Patents by Inventor Tomoyuki Funaki

Tomoyuki Funaki 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: 6689946
    Abstract: A piano roll score, a word input/edit area and a word continuous display area are displayed. Note bars corresponding to notes of a melody are displayed on the piano roll score. The word input/edit area is divided into input cells having a length corresponding to a tempo number of each note. A pointer is moved to the input cell and a mouse is left-clicked to display an editor area. A letter(s) or character(s) is input by using a word processor function. The pointer is moved to the input cell and the mouse is right-clicked to display a command select box. A display command is selected from the command select box and input, the display command controlling a display style of a song-word character train in the word continuous display area. A dictionary database is used to search a song word by using the number of syllables and a part of speech as search keys. A sentence syntax is selected by using a sentence syntax template.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2004
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 6635816
    Abstract: A handy method of editing and reproducing musical performance data. The musical performance data divided into a plurality of sections is edited. Blocks B1, B2, B3 and B4 representative of sections are displayed continuously coupled to each other. A block B is selected by using a pointer P of a mouse. An end of the selected block B (a partitioning position relative to an adjacent block) is dragged with the pointer P to change the length of the selected block (section). At the same time, the length of the adjacent block is automatically changed. In order to facilitate to locate the partitioning position of the block before alteration of the length, an icon is displayed at the original partitioning position. In reproducing the performance data, a start position change switch is activated to move a grid pointer GP to the start of music to reproduce the performance data to the end thereof, if the section is not selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Publication number: 20030167903
    Abstract: Based on music performance data, music score display data are composed for displaying a music score representing the music performance. A user inputs his/her musical skill to the apparatus. Referring to a musical skill level versus music score item correspondence table, music score items to be exhibited in the music score are determined to meet the musical skill as inputted by the user, and are included in the composed music score display data. Thus, a music score containing assisting as well as necessary detailed musical signs and indications which meet the user's musical skill will be displayed in addition to the main musical notation of the note progression.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2003
    Publication date: September 11, 2003
    Applicant: YAMAHA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 6525255
    Abstract: An average is calculated of every predetermined number of sample amplitude values of a sound signal from an external sound source, and the respective averages are output as a time-series of average level information. On the basis of the average level information, each available section of the sound signal is detected where there appears to be a musical sound. On the basis of degrees of inclination in the average level information within the available section, stable sections are detected for detection of same-waveform sections. On the basis of the signals within the stable sections, a steady section is detected which corresponds to a note. A time-varying band-pass filtering operation is then performed on the sound signal, and detection is made of a plurality of periodic reference points of the sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Publication number: 20030000369
    Abstract: A plurality of client apparatus are individually connectable to a server apparatus via a communication network at any desired time. The server apparatus automatically selects suitable performance information from its own database, and delivers the thus-selected performance information to each of the client apparatus currently connected to the server apparatus. User of each of the client apparatus can request a desired music piece from the server apparatus. The user-requested music piece is selected by the server apparatus in accordance with a predetermined priority order and interleaved or incorporated between the automatically-selected music pieces, so that the incorporated user-requested music piece is delivered to the client apparatus along with the automatically-selected music pieces. In requesting a desired music piece, the user can impart the music piece with additional information such as desired texts and images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Publication date: January 2, 2003
    Applicant: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Publication number: 20020069050
    Abstract: Sound signal is received which contains sound characteristics to be represented in musical notation. The characteristics are extracted out of the received sound signal, and various parameters for use in subsequent analysis of the sound signal are set in accordance with the extracted characteristics. Also, a desired scale determining condition is set by a user. Pitch of the sound signal is determined using the thus-set parameters. The determined pitch is rounded to any one of scale notes corresponding to the user-set scale determining condition. Also, a given unit note length is set as a predetermined criterion or reference for determining a note length, and a length of the scale note determined from the received sound signal is determined using the thus-set unit note length as a minimum determination unit, i.e., with an accuracy of the unit note length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 1999
    Publication date: June 6, 2002
    Inventor: TOMOYUKI FUNAKI
  • Publication number: 20020020279
    Abstract: A handy method of editing and reproducing musical performance data. The musical performance data divided into a plurality of sections is edited. Blocks B1, B2, B3 and B4 representative of sections are displayed continuously coupled to each other. A block B is selected by using a pointer P of a mouse. An end of the selected block B (a partitioning position relative to an adjacent block) is dragged with the pointer P to change the length of the selected block (section). At the same time, the length of the adjacent block is automatically changed. In order to facilitate to locate the partitioning position of the block before alteration of the length, an icon is displayed at the original partitioning position. In reproducing the performance data, a start position change switch is activated to move a grid pointer GP to the start of music to reproduce the performance data to the end thereof, if the section is not selected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2001
    Publication date: February 21, 2002
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Publication number: 20010037720
