Abstract:
An electronic hi-hat cymbal controller is disclosed. The controller includes a hi-hat cymbal stand with a foot pedal configured and arranged to mechanically lift a control shaft. A lower cymbal is supported by the hi-hat cymbal stand. An upper cymbal is supported by the control shaft and oriented over the lower cymbal. And a position detector is configured and arranged to detect the position of the control shaft relative to the hi-hat cymbal stand.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present patent document claims priority to earlier filed U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/379,147, filed on Sep. 1, 2010, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/393,569, filed on Oct. 15, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to cymbals for making music and more particularly to an electronic high-hat cymbal controller. 
     2. Background of the Related Art 
     Electronic drum sets generally consist of controllers whose look and feel emulates the instruments of an acoustic drum set and electronic sound generators which take input from these controllers and produce electronically synthesized drum set sounds. 
     A typical electronic drum set will include some number of “electronic cymbals”, that is, controllers whose shape and design makes them suitable for emulating the playing characteristics of various acoustic cymbals. 
     One important cymbal type is the high-hat shown in  FIG. 1  at  10 . An acoustic high-hat consists of two cymbals  12 ,  14 , mounted in a stand  16  with a foot pedal  18 . The cymbals  12 ,  14  are mounted with the concave sides facing each other and the upper cymbal  12  can be moved down and up by pressing and releasing the foot pedal  18 . Typically, the top cymbal  12  is struck by the performer and the resulting sound varies, depending on whether the upper cymbal  12  is down and in contact with the lower cymbal  14  (referred to as closed) or up and not in contact (referred to as open). Subtle effects in timbre are available to the performer with the hi-hat cymbal  10  partially closed (nearly touching), lightly closed, closed hard and with the upper cymbals  12  struck in such a way that it swings down and strikes the lower cymbal  14 . In addition, the hi-hat cymbal  10  can be made to “speak” by pressing the pedal  18  quickly and holding it closed (often called a “tcchk”) and by pressing the pedal  18  till the cymbals  12 ,  14  touch and releasing quickly (referred to as a “foot splash” or “pedal splash”). 
     In current practice, the electronic implementation of a high-hat cymbal controller typically takes the form of two controllers, one that emulates the upper cymbal and one that emulates the action of the foot pedal. 
     The upper cymbal controller is similar to the controllers for other cymbals. In the simplest form, it has a sensor, typically a piezo-electric device, that indicates how hard the cymbal has been struck. It is possible, as with other cymbals, to add additional detectors to indicate where the cymbal has been struck (bell, bow or edge). It is also possible, as with other cymbals, to add a detector that will detect a choke. On cymbals that are not a high-hat pair, this is often a membrane switch that detects the performer damping the cymbal vibration with his hand. Typically, the lower cymbal of the acoustic high-hat pair is not present in an electronic drum set. 
     The foot pedal controller frequently takes the form of a stand-alone foot-pedal, shown in  FIG. 2  at  20 , completely separated from the cymbal(s). This device detects how far the pedal is depressed by the performer and sends this data to the drum synthesizer. 
     The completely separate electronic foot pedal has a number of deficiencies. First, since the pedal does not move the upper cymbal up or down, the playing feel of the high-hat is quite different from the acoustic instrument it is meant to emulate. Second, the feel of the foot pedal itself is quite different from that of an acoustic high-hat cymbal  10 . An acoustic high-hat cymbal  10  has a spring, which can be emulated by a stand-alone pedal. The acoustic high-hat pedal  18  also moves the mass of the upper cymbal  12  and control shaft  22 , which is not emulated by a stand-alone pedal  20 . Furthermore, the feel of the cymbals  12 ,  14  touching and compressing is poorly emulated by the stand-alone foot pedal  20 . Finally, the visual presentation of the separated cymbal and stand-alone pedal pair is quite different from an acoustic high-hat  10 . 
