Abstract: Disclosed is a learning model generation method executed by a computer, including: striking a percussion instrument with a striking member to emit a musical sound; and conducting machine learning upon receiving an input of the musical sound emitted from the percussion instrument, and generating, based on the machine learning, a learning model for outputting numerical values for setting musical performance parameters for an automatic musical performance of the percussion instrument that is struck when the striking member is driven.

Abstract: A keyboard musical instrument includes a string-striking mechanism (hammer), driver, sound receiver, analyzer, and adjuster. The hammer strikes a string responsive to a change in position of an associated key of keyboard. The driver drives the hammer under a driving condition in accordance with control data. The sound receiver generates an audio signal corresponding to a sound occurring in the vicinity of the hammer. The analyzer detects the hammer striking a string by analyzing the audio signal generated when the hammer operates. The adjuster adjusts the control data in accordance with results of the analysis. The analyzer detects hammer striking a string in accordance with an intensity of the audio signal occurring within a search range, which has a predetermined relationship along a time axis with regard to a time at which the hammer commences operation.

Abstract: In response to an operation of a key, a drive signal indicating a sound waveform corresponding to the key is supplied to an excitation unit provided on a soundboard. The soundboard is vibrated in response to a mechanical vibration generated by the excitation unit and generates an actively-vibrated-soundboard sound as well as an acoustic effect generated by propagation of the vibration of the soundboard to a string. The excitation unit has a voice coil excited by the drive signal. The length of the voice coil is equal to or smaller than a sum of a magnetic path width (mw) of a magnetic path space and a double of a maximum deflection amount (sw) of the vibration member connected to the soundboard. In this way, an effective drive force for exciting the soundboard can be obtained and an enhanced responsiveness in a high frequency band can be obtained.

Abstract: An electronic keyboard musical instrument, including: an instrument main body; a keyboard portion including a plurality of keys as performance operating elements; a musical-sound-signal generating portion configured to generate a musical sound signal by a key operation of the keyboard portion; and at least one planar speaker configured to output a sound in accordance with the musical sound signal generated by the musical-sound-signal generating portion, wherein the planar speaker is formed by superposing a plurality of flexible layers that at least include a vibrating layer and electrode layers which sandwich the vibrating layer from opposite sides of the vibrating layer and wherein the planar speaker is disposed at an inside of a casing that constitutes the instrument main body or disposed at a portion of a surface of the casing.

Abstract: A sound generating device of an electronic keyboard instrument, which eliminates overlap between frequency bands to avoid sound wave interference to stabilize acoustic characteristic. Woofers are disposed at a bottom part of a speaker box and directed downward, and squawkers are disposed at an upper part of the speaker box and directed upward. In a DSP, waveform data selected from waveform data groups are input into a MIX, and a waveform signal containing high and low frequency band components is produced from a signal output from the MIX. In a distributor, the waveform signal is converted into an analog signal which is then separated into a musical tone signal only containing the high frequency band component and a musical tone signal only containing the low frequency band component, and these musical tone signals between which there is no frequency band overlap are supplied to the tweeter and the woofer.

Abstract: In order to be able to salvage toy pianos that have become damaged during shipping, a structure and process for manufacture of toy pianos has been developed wherein (1) stop piece (or block members) are permanently affixed to certain side forming members, allowing certain other side forming members to be non-permanently affixed thereto via connectors non-permanently anchored to said block members; (2) horizontal slits are provided near the bottom of certain side members to fit over edges of the bottom member, allowing the edges of said bottom member to firmly but non-permanently nest therein; and (3) vertical grooves are provided near ends of certain side members to fit over ends of certain other side members, allowing the ends of said certain other side members to firmly but non-permanently nest therein. These innovations each assist, and together greatly facilitate, the production of a toy piano that is solid and durable in structure while simultaneously allowing easy replacement of damaged parts.

Abstract: An electronic keyboard instrument in which the efficiency of sound emission is enhanced by preventing a soundboard portion having a large vibration amplitude from being hidden by a musical score plate to make sound emission of the soundboard to be hardly hindered by the musical score plate. A musical stand device is disposed rearward of a key-depression part of a keyboard and right above the soundboard, and has a musical score plate disposed close to and parallel to an upper surface of the soundboard when the musical score plate is in a fallen state. The soundboard is excited for sound production by transducers disposed on a lower surface of the soundboard. The transducers are disposed at positions where the transducers do not overlap, as viewed in plan, the musical score plate which is in the fallen state.

