Patents Examined by David S. Warren
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Patent number: 10467994Abstract: Disclosed are apparatus and related methods for adjusting the pitch of a string on a stringed instrument. In one embodiment, the disclosed devices enable a musician to adjust the tautness and, accordingly, the pitch of individual strings of a stringed instrument by simply pushing a lever or rotating a threaded piston or on or adjacent to the bridge of the guitar. The disclosed devices can preferably be outfitted on electric or acoustic stringed instruments, including guitars. The more specific aspects of the preferred embodiments are discussed in greater detail with reference to the figures.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 2018Date of Patent: November 5, 2019Inventor: David Jackson
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Patent number: 10460710Abstract: A musical instrument, for example, a keyboard guitar, includes a body, an elongated neck coupled to the body, neck keys disposed on the elongated neck, and an output for transmitting an electrical signal generated by the musical instrument. Activation of each neck key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note. The musical instrument may also include body keys disposed on the body, and a strum bar that generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note based on which of the body keys are activated during activation of the strum bar. Further, the musical instrument may include a continuous graphic image spanning the front face of the body and the body keys, forming a continuous pattern that is unbroken across a transition between key surfaces of the body keys and the front face of the body.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2018Date of Patent: October 29, 2019Inventor: Michael S. Hanks
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Patent number: 10453433Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a tone bar woody material and a xylophone that are superior in acoustic characteristics and stable in quality. In the tone bar woody material of the present invention, at least a partial region of a surface layer of a wood material was impregnated with a resin composition, and the wood material comprises in the partial region, a plurality of pores each having an average diameter less than 1.2 times an average diameter of vessels in the wood material.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2017Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventors: Eri Hirai, Kazuki Soga, Tatsuya Hiraku
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Patent number: 10453435Abstract: A musical sound evaluation device includes a musical sound acquisition unit which acquires an inputted musical sound, a feature quantity calculation unit which calculates a feature quantity from the musical sound, a feature quantity distribution data acquisition unit which acquires feature quantity distribution data representing a distribution of respective feature quantities for a plurality of musical sounds previously acquired, an evaluation value calculation unit which calculates an evaluation value for the inputted musical sound based on the feature quantity calculated by the feature quantity calculation unit and the feature quantity distribution data acquired by the feature quantity distribution data acquisition unit, and an evaluation unit which evaluates the musical sound based on the evaluation value.Type: GrantFiled: April 20, 2018Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Ryuichi Nariyama, Shuichi Matsumoto
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Patent number: 10450163Abstract: An elevator interactive terminal and an elevator interactive system. The elevator interactive system of the present invention comprises an elevator interactive terminal, configured with a social communication media module, wherein a user is registered as a first registered user in the social communication media module; and a server coupled to a communication bus of an elevator system, configured with the social communication media module and to register an elevator as the second registered user in the social communication media module, wherein, based on the social communication media module, interactive communication is performed between the first registered user on the elevator interactive terminal corresponding to the user and the second registered user on the server corresponding to the elevator.Type: GrantFiled: March 9, 2017Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANYInventors: Dan Qing Sha, Murilo Bonilha, Yi Lin Chen, Jin Lei Ding, Jing Long Zhang, Ke Yang
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Patent number: 10447207Abstract: Aspects of this disclosure relate to a switching circuit with enhanced linearity. The switching circuit can include a switch and an envelope generator. The switch can receive an input signal, provide an output signal, and receive an envelope signal corresponding to an envelope of the input signal. The envelope generator can generate the envelope signal so as to cause intermodulation distortion in the output signal to be reduced to cause linearity of the switch to be improved.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2017Date of Patent: October 15, 2019Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.Inventors: Yu Zhu, Oleksiy Klimashov, Hailing Wang, Dylan Charles Bartle, Paul T. DiCarlo
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Patent number: 10442660Abstract: An elevator brake control system (10) is described, in particular for controlling an elevator brake in a machine room-less elevator, the elevator including a drive machine drivingly coupled to an elevator car for moving the elevator car between a plurality of landings in a hoistway, and an elevator brake having at least an engaged condition for holding the elevator car at a fixed position in the hoistway, and a released condition for allowing the elevator car to move along the hoistway; the elevator brake control system (10) comprising a first safety device (T1) and a second safety device (T2), each of the first safety device (T1) and the second safety device (T2) responsive to detection of a failure in any sub-system of the elevator, such as to bring the elevator brake into its engaged condition in response to detection of such failure; wherein each of the first safety device (T1) and the second safety device (T2) comprises a power semiconductor switching device.Type: GrantFiled: September 12, 2014Date of Patent: October 15, 2019Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANYInventors: Peter Herkel, Frank Kirchhoff
