U.S. patent number 3,922,944 [Application Number 05/496,557] was granted by the patent office on 1975-12-02 for stepping musical machine.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nippon Columbia Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Minoru Kurosaki, Akira Matuki, Okikazu Mogami, Masatoshi Morikawa, Tsutomu Nakamura, Yoshitomo Tsugu.
United States Patent |
3,922,944 |
Kurosaki , et al. |
December 2, 1975 |
Stepping musical machine
Abstract
A stepping musical machine for physical and acoustic training of
children such that stepping-boards are arranged on a jumpy sheet, a
net or the like stretched in a taut condition and which is adapted
so that when children jump on the stepping-boards while playing on
the machine particular sounds corresponding to the respective
stepping-boards are produced.
Inventors: |
Kurosaki; Minoru (Kawasaki,
JA), Nakamura; Tsutomu (Kawasaki, JA),
Matuki; Akira (Kawasaki, JA), Mogami; Okikazu
(Kawasaki, JA), Tsugu; Yoshitomo (Kawasaki,
JA), Morikawa; Masatoshi (Kawasaki, JA) |
Assignee: |
Nippon Columbia Kabushiki
Kaisha (JA)
|
Family
ID: |
27281874 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/496,557 |
Filed: |
August 12, 1974 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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275694 |
Jul 27, 1972 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Feb 12, 1972 [JA] |
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47-17539[U] |
Feb 18, 1972 [JA] |
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47-20245[U]JA |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
84/721;
84/DIG.25; 84/423R; 84/464R; 84/477R; 84/478; 984/345 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H
5/00 (20130101); G09B 5/04 (20130101); A63B
71/0622 (20130101); G10H 1/348 (20130101); G10H
2220/341 (20130101); A63B 2071/0625 (20130101); A63B
2208/12 (20130101); Y10S 84/25 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
21/00 (20060101); A63H 5/00 (20060101); G09B
5/00 (20060101); G10H 1/34 (20060101); G09B
5/04 (20060101); A63J 017/00 (); G09B 015/04 ();
G10C 003/14 (); G10H 005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;84/1.01,1.16,1.17,464,470,DIG.25,423,471,477R,478,483 ;119/1
;200/85R,86.5,153C |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hix; L. T.
Assistant Examiner: Witkowski; Stanley J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hill, Gross, Simpson, Van Santen,
Steadman, Chiara & Simpson
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 275,694, filed July
27, 1972, now abandoned.
Claims
We claim as our invention:
1. An educational and amusement musical device comprising, a base
member comprising a horizontal surface where a person can walk
around, a plurality of musical jumping boards mounted on a portion
of said horizontal surface and spaced such that a person can
selectively step on to selected musical jumping boards or can step
on the portion of said surface not having musical jumping boards,
means for supporting said musical jumping boards in such a manner
that said musical jumping boards move up and down with their
surfaces going down substantially in parallel with the horizontal
surface of said base member when the person steps on said musical
jumping boards at any position thereof, a plurality of musical tone
producing means individually connected to individual jumping boards
and respectively mounted in proximity to its respective jumping
boards and the spatial arrangement of said plurality of jumping
boards being spaced such that a person can selectively step on said
horizontal surface during the selection of the next desired musical
note, further including light means connected to and energized by
said jumping boards as they are stepped upon, and wherein said
light means comprises a plurality of light bulbs corresponding to
the number of jumping boards which are respectively illuminated as
a particular jumping board is stepped upon, a musical score formed
on the upper surface of said base member and said plurality of
light bulbs mounted on said musical score with each light bulb
adjacent a respective jump board such that when it is illuminated
it indicates on the musical score the note corresponding to its
particular jumping board.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stepping musical machine which is a
combination of known sporting goods with a musical instrument, and
more particularly to a stepping musical machine which is designed
so that switching means associated with the stepping-boards are
turned on and off by children jumping up on the stepping-boards to
produce sounds of particular scales corresponding to the
stepping-boards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sporting goods such as a trampoline and the like are known on which
children play jumping up on an elastic sheet, while an apparatus
which produces musical sounds by stepping on a stairs-like floor is
also known under the name of do-re-mi-fa staircase. These sporting
goods and musical apparatus are used independently of each other
and not used in combination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine in which musical sounds are produced by children jumping up
on the machine to enable physical and acoustic training of them
simultaneously.
