JPH06161441A - Breath controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain wide effects of a timbre, loudness, etc., corresponding to breath pressure by providing a mouthpiece, a breath pressure detecting means which detects air pressure and outputs a control signal to an electronic musical instrument, an expiration pipe, and an air discharge valve. CONSTITUTION:When a player breathes air into the mouthpiece 1, the air pressure in the expiration pipe 6 varies and the variation is transmitted to the breath pressure sensor 10. The breath pressure sensor unit 10 outputs a voltage by a Hall element 14 and its voltage variation is supplied as a detection signal to the electronic musical instrument through a cable 19 and converted into a signal for sound source control, which is transferred to a sound source part. In this case, when the air is breathed in the mouthpiece 1, the opening and closure of the air discharge valve 8 are optionally adjusted according to the breathing strength to adjust the pressure in the expiration pipe 6. Then when the air discharge valve 8 is so adjusted that much air is discharged, the air pressure in the expiration pipe 6 becomes low and pressure applied to a pressure chamber 11 through an expiration opening 9 becomes low.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a breath controller which is connected to an electronic musical instrument and changes the tone color and volume of the electronic musical instrument by detecting breath pressure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of device, there is known a device having a mouthpiece which a player holds in his mouth and blows his breath, and a sensor which detects a breath pressure blown from the mouthpiece through a pipe. ing. According to this type of device, a detection signal corresponding to the breath pressure is obtained from the sensor, and the detection signal is supplied to the electronic musical instrument via the cable and used for controlling the tone color, volume, and the like. Now, in such a device, when the air is blown from the mouthpiece, if the air pressure in the mouthpiece or the pipe is high, there is a problem that a feeling of pressure is generated and the blowing becomes difficult. Therefore, a method of lowering the air pressure inside the mouthpiece by providing an air vent hole in the mouthpiece and venting air therefrom has been proposed (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-174394).

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional breath controller, the air pressure in the mouthpiece and the pipe becomes too low, and some performers may feel that the tone or sound that corresponds to the strength of the breath may be blown. There is a problem that the electronic musical instrument may not be able to obtain the effects such as the volume.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a breath controller capable of controlling a tone color, a volume and the like as intended according to the magnitude of breath pressure. To aim.

[0005]

A breath controller according to the present invention comprises a mouthpiece, breath pressure detecting means for detecting air pressure and outputting a control signal to an electronic musical instrument, and breath pressure blown from the mouthpiece for breathing. It is characterized in that an exhalation pipe for transmitting to the pressure detecting means and an exhaust valve for arbitrarily adjusting the air pressure in the exhalation pipe are provided.

[0006]

