US3643000A - Stereophonic electronic piano - Google Patents

Stereophonic electronic piano Download PDF

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Publication number
US3643000A
US3643000A US806610A US3643000DA US3643000A US 3643000 A US3643000 A US 3643000A US 806610 A US806610 A US 806610A US 3643000D A US3643000D A US 3643000DA US 3643000 A US3643000 A US 3643000A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
speaker
keyboard
tones
piano
speakers
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US806610A
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English (en)
Inventor
Clifford W Andersen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
TWCA CORP
Original Assignee
Wurlitzer Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Wurlitzer Co filed Critical Wurlitzer Co
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3643000A publication Critical patent/US3643000A/en
Assigned to FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO, THE, ONE FIRST NATIONA PLAZA, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60670 reassignment FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO, THE, ONE FIRST NATIONA PLAZA, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60670 SECURITY INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: WURLITZER COMPANY, THE,
Assigned to TWCA CORP. reassignment TWCA CORP. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. Assignors: WURLITZER ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION, WURLITZER CANADA, LTD., WURLITZER COMPANY, WURLITZER INTERNATIONAL LTD, WURLITZER MUSIC STORES, INC.
Assigned to WURLITZER COMPANY, THE reassignment WURLITZER COMPANY, THE CHANGE OF NAME (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: TWCA CORP.
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • 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
    • G10H1/0091—Means for obtaining special acoustic effects
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R5/00—Stereophonic arrangements
    • H04R5/02—Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
    • 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
    • G10H2210/00—Aspects or methods of musical processing having intrinsic musical character, i.e. involving musical theory or musical parameters or relying on musical knowledge, as applied in electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2210/155—Musical effects
    • G10H2210/265—Acoustic effect simulation, i.e. volume, spatial, resonance or reverberation effects added to a musical sound, usually by appropriate filtering or delays
    • G10H2210/295—Spatial effects, musical uses of multiple audio channels, e.g. stereo
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S84/00—Music
    • Y10S84/01—Plural speakers

