WO1995020213A1

WO1995020213A1 - Electronic tuning device and system for a guitar

Info

Publication number: WO1995020213A1
Application number: PCT/US1995/000779
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas H. Wiese
Original assignee: Wiese Thomas H
Priority date: 1994-01-21
Filing date: 1995-01-20
Publication date: 1995-07-27
Also published as: CA2181552A1; JPH09512918A; EP0740829A4; AU1710295A; KR970700901A; CN1145129A; EP0740829A1

Abstract

A system (17) for tuning electrically powered guitars (5). The pickup transducer (10) normally employed for obtaining electrical representations of acoustic vibrations of the sounds by the guitar strings is directly and continuously connected to circuits (17) which measure the fundamental frequencies of the sounds and display a visual representation (20) of the extent, if any, to which the frequencies deviate from predetermined standards. The visual representation (20) is located in an upper surface (15) of the guitar body for being readily viewed by a guitar player who is in the normal playing position adjacent to the guitar.

Description

ELECTRONIC TUNING DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR A GUITAR

PRIORITY APPLICATION

An original filing of the current application was made in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on 21 January 1994 (21.01.94), and has been designated with serial number 08/181 ,746.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to guitar tuning systems and more particularly to such systems embodying electronic tuning.

Electronic guitar tuning systems have heretofore been proposed, illustrative of which are those exemplified by U S Patent 4,018,124 granted to Ruperto L.

Rosado on 19 April 1977 (19.04.77) and U S Patent 4,338,846 granted to Gary S. Pogoda on 13 July 1982 (13.07.82). Typically, such systems include means for developing an electrical signal representative of the frequency of the acoustic sound desired to be tuned, a standard frequency against which the signal is to be compared, means for producing a visual representation of any difference between the frequency of the signal and standard, and means for adjusting the frequency of the acoustic sound source so as to achieve the desired tuning.

Implementation of the foregoing has found expression in a variety of ways. In some, a separate dedicated transducer has been employed in addition to the transducer that forms a part of the normal instrument amplification system. In others, switches have been introduced either to controllably switch the output of a single transducer between the amplifying and tuning circuits. However, while such proposals have enjoyed some success, switching between circuits has either interfered with continuation of music production during tuning or has made it cumbersome to most efficiently conduct the tuning procedure. Moreover, there has continued to be a need for simplification, reduction in the number of parts, and, of course, corresponding reduction in cost. Accordingly, there has continued to be the need for more simple and less costly circuits that are easier and more convenient to use. An additional aspect of the implementation of electronic guitar tuning systems which has been found in various forms is that of the means for producing a visual representation of any difference between the frequency of the signal and standard. An example of said means including essentially a visual display which is apart from the guitar is found in the U S Patent 4,297,938 granted to Archie D. Kirbie on 03 November 1981 (03.11.81), in which is taught a visual display on a surface of a tuning unit which is removably placed on the face of the guitar and having a portion thereof in position over the guitar strings. The visual surface of this device on which the visual display is positioned is the surface which faces away from the guitar. Unfortunately, because this device is not designed as an integral part of the guitar, using it requires more time than many guitar players desire to use in the tuning process. As well, the location of the visual display on the tuner surface facing away from the guitar makes it even more difficult for the guitar player to see the display while he is holding the guitar in the natural playing and tuning position.

An example of another type of the visual display associated with guitar tuners of the prior art is found in the U S Patent 4,481 ,857 granted to Richard D. Havener on 13 November 1984 (13.11.84), in which is taught the use of a box type tuner which is separate from the guitar and connected into the amplification circuit via an appropriate conductor. Although the tuner of this teaching is easier for the guitar player to see, it is not as efficient with regard to the amount of time required to tune the guitar (e.g., unhook the guitar from the amplifier, connect the guitar to the tuner, unhook the tuner, and reconnect the amplifier to the guitar) when compared to the present invention.