Another object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine which is suitable for physical training of children to
enables them to respond rapidly to a horn of vehicles such as motor
cars.
Another object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine which is suitable for acoustic training of children by
producing musical sounds when they jump up on the machine
simultaneously.
Another object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine which enables physical and acoustic training of children
simultaneously by appealing to their eyes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine in which stepping-boards producing sounds of the
fundamental scales are arranged on a base. Another object of this
invention is to provide a stepping musical machine in which a
plurality of stepping-boards are arranged at random and they are
coupled with sound producing means by wire or wireless.
Another object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine which produces sounds of the scales more than the number of
stepping-boards used.
Another object of this invention is to provide a stepping musical
machine which is adapted so that stepping-boards fall in parallel
with a base when jumped on.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a stepping
musical machine which has an adapter to permit many children to
play on the machine at one time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exterior perspective view of one example of a stepping
musical machine of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram, for explaining electrical connections
of the machine of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a
stepping-board used in the example of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another example of this
invention;
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram, for explaining electrical connections
of the example of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram, for explaining another example similar
to that of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a plan view, for explaining indicating lamps and an
adapter for use in this invention;
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram for enabling indication and
programming;
FIG. 9 is a side view, partly in section, for explaining another
example of the stepping-board;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line X--X in FIG.
9;
FIG. 11 is a system diagram for exaplaining wireless transmitting
and receiving apparatus used in this invention;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional side view of a separate-type stepping
musical machine of this invention;
FIG. 13 is a cubic layout of a separate stepping musical machine of
this invention; and
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of one examlple of switching means
employed in the example of FIG. 13.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to the drawings this invention will be described in
detail. Reference numeral 1 indicates generally a stepping musical
machine of this invention, which is equipped in recreation grounds,
parks, kindergartens or the like, 2 its base portion, which is
suitably shaped and has housed therein oscillators, amplifier and
so on and has sound emission apertures 3 formed in side walls
thereof. Reference numerals 4a to 4h designate jumping boards which
are adapted to emit sounds corresponding to, for example,
respective scales such as C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C when children
jump thereupon and down onto them. The physical construction of
each board is shown in FIG. 3 and will be described later on.
Reference numeral 5 identifies hand-rails which are stretched
between poles planted at corners or marginal portions of the base
portion 2. If necessary, the stepping musical machine 1 is covered
with a roof 6.
The sound emitting apparatus disposed in the aforesaid base portion
2 consists of switches 7a to 7b which are closed by the downward
movement of the boards 4a to 4h, as depicted in FIG. 2. The one
contact of each switch is connected in common to an electrode of a
power source 8, which is grounded at the other electrode, while the
other ends of the switches are connected to gate circuits 9a to 9h
respectively. The gate circuits 9a to 9h are supplied with signals
with oscillation frequencies from oscillators 10a to 10h
respectively and the outputs of the gate circuits 9a to 9h are
connected together to a series circuit including an amplifier 11
and a speaker 12. The operation of this circuitry will be
described. When a child gets on one of the boards 4a to 4h, the
switch, for example, 7a is closed to permit the application of the
signal with oscillation frequency from the oscillator 10a to the
gate circuit 9a and a sound signal corresponding to C ("do") is fed
through the gate circuit 9a to the amplifier 11, causing the
speaker 12 to emit a sound corresponding to C through the sound
emitting apertures 3.
