WO2022218259A1 - Electronic musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic musical instrument (100). The electronic musical instrument (100) comprises: one or more trigger areas (110), each trigger area (110) comprising a respective first circuit composed of one or more capacitors and being configured to generate a varying capacitance value when being triggered; a sensor (120), which is configured to receive and process the varying capacitance values so as to output electrical signals corresponding to the varying capacitance values; a memory cell (130), which is configured to store sound source data; a sound production unit (140), which is configured to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data; and a controller (150), which is configured to: receive and process the electric signals outputted by the sensor (120), and control, according to the electric signals, the sound production unit (140) to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data. The electronic musical instrument designed on the basis of said solution can achieve the electronization and miniaturization of conventional musical instruments, and has the advantages of durability, low prices, being easy to assemble and so on.

Description

an electronic musical instrument

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application filed on April 12, 2021, the application number is 2021103888147, and the title is "an electronic musical instrument".

technical field

The present invention generally relates to the field of musical instruments. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument.

Background technique

Traditional musical instruments usually use vibrating materials to produce sound. Since some vibrating materials are selected from precious woods, the overall cost of the instrument is relatively high. At the same time, since the traditional musical instruments are usually provided with a resonance box to amplify the sound, the traditional musical instruments are bulky and inconvenient to carry. In addition, traditional musical instruments are not environmentally friendly in the process of production and processing, the production process is complicated and is subject to the supply of natural materials.

Further, traditional musical instruments and existing electronic musical instruments (such as piano musical instruments) usually use mechanical keys and resistive touch keys. These keys have many disadvantages, for example, they are not only complex in structure, high in cost, but also short in service life, and also do not have waterproof and antifouling functions. In addition, the conventional electronic musical instrument controls the conduction of the circuit switch by hitting the keys to generate an electrical signal related to the sound of the piano, and then generates a sound signal according to the electrical signal. Electronic musical instruments based on this working principle are usually less sensitive, thus affecting the performance of the player.

In addition, in actual performance, it is usually necessary to play different types of electronic musical instruments, such as xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, electronic organ, electronic drum, and gong, etc., according to different performance scenarios. If these musical instruments are carried at the same time, the overall volume is huge and inconvenient to carry. Further, the existing electronic musical instruments have relatively single functions and few external interfaces, and cannot be easily upgraded to different types of electronic musical instruments according to performance requirements, so they cannot meet the various functional requirements of performers for electronic musical instruments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve at least one or more of the problems in the above-mentioned background art, the present invention provides an electronic musical instrument. The electronic musical instrument converts the change of the capacitance value caused by the external trigger into an electrical signal, and then outputs a corresponding sound signal according to the electrical signal, thereby realizing the performance of the electronic musical instrument. In addition, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention conveniently realizes various types of electronic musical instruments by flexibly setting different trigger regions.

Specifically, the present invention discloses an electronic musical instrument. The electronic musical instrument includes one or more trigger areas, wherein each trigger area includes a respective first circuit composed of one or more capacitors, and is configured to generate a changed capacitance value when the trigger area is triggered; a sensor, It is configured to receive and process the changed capacitance value, so as to output an electrical signal corresponding to the changed capacitance value; a storage unit is configured to store sound source data corresponding to each trigger area; a sounding unit , which is configured to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data; and a controller, which is configured to: receive and process the electrical signal output by the sensor, so as to determine a trigger area associated with the electrical signal; The storage unit acquires sound source data corresponding to the trigger area; and controls the sound generating unit to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data.

In one embodiment, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention further includes a control panel that is electrically connected to the controller and configured to enable settings for various electronic musical instruments through the controller.

In another embodiment, the trigger area is arranged as a strike area and/or a key area to enable the performance of various electronic musical instruments according to the settings of the control panel.

In yet another embodiment, the triggering comprises touch triggering and/or non-contact triggering, wherein the touch triggering comprises performing a stroke and/or pressing on one and/or more of the plurality of trigger zones caused by the trigger.

In one embodiment, the sound source data includes sound source data for each of the plurality of electronic musical instruments, and the controller is further configured to: configure the trigger zone according to the expected at least one electronic musical instrument to When the trigger area is triggered, the sound signal of the sound source data associated with the expected electronic musical instrument is output.

In another embodiment, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention further includes a triggering member for triggering the plurality of triggering regions, so that the triggered triggering regions generate the changed capacitance value.

