US3544695A - Circuit arrangement for imitating the touch of musical instruments with percussion - Google Patents

Circuit arrangement for imitating the touch of musical instruments with percussion Download PDF

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Publication number
US3544695A
US3544695A US719831A US3544695DA US3544695A US 3544695 A US3544695 A US 3544695A US 719831 A US719831 A US 719831A US 3544695D A US3544695D A US 3544695DA US 3544695 A US3544695 A US 3544695A
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United States
Prior art keywords
capacitor
voltage
touch
gate member
transistor
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Expired - Lifetime
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US719831A
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English (en)
Inventor
Popko Reinder Dijksterhuis
Casper Antonius Henric Mulkens
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US Philips Corp
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US Philips Corp
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H1/00—Details of electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H1/02—Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos
    • G10H1/04—Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos by additional modulation
    • G10H1/053—Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos by additional modulation during execution only
    • G10H1/055—Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos by additional modulation during execution only by switches with variable impedance elements
    • G10H1/0555—Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos by additional modulation during execution only by switches with variable impedance elements using magnetic or electromagnetic means

Definitions

  • Trifari ABSTRACT A control circuit for a tone generation in a key operated electronic instrument where the motion ofa magnet attached to a key generates a voltage in an associated coil, the generated voltage charges a capacitor with a voltage proportional to the intensity with which the key is depressed.
  • the capacitor is connected to a gate circuit controlling the tone generator only after receiving a full charge, thereby eliminating the variable transient effects pulse widths induced in the coil in response to the various speeds magnet.
  • the invention relates to an electronic musical instrument in which oscillations produced by tone generators are supplied to a gate member which passes these oscillations only when a gate input voltage is impressed on it.
  • the gate input voltage is derived from a capacitor which is charged by the touch of a key to a voltage which depends upon the intensity of the touch.
  • the buildup time of a tone for different intensities of touch should be kept as constant as possible or at least should not exceed a given value with a soft touch, since otherwise the character of the instrument is lost. For example, with the normal completely mechanical piano, the buildup time never exceeds 10 milliseconds.
  • buildup time is used to signify the time in which the tone rises from to its maximum amplitude. In an elec tronic piano, this time corresponds to the time in which the capacitor is charged. In prior art electronic pianos, this time is substantially inversely proportional to the rate at whicha magnet is pushed into a coil, i.e., inversely proportional to the intensity of the touch.
  • the voltage of the capacitor is applied to the relevant gate member by means of a switching element after the capacitor has been fully charged.
  • the switching element is included in the connection lead between the capacitor and the gate member.
  • the switching member is open during the charging process and is closed after the charging process is ended.
  • a terminal of the capacitor is connected through a resistor to the member and the switching element is included between the gate member and the other terminal of the capacitor.
  • the switching element is closed during the charging of the capacitor and is opened after the capacitor has been charged.
  • the switching elements may be of any arbitrary kind, for example, electromagnetic switches.
  • the switching element is a transistor. This has the advantage that transient phenomena are substantially completely suppressed. The transient suppression is due to the curved current-voltage characteristic curve in the starting cur rent range. The voltage is impressed more or less gradually on the gate member.
  • the switching element is actuated by a voltage induced in a coil by the magnet coupled with the key. This has the advantage that the use of mechanical switching elements can be avoided.
  • FIG. 1 shows a circuit arrangement, in which the switching member is included in the connection lead between the capacitor and the gate member;
  • FIG. 2 shows a circuit arrangement, in which one terminal of the capacitor is connected to the gate member through a resistor and the switching element is included between the gate member and the other terminal of the capacitor;
  • FIG. 3 shows the circuit arrangement of FIG. 2, in which the switching element is a transistor
  • FIG. 4 shows a graph of the variation of the voltage at different points of the circuit arrangement of FIG. 3.
  • FIG. 5 shows the circuit arrangement of FIG. 1, in which the switching element is a transistor.
