Patent ID: 9047854
Filing Date: 2015-06-02
Classification: G10H

Abstract:
1. An apparatus that allows one to control the operation of a musical instrument of the type that includes a plurality of acoustical members and strikers, wherein each of these strikers is configured to actuate the creation of sound from one of the acoustical members, said apparatus comprising: a rotatably mounted, circular cylinder having an outer surface with an axial centerline that extends between said ends, a plurality of rings of individual, spaced-apart lights that are located on the outer surface of said cylinder, a plurality of photosensors, each of which has a field of view and a configuration adapted to orient the field of view of said photosensor towards a point through which passes the path of one of said rings of spaced-apart lights as said cylinder is rotated about its axial centerline and with said photosensor configuration further adapted to yield a photosensor output signal that is capable of controlling the temporal operation of one of said strikers, a rotation sensor having a configuration adapted to continuously detect the rotational position of the outer surface of said cylinder and to generate an rotation output signal that is indicative of the rotational position of the outer surface of said cylinder, a power source having a configuration adapted to supply the power necessary to illuminate said rings of spaced-apart lights, a programmable controller with a cooperating memory storage element, a means for inputting into said memory storage element of said programmable controller a music input signal having the information necessary to cause said acoustical members to perform over time as necessary to play a desired musical composition, and a software program having a configuration adapted to allow said program to be stored in said memory storage element and operate said controller so as to receive said music input signal and said rotation output signal and use these to generate a control signal for said power source that yields the temporal distribution of power necessary to intermittently illuminate said rings of lights as they are passing through the fields of view of said photosensors so that the resulting photosensor output signals will cause said strikers to create with said acoustic members those sounds required to play said desired musical composition.