The exemplary pickup circuit includes resistor, capacitor, diode, and voltage source elements in an arrangement as illustrated to perform optical pickup. Sub-circuit components include elements in parallel containing a resistor 622 and photodiodes 624 in parallel, grounded at the far end. Photodetectors 626 are also in parallel, followed by a capacitor 628, grounded at the far end. The photodetectors are connected in parallel to the audio processing circuit. Although a specific configuration of circuit elements is illustrated, a different configuration that may include a different number and arrangement of circuit elements to achieve optical pickup.

[0046] Several aspects of a musical instrument have been presented with reference to a guitar with a video display. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other musical instruments and devices. By way of example and not limitation, various aspects may be extended to other instruments such as violins, harps, cellos, basses and other stringed instruments, as well as other instruments, such as pianos. [0047] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. A phrase referring to "at least one of a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of: a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims.

Claims

I CLAIM

1. A musical instrument having a video display comprising:

a musical instrument comprising a case or a body having an outer surface

a video display attached to at least a portion of the outer surface.

2. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein the musical instrument is a piano.

3. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein the musical instrument is a stringed instrument.

4. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein the stringed instrument is an electric guitar and the outer surface includes a front surface.

5. The musical instrument of claim 4 wherein the video display is coextensive with the front surface of the electric guitar.

6. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein the video display is a light emitting diode display or a liquid crystal display.

7. The musical instrument of claim 4 further comprising a non-magnetic pickup operably attached to the body.

8. The musical instrument of claim 7 wherein the non-magnetic pick-up is an optical pickup or a piezo-electric pickup.

9. A musical instrument having a video display comprising:

a musical instrument comprising a case or a body having an outer surface;

a plurality of video display elements embedded in at least a portion of the outer surface of the body.

10. The musical instrument of claim 9 wherein the musical instrument is a piano.

11. The musical instrument of claim 9 wherein the musical instrument is a stringed instrument.

12. The musical instrument of claim 9 wherein the stringed instrument is an electric guitar and the outer surface includes a front surface.

13. The musical instrument of claim 12 wherein the video display elements are coextensive with the surface of the electric guitar. The musical instrument of claim 9 wherein the video display elements are light emitting diodes or liquid crystals.

14. The musical instrument system of claim 14 further comprising a non- magnetic pickup operably attached to the main body.

15. The musical instrument system of claim 15 wherein the non-magnetic pick-up is an optical or a piezo-electric pickup.

16. A musical instrument system having a video display comprising: a musical instrument comprising a case or body having an outer surface;

a video display attached to at least a portion of the outer surface; an external image processor element operably connected to the video display.

17. The musical instrument system of claim 16 wherein the musical instrument is a piano.

18. The musical instrument system of claim 16 wherein the musical instrument is a stringed instrument.

19. The musical instrument system of claim 18 wherein the stringed instrument is an electric guitar and the outer surface includes a front surface.

20. The musical instrument system of claim 19 wherein the video display is coextensive with front the surface of the electric guitar.

21. The musical instrument system of claim 16 wherein the video display is a light emitting diode display or a liquid crystal display.

22. The musical instrument system of 16, wherein the image processor element is an image processor for processing received images.

23. The musical instrument system of claim 16 further comprising a wireless receiver element coupled to the image processor element, wherein the wireless receiver element is configured to receive an image for providing the image to the image processor element.

24. The musical instrument system of claim 19 further comprising a non- magnetic pickup operably attached to the main body.

25. The musical instrument system of claim 24 wherein the non-magnetic pick-up is an optical pickup or a piezo-electric pickup.

26. A musical instrument system having a video display comprising: a musical instrument comprising a case or body having an outer surface;

a plurality of video display elements embedded in at least a portion of the outer surface;

an external image processor element operably connected to the video display.

27. The musical instrument system of claim 26 wherein the musical instrument is a piano.

28. The musical instrument system of claim 26 wherein the musical instrument is a stringed instrument.

29. The musical instrument system of claim 28 wherein the stringed instrument is an electric guitar and the outer surface includes a front surface.

30. The musical instrument system of claim 29 wherein the video display elements are coextensive with the surface of the electric guitar.

31. The musical instrument system of claim 16 wherein the video display elements are a light emitting diode display or a liquid crystal display.

32. The musical instrument system of 26, wherein the image processor element is an image processor for processing received images.

33. The musical instrument system of claim 26 further comprising a wireless receiver element coupled to the image processor element, wherein the wireless receiver element is configured to receive an image for providing the image to the image processor element.

34. The musical instrument system of claim 29 further comprising a non- magnetic pickup operably attached to the body.

35. The musical instrument system of claim 24 wherein the non-magnetic pick-up is an optical or a piezo-electric pickup.