Patents Examined by David Warren
  • Patent number: 10276138
    Abstract: A customizable electronic musical instrument includes a mounting frame for securing a plurality of user-installable electronic musical modules of various types including a type for generating at least one control signal responsive to user operation, a type for generating audio signals, responsive to a control signal. The instrument can transmit outgoing audio electrical signals to an external system and can include internal sound amplification. The instrument includes one or more types of controller elements such as a keyboard, touchpad, strumpad, impact sensor, slider control, expression wheel, joystick, ribbon controller, button, switch, pressure sensor, multiple-position selector, knob potentiometer, and further comprises at least one music synthesizer element. Control and audio signals may be routed among modules by a switch or bus. Audio signals can be mixed by a multichannel audio mixer and/or processed responsive to at least one control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Patent number: 10252879
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed to determining that an elevator car of an elevator system is approaching a landing, obtaining, by a controller, a value for at least one parameter associated with the elevator system based on the determination that the elevator car is approaching the landing, determining that the elevator car arrives at the landing within a threshold distance, determining, by the controller, when to engage in at least one of a brake cycling operation and a power cycling operation based on the value for the at least one parameter and based on determining that the elevator car arrives at the landing within the threshold distance, and initiating the at least one of a brake cycling operation and a power cycling operation at a time corresponding to the determination of when to engage in the at least one of a brake cycling operation and a power cycling operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Amir Lotfi, Randall Keith Roberts, Ronnie E. Thebeau, Michael Garfinkel, Edward Piedra, Dennis Hanvey, Daniel Rush
  • Patent number: 10252883
    Abstract: A method of controlling movement of an elevator car including determining whether the elevator car is present at a specified landing, determining a door lock state, and entering an access detection mode based in part on whether the elevator car is present at the specified landing and the door lock state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: John F. Kleine, Jr., Kenneth P. Litteral
  • Patent number: 10255894
    Abstract: Disclosed is a wearable electronic music system including a plurality of first finger mountable implements, each having at least one surface engageable element operatively connected thereto. The system further includes a second finger mountable implement with a state altering element being disposable in a first state or a second state. A sound producing subsystem operatively communicates with the plurality of first finger mountable implements and the second finger mountable implement. In operation, when the state altering element is disposed in the first state, the sound producing subsystem causes a first output to be produced when at least one of said plurality of first finger mountable implements contacts the solid surface, and when the state altering element is disposed in the second state, the sound producing subsystem causes a second output to be produced as the at least one of said plurality of first finger mountable implements contacts the solid surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Inventor: Mark J. Bonner
  • Patent number: 10249273
    Abstract: A percussion instrument mount includes a base that supports a percussion instrument in a playing position. The percussion instrument mount also includes a swing arm that is coupled to the percussion instrument, and is also coupled to the base via a joint such that the swing arm rotates about the joint from an equilibrium position in response to a playing impact on the percussion instrument. The percussion instrument mount still further includes a playing impact energy absorber that provides a restoring force to the swing arm so as to return the swing arm to the equilibrium position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Randall May International Incorporated
    Inventor: Randall L. May
  • Patent number: 10249279
    Abstract: A digital-to-analog converter performs a ?? computation process to start the ?? computation based upon the second clock signal with respect to the digital data of music sound if the ?? computation is not under execution when the control signal is outputted by the signal output process, a control process to inhibit the ?? computation based upon the second clock signal from being started with respect to the digital data of music sound until the ?? computation is not under execution when the ?? computation is under execution, and an output process to convert a computation result of the ?? computation process into an analog signal and output the analog signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Goro Sakata
  • Patent number: 10249210
    Abstract: The present invention provides a system for pitch correction. The interactive surface is embedded with a host, an antenna, a memory unit, a voice input device, an audio recognition device, and a media player. The function of each light-emitting contact point is determined or changed by the host in accordance with preset programs. Each physical sheet is embedded with an RFID tag and is printed with a set of pitch marks with increasing difficulty levels, and the location of a functioning area on a physical sheet for the light-emitting contact points is determined in accordance with the preset programs, and the light-emitting contact points correspond to the location of the functioning area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Inventors: Zheng Shi, Xin Wang
