Control pedal and method of controlling an electronic device with the control pedal

A control pedal includes a pedal body having a foot contact surface at an upper side; at least a sensing unit arranged on the foot contact surface for detecting a touch action and generating a sensor signal according to the detected touch action; a microprocessor arranged in an interior of the pedal body for generating an operation instruction according to the sensor signal; and a transmission unit for transmitting the operation instruction to an electronic device to control a page turning action, sound volume adjustment, or audio mode switch.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Taiwanese patent application No. 102116543, filed on May 9, 2013, which is incorporated herewith by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a control pedal for controlling the execution of a transmission signal so as to perform a corresponding task in an electronic device.

2. The Prior Arts

A musician generally uses sheet music during a performance. However, it may be inconvenient for the musician to manually turn the pages of the sheet music and play an instrument at the same time: for example, the sheet music may be turned to a wrong page, which may affect the performance. Moreover, the sheet music is usually in paper form, which is inconvenient to carry along with the musician.

One approach to solving the aforementioned issue is to input the sheet music and notation in an electronic device, and a press button may be used to turn the pages of the sheet music on the electronic device. Unfortunately, the use of the electronic device still requires manual operation to turn the pages of the sheet music displayed on the electronic device.

To remedy the aforementioned problem of manually turning the pages of the sheet music, a device has been developed which is operated using a foot pressure to turn the pages of the sheet music.FIG. 1is a schematic view illustrating a conventional mechanical pedal for turning pages of sheet music. The conventional mechanical pedal30includes a left pedal31and a right pedal32. The pedals31and32are respectively provided with sensors311and321that are adapted to generate sensing signals upon the application of a foot pressure. Page turning instructions associated with the sensing signals then are transmitted through a wireless transmitter33to the electronic device for executing a page turning action.

However, the above page turning control requires the assembly of the left and right pedals31and32and the wireless transmitter33, which increase the overall volume and total weight and inconvenient to carry. Because the operator needs to use one or two feet to press on one or two of the pedals31and32, the actuation may also be cumbersome. More importantly, pressing on the pedal may result in undesirable noises, and a prolonged use of the pedal may also generate parasitic noise induced by mechanical friction, which may adversely affect the quality of the performance.

When the musician is playing an electronic music instrument, the sound volume, audio mode, or chord setting is required to be manually adjusted. Playing the instrument and performing manual adjustment at the same time is not an easy task and may lead to confusion, which finally may affect the performance. Therefore, it is highly required to develop and design a pedal that can be operated by controlled with ease via the musician feet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address the foregoing issues, it is an object of the present invention to provide a control pedal that is simple in structure, lightweight, and can be easily portable.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a control pedal that is convenient to operate, and can detect the application of different touch actions by a foot to output proper operation instructions to control an electronic device.

It is further another object of the present invention to provide a control pedal that can sense touch actions through non-mechanical means, which eliminates the conventional problem of parasitic noise produced by a mechanical pedal.

In order to achieve the foregoing objectives, the control pedal according to one embodiment includes a pedal body having a foot contact surface at an upper side; at least a sensing unit arranged on the foot contact surface, the sensing unit detecting a touch action and generating a sensor signal according to the detected touch action; a microprocessor arranged in an interior of the pedal body, the microprocessor generating an operation instruction according to the sensor signal; and a transmission unit for transmitting the operation instruction to an electronic device.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the sensing unit includes an infrared sensor, a light sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the transmission unit is connected with the electronic device through a wire connection.

In order to improve portability, the transmission unit is a wireless transmission unit, which may be a Bluetooth transmission unit or an infrared transmission unit.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the operation instruction is a page turning instruction, a volume control instruction for sound, or an audio mode switch instruction. Through a setting unit, the type of the operation instruction can also be selectively switched between the page turning instruction, the volume control instruction, and the audio mode switch instruction. The page turning instruction may be executed on a display of an electronic device. The sound volume control instruction or audio mode switch instruction may be executed on an electric musical instrument or other electronic devices.

Moreover, the present invention also provides a method of controlling an electronic device with the control pedal. The method includes providing a control pedal having a foot contact surface at an upper side; through a sensing unit arranged on the foot contact surface, generating a sensor signal by applying a touch action on the control pedal; through a microprocessor, generating an operation instruction according to the sensor signal; and through a transmission unit, transmitting the operation instruction to an electronic device so as to cause the electronic device to execute a desired action.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the touch action is a single touch followed by a lift action, a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, or a sequence of successive touches without lift action.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the operation instruction is a page turning instruction, which is a next page turning instruction, a previous page turning instruction, a one-page skipping instruction, or a successive page turning instruction.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, when the touch action is a single touch followed by a lift action, the associated page turning instruction is a next page turning instruction; when the touch action is a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, the associated page turning instruction is a previous page turning instruction; when the touch action is a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, the associated page turning instruction is a one-page skipping instruction turning to a page immediately following the next page; and when the touch action is a sequence of successive touches without lift action, the associated page turning instruction is a successive page turning instruction. The association of each touch action with the corresponding page turning instruction may be preset by default, or may be programmed as desired through the setting unit.

