Electronic percussion instrumental system and percussion detecting apparatus therein

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6271458
  • Patent Number
    6,271,458
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, September 22, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 7, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
An object of the present invention is to provide a percussion detecting apparatus, which is excellent in percussion feeling, and the percussion sounds of which are very small, in electronic percussion instrumental system. The percussion detecting apparatus is provided with a head prepared from a net-like raw material composed of a first net and a second net, the net-like raw material being obtained by such a manner that both the nets having been woven in accordance with plane weaving manner wherein the longitudinal and transverse fibers cross at right angles are laminated in such a way that the weave pattern directions thereof intersect obliquely with each other; and a head sensor which is in contact with the center position of the under side in the head and detects percussion with respect to the head as electric signal.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to an electronic percussion instrumental system and a percussion detecting apparatus in the electronic percussion instrumental system, and more particularly to an electronic percussion instrumental system which simulates a percussion instrument such as acoustic drum sounding musical tone as a result of percussing it with sticks or the like by a player and a percussion detecting apparatus in the electronic percussion instrumental system.




2. Description of the Related Art




Heretofore, in an electronic percussion instrumental system such as electronic drum simulating acoustic drum, a percussion detecting apparatus provided with a surface to be percussed being generally called by the name of “percussion pad” is utilized as a means for detecting percussion.




As such a percussion detecting means as described above, for example, the percussion detecting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 44357/1996 has been known. In the percussion detecting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 44357/1996, the percussion surface is formed by covering a plate-like case with a material of a soft high-molecular compound.




However, in such percussion detecting apparatus wherein the percussion surface is formed by covering the plate-like case with a soft high-molecular compound material, there is such a problem that repulsive feeling at the time of percussing the percussion surface is remarkable, so that good percussion feeling cannot be obtained In addition, the above described percussion detecting apparatus involves also such a problem that there is a fear of disturbing the performance by the percussion sound, because the percussion sound generated at the time when the percussion surface is percussed is significant.




On one hand, it has been proposed to utilize, as a percussion detecting means, a percussion surface, the tension of which can be adjusted and is called by the name of “head” in acoustic drum, which is further provided with a sensor for detecting percussion.




In the present specification, adjustment for tension of a percussion surface which is adjustable as in the head of acoustic drum will be called by the term “tuning”.




In the case when the head of acoustic drum is served for a percussion detecting means as described above, there is such a problem that although percussion feeling is excellent in this case because the head for the acoustic drum is utilized as it is, the percussion sound becomes remarkable so that it disturbs the performance.




OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention has been made in view of the problems as described above involved in the prior art. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a percussion detecting apparatus provided with a head as the percussion surface which is excellent in percussion feeling and in which the percussion sound is extremely quiet in an electronic percussion instrumental system.




Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic percussion instrumental system which is adapted to be easily capable of correct tuning of the head in the case when the head is tuned on the basis of an indication which is suitably given and corresponding to a position of percussion in the head.




Moreover, still another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic percussion instrumental system which is adapted to be capable of detecting a correct position in percussion by correcting variations in tension of the head as a result of tuning of the same.




An yet further object of the present invention is to provide an electronic percussion instrumental system which is adapted to make clear a position of percussion in the head in case of tuning operation to display the tuning state, whereby the tuning operation can be carried out while confirming the state, so that anybody can easily conduct such tuning operation without requiring any sense of skilled user.




In order to achieve the above described objects, the present invention is characterized by a percussion detecting apparatus in electronic percussion instrumental system comprising a head the percussion surface of which is composed of a net-like raw material; and a percussion detecting means being in contact with the center position of the aforesaid head and detecting percussion with respect to the aforesaid head as electric signal.




Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, since the percussion surface of the head is composed of a net-like raw material, extremely good percussion feeling can be obtained because of the elasticity of the net-like raw material. Besides, since air passes through the openings of stitches in the net-like raw material, percussion sound in case of percussing the head becomes extremely small.




Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by an electronic percussion instrumental system which detects percussion as electric signal and generates musical tone based on the electric signal thus detected comprising a head the percussion surface of which to be percussed is tunable; a percussion detecting means for detecting percussion upon the aforesaid head as electric signal; a means for detecting a position of percussion point for performing arithmetic computations by inputting the electric signal detected by means of the aforesaid percussion detecting means to detect percussion point positional information; and a display means for effecting a display corresponding to the percussion point positional information detected by the aforesaid means for detecting a position of percussion point.




Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, since a display corresponding to the percussion point positional information is effected by means of the display means, the head can be tuned while observing visually the resulting display, so that correct tuning of the head can easily be realized.




Moreover, the present invention is characterized by an electronic percussion instrumental system comprising further an arithmetic computation compensating means for compensating the arithmetic computations in the aforesaid means for detecting the position of percussion point in response to a tuning state of the aforesaid head.




Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, the arithmetic computations for detecting the percussion point positional information in response to tuning of the head are compensated the position of percussion point is also compensated in response to tuning of the head, whereby it becomes possible to display the correct position of percussion point.




Still further, the present invention is characterized by an electronic percussion instrumental system which detects percussion as electric signal and generates musical tone based on the electric signal thus detected comprising a tunable head; a means for detecting a position of percussion point for detecting the position of percussion point upon the aforesaid head, and a display means for effecting a display in response to the results detected by the aforesaid means for detecting the position of percussion point; a percussion point positional mark for tuning being provided on the aforesaid head.




Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, since a tuning operation can be conducted by a user in accordance with such a manner that a place marked with a percussion point positional mark is percussed by the user, and the result detected at that time by the position of percussion point detecting means is confirmed while watching the display means, tuning operation can simply be carried out without relying upon user's sense.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying digs which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:





FIG. 1

is a constitutional block diagram showing an example of manner of practice of the electronic percussion instrumental system according to the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view showing a percussion detecting apparatus;





FIG. 3

is a sectional view taken along the line III—III of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

is a perspective view showing a head;





FIG. 5

is a perspectively exploded view of the head;





FIG. 6

is an explanatory view showing a case where directions in weave patterns of a first net and a second net intersect obliquely;




FIGS.


7


(


a


),


7


(


b


), and


7


(


c


) are explanatory views wherein FIG.


7


(


a


) is a fragmentary view taken in the direction of the arrow A of FIG.


7


(


b


), FIG.


7


(


b


) is a front view, and FIG.


7


(


c


) is a fragmentary view taken in the direction of the arrow C of FIG.


7


(


b


), respectively.





FIG. 8

is a sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 3

in the case when the head is percussed with a stick;





FIG. 9

is a sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 3

in the case when the rim is percussed with a stick;





FIG. 10

is a sectional view corresponding to

FIG. 3

in the case when the head is either brushed or percussed with a brush;





FIG. 11

is a flowchart of the main routine executed by a CPU;





FIG. 12

is a flowchart of a DSP percussion signal processing routine executed by the DSP;




FIGS.