In yet another embodiment, the triggering element includes: a second circuit including a circuit composed of one or more capacitors, so that when the triggering element triggers the triggering region, the triggered region is triggered The changed capacitance value is produced.

In one embodiment, the controller includes: a processing unit configured to process the electrical signal output by the sensor; and a microcontroller unit configured to retrieve from the storage unit based on the electrical signal sound source data associated with the electrical signal, and the sound generating unit is controlled to output the sound signal corresponding to the sound source data.

In another embodiment, the storage unit includes: an IC sound source memory, which is configured to store sound source data corresponding to each trigger area, so as to send the sound source data to the sound producing unit according to an instruction of the micro-control unit. the sound source data; and a program memory configured to store a program for controlling the electronic musical instrument, so that the microcontroller can control the electronic musical instrument by retrieving and executing the program.

In yet another embodiment, the plurality of trigger areas are made of a flexible circuit board, wherein the flexible circuit board is a whole circuit board or is formed by splicing a plurality of sub-circuit boards.

Based on the above embodiments, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can also arrange the trigger area on the flexible circuit board in the form of a connector, and by crimping the flexible circuit board, the volume of the electronic musical instrument is reduced, thereby facilitating transportation and carry. In addition, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can be made of metal materials or composite materials with lower price, thus better solving the problems of limited material selection and high price of traditional musical instruments. At the same time, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can also use a wireless module such as Bluetooth to communicate with external devices, and is also provided with a multi-function panel, so that the electronic musical instrument of the present invention is further reduced in size and convenient for players to play. In addition, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention also has the advantages of good timbre, good playing feel, strong anti-interference ability, and many external interfaces, etc., so as to meet the various usage requirements of different players for the musical instrument.

Description of drawings

The above-described features of the present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without creative work, wherein:

1 is a schematic block diagram showing the composition of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a performance panel of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating another playing panel of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of a trigger area of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the composition principle of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal structure of a sound source memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the composition of an electronic musical instrument 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the electronic musical instrument 100 of the present invention may include one or more trigger zones 110 , one or more sensors 120 , a storage unit 130 , a sounding unit 140 and a controller 150 . Further, each trigger area may include a respective first circuit composed of one or more capacitors and other electronic components. Based on the above configuration, when the trigger region is triggered, the first circuit thereof can generate a changing capacitance value. Further, the sensor receives and processes the changed capacitance value so as to output an electrical signal corresponding to the changed capacitance value.

In one embodiment, the storage unit of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention is configured to store sound source data corresponding to each trigger area and programs for realizing various functions of the electronic musical instrument. When the electronic musical instrument is played, the controller receives and processes the electrical signal output by the sensor in order to determine the location of the trigger zone associated with the electrical signal. Further, the controller acquires the sound source data corresponding to the determined trigger area from the storage unit, thereby controlling the sound generating unit to output the sound signal corresponding to the sound source data. Finally, the electronic musical instrument can play the sound signal through the speaker, so as to realize the performance of the electronic musical instrument.

In one embodiment, the above-mentioned triggering of the multiple trigger zones of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may include contact triggering and/or non-contact triggering, wherein the contact triggering may include triggering one of the multiple trigger zones and/or or more triggers caused by performing strikes and/or presses. Specifically, according to different application scenarios, the multiple trigger areas can be configured as contact trigger areas of multiple different musical instruments. For example, the trigger area can be set as the key pressing area of the electronic organ, and the trigger area can also be set as one or more of xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, electronic drum (such as African drum and tambourine, etc.) and gong The percussion area of an electronic musical instrument. When playing the above-mentioned musical instruments, the trigger area can be struck, struck or pressed by percussion instruments, human hands or other parts of the human body, so as to achieve contact triggering of the trigger areas of various electronic musical instruments.

