Patent ID: 7030305
Filing Date: 2006-04-18
Classification: G10H

Abstract:
1. An electronic steelpan drum, comprising: an oval can-like outer housing with extended control function surface along one side, said outer housing having a top circular sunken concave playing surface, the height of said outer housing being of varying lengths for aesthetic purposes; a plurality of striking pads arranged on said concave playing surface, the area of said striking pads generally associated with the frequency range of the generated musical notes; pressure sensors attached to the bottom side of each said striking pad for determining the force applied to said striking pad by a pannist; a central processing chip mounted on a circuit board enclosed within said outer housing for electronically controlling the functions of said steelpan drum; one or more memory chips mounted on said circuit board and coupled to said central processing chip for storing a variety of synthesized steelpan sounds and a full range of musical, orchestral, and symphonic sounds to be reproduced by said steelpan drum; a plurality of function selection buttons mounted on said control function surface along one side of said outer housing for selecting one of said variety of synthesized steelpan sounds; audio drivers mounted on said circuit board, the input of said audio drivers coupled to an audio output of said central processing chip; volume control equalizing circuitry coupled to the output of said audio drivers; one or more speakers mounted on said outer housing, said speakers driven from said audio drivers; a display mounted on said outer housing for use in plug-and-play setup and controlling the basic elements of said steelpan drum; and a power supply for providing DC power to said circuit board of said steelpan drum, said power supply being sourced from a 110-volt AC outlet.