GB2488330A - A bow for use with a musical instrument, the bow having a laser - Google Patents

Abstract

A bow arrangement for use with a musical instrument comprises a bow 1 and a laser arrangement 2. The laser arrangement 2 comprises a laser module 3, having a mounting arrangement 4 and at least one laser. The laser arrangement 2 is mounted to the bow 1 via a mounting arrangement 4 such that the laser is arranged to emit at least one laser beam in a generally longitudinal direction relative to the bow 1. The laser module can be attached to the bow using a spacer, and can be placed in such a position that it does not change the balance of the bow. The laser module may emit two oppositely-directed beams.

Description

I

Bow Arrangements This invention relates to bow arrangements for use with musical instruments such as violins, and components for use as part of such bow arrangements.

A bow arrangement in the present application includes a bow that may be conventional or largely conventional and another component.

A bow for a musical instrument comprises a stick, and hair for vibrating strings on the musical instrument. The bow has a longitudinal axis generally along the length of the stick. The stick is arranged to support the hair. Typically the hair is supported towards both ends of the stick. The stick is generally curved in an arc, with the stick being curved towards the hair, between the ends of the stick. The bow will also typically comprise a grip portion (or heel) towards one end of the stick. In use, a user will normally hold the bow at the grip portion.

There is a general desire to produce new and interesting productions. This invention is directed at providing equipment that can be used in such productions and addresses the problems that arise in the provisions of such equipment.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a bow arrangement for use with a musical instrument, comprising a bow and a laser arrangement, wherein the laser arrangement comprises a laser module, which module comprises a mounting arrangement and at least one laser and is mounted to the bow via the mounting arrangement preferably such that the laser is arranged to emit at least one laser beam in a generally longitudinal direction relative to the bow.

The longitudinal direction may for example be parallel to or coincident with a longitudinal axis of the bow.

The laser module may be mounted at a grip portion of the bow. The laser module may be arranged to emit a first laser beam towards a first end of the bow and a second laser beam towards a second end of the bow. The laser module may comprise two lasers, which may be independently controlled.

The laser module may comprise a spacer arranged to space the or each laser from the longitudinal axis of the bow such that, in use, the respective laser beam is not blocked by the respective end of the bow. Without the spacer, the laser beams can tend to be blocked by one or other end of the bow due to the curvature of the stick.

The laser module may be detachably mountable to the bow.

The laser module may be mounted to the bow such that the balance of the bow, as perceived by a user, is substantially unchanged by mounting the laser arrangement to the bow. A midpoint of the laser module may be aligned with a balance point of the bow. A mid point of the laser module may be aligned with a mid point of the grip. The laser module may be arranged so it can be gripped by the user of the bow.

The laser module may comprise at least one lens for controlling the divergence of the respective laser beam. The lens may be adjustable so as to allow adjustment of the divergence of the respective laser beam. In this way the divergence may be set at manufacture or may be adjusted by a user for different circumstances of use -for example different size performance areas.

The laser module may have a length that corresponds to an average hand width.

The length of the laser module may be at least an average hand width.

The laser module may comprise a plurality of lasers. Preferably, the laser module comprises a first laser arranged to emit a first laser beam towards a first end of the bow and a second laser arranged to emit a second laser beam towards a second end of the bow.

The laser module may comprise as least one laser beam directing means for controlling the direction of the or each laser beam. The laser beam directing means may comprise at least one mirror, and may be arranged such that at least one cone of laser light is emitted from the laser arrangement in use. Such a cone of light in this specification is still considered to be emitted in a generally longitudinal direction relative to the bow. A brighter or higher power laser may be needed if a cone of light is to be used.

The laser arrangement may comprise a power supply for powering the laser module. The power supply may be remote from the laser module. The power supply may comprise a battery pack, to be carried by a user, which is connected by cabling to the laser module.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a laser arrangement for use with an instrument bow, the laser arrangement comprising a laser module comprising at least one laser and a mounting arrangement for mounting the laser module to a bow, the laser module preferably being arranged so that when mounted to a bow and in use, the laser emits at least one laser beam in a generally longitudinal direction relative to a bow on which it is mounted. to

The laser arrangement of said other aspect may comprise one of, or any combination of, the additional features described above in relation to the laser arrangement mentioned as part of said one aspect defined above.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 schematically shows a bow arrangement; Figure 2 shows a side view of part of a laser arrangement of the bow arrangement shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a plan view of part of the laser arrangement as shown in Figure 2; and Figure 4 shows an end view of parts of the laser arrangement shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 1 shows a bow arrangement which comprises an instrument bow 1 which for example may be bow for playing a violin, and a laser arrangement 2 which is mounted to the bow 1. The bow 1 comprises a stick 1 a carrying hair 1 b and has a grip portion or heel 1 c. In this embodiment the bow 1 is a conventional bow with the laser arrangement 2 retro-fitted to it. In other cases a dedicated bow arrangement including the laser arrangement may be manufactured.