In addition, according to different types of musical instruments or different performance scenarios, the triggering of the trigger area can also be set as a non-contact trigger. For example, the trigger zone can be struck by a trigger element which internally includes a second circuit composed of one or more capacitors in order to interact with the first circuit of the trigger zone. When the trigger element is close to the trigger area (without contact), the trigger area can be triggered, thereby causing the capacitance value of the trigger area to change. Corresponding to the above-described setting of a plurality of trigger regions in order to realize a plurality of electronic musical instruments, the sound source data may include sound source data for each of the plurality of musical instruments. In this case, the controller is further configured to configure the trigger zone according to the expected at least one musical instrument, so that when the trigger zone is triggered, a sound signal associated with the expected electronic musical instrument is output.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a performance panel 200 of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2 , according to different application scenarios, the performance panel of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may be arranged as an electronic drum performance panel, which may include multiple trigger areas 201 . Further, according to the performance requirements, the trigger area can be set to the hitting areas such as the bass drum, the snare drum, the low-pass drum and the cymbal as shown in Figure 2, so that when the drumstick strikes the above-mentioned trigger area, the bass drum and the snare drum are issued. , low-pass drums and cymbals and other corresponding sounds, so as to realize the performance function of electronic drums.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating another playing panel 300 of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. It can be understood that the layout of the performance panel shown in FIG. 3 is only schematic, and in practical applications, different numbers of keys or percussion keys may be arranged according to the different electronic musical instruments implemented, and corresponding labels are marked on them. 's identification.

As shown in FIG. 3 , according to different application scenarios, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can be one or more percussion instruments such as an electronic organ or a xylophone, a vibraphone, and a marimba by arranging the keys. The playing panel of the above-mentioned electronic organ or percussion organ may include a plurality of keys 301, wherein each key may correspond to a trigger area, and the trigger area may be closely arranged below the keys.

Further, according to the performance requirements, the plurality of keys can be made of composite materials and can be arranged in two rows, wherein the first row can be set as a chromatic zone, as shown in FIG. 3 by the note numbers #C, #D, The upper row consists of #F, #G, and #A; while the second row can be set to whole-note range, as shown in Figure 3, the lower row consists of note numbers C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Row. During the playing process, when the above-mentioned keys are manually pressed or struck with a hammer, a corresponding sound is emitted, thereby realizing at least one of the performance functions of an electronic organ, xylophone, vibraphone or marimba.

Further, the above-mentioned plurality of keys may be made of a flexible circuit board or a plurality of trigger areas may be arranged on the flexible circuit board 302, wherein the flexible circuit board may be a whole circuit board or may be composed of a plurality of sub-circuits. Plates are spliced together. Preferably, the flexible circuit board can be, for example, a flexible circuit board or a thin-film circuit board, which has the advantages of high wiring density, light weight, high reliability, and good bending performance. In particular, when the flexible circuit board is formed by splicing multiple sub-circuit boards, it may include one or more keyboard modules and interfaces 303, so as to realize splicing with other sub-circuit boards or connection with the piano body.

In some application scenarios, the plurality of keyboard modules may be connected with other sub-circuit boards or connected with the piano body by means of mechanical connection, such as snap-connection or plug-in and pull-out. Based on the above design, when the electronic musical instrument of the present invention needs to be transported, the flexible circuit board can be pulled out from the piano body and folded to be curled, thereby reducing the volume and facilitating transportation and portability.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating an electronic musical instrument 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, in order to better show the structure of the electronic musical instrument 400 of the present invention, FIG. 4 is divided into upper and lower figures, wherein the upper figure shows the positional relationship of each component of the electronic musical instrument, and the lower figure is an exploded view of the electronic musical instrument.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may include a key 401 , a trigger area 402 , a trigger 403 , a body 404 , a main board 405 , a sensor 406 , a controller 407 , a storage unit 408 and a sounding unit 409 . Further, the number and layout of the keys can be configured according to the type of electronic musical instrument, and it can be made of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber plate (TPU) or wood, wherein the keys made of TPU plate have high strength, Good toughness, wear resistance and aging resistance.

In one embodiment, the trigger zones in FIG. 4 may be arranged on the lower part of the key, and each trigger zone includes a respective first circuit composed of one or more capacitors. When the trigger region is triggered, the first circuit can generate a changing capacitance value. Further, the first circuit is electrically connected to the main board, so that the first circuit outputs the changed capacitance value to the main board for processing.

In another embodiment, the sensor may be arranged on the main board and used to receive and process the changed capacitance value output by the first circuit, so as to output an electrical signal corresponding to the changed capacitance value. Specifically, the sensor may include, for example, a circuit composed of an ASIC (“Application Specific Integrated Circuit”) chip or a PSoC (“Programmable System on chip”) chip, and adopts a design method combining software and hardware , so as to sense and detect the capacitance value output by the first circuit. Further, after the sensor detects the change of the capacitance value, it outputs an electrical signal corresponding to each capacitance value to the controller. The capacitive sensor based on the above design has the advantages of low cost, flexible design and easy expansion, so that the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can be applied and promoted in large quantities.

