Abstract:
A musical instrument adapted for use with a turntable. Said apparatus uses a rotary pulse generator to create musical tones when in contact with the rotating platter of the turntable. Said apparatus mounts to the turntable in such a way that a rotary pulse generator rotates when in contact with the rotating turntable platter. As the radius at which the rotary pulse generator contacts the turntable platter is increased the frequency of the tone produced increases proportionally, likewise when the radius at which the rotary pulse generator contacts the turntable platter is decreased the frequency of the tone produced decreases proportionally allowing a range of pitches to be sounded.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This utility patent application seeks priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/125,106 filed on Jan. 14, 2015 and which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    No part of the invention disclosed herein was the subject of federally sponsored research or development. 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not applicable 
       REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0004]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0005]    Field 
         [0006]    The field of the invention is a musical instrument adapted for use with a record turntable. 
         [0007]    Description of the Prior Art 
         [0008]    The primary element of the apparatus disclosed herein is a rotary pulse generator adapted for use as a musical instrument. Rotary pulse generators comprise a rotor and a stator coupled to generate pulses of some type when excited and have been used for countless purposes in past inventions from spark timing in internal combustion engines to generation of digital vector data in the computer mouse. Among these prior inventions there have been some musical instruments such as the Telharmonium and the Tonewheel Organ which both incorporate magnetic rotary pulse generators, also referred to as “dynamos”. Optical rotary pulse generators have been incorporated in inventions such as the computer mouse and musical instruments such as the Optigan. Acoustic rotary pulse generators have been incorporated in musical instruments such as the Glass Armonica and the Siren Whistle. The primary feature that differentiates the apparatus described herein from prior musical inventions incorporating rotary pulse generators is that it is adapted to be driven by physically rolling on an external moving body. While this feature distinguishes the apparatus described herein from prior musical instruments incorporating rotary pulse generators, it does not distinguish said apparatus from all prior inventions incorporating rotary pulse generators. The primary feature that distinguishes said apparatus from any prior invention incorporating rotary pulse generators is the adaptation of said apparatus for mounting to a turntable. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The apparatus disclosed herein is a means of accurately producing musical tones of any desired pitch class when used with a turntable. The original concept was essentially a miniature phonograph that was driven by rolling on a full sized turntable. This miniature phonograph would mount to, and send audio signals through, the tonearm of the full sized turntable. The problem run into by the inventor was actually manufacturing the appropriate phonograph cylinders to be played on this machine, which would have to be miniature and etched with locked grooves. As a substitute for these tiny records on the early prototypes, the inventor used caps from various bottles and control knobs from various electronics. The reason these items were used was because the ridges that they bear around the edges act as grooves of a record, exciting the contacting needle as they pass. Throughout the development of these prototypes the inventor has constructed needles of many different materials (metal, plastic, wood, cardboard, rubber, felt, leather, etc.) to achieve different timbres. The next prototypes were built using tone wheels and pickups from a tone wheel organ as pulse generators. Said apparatus could conceivably be adapted as a device for controlling digital sound production devices. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a oblique view the apparatus disclosed herein. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a schematic of the electrical connections of apparatus disclosed herein. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of the apparatus disclosed herein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The invention disclosed herein is a musical instrument adapted for use with a record turntable. As shown in  FIG. 1  the musical instrument  10  comprises a drive wheel  11 , connected to the wheel mount  142  by a drive shaft  110 , a pulse inducing rotor  12  also connected to the wheel mount  142  by the drive shaft  110 , a pickup  13  and chassis  14 . The chassis  14  comprises instrument mount  140 , pickup mount  141  hinged horizontally on the instrument mount  140 , and wheel mount  142  hinged vertically on the pickup mount  141 . The musical insturment  10  further comprises drive wheel bushings  15   a  (not shown) and  15   b,  momentary switch  16 , and rail apparatus  17 . Said rail apparatus  17  comprises rail support  170 , magnet  171 , and rail  172 . 
         [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a schematic of the electrical components of an illustrative embodiment of the musical instrument  10  disclosed herein. The electrical components of the musical instrument  10  comprise a pickup  13 . The pickup  13  comprises a bar magnet  130 , coil  131 , and electrically conductive wires  135 . The electrical components of the musical instrument  10  further comprise a momentary switch  16 . The momentary switch  16  comprises a switch body  160 , a switch actuator  162 , and switch contacts  163   a  and  163   b.  The momentary switch  16  is wired in parallel with the pickup  13  such that when the switch contacts  162   a  and  162   b  are closed, an electrical connection between the electrically conductive wires  135  shorts the circuit. The switch contacts  162   a  and  162   b  are normally closed such that output signal from the pickup  13  only feeds through the electrically conductive wires  135  when a switch actuator  163  is depressed opening the switch contacts  162   a  and  162   b.    
