阅读说明：本技术 具有多线圈的弦乐器拾音器 (Stringed instrument pickup with multiple coils ) 是由 T·P·肖 于 2019-08-07 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种具有多个可选择线圈的弦乐器拾音器(108)具有支撑至少一个极片(146)、第一线圈(222)及第二线圈(224)的至少一个线轴主体(202)。所述第一线圈(222)可在所述线轴主体(202)的第一端子(210)与所述线轴主体(202)的第二端子(212)之间连续延伸,而所述第二线圈(224)从所述第二端子(224)连续延伸到所述线轴主体(202)的第三端子(216)。(A string instrument pickup (108) having a plurality of selectable coils has at least one bobbin body (202) supporting at least one pole piece (146), a first coil (222), and a second coil (224). The first coil (222) may extend continuously between a first terminal (210) of the bobbin body (202) and a second terminal (212) of the bobbin body (202), while the second coil (224) extends continuously from the second terminal (224) to a third terminal (216) of the bobbin body (202).)

1. An apparatus comprising a bobbin body supporting at least one pole piece, a first coil extending continuously between a first terminal of the bobbin body and a second terminal of the bobbin body, and a second coil extending continuously from the second terminal to a third terminal of the bobbin body.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spool body is mounted on a body of a stringed instrument.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one pole piece is positioned proximal to a string of the stringed instrument, separated from and vertically aligned with the string of the stringed instrument.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each coil comprises a single conductive wire wound around the bobbin body.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first coil is wound around the bobbin body a different number of times than the second coil.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first coil has a different electrical impedance than the second coil.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first coil comprises a first material and the second coil comprises a second material, the first and second materials being different.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first coil comprises a first wire having a first gauge and the second coil comprises a second wire having a second gauge, the first and second gauges being different.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first coil comprises a first wire and the second coil comprises a second wire, the first wire having a different length than the second wire.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each terminal is integrated in the spool body.

11. A pickup, comprising:

a first bobbin body supporting a first pole piece, a first coil extending continuously between a first bobbin terminal of the bobbin body and a second bobbin terminal of the first bobbin body, and a second coil extending continuously from the second bobbin terminal to a third bobbin terminal of the first bobbin body;

a second bobbin body supporting a second pole piece and a third coil extending continuously from a first bobbin terminal of the second bobbin body to a second bobbin terminal of the second bobbin body; and

a base plate attached to the first and second bobbin bodies to position the first and second pole pieces in perpendicular alignment with a chord.

12. The pickup of claim 11, wherein a magnet extends between the first bobbin body and the second bobbin body.

13. The pickup of claim 11, wherein the respective bobbin terminals are each attached to a separate electrical interconnect.

14. The pickup of claim 13, wherein the separate electrical interconnects are secured in place by at least one support of the base plate.

15. The pickup of claim 11, wherein the respective bobbin terminals electrically contact corresponding plate terminals of the base plate.

16. The pickup of claim 11, wherein the first coil and the third coil have matching electrical impedances.

17. The pickup of claim 16, wherein the first and second coils are connected in series and have a total electrical impedance that is different than the electrical impedance of the third coil.

18. A system, comprising:

a bobbin body supporting a plurality of pole pieces in vertical alignment with a plurality of strings;

a first coil extending continuously from a first terminal of the bobbin body to a second terminal of the bobbin body;

a second coil extending continuously from the second terminal to a third terminal of the bobbin body;

a third coil extending continuously from the fourth terminal of the bobbin body to the fifth terminal of the bobbin body.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first coil and second coil are connected in series via the second terminal.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the third coil is connected in parallel with the first coil.

Disclosure of Invention

In some embodiments, a pickup system utilized in a stringed musical instrument has a bobbin body supporting at least one pole piece, a first coil, and a second coil, wherein the first coil extends continuously between a first terminal of the bobbin body and a second terminal of the bobbin body, and the second coil extends continuously from the second terminal to a third terminal of the bobbin body.

