Patents Examined by Marlon Fletcher
  • Patent number: 9773426
    Abstract: A method and apparatus to facilitate tone challenged singers to sing intended notes. In one aspect, the singer determines a note to sing corresponding to an intended frequency fi. The singer utters a note continuously with fundamental frequency fu into a microphone of the natural ear apparatus. The note is processed by the apparatus to produce sound emphasizing the fundamental frequency fu and output through a speaker to the auditory organs of the singer. The singer detects differences between intended frequency fi and uttered fundamental frequency fu. The singer adjusts his vocal organs as he utters the note with the intention of changing fu to reduce difference between fi and fu.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Eric A. Freudenthal, Eric M. Hanson, Bryan E. Usevitch
  • Patent number: 9767705
    Abstract: A system for providing a user a virtual exercise in playing a music instrument relative to the user's skill characteristics includes: a processing entity and a memory entity for processing and storing data, respectively to execute the system functions, and a data transfer entity for receiving and transmitting data, the system configured to: obtain musical notation data, analyze it to assign the musical piece to which such data pertains a number of difficulty characteristics with scalar values, provide the user with a number of musical pieces, with known difficulty characteristics, as virtual exercises to be completed by playing an instrument, obtain user performance data of completed virtual exercises, analyze the user performance data to determine and assign the user with a number of skill characteristics values in accordance with the difficulty characteristic values of the completed musical pieces, and determine a musical piece for the user as a virtual exercise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: YOUSICIAN OY
    Inventors: Anssi Klapuri, Mikko Kaipainen, Chris Thur
  • Patent number: 9767779
    Abstract: A switch is constituted by a movable conductive portion and a pair of fixed conductive portions. The fixed conductive portions are arranged on a substrate, and are each constituted by at least one strip member. A first main conductive pattern and a second main conductive pattern are arranged on the substrate in correspondence with the fixed conductive portions. The movable conductive portion electrically shorts the pair of fixed conductive portions upon coming into contact with both of them. The strip members that constitute the fixed conductive portions each have a first end portion and a second end portion in the extending direction, and the end portions are electrically connected to the corresponding main conductive patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Michiko Yoshimura, Ichiro Osuga, Hiroshi Harimoto
  • Patent number: 9761215
    Abstract: According to some aspects, a cymbal system is provided, comprising a cymbal, and a vibrational transducer magnetically coupled to the cymbal, the magnetic coupling provided by at least one magnetic component on an upper side of the cymbal and at least one magnetic component on a lower side of the cymbal. According to some aspects, a method for transducing vibrations of a cymbal is provided, comprising magnetically coupling a vibrational transducer to a cymbal, the magnetic coupling provided by at least one magnetic component on an upper side of the cymbal and at least one magnetic component on a lower side of the cymbal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Avedis Zildjian Co.
    Inventor: Michael Rangel Sutton
  • Patent number: 9760117
    Abstract: Particular embodiments described herein provide for an electronic device, such as a notebook computer, laptop, or tablet that includes a circuit board coupled to a plurality of electronic components (which may include any type of components, elements, circuitry, etc.). One particular example implementation of an information-processing device includes a logic component mounted on a circuit board. The information-processing device also includes a plastic layer surrounding the logic component. Further, the information-processing device includes a first metal layer surrounding the logic component. The plastic layer is integrated with the first metal layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Sprenger, Paul J. Gwin
  • Patent number: 9762157
    Abstract: An electronic switch controller, an electronic switch control method, an electronic switch and an electronic device are disclosed. The processor comprises voltage-stabilized power supplies, a processor and a driving circuit; the processor is connected between the voltage-stabilized power supplies and a measurement device to receive working parameters of the power supply, a load and the electronic switch measured by the measurement device, read duty cycle parameters matching with the working parameters, calculate a new duty cycle with the duty cycle parameters and the working parameters, adjust the current control signal to a PWM signal having the new duty cycle, and send the PWM signal to the driving circuit; and the driving circuit is connected between the voltage-stabilized power supplies and the load to control the rotation speed of the motor in the load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Kangxin Partners, P.C.