In one embodiment, the triggering member may include a second circuit, so that when the triggering member triggers the triggering zone, the triggered triggering zone generates a changed capacitance value. Further, the trigger member may include a circuit composed of one or more capacitors, which may be arranged on the round head of the hammer (ie, trigger member 403 ) shown in FIG. 4 . When the first circuit and the second circuit are powered on, their internal capacitors have different capacitance values respectively. When playing the musical instrument, the player uses the hammer to strike the key, and then triggers the trigger area at the lower part of the corresponding key, so that the capacitance value of the trigger area changes. Next, the sensor receives and processes the changed capacitance value and outputs a corresponding electrical signal. Further, the controller obtains the position of the trigger area by calculating the electrical signal, and then retrieves the sound source data in the sound source memory, so that the sound generating unit outputs a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data.

In one embodiment, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may further include a body. The piano body may be a cavity structure, which may be made of metal or composite material, and a plurality of keys may be arranged on its surface, so as to form different kinds of electronic musical instruments. Further, the piano body may include a cavity in which a main board and a sounding unit may be accommodated. In an application scenario, the cavity can also accommodate a power module and other accessory circuit boards or modules. In addition, a control panel and various external transmission interfaces may also be arranged on the outer surface of the piano body, so as to facilitate the player's manipulation and performance.

Further, a controller and/or a sound source memory and other electronic components may be arranged on the main board, wherein the sound source memory is configured to store sound source data associated with the keys. The controller may include a processing unit and a micro-control unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to process the electrical signal output by the sensor; the micro-control unit is configured to obtain the sound source data associated with the trigger area from the sound source memory according to the electrical signal, In order to control the sound generating unit to output the sound signal corresponding to the sound source data. During the performance, firstly, the controller receives and processes the electrical signal from the sensor according to the changing capacitance value of the trigger area. Then, according to the electrical signal, the sound source data associated therewith is obtained from the sound source memory. Finally, the sound generating unit is controlled to output the piano sound signal corresponding to the sound source data, so as to realize the performance of the electronic musical instrument.

In one embodiment, the above-mentioned sound source memory may be configured to store sound source data associated with the plurality of trigger zones. In an application scenario, the sound source data may include, for example, data related to the timbre and/or sound effect of at least one electronic musical instrument. According to the solution of the present invention, the at least one electronic musical instrument may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a variety of musical instruments such as xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, electronic organ, electronic drum, and gong. Further, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can present the same performance effect as the existing various electronic musical instruments according to different sound source data and different setting of the number of trigger zones.

In one embodiment, the above-mentioned sound generating unit may be configured to output a musical sound signal corresponding to the sound source data. In an application scenario, the sound generating unit may be a speaker including a power amplifier, so as to amplify the musical sound signal and play it in the form of sound.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the working principle of the trigger area 500 of the electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the trigger area 500 of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may include a first circuit composed of an inductive capacitor C _p and a resistor R _t . According to the capacitance theory, there is an inductive capacitance between any two conductive objects. A key, that is, a pad and the ground can also form an inductive capacitance C _p . Under the condition that the surrounding environment remains unchanged, the inductive capacitance value is a fixed small value. When the human hand presses down, a capacitance C _t is induced between the human hand and the ground, and the capacitance C _t is connected in parallel with the C _p of the first circuit, so that the capacitance value on the sensing electrode increases. Further, the controller 501 can detect the position and state of the button by detecting the change of the capacitance value.

In one embodiment, the above-mentioned sensing electrodes can be directly drawn on the PCB board in the application style of buttons, rollers or sliders, or can be made into springs and inserted on the PCB board. Further, the above-mentioned keys may correspond to the keys 502 in FIG. 5 , and the keys may be made of insulating materials (such as glass or plastic, etc.), so as to avoid the potential safety hazard brought by the human body directly contacting the charged metal body. The button can be used even with gloves, and is not affected by changes in human body resistance caused by dry and humid weather, so it is more convenient to use. In addition, by arranging a cover layer of tempered glass, polycarbonate, polyester or acrylic material on the keys, a streamlined key design can also be achieved, thereby increasing the touch feel of the keys and making the keys easy to clean.

