Patents by Inventor Akio Iba

Akio Iba has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9093059
    Abstract: An electronic stringed instrument 1 includes a string-pressing sensor 44 that detects a state of contact between each of a plurality of frets 23 and each of a plurality of strings 22. A CPU 41 detects that picking of any of the plurality of strings 22, provides a sound generation instruction to a connected sound source 45 to produce musical sound of a pitch determined based on the detected state of contact, detects a vibration pitch of the string 22 of which picking was detected, and corrects the pitch of the musical sound generated by the connected sound source 45 based on the detected vibration pitch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Dejima, Tetsuichi Nakae, Akio Iba, Katsutoshi Sakai, Kazuyoshi Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20140190338
    Abstract: An electronic stringed instrument 1 includes a string-pressing sensor 44 that detects a state of contact between each of a plurality of frets 23 and each of a plurality of strings 22. A CPU 41 detects that picking of any of the plurality of strings 22, provides a sound generation instruction to a connected sound source 45 to produce musical sound of a pitch determined based on the detected state of contact, detects a vibration pitch of the string 22 of which picking was detected, and corrects the pitch of the musical sound generated by the connected sound source 45 based on the detected vibration pitch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2013
    Publication date: July 10, 2014
    Applicant: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tatsuya DEJIMA, Tetsuichi NAKAE, Akio IBA, Katsutoshi SAKAI, Kazuyoshi WATANABE
  • Patent number: 5166464
    Abstract: Either the frequency of phase of an original musical sound signal is modulated, the musical sound signal is weighted, a reverberation effect is added thereto and the thus modified signal is added with the original musical sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1991
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1992
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Goro Sakata, Akio Iba
  • Patent number: 5159141
    Abstract: This invention realizes a musical instrument, automatically transposing the pitches of the sounds reproduced from the musical instruments played by a performer, based on the pitch changes of the reproduced sounds caused by the changes in the reproduction speeds of audio equipment.Thus, this invention enables a performer to play an electronic musical instrument at a desired speed without having to retune it, when performer play musical instrument accompanying music sound reproduced by audio equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1992
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Akio Iba
  • Patent number: 5121669
    Abstract: An electronic stringed instrument employs a plurality of sensors or monitors for instrument performance. Preferred sensors or monitors include a detector for detecting that a string of the instrument is vibrated, an apparatus for evaluating a string-vibration strength or a string touch, an apparatus for discriminating a fret operation position on a fingerboard or a fundamental frequency of a vibration of the vibrated string, a tremolo arm sensor, and a string-bending sensor. These performance input parameters are assigned to various control functions for musical tones generated by a sound source and/or various control functions for effects added to these musical tones by an effector. The function assignment is preferably programmable. In an operation, a music control apparatus controls the sound source and/or effector in response to a performance monitor so that musical tones for the strings can be distinguished from each other or effects for the musical tones can be distinguished from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1992
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Iba, Yoshiyuki Murata, Hajime Manabe
  • Patent number: 5069105
    Abstract: Disclosed is a musical tone signal generating apparatus for an electronic musical instrument. When waveforms are switched to change a tone color in correspondence with a change in pitch, waveforms are switched not simultaneously with a change in pitch but when waveform data corresponding to a loop end address is read out, and a peak value of the waveform falls within a predetermined range or a zero-crossing point is detected, thereby smoothly switching waveforms. The pitch is also changed at the above-mentioned timing to prevent generation of an unnecessary tone color upon switching. Furthermore, waveforms are switched by cross-fade control to more smoothly switch output waveforms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 3, 1991
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Iba, Kenichi Tsutsumi
  • Patent number: 5025703
    Abstract: An electronic stringed instrument employs a plurality of sensors or monitors for instrument performance. Preferred sensors or monitors include a detector for detecting that a string of the instrument is vibrated, an apparatus for evaluating a string-vibration strength or a string touch, an apparatus for discriminating a fret operation position on a fingerboard or a fundamental frequency of a vibration of the vibrated string, a tremolo arm sensor, and a string-bending sensor. These performance input parameters are assigned to various control functions for musical tones generated by a sound source and/or various control functions for effects added to these musical tones by an effector. The function assignment is preferably programmable. In an operation, a music control apparatus control the sound source and/or effector in response to a performance monitor so that musical tones for the strings can be distinguished from each other or effects for the musical tones can be distinguished from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Iba, Yoshiyuki Murata, Hajime Manabe
  • Patent number: 5018429
    Abstract: Waveform data is read out from a memory which stores the waveform data at a rate corresponding to a designated pitch. The readout data is supplied to digital filters, and two or more different filtering operations are executed in the digital filters. Two or more waveform data obtained as a filtering result are synthesized at a rate determined in response to a breath input signal output from a breath sensor, and the synthesized data is output as a musical tone waveform signal. The filter performs the filtering operation while a cut-off frequency is changed in response to the breath input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1991
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Yamaya, Akio Iba
  • Patent number: 4817484
    Abstract: An electronic stringed instrument includes a mode selecting section for selectively setting a normal play mode and at least one other selection mode. When picking of a string under a pitch designation operation status is performed after the normal play mode is selected by the mode selecting section, generation of a musical tone with the designated pitch can be started. When picking of a string also under the pitch designation operation status is performed after another selection mode is selected by the mode selecting section, a desired musical tone parameter such as a timbre corresponding to the designated pitch or a rhythm pattern can be easily set. The content of the set musical tone parameter can be confirmed by a sound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1988
    Date of Patent: April 4, 1989
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akio Iba, Shigeru Uchiyama
  • Patent number: 4653374
    Abstract: A digital pitch bend signal is supplied from an A/D converter to a first coefficient multiplier for every predetermined sampling period. An output of the first coefficient multiplier is added with an output of a second coefficient multiplier at an adder an output of which is delivered, as a digital pitch bend signal in the present cycle, from a buffer for the tone generation. The output of the adder is also fed back to an input of the second coefficient multiplier. Thus, from the buffer, a converted pitch bend signal having a value corrected during the respective sampling periods is produced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1987
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Akio Iba
  • Patent number: 4413543
    Abstract: A series of musical tone codes for musical performances and synchro start codes are stored in a main memory. A series of musical tone codes for one-key play or an automatic play are stored in a submemory. In the course of playing music on the basis of said musical tone codes read out from the main memory, when the synchro start code is read out, an automatic play on the basis of musical tone codes stored in the submemory is performed accompanied by the musical tone codes stored in the submemory under control of a CPU, if necessary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1981
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1983
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Akio Iba