The control pedal as described herein is convenient to carry along with a user. Moreover, the user can use a foot to apply different touch actions (by varying the time duration of each touch and time interval between successive touches) on the control pedal for executing page turning instructions on a display device, for example, turning electronic sheet music, electronic books, food recipes, presentation slides, and web page browsing.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the operation instruction is a sound volume control instruction, which may be a volume increase instruction, a volume decrease instruction, or a silent mode instruction.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, when the touch action is a single touch followed by a lift action, the associated sound volume control instruction is a volume decrease instruction; when the touch action is a sequence of successive touches without lift action, the associated sound volume control instruction is a volume increase instruction; and when the touch action is a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, the associated sound volume control instruction is a silent mode.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the operation instruction is an audio mode switch instruction, which may be an instruction to switch to a previous audio mode, or an instruction to switch to a next audio mode.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, when the touch action is a single touch followed by a lift action, the associated audio mode switch instruction is an instruction to switch to the next audio mode; when the touch action is a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, the associated audio mode switch instruction is an instruction to switch to a previous audio mode.

A user can use a foot to vary the time duration of each touch and time interval between successive touches on the control pedal for controlling an electronic music instrument (for example, an electronic guitar, electronic bass, a keyboard, MIDI, DJ amplifier), or any electronic device (for example, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, etc.). Such control may include a sound volume control, or an audio mode switch control.

According to other embodiments of the present invention, in order, an anti-slip pad may also be arranged at a bottom of the control pedal to prevent its displacement when a touch action is applied thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 2 and 3are respectively a perspective view and a block diagram of a control pedal10according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control pedal10has a structure similar to a casing. The control pedal10has no shape limitation, and can have a larger or smaller surface area depending on the desired application. However, the control pedal10preferably has an inclined structure to facilitate foot actuation.

The control pedal10includes a pedal body having a foot contact surface11at an upper side. At least one sensing unit12is arranged on the foot contact surface11. An interior of the pedal body is assembled with a microprocessor14and a transmission unit15that are electrically connected with the sensing unit12.

The sensing unit12is adapted to detect the application of a touch action121on the control pedal10, and generate a sensor signal122according to the touch action121. The sensing unit12is an infrared sensor, a light sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or any types of sensors capable of detecting a displacement and touch duration of a foot on the control pedal10. The touch action121is a single touch and a lift action, a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, two successive touches followed by a lift action, successive touches without lift action, and the like.

The microprocessor14is adapted to identify and process the sensor signal122. More specifically, the microprocessor14is adapted to generate an operation instruction141according to predetermined settings in response to the corresponding sensor signal122. According to the user's needs, the microprocessor14is electrically connected with a setting unit13. Through the setting unit13, operation instructions are desirably programmed to correspond to the applied touch action121.

The transmission unit15is adapted to transmit the operation instruction141to an electronic device20, so that the electronic device20executes a desired action. The operation instruction141is transmitted out from the transmission unit15wirelessly or through a wire connection. If the transmission were performed through a wire connection, a connection interface is provided including a wire connection to the electronic device. If the transmission is performed wirelessly, the operation instruction141is transmitted from a wireless transmission unit151(as shown inFIG. 4) as a wireless signal to the electronic device that is capable of receiving or detecting the wireless signal. Wireless transmission facilitates portability of the control pedal10. The wireless transmission unit151is a Bluetooth transmission unit or an infrared transmission unit.

The electronic device20includes a receiving interface, which is a wire receiving interface, or a wireless receiving interface such as Bluetooth or infrared unit.

Referring again toFIG. 3, the sensing unit12on the contact surface111of the control pedal10senses and detects the application of the touch action121by a user's foot, and then generates the sensor signal122in response. The sensor signal122is then transmitted to the microprocessor14, which reads the sensor signal122and generates the operation instruction141. The operation instruction141is transmitted via the transmission unit15to the electronic device20so as to cause the electronic device20to execute a corresponding action.

FIG. 4is a block diagram illustrating a control pedal10according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The contact surface111of the control pedal10also has a sensing unit12that senses and detects the application of the touch action121by a user's foot, and then generates the sensor signal122. The sensor signal122is then transmitted to the microprocessor14, which reads the sensor signal122and generates a page turning instruction142. The page turning instruction142is transmitted via the wireless transmission unit151to a display device21so as to execute a page turning action on the display device21. The display device21preferably includes a receiving interface, which in fact is a wire receiving interface, or a wireless receiving interface such as Bluetooth or infrared unit. The display device21is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a projector device, and the like.