In other embodiments, a pickup has a first bobbin body supporting a first pole piece, a first coil, and a second coil. The first coil extends continuously between a first bobbin terminal of the bobbin body and a second bobbin terminal of the first bobbin body, and the second coil extends continuously from the second bobbin terminal to a third bobbin terminal of the first bobbin body. A second bobbin body supports a second pole piece and a third coil, wherein the third coil extends continuously from a first bobbin terminal of the second bobbin body to a second bobbin terminal of the second bobbin body. A base plate is attached to the first and second bobbin bodies to position the first and second pole pieces in perpendicular alignment with a chord.

According to various embodiments, a pickup has a spool body that supports at least one pole piece in vertical alignment with a plurality of strings. The first coil extends continuously from the first terminal of the bobbin body to the second terminal of the bobbin body, and the second coil extends continuously from the second terminal to the third terminal of the bobbin body. A third coil extends continuously from the fourth terminal of the bobbin body to the fifth terminal of the bobbin body.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram representation of an example stringed musical instrument that can be employed in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates portions of an example guitar stringed instrument in which some embodiments may be employed.

Fig. 3 depicts a block diagram representation of an example pickup that can be used in the stringed musical instrument of fig. 1 and 2, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a partially exploded line representation of a portion of an example pickup arranged in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 5 conveys a top-view graphical representation of portions of an example pickup constructed and operated in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 6 illustrates a line representation of portions of an example bobbin assembly that may be utilized in a pickup, in accordance with various embodiments.

Figure 7 shows a top-view diagrammatic representation of a portion of an example spool assembly configured in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 8 shows portions of an example bobbin assembly that may be incorporated into a string instrument pickup.

Fig. 9A to 9C illustrate an example stringed instrument pickup arranged in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 10A and 10B provide respective electrical operating schematic diagrams of an example stringed instrument pickup configured in accordance with various embodiments.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a stringed instrument pickup comprised of a plurality of coils arranged to provide optimized detection of string motion and conversion of string motion to electrical signals.

A stringed instrument pickup is a structure that converts the movement of a tensioned string into an electrical signal. Many different microphone structures and configurations have been utilized to customize the manner in which string motion and vibration are captured in the output electrical signal. However, past arrangements for a single microphone were static and failed to provide the user with the option of customizing the output electrical signal, which is then reproduced as audible sound, such as music.

While many different pickups may be positioned on a stringed instrument to provide different selectable characteristics for generating electrical signals, such pickups take up valuable real estate on the stringed instrument and may have degraded sound quality due to the placement of the pickups relative to the tensioned strings. In addition, positioning the pickup under different sections of the instrument's strings can change the sound of the pickup because the harmonic mixing of the string output changes due to the physical positioning of the pickup relative to the string tensioning bridge of the instrument. By incorporating multiple coils into a single bobbin assembly, a user can choose a variety of ways to convert the string motion into an electrical signal with a single pickup. The ability to customize the various coils of the bobbin assembly may also provide precise or dramatic changes to the way electrical signals are generated from string motion, which may optimize music reproduction without the need for external signal processing (e.g., pedals, mixers, or other circuitry).

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a single string instrument pickup that provides a user with the option of customizing the manner in which string motion is captured by the pickup. By using multiple different coils in a single bobbin, multiple different coil configurations may be employed in a single pickup to provide a customized pickup configuration. The ability to select different microphone coils provides different output signals reproducing different sounds for selectable electrical impedance and magnetic fields that translate string motion and vibration.

An example stringed musical instrument 100 is conveyed in fig. 1, where a body 102 is connected to a neck 104. Note that the body 102 may be any size, shape, and volume to provide various acoustic characteristics in response to vibration of one or more strings 106 extending continuously from the neck 104. While the strings 106 may be acoustically resonant with the air volume in the body 102, various embodiments position the electrical pickup 108 at the proximal end of the strings 106 to generate an electrical signal to represent the acoustic properties of the string 106 motion. Accordingly, various embodiments relate to utilizing pickups in solid body or semi-solid body stringed musical instruments (e.g., guitars).