13


(


a


) and


13


(


b


) are explanatory views for characteristic properties of a head composed of a net-like raw material wherein FIG.


13


(


a


) shows the positions of percussion point, and FIG.


13


(


b


) shows the output waveforms, respectively;





FIG. 14

is a functional block diagram showing the constitution of a means for detecting the position of percussion point in a DSP in a normal performance mode;





FIG. 15

is an explanatory diagram showing the characteristic properties of table


1


;





FIG. 16

is an explanatory diagram showing the characteristic properties of table


2


;





FIG. 17

is a flowchart of a tuning processing routine executed by the CPU;




FIGS.


18


(


a


),


18


(


b


), and


18


(


c


) are explanatory diagrams showing examples of display mode in percussion point positional information AP by means of a display unit wherein FIG.


18


(


a


) shows the first displaying example, FIG.


18


(


b


) shows the second displaying example, and FIG.


18


(


c


) shows figures indicating a variety of the percussion point positional information AP in the display column for the percussion point positional information AP in FIG.


18


(


b


), respectively;





FIG. 19

is a flowchart of a normal performance processing routine executed by the CPU;





FIG. 20

is a schematic top view of a percussion detecting apparatus showing an example of percussion point positional mark displayed on the top of a head;





FIG. 21

is a flowchart showing a typical operational procedure for the tuning operation of a head;





FIG. 22

is a perspective view showing a modified example of the percussion detecting apparatus corresponding to

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 23

is a perspective view showing a modified example of the percussion detecting apparatus corresponding to

FIG. 2

;




FIGS.


24


(


a


) and


24


(


b


) are schematic top views of a percussion detecting apparatuses each showing an example of percussion point positional mark displayed on the top of the head wherein FIGS.


24


(


a


) and


24


(


b


) show different examples from each other; and





FIG. 25

is an explanatory view showing another example of display mode in the percussion point positional information AP by means of a display unit.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




An example of manner of practice of the electronic percussion instrumental system and the percussion detecting apparatus in the electronic percussion instrumental system according to the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.





FIG. 1

is a constitutional block diagram showing an example of manner of practice of the electronic percussion instrumental system according to the present invention wherein the electronic percussion instrumental system comprises a percussion detecting apparatus


10


provided with a head sensor


14


functioning as a percussion detecting means for detecting percussion applied to a head


12


the surface of which is composed of a net-like raw material which will be described hereunder, and a rim-shot sensor


18


for detecting percussion applied to a rim


16


; an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter


20


which performs analog-to-digital conversion of the detected signals output from the head sensor


14


and the rim-shot sensor


18


in time-sharing manner and inputs the converted signals to a DSP


22


which will be mentioned hereinafter; the DSP


22


which detects the percussion applied to the head


12


, the intensity thereof the position of percussion from the detected signals which are derived from the head sensor


14


and which were input from the analog-to-digital converter


20


as well as performance by means of a brush, and in addition, the DSP detecting also the percussion applied to the rim


16


and the intensity thereof from the detected signals which are derived from the rim-shot sensor


18


and which were input from the analog-to-digital converter


20


to supply the results thus detected to a CPU


24


which will be described hereunder; the CPU


24


which supplies the output from the DSP


22


to a sound source IC


34


, which will be undermentioned, wherein the output is converted into required performance information, as well as detects operations of a group of operation keys


30


which will be mentioned hereinafter, and controls the DSP


22


; a read only memory (ROM


26


storing a program or the like which is to be executed by the CPU


24


, a random access memory (RAM)


28


functioning as a working area required for executing the program by means of the CPU


24


; the group of operation keys


30


including mode selecting keys for setting normal performance mode, brush performance mode or tuning mode, keys for selecting tone color or setting level or the like, and the like keys; a display unit


32


for displaying an operation mode selected by a key in the group of operation keys


30


, tone colors required for the tone color selection, and a tuning state in case of tuning mode; the sound source IC


34


which reads a waveform memory


36


which will be undermentioned on the basis of performance information from the CPU


24


to form digital musical tone signals and outputs the signals thus formed to a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter


38


which will be described hereunder; the waveform memory


36


storing sampling waveform data for forming the musical tone signals; and the digital-to-analog converter


38


for converting digital musical tone signals supplied from the sound source IC


34


into analog musical tone signals to output the signals thus converted to a sound system composed of an amplifier, a speaker and the like.




Then, the constitution of the percussion detecting apparatus


10


will be described by referring to

FIG. 2

being a perspective view showing the percussion detecting apparatus


10


and

FIG. 3

being a sectional view taken along the line III—III of FIG.


2


.




The percussion detecting apparatus


10


contains a cylindrical barrel section


50


, and around the outer circumference of the barrel section


50


are formed protrusively engaging portions


52


each having a tapped hole (not shown) provided with a thread groove (not shown) with a prescribed interval along the diametrical direction of the barrel section. Into the engaging portion


52


is screwed an engaging pin


54


on which is formed a thread ridge to be combined with the thread groove formed on the engaging portion


52


, so that the head


12


and the rim


16


are fixed to the barrel section


50


through the engaging pin


54


. Furthermore, a locking projection


54




a


for locking the rim


16


is formed on the engaging pin


54


.




The head


12


is prepared as shown in

FIGS. 4 and 5

in such a manner that a net-like raw material composed of a first net


56


and a second net


58


, each of which is woven in accordance with plane weave wherein the longitudinal and transverse fibers cross at right angles, are laminated to one another so as to cross obliquely their longitudinal and transverse weave pattern directions, and the net-like raw material thus arranged is bonded to a frame


60


. It is to be noted herein that the expression “the weave pattern direction of the first net


56


crosses obliquely that of the second net


58


” means that when the first net


56


wherein the longitudinal and transverse fibers cross at right angles is superposed on the second net


58


wherein the longitudinal and transverse fibers cross at right angles, adjacent fibers in the first net


56


and the second net


58


thus superposed intersect with each other at an angle a which is smaller than 90 degrees as shown in FIG.


6


.




Moreover, on the top of the head


12


is provided a percussion point positional mark M which is formed with a circular contour by means of printing as shown in FIG.


20


and which is used in case of tuning operation.




Furthermore, the rim


16


is prepared by integrally molding a metallic material and is composed of a flange portion


66


which is positioned around the outer circumference of the rim and has hole potions


64


into each of which an engaging pin


54


can be inserted, and a rim percussion portion


68


which is ascendingly formed and extended from the flange portion


66


around the inner circumference thereof. The top of the rim percussion portion


68


is covered with a covering member


70


made from an elastic material such as rubber, sponge and the like.