Examples of the touch action121include, without limitation, a single touch followed by a lift action, a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, a sequence of successive touches without lift action, and the like. The time duration of a touch applied on the control pedal10and the time interval between two successive touches are preset as desired. Moreover, examples of the page turning instruction142include, without limitation, a next page turning instruction, a previous page turning instruction, a one-page skipping instruction, a successive page turning instruction, or the like. According to one embodiment, when the touch action121is a single touch followed by a lift action, the associated page turning instruction142is a next page turning instruction; when the touch action121is a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, the associated page turning instruction142is a previous page turning instruction; when the touch action121is a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, the associated page turning instruction142is a one-page skipping instruction turning to a page immediately following a next page; and when the touch action121is a sequence of successive touches without lift action, the associated page turning instruction142is a successive page turning instruction. The association of each touch action121with the corresponding page turning instruction142is preset by default, or is programmed as desired through the setting unit13.

With the present invention, a user can use a foot to apply different touch actions (by varying the time duration of each touch and time interval between successive touches) on the control pedal10for executing different page turning instructions on a display device without the use of user's hand. The page turning instructions are applied in electronic sheet music, electronic books, food recipes, presentation slides, and web page browsing.

FIG. 5is a block diagram illustrating a control pedal10according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The contact surface111of the control pedal10also has a sensing unit12that senses and detects the application of the touch action121by a user's foot, and then generates the sensor signal122. The sensor signal122is then transmitted to the microprocessor14, which reads the sensor signal122and generates a volume control instruction143for sound. The volume control instruction143is transmitted via the wireless transmission unit151to an electronic music instrument22so as to perform sound volume control. The electronic music instrument22preferably includes a receiving interface, which in fact is a wire receiving interface, or a wireless receiving interface such as Bluetooth or infrared unit. Examples of the electronic music instrument22include, without limitation, an electronic guitar, electronic bass, a keyboard, MIDI, DJ amplifier, and the like.

Examples of the touch action121may include, without limitation, a single touch followed by a lift action, a timely prolonged touch followed by a lift action, a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, a sequence of successive touches without lift action, and the like. The time duration of a touch applied on the control pedal10and the time interval between two successive touches are preset as desired. Moreover, examples of the sound volume control instruction143preferably include, without limitation, a volume increase, a volume decrease, or a silent mode. According to one embodiment, when the touch action121is a single touch followed by a lift action, the associated sound volume control instruction143is a volume decrease instruction; when the touch action121is a sequence of successive touches without lift action, the associated sound volume control instruction143is a volume increase instruction; and when the touch action121is a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, the associated sound volume control instruction143is a silent mode. The association of each touch action121with a sound volume control instruction143is preset by default, or is programmed as desired through the setting unit13.

FIG. 6is a block diagram illustrating a control pedal10according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The contact surface111of the control pedal10also has a sensing unit12that senses and detects the application of the touch action121by a user's foot, and then generates the sensor signal122. The sensor signal122is then transmitted to the microprocessor14, which reads the sensor signal122and generates an audio mode switch instruction144. The audio mode switch instruction144is transmitted via the wireless transmission unit151to an electronic music instrument22so as to switch an audio mode. The electronic music instrument22preferably includes a receiving interface, which in fact is a wire receiving interface, or a wireless receiving interface such as Bluetooth or infrared unit. Examples of the electronic music instrument22preferably includes, without limitation, an electronic guitar, an electronic bass, and the like.

Examples of the touch action121may include, without limitation, a single touch followed by a lift action, a timely prolonged touch followed by a lift action, a sequence of two successive touches followed by a lift action, a sequence of successive touches without lift action, and the like. The time duration of a touch applied on the control pedal10and the time interval between two successive touches may be preset as desired. Moreover, examples of the audio mode switch instruction144preferably include, without limitation, an instruction to switch to a previous audio mode, or an instruction to switch to a next audio mode. According to one embodiment, when the touch action121is a single touch followed by a lift action, the associated audio mode switch instruction144is an instruction to switch to a next audio mode; when the touch action121is a prolonged touch followed by a lift action, the associated audio mode switch instruction144is an instruction to switch to a previous audio mode. The association of each touch action121with the audio mode switch instruction144is preset by default, or is programmed as desired through the setting unit13.

Because it is continuously pressed during operation, the control pedal is progressively displaced outward. In order to prevent this displacement, an anti-slip pad111(as shown inFIG. 2) may be arranged at a bottom of the control pedal10. The anti-slip pad111is preferably made of rubber or any material so long as it can provide frictional contact or engagement.

The foregoing description is intended to only provide illustrative ways of implementing the present invention, and should not be construed as limitations to the scope of the present invention. While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may thus be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.