US2792739A - Indicating musical instrument and tune card therefor - Google Patents

Description

1, 1957 A. ISAACSON 2,792,739

INDICATING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND TUNE CARD THEREFOR Filed June 11, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I f k 1 I 4 3% 46 '8 HVJO/V /J/-7/9C60A/ I INVENTOR.

United States Patent INDICATING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND TUNE CARD THEREFOR Anson Isaacson, Elgin, Ill. Application June 11, 1954, Serial No. 436,207 Claims. (Cl. 84-485) My invention relates to an improved indicating musical instrument of the type wherein the playing of each note energizes indicating means, such as a light, to identify the note next to be played.

In my copending applications, Serial No. 401,543, filed 7 December 31, 1953, and entitled Educational Piano,

and Serial No. 526,747, filed April 30, 1954, entitled Tune Card and Instrument Using Same, I disclose and claim improved indicating musical instruments and tune cards therefor. The present application discloses and claims an instrument utilizing a particularly simple tune card, with incident simplicity and low expense. Briefly, the instrument includes a terminal board having a series of parallel conducting bands flush with its face, one for each note to be played in sequence. The second terminal board is in spaced parallel facing relation with the first terminal board and has a series of parallel conducting bands flush with its face but oriented transversely to the conducting bands of the first terminal board. The conducting bands of the second terminal board are equal in number to the number of separate notes and are connected to the indicators, respectively, so that when each conducting band is energized, the corresponding indicator is likewise energized. The conducting bands of the first terminal board are energized in sequence as the successive notes are played by the use of a selector switch which is advanced one step each time a note is played.

The tune card is removably positioned between the terminal boards. It consists of a sheet of insulating material having a series of conductors, such as rivets, which extend through its thickness and overlay the adjacent portions of the sheet to form heads. The heads of each conductor form contact which seat against a conducting band of one board and a conducting band of the other. The conductors on the tune card are so disposed that, with the card in position, each conducting band of the first terminal board receives one conductor of the card and that conductor of the card is likewise received by the conducting band of the secondterminal board corresponding to the note to be played.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved indicating musical instrument and tune card therefor.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved indicating musical instrument and tune card therefor in which the tune card is of simple construction and merely has conductors which establish conducting paths through its thickness.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved indicating musical instrument and tune card therefor in which virtually all of the electrical connections are defined by non-removable parts of the instrument so that the repleaceable tune cards are not required to establish any connections other than through their own thickness.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however, both as to 2,792,739 Patented May 21, 1957 its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a schematic circuit diagram of the electrical circuits of an instrument constructed in accordance with the present invention and, in addition, showing the operating faces of the terminal boards of the instrument;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view in perspective showing the terminal boards of the instrument with a tune card in place, these parts being shown in somewhat exploded relationship to display their construction more completely;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the terminal boards and the tune card sandwiched therebetween;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary and partially diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the instrument through the axis 44, Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of a tune card for use in the instrument;

Figure 6 is a greatly enlarged view through axis 66, Figure 5, showing a conducting rivet received in the tune card; and.

Figures 7 and 8 are views like Figure 6, but showing an alternative method of forming a headed conducting member extending through the tune card.

Referring now to Figure l, the instrument consists of a plurality of manually operable members or keys 10 which are actuated to play successive notes. For example, in a toy or instructional piano construction eight such members or keys may be used and may play the notes of a full octave from the note C to the next higher note C as indicated in Figure 1. Suitable indicators are provided adjacent each manually operable member or key 10. These indicators may, for example, be lights as at 12, Figure 1, one light corresponding to each key 10. The lights are placed adjacent to the keys 10 so that when each light is lit it identifies a particular key to the person playing the instrument. A construction for this purpose is shown in my above-identified copending application, Serial Number 401,543, filed December 31, 1953.

As shown, the lights 12 are threadedly received by the conducting bar 14 which is connected by conductor 16 to the battery 18. The latter is connected through the conductor 20 to the shaft 22 received on the terminal board 24, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Shaft 22 carries the movable conducting arm 26 which at its outer end 26a wipes across the fixed contacts 28 to define a selector switch. Each fixed contact 23 is connected by a conducting band 30 to one of the parallel conducting bands 32 located at the top portion of the terminal board 24. Terminal board 24 has a planar face which carries the conducting bands 32 as shown.

A second terminal board 34 has a series of parallel conducting bands 36, equal in number to the keys 10 and hence to the number of separate notes to be struck during the playing of a tune. Each conducting band 36 is connected by a conductor 38 to one of the lamps 12 so that when each conductor 36 is energized the corresponding lamp 12 is likewise energized to indicate the key 10 which is manually to be played. Terminal board 34 has a planar face which carries the conducting bands 36 as shown.

