Impact responsive portable electronic drumhead

摘要

A portable electronic drumhead includes a sensor responsive to drumstick impacts in producing electrical signal pulses input to headphones to thereby simulate sounds of an acoustic drumhead. The sensor includes a Force Sensing Resistor (FSR) lamination coated with an electrically conductive polymer ink, a spacer lamination, and a flexible electrode lamination having on an inner surface thereof a pair of interdigitated electrodes, the electrode lamination elastically contacting the FSR lamination in response to drumstick impacts on the outer surface of the electrode lamination or FSR lamination to thus momentarily reduce electrical resistance between the electrodes. Resilient batter pads overlying the laminations muffle sounds produced by drumstick impacts. Optionally, the sensor may have an annular ring shape which may be placed concentrically on the head of an acoustic drum, the sensor having an upwardly protruding resilient bumper strikable to produce electronically synthesized rim shot sounds.

主权项

1. A portable electronic drumhead sensor for converting drumstick impacts thereon to electrical pulses, said sensor comprising a thin, uniform thickness laminated disk which has parallel planar outer surfaces, said laminated disk including;
a. a first, FSR lamination sheet which has an outer planar surface and an inner planar surface having thereon a coating of an electrically conductive substance, said coating comprising a force sensing electrical resistor (FSR) layer, b. a second, electrode lamination sheet which has an outer planar surface and an inner planar surface having thereon a pair of electrically isolated, spaced apart electrode strips, said electrode strips having electrically conductive outer surfaces contactable with said FSR layer, c. at least a first spacer member positioned between inner facing surfaces of said FSR lamination sheet and said electrode lamination sheet, said spacer member biasing said inner facing surfaces of said first and second lamination sheets away from each other, at least one of said first and second lamination sheets being elastically flexible towards the other to thus enable mutual electrically conductive contact between said inner facing surfaces of said first and second lamination sheets in response to a drumstick impact on an outer surface of either one of said first and second lamination sheets, said first and second lamination sheets and said spacer member being arranged parallel to each other, stacked in a direction normal to said contactable surfaces, and fixed in position to form said laminated disk having first and second parallel planar outer surfaces, d. said first and second lamination sheets having material properties sufficiently similar to thereby produce similar electrical conductance variations between said electrode strips in response to impacts on an outer surface of either one of said first and second lamination sheets, whereby said laminated disk is positionable alternatively on an acoustic drumhead or a rigid support with either of said outer surfaces of said first, FSR lamination sheet or said second, electrode lamination sheet facing upwards to thus produce electrical signals responsive to impacts on either of said outer surfaces, and e. a pair of lead-out conductors extending exteriorly of said mutually electrically contactable regions of said electrode lamination sheet and said FSR lamination sheet, said lead out conductors electrically conductively contacting separate ones of said electrode strips.