         [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a partially exploded perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of the musical instrument  10  disclosed herein. The musical instrument  10  comprises a drive wheel  11 . The drive wheel  11  comprises a drive shaft  110 , drive rotor  111  mounted on the driveshaft  110 , and tire  112  mounted around outer edge of the drive rotor  111 . The musical instrument  10  further comprises a pulse inducing wheel  12 . The pulse inducing wheel  12  is also fixed to the drive shaft  110  of the drive wheel  11  and comprises a pulse inducing rotor  120  constructed of ferrous material and containing a plurality of cogs  122  around the outer circumference of the pulse inducing rotor  120 . The musical instrument  10  further comprises a pickup  13 . The pickup  13  comprises a bar magnet  130 , a coil  131  wrapped around the bar magnet  130  at the proximal end of the bar magnet  132 . An electrically insulative circuit board  133  is fixed to the bar magnet  130 . Electrically conductive terminals  134  are fixed to the electrically insulative circuit board  133 , and electrically conductive wires  135  are electrically connected to the electrically conductive terminals  134 . The electrically conductive terminals  134  are also electrically connected to ends of the coil. The musical instrument  10  further comprises a chassis  14 . The chassis  14  comprises an instrument mount  140 , pickup mount  141  hinged horizontally on the instrument mount  140 . A wheel mount  142  is hinged vertically on the pickup mount  141 , and a spring  143  is mounted between thed pickup mount  141  and the wheel mount  142 . The instrument mount  140  comprises an instrument mount body  1400 , instrument mount apertures  1401   a  and  1401   b  adapted to mount the musical instrument  10  to a turntable headshell,  20  and a pickup mount recess  1402 . The pickup mount  141  comprises a pickup mount body  1410 , an instrument mount recess  1411 , pickup mount apertures  1412   a  and  1412   b,  wheel mount recesses  1413   a  and  1413   b,  hinge recesses  1414   a  and  1414   b,  spring eyelet  1415 , switch mount apertures  1416   a  and  1416   b,  cantilever  1417 , thumb aperture  1418 , and rail aperture  1419 . The wheel mount  142  comprises wheel mount plates  1420   a  and  1420   b,  wheel mount apertures  1421   a  and  1421   b,  lateral supports  1422   a  and  1422   b,  hinge protrusions  1423   a  and  1423   b,  and spring eyelet  1424 . The musical instrument  10  further comprises a drive wheel bushings  15   a  and  15   b  mounted in wheel mount apertures  1421   a  and  1421   b.  The musical instrument  10  further comprises a momentary switch  16 . The momentary switch  16  comprises a switch body  160 , electrically conductive switch terminals  161   a  and  161   b,  and switch actuator  162 . The musical instrument  10  further comprises a rail apparatus  17 . The rail apparatus  17  comprises a rail support  170 , magnet  171 , and rail  172 . The rail support  170  comprises a rail support body  1700 , platter spindle recess  1701  and rail socket  1702 . The rail  172  comprises a rail support fitting  1720  at the proximal end of the rail  173  and stop  1721  at the distal end of the rail  174 . 