In FIG. 3, there is illustrated the construction of each of the
jumping boards 4a to 4h. An opening 13 is formed in an upper plate
2' of the base portion 2 in accordance with the configuration of
each jumping board and the board slightly projects upwardly of the
upper plate 2'. Reference numeral 14 indicates a limiting plate for
limiting the downward movement of the board when the latter is
stepped upon. The limiting plate 14 is bridged across the opening
13 and is fixed to the underside of the upper plate 2'. Reference
numeral 15 identifies an aperture bored in the limiting plate 14,
through which an inverted substantially U-shaped metal fitting 16
is passed. Reference numeral 17 designates a bracket for holding
parallel links 18 and 19, which bracket is attached by screws 20 to
the limiting plate 14. The parallel links 18 and 19 are pivoted at
one end to the bracket 17 by pins 21 and 22 and at the other end to
the metal fitting 16 by pins 23 and 24. The metal fitting 16 is
fixed by screws 25 to the board and passed through the aperture 15
of the limiting plate 14 as described above. On both sides of the
metal fitting 16 there are provided upward movement limiting metal
fittings 26a and 26b in contact with the neighborhood of the
aperture 15 of the limiting plate 14, by means of which the upward
movement of the limiting plate 14 is limited. The metal fittings
26a and 26b are substantially L-shaped and buffer members 27 are
provided on the metal fittings 26a and 26b on the side of the
underside of the limiting plate 14. On the underside of each of the
boards 4a to 4h there are provided suitable buffer members 28 and
compression springs 29. The buffer member 28 serves as a damper
when the board is pressed down and the compression spring 29
performs a similar function but acts to bias the board upwardly.
Reference numeral 30 indicates a cam which is mounted on the side
wall of the metal fitting 16 and presses an actuator 32 of a
micro-switch (one of the switches 7a to 7b shown in FIG. 2) when
the board is stepped down, actuating the micro-switch. Reference
numeral 31 designates fittings for fixing the micro-switch to the
limiting plate 14.
With the present invention, each of the boards 4a to 4h are
constructed as described above, so that, for example, when the
board 4a is stepped on, it goes down against the compression spring
29. Since the metal fitting 16 is coupled with the limiting plate
14 through the parallel links 18 and 19, the board 4a goes down
substantially in parallel with the upper plate 2' of the base
portion 2 regardless of the position on the board where it is
stepped on, causing the cam 30 to actuate a corresponding one of
the micro-switches 7a to 7b. Further, even if exposed to an
excessive force, the boards 4a to 4h are supported by the upper
faces of the limiting plates 14 with the buffer members 28
therebetween, and hence do not go down any further. Releasing the
force applied to the board 4a, the board 4a rises due to the spring
force of the compression spring 29 and the upward movement limiting
metal fittings 26a and 26b move into engagement with the limiting
plate 14 through the buffer member 27 to hold the board 4a in
position.
Where tension springs 33 are interposed between the bottom of the
metal fitting 16 and the underside of the limiting plate 14 in
place of the compression spring 29 shown in FIG. 3, the board goes
down in parallel with the upper plate 2' of the base 2 and rolling
of the board can be avoided. Further, the spring force of the
tension spring 33 can be adjusted relatively easily by adjusting
screws 34.
FIG. 4 illustrates another example of this invention. In the
figure, reference numerals 35, 36, 37 and 38a to 38g correspond to
those 1, 2, 3 and 4a to 4g in FIG. 1. The number of the jumping
bords is naturally limited by the size of the base 2 and if the
number of the boards disposed is small, not so many tunes cannot be
played. In order to increase the number of tunes which can be
played, the present example employs second jumping boards 39a and
39b in addition to the jumping boards 38a to 38g for the respective
musical scales.
With reference to FIG. 5, a description will be given of the case
where an octave switching mechanism is employed. In the figure,
dashed blocks are novel parts and the others are the same as those
in FIG. 2 and marked with the same reference numerals and no
detailed description will be given of the latter.