When the above key is applied to the electronic musical instrument of the present invention, it can be closely arranged on the upper part of the trigger area. Since the key does not have any mechanical parts, it has the advantages of small wear and long life, thus reducing the maintenance cost in the later period. Further, when the keys are made of insulating material, it is easy to make an electronic musical instrument keyboard that is sealed with the surrounding environment. In addition, the electronic musical instrument using this key also has the advantages of beautiful appearance, fashion, no fading, no deformation and durability, and fundamentally solves the effects that various mechanical or metal keyboards cannot achieve.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the composition principle of an electronic musical instrument 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It can be understood that the electronic musical instrument 600 shown in FIG. 6 is an exemplary embodiment of the electronic musical instrument 100 shown in FIG. 1 , which includes more implementation details. Therefore, the above description about the electronic musical instrument 100 is also applicable to the solution of the electronic musical instrument 600, and the same content will not be repeated.

As shown in FIG. 6, the electronic musical instrument 600 of the present invention may include a trigger area 601, a sensor 602, an A/D conversion module 603, a filter module 604, a main control unit 605, an IC sound source memory 606, a data memory 607, a power amplifier 608, Speaker 609 , Bluetooth module 610 , fiber optic module 611 and MIDI interface 612 .

In one embodiment, the A/D conversion module may include an A/D conversion chip and its associated circuits, which are configured to convert the analog electrical signal output by the sensor into a digital electrical signal and output to the controller. Specifically, the role of A/D conversion is to convert an analog signal with continuous time and amplitude into a digital signal with discrete time and amplitude. Usually A/D conversion needs to go through four processes of sampling, holding, quantization and encoding. In an actual circuit, some of the aforementioned processes can be combined, for example, quantization and encoding are often implemented simultaneously in the conversion process.

In one embodiment, the filtering module may include a filter and its associated circuits configured to filter the digital electrical signal and send the filtered digital electrical signal to the main control unit. In the process of playing electronic musical instruments, due to the electrical characteristics of electronic components, low-frequency or high-frequency interference signals may be generated in the circuit, and these interference signals may affect the reception of useful signals related to key strikes. Therefore, the digital electrical signal output by the A/D conversion module can be processed through a filter composed of resistors and capacitors, for example, so as to filter out the interfering signals and ensure the normal reception of useful signals.

In one embodiment, the memory of the present invention may include an IC sound source memory and a data memory. The IC sound source memory is configured to store sound source data associated with multiple trigger zones, the sound source data including but not limited to one of xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, electronic organ, electronic drum and gong or data related to the timbre and/or sound effects of various pianos. The internal structure of the IC sound source memory is briefly described below with reference to FIG. 7 .

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal structure of an IC sound source memory 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7 , the IC sound source memory stores waveform data of sound source data [0] to sound source data [n], wherein sound source data [0] is the waveform data of the lowest sound, and sound source data [n] is the highest sound Waveform data, where the value of n depends on the number of keys. When the sound source data is stored in the same number of wavelengths, since the wavelength of the bass is longer, the data of the sound source data corresponding to the lower note number is longer than that of the sound source data corresponding to the higher note number, so It occupies more storage space in the IC sound source memory. In one embodiment, the sound source data may be in one-to-one correspondence with the keys shown in FIG. 3 , for example, the sound source data [0] may correspond to the note number C of the keyboard shown in FIG. 3 , and the sound source data [1] may correspond to For example, note number D, etc. of the keys shown in FIG. 3 .

In one embodiment, the data storage may be configured to store programs and data related to the operation of the modules and units related to the control of the electronic musical instrument, and may also be used to store other musical data related to performance. The data memory and the main control unit can be connected through a bus, which can include multiple groups of sound source memories, and each group of sound source memories can be connected with the main control unit through a bus.

In one embodiment, the main control unit of the present invention may include a micro control unit (“MCU”) and a processing unit, wherein the MCU is configured to receive and process signals sent from the multiple trigger zones, thereby distinguishing and locating the trigger area. The processing unit may for example be implemented using a digital signal processor ("DSP"). DSP is a microprocessor suitable for digital signal processing operations, and its main application is to realize various digital signal processing algorithms quickly and in real time. For the present invention, the DSP is used as the processing unit, and the audio signal can be processed rapidly in real time. Specifically, first, the DSP receives the digital electrical signal output from the trigger area and subjected to A/D conversion, filtering and MCU processing. Next, the DSP obtains the sound source data associated with the digital electrical signal from the IC sound source memory. Finally, the DSP sends the sound source data to the sound generating unit so as to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data.

