Patent Application
20070050059
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital audio signal player, more particularly one, which is more convenient to use, and has smaller size and more functions.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In order to help increase hot and exciting atmosphere in a concert or a party such as is held in a PUB or a dancing hall, the DJ usually makes the music played with scratch sound effects by means of manually moving the analogue vinyl record positioned on the turntable at changing speeds and in alternate directions. As soon as the DJ stops moving the record with his hands, the record player will start playing the record in the normal way again. However, a single analogue vinyl record has very limited capacity to store music in, and a DJ has to prepare a lot of vinyl records in every event, and the records are likely to cause the DJ inconvenience due to the large size and heavy weight. Moreover, conventional vinyl records are prone to be damaged when they are manually moved relative to the turntable. CD/MP3 records have larger capacity, and are smaller in size and more convenient to use than conventional vinyl records.
Therefore, various types of audio signal players are developed for DJ to play CD/MP3 records and produce scratch sound effects.
Referring to
Referring to
From the above description, it can be seen that when the above-mentioned digital audio signal players are used, the users are allowed to manually rotate the round disks on the turntables so as to produce certain scratch sound effects. However, such method of producing scratch sound effects has its limitation; the users can only produce some certain kinds of scratch sound effects, and he isn't allowed to use other methods to add other scratch sound effects to the current ones while manually rotating the round disks on the turntables. Furthermore, each of the digital audio signal players has to be equipped with a pick-up for reading signals of the round disk, causing increase to the size of the audio signal players. Consequently, the audio signal players are relatively big.
Referring to
The above audio signal player doesn't have to be further equipped with a pick-up because it has the first and the second photoelectric interrupters and light blocking plates for finding out the rotational speed and direction of the rotary shaft and the first turntable. However, the user still isn't allowed to produce scratch sound effects with another method except manually rotating the round disk on the turntable. Furthermore, the first and the second light blocking plates will cause increase to the thickness of the audio signal player. Consequently, the audio signal player occupies much space, and is inconvenient to use.
It is a main object of the invention to provide an improvement on a digital audio signal player to overcome the above-mentioned problem. The digital audio signal player of the invention includes a turntable unit, a conductive touch-control plate on top of the turntable unit, a round disk, a conductive central shaft joined to the touch-control plate and the round disk, an upright grating on a lower edge of the turntable unit, a flat grating joined to a lower end of the central shaft, a photoelectric interrupter for use with the upright grating to find out rotational speed and direction of the turntable unit, a photoelectric interrupter for use with the flat grating to find out rotational speed and direction of the round disk. The round disk can be manually rotated to send out scratch sound effects, and the user is allowed to touch the touch-control plate so as to produce a touch signal, thus making the player send out, according to the touch signal, a particular one of various scratch sound effects. Because the upright grating is positioned on the lower side of the turntable unit, and the flat grating is secured on the lower end of the central shaft, the present player can be manufactured in a smaller size.
The present invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 11, a preferred embodiment of a digital audio signal player includes:
a turntable unit 1;
an actuating unit 2 having an output shaft 21; an upper ringed pad 221 is securely joined to a lower end of the output shaft 21;
a magnet seat 12; the magnet seat 12 is secured on a bottom side of the turntable unit 1 by means of threaded fixing elements 11 such that the magnet seat 12 and the turntable unit 1 can't rotate relative to each other; the magnet seat 12 is securely joined to the output shaft 21 of the actuating unit 2 at a center thereof;
an upright grating 121 on a lower edge of the magnet seat 12;
a photoelectric interrupter 122 for use with the upright grating 121;
a motor seat formed with an axle hole 23;
a lower ringed pad 222 is secured in a lower end of the axle hole 23;
a ball bearing 22 positioned between the upper and the lower ringed pads 221 and 222; the ball bearing 22 is supported on the lower ringed pad 222 such that the output shaft 21 will rotate smoothly thereon;
a central shaft 13 inserted in the output shaft 21; the central shaft 13 has an inner part made of electricity-conductive materials, an insulating outer part wrapped around the electricity-conductive inner part, and a flat side 131 at an upper end;
a round pad 142 positioned on the turntable unit 1;
a round disk 14 positioned on the round pad 142; the round disk 14 has a central hole 141, which has a flat side; the central shaft 13 is fitted in the central hole 141 of the round disk 14 with the flat side 131 being next to the flat side of the central hole 141 such that the central shaft 13 and the round disk 14 will rotate at the same speed and in the same direction;
a flat grating 15 securely joined to a lower end of the central shaft 13;
a photoelectric interrupter 16 for use with the flat grating 15;
a motor base 171; threaded connecting elements 172 are passed through two ends of the motor base 171 to secure the motor base 171 in position; the motor base 171 is insulated by means of insulating ringed pads 173 and 174;
a conducting part 17; the conducting part 17 is positioned on the motor base 171 and joined to the lower end of the central shaft 13; and
a touch-control plate 18 made of electricity-conductive materials; the touch-control plate 18 is positioned over and joined to the upper end of the central shaft 13.
Therefore, if the user presses and rotates the round disk 14 manually while the output shaft 21 of the actuating unit 2 is making the turntable unit 1 rotate together with it, the speed and direction of rotation of the round disk 14 will be found out by means of the flat grating 15 and the photoelectric interrupter 16, and a certain scratch sound effect will be produced according to the speed and direction of rotation of the round disk 14. At the same time, the upright grating 121 and the photoelectric interrupter 122 will measure change of the speed of the turntable unit 1, and make the speed kept at a constant one accordingly. Referring to
From the above description, it can be easily seen that the digital audio signal player of the present invention has the following advantages over the conventional ones:
1. The digital audio signal player has more functions; besides allowing the user to produce scratch sound effects through manually rotating the round disk, the player allows the user to produce additional scratch sound effects through touching the touch-control plate to produce touch signals, which will be transferred into an internal circuit of the player through the electricity-conductive inner part of the central shaft.
2. Because of the ball bearing positioned between the output shaft of the actuating unit and the lower end of the axle hole of the motor seat, the original speed and direction of rotation of the turntable unit will be recovered immediately after the user stops pressing the round disk. Therefore, there won't be any delay, and the present player will play music more smoothly.
3. Because the upright grating is positioned on the lower edge of the magnet seat secured on the bottom side of the turntable unit, and because the flat grating is secured on the lower end of the central shaft, the present player can be manufactured in a smaller height. Therefore, the present player has a smaller size than the conventional ones.
4. Because the magnet seat is secured on the bottom of the turntable unit by means of threaded fixing elements, it will certainly rotate in the same speed and in the same direction as the turntable unit. In other words, it isn't possible for the magnet seat to slide on the turntable unit.
5. Because the central shaft includes the conductive inner part, and the insulating outer part around the inner part, touch signals from the touch-control plate can be transferred through the central shaft. Furthermore, because the flat grating is securely joined to the lower end of the central shaft, rotation of the central shaft allows the speed and direction of rotation of the round disk to be found out by means of the flat grating and the photoelectric interrupter.