         [0016]    The musical instrument  10  which varies the pitch of audible tones driven by a turntable described herein mounts to a standard gramophone headshell  20 . The headshell  20  mounts to the gramophone arm  21 . The chassis  14  of the musical instrument  10  holds in place a pickup  13  which is wired to the headshell  20  so as to transmit electrical audio signals from the pickup  13  to the gramophone audio outputs. The chassis  14  also holds in place a pulse inducing rotor  120  constructed from ferrous metal and containing a plurality of cogs  122  along the outer circumference of the pulse inducing rotor  120  that is fixed concentrically to a drive shaft  110  and mounted in close proximity to the pickup  13 . When the pulse inducing rotor  120  rotates the cogs  122  located at the outer circumference of the pulse inducing rotor  120 , the cogs  122  pass by the pickup  13  inducing electrical oscillations in the coil  131  of the pickup  13 . When the electrical oscillations are amplified and routed to loudspeakers, audible tones will emerge from the loudspeakers. The tones produced will vary in frequency (pitch) directly based on the rotation speed of the pulse inducing rotor  120 . The tones produced will vary in amplitude (loudness) inversely based on the distance between the pulse inducing rotor and the pickup  13 . The chassis  14  being mounted to the gramophone arm  21  enables the user to contact the pulse inducing rotor  120  to the rotating gramophone platter  18 . The tangential velocity of the rotating gramophone platter  18  will vary depending on the radius at which said tangential velocity is measured. Due to this fact, when the cogs  122  on the pulse inducing rotor  120  contact a record on the rotating gramophone platter  18  at various radii the pulse inducing rotor  120  will rotate at various velocities directly relating to the radii and thus produce various tones directly relating to the various velocities. The pulse inducing rotor  120  isn&#39;t a perfect circle and as such will not roll smoothly on the gramophone platter  18 . Therefore it is necessary to concentrically fix a slightly larger &amp; perfectly circular drive rotor  111  to the drive shaft  110  of the pulse inducing rotor  120  ensuring smoother rotation. The drive rotor  111  is mounted in such a way as to not come into contact with the pickup  13  in the same manner as the pulse inducing rotor  120  as the pulse inducing rotor  120  moves more proximal to or distal from the pickup  13 . The chassis  14  is divided into three parts: 1) an instrument mount  140 , 2) a pickup mount  141 , and 3) a wheel mount  142 . The instrument mount  140  is attached securely by threaded fasteners to the headshell  20  on its distal end and attached to said pickup mount  141  on its proximal end in such a way as to allow for a horizontal hinging action of pickup mount  141 . This horizontal hinging action allows the pickup  13  and wheel mounts  142  to be rotated in order to keep drive wheel  11  in an orientation perpendicular to the gramophone platter  18  radius at all times. The pickup mount  141  is mounted to the instrument mount  140  distal from the operator, and holds the pickup  13  in place, and is attached to said wheel mount  142  on the proximal end from the operator in such a way as to allow for a vertical hinging action of the wheel mount  142 . This vertical hinging action allows the pulse inducing rotor&#39;s  120  position in relation to the pickup  13  to be adjusted by the user. In addition to the vertical hinging action of the wheel mount  142  in relation to the pickup mount  141 , a spring  143  is attached to the pickup mount  141  on end distal to the operator and the wheel mount  142  on proximal end to the operator in order to hold the wheel mount  142  in its most downward position which corresponds to pickup mount  141  being held in its highest position above the rotating platter of the gramophone  18  when the drive wheel  11  is in contact with the rotating platter of gramophone  18  and to the position of the pulse inducing rotor  120  being most distal from the pickup  13 . Due to the distal location from pickup  13 , the highest position of the pickup mount  141  corresponds to the lowest amplitude (loudness) of the tone being produced. When the user pushes down on a cantilever  1417  that is built into said pickup mount  141  while drive wheel  11  is attached to rotating platter of gramophone  123 , the wheel mount  142  hinges upward causing the pulse inducing rotor  120  to move more proximal to the pickup  13  and therefore an increase in amplitude (loudness) of tone being produced. An additional feature that is built into the cantilever  1417  of the pickup mount  141  is a rail aperture  1419  positioned directly above the drive wheel  11  thru which a rail  172  may pass. The rail  172  is connected to a rail support  170  at its distal end. The rail support  170  is designed to sit on the gramophone spindle  19  and is held in place with a magnet  171 . The rail  172  being constrained by the rail support  170  to the gramophone spindle  19  and being positioned through the rail aperture  1419  in the cantilever  1417  of the pickup mount  141  maintains constant perpendicular orientation of the drive rotor  111  relative to the radius of the gramophone platter  18 . In this embodiment, brass bushings  15   a,    15   b  are employed between drive shaft  110  and the wheel mount  142 . The bushings  15   a,    15   b  allow for free rotation of the drive shaft  110  and reduce wear due to rotation. A momentary switch  16  is mounted to the pickup mount  141  and wired to the pickup  13  in such a way that when depressed by the user the audio signal circuit is closed allowing tones to be sounded. Pressing the momentary switch  16  by the user sounds a tone, pushing the cantilever  1417  down the user raises the tones volume, and moving the musical instrument  10  toward the center of the gramophone platter  18  by the user lowers the tones pitch. 
         [0017]    The musical instrument disclosed herein is readily susceptible to various design and construction variations. By way of example the musical instrument disclosed herein may be constructed with a plurality of pickups, drive wheels, pulse inducing rotors in various combinations. All of those combinations are included within the specification and as further limited by the claims.