Patents Examined by Marlo Fletcher
  • Patent number: 8895831
    Abstract: An electronic piano includes a tone signal synthesizing system implemented by software, keys and key sensors monitoring the keys and reporting the key positions to the tone signal synthesizing system, and the tone signal synthesizing system includes damper model calculating modules for determining resistance against vibrations of wires of an a piano, a hammer model calculating module for determining force exerted on the wires, string model calculating modules for determining force exerted on an instrument body of the piano by the wires on the basis of the resistance and force exerted on the wires, an instrument body model calculating module for determining displacements of instrument body on the basis of the force exerted on the instrument body and an air model calculating module for determining a sound pressure at an observation point from the displacement of instrument body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Eiji Tominaga
  • Patent number: 8699743
    Abstract: A system and methods for implementing substantially triangular or trapezoidal speaker enclosures and related components. A speaker enclosure may be shaped substantially as an equilateral triangle, loaded with three speakers mounted radially equidistant from the planar center of the triangular enclosure. The speaker enclosure may comprise a triangular port with a detachable lid. A speaker enclosure also may be shaped substantially as a box with an interior triangular subchamber. The speaker enclosures may further include an amplifier system having a novel input gain stage or a novel tone stack, or both. An amplifier system also may comprise parallel audio input processing through input gain modules and tone stack modules, with the separate audio signals summed by a novel mixdown module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: 3rd Power Amplication
    Inventor: Charles Edward Moomey
  • Patent number: 8609970
    Abstract: Improvements in a microphone system for a musical instrument and more particularly for a percussion instrument such as a drum, marimba or similar musical instrument. The microphone system includes a vibration isolation system. A vertical or horizontal tracking system bridges across supports of a drum or marimba in a vertical or horizontal tracking system. One or more microphones are supported on the first bridging structure. The microphone(s) are positionally secured on the horizontal tracking system. Both the microphones and the horizontal tracking system provide vibration isolation to all of the microphones. A cable managements system is also disclosed to reduce mechanical vibration and eliminate transmission of undesirable sounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Randall May International Incorporated
    Inventor: Randall L. May
  • Patent number: 8525006
    Abstract: An input device including: a first operation detecting section which is provided on one stick and detects acceleration based on movement of the one stick; a second operation detecting section which is provided on an other stick and detects acceleration based on movement of the other stick; a first strike judging section which judges whether or not the one stick and the other stick have struck against one another, based on the acceleration detected by the first operation detecting section and the acceleration detected by the second operation detecting section; and an instructing section which instructs to produce a sound corresponding to striking of the one stick and the other stick against one another, when the first strike judging section judges that the one stick and the other stick have struck against one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Morio Yamanouchi
  • Patent number: 8519250
    Abstract: The invention provides for the integration of video into electronic music technology. Cameras on instruments, such as guitars, are provided for display during performance, recording, and for creating control signals. Extraction of control signals from camera images, including patterns and gestures in 2D and 3D, may be included. All such outgoing control signals may be MIDI, and extraction algorithms may be selected and controlled by MIDI. A range of video signal generation, video signal processing, and camera image capture control functions relevant to the use of video in live performances may be controlled by MIDI to unify a common control infrastructure for a live performance environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Patent number: 8502055
    Abstract: A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a method for presenting a first portion of the simulated musical instrument on a first presentation device, presenting a second portion of the simulated musical instrument on a second presentation device, presenting at the first presentation device a demonstrative stimulus directed to the first portion, and further presenting at least a portion of the musical score with an indicator providing instruction for stimulating the second portion according to the portion of the musical score where the indicator is located, detecting a stimulus directed to the second portion, and presenting an audible sound corresponding to the demonstrative stimulus directed to the first portion and the stimulus directed to the second portion. Other embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventor: David Brux Delorme
  • Patent number: 8492634
    Abstract: An apparatus for creating a musical composition comprising an audio interface, and audio converter module, and a multi-track compositor module is disclosed. The audio interface operably receives audio from an audio input device and outputting audio to an audio output device. The audio converter module is operably connected to the audio interface to convert audio received via the audio interface into an audio track having one or more partitions. The multi-track compositor module is configured to receive a first audio track and a second audio track and automatically score each partition of the first and second audio tracks based on one or more criteria. The multi-track compositor module is then configured to construct a third audio track from the partitions of the first and second audio tracks based on the scores for each partition. A method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Music Mastermind, Inc.
