Patents by Inventor Norishige Terada
Norishige Terada 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).
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Patent number: 7804014Abstract: A tone plate which makes it easy to reduce the entire length and width thereof, thus increasing the degree of freedom in design. The tone plate includes an antinode portion, front and rear ends, and first and second supporting holes which are located closer to the front and rear ends than to the antinode portion and at which a vibration node can be formed. There are provided first and second mass concentrating portions extending toward the front and rear ends from locations on a side close to the first and rear ends with respect to the supporting holes. First and second thinner portions are respectively provided between the antinode portion and the supporting holes. The tone plate vibrates to generate a musical tone of a specific tone pitch when struck with being supported at the supporting holes.Type: GrantFiled: April 24, 2009Date of Patent: September 28, 2010Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventor: Norishige Terada
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Patent number: 7750221Abstract: A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument which is simple in construction and light in weight and capable of easily unifying key-operation feelings and efficiently outputting well-balanced sounds. Percussion units are arranged to respectively correspond to keys and tone plates and each strike a corresponding tone plate when driven by a key depressing operation. A resonance box has resonance chambers corresponding to the tone plates and each having an opening side thereof close to a corresponding tone plate. The tone plates are constructed into a single-stage structure where they are arranged in an order of tone pitch in a direction of array of the keys so that tone plates neighboring in specific tone pitch are arranged adjacent to each other. The percussion units are constructed into a single-stage structure where they are arranged to correspond to array of the tone plates.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2006Date of Patent: July 6, 2010Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventor: Norishige Terada
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Patent number: 7642437Abstract: A musical instrument having a displacement member that is operable to vary sounds, thereby offering a wide variety of musical performances. A box-shaped sound generation unit accommodated in the inside of a musical instrument body generates a sound in response to any one of performance operators being operated. At least part of a displacement member provided for displacement relative to the musical instrument body is always disposed within the inside of the musical instrument body. When an operating section is operated to cause the displacement member to be displaced as a sound is generated from the sound generation unit, the sound varies according to the displacement of the displacement member.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2007Date of Patent: January 5, 2010Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventor: Norishige Terada
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Patent number: 7633001Abstract: A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument that permits a player to make an operation to select percussion unit's striking a tone plate with or without intervention of a displacement member between percussion units and tone plates, making it possible to change, with a simple construction, tone color produced by a struck tone plate. In response to key depression, a corresponding percussion unit (24) is driven. The percussion unit directly strikes a corresponding tone plate when a displacement member (78, 178, 278, 378), which is different in material and hardness from percussion units, is extracted from between keys and the percussion units, but indirectly strikes the tone plate via the displacement member when the displacement member is interposed therebetween.Type: GrantFiled: February 14, 2007Date of Patent: December 15, 2009Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventor: Norishige Terada
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Publication number: 20090211428Abstract: A tone plate which makes it easy to reduce the entire length and width thereof, thus increasing the degree of freedom in design. The tone plate includes an antinode portion, front and rear ends, and first and second supporting holes which are located closer to the front and rear ends than to the antinode portion and at which a vibration node can be formed. There are provided first and second mass concentrating portions extending toward the front and rear ends from locations on a side close to the first and rear ends with respect to the supporting holes. First and second thinner portions are respectively provided between the antinode portion and the supporting holes. The tone plate vibrates to generate a musical tone of a specific tone pitch when struck with being supported at the supporting holes.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 24, 2009Publication date: August 27, 2009Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventor: Norishige Terada
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Patent number: 7560629Abstract: A keyboard-type percussion instrument having sounding members arranged to correspond to respective ones of keys and capable of improving musical performance in soft tone. When a soft pedal is stepped on, a pedal connecting rod is moved upward to move an arm portion of a lifting arm upward, whereby the lifting arm is pivoted to cause capstan screws to be inserted into through holes of a key frame, thus moving a lifting bar upward so that an upper surface of the lifting bar projects from the key frame to push rear end portions of all the keys upward. As a result, standby positions of hammer felts are moved toward the sounding members, whereby the volume of a tone generated by a sounding member struck by a hammer felt corresponding to a depressed key is decreased.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2008Date of Patent: July 14, 2009Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Norishige Terada, Tetsuo Hotta