The laser arrangement 2 is shown in highly schematic form in Figure 1. The laser arrangement comprises a laser module 3 including a mounting arrangement 4 and further comprises a remote power supply 5 which is connected to the laser module 3 via cabling.

The laser module 3 is arranged for mounting to the bow 1 in the region of the grip 1 c of the bow 1 such that the bow may still be used in the usual manner by a musician to play the respective instrument, such as a violin. As such the laser module 3 including the mounting arrangement 4 is arranged so as to be located on the bow 1 in a position which does not upset the balance of the bow 1.

In the present embodiment the laser module 3 is arranged at a balance point of the bow. That is to say a mid point of the laser module 3 is aligned with a balancing point of the bow.

Furthermore the laser module 3 including the mounting arrangement 4 is dimensioned and arranged so that the laser module 3 may be gripped by a user's hand when using the bow arrangement in the same way that the user would grip the grip part of the bow if the laser arrangement 2 was not present. Thus the laser module 3 is dimensioned so as to fit within a user's hand in a transverse direction. In a longitudinal direction, the laser module has a length which is at least the width of a typical hand, say at least 10cm.

The bow arrangement and in particular the laser arrangement 2 allow the production of a laser light show as the instrument is being played. For example, an illusion may be created such that it appears as though the musician is in effect playing the instrument using a laser beam.

The remote power supply 5 is in the form of a battery pack which can be carried by the user (and hence separately from the bow 1) and provides remote power to the laser module 3. This ensures that the weight of the laser module 3 is minimised to help minimise any detrimental effect on the performance of the bow for its main task in playing the musical instrument. This helps ensure that the bow may be used to properly perform musical pieces rather than just being used to mime along to a backing track. In an alternative a single laser may be provided in the laser module. In such a case the remote power supply might be dispensed with and at least one battery provided within the laser module.

More detail of the laser arrangement 2 is described below with reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4 which show the laser module 3 including the mounting arrangement 4 in more detail.

The mounting arrangement 4 comprises an elongate support member 41 with a T-shaped cross section. A length of this T-shape support member 41 is aligned along the stick of the bow when the laser module 3 is mounted onto the bow 1.

The 1-shaped support member 41 is arranged in inverted fashion such that the top of the T is towards the bottom of the mounting arrangement 4 and the main stem of the I is upstanding. Mounted to the base of the I shape support member 41 is a clip 42 and a spacer 43. The clip 42 and spacer 43 are used to mount the laser module 3 to the bow with the clip gripping around the stick and heel of the bow and the spacer 43 ensuring that the 1-shaped support plate and hence laser module 3 is spaced the correct distance away from the stick. This spacing is important as without it a laser beam emitting from the laser module 3 will have a tendency to be blocked or interrupted by the ends of the stick of the bow due to the curvature of the stick. This is particularly true in the case of the end of the bow which is remote from the laser module 3.

The clip 42 and spacer 43 are arranged to allow mounting of the laser module 3 to various different types/sizes of bow. In some embodiments the mounting arrangement may be adjustable to allow fitting to different bows.

In the present embodiment the clip 42 is a simple spring clip having two legs, as illustrated in Figure 4, which are resiliently locatable over the stick and heel of the bow to clip the laser module 3 into position on the bow. The underside of the spacer 43 is shaped so as to snugly receive the upper surface of the stick of the bow. This shaping of the underside of the spacer 43 is schematically shown in Figure 4.

Referring particularly to Figures 2 and 3, in the present embodiment the laser module 3 comprises two lasers 31, control electronics 32 and a switch 33. The cable from the power supply 5 feeds into the control electronics 32 and the switch 33 can be used to turn on and off the two lasers 31. Note that in an alternative embodiment there may be only a single laser or there may be two lasers which are independently switched.