According to the above construction, the air pressure in the exhalation pipe can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the exhaust valve, and the timbre, volume, etc. can be controlled in accordance with the strength of the inhaled breath.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a breath controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, 1 is a mouthpiece, and the player blows his mouth with his mouthpiece 1 as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the player holds mouthpiece 1 in his mouth. Reference numeral 2 is an optical fiber having a coaxial structure composed of a light emitting fiber 2a at the outer peripheral portion and a light receiving fiber 2b at the central portion, and the tip is connected to the mouthpiece 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a photodetector, the end of the light emitting fiber 2a of the optical fiber 2 faces the LED in the photodetector 3, and the light receiving fiber 2b faces the photodiode in the photodetector 3. The output light from the LED is guided from the tip of the mouthpiece into the mouth of the player through the light emitting fiber 2a. When this light is reflected by the tongue TN, this reflected light is guided to the photodiode in the photodetection unit 3 via the light receiving fiber 2b. The output signal of the photodiode is supplied to an electronic musical instrument (not shown) together with other control signals as a control signal for performing a toning performance. A substrate 4 holds the photodetector 3. A conductive touch plate 5 outputs a detection signal when the player's lips touch it. When this detection signal is not output, that is, when the player does not hold the mouthpiece 1 in his mouth, the light emission of the LED of the light detection unit 3 is stopped and the output signal of the photodiode is ignored. . In this way, the ambient light is prevented from affecting the tongue performance. 6 is an exhalation pipe, which has a flexible shape so that it can be bent arbitrarily. When the breath is blown from the mouthpiece 1, the air passes through the expiratory pipe 6. Reference numeral 7 is a case unit, and the end of the exhalation pipe 6 is inserted therein. Reference numeral 8 denotes a knob-type exhaust valve, which is arbitrarily opened and closed to arbitrarily exhaust the air passing through the expiratory pipe 6 to adjust the air pressure in the expiratory pipe 6. Reference numeral 9 denotes an exhalation port, and 10 denotes a breath pressure sensor unit. A change in atmospheric pressure in the exhalation pipe 6 is transmitted to the breath pressure sensor unit 10 through the exhalation port 9. The expiratory port 9 is located above the exhaust valve 8 and is provided so as to penetrate the expiratory pipe 6 and the breath pressure sensor unit 10 perpendicularly to the expiratory pipe 6, whereby the breath pressure sensor unit 10 is connected to the expiratory port 9. The invasion of saliva can be minimized. The breath pressure sensor unit 10 includes a pressure chamber 11, a magnet 12, a bowl-shaped rubber 13, a hall element 14, a screw 15, and a rubber 16. The bowl-shaped rubber 13 and the rubber 16 are integrally molded and have elasticity. A magnet 12 is provided at the center of the bowl-shaped rubber 13. The pressure chamber 11 is a space sealed by a part of the outer wall of the breath pressure sensor unit 10, the bowl-shaped rubber 13, the rubber 16 and the screw 15. When the breath is blown from the mouthpiece 1 and the pressure is applied to the expiratory port 9 and the pressure chamber 11 by this, the bowl-shaped rubber 13 is deformed and the magnet 12 provided in the central portion of the bowl-shaped rubber 13 is moved in the direction of arrow A. The distance to the hall element 14 changes. The hall element 14 outputs a voltage in proportion to the change in the distance between the magnet 12 and the hall element 14. Reference numeral 17 denotes a hook, which is installed outside the case unit 7. 18 is a neck tie, which is inserted through the hook 17. A cable 19 extends from the lower part of the case unit 7, and output signals from the photodetector 3 and the hall element 14 are supplied to an electronic musical instrument (not shown) via the cable 19. Although not shown in FIG. 1, in the vicinity of the hook 17 of the case unit 7, a chest pad 20 having two plates protruding and attached in a substantially V shape is provided.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of mounting the breath controller according to this embodiment. As shown in this figure, first,
The performer puts his or her neck through the neck tie 18 and attaches the case unit 7 in a suspended manner. The chest support 20 composed of two plates regulates the movement of the case unit 7 by bringing the tip of each plate into contact with the player's chest. Then, the expiratory pipe 6 is arbitrarily bent to hold the mouthpiece 1 in the mouth. As a result, the touch plate 5 outputs a detection signal, the LED of the light detection unit 3 emits light, and the output signal of the photodiode is detected. The cable 19 is also connected to an electronic musical instrument (not shown). When the performer blows through the mouthpiece 1 during performance, the air pressure in the expiratory pipe 6 changes and is transmitted to the breath pressure sensor unit 10. As a result, in the breath pressure sensor unit 10, the Hall element 14 outputs a voltage, and this voltage change is supplied as a detection signal to the electronic musical instrument via the cable 19, converted into a sound source control signal, and transferred to the sound source section. . Here, when the breath is blown from the mouthpiece 1, the opening / closing of the exhaust valve 8 is arbitrarily adjusted according to the strength to blow the breath, and the pressure in the expiratory pipe 6 is adjusted. When the exhaust amount from the exhaust valve 8 is adjusted to be large, the air pressure in the expiratory pipe 6 becomes low, and the pressure applied to the pressure chamber 11 through the expiratory port 9 also becomes low. In this case, even if the strength of the air blown from the mouthpiece 1 is strong, the pressure applied to the pressure chamber 11 is not high and the movement of the magnet 12 is small, so the output voltage of the Hall element 14 is also small. Therefore, a minute change is given to the volume or tone color of the electronic musical instrument. Further, when the exhaust amount from the exhaust valve 8 is adjusted to be small, the air pressure in the expiratory pipe 6 becomes high, and the pressure applied to the pressure chamber 11 through the expiratory port 9 also becomes high. In this case, even if the strength of the breath blown from the mouthpiece 1 is weak, the pressure applied to the pressure chamber 11 is high, so that the movement of the magnet 12 also increases. Further, when the strength of the breath is strong, the pressure applied to the pressure chamber 11 becomes higher and the magnet 12 also largely moves than when adjusting to increase the displacement. Therefore, the output voltage of the hall element 14 also becomes large, and the volume or tone color of the electronic musical instrument can be greatly changed.