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Patent number: 7541530Abstract: A tone plate which makes it easy to reduce the entire length and width thereof, thus increasing the degree of freedom in design. The tone plate includes an antinode portion, front and rear ends, and first and second supporting holes which are located closer to the front and rear ends than to the antinode portion and at which a vibration node can be formed. There are provided first and second mass concentrating portions extending toward the front and rear ends from locations on a side close to the first and rear ends with respect to the supporting holes. First and second thinner portions are respectively provided between the antinode portion and the supporting holes. The tone plate vibrates to generate a musical tone of a specific tone pitch when struck with being supported at the supporting holes.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2006Date of Patent: June 2, 2009Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventor: Norishige Terada
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Patent number: 7528310Abstract: A percussion instrument which is excellent in workability at the time of assembly and maintenance and capable of sustaining sounding members in vibration to generate high quality musical tones. The sounding members are arranged in the order of tone pitch, and a supporting cord is inserted through respective through holes formed in the sounding members. The supporting cord is formed at its surface with nonwoven fabric comprised of intertwined ultrafine fibers. The supporting cord inserted through the sounding members is supported at its portions located outside the through holes by fasteners provided on a lower surface of a resonance box.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2008Date of Patent: May 5, 2009Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Norishige Terada, Tetsuo Hotta
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Patent number: 7528311Abstract: A keyboard-type percussion instrument capable of outputting, with high quality, a musical tone to outside the instrument. In an upper part of the instrument, there is provided a tone generator unit including sounding members disposed to respectively correspond to keys of a keyboard and a resonance box in which musical tones generated by sounding members resonate. Action mechanisms each having a hammer felt for striking a corresponding sounding member are disposed below the tone generator unit. Reflection plates and a keybed formed with tone output ports are disposed below the action mechanisms. A musical tone generated by a sounding member struck by a corresponding hammer felt resonates in the resonance box, is output therefrom, passes through the tone output ports, is reflected by the reflection plates, and is output toward rearward of the instrument.Type: GrantFiled: January 10, 2008Date of Patent: May 5, 2009Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Norishige Terada, Tetsuo Hotta
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Publication number: 20080245209Abstract: A keyboard-type percussion instrument having sounding members arranged to correspond to respective ones of keys and capable of improving musical performance in soft tone. When a soft pedal is stepped on, a pedal connecting rod is moved upward to move an arm portion of a lifting arm upward, whereby the lifting arm is pivoted to cause capstan screws to be inserted into through holes of a key frame, thus moving a lifting bar upward so that an upper surface of the lifting bar projects from the key frame to push rear end portions of all the keys upward. As a result, standby positions of hammer felts are moved toward the sounding members, whereby the volume of a tone generated by a sounding member struck by a hammer felt corresponding to a depressed key is decreased.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 9, 2008Publication date: October 9, 2008Applicant: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Norishige Terada, Tetsuo Hotta
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Publication number: 20080168885Abstract: A keyboard-type percussion instrument capable of outputting, with high quality, a musical tone to outside the instrument. In an upper part of the instrument, there is provided a tone generator unit including sounding members disposed to respectively correspond to keys of a keyboard and a resonance box in which musical tones generated by sounding members resonate. Action mechanisms each having a hammer felt for striking a corresponding sounding member are disposed below the tone generator unit. Reflection plates and a keybed formed with tone output ports are disposed below the action mechanisms. A musical tone generated by a sounding member struck by a corresponding hammer felt resonates in the resonance box, is output therefrom, passes through the tone output ports, is reflected by the reflection plates, and is output toward rearward of the instrument.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 10, 2008Publication date: July 17, 2008Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventors: NORISHIGE TERADA, TETSUO HOTTA