  • the capacitor C is charged through a diode D by a voltage which is induced in a coil L by a magnet M which is pushed into this coil L when a key T is touched. This voltage depends upon the intensity of touch.
  • the capacitor and the gate member 0 is opened so that the member 0 does not pass the oscillations from the tone generator G.
  • the switch S is closed so that the capacitor voltage is immediately impressed on the base of the gate member 0, which then becomes conducting, so that the oscillations can be passed.
  • one terminal of the capacitor is connected through a resistor R to the member 0.
  • the member 0 is connected through a switch S to the other terminal of the capacitor C and is closed during the charging of the capacitor so that the gate member O is nonconducting. As soon as the capacitor has been charged, the switch S is opened and the gate member 0 becomes conducting so that the oscillations of the generator G can be passed.
  • the capacitor C is likewise charged through a diode D, by the voltage which is induced in the coil L when a key T is touched and a magnet M is pushed into the coil L.
  • the voltage of the capacitor C is impressed through a resistor R, on the base of the gate member 0 in the form of a transistor with the interposition of a diode D the function of which will be explained below.
  • the base of the gate member 0 is connected through the diode D to a resistor R, and to the collector of transistor TR, the emitter of which is connected to the other terminal of the capacitor C,.
  • the base of this transistor is connected to the junction of the coil L and the diode D, through a resistor R,.
  • FIG. 4 shows the voltage variation of the circuit shown in FIG. 3 of the coil L as a function of time at the capacitor and at the base of the gate member 0.
  • the first touch begins at the instant I t,, and the charging of capacitor C, also begins at this instant.
  • the variation of the capacitor voltage V,., is also shown.
  • the capacitor C is completely charged. Since the transistor TR acting as switching element has become conducting at the instant I, after its base-emitter voltage has exceeded the threshold voltage E, the base voltage of the gate member 0 is zero so that oscillations are not yet passed.
  • the capacitor is slowly discharged through the (comparatively large) resistor R,.
  • the transistor TR is cut off again and the capacitor voltage is entirely impressed on the gate member 0 which passes the oscillations of the generator G.
  • the voltage variation at the base of the gate member 0 is very steep and the buildup time of the tone is .considerably shorter than the touching time of the voltage pulse in the coil L and independent of the charging time of capacitor C,.
  • transistor TR becomes conducting, the anode of the diode D which is connected to the supply lead of the charging circuit, becomes negative with respect to the cathode of D which would result in the gate member being closed.
  • the capacitor C is discharged through the gate member 0 and the discharge time is chosen so that for the time t the gate member 0 is not completely closed so that the tone does not decay, since the base voltage of gate member 0 no longer decreases to zero in a stepwise manner.
  • the threshold voltage of TR is required to keep the leakage current sufficiently small in the closed state.
  • TR is preferably a silicon transistor, because the threshold voltage of such a transistor is sufficiently high.
  • the switch S of FIG. 1 is replaced by a transistor TR.
  • a transistor TR Between the emitter and the base of transistor TR is included a series combination of a battery B and coilL a voltage being induced in this coil and simultaneously in the coil L by the magnet M when a key is touched.
  • Thevoltage of the battery B is chosen so that the transistor TR is cut off when the key is touched and becomes conducting again after the key has been released.
  • the building-up time is considerably shorter than touching time of the voltage pulse induced in the coil L by the magnet M, because this buildup time is determined by the steep trailing edge of the pulse,
  • a key operated electronic musical instrument comprising a tone generator, gate member means for passing the output of the tone generator in response to a control signal.
  • pulse generator means coupled to the key for generating avoltage proportional to the speed of the key, capacitor means connected across the pulse generator means for storing the generated pulse, means for converting the charge stored on the capacitor means into a control signal, and switch means connected to the converting means for passing the control signal to the gate means in response to the trailing edge of the output pulse from the pulse generating means, whereby the output of the tone generator is passed only after the capacitor means is fully charged.
  • said switch means comprises a transistor having base terminal and an emitter-collector path, means for connecting the base terminal to the coil, and means for connecting the emitter-collector path in the loop circuit.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Electrophonic Musical Instruments (AREA)
US719831A 1967-04-08 1968-04-05 Circuit arrangement for imitating the touch of musical instruments with percussion Expired - Lifetime US3544695A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL676705025A NL150929B (nl) 1967-04-08 1967-04-08 Elektronisch muziekinstrument.

