Patents by Inventor Kenji Matahira

Kenji Matahira 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: 9953545
    Abstract: A musical-performance-information transmission method using a first instrument and a second instrument, wherein the first instrument produces sounds in accordance with a user's musical performance and generates musical-performance data in accordance with the produced sounds and the second instrument produces sounds by receiving the musical performance data via a communication means. In the musical-performance-information transmission method, a mixed-sound signal is generated in accordance with a mixture of sounds produced by the first instrument and sounds that are different from the sounds produced by the first instrument, a reference signal is generated in accordance with the sounds produced by the first instrument, and on the basis of the mixed-sound signal and the reference signal, the reference signal is removed from the mixed-sound signal, generating a separated signal, and sound is emitted on the basis of said separated signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Matahira, Haruki Uehara, Akira Maezawa
  • Publication number: 20160379514
    Abstract: A musical-performance-information transmission method using a first instrument and a second instrument, wherein the first instrument produces sounds in accordance with a user's musical performance and generates musical-performance data in accordance with the produced sounds and the second instrument produces sounds by receiving the musical performance data via a communication means. In the musical-performance-information transmission method, a mixed-sound signal is generated in accordance with a mixture of sounds produced by the first instrument and sounds that are different from the sounds produced by the first instrument, a reference signal is generated in accordance with the sounds produced by the first instrument, and on the basis of the mixed-sound signal and the reference signal, the reference signal is removed from the mixed-sound signal, generating a separated signal, and sound is emitted on the basis of said separated signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2015
    Publication date: December 29, 2016
    Applicant: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji MATAHIRA, Haruki UEHARA, Akira MAEZAWA
  • Patent number: 9003468
    Abstract: An automatic performance device includes a performance data receiving unit that receives performance data transmitted from a storage device without passing through a moving image distribution server, the storage device configured to store the performance data having a combination of performance information and time information, the time information indicating the time when the performance indicated by the performance information was carried out; a synchronization signal receiving unit that receives a synchronization signal by using an audio signal transmission path for an audio via the moving image distribution server; and a reproducing unit that reproduces the performance information of the performance data in synchronization with a video distributed at the time when the synchronization signal is distributed, at the timing corresponding to the time indicated by the time information and the time indicated by the synchronization signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Haruki Uehara, Fukutaro Okuyama, Taro Yokoyama, Kenji Matahira
  • Publication number: 20130283332
    Abstract: An automatic performance device includes a performance data receiving unit that receives performance data transmitted from a storage device without passing through a moving image distribution server, the storage device configured to store the performance data having a combination of performance information and time information, the time information indicating the time when the performance indicated by the performance information was carried out; a synchronization signal receiving unit that receives a synchronization signal by using an audio signal transmission path for an audio via the moving image distribution server; and a reproducing unit that reproduces the performance information of the performance data in synchronization with a video distributed at the time when the synchronization signal is distributed, at the timing corresponding to the time indicated by the time information and the time indicated by the synchronization signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2011
    Publication date: October 24, 2013
    Applicant: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Haruki Uehara, Fukutaro Okuyama, Taro Yokoyama, Kenji Matahira
  • Patent number: 8383925
    Abstract: A music station is connected through a communication network to another music station, and pieces of music data expressing an exhibition performance on a automatic player piano and pieces of voice data expressing tutor's explanation are transmitted from the music station to the other music station through different communication channels; and a close-talking microphone and a bone conduction microphone are incorporated in a sound collector on the music station, and a vibration signal from the bone conduction microphone is examined to see whether or not the cord of tutor vibrates; when the answer is given affirmative, a voice signal from the close-talking microphone is relayed to a transmitter module so that the sound collector does not permit the transmitter module to transmit the voice signal expressing noises such as the tones; whereby the music performance system prevents the trainee from tones reproduced from a headphone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Haruki Uehara, Kenji Matahira
  • Patent number: 8138407
    Abstract: In order to establish an automatic player piano and a home theater system in synchronization for ensemble, a set of playback pattern data expresses a series of pitch names, and is stored in a memory system independent of an audio data file and a music data file; while an audio signal is being supplied from a playback system to a synchronizer of the automatic player piano, the synchronizer extracts samples from the audio signal, and determines a series of pitch names through an FFT and a quantization; the series of pitch names of the samples is compared with the playback pattern data what part of the playback pattern data expresses the series of pitch name; since the each sample appears over an extremely short time period, the synchronizer accurately determines a lapse of time, and selects a note event data code to be processed from the music data file.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji Matahira, Haruki Uehara
  • Publication number: 20100162872
    Abstract: In order to establish an automatic player piano and a home theater system in synchronization for ensemble, a set of playback pattern data expresses a series of pitch names, and is stored in a memory system independent of an audio data file and a music data file; while an audio signal is being supplied from a playback system to a synchronizer of the automatic player piano, the synchronizer extracts samples from the audio signal, and determines a series of pitch names through an FFT and a quantization; the series of pitch names of the samples is compared with the playback pattern data what part of the playback pattern data expresses the series of pitch name; since the each sample appears over an extremely short time period, the synchronizer accurately determines a lapse of time, and selects a note event data code to be processed from the music data file.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji MATAHIRA, Haruki UEHARA
  • Publication number: 20080163747
    Abstract: A music station is connected through a communication network to another music station, and pieces of music data expressing an exhibition performance on a automatic player piano and pieces of voice data expressing tutor's explanation are transmitted from the music station to the other music station through different communication channels; and a close-talking microphone and a bone conduction microphone are incorporated in a sound collector on the music station, and a vibration signal from the bone conduction microphone is examined to see whether or not the cord of tutor vibrates; when the answer is given affirmative, a voice signal from the close-talking microphone is relayed to a transmitter module so that the sound collector does not permit the transmitter module to transmit the voice signal expressing noises such as the tones; whereby the music performance system prevents the trainee from tones reproduced from a headphone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2007
    Publication date: July 10, 2008
    Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Haruki Uehara, Kenji Matahira
  • Publication number: 20070168415
    Abstract: A music performance system includes plural music stations communicable through a communication network and a server computer, and music data codes, which express a performance on one of the music stations, are transmitted to another music station through a packet switching: in order to make the original performance synchronized with the performance on another music station, the time stamp indicative of a time to produce a music data code is impressed on the music data code, and the time intervals between the tones are maintained by using internal clocks for the time stamp; however, time difference is unavoidable between the internal clocks; the time setting work is carried out during any packet is not transmitted for a predetermined time period so that the music stations are well synchronized without disturbance of the performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2006
    Publication date: July 19, 2007
    Applicant: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji Matahira, Haruki Uehara