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Publication number: 20080168881Abstract: A percussion instrument which is excellent in workability at the time of assembly and maintenance and capable of sustaining sounding members in vibration to generate high quality musical tones. The sounding members are arranged in the order of tone pitch, and a supporting cord is inserted through respective through holes formed in the sounding members. The supporting cord is formed at its surface with nonwoven fabric comprised of intertwined ultrafine fibers. The supporting cord inserted through the sounding members is supported at its portions located outside the through holes by fasteners provided on a lower surface of a resonance box.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 9, 2008Publication date: July 17, 2008Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventors: NORISHIGE TERADA, TETSUO HOTTA
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Publication number: 20070204743Abstract: A musical instrument having a displacement member that is operable to vary sounds, thereby offering a wide variety of musical performances. A box-shaped sound generation unit accommodated in the inside of a musical instrument body generates a sound in response to any one of performance operators being operated. At least part of a displacement member provided for displacement relative to the musical instrument body is always disposed within the inside of the musical instrument body. When an operating section is operated to cause the displacement member to be displaced as a sound is generated from the sound generation unit, the sound varies according to the displacement of the displacement member.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 23, 2007Publication date: September 6, 2007Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventor: Norishige Terada
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Publication number: 20070193434Abstract: A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument that permits a player to make an operation to select percussion unit's striking a tone plate with or without intervention of a displacement member between percussion units and tone plates, making it possible to change, with a simple construction, tone color produced by a struck tone plate. In response to key depression, a corresponding percussion unit (24) is driven. The percussion unit directly strikes a corresponding tone plate when a displacement member (78, 178, 278, 378), which is different in material and hardness from percussion units, is extracted from between keys and the percussion units, but indirectly strikes the tone plate via the displacement member when the displacement member is interposed therebetween.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 14, 2007Publication date: August 23, 2007Applicant: Yamaha CorporationInventor: Norishige Terada
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Publication number: 20070137458Abstract: A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument which is simple in construction and light in weight and capable of easily unifying key-operation feelings and efficiently outputting well-balanced sounds. Percussion units are arranged to respectively correspond to keys and tone plates and each strike a corresponding tone plate when driven by a key depressing operation. A resonance box has resonance chambers corresponding to the tone plates and each having an opening side thereof close to a corresponding tone plate. The tone plates are constructed into a single-stage structure where they are arranged in an order of tone pitch in a direction of array of the keys so that tone plates neighboring in specific tone pitch are arranged adjacent to each other. The percussion units are constructed into a single-stage structure where they are arranged to correspond to array of the tone plates.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 13, 2006Publication date: June 21, 2007Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventor: NORISHIGE TERADA
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Publication number: 20070131092Abstract: A tone plate which makes it easy to reduce the entire length and width thereof, thus increasing the degree of freedom in design. The tone plate includes an antinode portion, front and rear ends, and first and second supporting holes which are located closer to the front and rear ends than to the antinode portion and at which a vibration node can be formed. There are provided first and second mass concentrating portions extending toward the front and rear ends from locations on a side close to the first and rear ends with respect to the supporting holes. First and second thinner portions are respectively provided between the antinode portion and the supporting holes. The tone plate vibrates to generate a musical tone of a specific tone pitch when struck with being supported at the supporting holes.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 13, 2006Publication date: June 14, 2007Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATIONInventor: NORISHIGE TERADA
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Patent number: 5313867Abstract: A glockenspiel comprises a keyboard implemented by a plurality of keys respectively associated with tuned sound bars, and each of the tuned sound bars is struck by a hammer upon depressing the associated key, wherein a plurality of hammer heads different in hardness are embedded into a hammer body and selectively brought into abutting engagement with the associated tuned sound bar so that tone color is changed during performance of a music.Type: GrantFiled: November 24, 1992Date of Patent: May 24, 1994Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Norishige Terada, Shinsuke Irisa
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Patent number: 5235892Abstract: A celesta produces sounds in response to keying-in by striking sound bars with hammer units associated therewith, and key action mechanisms are provided between the keys and the hammer units, wherein the hammer units are located under the associated sound bars so that the hammers promptly return to initial positions by the aid of the gravity exerted thereon.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 1991Date of Patent: August 17, 1993Assignee: Yamaha CorporationInventors: Norishige Terada, Masaaki Takahasi, Hiroaki Ohmuro, Yasuyuki Semba