The pickup 108 is configured to have a magnetic field that is affected by the movement of the string 106, and this magnetic activity is converted by the coil into an electrical signal, where such electrical signal is then used by other audio equipment (e.g., an amplifier, speaker, or control panel) to produce sound. However, the clarity and acoustic accuracy of the string instrument pickup 108 is traditionally inaccurate. That is, the magnetic field generated and its way of reacting to the vibrating strings 108 in a wide variety of configurations does not accurately represent sound as if the user were personally listening to the string motion. For example, the pickup 108 may be constructed to be very accurate for a relatively narrow range of frequencies, but difficult to convey other frequencies generated by the motion of the strings 106. In another example, the pickup 108 may have a relatively high sensitivity, which increases the strength of the representative electrical signal, but at the expense of losing width and depth of the movement and/or acoustic properties of the vibrating string 106.

In view of these issues, many stringed musical instruments 100 employ multiple pickups 108 to provide diversity in the way that attempts to capture the string 106 motion as an electrical signal via the magnetic and electrical aspects of the pickups 108. Fig. 2 shows a portion of an example guitar 120, a stringed instrument that employs a first pickup 122 and a second pickup 124 to sense movement from one or more strings 106 suspended over the body 102 of the guitar 120. It is contemplated that one or more microphones 122/124 may be utilized in an acoustic or hollow body guitar as represented by segmented sound hole 126. However, a wide variety of embodiments involve a pickup that is secured to a solid or semi-hollow guitar body 102.

By implementing multiple pickups 122/124 in the guitar 120, a user can select one or more of the pickups 122/124 to be active while playing the strings 106. For example, a selector (e.g., a push button knob, lever, or switch) may be positioned on the guitar 120 to allow activation of a single pickup 122 or simultaneous activation of multiple pickups 122/124. In the non-limiting example shown in fig. 2, the single coil pickup 122 is supplemented by a dual coil (humbucking) pickup 124, which dual coil pickup 124 provides different electrical and magnetic characteristics that translate from the vibrating string 106 into a unique reproduced sound. Note that two or more single coil pickups having different configurations and/or acoustic capture characteristics may alternatively be used.

Although any number and type of pickups may be employed in a single guitar 120, the magnetic characteristics and electrical operation of the pickups may degrade if the pickups are positioned in close physical proximity. Thus, the physical size of the area under the strings 106 may limit the number of microphones that may be utilized to provide acoustic options for the user.

Thus, the various embodiments relate to a single pickup configured with multiple selectable coils that provide greater electrical, magnetic, and acoustic control for the guitar user. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example pickup 140 that may be used in a stringed instrument (e.g., a guitar, cello, violin, banjo, or bass). Pickup 140 has a bobbin 142 that positions a coil 144 of electrically conductive wire (e.g., copper, iron, silver, or gold) to surround a plurality of pole pieces 146. It is contemplated that the pole pieces 146 are constructed of a ferrous material (e.g., iron or steel) with one pole piece 146 positioned proximate to and vertically aligned with each string of the instrument, as shown in fig. 2. In another embodiment, a single iron rod or laminated iron structure may extend continuously under and vertically aligned with all of the strings of the instrument. Other embodiments may replace the iron pole pieces or rods with one or more magnets having tailored magnetic properties (e.g., strength and coercivity).

In a dual coil configuration, as shown by the segmented box, there is a second bobbin 148, which second bobbin 148 separates a pole piece 150 from a coil 152 and positions the pole piece 150. One or more magnets 154 may be placed between the bobbins 142/148, sometimes in combination with one or more spacers or shims 156, such that the magnetic polarity of one coil 144 is opposite the other coil 152, and the bobbin assemblies 142/148 are out of phase. It is contemplated that an individual bobbin 142/148 of a dual coil microphone configuration may be selected. As such, the pickup 140 may be configured to allow each spool 142/148 to be a combined single pickup or an alternative single coil pickup to sense motion of adjacent strings 106 differently.

Fig. 4 illustrates a partially exploded line representation of a portion of an example stringed instrument pickup 160 arranged in accordance with various embodiments. The exploded aspect of the pickup 160 shows how the pole pieces 162 are secured within the bobbin 164 such that each pole piece 162 is located proximal to and separate from the strings 106 and coils 166. The coil 166 is comprised of a continuous electrically conductive wire that is continuously wound around the circumference of the bobbin 164 a predetermined number of times (e.g., 5000, 5500, or 2500 turns) around a circumference of less than the entire coil area of the bobbin 164 with uniform tension.