An example of yet another embodiment of the visual display associated with guitar tuners of the prior art is found in the teaching of Rosado, cited above, in which there is taught a tuning device which is an integral part of a guitar, and which has a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED's) placed under the guitar strings for lighting up and thereby showing when a string with which each LED is associated is in tune. Although this teaching helps eliminate some of the inconvenience of tuning which is a part of the above cited prior art, the location of the LED's on a surface of the guitar facing away from a guitar player in the normal playing position, and furthermore which are positioned in a linear row which is substantially parallel with the normal playing stance of the guitar player still make it significantly difficult to view the display, thereby making the efficiency of the tuning method taught by Rosado significantly less than that of the present invention. While the electronic tuning devices so disclosed in the prior art may be suitable for a particular purpose to which they address, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that said devices would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention. Indeed, that such prior art devices have enjoyed little or no commercial acceptance is an indication that they do not address at least some of the guitar tuning problems seen by the consuming public, part of which have been described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of electronic tuning devices for guitars now present in the art, the invention disclosed herein provides an improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar, said system including tuning means for affixing to the guitar and display means electronically connected to the tuning means and positioned on an upper surface of the guitar for ready viewing by someone holding the guitar in a normal playing position. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which is described in greater detail below, is to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar. To attain this, representative embodiments of the concepts of the present invention are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which reduces the inconvenience previously associated with the tuning of a guitar.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which includes a visual display that is readily seen by a guitar player who is in the normal playing position behind the guitar.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which includes a simplified tuning circuit when compared to that of the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which reduces the costs of electrical tuning circuitry for electrically powered guitars. Accordingly, in accordance with one feature of the invention, the conventional instrument electrical transducer pickup is utilized both as a source of signals for conventional amplification and as the source for signals required by the tuner, thereby eliminating the need for a separate transducer and thus simplifying the circuitry.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar with which connection from the pickup transducer may be permanently made to the tuning circuits, and thereby eliminating the need for switching. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which includes a tuner that may be operated continuously without interfering with the remaining circuits, or which may be turned off for conserving electricity when tuning is not occurring.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which may be easily and efficiently manufactured, marketed and installed.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which is of durable and reliable construction. It is yet still a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which meets all federal, state, local and other private standards, guidelines, regulations and recommendations with respect to safety, energy conservation, etc.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved electronic tuning device and system for a guitar which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such an electronic tuning device and system economically available to the buying public. These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the electronic tuning device and system for a guitar of the present invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims appended hereto and forming a part of this disclosure. The more important objects of the present invention have been outlined rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof which follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. For a better understanding of the invention, its operational advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated various embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily ascertain, however, that the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In this respect, the details of construction disclosed herein, and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description and appended drawings are for illustrative purposes, only, and are not intended to be limiting in scope. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, as well, that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. Said other structures may include, but not be limited to, those which are aesthetic in nature, or those which include the substitution of other materials as they become available, and which substantially perform the same function in substantially the same manner with substantially the same result as the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims appended hereto be regarded as including such equivalent structures, constructions, methods and systems insofar as these do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description. Such description makes reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the tuning system of the present invention incorporated within a guitar (in phantom); FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a top elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system embodying the principles of the invention; FIG. 5 is a more detailed and partially schematic diagram depicting the major part of the system of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic diagram depicting an alternate connection of certain of the circuits of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 depicts the major part of another embodiment of an electronic guitar embodying the concepts according to the invention; and FIG. 8 depicts the major part of another embodiment of an electronic guitar embodying the concepts according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises an improved electronic tuning device and system for use with a guitar having a pre-existing transducer thereon used in amplifying the musical sounds of the instrument, said transducer producing for amplification a generated set of electrical signals representative of the acoustic vibrations of the guitar strings, and which includes: tuning means for affixing to the guitar, including input means adapted for connection to said pre-existing transducer on the guitar for receiving the generated set of electrical signals produced for amplification, comparison means having a set of standard electrical signals representative of standard frequencies for tuning the guitar and being electronically connected to the input means for comparing each of said set of generated electrical signals to one of the set of standard electrical signals, and output means for producing an output signal representative of the relationship between each said generated signal and the corresponding standard signal; and display means electronically connected to the tuner means and responsive to said output signal to indicate the relationship between the frequency of an acoustic vibration generated by the guitar strings and the desired standard frequency to which the instrument is to be tuned, said display means being further mounted on an upper surface of the guitar for being readily seen by a guitar player who is in a normal playing position adjacent to the guitar. Various embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the appended drawings and described in greater detail, below. (All like numerical designations in the figures represent the same element.)

