Patents Examined by David S. Warren
  • Patent number: 10497359
    Abstract: A display control method executed by a processor, the method includes the steps of: displaying, on a display device, a note icon that represents a note of a voice to be synthesized and an indicator that is moved in accordance with an operation received from a user; displaying, on the display device, first options that belong to a first layer among layers in a hierarchical structure, for the user to select a singing expression to be applied to the note from among a plurality of singing expressions; and displaying, on the display device, when the indicator is moved into an area corresponding to a particular option selected from among the first options, second options that correspond to the particular option and belong to a second layer that is below the first layer in the hierarchical structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keijiro Saino
  • Patent number: 10490175
    Abstract: An audio device and an electronic instrument are provided by which a device case can be downsized. An elastic member is interposed between an attachment hole provided in a panel-side sealed frame section of a speaker panel and a projection section of a speaker grill and, in this state, the speaker grill is fixed to the speaker panel by the projection section being subjected to torsion deformation. By the elastic member being deformed inside the attachment hole and coming in close contact with the surface of the projection section and the inner surface of the attachment hole, the attachment hole that is a through hole is filled. As a result of this structure, an attachment hole that is used when a speaker grill is attached to a speaker panel can be arranged at a position where it penetrates to an acoustic space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Atsushi Oshiro
  • Patent number: 10486938
    Abstract: Methods and systems for making elevator service requests, the methods including populating, by a computing device comprising a processor, a recents list with at least one retained floor pair, wherein each retained floor pair includes an origination floor and a destination floor, displaying the recents list on a display, receiving a user input on the recents list indicating a new elevator service request related to one of the retained floor pairs, generating an elevator service request packet based on the new elevator service request, and transmitting the elevator service request packet to an elevator controller to make an elevator service request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Emily Baldi, Kelly Martin Dubois, Paul A. Simcik, Harrison Daniels, Yew H. Leong, Sylvia Stone, Staci Weixlmann, Sheryl Brothers
  • Patent number: 10486937
    Abstract: A method of controlling access to a building is provided. The method comprising: receiving visitor contact information for a visitor from a resident device, the visitor contact information identifies a visitor device of the visitor; receiving visitor access permissions for the visitor from the resident device, the visitor access permissions include at least one of a selected elevator car, a selected door, and a selected floor; and granting the visitor device access to at least one of the selected elevator car, the selected door, and the selected floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Emily Baldi, Paul A. Simcik, Yew Leong, Sheryl Brothers, Ashley Chapman, Eric C. Peterson, James Taylor
  • Patent number: 10486936
    Abstract: A method for determining a stator current vector for starting a synchronous machine of a drive of a passenger transportation apparatus having a rotor and a stator with a stator winding may involve imposing different stator current vectors with different stator current vector directions on the stator winding over the course of a plurality of current application operations, determining from the different stator current vectors a minimum stator current vector with a minimum stator current vector direction at which a minimum driving torque acting on the rotor is generated in the synchronous machine, determining a starting stator current vector with a starting stator current vector direction from the minimum stator current vector, and imposing the starting stator current vector on the stator winding for starting the synchronous machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventor: Jürgen Frantzheld
  • Patent number: 10490173
    Abstract: A musical instrument for electronically producing music from audio segments. The musical instrument comprises: an apparatus having a first surface; a plurality of selectable elements disposed in a substantially circular geometry on the first surface; and at least one memory storing the plurality of audio segments, each of the plurality of audio segments being associated with a respective selectable element in the plurality of selectable elements, wherein, in response to detecting selection of a subset of the plurality of selectable elements, the system is configured to generate music using audio segments in the plurality of audio segments that are associated with the selected subset of the plurality of selectable elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: Brown University
    Inventors: Peter Bussigel, Joseph Rovan
  • Patent number: 10482855
    Abstract: To provide a change of sound in response to a player's operation that is close to the change of sound of real hi-hat cymbals. A hi-hat cymbal sound generation apparatus according to the present invention includes an input part, a recording part, a trigger part and a sound volume control part. The input part acquires state information and vibration information. The recording part records data on a foot close sound, data on a foot open sound, and data on a hit sound in each state indicated by the state information. The trigger part checks whether the vibration indicated by the vibration information falls within a predetermined range in which a sound generation procedure is to be started, and starts sound generation procedures for at least all the hit sounds when the trigger part determines that the vibration falls within the range in which a sound generation procedure is to be started.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: KORG INC.