     A number of manufacturers have sought to address these deficiencies by mounting a single electronic cymbal controller on an acoustic high-hat stand  16 . While this approach is an improvement over the stand-alone pedal, a number of deficiencies remain. 
     In particular, a single cymbal plays differently than two cymbals  12 ,  14 . When an acoustic high-hat is open  10 , the upper cymbal  12  swings freely when struck. When it closes, this swinging motion is suppressed and the resulting stiffness increases as the cymbals  12 ,  14  are further pressed together. 
     In addition, existing products require either a custom high-hat stand or a complete separate electronic drum set with an existing high-hat stand. For the drummer who switches between his electronic set (often a practice set) and acoustic set, this adds cost or inconvenience. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing an upper cymbal and lower cymbal connected to a high-hat stand an operable with a foot pedal. A foot pedal control module detects the position of the upper cymbal relative to the foot pedal control cymbal and generates and transmits a control signal proportional to the plunger position to a drum synthesizer. 
     Among the objects of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention is the provision for an electronic high-hat cymbal controller that includes two cymbals, with both cymbals swinging relatively freely when open and less freely when closed, emulating the behavior of an acoustic high-hat cymbal. 
     Another object of the present invention is an electronic high-hat cymbal controller that mounts the cymbals and the pedal controller onto existing acoustic high-hat cymbal stands. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is an electronic high-hat cymbal controller that has long life-expectancy. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG. 1  is a photographs of a prior art acoustic hi-hat cymbal; 
         FIG. 2  is a photograph of a prior art electronic foot pedal that simulates a hi-hat cymbal; 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention with the cymbals open; 
         FIG. 3B  is an elevation view of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention with the cymbals open; 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention with the cymbals closed; 
         FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention with the cymbals closed; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial bottom perspective view of the bow sensor on the bottom surface of the upper cymbal; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram of the operation of the foot pedal control module. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  4 A,  4 B, and  5 , the electronic high-hat cymbal controller of the present invention is shown generally at  100 . The electronic high-hat cymbal controller  100  includes an upper cymbal  102  and a lower cymbal  104  operably mounted to a high-hat stand  16  with a foot pedal  18 . Further included is a foot pedal control module  106 , which will be further described below. 
     The upper cymbal  102  may be formed from brass like an acoustic cymbal, or another material, such as plastic. Plastic and rubber cymbals are less expensive to produce and produce less “stick noise” when played. The upper cymbal  102  includes a first detector  108  that is configured to detect a strike anywhere on the upper cymbal  102  and return a value proportional to the velocity of the strike. The upper cymbal  102  may further include a second detector  110  in the bell of the cymbal and one or more edge strike detectors  112  along the rim of the upper cymbal  102 . Piezo detectors, membrane switches and force sensing resistors may be used to detect strikes against the upper cymbal  102 . 
     The upper cymbal  102  is mounted to a control shaft  22  of a conventional acoustic high-hat cymbal stand  16  with a “V” mount to allow the upper cymbal  102  to swing freely while limiting cymbal rotation on the high-hat cymbal stand  16 . Operation of the foot pedal  18  on the high-hat cymbal stand  16  moves the control shaft  22  up and down. Because the upper cymbal  102  is mounted to the control shaft  22 , the upper cymbal  102  moves up and down in response to movement of the foot pedal  18 . 
     The lower cymbal  104  may be formed from plastic, brass or other rigid material. The lower cymbal  104  is not designed to detect strikes against it per se, but is present to provide the musician tactile feedback from operation of the high-hat cymbal stand  16  and provide the electronic high-hat cymbal controller  100  of the present invention the look and feel of an acoustic high-hat cymbal stand  10 . However the lower cymbal may include sensor, such as an edge strike sensor  112  to provide further fidelity in detecting “speaking”, “tcchk” and foot splashes. The lower cymbal  104  may further include a hole  114  through it to allow cables from the upper cymbal  102  and foot pedal control module  106  to be routed to a drum synthesizer module (not shown). 
