Patents by Inventor Tatsuhiro Koike

Tatsuhiro Koike 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: 5656789
    Abstract: Indicators are provided in corresponding relations to individual keyboard keys. For each of plural phrases of a given music piece, information is supplied that represents at least the highest-pitch note to the lowest note in the phrase. During performance of the music piece and on the basis of the supplied information, the indicators, for each phrase, indicates all notes within a range from the highest-pitch note to the lowest note of the phrase. Thus, the player can easily position his hands over accurate keys and thereby can comfortably carry out performance operations for each phrase. Notes to be performed in each phrase after a first note corresponding to predetermined performance timing in the phrase may be indicated in different manners (for example, by varying degrees of brightness) depending on performance timing differences, from the first note performance timing, of the notes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Nakada, Yasuo Nagahama, Takeo Shibukawa, Masanobu Chihana, Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 5406021
    Abstract: An electronic musical instrument employing a keyboard unit provides a position sensor with respect to each of plural keys so as to detect a depressed position of the key in a real-time manner. A key-operating velocity is calculated from the depressed positions of the key which are sequentially detected by the position sensor. A critical velocity is determined in advance with respect to each of the depressed positions of the key. The critical velocity is defined as a minimum velocity by which a hammer can strike a string when a hammer moves from a position corresponding to each of the depressed positions of the key. One of the channels is selected in accordance with a predetermined algorithm on the basis of a result of a judging operation which judges whether or not the key-operating velocity exceeds the critical velocity corresponding to a current depressed position of the key. Then, a tone-generation task to produce a musical tone signal responsive to a key-operation event is assigned to a selected channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 11, 1995
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 5248846
    Abstract: Keyboard instruments incorporating sound systems for generating musical tones are disclosed. In a first keyboard instrument, speakers are mounted near a keyboard, and are arranged upright to be directed to the keyboard on the front side, thereby allowing a performer to clearly grasp the sound quality of performance tones. In a second keyboard instrument, which comprises a Helmholtz resonator consisting of a resonance port and a cabinet, an electro-acoustic transducer mounted on the outer surface of the cabinet and a driver for driving the transducer so as to cancel an air counteraction from the resonator, the size of a sound system is reduced, and the frequency characteristics, especially the low-frequency reproduction characteristics of the sound system are improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1993
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuhiro Koike, Yoichi Misawa, Toshiyuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5031500
    Abstract: Keyboard instruments incorporating sound systems for generating musical tones are disclosed. In a first keyboard instrument, speakers are mounted near a keyboard, and are arranged upright to be directed to the keyboard on the front side, thereby allowing a performer to clearly grasp the sound quality of performance tones. In a second keyboard instrument, which comprises a Helmholtz resonator consisting of a resonance port and a cabinet, an electro-acoustic transducer mounted on the outer surface of the cabinet and a driver for driving the transducer so as to cancel an air counteraction from the resonator, the size of a sound system is reduced, and the frequency characteristics, especially the low-frequency reproduction characteristics of the sound system are improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 16, 1991
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuhiro Koike, Yoichi Misawa, Toshiyuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 4781099
    Abstract: A musical quiz apparatus presents a question chord in sound and a trainee answers by depressing the keys of the chord constituting notes on the keyboard. The apparatus is capable of generating a plurality of different chord data respectively representing chords, and generates a question chord datum one at a time as randomly selected from among those different chord data and produces sounds of notes which constitutes a chord designated by the question chord data. When the answer is correct, points are added up and a next question chord is presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1988
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 4633752
    Abstract: In an operating panel device for an electronic musical instrument, in order to provide easy mode-changeover operation and to enable the user to easily catch the relationship between respective operating knobs and the functions selected by the operating knobs in respective modes, the operating panel device comprises a plurality of operating members arranged in a row on the panel; a display window provided near and along the row of these operating members; an elongated indicating member rotatably supported on the rear side of the panel and having a plurality of indicating sections on which the names of functions of the musical instrument and/or the names of tonal characteristics settable for respective operating knobs in respective set modes are inscribed on its circumference so as to selectively appear on the display window; a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row to correspond to the operating knobs respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1987
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tatsuhiro Koike, Takamichi Masubuchi
  • Patent number: 4602544
    Abstract: Performance data is comprised of a successive serial arrangement of note data formed with paired pitch data and note duration data and of rest data formed with only rest duration data and having no pitch data. A performance data processing apparatus judges whether a rest datum following a note datum is shorter than a predetermined duration, and in case the result of this judgment if YES, the apparatus integrates the rest datum and the note datum preceding the rest datum into an integrated note datum having a note pitch of the note datum and a note duration which is equal to the sum of the duration of the note datum and the duration of the rest datum, whereby, in case a music score is displayed or printed out based on the performance data, rests having a duration shorter than the predetermined duration are eliminated to prolong the duration of the respective preceding notes each by an amount of the duration of the eliminated rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 29, 1986
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shigeru Yamada, Koichi Kozuki, Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 4538500
    Abstract: A musical score printing apparatus comprises: storing means for storing a musical score data; read-out controlling means for successively reading out the musical score data from the storing means; converting means for converting the musical score data read out from the storing means to a musical score print and paper feed data; and printing means for printing out the musical score on a printing sheet based on the musical score print and paper feed data delivered from the converting means, wherein arrangement is so provided that where printing of a musical score is suspended at halfway of a measure block and thereafter a reprint command is given, the printing of the musical score is resumed from the beginning of the measure block in which the suspension of the printing has been taking place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1983
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1985
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koichi Kozuki, Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 4506580
    Abstract: A tone pattern identifying system collates coincidence between tone data of an inputted tone array and tone data of a given reference theme tone array by recognizing such coincidence at corresponding locations between these two tone arrays for each shifting of their relative positions, and outputs at least a most closely resembling tone array as a result of the collation. This system may include means for evaluating the result of collation and means for displaying the result of the evaluation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1985
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 4485716
    Abstract: When a player plays a musical piece on a keyboard of a musical instrument, the instrument provides an event datum at every event of the key depression and key release. The event datum includes information on the time of such depression or release and information on the note pitch. Thus a sequential train of these event data constitutes performance data which represents the progression of the music actually played. According to a reference tempo clock, a barline datum indicative of the time for a barline is provided at every period of a time length which defines a measure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: December 4, 1984
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuhiro Koike
  • Patent number: 4453439
    Abstract: An electronic musical instrument with a game function is capable of being used either to play music or to play a ball-hitting game. The electronic musical instrument comprises a keyboard having a plurality of keys for generating a first key data which is supplied to a musical tone generating circuit for producing a musical tone corresponding to the first key data, thus enabling to play music in a conventional manner. In addition, the electronic musical instrument comprises for use in a game mode a data generating circuit for generating a second key data representing a pitch of a key and varying its pitch in either one of directions to sequentially take a higher and a lower pitch respectively. The second key data is supplied to the musical tone generating circuit for producing a musical tone, thus simulating the movement of a ball. The second key data is compared with the first key data to generate a coincidence signal when both key data substantially coincide with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 12, 1984
    Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuhiro Koike