Now turning to the drawing, it will be observed that FIG.'s 1 - 3 depict an initial embodiment of a guitar 5 on which the tuning device of the present invention has been employed. The purpose of these illustrations is to point out the preferred general location of several key components of the present invention as they are employed on a guitar body. The observer will note that a visual display 15 is located on the upper surface of the horn of the guitar body. This location allows a guitar player to easily view the display 15 when the player is in the normal playing position adjacent to the rear surface 6 of the guitar body. A channel 16 is further provided for holding various conductors connecting the display 15 to various electrical components of the circuitry of the present invention which will be described in detail below, and which are generally located within a housing 17 of a pre-existing body cavity generally available in electric guitars. A switch 18 is further provided on the housing 17 for energizing/de-energizing the electronic circuitry of the present invention, although the location of the switch 18 may be elsewhere on the guitar body without unduly hindering the function of the present invention.

In FIG.'s 4 and 5 is illustrated an embodiment of the electronic circuitry of the present invention. In FIG. 4 is illustrated the basic elements of this embodiment, in block diagram form. There, it will be seen, are a pickup 10 the output of which is electronically connected to a volume control 12 and a tuner 14. The output of the volume control 12 is connected to a guitar output 16 which in turn is connected to a conventional amplifier 18. The output of tuner 14 is in turn connected to a visual display 20 which provides a visual indication of the tuning of a selected one of the strings of the guitar as will hereinafter be more particularly described.

It should be noted that while the tuner 14 is depicted as being connected into the circuits at a position intermediate the pickup 10 and the volume control 12, it will be evident to one skilled in the art that it could be alternatively connected to the volume control 14 at a point other than at the direct input from the pickup as shown by dashed interconnection 22.

Now turning to FIG. 5, it will be observed that it depicts in schematic form, a part of the circuits of the system of this embodiment of the present invention. There, it will be observed, is a conventional guitar pickup transducer generally designated at 24, having a pair of pickup elements 24a and 24b connected in series and having the lower terminal thereof connected to a common conductor 26 and to an electrical ground 28. At the upper terminal of pickup 24, connection is made to a tuner 30 via conductors 31 and 32, while also being connected to a volume control 33 via a conductor 34. The volume control 33 comprises a register 35 having a pair of terminals 36 and 37 and a variable tap 38. It also has a shorting contact 39 to which the variable tap 38 is connected when the control is put into its lowest setting. As will be evident to one skilled in the art, the volume control 33 is conventional and may preferably be of the order of 500 kilohms. Connected to the upper terminal 36 of the volume control 33 is a center terminal 40 of a conventional output jack 41 ; and connected to an output terminal 42 of the output jack 41 is an electrical ground which is conducted thereto via conductors 26 and 43. As will be evident to one skilled in the art, the output jack 41 is typically employed for making electrical connection to separate amplifiers that are employed to amplify the output of the guitar and render it at a sound level suitable for audience entertainment.

Tone controls typically form a part of electrical guitar circuits; and consequently, FIG. 5 includes such a circuit which comprises a capacitor 44 and a tone control variable resister 45. As will be observed, a lower terminal 46 of the variable resistor 45 is connected directly to the common ground 28 via the conductor

26, whereas an upper terminal 47 is left floating. A variable tap 48 is connected to a terminal 49 and thence via a conductor 50 to the capacitor 44. As with the volume control 33, the tone control variable resistor 45 includes a shorting circuit 51 to which the variable tap 48 is connected when the tone control is put into its lowest setting. Now turning tσ the input to the tuner circuits 30, it will be observed that in addition to the connection made thereto via conductor 32, there is another connection that is made to the common electrical ground 28 via a conductor 52.

