...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8110735 | Effect setting device systems and methods A first control may be for setting a patch including one or more types of effects to be provided by circuitry to an inputted music signal, the patch associated with multiple candidate keywords to be displayed by a display device. A second control may be for assignin... | 02/07/2012 |
| 8013231 | Sound signal expression mode determining apparatus method and program A sound signal processing apparatus which is capable of correctly detecting expression modes and expression transitions of a song or performance from an input sound signal. A sound signal produced by performance or singing of musical tones is input and divided into ... | 09/06/2011 |
| 7968787 | Electronic musical instrument and storage medium Audio player, having many items of music content stored therein and having at least a function for reproducing any one of the items of music content stored therein, is instructed to select and reproduce music content, corresponding to a user-designated music piece, ... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7947891 | Resonance tone generating apparatus and electronic musical instrument A product-sum operation circuit has delay circuits of the first to the (n−1)th stage for delaying musical tone data, multiplying circuits 60-6(n−1) for multiplying the musical signal data or the delayed musical signal data output from the delay cir... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7875789 | Waveform generating apparatus, sound effect imparting apparatus and musical sound generating apparatus A synthesizer 10 is configured such that when a PC 30 is connected thereto, the synthesizer 10 accepts selection of a tone used for sound generation from among a tone included in an internal tone generation unit 16 and a tone included in ... | 01/25/2011 |
| 7795525 | Acoustic-effect assignment controlling apparatus and computer readable medium having a computer program for controlling assignment of acoustic effects When it is determined that Insertion Effect Block 20n for adding the same acoustic effect is found, CPU 13 assigns the Insertion Effect Block 20n for adding the same acoustic effect to a tone color part PTs whose tone color informa... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7754959 | System and method of automatically creating an emotional controlled soundtrack There is provided herein a system and method for enabling a user of digital video editing software to automatically create an emotionally controlled soundtrack that is matched in overall emotion or mood to the scenes in the underlying video work. In the preferred ar... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7750229 | Sound synthesis by combining a slowly varying underlying spectrum, pitch and loudness with quicker varying spectral, pitch and loudness fluctuations The present synthesizer generates an underlying spectrum, pitch and loudness for a sound to be synthesized, and then combines the underlying spectrum, pitch and loudness with stored Spectral, Pitch, and Loudness Fluctuations and noise elements. The input to the synt... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7718885 | Expressive music synthesizer with control sequence look ahead capability The present synthesizer includes functionality for changing over from a current note to the following notes that results in natural and expressive combinations and transitions. The method of the present invention incorporates an delay (actual, functional, or look ah... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7709726 | Foot controlled effects knob and related methods A foot controlled effects knob controls a variable electronic component. A receptacle couples with a spindle of the variable electronic component. One or more wings extend from the receptacle to facilitate control of the spindle, and thus the variable electronic com... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7663051 | Audio processing hardware elements This disclosure describes techniques that make use of a plurality of hardware elements that operate simultaneously to service synthesis parameters generated from one or more audio files, such as musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) files. In one example, a me... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7598448 | Preliminary data producer correlating music data with actual motion, automatic player and musical instrument An automatic player piano is equipped with a preliminary data producer comprising an experimental routine and an editor; a motion controller forces each of the black and white keys to travel on a test trajectory at different values of key velocity so that the black ... | 10/06/2009 |
| 7576280 | Expressing music Expressing a musical work includes identifying a series of musical moments in the musical work and electronically specifying values for levels of each musical moment in the series. The electronically-specified values for at least one level are displayed. ... | 08/18/2009 |
| 7569762 | RF-based dynamic remote control for audio effects devices or the like Systems and methods are disclosed for providing wireless remote control of devices, where the sensing/transmitting device is worn by, or affixed to, the operator, and responds in real-time to position or movements. The technology enables the operator to control remo... | 08/04/2009 |