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Patent number: 10446130Abstract: A stringed instrument pickup with multiple selectable coils has at least a bobbin body supporting at least one pole piece, a first coil, and a second coil. The first coil may continuously extend between a first terminal of the bobbin body and a second terminal of the bobbin body while the second coil continuously extends from the second terminal to a third terminal of the bobbin body.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2018Date of Patent: October 15, 2019Assignee: Fender Musical Instruments CorporationInventor: Timothy P. Shaw
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Patent number: 10446125Abstract: A cymbal spinner, preferably a stand-mountable cymbal spinner, includes a housing having a base and an extension generally perpendicular to the base and a roller ball bearing mounted in the housing base, the roller bearing being mountable on a cymbal stand, and the cymbal spinner housing being capable of supporting a cymbal such that the cymbal is adapted to spin.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2018Date of Patent: October 15, 2019Assignee: Neue Gestalt LLCInventor: Guy Juravich
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Patent number: 10435272Abstract: The present invention provides an elevator-calling control apparatus, an elevator-calling control system and an elevator-calling control method thereof, and belongs to the field of elevator control technologies. In an elevator-calling control process, the following steps are included: inputting an elevator-calling command; displaying elevator running state information and estimated time of arrival information of several elevators in a corresponding elevator group for a passenger to make reference, wherein the elevator running state information at least includes information that reflects a current crowding degree of the elevator; and selecting an elevator from the several elevators as the elevator that the passenger determines to take. The elevator-calling control of the present invention may facilitate a passenger to actively select an elevator that the passenger determines to take, which has good user elevator calling and taking experience and enhances the running efficiency of the elevator.Type: GrantFiled: March 7, 2017Date of Patent: October 8, 2019Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANYInventor: Jinglong Zhang
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Patent number: 10431193Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic musical instrument that allows a player to learn a certain range covering a key of correct pitch and to feel as if he or she were playing the music. The instrument includes a controller to perform a pitches determination process of, based upon first timing and first pitch included in music data, determining pitches within a fixed range from the first pitch, which is allowed to be designated in accordance with the first timing, a display process of displaying an identifier to identify the pitches determined, and an automatic playing process of advancing automatic playing of the music data by producing sound corresponding to the first pitch from a sound producing unit when one of the pitches identified by the identifier displayed by the display process is designated.Type: GrantFiled: September 13, 2018Date of Patent: October 1, 2019Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.Inventor: Masaru Setoguchi
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Patent number: 10424278Abstract: A bell and method of tuning a bell with its lowest frequency partials at f1=f and f2=3f=2. The simultaneous presence of physical tones at these partial frequencies yields a difference tone, perceived by the listener, at f2f1=3f=2f=f=2. The difference tone is subharmonic, in that its perceived frequency (f=2) is below the frequency of the fundamental (f). Preferably, the bell has one or more additional partials at frequencies fn=(n+1)f=2, with n 2 f3; 4; 5: : : g, strengthening the listener's perception of the difference tone at f=2. The bell thus yields a strike tone at f=2 but has a characteristic dimension (e.g. height or diameter) equal to that of conventional bells with a strike tone at f, providing art eightfold savings in bell mass.Type: GrantFiled: August 2, 2017Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: Applied Invention, LLCInventor: W. Daniel Hillis
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Patent number: 10421642Abstract: An elevator component separation assurance system includes a controller, and a brake controller. The controller includes an electronic processor, a computer readable storage medium, a safety motion state estimator, and a safety assurance module. The safety motion state estimator is configured to identify velocity and position of each one of a plurality of elevator components. The safety assurance module is configured to select a separation map from a plurality of pre-pre-programmed separation maps for each one of an adjacent component pair of the plurality of elevator components for initiating a Ustop that maintains elevator component separation. The brake controller is carried by each one of the plurality of elevator components, and is configured to actuate a secondary brake upon detection of a loss of communication with at least a portion of the controller.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2018Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANYInventors: Randall Roberts, Richard N. Fargo, David Ginsberg