The circuits for the tuner 30 are seen to include a source of energizing potential 60 that may be selectively connected/disconnected from the tuner 30 by a switch 61 ; and emerging from the tuner 30 are a pair of display devices, which are preferably light emitting diodes 62 and 63 that are connected to the tuner 30 by conductors 64, 65, 66, and 67.

Now turning to FIG. 6, it will be seen that there is depicted an alternate connection between the pickup transducer 24 and the volume control 33. Here, in FIG.. 6, connection from the upper terminal of pickup transducer 24 is made directly to the upper terminal 36 of the volume control 33 via a conductor 34a; and connection to the center terminal 40 of the conventional output jack 41 is made from the variable tap 38 via a conductor 34b. The remainder of the circuits are similar to those of FIG.. 5 except for the optional insertion of resistor 53 which may be advantageously inserted, depending upon the impedance characteristics of the pickup transducer 24 and the amplifier circuits to which connection is made via the jack 41.

As mentioned above, one of the features of the invention is that through the selection of impedances presented to the pickup transducer by the connected circuits, including the tuner, the tuner may be permanently connected without having to employ one or more switches to temporarily connect/disconnect it for tuning and playing. Accordingly, the characteristics of the pickup transducer may be such that its effectiveness is best when it is connected into a coordinated and least varying load impedance. Although in both the circuits of FIG..'s 5 and 6, adjustment of the variable resistors represented by the volume control 33 and tone control 45 will affect the impedance of the load, the connections represented by the alternate of FIG.. 6 may result in better overall characteristics.

Now turning to FIG.'s 7 and 8, other embodiments of the invention are illustrated for depicting alternate deployments of the various components of the invention onto a conventional electric guitar. Depicted is a top view of a guitar 70 having a conventional body 71 and a neck 72. Disposed upon and within the body 71 are the circuit elements depicted in FIG.. 5 which have been identified with like symbols. As will be observed, the guitar includes a conventional bridge member 73 having individual connectors 73a-c for the strings to which the guitar strings are attached, the other end being attached to the remote end (not shown) of the neck 72. Pickup 24, which comprises elements 24a and 24b, is conventionally disposed beneath the strings near the center of the body 71. As shown on the drawing, connections according to FIG.. 5 are made thereto. To facilitate installation, the parts may be fastened within the guitar body by any suitable conventional means such as by screws; and in order to facilitate electrical connections, a circuit board (not shown) may be advantageously employed and may be mounted at any convenient location within the body 71. This circuit board may also serve as a support for mounting and connecting any discrete components such as the capacitor 44 and the resistor 53.

The tuner 30 includes a selector 80 (FIG. 8), and a thin longitudinal slot 81 is preferably routed or otherwise provided within the body 71 to provide access thereto. The purpose of the selector is to permit identification of the frequency of each string and to tune each string individually. The tuner itself may be any of several tuners currently available on the commercial market; or alternatively, it may be one that includes selected components as more particularly described below. One preferred tuner for incorporation with the above-described circuits is that generally sold under the name KORG GT-60X, and it is that tuner which is contemplated by the drawings of FIG.'s

7 and 8. However, other tuners that include a source of standard frequencies for comparison, together with known conventional comparison circuits may be employed provided that the input impedance is coordinated with the impedance of the pickup transducers as to permit continued connection of the tuner while the guitar is being used to perform. An example of such is a preferred tuner that is manufactured by the Seiko company of Japan and sold under the designation ST-388. The latter tuner is automatic, in that it does not require any switching or change of control in order to tune the various strings of the guitar, and if that tuner is utilized, the selector 80 (FIG.. 8) may be either eliminated, or it may be wired so as to provide the tuner on\off control contemplated by the on/off switch of FIG. 5.