  • Patent number: 10242097
    Abstract: A content selection system and method for identifying and organizing moods in content using objectively measured scores for rhythm, texture and pitch (RTP) and clustered into six mood classifications based on an objective analysis of the measured scores. Digitized representations of the content may also be identified and organized based on the content's frequency data, three-dimensional shapes derived from the digitized representations, and colors derived from the frequency data. Each piece of content may be identified by at least a mood shape, but may also be identified by a mood color and/or a mood based on the clustered RTP scores and/or the digitized representation. Users of the selection system may be able to view the moods identified in the different manners, or combinations of two or three mood identifying manners and select and organize content based on the identified moods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: APERTURE INVESTMENTS, LLC
    Inventors: Jacquelyn Fuzell-Casey, Skyler Fuzell-Casey, Donald Ryan, Timothy D. Casey
  • Patent number: 10239730
    Abstract: An exemplary building sway operation system (10) for an elevator includes an acceleration sensor (11), and a data receiving unit (12) for receiving a sensor output from the acceleration sensor (11). The acceleration sensor (11) is designed to be mounted on a movable mass (6) of an active vibration control device (5) for a building, in order to detect the reciprocating motion of the movable mass (6) of the active vibration control device (5) responsive to the occurrence of earthquakes or strong winds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventor: Hisanori Seki
  • Patent number: 10235984
    Abstract: A karaoke device includes a processor, a microphone, a wireless transceiver, an AM/FM transmitter, and a memory. The karaoke device may receive a music stream from a connected mobile device via the wireless transceiver, which may be mixed with vocals received via the microphone before the resulting audio signal is transmitted to a nearby radio via the AM/FM transmitter for playback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Pilot, Inc.
    Inventor: Calvin Shiening Wang
  • Patent number: 10235981
    Abstract: A method is provided including separating a first file into a first plurality of instrument tracks and a second file into a second plurality of instrument tracks, wherein each instrument track of each of the first plurality and second plurality corresponds to a type of instrument; selecting a first instrument track from the first plurality of instrument tracks and a second instrument track from the second plurality of instrument tracks based at least on the type of instrument corresponding to the first instrument track and the second instrument track; fading out other instrument tracks from the first plurality of instrument tracks; performing a crossfade between the first instrument track and the second instrument track; and fading in other instrument tracks from the second plurality of instrument tracks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
    Inventors: Miikka Tapani Vilermo, Arto Juhani Lehtiniemi, Lasse Juhani Laaksonen, Mikko Tapio Tammi
  • Patent number: 10229660
    Abstract: A capotasto C includes a clamp 100 and a lever 400. The clamp 100 includes a supporting bar 200 and a string pressing bar 300. The lever 400 is engaged with the supporting bar 200 and with the string pressing bar 300. In a condition in which the clamp 100 has a neck 1 of a guitar between the supporting bar 200 and the string pressing bar 300, when the lever 400 is pushed to the neck 1, the clamp 100 is closed, and a pressing pad 332 of a string pressing part 330 of the clamp 100 presses strings 3 onto a surface 1a of the neck 1. When the lever 400 is pulled out, the clamp 100 is opened by a biasing force of an open spring 120 of the clamp 100, and the capotasto C can be removed from the neck 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignees: GOTOH GUT CO., LTD, HIROSHI MIYAJIMA
    Inventor: Hiroshi Miyajima
  • Patent number: 10221044
    Abstract: A hoistway door locking system includes an elevator shaft. Also included is an elevator car disposed within the elevator shaft and moveable therein between a plurality of access openings located at a plurality of levels of the elevator shaft. Further included is a plurality of locking mechanisms, at least one of the plurality of locking mechanisms being located at each of the plurality of access openings, wherein each of the plurality of locking mechanisms is operable between a locked condition and an unlocked condition, and wherein only a single locking mechanism may be in the unlocked condition at a specific time, the unlocked condition occurring upon alignment of the elevator car and the respective access opening having the single locking mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Nicolas Fonteneau, Aurélien Fauconnet
  • Patent number: 10224015
    Abstract: A stringless electric bowed musical instrument is disclosed in which sensors are provided to detect finger positions and bowing motions of the player. A touch-sensitive fingerboard surface is equipped with pitch sensors that detect finger positions. Use of a fingerboard surface that includes an interactive flexible touch screen display provides a plurality of illumination patterns to be displayed on the fingerboard and permits various operational modes that are useful for both students and artists. A bowing platform in contact with either the fingerboard or the body of the instrument provides an adjustable bowing surface for including bow sensors configured to detect vibrations in response to bow motion. The bow sensors may include piezo-ceramic elements. Optical pitch sensors may sense interruption of one or more laser beams that propagate above a top surface of the fingerboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Inventor: Jeffrey James Hsu