Publications (1)

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US3544695A true US3544695A (en) 1970-12-01

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US719831A Expired - Lifetime US3544695A (en) 1967-04-08 1968-04-05 Circuit arrangement for imitating the touch of musical instruments with percussion
US719832A Expired - Lifetime US3553337A (en) 1967-04-08 1968-04-05 Circuit arrangement for imitating the touch of musical instruments with percussion

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US719832A Expired - Lifetime US3553337A (en) 1967-04-08 1968-04-05 Circuit arrangement for imitating the touch of musical instruments with percussion

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US (2) US3544695A (forum.php)
JP (1) JPS4814253B1 (forum.php)
AT (1) AT290269B (forum.php)
BE (1) BE713405A (forum.php)
CH (1) CH485289A (forum.php)
ES (1) ES352482A1 (forum.php)
FR (1) FR1562394A (forum.php)
GB (1) GB1162449A (forum.php)
IE (1) IE31863B1 (forum.php)
NL (1) NL150929B (forum.php)
SE (1) SE353173B (forum.php)

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3626075A (en) * 1969-07-12 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3626074A (en) * 1969-06-24 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3636232A (en) * 1969-07-04 1972-01-18 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3647929A (en) * 1970-10-08 1972-03-07 Karl F Milde Jr Apparatus for reproducing musical notes from an encoded record
US3651730A (en) * 1969-09-10 1972-03-28 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Sound level control device in electronic musical instrument employing touch responsive keying means
US3652774A (en) * 1969-10-16 1972-03-28 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Keying system for electronic musical instruments
US3657463A (en) * 1969-11-18 1972-04-18 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Keyer control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3663735A (en) * 1970-06-01 1972-05-16 Columbia Broadcasting Systems Automatic on-off control
US3666875A (en) * 1969-07-11 1972-05-30 Mario Ranzato Electronically operated stringed instruments
US3673303A (en) * 1969-09-03 1972-06-27 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Voltage generating device for controlling musical tone output from electronic musical instruments
US3749806A (en) * 1970-12-16 1973-07-31 W Rosenberg Electronic key musical instrument
US3999457A (en) * 1972-03-17 1976-12-28 Adolf Michel Key system for controlling the rate of attack in electronic musical instruments
US4510836A (en) * 1983-12-01 1985-04-16 Allen Organ Company Touch sensitivity in an electronic musical instrument having non-positive attack

Families Citing this family (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
NL160960C (nl) * 1967-09-15 1979-12-17 Philips Nv Elektronisch muziekinstrument met percussie.
US3594488A (en) * 1968-03-18 1971-07-20 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic musical system with magnetic field responsive switch and volume control
US3590134A (en) * 1968-03-29 1971-06-29 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic musical system with magnetic field responsive switch and volume control
US3617600A (en) * 1968-03-30 1971-11-02 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Magnetic field responsive key switch device for producing attack effect in electronic musical instruments
JPS4815866B1 (forum.php) * 1968-08-13 1973-05-17
US3634594A (en) * 1969-08-05 1972-01-11 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3582530A (en) * 1970-03-11 1971-06-01 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic musical instrument producing percussion signals by additive mixing of component signals
DE2017798C2 (de) * 1970-04-14 1982-08-19 Nippon Gakki Seizo K.K., Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Tastvorrichtung für elektronische Musikinstrumente
JPS50115545A (forum.php) * 1974-02-21 1975-09-10
JPS5181152A (ja) * 1975-01-14 1976-07-15 Sokkisha Rezaakojidosuichokuoyobisuiheisenkaiki
DD226066A1 (de) * 1983-10-03 1985-08-14 Zeiss Jena Veb Carl Anordnung zur hoehenmessung, vorzugsweise zum geometrischen nivellement

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2841043A (en) * 1956-01-31 1958-07-01 Werk Fur Fernmeldewesen Veb Electric organ
US3336484A (en) * 1964-04-10 1967-08-15 Energy Conversion Devices Inc Power switching circuit
US3248470A (en) * 1963-04-24 1966-04-26 Allen Organ Co Electronic piano having means responsive to the velocity of the action
US3239693A (en) * 1964-09-03 1966-03-08 Avco Corp Bilateral electronic gate

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3626074A (en) * 1969-06-24 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3636232A (en) * 1969-07-04 1972-01-18 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3666875A (en) * 1969-07-11 1972-05-30 Mario Ranzato Electronically operated stringed instruments
US3626075A (en) * 1969-07-12 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3673303A (en) * 1969-09-03 1972-06-27 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Voltage generating device for controlling musical tone output from electronic musical instruments
US3651730A (en) * 1969-09-10 1972-03-28 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Sound level control device in electronic musical instrument employing touch responsive keying means
US3652774A (en) * 1969-10-16 1972-03-28 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Keying system for electronic musical instruments
US3657463A (en) * 1969-11-18 1972-04-18 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Keyer control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3663735A (en) * 1970-06-01 1972-05-16 Columbia Broadcasting Systems Automatic on-off control
US3647929A (en) * 1970-10-08 1972-03-07 Karl F Milde Jr Apparatus for reproducing musical notes from an encoded record
US3749806A (en) * 1970-12-16 1973-07-31 W Rosenberg Electronic key musical instrument
US3999457A (en) * 1972-03-17 1976-12-28 Adolf Michel Key system for controlling the rate of attack in electronic musical instruments
US4510836A (en) * 1983-12-01 1985-04-16 Allen Organ Company Touch sensitivity in an electronic musical instrument having non-positive attack

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IE31863L (en) 1968-10-08
SE353173B (forum.php) 1973-01-22
FR1562394A (forum.php) 1969-04-04
AT290269B (de) 1971-05-25
CH485289A (de) 1970-01-31
DE1622884B2 (de) 1976-02-12
DE1622884A1 (de) 1970-12-17
US3553337A (en) 1971-01-05
NL150929B (nl) 1976-09-15
JPS4814253B1 (forum.php) 1973-05-04
IE31863B1 (en) 1973-01-24
GB1162449A (en) 1969-08-27
ES352482A1 (es) 1969-07-16
NL6705025A (forum.php) 1968-10-09
BE713405A (forum.php) 1968-10-08

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