Definitions

  • a third speaker is provided on the .7 7/I966 wchl'mflnn panel below the keyboard to simulate sound emanating from a piano soundboard.
  • the amplifier oscillations are supplied to a loudspeaker, and all of the piano tones seem to be emanating from the one loudspeaker. This is contrary to the experience of pianists who are used to hearing the tones come from different parts of the piano. Specifically, and as will be obvious, in a conventional piano, the bass tones emanate from the left side, the treble tones from the right side, and intermediate tones from in between. Thus, it seems unnatural to a skilled pianist to have all of the tones emanate from a single position.
  • an object of the invention to provide an electronic piano having a pair of loudspeakers, one at either end of the keyboard, respectively being more efficient at the bass and treble ends of the audio spectrum of the piano, whereby the bass tones appear to emanate from the left end, the treble tones from the right end, and intermediate tones from in between.
  • a more specific object of the present invention is to provide a stereophonic electronic piano utilizing two similar loudspeakers at opposite ends of the keyboard, but which loudspeakers differ in inherent characteristics, and are mounted differently, whereby to produce bass notes relatively adjacent the left end of the keyboard and treble tones relatively adjacent the right end of the keyboard, with intermediate tones in between.
  • FIG. I is a perspective view of an electronic piano constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the upper portion of the piano above the keyboard substantially along the line 22 in FIG. I;
  • FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the mounting of one of the loudspeakers above the keyboard.
  • FIG. 4 is an exploded-perspective view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the parts in spaced relationship.
  • an electronic piano identified generally by the number and including a case 12 having a keyboard 14 comprising the usual piano keys.
  • a substantially vertical, but slightly inclined front panel 16 is provided above the keyboard, leading to the top 18 of the case.
  • a music rack 20 extends above the top of the case.
  • the usual key bed 22 is provided beneath the keyboard 14, and a vertical panel 24 is disposed below the bed and recessed relative thereto.
  • the panel 24 is covered, at least in part, with a grill cloth, and a loudspeaker 26 is mounted in the panel behind the grill cloth.
  • Feet 28 extend forwardly from the piano case 12, specifically the front panel 24 thereof, for stability.
  • a sustaining pedal 30 likewise is provided.
  • two loudspeakers are provided in the substantially vertical panel 16 and relatively at opposite ends of the keyboard. Specifically, there is a loudspeaker 32 provided substantially at the left or bass end of the keyboard, and there is a loudspeaker 34 provided adjacent the right or treble end of the keyboard. Loudspeakers 32 and 34 both are of the oval or elliptical type, having their long axes parallel to the length of the keyboard, whereby physically to spread the sound out somewhat along the keyboard without requiring undue height.
  • the speakers are respectively positioned behind acoustically transparent panels 36 and 38, and these acoustically transparent panels 36 and 38 (see also FIG. 2) are of any well-known type, such as grill cloth, perforated sheet metal, etc.
  • tone generators 40 are shown schematically. These tone generators may be of any desired or suitable type, there being one tone generator for each key of the keyboard 14. Alternatively, there could be a lesser number of tone generators which would be capable of being tuned to the note corresponding to a respective key. These can be electronic oscillators, or preferably they are vibratile reed generators in capacitive relation with a pickup, as in the commercially most successful electronic pianos sold to date, namely, those sold by The Wurlitzer Company. The tone generators are connected to the amplifier 42, and this amplifier is connected to the three loudspeakers.
  • One lead extends to the voice coil of the speaker 32, while a second lead 46 from the amplifier is connected to the voice coil of the loudspeaker 34, while a third lead 48 is connected from the amplifier to the loudspeaker 26.
  • the loudspeaker 26 is of a full range type intended to reproduce the entire gamut of the instrument with relatively uniform efficiency, and provides little in the way of directivity. However, it does provide a good solid base for all of the tones.
  • the loudspeaker 32 is of the oval or elliptical variety, and has a bracket 50 secured to the basket of the loudspeaker on the back thereof.
  • the bracket 50 includes a top plate 52 and a bottom plate 54 in spaced parallel relation thereto, both of these plates being parallel to the speaker axis.
  • Vertical end plates 56 interconnect and brace the top and bottom plates 52 and 54 respectively.
  • the plates 52 and 54 are provided with aligned holes 58 in spaced relation.
  • a vertical wall 60 Internally of the piano there is a vertical wall 60 disposed rearwardly of the keyboard.
  • a horizontal wall or shelf 62 extends forwardly therefrom overlying the rear end of the keyboard.
  • Each of the inclined portions 66 is provided with a pair of elongated bolts 68 perpendicular to the respective inclined portion and having threaded upper ends. The bolts project through the holes 58 in the upper and lower plates of the speaker mounting brackets 50, and nuts 70 are threaded on the upper ends thereof to mount the speakers on the brackets 64, and hence on the shelf 62.
  • the angle of inclination of the inclined bracket portions 66 is such as to dispose the forward faces of the speakers parallel to the nearly vertical front panel 16 of the piano case.
  • both speakers 32 and 34 are mounted identically.
  • the speakers appear identical, but are not.
  • the left speaker 32 is of a relatively soft cone design, and has a natural resonant frequency on the order of 99-100 cycles per second, while the right speaker 34 has a stiffer cone and has a naturally resonant frequency on the order of 128-140 cycles per second.
  • the speaker 32 tends relatively to emphasize the bass tones, while the speaker 34 tends relatively to emphasize the higher tones.
  • a gasket 72 is fixed to the front of the loudspeaker 32, and seals the loudspeaker to the panel 16.
  • the speaker 34 is not provided with a gasket, and hence is spaced, as is indicated at 74, from the panel 16 by the thickness of the gasket 72.
  • the speaker 34 Since the speaker 34 is spaced from the front panel 16 as indicated at 74, a significant amount of the back wave from the speaker 34 exits through the space 74, thus tending to cancel the front wave at relatively low frequencies. As will be understood, the presence or absence of the back wave at higher frequencies is relatively insignificant. Thus, the speaker 34 furthertends to discriminate against the lower frequencies, while maintaining relatively high efficiency with respect to the higher frequencies. Conversely, since the speaker 32 is sealed to the front panel 16, the back wave cannot exit adjacent the front wave, and hence does not tend to cancel the front wave. Thus, there is no significant diminution of the front wave, and the relatively low-frequency efficiency is maintained.
  • any tone generatedby one of the tone generators 40 is supplied to the three loudspeakers.
  • Bass tones are relatively emphasized by the loudspeaker 32, while treble tones are relatively emphasized by the speaker 34.
  • neither speaker completely discriminates against the tones toward which it is relatively inefficient, but reproduces them at a lower level.
  • the speaker 26 reproduces all of the tones at substantially equal intensity.
  • the bass tones appear to emanate mainly, but not entirely, from the left end of the keyboard, as is the case with a conventional piano wherein the string is located relatively adjacent the left end of the keyboard and roughly in alignment with the corresponding key, whereby the tone is primarily located at that position, but
  • treble tones are primarily located adjacent the speaker 34, but not entirely so, just as in a conventional string piano. Intermediate tones appear to emanate from an intermediate location, whereby all of the tones appear to be spread out across the keyboard in much the same fashion as with a conventional piano.
  • the speaker 26 is not essential, and portable electronic pianos are made without this speaker. However, it is a valuable adjunct, since it acts somewhat in the nature of a sounding board and tends to spread out and provide a mellowness to all of the tones.
  • An electronic piano including a case, a plurality of keys arranged in a keyboard and supported by said case, said case having upstanding panel means presented toward said keys, tone generator means in said case and controlled by said keys to provide electric oscillations corresponding to the musical tones related to the respective keys, amplifier means in said case electrically connected to said tone generator means for amplifying the electric oscillations therefrom, and loudspeaker means in said case electrically connected to the output of said amplifier means to convert the electric oscillations into audible sound, said loudspeaker, means including first and second speakers mounted in said case relatively adjacent the opposite ends of the keyboard, each speaker being connected to the same output of said amplifying means, the first speaker being disposed adjacent to the bass end of the keyboard for reproducing bass tones, and the second speaker being disposed adjacent to the treble end of the keyboard for reproducing treble tones, whereby the tones reproduced by said loudspeaker means appear to be distributed across said keyboard in accordance with tonal frequency, the natural frequency of the first speaker being lower than the natural
  • said loudspeaker means further includes a third speaker underlying said keyboard and intermediate said first and second speakers for producing bass-to-treble frequencies at approximately equal intensity.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Obtaining Desirable Characteristics In Audible-Bandwidth Transducers (AREA)
  • Electrophonic Musical Instruments (AREA)
  • Details Of Audible-Bandwidth Transducers (AREA)
US806610A 1969-03-12 1969-03-12 Stereophonic electronic piano Expired - Lifetime US3643000A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US80661069A 1969-03-12 1969-03-12