Namely, gate circuits 40a to 40h are provided in addition to the
gate circuits 9a to 9h and they are connected to the oscillators
10a to 10h respectively as shown in FIG. 5. The oscillation
frequencies of the oscillators 10a to 10h are divided by first
frequency divider circuits 41a to 41h respectively to provide
frequencies which are lower than the oscillation frequencies of the
oscillators 10a to 10h by one octave and which are applied to
second gate circuits 42a to 42h respectively. The outputs of the
first frequency divider circuits 41a to 41h are further applied to
second frequency divider circuits 43a to 43h respectively to obtain
frequencies which are lower than the oscillation frequencies of the
oscillators 10a to 10h by two octaves and which are applied to
third gate circuits 44a to 44h respectively. The outputs of each
triad of the gate circuits 40a, 42a and 44a to 40h, 42h and 44h are
applied to each of the gate circuits 9a to 9h through a common
line, as depicted in the figure. The other inputs of the gate
circuits 40a, 42a and 44a to 40h, 42h and 44h are supplied with
signals from a power source 47 connected to a fixed contact 46 of a
switch 45 which is turned on in response to the depression of the
boards 39a and 39b shown in FIG. 4. Namely, contacts 48, 49 and 50
are connected to the gate circuits 40a to 40h, 42a to 42h and 44a
to 44h respectively. A contact piece is normally in contact with
the contact 48. With such an arrangement, when children are playing
a tune by selectively stepping on the boards 38a to 38h, the
contact piece of the fixed contact 46 of the switch 45 normally
lies on the contact 48, so that the scales of, for example, C are
applied from the gate circuits 40a to 40h to those 9a to 9h to turn
on one or more of the switches 7a to 7h, emitting sounds of
predetermined scales. Further, in the case of a low (high) scale
unobtainable with any of the aforesaid seven boards, for example,
when the boards 38a and 39a are simultaneously stepped on, the
contact of the fixed contact 46 of the switch 45 is connected to
the contact 49 to turn on the gate circuits 42a and 9a
concurrently, emitting a sound of the scale lower (high) by one
octave from the speaker 12. Stepping on the second boards 39a and
39b simultaneously, the contact piece of the fixed contact 46 is
connected to the contact 50 to turn on the gate circuits 44a and 9a
concurrently, producing a sound of a scale lower (higher) by two
octaves from the speaker 12. The same is true of the other scales.
The foregoing description has been given in connection with the
case where the boards 39a and 39b and one of the boards 38a to 38g
are simultaneously stepped on. However, the purpose can be served
by making the board 39a or 39b inoperative and turning on and off
the switch 45 held by a child while jumping or controlling the
switch 45 with a remote switch held by the child. Further, it is
also possible to bring the contact piece of the contact 46 to a
predetermined octave position by previously coupling the switch 45
to a knob 51a shown in FIG. 4. While the foregoing has described
the switching of three octaves, the switching of n's octaves is
also possible. In the foregoing, the oscillation frequencies of the
oscillators 10a to 10h are divided to provide frequencies different
from the original ones by one octave but it is possible to provide
oscillators whose oscillation frequencies differ by one octave for
the respective gate circuit groups.
FIG. 6 illustrates another example of this invention which has a
semitone switching function and which is similar in construction to
the example of FIG. 5 except the parts surrounded by a chain line.
In dashed blocks, oscillators 41a' to 41h' having an oscillation
frequency higher than that of the reference oscillator 10a by a
semitone and oscillators 43a' to 43h' having an oscillation
frequency lower than that of the oscillator 10a by a semitone are
connected to the gate circuits 42a to 42h and 44a to 44h
respectively in place of the aforementioned freuqency divider
circuits. The oscillation frequencies of the oscillators 10a, 41a'
and 43a' are selected, for example, corresponding to C,
C.music-sharp. and C.music-flat. respectively and a switch 52a is
provided for switching the oscillators 10a, 41a' and 43a'. The
oscillation frequencies of the oscillators 10b, 41b' and 43b' are
selected corresponding to D, , D.music-sharp. and D.music-flat. and
a switch 52b is provided for switching these oscillators. The same
procedure is applied to the other remaining oscillators. To this
end, the contact pieces of fixed contacts 54a to 54h of the
switches 52a to 52h are normally turned down to contacts 55a to 55h
and the contacts 55a to 55h are connected to the gate circuits 40a
to 40h respectively and contacts 56a to 56h and 57a to 57h are
connected to the gate circuits 42a to 42h and 44a to 44h
respectively. These switches 52a to 52h are respectively associated
with the knobs 51a to 51h shown in FIG. 4. With such an
arrangement, when a child is about to play a tune by stepping on
the boards 38a to 38g corresponding to the scales of C major and
the tune to be played is, for example, in F major, only the
oscillator corresponding to B is changed over by the switch to the
oscillator whose oscillation frequency is lower than that of the
reference oscillator by a semitone, thus playing the tune of F
major. In a similar manner, scales in respective majors or minors
can be obtained.