A manner for fixing the head


12


and the rim


16


to the barrel section


50


each of them having the structure described above is such that the head


12


is first put on the barrel section


50


, then, the rim


16


is put on the head


12


, and the positions of them are adjusted in such a way that each hole portion


64


of the rim


16


communicates with each tapped hole defined on each engaging portion


52


of the barrel section


50


. Thereafter, each engaging pin


54


is inserted into each hole portion


64


of the rim


16


as well as into each tapped hole defined on each engaging portion


52


of the barrel section


50


, and the thread ridge of each engaging pin


54


is threadedly combined with the thread groove in each engaging portion


52


of the barrel section


52


, so that the head


12


and the rim


16


are forcedly fixed to the barrel section


50


by means of the locking projection


54




a


of each engaging pin


54


.




More specifically, with the progress of screwing each engaging pin


54


in the tapped hole in each engaging portion


52


of the barrel section


50


, the flange portion


66


of the rim


16


is pressed downwards in

FIG. 3

by means of each locking projection


54




a,


so that the frame


60


of the head


12


is also pressed downwards through the flange portion


66


. As a result, the first net


56


and the second net


58


the downward movement of which are restricted by an upper end portion


50




a


of the barrel section


50


, respectively, are stretched over the barrel section


50


with a prescribed tension. Thus, when an amount of screwing each engaging pin


54


in each tapped hole defined on each engaging portion


52


of the barrel section


50


is adjusted, the tension of the first net


56


and the second net


58


can be arbitrarily controlled, whereby tuning of the head


12


can be carried out.




Furthermore, a head sensor supporting material


72


is placed in the barrel section


50


in such that the head sensor supporting material


72


intersects the position of the axial center of the barrel section


50


. A head sensor


14


is bonded to the top of the head sensor supporting material


72


at the central portion thereof by means of a cushioning double-coated tape


78


which will be described hereinafter so as to be in contact with the second net


58


. In other words, the head sensor


14


is disposed on the under surface of the net-like raw material composed of the first net


56


and the second net


58


in the head


12


at the center thereof in contact therewith.




As shown in FIGS.


7


(


a


),


7


(


b


), and


7


(


c


), the head sensor


14


is provided with a disc-shaped piezoelectric element


76


containing wires for output signal


74


, and to the under surface of the piezoelectric element


76


is bonded the cushioning double-coated tape


78


. A diameter of the cushioning double-coated tape


78


is made to coincide with an node diameter of the piezoelectric element


76


.




Furthermore, to the top of the piezoelectric element


76


is bonded a frustoconical cushioning member


80


made from an elastic material such as rubber, sponge and the like. The cushioning member


80


has a bottom surface of a larger diameter than that of the piezoelectric element


76


, the cross section of which tapers off upwardly, and it is in contact with the second net


58


at the extreme end of the cushioning member


80


of a thin diameter.




Moreover, in the vicinity of the rim percussion portion


68


disposed on the upper portion inside the barrel section


50


is bonded the rim-shot sensor


18


by means of the cushioning double-coated tape


78


. The rim-shot sensor


18


is provided with the disc-shaped piezoelectric element


76


containing wires for output signal


74


, and to the under surface of the piezoelectric element


76


is bonded the cushioning double-coated tape


78


. The diameter of the cushioning double-coated tape


78


is made to coincide with the node diameter of the piezoelectric element


76


.




Namely, in the electronic percussion instrumental system according to the present invention, a member obtained by removing the cushioning member


80


from the head sensor


14


is used as the rim-shot sensor


18


, whereby improvements in efficiency of parts to be used are intended.




In this electronic percussion instrumental system, a variety of heads


12


having different diameters as well as a variety of the barrel sections


50


being adapted for such various heads and the like members are prepared, whereby a size of the head


12


is suitably changed.




In the constitution as described above, when the head


12


is percussed with a stick


100


(see FIG.


8


), the head sensor


14


detects the percussion, while when the rim


16


is percussed with the stick


100


(see

FIG. 9

, but it is to be noted that both the head


12


and the rim


16


are percussed with the stick


100


in FIG.


9


), the rim-shot sensor


18


detects the percussion. Further, when the head


12


is brushed or percussed with a brush


102


(see FIG.


10


), the head sensor


14


detects the contact of the brush


102


with the head


12


.




In these circumstances, when the head


12


is percussed with the stick


100


, extremely good percussion feeling closely resembling the percussion feeling in the case when the head of an acoustic drum is percussed can be obtained because of the elasticity of a net-like raw material composed of the first net


56


and the second net


58


.




In addition, since the first net


56


and the second net


58


which have been woven in accordance with plane weaving manner wherein the longitudinal and transverse fibers cross at right angles are laminated obliquely with each other in the net-like raw material, the tension is uniformized over the whole surface of the net-like raw material, so that there is little variations in percussion feeling due to differences in the position percussed, and as a result, output waveforms from the head sensor


12


become the ones which are easily processed.




As described above, performance played by percussing the head


12


is controlled by output waveforms from the head sensor


14


being in contact with the under surface of the center in the first net


56


and the second net


58


of the head


12


. In this respect, since the head sensor


14


is positioned at the center of the first net


56


and the second net


58


of the head


12


, variations in output waveforms due to differences in the position of the head


12


percussed become concentric circular form, so that variations in tone color simulating acoustic drum are easily expressed.




Moreover, since the cushioning member


80


of the head sensor


14


is in contact with the under surface of the center of the second net


58


of the head


12


, oscillation of the head


12


attenuates rapidly so that the output signal attenuates also rapidly, whereby erroneous detecting operation in case of percussing the head


12


in a rapid and repeated manner is prevented.




Further, since the cushioning member


80


bonded to the top of the piezoelectric


76


of the head sensor


14


is in contact with the second net


58


of the head


12


at the site of the frustoconical extreme end portion having a thin diameter and a small area, vibrations of percussion in the head


12


are hardly transmitted directly to the piezoelectric element


76


, so that damage of the piezoelectric element


76


is suppressed.




In addition, since a diameter of the cushioning double-coated tape


78


bonded to the under surface of the piezoelectric element


76


is made to be equal to the node diameter, sensitivity of the piezoelectric element


76


increases, so that delicate variations in the oscillation due to differences in positions percussed can be more precisely detected.




Still further, since air passes through openings of stitches in the net-like raw material composed of the first net


56


and the second net


58


, percussion sound in the case when the head


12


is percussed is extremely small. Such percussion sound in case of percussing the head


12


is dependent upon a ratio of openings in the net-like raw material composed of the first net


56


and the second net


58


, and therefore, the higher ratio of openings brings about the smaller percussion sound. However, an excessive ratio of openings results in low tension of the first net


56


and the second net


58


so that the percussion feeling deteriorates. Accordingly, it is preferred to suitably keep a balance between the percussion feeling and the ratio of openings.




Yet further, since the rim


16


is covered with the covering member


70


, the percussion sound in case of percussing the rim


16


is also reduced.