As shown, the bobbin 164 may be secured to a base plate 168, which base plate 168 may provide structural rigidity and electrical contact terminals for respective ends 170 of the coil 166. For example, the positive and negative ends of the coil 166 may be attached to the backplane 168 to allow for effective and reliable electrical connections to the selector and/or the output (e.g., cable jack). Fig. 5 shows a top-view graphical representation of an example dual coil pickup 180 wired in various configurations to provide different acoustic impressions from vibrating strings 106. Pickup 180 has a first bobbin 182 separated from a second bobbin 184 by a magnet structure 186.

In the non-limiting example of fig. 5, each bobbin 182/184 has a single conductive coil 188, the conductive coil 188 being comprised of a continuous wire having a first end 190 and a second end 192. By connecting the second end 192 of the coil 188 of the first bobbin 182 to the first end 190 of the coil 188 of the second bobbin 184, as represented by the solid terminal 194, the coils 188 are connected in series and the electrical signal produced by the pickup 180 will generate a different flow of electrical signals in response to the chordal motion due to the overall impedance of the coil 188. It is contemplated that such electrical signal streams may have more significant low and medium audible frequencies, attenuated frequencies, and otherwise changing digital representations of what the human ear will hear from chordal motion.

Connecting the first end 190 of each coil 188 and the second end 192 of each coil 188, as shown by the segmented terminals 196, provides a parallel wiring configuration that produces a magnetic field that is different from the series wiring configuration, which may produce different sound characteristics, such as more prominent higher audible frequencies, when the generated electrical signal stream is output as sound. While it is contemplated that a selector may be connected to the pickup 180 to allow for activation of a series or parallel wiring configuration, the ability to select two different magnetic fields for the pickup 180 having two bobbins 182/184 and coils 188 is relatively expensive in terms of physical size. Accordingly, various embodiments relate to a coil and bobbin assembly that provides a user with more magnetic field options in a single or dual coil pickup corresponding to more diversity in how string motion is captured as a stream of electrical signals.

Figure 6 conveys a line representation of an example spool assembly 200 configured in accordance with some embodiments. The bobbin assembly 200 has a single bobbin body 202 that physically contacts and supports a plurality of chord pieces 204, a winding 206, and a plurality of electrical lead terminals 208. It is contemplated that the spool body 202 is a unitary component or an assembly of multiple pieces that are electrically or magnetically nonconductive. Each pole piece 204 is magnetically permeable and can be electrically isolated or connected to current flowing through a conductive wire. In some embodiments, a coil comprising a wire 206 is in physical contact with one or more pole pieces 204.

Although the wire 206 may be continuous to define a single coil of a predetermined number of turns, such as 2500 or 5000 circumferential passes completely around the bobbin body 202, multiple coils may be provided by the bobbin assembly 200 by connecting different ends of the wire 206 to respective terminals. For example, the first wire 206 may extend continuously from the first conductive terminal 210 to the second conductive terminal 212 to form a first coil, and the second wire 214 may extend continuously from the second terminal 212 to the third terminal 216 to form a second coil. Thus, a single spool body 202 simultaneously supports multiple wire coils that can be independently and simultaneously activated via terminals 210/212/216.

Where the bobbin body 202 is provided with multiple selectable coils, the assembly 202 provides increased signal generation, impedance, and magnetic field options without occupying valuable real estate in the instrument body. Note that the bobbin assembly 200 may be constructed from more than two alternative coils. For example, three coils may be activated via four separate terminals, or five coils may be activated via six terminals. It is contemplated that a tap wire may extend from terminal 208 to a tap in wire 206/214 rather than having multiple wire ends connected to a common terminal.