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3643000A true US3643000A (en) 1972-02-15

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US806610A Expired - Lifetime US3643000A (en) 1969-03-12 1969-03-12 Stereophonic electronic piano

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (1) US3643000A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2011008A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1239188A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4711148A (en) * 1984-11-14 1987-12-08 Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha Fractional range selectable musical tone generating apparatus
EP0347775A3 (en) * 1988-06-21 1990-08-22 Yamaha Corporation Keyboard instrument
US5248846A (en) * 1988-06-21 1993-09-28 Yamaha Corporation Musical instrument incorporating a Helmholtz resonator
US5789693A (en) * 1997-01-15 1998-08-04 Van Koevering Company Loudspeaker system for electronic piano
US6259006B1 (en) * 1996-08-30 2001-07-10 Raoul Parienti Portable foldable electronic piano
US20050066798A1 (en) * 2003-09-25 2005-03-31 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US20050150367A1 (en) * 2004-01-14 2005-07-14 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US20080053287A1 (en) * 2006-08-30 2008-03-06 Wheeler Ray L Mobile Music Entertainment Systems
US20080072747A1 (en) * 2006-09-21 2008-03-27 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US8800455B2 (en) 2011-03-21 2014-08-12 Dana Monroe Audio mixing console case
US20160105743A1 (en) * 2014-10-10 2016-04-14 Yamaha Corporation Speaker box structure of electronic device
US10490175B2 (en) * 2017-12-27 2019-11-26 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Audio device and electronic instrument

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2117255B (en) * 1982-02-19 1985-09-18 Chaim Raphael Weinreb Apparatus for playing a word board game
JP2595789Y2 (ja) * 1992-03-24 1999-06-02 株式会社河合楽器製作所 電子鍵盤楽器のスピーカ装置
PL447791A1 (pl) * 2024-02-15 2025-08-18 Brzeski Arkadiusz Głośnik rezonansowy

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2323231A (en) * 1941-12-15 1943-06-29 Miessner Inventions Inc Method and apparatus for the production of music
US2513109A (en) * 1947-10-22 1950-06-27 Roth Alexander Electrical musical device
US2596258A (en) * 1948-09-24 1952-05-13 Donald J Leslie Electric organ speaker system
US2821878A (en) * 1954-03-15 1958-02-04 George R Stibitz Stereophonic organ
US3056327A (en) * 1960-06-09 1962-10-02 Wurlitzer Co Electronic tremulant
US3260784A (en) * 1963-11-07 1966-07-12 Wolfgang J Wehrmann Electronic musical instrument having one or more keyboards
US3272906A (en) * 1960-10-25 1966-09-13 Zenith Radio Corp Audio reproduction system
US3497604A (en) * 1967-12-04 1970-02-24 Jasper Electronics Mfg Corp Two-channel amplifier system with differential output for a third speaker