In this respect, the oscillation in case of percussing the rim


16


is mostly transmitted to the barrel


50


, the performance played by percussing the rim


16


can be controlled in accordance with output waveforms in the rim-shot sensor


18


attached to the barrel


50


.




In the following, electrical processing contents in the electronic percussion instrumental system according to the present invention will be described by referring to the accompanying flowcharts.





FIG. 11

is a flowchart of the main routine executed by the CPU


24


wherein when the power is turned on, first, memories, registers and the like are initialized (step S


802


).




Then, it is judged which operational mode has been set, i.e., it is judged whether a tuning mode which changes percussion feeling of the head


12


by adjusting tension in the net-like raw material of the head


12


, or a normal performance mode which sounds percussion instrumental sounds by detecting percussion upon the head


12


and percussion upon the rim


16


, or a brushing performance mode which sounds percussion instrumental sounds by detecting either brushing or percussing the head


12


with the brush


102


has been established (step S


804


) by supervising an operational state of mode selecting keys of the group of operation keys


30


.




As a result, when it has been judged that the tuning mode had been set in the step S


804


, the DSP


22


is set to the tuning mode, whereby the DSP


22


is adapted to be set so as to execute the DSP percussion signal processing routine shown in

FIG. 12

(step S


806


). Thereafter, the tuning processing routine executed by the CPU


24


shown in

FIG. 17

is executed (step S


808


), then, processing for stopping the tuning mode by means of the DSP


22


is conducted (step S


810


), and the procedure returns to the step S


804


.




On one hand, when it has been judged that the normal performance mode had been set in the step S


804


, the DSP


22


is set to the normal performance mode, whereby the DSP


22


is adapted to be set so as to execute the DSP percussion signal processing routine shown in

FIG. 12

(step S


812


). Thereafter, the normal performance processing routine by the CPU


24


shown in

FIG. 19

is executed (step S


814


), then, processing for stopping the normal performance mode in the DSP


22


is conducted (step S


816


), and the procedure returns to the step S


804


.




On the other hand, when it has been judged that the brushing performance mode had been set in the step S


804


, the DSP


22


is set to the brushing performance mode (step S


818


). Thereafter, the brushing performance processing routine by the CPU


24


is executed, then, processing for stopping the brushing performance mode in the DSP


22


is conducted (step S


816


), and the procedure returns to the step S


804


. It is to be noted that since the processing for brushing performance mode is not related to the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description therefor will be omitted.




In the following, the DSP percussion signal processing routine executed by the DSP


22


shown in

FIG. 12

will be described, and the this processing is based on the following characteristic features.




Namely, when detection signal of the head sensor


14


in the case when the head


12


composed of a net-like raw material is percussed is observed, there is such a characteristic that a first half-wave time changes dependent on a position of percussion point in a certain frequency band. More specifically, as shown in FIGS.


13


(


a


) and


13


(


b


), when the first half-wave time in the case where the center of the head


12


is percussed (position of percussion point A), the first half-wave time in the case where the outer circumference of the head


12


is percussed (position of percussion point C), and the first half-wave time in the case where the intermediate point defined between the center and the outer circumference of the head


12


is percussed (position of percussion point B) are represented by T


A


, T


C


, and T


B


, respectively, the relationship between them is expressed as follows.






T


A


>T


B


>T


C


.






As described above, when the head


12


composed of a net-like raw material is percussed, with the movement of position of the percussion point from the center to the outer circumference, a first half-wave time shortens gradually.




On one hand, when tuning of the head


12


is made high, i.e., tension of the head


12


is increased, the first half-wave times T


A


, T


B


, and T


C


shorten, respectively, while maintaining the relationship “T


A


>T


B


>T


C


”. On the other hand, when tuning of the head


12


is made low, i.e., tension of the head


12


is decreased, the first half-wave times T


A


, T


B


, and T


C


lengthen, respectively, while maintaining the relationship “T


A


>T


B


>T


C


”.





FIG. 14

is a functional block diagram showing the constitution of a means for detecting the position of percussion point in a DSP


22


. The outline of DSP percussion signal processing routine will be described by referring to

FIG. 14. A

detection signal detected by the head sensor


14


is subjected to analog-to-digital conversion by means of the analog-to-digital converter


20


, and the signal thus converted is input to a DC cut filter. The DC cut filter means a high pass filter for removing DC component. The DC component of the detection signal thus input to the DC cut filter is removed, and is input to a low pass filter (LP filter) removing unnecessary high pass component. Then, the detection signal from which unnecessary high pass component has been removed is input to a first half-wave detection circuit. The first half-wave detection circuit detects the leading edge of waveform of the detection signal thus input and the first zero cross, whereby the first half-wave is detected. A counter operates for counting during only a period wherein the first half-wave detection circuit detects first half-wave, and an arithmetic circuit calculates the position of percussion point from the count value of the counter. The position of percussion point thus calculated is input to the CPU


24


as percussion point positional information in head.




The DSP percussion signal processing routine will be described herein in detail by referring to

FIG. 12

wherein this DSP percussion signal processing routine is executed repeatedly in every sampling periods of the analog-to-digital converter


12


.




It is to be noted that since the above described functional block diagram shown in

FIG. 14

indicates only the function for detecting percussion point positional information in head, a function for detecting percussion force information shown in

FIG. 12

has been omitted. Furthermore, the functions for DC cut filter and LP filter shown in

FIG. 14

are considered in

FIG. 12

to be included in the processing for inputting sampling data S (step S


902


), so that the clear indication thereof is omitted for simplifying the flowchart.




In the DSP percussion signal processing routine, the sampling data S is first input (step S


902


), and it is judged whether the leading edge has been detected or not (step S


904


). In the case where it was judged that the leading edge had been detected, a timer T is reset (step S


906


), then, a first count flag cf is turned ON (step S


908


), and a maximum value detection flag mf is turned ON (step S


910


).




The detection of leading edge in the step S


904


may be conducted specifically by either a manner wherein a difference between the present sampling data S and the preceding sampling data is determined, and if the difference is higher than the prescribed value which has been previously set, it is judged that there was a leading edge, or a well-known manner for detecting leading edge of input signal.




Furthermore, the timer T is a means for measuring a prescribed period of time for detecting the maximum value of detection signal wherein the prescribed period of time is decided by a register time for storing the time which has been previously set.




The first half-wave count flag cf is a flag representing whether counting processing for the first half-wave counter ct is to be made or not. When the first half-wave count flag cf has been turned ON, the counting processing for the first half-wave counter ct is made, while the counting processing for the first half-wave counter ct is not made in the case when the first half-wave count flag cf has been turned OFF.




A maximum value detection flag mf is a flag representing whether detection processing for the maximum value of input data is to be made or not. When the maximum value detection flag if has been turned ON, the detection processing for the maximum value is made, while the detection processing for the maximum value is not made, in the case when the maximum value detection flag mf has been turned OFF.