    Inventors: Travis Robert Savo, Francesco Gerald Capodieci, Reza Rassool, Michael Winter
  • Patent number: 8445768
    Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product for mixing audio is presented. A plurality of tracks is displayed in a user interface, each track of the plurality of tracks including at least one audio clip. Each audio clip is designated as either a foreground clip or a background clip. The foreground clips are analyzed and loudness corrected. The background clips are analyzed and a distance value between the loudness corrected foreground clips and the background clips is defined. Keyframes are added to some of the audio clips, the keyframes providing a fade between levels of the background clips to take into account the loudness corrected foreground clips and a sequenced audio file is produced from the corrected foreground clips, the background clips and the keyframes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated
    Inventors: Holger Classen, Sven Duwenhorst
  • Patent number: 8440897
    Abstract: A guitar is played during performance by rapid change in the tension of its strings. In one embodiment, rapid, accurate, and repeatable tuning is obtained by a two-step process of adjusting the tension of the string to a stored value which may be then be corrected according to the pitch of the string obtained at later various times during the performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Inventor: Keith M. Baxter
  • Patent number: 8431809
    Abstract: An electronic music display and methods of using the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the electronic music display includes a user interface configured to receive one or more music files, a memory device configured to store the one or more music files, a controller configured to program the electronic music display in accordance with user specified requirements with respect to order of the one or more music files to be displayed and with respect to tempos that corresponding different sections of the one or more music files to be performed, and a display configured to display a sequence of pages of the one or more music files as programmed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Inventors: Andrew Lyon Chan, Thomas Chan
  • Patent number: 8431810
    Abstract: A tempo detection device includes: a basic feature amount extracting section which extracts a plurality of types of basic feature amounts from an input audio signal; a weighting and adding section which weights and adds the basic feature amounts of the plurality of types extracted in the basic feature amount extracting section to obtain an addition signal; and a tempo detecting section which detects BPM indicating the tempo on the basis of a periodic component included in the addition signal obtained in the weighting and adding section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shusuke Takahashi, Akira Inoue
  • Patent number: 8410347
    Abstract: A music recommendation method and a music recommendation system are provided. The music recommendation method includes: selecting music files according to a theme of the message service and music, a mood of the music, a similarity between content of the message service and content of the music; and recommending selected music files to a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jung Eun Kim, Hyoung Gook Kim
  • Patent number: 8389844
    Abstract: In response to detection of a note-on instruction, a CPU assigns a tone generating unit comprising two tone generating channels and sets tone color control data of the assigned tone generating unit into tone generator registers. The tone color control data includes a parameter common to the two channels. Once the CPU gives a tone generation start instruction to a tone generator, the tone generator accumulates a frequency number common to the two channels to thereby generate a progressive phase common to the two channels. Waveform readout section reads out left-channel and right-channel waveform data from a waveform memory on the basis of the phase and waveform selecting information of the left and right channels. Tone characteristics of the read-out left- and right-channel waveform data are controlled by a characteristic control section on the basis of a characteristic control parameter common to the two channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Tsuchiya, Kazuyuki Ito, Masahiko Hasebe, Kouichi Kashiwazaki, Hiroyuki Iwase
  • Patent number: 8378194
    Abstract: A system for creating a musical score may be provided. The system may include a composition tool application that is configured to provide a plurality of instrument interfaces to a user. The instrument interfaces may include a keyboard interface, a stringed instrument interface, and a percussion interface. The plurality of instrument interfaces may each include a representation of an instrument and a score section for illustration of the musical score. The composition tool application may be configured to provide the user with the ability to select a portion of the representation of the instrument. In response to the selection of the portion of the representation of the instrument, the composition tool application may be configured to provide a representation of a note for the instrument in the score section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Inventor: Kyran Daisy
  • Patent number: 8378204
    Abstract: A pedal device for an electronic keyboard apparatus adds sound effects to musical notes generated by the electronic keyboard apparatus in response to an operator depressing the pedal device. A first reaction force application device is configured to apply a first reaction force countering a depression of the pedal by the operator from an initial state to a specified state to produce a first reaction force, wherein the first reaction force increases as the pedal is depressed from the initial state to the specified state. A second reaction force application device that is configured to apply a second reaction force countering a depression of the pedal by the operator after the specified state, wherein after the specified state the first reaction force and the second reaction force are applied to the pedal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Roland Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihiko Arayama
  • Patent number: 8374372
    Abstract: Provided is a headset including a main housing and a speaker housing that are integrally formed with each other and a rear-side sound-leakage preventing section to shield sound emitted towards a rear side of a speaker. To this end, the headset includes a main housing integrally formed with a speaker housing that protrudes from the main housing, at least one rear-side sound-leakage preventing unit engaged with an inner side of the speaker housing to shield sound emitted towards a rear side of a speaker, and a mounting unit to sequentially couple the speaker and the at least one rear-side sound-leakage preventing unit to the inner side of the speaker housing and mount the at least one rear-side sound-leakage preventing units in the inner side of the speaker housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Gun-Woo Lee
  • Patent number: 8367923
    Abstract: The teachings described herein are generally directed to a system, method, and apparatus for learning music through an educational audio track embodied on a computer readable medium. The system can comprise components including a processor, an input device, a database, a transformation module, an emulation recording module, an integration engine, an output module, and an output device, wherein each component is operable in itself to perform it's function in the system and operable with other system components to provide a system to a user for learning music.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Jammit, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott Humphrey
  • Patent number: 8369556
    Abstract: A microphone pop filter for attenuating plosive artifacts utilizes a substantially acoustically transparent material configured to define multiple airfoil surfaces that are oriented non-orthogonally relative to an axis defined between an audio source and a microphone diaphragm, with the substantially acoustically transparent material disposed intermediate the audio source and the microphone diaphragm and separated from the microphone diaphragm by an airspace. Plosive artifacts from the audio source may be deflected away from the microphone diaphragm by the airfoil surfaces to reduce the impact of such artifacts on the microphone diaphragm and the resulting electronic signal output therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Inventor: Robert Power
  • Patent number: 8338683
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a musical instrument tuner, e.g. a guitar tuner, featuring tuning as a part of a user session.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: The TC Group A/S
    Inventors: Søren Henningsen Nielsen, Esben Skovenborg, Lars Arknæs-Pedersen, Kim Rishøj Pedersen
  • Patent number: RE44309
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of displaying directories differently based on attributes of files included therein. The present method examines a directory structure and the attributes of data files recorded on a recording medium, generates a mark for visually differentiating directories including at least one file of a pre-specified attribute, based on the examined attribute information, and displays a generated mark with the examined directory structure information. Owing to the present invention, a user can recognize directories including at least one file having a desired attribute at a glance, therefore, reproduction, selection, or copy for a file having a desirable attribute can be conducted very quickly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Hwan Kim