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Patent number: 10424279Abstract: The present disclosure provides a performance apparatus capable of changing to a performance pattern making a musically natural transition. A CPU 13 determines which stage a performance pattern of each of tracks Tr (1) to (4) currently selected belongs to, and obtains the number of performance patterns for each stage, in accordance with depression of a transition button. The CPU 13 determines that the stage having the maximum number of performance patterns is the “current stage” among the number of performance patterns for each stage obtained, and changes the performance pattern of each of the tracks Tr (1) to (4) to the stage subsequent to the determined “current stage”. Therefore, the performance pattern can be changed into a performance pattern making a musically natural transition. As a result, even a beginner user being poor in music knowledge can set an appropriate performance pattern matching the transition of the song.Type: GrantFiled: September 5, 2017Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.Inventor: Hironaga Ishii
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Patent number: 10414628Abstract: An illustrative example elevator system device includes an interface configured to operate in a first mode that allows an elevator passenger to communicate with the elevator system. The elevator passenger may communicate with the elevator system by inputting an indication for desired elevator service or receive an indication regarding elevator service. A magnetically actuated switch selectively causes the interface to operate in a second mode that allows an authorized individual to communicate with the elevator system in a manner that is different than an elevator passenger communication in the first mode. The magnetically activated switch includes at least one magnet and at least one switch contact that changes between an open and closed state based on an interaction between the at least one magnet and a magnetic key brought into proximity of the at least one magnet by the authorized individual.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 2017Date of Patent: September 17, 2019Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANYInventors: Harold Terry, Peter DePaola
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Patent number: 10418009Abstract: An acoustic guitar is provided that includes a neck and a body. The acoustic guitar also includes a user interface module including an audio effect module configured to implement one or more audio effects, and one or more effect controllers, with each effect controller being configured to set a level of a corresponding audio effect implemented by the audio effect module. The user interface module further includes at least one input blend controller and a voice controller configured to allow a user to select a patch from a plurality of available patches, with each patch of the plurality of available patches comprising a configuration of one or more audio effects set at various levels to arrive at a desired effect template.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 2018Date of Patent: September 17, 2019Assignee: Gibson Brands, Inc.Inventor: Henry Juszkiewicz
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Patent number: 10407276Abstract: An elevator device that can continuously evacuate any evacuee left in a building by using an elevator. The elevator device includes a control device configured to maintain an evacuation operation mode corresponding to a rescue floor concerned when a car operation instructing device is operated on the rescue floor concerned before a predetermined time passes from when the car stops at the rescue floor concerned during the evacuation operation mode corresponding to the rescue floor concerned, and release the evacuation operation mode corresponding to the rescue floor concerned when the car operation instructing device is not operated on the rescue floor concerned before the predetermined time passes from when the car stops at the rescue floor concerned during the evacuation operation mode corresponding to the rescue floor concerned.Type: GrantFiled: September 24, 2014Date of Patent: September 10, 2019Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Chiaki Honda, Masashi Komatsu, Ashiqur Rahman, David Willem Lodewijk Offerhaus, Takaharu Ueda, Shinichi Kuroda, Koji Yamagishi, Kenji Taniyama
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Patent number: 10410616Abstract: A chord judging apparatus for judging chords of a musical piece, is provided with a processor and a memory for storing data of the musical piece, wherein the processor specifies plural segments in the data of the musical piece, estimates a tonality of each of the specified segments based on component tones included in the segment, and judges a chord of the plural segments of the musical piece based on modulation in tonality, when modulation is introduced in the estimated tonalities of the plural segments.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2017Date of Patent: September 10, 2019Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.Inventor: Junichi Minamitaka
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Patent number: 10403247Abstract: This invention involves the field of tactile control of electronic devices using a sensor that transduces both air pressure and device positional orientation into a set of digitally encoded commands. The invention involves using as input the physical action taken on a musical instrument and generating control information using that input.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 2017Date of Patent: September 3, 2019Inventor: Matthias Mueller
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Patent number: 10395632Abstract: An electronic system that can be combined with a wind musical instrument with lateral holes comprising a tubular body defining, on the inside, an air column, comprises at least one device for emitting elastic mechanical waves in the body of the instrument, at least one device for receiving elastic mechanical waves positioned to receive the waves emitted by at least one emission device after their propagation in the material of the body of the instrument and designed to provide at least one reception signal characteristic of the waves received and a device for detecting and locating the disturbance induced by an action of closing at least one lateral hole of the instrument, configured to detect and identify a configuration of closing of the lateral holes of the instrument from the analysis of at least one reception signal, the detection and location device positioned removably inside the air column of the instrument.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 2016Date of Patent: August 27, 2019Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVESInventor: Florent Souvestre