In either the case where the processing in step S


910


has been completed or the case where it has been judged that the leading edge had not been detected in the step S


904


, the procedure proceeds to step S


912


wherein it is judged whether or not the first half-wave count flag has been turned ON.




It is to be noted herein that the step S


912


, step S


914


, step S


916


, and step S


918


relate to first half-wave count processing. In other words, the first half-wave count flag cf is turned ON from the step S


912


, and the first half-wave counter ct is incremental until the first half-wave is completed.




More specifically, when it is judged that the first half-wave count flag has not been turned ON, i.e., the first half-wave count flag has been turned OFF, the procedure jumps to step S


920


without accompanying the processing in the step S


914


, the step S


916


, and the step S


918


.




On the other hand, when it is judged that the first half-wave count flag has been turned ON in the step S


912


, it is judged whether or not the first half-wave has been completed (step S


914


). Then, when it is judged that the first half-wave has not been completed, the first half-wave counter ct is made incremental (step S


916


), while when it is judged that the first half wave has been completed, the first half-wave count flag Cf is turned ON (step S


918


), and the procedure proceeds to the step S


920


.




The completion of the first half-wave in the step S


914


corresponds to a point of time where the sampling data cross 0 (zero). Judgment whether the sampling data have crossed 0 (zero) or not may be made at the point of time when sign of the sampling data S turns, the contents of the judgment being such that the sampling data have crossed 0 (zero).




In the step S


920


, it is judged whether the maximum value detection flag mf has been turned ON or not, and as a result, when it is judged that the maximum value detection flag mf has not been turned ON, i.e., it is judged that the maximum value detection flag mf has not been turned OFF, the DSP percussion signal processing routine is completed without taking a further step any more.




On the other hand, when it is judged that the maximum value detection flag mf has been turned ON, it is further judged whether or not a timer T is larger than the register time (step S


922


).




As a result, when the timer T is equal to or less than the register time, in other words, during a period where the maximum value detection flag mf has been turned ON and the timer T is equal to or less than the register time in the step S


922


, the maximum value detection processing is executed in step S


924


and step S


926


.




More specifically, the timer T is made incremental (step S


924


), the maximum value max is compared with the absolute value of the sample data S to rewrite the larger value into the maximum value max (step S


916


), and the DSP percussion signal processing routine is completed.




Therefore, the maximum value max corresponds to the maximum value of a percussion signal within a prescribed time and decided by the register time.




Furthermore, when the maximum value detection processing is completed as a result of such judgment that the timer T is larger than the register time in the step S


922


, the maximum value detection flag mf is turned OFF (step S


928


).




Then, the first half-wave counter ct is converted into a percussion point positional information AP by employing table


1


which is a percussion point positional table for converting a first half-wave count value being a value of the first half-wave counter ct into the percussion point positional information AP (step S


930


).




It is to be noted herein that the table


1


which is a percussion point positional table for converting a first half-wave count value being a value of the first half-wave counter ct into the percussion point positional information AP is selected in accordance with head type or tuning type.




The head type is decided in response to a size of the head


12


so that TOM


1


, TOM


2


, and SNARE are established in the present electronic percussion instrumental system. On one hand, the tuning type is decided in accordance with a tuning state of the head


12


, i.e., in response to tension of the head


12


so that “loose”, “medium” and “tight” are established in the present electronic percussion instrumental system.




As described above, since three kinds of the head type and three kinds of the tuning type have been established in the present electronic percussion instrumental system, so that the table


1


of total nine kinds is provided.




In

FIG. 15

, characteristics of the respective tuning types of loose, medium, and tight are indicated in the case where the head type is SNARE in respect of the table


1


. A position of percussion point A (center), a position of percussion point B (intermediate), and a position of percussion point C (outer circumference) in the percussion point positional information AP correspond to the position of percussion point A, the position of percussion point B, and the position of percussion point C in

FIG. 10

, respectively.




When completed the processing in the step


930


, the procedure proceeds to step S


932


wherein the percussion point positional information AP is converted into a percussion force correcting coefficient K by employing a table


2


which is a percussion force correcting table for converting the percussion positional information AP obtained in the step S


930


into the percussion force correcting coefficient K (step S


932


).




It is to be noted herein that the table


2


which is the percussion force correcting table for converting the percussion positional information AP is selected in response to head type and tuning type as in the case of the table


1


.




As described above, since three kinds of the head type, i.e., TOM


1


, TOM


2


, and SNARE as well as three kinds of the tuning type, i.e., “loose”, “medium”, and “tight” have been established in the present electronic percussion instrumental system, so that the table


2


of total nine kinds is provided.




In

FIG. 16

, characteristics of the respective tuning types of loose, medium, and tight are indicated in the case where the head type is SNARE in respect of the table


2


. A position of percussion point A (center), a position of percussion point B (intermediate), and a position of percussion point C (outer circumference) in the percussion point positional information AP correspond to the position of percussion point A, the position of percussion point B, and the position of percussion point C in

FIG. 10

, respectively.




For instance, in the example shown in

FIG. 16

, when the tuning type is loose, “K=1” in the position of percussion point A (center), “K=4/3” in the position of percussion point B (intermediate), and “K=3” in the position of percussion point C (outer circumference).




These head types and tuning types may be represented by numerical values, and further the table


1


as well as the table


2


are not limited to the nine kinds, respectively.




When the processing in the step S


932


is completed, the procedure proceeds to step S


934


wherein compensation arithmetic processing in which the maximum value max is multiplied by the percussion force correcting coefficient K is conducted to calculate compensated percussion force information V.




When completed the step S


934


, the procedure proceeds to step S


936


wherein a sounding flag gf in the CPU


24


is turned ON, the percussion point positional information AP and the percussion force information V are set in the CPU


24


, and the DSP percussion signal processing routine is completed.




Then, the tuning processing routine executed by the CPU in the step S


808


will be described by referring to FIG.


17


.




In this tuning processing routine, it is judged whether or not there was an indication of change in a head type or a tuning type by operating a head type setting operation key (key for setting the head type) or a tuning type setting operation key (key for setting the tuning type) contained in the group of operation keys


30


(step S


1402


). At the time of turning on the power, a register head storing a head type and a register tuning storing a tunig type are also set in response to the initialized state of the head type setting operation key and the tunig type setting operation key in accordance with the processing of initialization in the step S


802


, respectively.




After such judgement that change of head type or tuning type had been indicated by the operation of the head type setting key or the tuning type setting key of the group of operation keys


30


in the step S


1402


, it is judged whether or not the change of head type has been indicated (step S


1404


).




When it was judged that the change of head type had been indicated, stored contents of the register head are changed in accordance with this indication of change (step S


1406


).