Abstract: A computer portion 70 determines main reaction force RF0 by use of a main reaction force table storing main reaction forces which vary according to the velocity and the depth of a depression of the key 11. The computer portion 70 determines first ancillary reaction force RF1 by use of a first ancillary reaction force table storing first ancillary reaction forces which vary according to the amount of depression of a lever 32 of a pedal apparatus 30. The computer portion 70 adds the first ancillary reaction force RF1 to the main reaction force RF0 to obtain a composite reaction force to control a solenoid 21 on the basis of the composite reaction force so that a reaction force which is to be exerted on the key 11 will be the composite reaction force.

Abstract: An automatic player piano is equipped with an electronic supporting system, which makes a player learn an optimum pedal stroke to a half pedal region; while the player is practicing a music tune on the piano, the electronic supporting system monitors the damper pedal; when the player starts to depress the damper pedal, the electronic supporting system exerts an assisting force on the damper pedal so as to make the player feel the damper pedal light; when the damper pedal reaches an entrance of the half pedal region, the electronic supporting system removes the assisting force from the damper pedal so that the player feels the damper pedal heavy, whereby the player learns the pedal stroke to the half pedal region through the change of load borne by the player.

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.

Abstract: An automatic player piano is equipped with solenoid-operated actuators for moving keys in automatic performance without fingering of a human player, and an overheat protector is provided for the solenoid-operated actuators so as to prevent the solenoid-operated actuators from overheat; the overheat protector includes not only a temperature sensor and a rescuer but also an information processor, and a computer program runs on the information processor so as to realize a temperature rise estimator for estimating a solenoid temperature on the basis of the amount of current flowing through the solenoid and an environmental temperature determined through the temperature sensor estimator and an overheat detector so as to find an overheated solenoid, thereby making the rescuer interrupt the current for preventing the solenoid-operated actuator from the overheat.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling actuators in a mechanical reproducing piano or other instrument. In one implementation, a single finite state machine is provided to control all the actuators. The finite state machine may be or include a shift register or a toggle register, which increases the operating speed. When a note is to be played, the desired dynamic is mapped into a start vector and a stop vector. The actuator is turned on when the state of the finite state machine is equal to the start vector, and is turned off when the state of the finite state machine is equal to the stop vector. Furthermore, the period of the finite state machine is adjusted to be directly proportional to the supply voltage. This allows notes to be played at the desired dynamics even when the supply voltage fluctuates.

Abstract: An automatic player piano is a combination between an acoustic piano and an automatic playing system, and a grand piano and an upright piano are used as the acoustic piano; the grand piano has action units prompter than action units of the upright piano so that a half-stroke recorded through the grand piano is not reproducible by the upright piano; the automatic playing system causes the hammers to rotate toward the strings without any escape thereby compensating the poor promptness with the short keystroke of the keys until the rotation of hammers.

Abstract: While an automatic player piano is reenacting a music tune, the automatic player piano sometimes fails to miss a tone or tones in a repetition due to a high-speed key movement; a controller searches a music data file for a series of key events expressing the repetition, and makes the key movements uniform without changing the lapse of time from the last key event before the repetition and the lapse of time to the first key event after the repetition so that the automatic player piano is less liable to miss a tone.

Abstract: While a player is selectively depressing and releasing keys of a master musical instrument, the real key movements are expressed by pieces of key motion data, and physical quantity of keys are presumed at a time later than the present time by a time period equal to communication time lag on the key trajectories determined on the basis of the pieces of key motion data; the presumed physical quantity is transmitted to a slave musical instrument through the internet, and the key movements are reproduced on the basis of the presumed physical quantity so that the performance on the master musical instrument is synchronized with that on the slave musical instrument.

Abstract: An automatic playing system is independent of acoustic pianos, and is designed to perform music tunes expressed by sets of MIDI music data codes on the acoustic pianos; since the acoustic pianos have their own individualities, control parameter table, which were prepared through experiments on a standard piano, are not optimum for most of the acoustic pianos due to the individualities: the automatic playing system can tailor the control parameter tables defining relation between the magnitude of driving signal and the MIDI velocity and relation between the magnitude of driving signal and time lag from the supply of the driving signal and the collision between the hammers and the strings for each sort of acoustic pianos before the automatic playing so that the automatic playing system reproduces the music tunes at high fidelity regardless of the sort of acoustic pianos.