The rotatable arm 26 and shaft 22 are mechanically connected by suitable means to the keys or members 13 so that each time a key 10 is actuated the arm 26 is advanced one step in the clockwise direction as seen in Figure 1. Thus, upon the actuation or playing of each key 10, the arm 26 is rotated one step to engage the next contact button 28. At the beginning of a tune, the arm 26 is manually or otherwise reset to the position shown in the dotted lines of Figure 1. Thereafter, as each successive note is played, the conducting bands 32 are energized in order from the left hand end of the terminal board 24 as seen in. Figure ,l to the right hand end of that board, as will be evident upon tracing the conductors shown.

The mechanism by which the arm 26 is advanced one step each time a note is played may be any one of many such mechanisms well known to the art. A ratchet mechanism suitable for this purpose is shown in my copending application, Serial Number 401,543,. filed December 31, 1953, above-identified. As shown diagrammatically in Figure 4, the ratchet may be disposed on the side of terminal board 24 opposite the arm 26.

The conducting bands 30 and 32 on the terminal board 24 and the conducting bands 36 on the terminal board 34 are preferably formed by printed circuit techniques. in one method of forming such bands, an electrically conducting material, such as chromium or nichrome, may be deposited onthe terminal board by evaporating the same through a mask having windows of the desired conductor configuration. The desired thickness of a good conducting material, such as copper may then be build up by electroplating. A non-conducting material, such as a plastic, may then be deposited in the spaces between the conductors to form a flush face therewith. Alternatively, the initial deposit of the conductors may be on a sheet of uncured thermosetting plastic, such as bakelite, or a soft plastic material, and the face of the terminal board bearing the conductors pressed against a flat sheet of stainless steel or similar material to form a smooth face in which the conductors are embedded.

The tune card, shown in plan view in Figure 5, consists of a base 40 of non-conducting sheet material. For example, laminated bakelite may be used for this purpose. The sheet is of such width and height as to fit into the instrument in sandwiched relationship between the terminal boards 24 and 34 as described in detail hereafter. The base 40 has a series of conducting rivets which extend through its thickness as shown in Figure 6 and have heads 42a protruding from the opposite sides of the base as shown. As described hereafter, the heads 42a seat against the conducting bands 32 of terminal board 24 and against the conducting bands 36 of the terminal board 34 to establish connections between these conducting bands to energize the lights 12, Figure l, and thus indicate the notes to be played.

The physical relationship on the instrument of the terminal boards 24 and-34 and the tune card is shown in Figures 2 to 4. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal boards 24 and 34 are disposed in parallel spaced relationship with the conducting bands 32 and 36 facing each other. The tune card is received between these terminal boards and as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the heads 42a of the conducting rivets extending through the base 40 seat against the faces of the terminal boards 24 and 34 carrying the conducting bands 32 and 36. As shown in Figure 4, the instrument has a stop member 44 against which the base .0 seats to hold the same with itsbottom edge 40a at a fixed positionin relation to the terminal boards 24 and 34. This assures that each conducting rivet 42 is in the desired registered relation to the terminal board 34. Similar guides 47 located on the sides of the card-receiving space assure lateral registration of the tune card with the conducting bands of the terminal board 24. The position of the bottom edge 2i) is shown by the dotted line 140a, Figure l, which, as will be noted,-

extends across the bottom edge of the parallel conducting band 32. v a

In order to urge the'terminal boards 24 and 34 against the heads 42a of the rivets 42, a suitable resilient means is provided. In the form of the instrument shown in Figures 3 and 4, this is accomplished by the resilient rubber sheet 46 which is seated between the terminal board 34 and the rigidly supported backing member 48.

This resilient member permits the terminal board 34 to give and thus accommodate the headed conducting members 42 while maintaining a good electrical contact therewith. The terminal boards 24 and 34, the tune card, the sheet 46, and the backing member 48, are held in sandwiched relation by the channel shaped side guides 47, Figure 3, as shown.

A tab 40b is provided on the top of the tune card to facilitate its insertion in and removal from the instrument.

in Figures 7 and 8 there is shown an alternative way of defining headed conducting members extending through the base 43 of the tune card. Here, the tune card is first :punched With holes 1421) at the points wherein conduction is to be established. Then a conducting member 42 with heads 142a at its opposite ends is formed by pouring a molten conducting material, such as lead solder, and thereafter shaping the heads 142a to the desired shape by a suitable pressing operation.

The conducting members 42 are disposed in the base 41 of the tune card in accordance with the tune desired to be indicated. The positions for the successive notes are indicated by the corresponding letters on the left hand side of the tune card as shown in Figure 5. These correspond to the positions of the conducting bands 36 on the terminal board 34. Similarly, the notes which are played in succession are indicated by the numbers at the bottom margin of the card as shown in Figure 5. These positions correspond to the positions of the bands 32 of the terminal board 24, Figure l, which are energized in sequence as the arm 26 moves step by step in accordance with the operation of the keys. Thus, in order to indicate the playing of a particular tune, it is only necessary to position the conducting members 42 in accordance with the sequence of notes to be played. Thus, as shown in Figure '5, the tune Mary Had a Little Lamb may be indicated by positioning the conducting members to play the notes ED C D E, in sequence followed by the other notes of this tune.