In either the case where the processing in step S


1406


has been completed, or the case where it was judged that the change of head type had not been indicated in the step S


1404


, it is judged whether or not the change of tuning type has been indicated (step S


1048


).




When it was judged that the change of tuning type had been indicated, the stored contents of the register tuning is changed in accordance with this indication of change (step S


1410


).




In either the case where the processing in step S


1410


has been completed, or the case where it was judged that the change of tuning type had not been indicated in the step S


1408


, the table


1


or the table


2


is selected in accordance with the stored contents of the register head or the register tuning, and it is set to the DSP


22


(step S


1412


).




As a result of conducting the procedure as described above, in either the case where the processing in step S


1412


has been completed, or the case where it was judged that both the head type setting key or the tuning type setting key in the group of operation keys


30


had not been operated so that no change of the head type and the tuning type had not been indicated, the percussion point positional information AP sent out from the DSP


22


is displayed on the display unit


32


(step S


1414


). More specifically, the percussion point positional information AP set in the CPU in the DSP percussion signal processing routine is displayed on the display unit


32


.




In FIGS.


18


(


a


),


18


(


b


) and


18


(


c


) are shown examples of manner of displaying the percussion point positional information AP displayed on the display unit


32


in the step S


1414


wherein FIG.


18


(


a


) shows a first displaying example, FIG.


18


(


b


) shows a second displaying example, and FIG.


18


(


c


) shows marks representing a variety of percussion point positional information AP being displayed in a display column for the percussion point positional information AP in FIG.


18


(


b


), respectively. In FIGS.


18


(


a


) and


18


(


b


), it is arranged in such that numbers which have been previously assigned to respective tuning types are displayed in the displaying column of tuning type.




In FIG.


18


(


a


), “CENTER” indicates the center position of the head


12


, and “RIM” indicates a position of the rim


16


. Furthermore, a black triangle is a mark indicating the percussion point positional information AP, while a white triangle is a tuning reference mark indicated in a position corresponding to the percussion point positional mark M indicated in the head


12


(see FIG.


20


).




Since a position between the center “CENTER” and the rim


16


“RIM” in the head


12


is decided by the percussion point positional information AP, the position thus decided is indicated by a black triangle.




Furthermore, the tuning reference mark represented by a white triangle shows a position corresponding to the percussion point positional mark M indicated in the head


12


shown in

FIG. 20

as described above. Namely, since the percussion point positional mark M shown in

FIG. 20

is indicated at the position of intermediate point between the center “CENTER” and the rim


16


(RIM) in the head


12


, the tuning reference mark represented by a white triangle is also indicated at the intermediate point between the “CENTER” and the “RIM” in FIG.


18


(


a


).




The manner for displaying the percussion point positional information AP on the display


32


is not limited to the examples shown in FIGS.


18


(


a


),


18


(


b


), and


18


(


c


), but it may be indicated by either numerical values or a bar graph as in a level indication.




When completed the processing in the step S


1414


, it is judged whether or not a termination key in the group of operation keys


30


has been operated (step S


1416


), so that if it was judged that the termination key in the group of operation keys


30


had not been operated, the procedure returns to the step S


1402


, and the processing is repeated.




On the other hand, if it was judged that the termination key in the group of operation keys


30


had been operated in the step S


1416


, the procedure returns to the main routine.




Then, a normal performance processing routine executed by the CPU


24


in the step S


814


will be described by referring to FIG.


19


.




In the normal performance processing routine, it is first judged whether or not a level key (key for setting a volume of sounding musical tone), a tone color key (key for setting tone color of sounding musical tone), or a tuning key (key for setting a pitch of sounding musical tone) contained in the group of operation keys


30


has been changed. At the time when the power is turned on, a register level for storing level, a register tone for storing tone color, and a register pitch for storing pitch are set in response to the initialized state of the level key, the tone color setting key, and the tuning key, respectively, in accordance with the initialization processing in the step S


802


.




In the step S


1602


, when it was judged that the level key, the tone color setting key, or the tuning key in the group of operation keys


30


had been changed, then, it is judged whether the level key has been changed or not (step S


1604


).




In this case, if it was judged that the level key had been changed, the stored contents in the register level are changed in accordance with the former change (step S


1606


).




In either the case where the processing in step S


1606


has been completed, or the case where it was judged that the level key had not been changed in the step S


1604


, it is judged whether or not the tone color key has been changed (step S


1608


).




In this case, when it was judged that the tone color key had been changed, stored contents of a register tone are changed in accordance with the former change, and a start address and an end address of waveform data corresponding to the stored contents of the register tone are set in the sound source IC


34


(step S


1610


).




In either the case where the processing in step S


1610


has been completed, or the case where it was judged that the tone color key had not been changed in the step S


1608


, it is judged whether or not the tuning operation key has been changed (step S


1612


).




It is to be noted that the “tuning” in this step S


1612


is different from the above described tuning of the head, and it means that a pitch is adjusted with respect to sounding musical tone (sound of a percussion instrument).




In this case, when it was judged that the tuning key had been changed, stored contents of the register pitch are changed in accordance with the former change, and the pitch information corresponding to the stored contents of the register pitch are set to the sound source IC


34


(step S


1614


).




When the processing in step S


1614


has been completed as a result of conducting the procedure as described above, or it was judged that the tuning key had not been operated in the step S


1612


, or in the case where any of the level key, tone color setting key, or the tuning key in the group of operation keys


30


had not been changed, then, it is judged whether or not a sounding flag gf is turned ON (step S


1616


).




Specifically, it is judged whether or not sounding has been instructed as a result of turning ON the sounding flag gf of the CPU


24


in the step S


936


of the DSP percussion signal processing routine.




In this case, if it was judged that the sounding flag gf had been turned ON, the results of arithmetic computations of “level×V” are set to the sound source IC


34


as the level information (step S


1618


). More specifically, values stored in the register level which has been set by a level key are multiplied by percussion force information V to calculate a sounding level, and the results of this arithmetic computations are set to the sound source IC


34


as the level information.




When completed the processing in the step S


1618


, the percussion point positional information AP is converted into a filter coefficient for controlling filter characteristics, and the converted information is set in the sound source IC


34


(step S


1620


). More specifically, when the converted information is set to the IC


34


after converting the percussion point positional information AP into the filter coefficient for controlling filter characteristics, tone colors corresponding to the positions of percussion point can be obtained. It is to be noted that the processing for obtaining tone colors corresponding to the positions of percussion point is not limited to that illustrated in the step S


1620


, but the processing in the step S


1620


may be replaced by either a manner wherein waveforms to be read out are switched or a manner wherein a mixed ratio of a plurality of waveforms is changed.




When the processing in the step S


1620


is completed, the sounding flag gf is turned OFF (step S


1622


). In other words, as a result of conducting the procedure as described above, the sounding flag is turned OFF.




