Music – Instruments – Electrical musical tone generation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2002-02-05
Fletcher, Marlon T. (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Electrical musical tone generation
C084S600000, C084S622000, C084S659000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06344606
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tone generation device and method, and a distribution medium. More specifically, the invention relates to a tone generation device and tone generation method that compute the amount of data processing needed for generating tones and apportion the processing among multiple computation devices based on the computed amount of processing, and a distribution medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional tone generation device, tones have been generated by using a computation device that can previously estimate the amount of processing for the data to be processed and can process that amount of processing.
Alternatively, tones containing a great deal of information have been generated by using multiple computation devices, predetermining the content that each computation device shall process, and executing in parallel the processing predetermined for each computation device.
However, a computation device capable of processing sufficient data was generally expensive, and in some cases the amount of data to be processed was so great that no computation devices have been available that were able to process it. And even if multiple computation devices were used, depending on the content of the data, sometimes the amount of processing preassigned to a computation device exceeds its capacity, which has created the problem that in that case the data cannot be processed even if multiple computation devices are used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to make it possible for each computation device to process data efficiently, by computing the amount of processing from the data to be processed, apportioning the amount of processing in accordance with the capacity of each computation device, and doing tone generation processing.
To attain the above and other objects of the invention a tone generation device has been suggested, which comprises a reading means that reads data for generating tones, a computation means that computes the amount of processing needed to generate the tones of the data read by the reading means, multiple generation means that generate tones, and an apportioning means that apportions the processing for generating tones to multiple generation means according to the amount of processing computed by the computation means.
The tone generation device of this invention may further comprise a decision means that decides whether the amount of processing computed by the computation means can be processed by one of the generation means among the multiple generation means, and if it is decided by the decision means that the amount of processing computed by the computation means is an amount that can be processed by one generation means, the apportioning means apportions all of the computed amount of processing to one generation means, and if it is decided by the decision means that it is not an amount that can be processed by one generation means, the apportioning means apportions the processing to multiple generation means in correspondence with the capacity of each generation means in accordance with the computed amount of processing.
Objects of the present invention are also attained by a tone generation method comprising a reading step that reads data for generating tones, a computation step that computes the amount of processing needed to generate the tones of the data read in the reading step, multiple generation steps that generate tones, and an apportioning step that apportions the processing for generating tones to multiple generation steps according to the amount of processing computed in the computation step.
A distribution medium of the present invention provides a computer-readable program that causes the tone generation device to execute processing that includes a reading step that reads data for generating tones, a computation step that computes the amount of processing needed to generate the tones of the data read in the reading step, multiple generation steps that generate tones, and an apportioning step that apportions the processing for generating tones to multiple generation steps according to the amount of processing computed in the computation step.
With tone generation device, tone generation method, and distribution medium of the present invention, data for generating tones is read, the amount of processing needed for generating the tones of the read data is computed, and processing for generating tones in accordance with the computed amount of processing is apportioned to multiple devices for generating tones.
The tone generation device of this invention may comprise multiple generation means that generate tones, a first reading means that reads data describing the processing procedure assigned to each of multiple generation means determined based on the amount of processing of data for generating tones, and a second reading means that reads data for generation means to generate tones in accordance with the processing procedure read by the first reading means.
The tone generation method of the invention may comprise multiple generation steps that generate tones, a first reading step that reads data describing the processing procedure assigned to each in the multiple generation steps determined based on the amount of processing of data for generating tones, and a second reading step that reads data to generate tones in the generation steps in accordance with the processing procedure read in the first reading step.
In an embodiment the distribution medium of the present invention provides a computer-readable program that causes the tone generation device to execute processing that includes multiple generation steps that generate tones, a first reading step that reads data describing the processing procedure assigned to each in the multiple generation steps determined based on the amount of processing of data for generating tones, and a second reading step that reads data to generate tones in the generation steps in accordance with the processing procedure read in the first reading step.
With the tone generation device, tone generation method, and distribution medium of the present invention, data describing the processing procedure assigned to each of multiple processing units determined based on the amount of processing of data for generating tones is read, and data for generating tones is read in accordance with the read processing procedures.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5119710 (1992-06-01), Tsurumi et al.
patent: 5376752 (1994-12-01), Limberis et al.
patent: 5728961 (1998-03-01), Tamura
patent: 0747878 (1996-12-01), None
Fletcher Marlon T.
Rosenman & Colin LLP
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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