In one embodiment, the power amplifier may be composed of three parts: a preamplifier circuit, a drive amplifier circuit and a final stage power amplifier circuit. The preamplifier circuit is configured for impedance matching, and has the advantages of high input impedance and low output impedance, so that the current signal of the audio source data can be received and transmitted with as little data loss as possible. The drive amplifying circuit is configured to further amplify the current signal sent from the pre-amplifying circuit into a medium-power signal, so as to drive the final stage power amplifying circuit to work normally. The final stage power amplifier circuit plays a key role in the power amplifier, and is configured to amplify the current signal sent by the drive amplifier circuit into a high-power signal, so as to drive the speaker to play sound. Based on the important role of the final power amplifier circuit, its technical indicators determine the technical indicators of the entire power amplifier.

In one embodiment, the loudspeaker may include components such as magnets, frames, centering supports, and cone-shaped cones. Alternatively, the speaker may further include the above-mentioned power amplifier. A loudspeaker, commonly known as a "horn", is a transducer that converts electrical signals into sound signals. During the operation of the speaker, the audio power signal causes the cone or diaphragm of the speaker to vibrate and resonate (resonate) with the surrounding air through electromagnetic, piezoelectric or electrostatic effects to produce sound. Optionally, the speaker can also be arranged outside the electronic musical instrument of the present invention, which can be wirelessly connected to the electronic musical instrument of the present invention through a wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth.

In one embodiment, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may further include a transmission interface configured to allow the electronic musical instrument to interact with an external device to provide extended functions of the electronic musical instrument. Further, the transmission interface may include a wired transmission interface and/or a wireless transmission interface in order to provide wired and/or wireless connection with external devices. As a specific implementation, the wired transmission interface can be, for example, a music device digital interface (“Musical Instrument Digital Interface”, MIDI for short), general-purpose I/O (“General-purpose input/output”, GPIO for short) as required. One or more of an interface, a high-speed serial computer expansion bus ("Peripheral Component Interconnect Express", referred to as PCIE) interface, a serial peripheral interface ("Serial Peripheral Interface", referred to as SPI) and an optical fiber interface.

Further, the wired transmission interface can be electrically connected with the main control unit, thereby realizing data transmission between the electronic musical instrument and an external device (such as a server, a computer or other musical instruments). In one embodiment, when the wired transmission interface is a standard PCIE interface, the data to be processed is transmitted to the computer by the main control unit through the standard PCIE interface, so that the computer can control and edit the audio signal output by the electronic musical instrument of the present invention, etc. operate.

In another embodiment, the wired transmission interface may also be a MIDI interface. MIDI is a digital music standard that defines various notes or playing codes for performance devices such as electronic musical instruments, and allows electronic musical instruments, computers or other performance devices to be connected, adjusted, and synchronized with each other, so as to realize the interplay between musical instruments and devices. real-time exchange of performance data. In one embodiment, the MIDI interface is configured for data communication between the electronic musical instrument of the present invention and a musical instrument with a MIDI interface, so as to realize joint performance between multiple electronic musical instruments.

In yet another embodiment, the wired transmission interface may also be an optical fiber interface including an optical module, which is configured for data transmission between the electronic musical instrument of the present invention and an external device. Further, the light module may include a light emitting module and a light receiving module. In an application scenario, on the one hand, the electrical signal sent by the main control unit of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention is processed by the driving chip inside the light emitting module, and then drives the semiconductor laser (LD) or light emitting diode (LED) to emit a corresponding rate The modulated optical signal is coupled into the optical fiber for transmission to external equipment through the optical fiber. On the other hand, the optical signal sent by the external device is processed by the light detection diode and the amplifier inside the light receiving module, so as to output the electrical signal of the corresponding code rate, and transmit the electrical signal to the main control unit. The electronic musical instrument of the present invention performs data transmission between the electronic musical instrument and external equipment through optical signals, which not only can effectively overcome the disadvantage of large attenuation of electrical signal transmission, but also has faster data transmission speed and stronger anti-interference ability, thereby improving the electronic musical instrument of the present invention. performance.

In another embodiment, as required, the wireless transmission interface may be, for example, one or more of a Bluetooth interface, an infrared interface, and a WIFI interface. The wireless transmission interface is wirelessly connected to the main control unit, thereby realizing data transmission between the electronic musical instrument of the present invention and an external device (such as a server, a computer or other musical instruments). In one embodiment, the wireless transmission interface may be, for example, a Bluetooth interface including a Bluetooth module. The bluetooth interface can be used to connect the electronic musical instrument and the external speaker of the present invention, wherein a bluetooth module can be set in the electronic musical instrument and the speaker of the present invention, so that the external speaker can be conveniently and flexibly placed according to the needs of live performances s position.