    Abstract: A piano roll score, a word input/edit area and a word continuous display area are displayed. Note bars corresponding to notes of a melody are displayed on the piano roll score. The word input/edit area is divided into input cells having a length corresponding to a tempo number of each note. A pointer is moved to the input cell and a mouse is left-clicked to display an editor area. A letter(s) or character(s) is input by using a word processor function. The pointer is moved to the input cell and the mouse is right-clicked to display a command select box. A display command is selected from the command select box and input, the display command controlling a display style of a song-word character train in the word continuous display area. A dictionary database is used to search a song word by using the number of syllables and a part of speech as search keys. A sentence syntax is selected by using a sentence syntax template.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2001
    Publication date: November 8, 2001
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Publication number: 20010030659
    Abstract: A performance information edit and playback apparatus is actualized by loading programs into a computer having a display and a storage that stores user's performance data containing multiple parts and plenty of style data each of which contains multiple constituent parts. On the screen of the display, there are provided a performance data window showing contents of the multiple parts of the user's performance data and a style data window showing content of desired style data that is selected by the user. Thus, the user is able to copy a constituent part of the desired style data in the style data window to a specific part within the multiple parts of the user's performance data in the performance data window. Herein, tone pitches of the copied constituent part of the desired style data are automatically modified to suit to chord information that is previously allocated to a chord sequence in the performance data window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2001
    Publication date: October 18, 2001
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 5859382
    Abstract: A plurality of display units are provided in corresponding relations to individual performance keys. A table stores, for each of a plurality of chords, information which defines plural groups of notes that are always available for the chord, temporarily available (e. g., a tension note) for the chord and unavailable for the chord. In response to designation of a chord according to a chord progression, the information is read out from the table and the display units are controlled according to the read-out information so as to dislay in different forms, depending on which one of the groups the performance keys corresponding to the display units correspond to. A performer can operate a desired key in consideration of different display forms. Thus, there is provided a music performance assisting system which is suited for use in executing an adlib performance with notes well conforming to a designated chord.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 5756918
    Abstract: An musical information analyzing apparatus operates in a data-processing manner and segments a melody of a given music into phrases so that each phrase should be recognized by the human ear as a note string to be demarcated in grasping musical sensation, detects a musical scale prevailing in the phrase and determines a key of the phrase. In the phrase segmentation process, a rest duration datum is added to the preceding note duration datum. An average note duration is computed, and notes having a long duration with respect to the average note duration is set to constitute the phrase end. Several adjustments are conducted to improve the segmentation. The scale is detected by computing a scale establishment rate based on the note use rate in the phrase. An adjustment is performed to smooth the musical flow. A key is determined by computing a major/minor degree of the notes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 26, 1998
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 5525142
    Abstract: An electronic musical instrument includes an ROM which stores tone color parameters for determining musical tone characteristics of musical tone signals. Operating elements are operated to create operation information for controlling the musical tone characteristics on real time basis. A tone generator circuit generates the musical tone signals, based on the cone color parameters read from the ROM and the operation information created by the operating elements. Scene memories and a RAM store the operation information created by the operating elements. The operation information is read from the scene memories or the RAM, in response to an instruction from the operator. The operation formation thus read is supplied to the tone generator circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Yamauchi, Fumiteru Takeda, Yasuyuki Umeyama, Kyoko Ono, Toru Kitayama, Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 5426262
    Abstract: An electronic musical instrument: is provided to perform an active control on the pitch of the musical tone to be generated, thereby simulating the pitch-rising phenomenon to be occurred in the performance of a non-electronic musical instrument such as a wind instrument, percussion instrument and stringed instrument. In case of the simulation of the wind instrument, this electronic musical instrument is mainly configured by an excitation-vibration circuit and a tube simulation circuit which are connected together by means of a junction. The tube simulation circuit is configured by a closed-loop circuit in which plural delay circuits and junction circuits are connected together in cascade-connection manner. Herein, the delay circuits simulate the propagation delay of the air-pressure wave to be transmitted through the tube of the wind instrument, while the junction circuits simulate the scattering manner of the air-pressure wave at the points at which the diameter of the tube is changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1995
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Toru Kitayama, Iwao Higashi, Tomoyuki Funaki
  • Patent number: 5359146
    Abstract: A musical tone synthesizing apparatus provides a time-varying signal processing circuit the transfer function of which gradually varies over time in order to gradually vary over time the tone color of a synthesized musical tone. A number of time-varying signal processing circuits are presented. An interpolation-type-time-varying signal processing circuit is provided with interpolators for interpolating control parameters generated based on a desired musical tone, a signal processing circuit carrying out a signal operation based on the interpolated control parameters on an input signal incomming thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1994
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Funaki, Iwao Higashi, Toru Kitayama, Hideyuki Masuda, Toshifumi Kunimoto