Fig. 7 is a top view diagrammatic representation of a portion of an example bobbin assembly 220 employing multiple concentric wire coils 222 and 224 in accordance with various embodiments. As shown in solid line, the first coil 222 is wound around the central section 224 of the bobbin body 202 and connected between two separate terminals 226 and 228. As shown by the segmented lines, the second coil 230 is wound in physical contact with the first coil 222 and connected between two separate terminals 228 and 232, which terminals 228 and 232 may or may not be connected to the first coil 222. The respective coils 222/224 may be configured to have matching or different impedances corresponding to the length of wire extending between the terminals 208. Thus, the coil 222/224 may have a different or matching length corresponding to the number of turns of the bobbin body 202.

It is contemplated that the coil 222/224 may be constructed of different materials, wire gauges, or conductive properties. By way of non-limiting example, the first coil 222 has 5000 turns and is constructed of copper, while the second coil 224 has 2000 turns and is constructed of silver to provide different electrical impedance for user selection. The presence of multiple distinct coils in a single bobbin assembly 220 allows for at least four configurable impedances and corresponding magnetic fields in response to the motion of instrument string 106. That is, the user may select a separate first coil 222, a separate second coil 224, a series-connected coil 222/224, or a coil 222/224 connected in parallel via various terminals provided by the spool body 202 to provide different ways of converting the motion of the string 106 into a stream of electrical signals.

Figure 8 depicts a line representation of a portion of another example bobbin assembly 230 arranged with multiple coils 242 and 244, according to some embodiments. As shown, the first coil 242 is wound around a front half of the thickness 246 of the bobbin body 202, while the second coil 244 is wound around a back half of the body thickness 246. By physically separating the coils 242/244 on different portions of the bobbin thickness 246 using spacers 248, such as ridges, protrusions, or other physical stops, the resulting relationship of the magnetic field and motion with the adjacent chord 106 generating an electrical signal may be different than if the coils 242/244 were in physical contact with each other, such as the example embodiment of the assembly 220.

The physical separation of the coils 242/244 may correspond to a matching coil configuration. For example, the coil 242/244 may be constructed of the same material and wound around the body 202 a matching number of turns, at least within a tolerance range, such as within 5% of the total number of turns or 2% of the total length of the wire. The very close or precise configuration of the coil 242/244 can provide a greater range of customizable acoustic properties because of the greater variation in electrical impedance compared to the case where the total length of the wire of the multi-coil 242/244 is small. It is contemplated that the wire may pass through a lumen in the spool body 202, or otherwise be electrically and/or magnetically insulated from the wire of another coil, to reach a terminal 226/228/232 located on the bottom of the body 202, which prevents the coils from physically touching or interfering (electrically and/or magnetically) with each other during startup.

A bobbin assembly having a plurality of selectable coils may be employed individually in a stringed musical instrument. However, some embodiments mate one or more spool assemblies with additional structures. Fig. 9A-9C convey line representations, respectively, of various aspects of an example instrument pickup 260 arranged for dual coil operation, although non-dual coil operation is possible when a single bobbin assembly is mounted to a stringed instrument. The pickup 260 has a first spool assembly 262 (as shown in the side view of fig. 9A) and a second spool assembly 264 (as shown in fig. 9B), each physically attached to a common base plate 266. Bottom plate 266 provides greater structural rigidity and electrical connection integrity as compared to merely mounting spool assembly 262/264 to the instrument body.

The bottom view of pickup 260 shown in fig. 9B illustrates how base plate 266 can also provide electrical interconnection paths to connect directly to terminals extending from respective bobbin assemblies 262/264 or to various plate terminals 268 that physically contact the terminals of respective bobbin assemblies 262/264. That is, the bottom plate 266 may be comprised of its own terminals 268 that contact the bobbin terminals, or may be comprised of apertures through which the bobbin terminals extend when mounted to the bottom plate 266.

In non-limiting embodiments in which bottom plate 266 includes plate terminals 268, the respective plate terminals 268 may physically contact the respective bobbin terminals 208. Regardless of whether bottom plate 266 is comprised of plate terminals 268, the physical separation of the terminals corresponding to the different coils allows for activation of one or more coils of bobbin assembly 262/264 via an electrical interconnection held in place by at least one support 270. Note that in operation, respective bobbin assemblies 262/264 will each be rotated such that the electrical terminals are in physical contact with the corresponding plate terminal 268 and pole piece 272 faces and are vertically aligned with instrument string 106, as generally shown in fig. 4 and 5.