    Inventor: Zhengbing Liu
  • Patent number: 9747878
    Abstract: A music generating system enables a user to generate independent and sequential musical melodies, having reduced latency periods, without playing an electronic percussion instrument. The music generating system includes an electronic percussion instrument, a MIDI controller coupled to the electronic percussion instrument, a unidirectional USB communication link coupled to the MIDI controller, a MIDI converter coupled to the unidirectional USB communication link, a bidirectional USB-MIDI communication link coupled to the MIDI converter, and a rhythm drum machine in communication with the bidirectional USB-MIDI communication link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Inventor: Yourik Atakhanian
  • Patent number: 9741326
    Abstract: An electronic device and a method for controlling the electronic device are provided. The method includes receiving at least one input sound from a user, determining one of a plurality of reference sounds included in a guide track as a device playing sound corresponding to the at least one input sound, and playing the device playing sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hae-Seok Oh, Jeong-Yeon Kim, Dae-Beom Park, Lae-Hyuk Bang, Chul-Hyung Yang, Ji-Woong Oh, Gyu-Cheol Choi
  • Patent number: 9740239
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a head worn computer comprising a housing, wherein the housing includes at least one spring applying inward force to a user's head, a plurality of regions, the regions being able to be flexible regions or stiff regions, and two end regions, configured to wrap around a portion of the user's head, such that the two end regions are located at the front of the user's head, and each of the two end regions are on opposite sides of the user's head. In another embodiment, a method of configuring a head worn computer to a user, using the above mentioned head worn computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Kopin Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen A. Pombo, Jeffrey J. Jacobsen, Temujin W. Kuechle, Raphael Hebert, David Diepersloot
  • Patent number: 9735721
    Abstract: A rotary drive system having a voltage source and an electric motor. The motor has a stator with independent phases and a rotor, an inverter designed to connect each phase to the voltage source in order to generate phase currents, and a device for controlling the inverter. The control device includes a unit for determining whether the fundamental frequency of the phase currents is lower than a frequency threshold equal to, at the most, 100 Hz, and a unit for generating a command, configured such that, when the fundamental frequency is determine as being lower than the frequency threshold, the command causes the appearance of a homopolar component in the phase currents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Valeo Systemes de Controle Moteur
    Inventor: Luis De Sousa
  • Patent number: 9728171
    Abstract: Music data memory includes pieces of music within a group and other pieces of music outside the group. The next piece to be played is automatically determined by random table among pieces within the group. Favorite or newest piece is weighted to be more frequently played in the group. Piece in music data memory is automatically included into the group by random table. Newly downloaded piece into music data memory is included into the group by priority. Most frequently played piece is excluded from the group in place of newly included piece. Favorite or newest piece may be an exception of exclusion. Next piece is capable of being played in tempo similar to that of preceding piece by means of tempo-adjusted or piece replacement or repetition of the same piece for the purpose of continued baby cradling in synchronism with the same tempo of succeeding pieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: NL GIKEN INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Masahide Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9711117
    Abstract: Disclosed are music symbol recognition apparatuses and methods that recognise music symbols from handwritten music notations. Various implementations may process handwritten music notations by segmenting the handwritten music notations into a plurality of elementary ink segments and then grouping the segments into graphical objects based on spatial relationships between the segments. One or more candidate music symbols may be determined for each graphical object, along with a symbol cost for each symbol, which represents a likelihood that the graphical object belongs to a predetermined class of symbols. The music symbol candidates may be parsed to form graphs based on grammar rules, and the graph most likely to represent the handwritten music notations may be selected for display or other use. The selection may be based on the symbol costs associated with each candidate and on spatial costs associated with the grammar rules that are applied to the candidates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: MYSCRIPT
    Inventors: Fabio Valente, Pierre-Michel Lallican
  • Patent number: 9704464
    Abstract: An apparatus for enhancing the output of a stringed musical instrument having a plurality of offset substantially parallel strings, the apparatus comprising a pickup assembly having tapered poles so as to incrementally vary the relative volume of adjacent strings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: GTR NOVO LLC
    Inventor: David J. Petschulat
  • Patent number: 9697813