In one embodiment, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may further include a control panel, the control panel is connected to the controller through a line interface, and is configured to realize the setting of various electronic musical instruments through the controller. In one embodiment, the control panel may include, for example, a display screen, switch buttons for different musical instruments, and volume and tone buttons. The display screen is configured to display the current performance status of the electronic musical instrument. The switching keys of different kinds of musical instruments can be used to select the playing modes of different kinds of musical instruments such as xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, electronic organ, electronic drum or gong. The volume button is connected with the power amplifier, so as to be configured to control the volume of the output sound of the musical instrument. In particular, the lower part of the control keys of the control panel can also be set to one or more trigger areas, wherein each trigger area includes a third circuit composed of one or more capacitors, and is configured to be triggered when triggered. The trigger area produces a changing capacitance value.

In one embodiment, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention may further include a power supply module, and the power supply module may implement power supply to the electronic musical instrument in various ways. For example, but not limited to, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can be powered by external mains and a transformer unit is provided inside the power module; the electronic musical instrument can also be powered by setting a power adapter. In addition, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention can also be powered by arranging a battery box on the piano body and using dry batteries.

The working principle of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention will be described in detail below by taking the marimba as an example and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 1 to 7 .

When the player needs to use the electronic musical instrument of the present invention as a marimba, firstly, the flexible circuit board can be opened and tiled on the table. Next, several flexible circuit boards are assembled with the body to form a 61-key marimba. After the hardware connection is completed, the player needs to set the electronic musical instrument of the present invention as a marimba by pressing keys on the control panel.

At the beginning of the performance, the player strikes the key with the hammer, for example, the key represented by the note number C. Since the hammer is close to the trigger area, the first circuit in the trigger area and the second circuit inside the hammer are recombined into a new circuit. Further, the sensor senses and detects the capacitance value in the new circuit, and after the capacitance value is processed by the sensor, a corresponding electrical signal is sent to the controller. The controller then receives and processes the electrical signal in order to differentiate and locate the trigger zone.

Next, the A/D conversion module receives the analog electrical signal sent from the trigger area, and after a series of processing such as sampling, quantization and encoding, converts the analog electrical signal into a digital electrical signal. Then, the digital electrical signal is processed by a filtering module, so as to effectively filter out high-frequency and low-frequency interference signals. After that, the controller performs a table lookup in the IC sound source memory to acquire the sound source data [0] associated with the key of the sound source number C, and outputs the sound source data [0] to the power amplifier.

Then, the power amplifier processes the received sound source data [0] signal through the preamplifier circuit, the drive amplifying circuit and the final power amplifier circuit respectively, and finally amplifies the signal of the sound source data [0]. The amplified signal of the audio source data [0] can be transmitted to the speaker for playback by wired or wireless means. Finally, the listener hears the sound produced by hitting the key of the tone generator number C. In particular, if the player needs to connect the electronic musical instrument of the present invention to a computer or other electronic musical instruments, so as to perform music learning or joint performance through APP software, he can connect with the above-mentioned device through a Bluetooth module or a MIDI interface.

It should be understood that the terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth" in the claims, description and drawings of the present invention are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order . The terms "comprising" and "comprising" used in the description and claims of the present invention indicate the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not exclude one or more other features, integers , step, operation, element, component and/or the presence or addition of a collection thereof.

It should also be understood that the terminology used in this specification of the present invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the present invention. As used in the present specification and claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It will be further understood that, as used in the present specification and claims, the term "and/or" refers to and including any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As used in this specification and in the claims, the term "if" may be contextually interpreted as "when" or "once" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting". Similarly, the phrases "if it is determined" or "if the [described condition or event] is detected" may be interpreted, depending on the context, to mean "once it is determined" or "in response to the determination" or "once the [described condition or event] is detected. ]" or "in response to detection of the [described condition or event]".