In addition to the foregoing tuners, it will be evident to one skilled in the art that a custom circuit may be built using the principles embodied in the foregoing tuners; and such a custom tuner can be efficaciously interconnected with the circuits described herein to utilize the principles of the present invention. Now returning to FIG. 8, it will be observed that the tuner 30 is mounted to the underside of the top of the body 71 by a screw 82; and that there is provided a channel 83 within the guitar body 71 through which conductors 64 - 67 inclusively are routed to the display (e.g., light emitting diodes 62 and 63). Again, the location of the display serves to allow the guitar to be readily tuned by a player who is in a normal playing position adjacent the guitar body 71.

In operation, the guitar may be either energized or de-energized (provided the tuner is powered by a battery or a separate source of voltage). Selector 80 is then positioned to select the desired string frequency, and the string associated with said frequency is plucked to produce acoustic energy at its vibrating frequency. The pickup transducer 24 senses the acoustic energy and produces an electrical signal of frequency corresponding to that of the vibrating string. Conventional comparison circuits than compare the frequency of the electrical signal with that of the known standard and an output signal is produced if the frequencies do not match. If the string frequency is high, an output is conveyed from the tuner to a selected one of the light emitting diodes. If on the other hand, the string frequency is low, an output is conveyed from the tuner to the other one of the light emitting diodes. Accordingly, the guitar player can identify whether the string needs to be tightened (frequency increased) or loosened (frequency decreased) until neither light emitting diode is activated. The guitar player then sequentially selects the other strings for similar tuning until the guitar is fully tuned.

The inventor has given a non-limiting description of several embodiments of the present invention, to which many changes may be made without deviating from the spirit of the invention. While this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the various embodiments as well as other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to a person skilled in the art upon reference to this description. For example, displays other than those herein described could be employed and positioned on an upper surface of the guitar other than on the horn. Moreover, additional light emitting diodes could be employed and arranged to provide a stroboscopic effect in tuning as is known in the art. In addition, the acoustic pickup transducer could be comprised of one transducing element rather than two (as shown), or it could have a separate element for each note to be tuned. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims cover any such modifications and/or embodiments that fall within the true scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMSIt is claimed:

1. Apparatus for tuning a guitar having a pre-existing transducer thereon used in amplifying the musical sounds of the guitar, said transducer producing for amplification a generated set of electrical signals representative of the acoustic vibrations of the guitar strings, said apparatus comprising:

(a) tuning means for affixing to the guitar, including

(1) input means adapted for connection to said pre-existing transducer on the guitar for receiving the generated set of electrical signals produced for amplification,

(2) comparison means having a set of standard electrical signals representative of standard frequencies for tuning the guitar and being electronically connected to the input means for comparing each of said set of generated electrical signals to one of the set of standard electrical signals,

(3) output means for producing an output signal representative of the relationship between each said generated signal and the corresponding standard signal; and

(b) display means electronically connected to the tuner means and responsive to the output signal to indicate the relationship between the frequency of an acoustic vibration generated by the guitar strings and the desired standard frequency to which the guitar is to be tuned, said display means being further mounted on an upper surface of the guitar for being readily viewed by a guitar player who is in a normal playing position adjacent to the guitar.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein said input means has an electronic impedance corresponding to the electronic impedance of the transducer to permit continuous connection of the tuning means to the transducer while the guitar is being played.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2.6)

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein said input means is adapted for connection to the input of a volume control unit for said guitar.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein said comparison means includes a selector means for selecting the appropriate one of said standard electrical signals for comparison to the corresponding electrical signal generated by the musical instrument.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein said selector means automatically provides the standard electrical signal corresponding to the generated electrical signal.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein said output means produces a first output signal in response to a generated signal being representative of a higher frequency than a corresponding standard signal, and a second output signal in response to a generated signal being representative of a lower frequency than a corresponding standard signal.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein said display means comprises a first display unit responsive to said first output signal and a second display unit responsive to said second output unit.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein said display means includes means for displaying whether the frequency of the vibration of the guitar strings is higher or lower than the corresponding standard frequency.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein said tuning means is attached directly to the guitar and to the pre-existing transducer.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein said display means is attached directly to the musical instrument and to the tuning means.