    Abstract: A system is described that permits identified musical phrases or themes to be synchronized and linked into changing real-world events. The achieved synchronization includes a seamless musical transition—achieved using a timing offset, such as relative advancement of an significant musical “onset”, that is inserted to align with a pre-existing but identified music signature, beat or timebase—between potentially disparate pre-identified musical phrases having different emotive themes defined by their respective time signatures, intensities, keys, musical rhythms and/or musical phrasing. The system operates to augment an overall sensory experience of a user in the real world by dynamically changing, re-ordering or repeating and then playing audio themes within the context of what is occurring in the surrounding physical environment, e.g. during different phases of a cardio workout in a step class the music rate and intensity increase during sprint periods and decrease during recovery periods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: TIME MACHINES CAPITAL LIMITED
    Inventor: Joseph Michael William Lyske
  • Patent number: 9679547
    Abstract: Systems and methods for re-arranging a musical composition using augmented reality are disclosed. A user can be provided with one or more physical image markers representative of at least one of a musical entity and a musical style in which a musical track has been pre-recorded. Upon capturing a visual scene in which one or more of these physical image markers are included, an augmented reality version of the visual scene is displayed along with audio corresponding to the musical style(s) and/or entities represented by the one or more physical image markers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignees: Disney Enterprises, Inc., Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich
    Inventors: Fabio Zünd, Alessia Marra, Maurizio Nitti, Mattia Ryffel, Robert Sumner
  • Patent number: 9679548
    Abstract: A string instrument that includes a bendable electronic display associated with an electronic device that is bent into a bowed shape. There are external strings that extend across the bow, a camera and a non-transitory storage medium that stores instructions to: form a plurality of virtual strings embedded in the bendable electronic display and associated with the plurality of external strings; receive input from the camera to identify a resting position of each of the external strings and identify a movement of each of the external strings from the resting position; responsive to input received from the camera, map the movement in the external strings to a corresponding movement of the virtual strings; and output the corresponding movement of the virtual strings to produce a sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gopal K. Bhageria, Vijay Ekambaram, Sarbajit K. Rakshit
  • Patent number: 9667175
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method for driving a motor includes decreasing a duty of an input signal to a motor and decreasing a duty of a duty control signal in response to decreasing the duty of the input signal The duty of the duty control signal is maintained at a first level in response to a reverse current signal and decreased from the first level in the absence of the reverse current signal. In accordance with another embodiment a driver circuit includes a state controller having an input coupled to a pulse width modulation detection circuit and an output connected to a reverse current detection circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Takashi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 9667176
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method for driving a motor includes generating a position indicator signal in response to a signal from the at least one Hall sensor, wherein the position indicator signal has a first period. A phase shift value is generated using the position indicator signal. The position indicator signal is used to generate an adjusted position indicator signal in response to the phase shift value. In accordance with another embodiment, a lead angle adjustment circuit includes a counter coupled to a subtractor circuit through a multiplier circuit. A storage register is coupled to the output of the counter and to an input of a slope determination circuit, wherein the slope determination circuit is coupled to a first external pin of the lead angle adjustment circuit. A multiplier circuit is coupled to the slope determination circuit and to a second external pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventor: Takashi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 9651921
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for providing a metronome embedded in a search results page. One example computer-implemented method includes displaying, by a mobile computing device, a search results webpage that includes a metronome user interface. The method includes receiving, by the mobile computing device, a user input that requests implementation of the metronome at a tempo. In response to receiving the user input, the method includes generating, by the mobile computing device, an audio clip that exhibits the tempo. The method includes using, by the mobile computing device, an audio player application to play the audio clip. The audio player application does not experience interruption or latency when the mobile computing device transitions to a lock screen state during playback of the audio clip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Richard McKeever
  • Patent number: 9647455
    Abstract: A system and method for providing power to a vehicle is disclosed. The system can include a plurality of parallel module converter for prioritizing and allocating each electrical load to one or more parallel module converter modules. The centralization of power distribution can enable the reduction of components. The system can enable fewer power controllers, filters, and other components to be used, saving weight and time. The system can enable the controllers, inverters, and filters, among other things, to be utilized at a higher level reducing unnecessary redundancy. The system can enable the use of a single input EMI filter, for example, reducing the number of filters in the system significantly. Methods for designing EMI filters for each electrical load are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Lijun Gao, Shengyi Liu, Matthew J. Krolak