Although the embodiments of the present invention are as described above, the above contents are only examples adopted to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope and application scenarios of the present invention. Any person skilled in the technical field of the present invention, without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed by the present invention, can make any modifications and changes in the form and details of the implementation, but the scope of the patent protection of the present invention is , still subject to the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

An electronic musical instrument comprising: one or more trigger zones, wherein each trigger zone includes a respective first circuit composed of one or more capacitors, and is configured to generate a changing capacitance value when the trigger zone is triggered; a sensor configured to receive and process the changing capacitance value to output an electrical signal corresponding to the changing capacitance value; a storage unit, configured to store the sound source data corresponding to each of the trigger zones; a sound generating unit configured to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data; and A controller that is configured to: receiving and processing an electrical signal output by the sensor to determine a trigger zone associated with the electrical signal; Acquire sound source data corresponding to the trigger zone from the storage unit; and The sound generating unit is controlled to output a sound signal corresponding to the sound source data. The electronic musical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a control panel electrically connected to the controller and configured to enable settings of a plurality of electronic musical instruments through the controller. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the trigger area is arranged as a striking area and/or a key area, so as to realize the performance of various electronic musical instruments according to the setting of the control panel. The electronic musical instrument of claim 3, wherein the triggering comprises contact triggering and/or non-contact triggering, wherein the contact triggering comprises performing a blow to one and/or more of the plurality of trigger zones and/or triggers caused by presses. The electronic musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the sound source data includes sound source data for each of a plurality of electronic musical instruments, the controller further configured to: The trigger zone is configured according to the intended at least one electronic musical instrument, so that when the trigger zone is triggered, a sound signal of sound source data associated with the intended electronic musical instrument is output. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, further comprising a triggering member for triggering the plurality of triggering regions, so that the triggered triggering regions generate the changed capacitance value. The electronic musical instrument of claim 6, wherein the trigger comprises: The second circuit includes a circuit composed of one or more capacitors, so that when the trigger element triggers the trigger region, the triggered trigger region generates the changed capacitance value. The electronic musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: a processing unit configured to process the electrical signal output by the sensor; and A micro-control unit configured to acquire sound source data associated with the electrical signal from the storage unit according to the electrical signal, and to control the sound generating unit to output the sound signal corresponding to the sound source data. The electronic musical instrument of claim 8, wherein the storage unit comprises: An IC sound source memory configured to store sound source data corresponding to each of the trigger zones, so as to send the sound source data to the sound generating unit according to an instruction of the micro-control unit; and A program memory configured to store a program for controlling the electronic musical instrument, so that the micro-control unit can control the electronic musical instrument by retrieving and executing the program. The electronic musical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the plurality of trigger areas are made of a flexible circuit board, and the flexible circuit board is a whole circuit board or is formed by splicing a plurality of sub-circuit boards. to make. A key structure comprising: a plurality of keys, which are used to accept strokes or depressions; one or more trigger zones, wherein each trigger zone includes a respective first circuit of one or more capacitors and is configured to: triggered upon said strike or press; and upon being triggered by the trigger, producing a changing capacitance value; and A sensor configured to receive and process the changing capacitance value to output an electrical signal corresponding to the changing capacitance value. The key structure according to claim 11, further comprising a wired transmission interface and/or a wireless transmission interface to communicate with an external device and transmit data of the electrical signal to the external device. The key structure of claim 12, further comprising a control panel for setting the external device. The key structure according to claim 13, wherein the trigger area is arranged as a striking area and/or a key area, so as to realize the performance of various electronic musical instruments according to the setting of the control panel. The key structure of claim 14, wherein the triggering comprises contact triggering and/or non-contact triggering, wherein the contact triggering comprises performing a stroke on one and/or more of the plurality of trigger zones and/or triggers caused by presses. The key structure according to claim 11, further comprising a triggering member for triggering the plurality of triggering regions, so that the triggered triggering regions generate the changed capacitance value. The key structure of claim 16, wherein the trigger comprises: The second circuit includes a circuit composed of one or more capacitors, so that when the trigger element triggers the trigger region, the triggered trigger region generates the changed capacitance value. The keyboard structure according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein the plurality of trigger areas are made of a flexible circuit board, and the flexible circuit board is a whole circuit board or is formed by splicing a plurality of sub-circuit boards. to make. 19. The key structure of claim 18, wherein the trigger area is a striking area of one or more electronic musical instruments of xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, electronic drum, and gong. 19. The key structure of claim 18, wherein the plurality of keys are made of a composite material and are arranged in two rows, wherein the first row is arranged as a semitone and the second row is arranged as a whole tone.

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