The example of FIG. 6 has been described separately to employ
oscillators whose oscillation frequencies are higher and lower than
that of the reference oscillators by a semitone. In order to change
the oscillation frequency of the reference oscillators
intermittently, it is also possible, of course, to connect trimmer
capacitors or the like of different values to the oscillation
circuits in parallel and change over them.
In the above example, the switches 52a to 52h are attached to the
base but it is also possible to dispose them outside of the base
and change over them by a third person to a child's playing while
following a score.
One example of a construction convenient for such an operation will
hereinbelow be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
With the construction of this example, it is possible to achieve
physical and acoustic training simultaneously while appealing to
the eye. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a stepping musical machine
similar to that shown in FIG. 4; which has the jumping boards 58a
to 58h. The figure shows the upper flat surface 61 and the outer
periphery of a base 59 in the neighborhood of the bottom thereof.
The base 59 is substantially trapezoidal in cross-section. A score
62 is engraved or drawn on the upper flat surface 60 of the base 59
and scale indicating lamps 63a to 63h corresponding to the boards
58a to 58h are disposed on the score and switchingly lighted when
the boards are stepped on, or alternatively, an indicator board
with a score drawn thereon is placed in front of the machine to
indicate the position of the lamp on the score being lighted. A
child on the machine steps on the boards while observing the
position of the lamp being lighted.
In FIG. 8, the indicating lamps 63a to 63h indicating the scales on
the score 62 of the machine 59 are grounded at one end; the
positive side of a power source 64 having the negative side
grounded is connected to movable contacts 65a to 65h which move in
ganged relation to the boards 58a to 58h respectively; the other
ends of the indicating lamps 63a to 63h are connected to fixed
contacts 66a to 66h respectively; and the other fixed contacts 67a
to 67h are connected to ends of indicating lamps 69a to 69h
indicating the scales on a score of an indicating board 68. The
indicating lamps 69a to 69h are grounded at one end and connected
at the other end to the positive side of the power source 64
through normally opened switches 71a to 71h of an operating board
70.
With this construction, when a child gets on one of the boards 58a
to 58h, the scale corresponding to the board being stepped on is
indicated both on the indicating board and on the machine and, by
the operation of the switches 71a to 71h of the operating board 70,
it is possible to provide an imdependent indication instructing the
board to be stepped on. The foregoing examples have been described
in connection with the case where the scales are changed in
response to the fall of the boards but cries of animals can be
produced, in which case pictures of the animals are indicated.
In order that many children may play on the base 59 of the machine
such as shown in FIG. 7, the diameter D.sub.0 of the base 59 must
be selected appreciably large. The base 59 actually produced was
1,380mm in the diameter D.sub.0, 200 mm in height and 1,600 mm in
the diameter of the bottom. Thus, an increase in the size of the
base 59 introduces a difficulty in the fabrication of the base
itself in terms of strength and so on and causes inconvenience in
its transportation.
To avoid this, the stepping musical machine is produced small and
with a central opening D.sub.1 of, for example, a doughnut-shaped
step 72 is selected a little greater than the diameter D.sub.0 of
the base 59 and the step is detachably assembled with the base 59.
If necessary, legs 73 can be attached by oval counter-sunk screws
74 to the step 72 as in FIG. 7. Another example of the boards 38a
to 38h is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. With the illustrated
construction, the boards can be produced at low cost and they go
down in parallel and do not twist regardless of the position
thereon where they are stepped on, ensuring actuation of the
micro-switches.