In either the case where the processing in the step S


1622


has been completed, or the case where it was judged that the sounding flag gf had been turned OFF in the step S


1616


, it is judged whether or not the termination key in the group of operation keys


30


has been operated (step S


1624


), so that if it was judged that the termination key of the group of operation keys


30


had not yet been operated, the procedure returns to the step S


1602


to repeat the processing.




On the other hand, when it was judged that the termination key in the group of operation keys


30


had been operated, the procedure returns to the main routine.




The processing for sounding musical tones from the present electronic percussion instrumental system to the outside is carried out by controlling the sound source IC


34


.




In the following a typical operational procedure for tuning operation of the head


12


will be described by referring to the flowchart shown in FIG.


21


. The flowchart of

FIG. 21

illustrates the operational procedure of the tuning operation effected by a user after selecting the tuning mode by the user.




Namely, when the user selects the tuning mode, then he or she sets first a desired head type by operating a head type setting key in the group of operation keys


30


(step S


1802


), and thereafter, he or she sets a desired tuning type by the operation of a tuning type setting key of the group of operation keys


30


(step S


1804


).




In accordance with the operations in the steps S


1802


and S


1804


, the processing specified in the respective steps S


1402


, S


1404


, S


1406


, S


1408


, S


1410


, and S


1412


contained in the tuning processing routine executed by the CPU shown in

FIG. 17

is conducted.




Then, in this tuning operation, a mark M at the position of percussion point in the head


12


which is placed at a position close to the engaging pin


54


in operation is percussed (step S


1806


). It is to be noted that the procedure on and after the step S


1806


becomes actual tuning operations.




In the step S


1806


, when the mark M at the position of percussion point of the head


12


is percussed, the percussion point positional information AP sent from the DSP


22


as a result of execution of percussion signal processing routine shown in

FIG. 12

is displayed on the display unit


32


in the step S


1414


contained in the tuning processing routine executed by the CPU shown in FIG.


17


.




In this case, it is confined that a black triangle indicating the percussion point positional information AP due to the result of the percussion in the step S


1806


has been displayed at which position by visual observation of the display unit


32


(step S


1808


).




Then, it is judged whether or not there is a misregistration between the position of the black triangle indicating the percussion point positional information AP and a white triangle indicating the tuning reference mark (step S


1810


).




In this case, when it is judged that there is a misregistration between the position of the black triangle indicating the percussion point positional information AP and the white triangle indicating the tuning reference mark, the engaging pin


54


is adjusted so as to cancel the aforesaid misregistration, thereby carrying out tuning for adjusting tension of the head


12


(step S


1812


).




Thus, after completing the operation in the step S


1812


, the procedure returns to the step S


1806


and the operation is repeated.




On the other hand, if it was judged that there was no misregistration between the position of the black triangle indicating the percussion point positional information AP and the white triangle indicating the tuning reference mark, then it is judged whether the tuning operation has been completed or not (step S


1814


). In this case, the judgment whether or not the tuning operation has been completed is specifically a judgment whether or not tuning operations of all the engaging pins


54


have been completed.




In this case, when it was judged that the tuning operations had not been completed, the procedure returns to the step S


1806


to perform tuning operations with respect to the engaging pins


54


to which have not yet been subjected the tuning operations.




On the contrary, when it was judged that the tuning operations had been completed, the procedure of the tuning operation is finished.




It is to be noted that the above described manner of practice may be modified as follows.




(1) As shown in

FIG. 22

, the head


12


is fixed to either side of the opening of the barrel section


50


, while the head of an acoustic drum (cannot be found in

FIG. 22

) may be fixed to the other side of the opening of the barrel section. In this case, when the head


12


is percussed, the head of acoustic drum positioned on the opposite side resonates to sound at an appropriate volume. Accord, when compared with the case where only the head


12


is fixed to the barrel section


50


, a player can perform the percussion instrument with much more close feeling to that of acoustic drum.




(2) As shown in

FIG. 23

, to the outer circumference of the head


12


composed of the first net


56


and the second net


58


may be bonded an annular film


112


. In this case, since a ratio of opening in the first net


56


and the second net


58


of the head


12


becomes low in comparison with that of the above described manner of practice, the percussion sound becomes larger than that of the above described manner of practice. For this reason, a player can perform the resulting percussion instrument with much more close feeling to that of acoustic drum. Furthermore, when an area of the film


112


to be bonded to the first net


56


and the second net


58


in the head


12


is allowed to vary, the volume in percussion can be controlled. Moreover, stitches may be filled with an adhesive to bond the first net


56


to the second net


58


in place of bonding of the film


112


.




(3) The net-like raw material is not limited to a two-ply plane weave net, but one-ply or three- or more ply net may also be used. Furthermore, a weaving manner of net is not limited merely to plane weave. In the case where a net-like raw material is composed of a single net, it is preferred to use a triaxially woven net which balances tension not only in the crossed direction of woven fibers, but also in an oblique direction.




(4) A shape of the cushioning member


80


in the head sensor


14


is not limited to the frustoconical shape, but a truncated amid shape may be adopted




(5) A constitution of the sound source is not limited to the above described wave-form read-out system, but sound sources of a variety of systems may be employed. Furthermore, a PCM sound source sounding PCM sampling sounds is not used, but a resonator composed of oscillator and the like may be used, otherwise audio signals input from the outside may also be employed.




(6) While the percussion point positional information AP has been displayed on the display


32


in the above described manner of practice, instead of the display, it may be adapted to sound such sound signal having a pitch corresponding to the percussion point positional information AP.




(7) Although the percussion point positional mark M indicated on the top of the head


12


has been configured in the circular shape as shown in

FIG. 20

in the above described manner of practice, a shape of the percussion point positional mark M is not limited to the circular shape as shown in

FIG. 20

, but, for example, the percussion point positional mark M may be indicated by points of a prescribed number as shown in FIG.


24


(


a


). Moreover, a region of the head


12


is classified by coloring as shown in FIG.


24


(


b


) (It is to be noted in FIG.


24


(


b


) that a shaded portion of the region of the head


12


is represented by a different color from that of the other (no shaded) portion), and the boundary portion classified by coloring may be used as the percussion point positional mark M.




(8) While it has been arranged in such that the tuning reference mark represented by white triangle shown in FIG.


18


(


a


) is indicated in response to the percussion point positional mark M of the head


12


in the above described manner of practice, the invention is not limited thereto, but, for instance, it may be arranged in such that information for indicated position by a white triangle may be stored as the tuning reference data together with the table


1


and the table


2


which are selected in accordance with the head type or the tuning type set in the tuning processing routine executed by the CPU shown in FIG.


17


.




(9) Although the black triangle indicating the percussion point positional information AP and the white triangle indicating the tuning reference mark corresponding to the percussion point positional mark M of the head have been displayed on the display unit


32


in the above described manner of practice as shown in FIG.


