Music – Instruments – Electrical musical tone generation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2002-03-26
Donels, Jeffrey (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Electrical musical tone generation
C084S744000, C073S488000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06362412
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an analyzer available for plural physical quantities and, more particularly, to an analyzer available for plural physical quantities varied by operating a manipulator such as, for example, a key manipulated during a performance, a method used therein and a musical instrument equipped with the analyzer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
It has been proposed to control the volume of sounds and effects on the basis of the motions of manipulators such as keys incorporated in an electronic keyboard musical instrument. This control technique is called as “touch response”. An initial touch control is a kind of the touch response. The downward key velocity is detected so as to control the sound through the initial touch control. Another kind of touch response is an after touch control, in which the sound is controlled on the basis of the key motion after being depressed. Thus, the initial touch control requires the detection of the key velocity, and variation of the force exerted on the depressed key is detected for the after touch control. Accordingly, the prior art electronic keyboard musical instrument is equipped with key velocity sensors for the initial touch control and pressure sensors for the after touch control.
The electronic keyboard musical instrument usually has eighty-eight keys, and eighty-eight key velocity sensors and eighty-eight pressure sensors are required for the touch response. However, the eighty-eight key velocity sensors and the eighty-eight pressure sensors occupy wide space inside the prior art electronic keyboard musical instrument, and are costly. This is the first problem inherent in the electronic keyboard musical instrument.
As known to a person skilled in the art, an acoustic piano gives the unique key-touch to players. User may want the electronic keyboard musical instrument to give him key-touch similar to the unique key touch of the acoustic piano. The key-touch is depending upon the mechanism of the keys incorporated in the prior art electronic keyboard musical instrument, and is hardly changed. This is the second problem inherent in the prior art electronic keyboard musical instrument.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide an analyzer, which is available for plural physical quantities.
It is also an important object of the present invention to provide a method, which is used in the analyzer.
It is another important object of the present invention to provide a musical instrument, which selectively offers different kinds of key-touch to sounds.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an analyzer for a manipulator movable along a trajectory, and the analyzer comprises a position detector provided along the trajectory for detecting a current position of the manipulator, a velocity determiner connected to the position detector for determining a velocity of the manipulator between two positions spaced from each other on the trajectory and a resistance determiner connected to the position detector for estimating a resistance against a motion of the manipulator varied after reaching a predetermined position on the trajectory.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for analyzing plural physical quantities of a manipulator movable along a trajectory, and the method comprises the steps of a) detecting a current position of said manipulator on said trajectory, b) repeating said step a) so as to see if said manipulator has passed a first section of said trajectory or a second section of said trajectory and c) selectively carrying out a determination of a velocity of said manipulator in said first section and an estimation of variation of a resistance against a motion of said manipulator in said second section.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a musical instrument comprising plural manipulators movable along respective trajectories and manipulated by a player for changing at least one attribute of sounds, each of the trajectories having a first section and a second section, a resistance generator associated with the plural manipulators so as to generate a variable resistance against a motion of each manipulator manipulated by the player in the second section of the aforesaid each of the trajectories, a position detector provided along the trajectories so as to determine current positions of the plural manipulators and an electronic sound generating system including a velocity determiner connected to the position detector for determining a velocity of the aforesaid each of the manipulators in the first section, a resistance determiner connected to the position detector for estimating the variable resistance in the second section, a mode selector for selectively activating the velocity determiner and the resistance determiner and a sound generator connected to the position detector, the mode selector, the velocity determiner and the resistance determiner so as to generate the sounds with the aforesaid at least one attribute and modify another attribute of the sounds depending upon the velocity or a combination of the velocity and the variable resistance.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5922983 (1999-07-01), Muramatsu
patent: 5977466 (1999-11-01), Muramatsu
patent: 6121535 (2000-09-01), Muramatsu
patent: 54-43715 (1979-12-01), None
Donels Jeffrey
Morrison & Foerster / LLP
Yamaha Corporation
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