     The lower cymbal  104  is mounted to a standard high-hat cymbal stand  10  as the lower cymbal  14  in an acoustic high-hat cymbal  10  would be. 
     The foot pedal control module  106  is mounted to the high-hat cymbal stand  16  and sits between the upper and lower cymbals  102 ,  104 . The high-hat stand control shaft  22  travels freely through the center of the foot pedal control module  106 . 
     The foot pedal control module  106  includes a rounded bottom so the position of the pedal control module  106  is relatively unaffected by moderate swinging of the lower cymbal  104 . The bottom of the foot pedal control module  106  is not fastened or connected to the lower cymbal  104 . The top of the pedal control module  106  is not fastened to the upper cymbal  102  either. Depending on the performers preferred setup, the upper cymbal  102  and mounting hardware in the open position may not be in contact with the foot pedal control module  106 . 
     Cables to the drum synthesizer may be loosely fastened (with hook-and-loop cable straps or equivalent) to the high-hat stand  16 . Fastening the cables in this manner will limit the rotation of the lower cymbal  104  while allowing it to swing relatively freely. The cables connect to one or more cable jacks on the foot pedal module  106 . 
     The foot pedal control module  106  includes a position detector that senses the position of the upper cymbal  102  relative to the foot pedal control module  106 . In one embodiment, a spring-loaded plunger  116  extends above the foot pedal control module  106 . A shutter  118  extends from the plunger  116  and is further configured to slide into a channel  120  on a sensor tunnel  122  (described further below). When the upper cymbal  102  is less than a predetermined distance from the lower cymbal  104 , it depresses the plunger  116  and compresses spring  124 . The foot pedal control module  106  generates and sends a control signal proportional to the plunger  116  position to the drum synthesizer through the cables. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 6-8 , to detect the position of the plunger  116 , the foot pedal control module  106  includes a light source  126 , such as an LED, and an optical detector  128 , such as a photo-resistor, positioned opposite the light source  126 . A sensor tunnel  122  is positioned between the light source  126  of the optical detector  128 . The sensor tunnel  122  includes a channel  120  that bisects the sensor tunnel  122  and is configured to receive the shutter  118  from the plunger  116 . Motion of the plunger  116  moves the shutter  118  into the channel  120  of the sensor tunnel  122  and across the light path between the light source  126  and the optical detector  128 , changing the effective resistance presented to the drum synthesizer. The use of an optical sensor configuration has the advantage of avoiding any signal quality dependency on parts that may repeatedly rub or press against each other, extending the effective life of the controller  100 . 
     The foot pedal control module  106  further includes a battery compartment  130  for batteries  132  to power the position detector. In one embodiment, the upper cymbal  102  first  108 , second  110  and edge strike  112  sensors are routed through the foot pedal control module  106  prior to the drum module. 
     On any detected strike of the upper cymbal  102 , the light source  126  of the position sensor is turned on by the foot pedal control module  106 . A power switching and current control circuit  134  is provided. After a pre-determined time-out period, if no additional strikes are detected, the light source  126  will be turned off by the power switching and current control circuit  134 , thereby optimizing battery life expectancy. A signal detection and timer circuit  136  is provided to determine measure the time period between cymbal strikes in order to ascertain whether the foot pedal control module  106  should be powered off. In one embodiment the signal detection and timing circuit  136  is connected to the first sensor  108  in the bow of the upper cymbal  102 . 
     The drum module synthesizer can also be configured to supply power to the foot pedal control module  106 , thereby removing the need for batteries  132  and a battery compartment  132 . In the preferred embodiment, the foot pedal control module  106  may be operable with either batteries  132  or external power and will auto-detect which power source to use. Specifically, the foot pedal control module  106  will default to using power from the external source in order to conserve battery life. 
     Therefore, it can be seen that the present invention provides a unique solution to the problem of providing a high-hat cymbal controller system that is cost effective, convenient and that emulates as closely as possible the playing feel and response of acoustic high-hat cymbals. 
     It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.