18


(


a


), a displaying manner on the display unit


32


is not limited thereto, but, for example, a deviation between the above described tuning reference data and the detected percussion point positional information AP may be displayed as shown in FIG.


25


.




Specifically, the manner may be carried out in such a way that tuning reference data are read out in case of the processing for displaying the percussion point positional information AP in the step S


1414


of the tuning processing routine executed by the CPU shown in

FIG. 17

, a deviation between the tuning reference data and the percussion point positional information AP is calculated, and the deviation represented by the calculated result is displayed on the display unit


32


. If it has been adapted to display “0” on the display unit


32


in case of no deviation, it means that tuning is matched in the case when indication “0” is displayed on the display unit


32


.




(10) As a displaying manner in the display unit


32


, there are a manner wherein it may notify that the tuning is matched in the case when a difference between the tuning difference data and the percussion point positional information AP reaches a prescribed value or lower, and a maimer wherein a difference between the tuning reference data and the percussion point positional information AP may be displayed in accordance with cent indication as utilized in a tuning device for stringed instruments such as guitar and the like in addition to the manners described above.




Since the present invention has been constituted as described above, it provides such an excellent advantage that a percussion detecting apparatus, which is excellent in percussion feeling, and the percussion sounds of which are very small, in electronic percussion instrumental system can be realized.




Furthermore, since the indication corresponding to a percussion position of the head has been made in the present invention, such an excellent advantage that correct tuning can easily be carried out in case of tuning the head is obtained.




Moreover, since a variation in tension of the head due to tuning of the head has been compensated in the present invention, such an excellent advantage that correct percussion position can be detected is obtained.




Still further, since a tuning operation can be conducted by a user in accordance with such a manner that a place marked with a percussion point positional mark is percussed by the user, and the result detected at that time by the detecting means for position of percussion point is confirmed while watching the display means in the present invention, such an excellent advantage that tuning operation can simply be carried out without relying upon user's sense is obtained,




It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.




The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents thereof are intended to be embraced therein.




This disclosure relates to Japanese Patent Applications No. 8-193986 filed on Jul. 4, 1996, No. 9-15846 filed on Jan. 13, 1997 and No. 9-15847 filed on Jan. 13, 1997 from which priority is claimed.



Claims
  • 1. A head for an electronic percussion instrument, the head comprising a frame and a net-like material comprising first and second net members, each supported by said frame, said net-like material having openings through which air may pass.
  • 2. A head as recited in claim 1, wherein each net member comprising a plurality of longitudinally arranged fiber sections and a plurality of transversely arranged fiber sections interwoven with the longitudinally arranged fiber sections.
  • 3. A head as recited in claim 2, wherein the first and second net members are laminated together.
  • 4. A head as recited in claim 2, wherein, within each of said first and second net members, said longitudinally arranged fiber sections and said transversely arranged fiber sections are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other.
  • 5. A head as recited in claim 4, wherein said first and second net members are arranged adjacent each other, with said longitudinally directed fiber sections of the first net crossing the longitudinally directed fiber sections of said second net in an oblique angle.
  • 6. An electronic percussion instrument, comprising:a generally hollow body having an opening into a body interior; a generally flexible, net-like material disposed in a tensioned state across the opening of the generally hollow body, the net-like material defining a percussion surface for receiving a percussion impact, the net-like material also having openings of a size sufficient to allow air to pass therethrough, upon receiving a percussion impact on the percussion surface; and a sensor supported by said generally hollow body, for providing an electronic signal in response to a percussion impact on the percussion surface of the generally flexible, net-like material.
  • 7. An electronic percussion instrument as recited in claim 6, wherein said net-like material comprises first and second net members, each net member comprising a plurality of longitudinally arranged fiber sections and a plurality of transversely arranged fiber sections interweaved with the longitudinally arranged fiber sections.
  • 8. An electronic percussion instrument as recited in claim 7, wherein the first and second net members are laminated together.
  • 9. An electronic percussion instrument as recited in claim 7, wherein, within each of said first and second net members, said longitudinally arranged fiber sections and said transversely arranged fiber sections are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other.
  • 10. An electronic percussion instrument as recited in claim 7, wherein said first and second net members are arranged adjacent each other, with said longitudinally directed fiber sections of the first net crossing the longitudinally directed fiber sections of said second net in an oblique angle.
  • 11. A method of making an electronic percussion instrument having a generally hollow body with an opening, the method comprising disposing a net-like material in a tensioned state across the opening in the generally hollow body, wherein the net-like material has a percussion surface for receiving a percussion impact, the net-like material comprising first and second net members, each having a plurality of openings sufficient to allow air to pass therethrough upon receiving a percussion impact on the percussion surface.
  • 12. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising the step of supporting an electronic sensor in communication with the percussion surface, for providing an electronic signal in response to a percussion impact on the percussion surface.
  • 13. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein said net-like material comprises first and second net members, each net member comprising a plurality of longitudinally arranged fiber sections and a plurality of transversely arranged fiber sections interweaved with the longitudinally arranged fiber sections.
  • 14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second net members are laminated together.
  • 15. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein, within each of said first and second net members, said longitudinally arranged fiber sections and said transversely arranged fiber sections are arranged substantially perpendicular to each other.
  • 16. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein said first and second net members are arranged adjacent each other, with said longitudinally directed fiber sections of said first net crossing the longitudinally directed fiber sections of said second net in an oblique angle.
  • 17. A head for connection with a body of an electronic percussion instrument of the type having a generally hollow body interior and an opening in airflow communication with the body interior, said head comprising:a frame having a size and shape corresponding to the opening in the body and adapted to be supported on the body, adjacent the opening; a generally flexible, net-like material supported in a generally tensioned state by the frame and having a size and shape suitable for covering at least a portion of said opening, upon the frame being supported on the body, adjacent the opening, the net-like material defining a percussion surface for receiving a percussion impact when the frame is supported on the body, the net-like material first and second net members, each having openings of a size sufficient to allow air to pass therethrough, upon receiving a percussion impact on the percussion surface.
Priority Claims (3)
Number Date Country Kind
8-193936 Jul 1996 JP
9-15846 Jan 1997 JP
9-15847 Jan 1997 JP
Parent Case Info

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 09/243,698, filed Feb. 3, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,538, which is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 08/886,180, filed Jul. 1, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,026, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

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729936 Heybeck Jun 1903
3748367 Lamme et al. Jul 1973
4226156 Hyakutake Oct 1980
4279188 Scott Jul 1981
4362081 Hartry Dec 1982
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4714002 Cleland Dec 1987
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Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
196 25 570 Jun 1996 DE
2-117569 Sep 1990 JP
Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/243698 Feb 1999 US
Child 09/401459 US