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2323231A (en) * 1941-12-15 1943-06-29 Miessner Inventions Inc Method and apparatus for the production of music
US2513109A (en) * 1947-10-22 1950-06-27 Roth Alexander Electrical musical device
US2596258A (en) * 1948-09-24 1952-05-13 Donald J Leslie Electric organ speaker system
US2821878A (en) * 1954-03-15 1958-02-04 George R Stibitz Stereophonic organ
US3056327A (en) * 1960-06-09 1962-10-02 Wurlitzer Co Electronic tremulant
US3272906A (en) * 1960-10-25 1966-09-13 Zenith Radio Corp Audio reproduction system
US3260784A (en) * 1963-11-07 1966-07-12 Wolfgang J Wehrmann Electronic musical instrument having one or more keyboards
US3497604A (en) * 1967-12-04 1970-02-24 Jasper Electronics Mfg Corp Two-channel amplifier system with differential output for a third speaker

Cited By (21)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4711148A (en) * 1984-11-14 1987-12-08 Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha Fractional range selectable musical tone generating apparatus
EP0347775A3 (en) * 1988-06-21 1990-08-22 Yamaha Corporation Keyboard instrument
US5031500A (en) * 1988-06-21 1991-07-16 Yamaha Corporation Keyboard instrument
US5086686A (en) * 1988-06-21 1992-02-11 Yamaha Corporation Keyboard instrument
US5248846A (en) * 1988-06-21 1993-09-28 Yamaha Corporation Musical instrument incorporating a Helmholtz resonator
US6259006B1 (en) * 1996-08-30 2001-07-10 Raoul Parienti Portable foldable electronic piano
US5789693A (en) * 1997-01-15 1998-08-04 Van Koevering Company Loudspeaker system for electronic piano
US20050066798A1 (en) * 2003-09-25 2005-03-31 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US7473842B2 (en) * 2003-09-25 2009-01-06 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US20050150367A1 (en) * 2004-01-14 2005-07-14 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US7396994B2 (en) * 2004-01-14 2008-07-08 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US7479591B2 (en) * 2006-08-30 2009-01-20 Wheeler Ray L Mobile music entertainment systems
US20080053287A1 (en) * 2006-08-30 2008-03-06 Wheeler Ray L Mobile Music Entertainment Systems
WO2008028033A3 (en) * 2006-08-30 2008-08-21 Ray L Wheeler Mobile music entertainment systems
US20080072747A1 (en) * 2006-09-21 2008-03-27 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US7692089B2 (en) * 2006-09-21 2010-04-06 Yamaha Corporation Electronic keyboard instrument
US8800455B2 (en) 2011-03-21 2014-08-12 Dana Monroe Audio mixing console case
US9585267B2 (en) 2011-03-21 2017-02-28 Dana Monroe Audio mixing console case
US20160105743A1 (en) * 2014-10-10 2016-04-14 Yamaha Corporation Speaker box structure of electronic device
US10200784B2 (en) * 2014-10-10 2019-02-05 Yamaha Corporation Speaker box structure of electronic device
US10490175B2 (en) * 2017-12-27 2019-11-26 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Audio device and electronic instrument

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2011008A1 (de) 1970-10-01
GB1239188A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1971-07-14

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AS Assignment

Owner name: FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO, THE, ONE FIRST NAT

Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:WURLITZER COMPANY, THE,;REEL/FRAME:004791/0907

Effective date: 19870408

AS Assignment

Owner name: TWCA CORP., A DE CORP.

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS IN AGREEMENTS RECITED;ASSIGNOR:WURLITZER COMPANY, WURLITZER MUSIC STORES, INC., WURLITZER INTERNATIONAL LTD; WURLITZER ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION AND WURLITZER CANADA, LTD.;REEL/FRAME:004998/0787

Effective date: 19880223

Owner name: TWCA CORP., ILLINOIS

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WURLITZER COMPANY;WURLITZER MUSIC STORES, INC.;WURLITZER INTERNATIONAL LTD;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:004998/0787

Effective date: 19880223

Owner name: WURLITZER COMPANY, THE, ILLINOIS

Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:TWCA CORP.;REEL/FRAME:004998/0779

Effective date: 19880223

Owner name: WURLITZER COMPANY

Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:TWC CORP.;REEL/FRAME:004998/0779

Effective date: 19880223