The respective spool assemblies 262/264 may be secured to the bottom plate 266 with one or more fasteners, such as rivets, screws, pins, tabs, or retainers. It is contemplated that one or more bobbin assemblies 262/264 are mounted on top of at least one spring or other suspension that dampens the movement of pole piece 272 and positions pole piece 272 at a predetermined distance from the respective instrument strings. The base plate 266 may also be mounted to the body or neck of the stringed instrument with one or more fasteners, and motion and/or vibration damping suspensions may be employed.

The various views of pickup 260 shown in fig. 9A-9C illustrate how respective bobbin assemblies 262/264 are attached to bottom plate 266 to provide a single unitary pickup structure. The top view of fig. 9C shows how each bobbin assembly 262/264 may include multiple concentric coils of conductive wire, as represented by solid and segmented wire paths around the respective bobbin body 202.

Once the pickup is assembled with the bobbin assembly 262/264 mounted to the base plate 266, with the various plate terminals 268 electrically connected to the bobbin terminals 208, the user can selectively activate the various coils corresponding to the different electrical impedance, magnetic field, and acoustic characteristics captured in the electrical signal output by the pickup 260. In the non-limiting example pickup 260 configuration shown in fig. 9B, terminal 276 is the start of the first coil of the first bobbin assembly 262, terminal 278 is connected to the first and second coils of the first bobbin assembly 262, and terminal 280 is the end of the second coil of the first bobbin assembly 262. Similarly, terminal 282 is the beginning of the first coil of the second bobbin assembly 264, terminal 284 is the end of the first coil and the beginning of the second coil of the second bobbin assembly 264, and terminal 286 is the end of the second coil of the second bobbin assembly 264.

By selecting any two of the three board terminals 276/278/280 corresponding to the first spool assembly 262 or the terminals 282/284/286 corresponding to the second spool assembly 264, different numbers of coils and wire lengths acting as resistors receive currents that produce different magnetic fields that respond differently to the vibration and movement of adjacent strings 106 to produce different acoustic characteristics in the generated electrical signal. Fig. 10A and 10B show schematic diagrams of example operations of dual coil microphone 260 of fig. 9A-9C, respectively. In fig. 10A, the first bobbin assembly 262 activates a single coil between the two board terminals 274 and 276, and the second bobbin assembly 264 is activated by selecting the board terminals 280 and 282.

By selecting the plate terminals 274 and 278, both coils of the first spool assembly 262 are activated with greater resistance provided by the increased number of wire windings of the second coil. The exemplary electrical configuration of figure 10B conveys how the multiple coils of each bobbin assembly 262/264 are activated simultaneously by selecting the plate terminals 274, 278, 280 and 284. Thus, the various plate terminals 268 associated with the wide variety of bobbin terminals 208 allow for selective activation of one or more coils in each connected bobbin assembly 262/264.

As a result of dual coil bobbin assembly 262/264, nine different pickup configurations may be selected, each having different impedance, magnetic, and acoustic properties that provide different acoustic generation to a user without the need to add nine separate single coil bobbin assemblies to the instrument. Note that the selection of various coils may provide matching or non-matching electrical impedance between the bobbin assemblies 262/264. The ability to selectively utilize different electrical impedances (e.g., impedance differences of 100, 500, 1000, or more ohms) allows for a wide range of useful acoustic properties from a single microphone 260.

In some embodiments, a single bobbin assembly is utilized without the use of a dual coil corresponding bobbin assembly. Such a configuration may or may not employ a back plate 266, but may provide selective activation of different wire coils corresponding to different magnetic properties translated into different acoustic characteristics. Regardless of the dual coil configuration of the pickup, the use of a bobbin assembly with multiple coils allows for precise or large changes in the manner in which string movement and vibration are converted into an output electrical signal, depending on the structural configuration of the coils.

Although a number of features and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments of the invention, this detailed description is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.