The conductors 42 are so positioned on the tune card that at least one of the conducting bands 36 is energized for each position of the arm 26. Thus one note is indicated to be played each time a successive note is played. If desired, however, harmony may be indicated by causing two or more of the indicators 12 to be energized. For purpose of illustration, such harmony is shown for the number 5, 6, ad 7 positions of the tune card as shown in Figure 5. It will be evident, of course, that a greater or smaller number of notes may be indicated with harmony, all depending upon the capacity of the instrument and the desires of the player.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of the present invention, it will of course be understood that various modifications and alternative constructions may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof. I therefore intend by the appended claims to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within their true spirit and scope.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a musical instrument having manual means to play a series of notes individually; a terminal board having a planar face with a series of spaced parallel conducting bands flush with the face, one band corresponding to each of the notes; a terminal board in spaced relationship to the first terminal board and having a planar face facing the planar face of the first mentioned terminal board, the planar face of the last mentioned terminal board having a series of flush parallel conducting bands oriented transversely to the bands of the first mentioned terminal board; means operable to energize the bands of said last mentioned terminal board in sequence as the successive notes are played; means operable to energize the electrical indicators respectively as the corresponding conducting bands of the first mentioned terminal board are energized; and a tune card removably disposed between the terminal boards and having conducting means in bridging relation to the bands of the respective terminal boards to connect each of the bands of the last mentioned terminal board to a band of the first mentioned terminal board.

2. In a musical instrument of the type having manual means operable to play a series of notes individually and in which an electrical indicator identifying the note next to be played is energized upon playing each note, the improvement comprising: means defining a series of spaced parallel coplanar conductors, one corresponding to each note; means defining a series of spaced parallel coplanar conductors in spaced parallel relation with the plane of the first mentioned conductors, the last mentioned conductors being oriented transversely to the first mentioned conductors; a tune card removably disposed between the first means and the second means and having conducting means seated against the conductors to establish an electrical connection between each of said last mentioned conductors and one of said first mentioned conductors; means to energize the last mentioned conductors in sequence as the successive notes are played; and means to energize the indicators respectively as the first mentioned conductors are energized.

3. A tune card for use in a musical instrument of the type having manual means to play a series of notes individually, electrical indicators for each of the notes respectively, and a pair of facing parallel spaced terminal boards each having an array of parallel conductors, the conductors of one board being transverse to the conductors of the other board, means to energize the conductors of one board as successive notes are played, and means to energize an electrical indicator as each of the conductors of the other board are energized; the tune card consisting of a sheet of insulating material having a series of conductors penetrating its thickness and forming electrical contacts at directly opposed sides of the sheet and electrically insulated from each other, the conductors being located to seat against the conductors of the one board, respectively, and to seat against the conductors of the other board in accordance with the sequence of notes to be played.

4. In combination, a musical instrument having manual means to play a series of notes individually; electrical indicators for each of said notes, respectively; a terminal board having a series of spaced parallel conducting bands, one corresponding to each of said notes; a terminal board in spaced facing relation to the first terminal board and having a series of spaced parallel conducting bands oriented transversely to the bands of the first mentioned terminal board; means operable to energize the boards of said last mentioned terminal board in sequence as the successive notes are played; means operable to energize the electrical indicators, respectively, as the corresponding conducting bands of the first mentioned terminal board are energized; and a tune card removably disposed between the terminal boards and having conducting means in bridging relation to the bands to the respective terminal boards to connect each of the bands of the last mentioned terminal board to a band of the first mentioned terminal board.

5. In combination, a musical instrument having manua1 means to play a series of notes individually; electrical indicators for each of said notes, respectively; a terminal board having a series of spaced parallel conducting bands, one corresponding to each of said notes; a terminal board in spaced facing relationship to the first terminal board and having a series of spaced parallel conducting bands oriented transversely to the bands of the first mentioned terminal board; means operable to energize the bands of said last mentioned terminal board in sequence as the successive notes are played; means operable to energize the electrical indicators, respectively, as the corresponding conducting bands of the first mentioned terminal board are energized; a tune card removably disposed between the terminal boards and having conducting means in bridging relation to the bands of the respective terminal boards, the conducting means comprising headed conducting members extending through the tune card to seat against the bands of the termnial boards and establish a conducting path between each conducting band of the last mentioned terminal board and a conducting band of the first mentioned terminal board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,607,226 Wood Nov. 16, 1926 1,642,810 Grimaldi Sept. 20, 1927 2,353,001 Armbruster July 4, 1944 2,353,061 Oldenbloom July 4, 1944 2,448,759 Armbruster Sept. 7, 1948 2,502,960 Johnson Apr. 4, 1950

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