In FIG. 9, reference numeral 36 indicates a circular base similar
to that depicted in FIG. 4. A plate portion 36B is formed
immediately outside of a central plate portion 36A of the base 36
at a position higher than the latter and a plate portion 36C is
formed outside of the plate portion 36B at height between the plate
portions 36A and 36B and the marginal portion of the plate portion
36C is bent upward to form a plate portion 36D higher than the
plate portion 36B. The board 36 is secured to the base with the
marginal plate portion 36D being directly attached thereto. A round
aperture 75 is formed in the central plate portion 36A and a
circular aperture 76 is formed in the plate portion 36C.
A disc 78 is attached to the central plate portion 36A with a
circular rubber plate 77 being interposed therebetwen and a
microswitch 79 is mounted on the disc 78 on underside thereof.
Further, a cylindrical member 81 having a flange 80 integrally
formed at the upper end thereof is inserted into an aperture formed
in the disc 78 and the flange 80 is secured to the disc 78 to
thereby fix the cylindrical member 81 to the base 36. In this case,
notches 82 and 83 are formed in the cylindrical member 81 at
diametrically opposite positions thereof, which notches extend
upwardly from the central portion of the cylindrical member 81 in
its axial direction, and the one notch 82 is formed to face an
actuator 84 of the aforesaid micro-switch 79.
While, the marginal portion of each of the disc like boards 38a to
38h is bent down. A disc 85 bent with its central portion
projecting down is attached to the underside of the board and a
flange 87 formed at the upper end portion of a central shaft 86 is
secured to the disc 85 thereby to fix the shaft 86 to the board.
The outer diameter of the central shaft 86 is a little smaller than
the inner diameter of the aforesaid cylindrical member 81 and has
formed integrally therewith projections 88 and 89 having tapered
lower end portions 88A and 89A at the diametrically opposite
positions thereof upwardly of its central portion in its axial
direction.
The central shaft 86 secured to the board is inserted into the
cylindrical member 81 from above. In this case, the projections 88
and 89 formed on the central shaft 86 are engaged with the notches
82 and 83 of the cylindrical member 81 respectively. Accordingly,
the central shaft 86, that is, the board does not rotate relative
to the base 36. The lower end face of the central shaft 86
projecting out from the lower end of the cylindrical member 81 has
attached thereto, for example, a triangular plate 90 and biasing
springs 91 to 93 are stretched between lugs 78A of the disc 78 and
corners of the plate 90, by which the central shaft 86, that is,
the board is biased upwardly. Further, an engaging plate 94 is
attached, for example, to the underside of the disc 78, while a
substantially L-shaped engaging piece 95 is attached to the disc 85
secured to the board. When the board is biased upwardly described
above, the engaging piece 95 abuts with the plate 94 as shown, thus
holding the board at a predetermined height.
An annular buffer member 96 made as of felt is mounted on the plate
portion 36B of the base plate 36.
With the construction described above, when no load is applied to
the board, the board is held at the predetermined height as
described above, in which case a roller 97 attached to the free end
of the actuator 84 of the switch 79 faces the tapered surface 88A
of the projection 88 formed on the central shaft 86 and the
actuator 84 does not press an actuating member 98 to hold the
switch 79 in the off state and to produce no sound. When a child
jumps on the board, the board falls against the biasing force of
the springs 91 to 93 with the central shaft 86 being guided by the
cylindrical member 81 and the roller 97 attached to the actuator 84
of the switch 79 is urged against the tapered surface 88B of the
projection 88 formed on the central shaft 86, by which the
actuating member 98 is pressed to turn on the switch 79. As a
result of this, a predetermined sound is produced through a sound
generator, though not shown. In this case, the underside of the
board abuts against the buffer member 96, so that the downward
movement of the board is thereby limited.
Mud, water and so on may get in a gap between the board and the
marginal plate portion 36D of the base plate but they can be
drained out through the aperture 76 formed in the plate portion
36C.