  • Patent number: 10224011
    Abstract: A keyboard instrument including an instrument main body having, on one side surface thereof, a first fitting section including a first fitting convex section, a first fitting concave section that is more concave than the first fitting convex section, and a first guide section provided therebetween, and a side plate which supports the one side surface of the instrument main body and has a second fitting section including a second fitting convex section corresponding to the first fitting concave section, a second fitting concave section corresponding to the first fitting convex section, and a second guide section provided therebetween so as to correspond to the first guide section, in which a vertical length of a rear side of the second fitting concave section in the side plate is larger than a vertical length of a front side of the second fitting concave section in the side plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Akihisa Hoshino
  • Patent number: 10224013
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for the creation and playback of music and/or sound, so that sound sequences are generated that vary from one playback to another playback. In one embodiment, during composition creation, artist(s) may define how the composition may vary from playback to playback using visually interactive display(s). The artist's definition may be embedded into a composition dataset. During playback, a composition data set may be processed by a playback device and/or a playback program, so that each time the composition is played-back a unique version may be generated. Variability during playback may include: the variable selection of alternative sound segment(s); variable editing of sound segment(s) during playback processing; variable placement of sound segment(s) during playback processing; the spawning of group(s) of alternative sound segments from initiating sound segment(s); and the combining and/or mixing of alternative sound segments in one or more sound channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Inventor: James W. Wieder
  • Patent number: 10217450
    Abstract: This invention develops the math and topology necessary to determine the potential number of tonally distinct connections of sensors, musical vibration sensors in particular. It claims the methods and sensor topological circuit combinations, including phase reversals from inverting sensor connections, up to any arbitrary number of sensors, excepting those already patented or in use. It distinguishes which of those sensor topological circuit combinations are humbucking for electromagnetic pickups. It presents a micro-controller system driving a crosspoint switch, with a simplified human interface, which allows a shift from bright to warm tones and back, particularly for humbucking outputs, without the user needing to know which pickups are used in what combinations. It suggests the limits of mechanical switches and develops a pickup switching system for dual-coil humbucking pickups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Inventor: Donald L Baker
  • Patent number: 10217448
    Abstract: Collaboratively creating musical harmonies includes receiving a user selection of a particular harmony. In response to this selection, there is displayed on a display screen of a computing device a plurality of musical note indicators or notes to specify a first harmony part of a musical piece to be performed. Real-time pitch detection is used to determine a pitch of each note which is voiced by a person, and a graphic indication of the actual pitch which is sung is displayed in conjunction with the musical note indicators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Harmony Helper LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Goren, Michael Holroyd, Lindsay Ifill
  • Patent number: 10207894
    Abstract: An elevator system includes an elevator car supported by an elevator rope wrapped around a sheave, such that a rotation of the sheave changes a length of the elevator rope between the sheave and the elevator car thereby controlling a movement of the elevator car within an elevator shaft of the elevator system. An elevator cable is connected to the elevator car and the elevator shaft to carry electrical signals to the elevator car. The operation of the elevator system is controlled in response to receiving a call for a movement of the elevator car requesting a change of the length of the elevator rope. A motion profile of the elevator car causing the requested change of the length of the elevator rope that minimizes the sway of the cable is determined according to a model of a cable relating a sway of the cable to a motion profile. Next, the motion of the elevator car is controlled according to the determined motion profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventor: Mouhacine Benosman
  • Patent number: 10207896
    Abstract: An illustrative example embodiment of an elevator brake device includes a brake member configured to move into a braking position to resist movement of an elevator car associated with the brake device. A plurality of actuators are associated with the brake member and selectively controllable to apply a force to cause the brake member to move into the braking position. A brake controller determines a number of the actuators to activate based on a determined load of the elevator car associated with the brake device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventor: Wei Wei