    Inventors: Haruhiko Motohashi, Masahiko Akino, Tatsuya Nishikawa
  • Patent number: 10482861
    Abstract: In a key switch (10), an inner dome (Din) starts to deform once a distal end portion (21) of the inner dome (Din) comes into contact with a base surface (93a) after an outer dome (Dout) starts to deform. A thick portion (25) extending straight and having a uniform wall thickness in a click generating portion (CL) has the thickness less than or equal to the minimum thickness of a thick portion (23) of an after stroke portion (AF). The degree of inclination of the thick portion (25) with respect to a center line (C0) (direction of pressing) is larger than that of the thick portion (23) with respect to the center line (C0) (?c>?a). Before the after stroke portion (AF) undergoes large deformation, the click generating portion (CL) undergoes buckling to cause a sudden decrease in a reaction force and generate a click feeling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Harimoto, Ichiro Osuga
  • Patent number: 10482858
    Abstract: Systems and methods are generally described for generation and transmission of musical performance data. In some examples, the musical input device may generate a first command encoding a first musical event. In various further examples, the musical input device may generate a first message corresponding to the first command, the first message encoding a first acoustic attribute type of the first musical event. In some examples, the musical input device may generate a second message corresponding to the first command, the second message encoding a second acoustic attribute type of the first musical event. In various examples, the musical input device may generate timestamp data denoting a time of an occurrence of the first musical event. In some examples, the musical input device may send the timestamp data, the first command, the first message and the second message to a computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignees: ROLAND VS LLC, ROLAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Seth M Stroh, Ichiro Yazawa, Jeremy R Soule, Julian C. Soule
  • Patent number: 10479648
    Abstract: Elevator systems and methods of operating elevator systems having an elevator car within an elevator shaft, a counterweight within the elevator shaft and operably connected to the elevator car, an indicator element located in a pit of the elevator shaft, and an inspection system including a detector located on the elevator car and arranged to detect a location of the counterweight in an inspection region within the pit based a relative position between the counterweight and the indicator element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Sandeep Sudi, Daniel M. Tripp, Sr.
  • Patent number: 10482863
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to classify media based on a pitch-independent timbre attribute from a media signal are disclosed. An example apparatus includes an interface to receive a media signal; a timbre database to store reference pitch-less timbre spectrums; and a processor to: compare a pitch-less timbre spectrum of the media signal to the reference pitch-less timbre spectrums; and classify the media signal based on data corresponding to a reference pitch-less timbre spectrum of the reference pitch-less timbre spectrums that matches the pitch-less timbre spectrum, the classification corresponding to at least one of an instrument or a genre.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
    Inventor: Zafar Rafii
  • Patent number: 10475427
    Abstract: An operation state detecting apparatus includes the following. An electronic device includes an operation surface and can detect whether there is contact in a plurality of positions. A sheet material can be attached to and detached from the operation surface. The sheet material includes a projecting portion which deforms to change a contact state on the operation surface according to strength of external force. A processor of the electronic device detects whether there is contact in a plurality of positions in an individual detecting region on the operation surface on which a contact state changes by the projecting portion deforming in a state with the sheet material attached to the operation surface. The processor performs a specific process according to strength or speed of an operation applied to the projecting portion judged based on a detected result of whether contact is detected in the plurality of positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masahiko Kodama, Takashi Soda, Hiroyuki Tanabe
  • Patent number: 10472207
    Abstract: A method of interacting with an elevator system is provided. The method comprising: detecting, using a sensor system, performance data for an elevator system, the elevator system including one or more elevator cars; receiving an issue report from a user mobile device; determining a maintenance issue of the elevator system in response to at least one of the issue report and the performance data; and transmitting the maintenance issue to a maintenance device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Emily Baldi, Daniel Archibald, Harrison Daniels, James Taylor
  • Patent number: 10464782