Also, it is possible to attach a cylindrical member to the board
and a shaft is provided on the base unlike the illustrated example.
Further, it is also possible for a sound producing member to be
directly actuated without controlling the switch when the board has
fallen down to a predetermined position.
In the foregoing examples, a plurality of boards are arranged on
the base, so that their arrangement cannot be changed as desired.
This defect can be overcome in other examples of this invention,
which will be described in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12.
In the example of FIG. 11, a plurality of stepping musical machine
units 99a to 99h are suitably arranged. The base of each unit has
housed therein a transmitter device. Reference numerals 100a to
100h indicate boards which are adapted to turn on switches SWa to
SWh or actuate hammers or the like to hit ultrasonic vibrators or
the like corresponding to the scales, for example C to C when the
boards are stepped on. Reference characters Xa to Xh designate
mechanical filters, ultrasonic vibrators, tuning forks or the like,
which are selected to oscillate at different frequencies
corresponding to the respective units 99a to 99h. Reference
characters Aa to Ah identify antennas for transmitting.
When the boards are selectively stepped on, signals of particular
frequency are transmitted from the antennas Aa to Ah corresponding
to the boards being stepped on and are received by an antenna 102
of a receiver 101. In the receiver 101, only particular frequency
components from the respective transmitting antennas Aa to Ah are
selected by selectors Ta to Tf; the selected signals are amplified
by an amplifier 101a; gate circuits Ga to Gh, which produce scales
determined by oscillators 101'a to 101'h are selective turned on by
the amplified output of the amplifier; and a sound of a particular
scale is produced from a speaker SP through an amplifier 101b.
FIG. 12 illustrates another example of this invention, in which a
damper material and/or spring 104 is packed in a flexible base 103
and transmitters Xa to Xh and SWa to SWh are placed in the bases
103 respectively while being protected by the damper material 104
and transmitting antennas Aa to Ah are wound respectively on the
inner surfaces of the bases.
With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 a description will be made of a
device which transmits a signal to the sound producing device by
wire. The boards 99a to 99f are identical in construction with
those shown in FIG. 12 but house therein only switches in this
case. When the boards are stepped on by a child, the switches are
turned on and their signal components are applied to a gate circuit
106 through a cables 105a to 105f and then to speaker apparatus 108
through an amplifier 107, producing a sound therefrom. Further, in
FIG. 13 the boards 99a to 99f are provided separately. However, if
oscillators including a plurality of switch devices or switches are
provided in a sheet, for example, a carpet of wide width which has
buffer characteristic and wires are bundled together in the sheet
to provide an output, it is possible to freely change the scale
arrangement by changing the wires through the switches in the way
to the amplifier. One example of the switch housed in the boards
99a to 99f is shown in FIG. 14. The switch is desired to be turned
on regardless of the position thereon where the child gets on. This
can be achieved by providing a plurality of switches under the
board but this method is expensive. In the present example, the
underside of a sheet 109 of synthetic resin or the like having
substantially the same size as the board is made to be electrically
conductive and, if necessary, a checkered conductive pattern is
formed on the underside of the sheet 109 and a lead wire 105a is
led out therefrom. While, a plurality of conductive projections 111
are planted on a sheet metal or a non-metallic plate 110, which is
attached to the underside of the sheet 109. Where the plate 110 is
non-metallic, a checkered conductive pattern 112 is formed thereon,
by which it is ensured that the switch is actuated irrespective of
the position thereon where it is stepped on, because the sheet 109
is pressed in the direction indicated by an arrow. This
construction can be simplified by moulding the aforesaid sheet
together with the plurality of projections using conductive rubber
or the like and by forming the plate 110 with a sheet metal. In
this case, the sheet resistance of the plate 110 is different, so
that its difference is associated with a variable resistor for
volume control of the amplifier 107, thereby enabling volume
control depending on whether the board is stepped on with one or
both toes.
It will be apparent that many modifications and variations may be
effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of
this invention.
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