Abstract: An electronic keyboard musical instrument capable of performing delicate sound board vibration control based on outputs generated individually for respective ones of transducers, thereby realizing production of natural sounds with sufficient volume, and an easy tone quality adjustment. A sound board is fixed to a frame, and the transducers are mounted to the sound board so as to be spaced from one another. In accordance with first and second performance signals generated in response to a key operation of a keyboard and a damper pedal operation, driving signals for the transducers are individually generated in consideration of characteristics and mounting positions of the transducers, and the driving signals are supplied to the transducers. The sound board is thereby caused to vibrate at a frequency varying according to a tone pitch, thus producing a musical tone and/or a damper tone.

Abstract: A key sensor-less automatic player piano includes, key actuators so as to give rise to key motion without any fingering of a human player, key sensors producing key position signals expressing key motion and a data processing unit producing music data codes during a performance on the keyboard and a playback table expressing a relation between the hammer velocity and a reference key velocity; while the data processing unit is recording the performance, the hammer velocity is estimated on the basis of a key velocity-to-hammer velocity conversion table already prepared through an experiment where the keys are depressed by a human player; while the data processing unit is preparing the playback table, the hammer velocity is estimated on the basis of another velocity conversion table prepared through another experiment where the keys are actuated by the key actuators.

Abstract: Black/white keys are selectively moved by key actuators energized with a driving signal in a playback mode, and plunger sensors, which are provided inside of the key actuators, report the measured values of the keystroke to a motion controlling section; since the measured values contain error due to the deformation of the keys, the motion controlling section estimates true values or estimated values of the keystroke by dividing the sum of products between the measured values and weighting factors by a normalizing constant, and compares the estimated values with target values to see whether or not the keys exactly travel on reference trajectories; if the answer is negative, the motion controlling section varies the duty ratio of the driving signal so as to accelerate or decelerate the keys.

Abstract: A computer game system uses an infrared sensor which produces an infrared light to produce pulse of infrared light. Optics focus reflections from the infrared light pulse from different portions of the environment to different detectors in a 2D array of detectors. The detectors produce indications of the distance of the closest objects. The indications can be used by a processor to determine each action. The determined action can be used as input to a computer game. The infrared sensor can also be used with a musical keyboard system.

Abstract: A separate automatic player is independent of a piano, and stands in front of the piano for an automatic playing; the separate automatic player includes a key driver unit, a pedal driver unit and a framework on which the key driver unit and pedal driver unit is carried; the key driver unit has an array of key actuators so as to selectively depress and releases the black and white keys, and a pair of side elevators and a rotary unit is provided between the framework and the array of key actuators; the side elevators bring the plunger heads of the key actuators into contact with the upper surfaces of the black and white keys, and the rotary unit makes the plungers vertical to the upper surfaces so that the key actuators exert force on the black and white keys at the magnitude exactly equivalent to pieces of music data.

Abstract: An automatic playing system creates a feedback control loop for the keys incorporated in an acoustic piano; key sensors, which are provided under the front portions of the keys, informs a motion controller of current positions, and the motion controller periodically compares the current position and a current velocity with a target position on a reference trajectory and a target velocity to see whether or not a positional deviation and a velocity deviation occur; when the motion controller finds the deviations, the motion controller multiplies the deviations by a position gain and a velocity gain for determining an increment or decrement of the duty ratio of driving signals, and supplies the driving signals to the solenoid-operated actuators so as to accelerate or decelerate the keys; the gain is variable depending upon the key motion so that the actual key trajectory becomes close to the reference trajectory.

Abstract: An automatic playing system is independent of acoustic pianos, and is designed to perform music tunes expressed by sets of MIDI music data codes on the acoustic pianos; since the acoustic pianos have their own individualities, control parameter table, which were prepared through experiments on a standard piano, are not optimum for most of the acoustic pianos due to the individualities: the automatic playing system can tailor the control parameter tables defining relation between the magnitude of driving signal and the MIDI velocity and relation between the magnitude of driving signal and time lag from the supply of the driving signal and the collision between the hammers and the strings for each sort of acoustic pianos before the automatic playing so that the automatic playing system reproduces the music tunes at high fidelity regardless of the sort of acoustic pianos.

Abstract: An automatic player piano is only equipped with key sensors, and the automatic player is expected to give rise to hammer motion to be varied together with the loudness of tones; the manufacturer prepared not only a velocity conversion table expressing a relation between measured values of the hammer velocity and measured values of the reference key velocity but also a reference table expressing a relation between measured values of hammer velocity and target values of reference key velocity through experiments, and the velocity conversion table and reference table were stored in a suitable memory in the automatic player; the automatic player determines a playback table partially through an experiment and partially through transcription from reference table so as to drive the hammers without influence of unstable key motion at large loudness.