Each of the lasers 31 is a battery powered 200mW laser in the current embodiment. In order to achieve a useful product it is expected that lasers having a power of at least 50mW are required. Each laser is powered by two AAA batteries in the battery pack 5. As will be clear, the lasers need to be small and light so as to not unbalance the bow. As mentioned above, the weight on the bow is minirnised by having the remote power supply.

In the present embodiment the two lasers 31 are arranged in the laser module 3 in a back-to-back configuration such that one laser produces a beam of light in one direction and the other laser produces a beam of light in the opposite direction. The laser module 3 and mounting arrangement 4 are arranged so that the directions in which the light is produced are longitudinal to the bow. In the present embodiment the beams of light produced by the lasers are offset relative to a longitudinal axis of the bow in both transverse directions. There is an offset in what might be considered a vertical direction above the bow due to the clip 42 and spacer 43 arrangement and there is a spacing in what might be considered a horizontal direction due to the positioning of the lasers 31 on one side of the 1-shaped support 41. In another alternative a further horizontal or lateral offset may be achieved by mounting the clip 42 and spacer 43 on the portion of the base plate of the T-shaped support 41 that is on the opposite side of the upstanding portion of the T-shaped support than the side on which the lasers 31 are provided. More generally put, the laser module, for example the mounting arrangement 4 may be arranged to introduce a lateral off set between the laser(s) and the bow 1 (or longitudinal axis of the bow) on which the module 3 is mounted or to be mounted.

In an alternative where there is a single laser, this would most likely be chosen so as to be directed to generate light towards (and past) the end of the bow which is remote from the laser module 3.

In the present embodiment each of the lasers 3 is provided with an adjustable lens 31a at its end for controlling the divergence of the laser beam leaving the laser. This lens may be adjusted during manufacture or in at least some implementations adjusted by a user to control the behaviour of the lasers 31. In particular, the divergence (or spot size) of the laser may be selected and set using the adjustable lenses 31a to a level which leads to a safe output of the laser in the environment in which it is to be used. A different setting of the divergence of the lasers using the lenses 31a will be appropriate in a small performance area than in a large performance area such as an arena or stadium.

In a further alternative one or more beam directing mechanism may be included in the laser module 31 such that the direction of the laser beam leaving the laser !0 may be controlled or altered. For example such a beam directing mechanism might be used to produce a cone of light and might include a rotating mirror to generate this effect. Furthermore such a rotating mirror might be adjustable such as to alter the angle of incidence of the laser beam on the mirror so that the angle of the cone of light generated could be altered.

Claims (12)

1. Claims 1. A bow arrangement for use with a musical instrument, comprising a bow and a laser arrangement, wherein the laser arrangement comprises a laser module, which module comprises a mounting arrangement and at least one laser and is mounted to the bow via the mounting arrangement such that the laser is arranged to emit at least one laser beam in a generally longitudinal direction relative to the bow.
2. 2. A bow arrangement according to claim 1 in which the laser module is mounted at a grip portion of the bow.
3. 3. A bow arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the laser module is arranged to emit a first laser beam towards a first end of the bow and a second laser beam towards a second end ot the bow.
4. 4. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which the laser module comprises a spacer arranged to space the or each laser from the longitudinal axis of the bow such that, in use, the respective laser beam is not blocked by the respective end of the bow.
5. 5. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which the laser module is detachably mountable to the bow.
6. 6. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which the laser module is mounted to the bow such that the balance of the bow, as perceived by a user, is substantially unchanged by mounting the laser arrangement to the bow.
7. 7. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which a midpoint of the laser module is aligned with a balance point of the bow.
8. 8. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which a mid point of the laser module is aligned with a mid point of the grip.
9. 9. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which the laser module comprises at least one lens for controlling the divergence of the respective laser beam.
10. 10. A bow arrangement according to claim 9 in which the lens is adjustable so as to allow adjustment of the divergence of the respective laser beam.
11. 11. A bow arrangement according to any preceding claim in which the laser arrangement comprises a power supply for powering the laser module, the power supply being remote from the laser module and comprising a battery pack, to be carried by a user, which is connected by cabling to the laser module.
12. 12. A laser arrangement for use with an instrument bow, the laser arrangement comprising a laser module comprising at least one laser and a mounting arrangement for mounting the laser module to a bow, the laser module being arranged so that when mounted to a bow and in use, the laser emits at least one laser beam in a generally longitudinal direction relative to a bow on which it is mounted.