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an elevator system consisting of a plurality of elevator carriages, a shaft system, a drive system for separately moving the elevator carriages within the shaft system, as well as a safety system having a plurality of safety nodes designed to bring the elevator system into a safe operating mode if an operating mode of the elevator system, which deviates from the normal operation mode, is detected. The elevator carriages, the shaft system and the drive system form a functional unit. One of the safety nodes is always assigned to one of the functional units, wherein the safety nodes are each connected to at least another safety node through an interface for transmitting data. Each safety node includes at least one sensor, which detects an operating parameter of the corresponding assigned functional unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventors: Eduard Steinhauer, Matthias Glück, Bankole Adjibadji
  • Patent number: 10464781
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for operating an elevator system, which is embodied as shaft-changing multi-car system. A number of cars is assigned to at least three elevator shafts. The cars can be moved in upwards direction and downwards direction inside the individual elevator shafts, as well as between the individual elevator shafts. A successive reversal of the travel directions of the respective cars occurs hereby.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventor: Stefan Gerstenmeyer
  • Patent number: 10467998
    Abstract: An autonomous music composition and performance system employing an automated music composition and generation engine configured to receive musical signals from a set of a real or synthetic musical instruments being played by a group of human musicians. The system buffers and analyzes musical signals from the set of real or synthetic musical instruments, composes and generates music in real-time that augments the music being played by the band of musicians, and/or records, analyzes and composes music recorded for subsequent playback, review and consideration by the human musicians.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: AMPER MUSIC, INC.
    Inventor: Andrew H. Silverstein
  • Patent number: 10468002
    Abstract: A wind instrument such as a harmonica has a mouthpiece with one or more air channels, an electric power source, and a means for generating an electrical output signal from strain gages exposed to airflow in the channels. First and second strain gages having variable flow-induced resistance are bonded to a flexible substrate and suspended within an air channel, which includes a divider shelf for directing a first airflow to the first strain gage and a second airflow to the second strain gage. Complimentary strain gages are mounted to an opposite side of the substrate for inverse flexure to enable temperature correction for the first and second strain gages. When a user forces air through a channel in a direction biased to one side of the divider shelf a difference signal is generated by the first and second strain gages and detected by comparing their outputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Inventor: Ron Lewis Schille
  • Patent number: 10468003
    Abstract: An audio foot pedal having an activation arrangement comprising a control button and a stationary part, the control button being secured to the stationary part for relative movement along a travel range, the activation arrangement providing a control signal in response to movement of said control button, the audio foot pedal further comprising at least one signal processing arrangement arranged to execute at least two different functional modes, wherein at least one of said functional modes, in response to said control signal, variably controls a signal processing of audio signals communicated to said at least one signal processing arrangement thereby producing an audio output signal to an audio output, and wherein said control signal also controls switching between said at least two functional modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: MUSIC Tribe Global Brands Ltd.
    Inventor: Thomas Sirius Andersen
  • Patent number: 10468005
    Abstract: A detection device including n number of sensors arrayed in a direction, in which n is an integer of 3 or more and from which (n?1) pairs of adjacent sensors are formed, and a processor which determines one specified position in the direction based on output values of the n number of sensors, in which the processor calculates (n?1) sets of difference values each of which is a difference between two output values corresponding to each of the (n?1) pairs of sensors, and determines the one specified position based on the (n?1) sets of difference values and correlation positions corresponding to the (n?1) sets of difference values and indicating positions correlated with array positions of each pair of sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chihiro Toyama, Kazutaka Kasuga, Ryutaro Hayashi
  • Patent number: 10468004
    Abstract: A method for processing information, terminal device and a computer storage medium are disclosed. The method for processing information includes that: a first control instruction is acquired, and a first application is switched to a preset mode according to the first control instruction; a first triggering operation is acquired based on the preset mode, at least two pieces of multimedia data are selected based on the first triggering operation, and a first playing interface is generated; when a second control instruction is acquired, the at least two pieces of multimedia data in the first playing interface are sequentially played; in a process of playing first multimedia data in the at least two pieces of multimedia data, first audio data is acquired; and the first multimedia data and the first audio data are synthesized as second multimedia data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
    Inventor: Pei Liu