Abstract: An automatic player piano is a combination between an acoustic piano and an automatic playing system, and a grand piano and an upright piano are used as the acoustic piano; the grand piano has action units prompter than action units of the upright piano so that a half-stroke recorded through the grand piano is not reproducible by the upright piano; the automatic playing system causes the hammers to rotate toward the strings without any escape thereby compensating the poor promptness with the short keystroke of the keys until the rotation of hammers.

Abstract: An automatic player piano is equipped with solenoid-operated pedal actuators for driving the pedals in a playback; since a large quantity of induction is coupled to the solenoid, the driving signal is delayed due to long time constant so that the pedals behave differently from those in the original performance; a controller, which is incorporated in the automatic player, firstly determines a target mean current of the driving signal to be theoretically required for the reproduction of the pedal motion, and a temporary means current twice as much as the target mean current at the maximum; the controller supplies the driving signal at the temporary mean current to the solenoid in an early stage of each cycle, and, thereafter, recovers the driving signal to the target mean current so that the pedal motion becomes close to that in the original performance.

Abstract: An illuminated keyboard with illuminated figures being formed on the top surface of the keyboard including: a top cover, a bottom cover, a plurality of keys and an electroluminescent board. The top cover accommodates the keys and is combined with the bottom cover. The electroluminescent board is installed between the top cover and the bottom cover. The electroluminescent board includes at least one figured pattern to be displayed on a top surface of the keyboard on the top cover when the electroluminescent board is electrified to give light.

Abstract: Upon request for retrofitting, workers bring a gadget and a marking tool and other tools to the user's home; the workers attach the marking tool to a keyboard, mark locators on a key bed by using the marking tool, form locating recesses therein, and bore reference seal holes by using a template, counter holes of which are aligned with the locating recesses; subsequently, the workers relate the gadget with the reference seal holes, bore through-holes in the key bed at target spots exactly below the black and white keys under the guide of the reference seal holes, and assemble a key drive unit with the key bed so that plungers pass through the through-holes; since the reference seal holes have been related with the keyboard, the gadget sequentially positions a drill at the target spots also related to the keyboard.

Abstract: An automatic player piano has various sorts of individuality due to differences in size, design margins applied to the component parts and a difference in electric characteristics of system component parts so that key position signals contain error components due to those sorts of individuality; plural feedback control loops are created between the key sensors and key actuators, and the error components are eliminated from the current key positions through the normalization; even if an original performance is reenacted through the automatic player piano different from that used in the recording, the feedback control loops cause the key actuators to force the keys to move along reference trajectories determined on the basis of the music data codes, whereby the manufacturer makes the key sensors shared between the recording system and the automatic playing system.

Abstract: An action in an acoustic piano is provided which can reproduce the touch and feel of the key depression generated in a normal performance mode even in a silent performance mode. The acoustic piano is capable of being switched between the normal performance mode and the silent performance mode. In the silent performance mode, a rotation lever of a transmission switching mechanism disconnects the hammer operating portion from the key. A load switching mechanism is rotated to lower the tip of a weight lever to abut directly upon the upper face of the key. Then, the weight lever swings up and down corresponding to the key depression of a player, closely reproducing the touch and feel of a conventional acoustic piano.

Abstract: Upon request for retrofitting, workers bring a gadget and a marking tool and other tools to the user's home; the workers attach the marking tool to a keyboard, mark locators on a key bed by using the marking tool, form locating recesses therein, and bore reference seal holes by using a template, counter holes of which are aligned with the locating recesses; subsequently, the workers relate the gadget with the reference seal holes, bore through-holes in the key bed at target spots exactly below the black and white keys under the guide of the reference seal holes, and assemble a key drive unit with the key bed so that plungers pass through the through-holes; since the reference seal holes have been related with the keyboard, the gadget sequentially positions a drill at the target spots also related to the keyboard.

Abstract: The key actuation system is designed for use with a keyboard instrument of the type that has a key fulcrum which pivotally supports multiple keys. Each key has a front end forward of the fulcrum which is to be depressed by a player, and a rear portion which is positioned rearward of the fulcrum and it pivots upwardly when the front end is depressed. The key actuation system includes a pull solenoid with a coil portion and a piston. When the coil portion of the solenoid is energized, the piston is drawn into the coil portion. The solenoid is mounted such that the coil portion is above one of the keys and behind the key fulcrum. The piston is in mechanical communication with the rear portion of the key so that when the coil portion is energized and the piston is drawn into the coil portion, the rear portion of the key is lifted upwardly.