On the other hand, when performing a tonging performance, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, hold mouthpiece 1 in the mouth and move the tip of tongue TN. Thereby, the light from the light emitting fiber 2a of the optical fiber 2 is reflected by the tongue TN, and the amount of reflected light received by the light receiving fiber 2b changes. This change in the amount of light is detected by the light detection unit 3, and the detection signal is the cable 19
Is supplied to the electronic musical instrument via. Then, it is converted into a sound source control signal and transferred to the sound source unit. Further, when the performer does not hold the mouthpiece 1 in his mouth, the current amount of the touch plate 5 does not change, and the light detection unit 3 does not operate.

As described above, the following effects can be obtained by the above embodiment. (1) Since the width of the pressure supplied to the breath pressure sensor unit can be widened, it is possible to supply a wide range of changes in sound volume or timbre to electronic musical instruments from small to large. (2) The air pressure in the exhalation pipe can be arbitrarily adjusted to an appropriate level depending on the strength of the breath blown by the performer. (3) Since the optical fiber and the light detection unit are provided, it is possible to perform a toning performance. (4) Since the touch plate is provided, it is possible to prevent the light detection unit from detecting ambient light and affecting the musical sound when the player does not hold the mouthpiece in his mouth. (5) Since the case unit is attached by hanging the neck tie on the neck and hanging the case unit, it is possible to play in any posture. . (6) Since all the saliva produced by blowing air is collected at the lowermost end of the exhalation pipe, the device is prevented from being corroded by the saliva adhering to the exhalation pipe or the pressure chamber.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, the mouthpiece, the breath pressure detecting means for detecting the air pressure and outputting the control signal to the electronic musical instrument, and the breath pressure blown from the mouthpiece are described above. Since an exhalation pipe for transmitting to the breath pressure detecting means and an exhaust valve for arbitrarily adjusting the air pressure in the exhalation pipe are provided, by adjusting the exhaust valve, a tone color corresponding to the magnitude of the breath pressure is obtained. There is an effect that a wide range of effects such as volume and volume can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of a breath controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mounting example of the breath controller according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the mouthpiece of the breath controller according to the embodiment is held in the mouth.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 ... Mouthpiece, 2 ... Optical fiber, 5 ... Touch plate, 6 ... Exhalation pipe, 7 ... Case unit,
8 ... Exhaust valve, 9 ... Exhalation port, 10 ... Breath pressure sensor unit, 11 ... Pressure chamber, 12 ... Magnet, 13 ...
Bowl rubber, 14 ... Hall element, 15 ... Screw, 1
6 ... rubber, 18 ... neck tie

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mouthpiece, a breath pressure detecting means for detecting air pressure and outputting a control signal to an electronic musical instrument, an exhalation pipe for transmitting the breath pressure blown from the mouthpiece to the breath pressure detecting means, A breath controller, which is provided with an exhaust valve for arbitrarily adjusting the air pressure in the exhalation pipe.