Abstract: A system for adapting a tracker bar operated automatic musical instrument to play electronically stored performances includes, in one embodiment family, a channel plate member having parallel channels in the upper face. First and second spaced apart holes are provided in each channel. An array of solenoid operated valves individually open and close first holes in the channels in response to energizing signals selectively applied to the solenoid coils. The second holes are oriented to interface with the tracker bar holes so that opening a given solenoid operated valves exposes the corresponding tracker bar hole to atmospheric via the corresponding channel. Left and right adjustable bracket assemblies are adapted to respectively engage the left and right pay-off spool mounting members to juxtapose and maintain the channel plate member in the operating position.

Abstract: An automatic player piano has a released key velocity estimator for modifying the constant released key velocity of a piece of music data information to a target released key velocity; a memory stores relation between the target key velocity estimator and other key-touch factors such as a final hammer velocity and a time interval between an impact timing and a key release timing, the released key velocity estimator supplies the key-touch factors to the memory so as to read out the target key velocity estimator, and modifies the piece of music data information so as to indicate the target released key velocity.

Abstract: A brand-new player piano is designed to have a compatibility with the conventional player piano and the electronic musical instrument based on the MIDI standard while providing a capability of playing a highly skilled music performance such as the performance technique of half stroke. The player piano creates a new version of performance information which uses a key-depression event frame in addition to a string-striking event frame and a key-release event frame. Herein, the string-striking event frame contains extensional information for a string-striking velocity, while the key-release event frame contains extensional information for a key-release velocity. The extensional information is not specifically defined by the MIDI standard and is neglected by the conventional player piano.

Abstract: An automatic player piano has solenoid-operated key actuator units under a keyboard mounted on a wooden key bed, and the solenoid-operated key actuator units are supported by a frame structure inserted into a slot formed in the wooden key bed and bolted to metallic bracket members screwed to the wooden key bed; when the frame structure is taken out for a repairing work, the bracket members are never removed from the wooden key bed, and the bolt holes of the wooden key bed are never undesirably enlarged.

Abstract: A piano set having automatic playing keys comprises a bracket having a plurality of fixing columns and mounting sockets. A gear set, linkage set of a gear set driven by a motor and connecting shaft of the keyboard are rotationally mounted thereon. The bracket further includes a controlling circuitry which includes a printed circuit board, a battery set, a microswitch and a speaker and which are electrically connected. The keyboard set includes an upper fixing board and a lower fixing board by which a plurality of keys are movably fixed therebetween. Each of the keys is aligned with a driving gear of the connecting shaft. The upper cover is provided with a front recess in which a fallboard is pivotally disposed thereof by means of a fixing plate. The fallboard is provided with a pair of pressing tabs at both sides. When the fallboard is uncovered, those two pressing tabs will trigger on the microswitch such that the motor is powered to drive the gear set and connecting shaft and the connecting rods.

Abstract: A pedal controller monitors a damper pedal incorporated in an acoustic piano, and reduces the amount of music data information represented by digital pedal position signals through an anti-aliasing filtering, a decimation and an interpolation without sacrificing the accuracy of the pieces of music data information.

Abstract: A resonator body for musical drum instruments is formed by shaping and gluing together several superimposed material layers, particularly wood veneer layers or plywood layers. The resonator body has the shape of a hollow cylinder. Abutting edges of the individual material layers extend in the direction of the resonator body axis and the abutting edges of the individual material layers are offset relative to each other in circumferential direction of the hollow cylinder. In order to ensure that the abutting edges are permanently and securely held together, the abutting edges of at least the outer material layer, preferably of all material layers, have contours which are toothed and complementary relative to each other and inter-engage in circumferential direction of the hollow cylinder.

Abstract: An apparatus for adapting an electric player piano to play the hours, simulating the chimes of a clock, can be attached to the piano without alterations to the piano of a permanent nature. The apparatus includes a clock for actuating the piano on each hour and a switch responsive to actuation of a predetermined note by the piano for producing a control signal for turning the piano off. A second switch, responding to actuation of a second predetermined note, produces a signal for suppressing striking of the hour during the night. A sensor block carrying one or more switches may be placed upon the keyboard for detecting depression of corresponding keys. In addition, a key may be maintained in a partially depressed condition to prevent its sounding when it is used to produce a chime control signal.