| 7541536 | Multi-sound effect system including dynamic controller for an amplified guitar The proposed invention is a portable multi-sound effect system providing a novel and unique solution for processing the electrical audio signals created by a guitar. The innovation according to the present invention is by attaching a signal processing unit along wit... | 06/02/2009 |
| 7538267 | Kernel-mode audio processing modules Multiple kernel-mode audio processing modules or filters are combined to form a module or filter graph. The graph is implemented in kernel-mode, reducing latency and jitter when handling audio data (e.g., MIDI data) by avoiding transfers of the audio data to user-mo... | 05/26/2009 |
| 7525038 | Effect system The disclosure presented here involves an effect device that can easily connect with other effect devices in parallel. A preferred embodiment of this device is equipped with a number of components including an effect add means that adds effects, a mixing means that ... | 04/28/2009 |
| 7470855 | Tone control apparatus and method Rendition style parameters for realizing various release rendition styles and/or attack rendition styles are stored in a memory. Operation-related time lengths are detected which pertain to turning-on and/or turning-off operation of a pedal operator. Any one of the ... | 12/30/2008 |
| 7432435 | Tone synthesis apparatus and method Dynamics value is acquired intermittently at predetermined time periods, and a waveform data set for a sustain tone, corresponding to the acquired dynamics value, is specified from among waveform data sets stored in a memory. To generate a tone waveform while switch... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7432437 | Apparatus and computer program for playing arpeggio with regular pattern and accentuated pattern An arpeggio playing apparatus comprises an arpeggio pattern storing device, an arpeggio pattern readout device and an arpeggio tone processing device. The arpeggio pattern storing device stores at least one arpeggio pattern pair including a regular version pattern a... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7429699 | Electronic musical instrument and recording medium that stores processing program for the electronic musical instrument In an electronic musical instrument, when a musical tone delay time T1 read from a delay time table TBL depending on a velocity generated by a key being pressed has elapsed, a hammer string-striking sound is generated from musical tone waveform data selected ... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7427708 | Tone color setting apparatus and method As the user executes a performance on a preliminary or trial basis, performance data based on the user's performance are evaluated, a performance tendency of the user is extracted as a result of the extraction, and then, performance tendency information, indicative ... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7426417 | Method and apparatus for efficiently accounting for the temporal nature of audio processing Some embodiments of the invention provide a computer system for processing an audio track. This system includes at least one DSP for processing the audio track. It also includes an application for editing the audio track. To process audio data in a first interval of... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7423214 | System and method for the creation and playback of animated, interpretive, musical notation and audio synchronized with the recorded performance of an original artist A music application guides a user with some musical experience through the steps of creating and editing a musical enhancement file that enhances and plays in synchronicity with an audio signal of an original artist's recorded performance. This enables others, perha... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7420113 | Rendition style determination apparatus and method On the basis of performance event information, at least two notes to be sounded in succession or in an overlapping relation to each other are detected, and a tone pitch difference between the detected at least two notes is detected. Tone pitch difference limitation ... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7394010 | Performance apparatus and tone generation method therefor A Plurality of key switches for tone-generating are arranged two-dimensionally. Mode setting section sets a tone adjusting mode in which the key switches are caused to function as tone-adjusting operators. In the tone adjusting mode, adjustment of a predetermined to... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7381882 | Performance control apparatus and storage medium A performance control apparatus which can reflect operations carried out by a user on variations in dynamics in real time to achieve performance expressions such as crescendo and decrescendo. A keyboard generates performance timing information in response to perform... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7381880 | Musical instrument recording advanced music data codes for playback, music data generator and music data source for the musical instrument In order to precisely express motion of a key or motion of a hammer, a voice message for the polyphonic key pressure and another voice message for the control change, which stand idle in an automatic player piano, are used to express rough key position or rough hamm... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7381881 | Simulation of string vibration A method of simulating a string using a wave equation relates movement of the string in time to force acting on the string, wherein the force acting on the string simulates a stream of a fluid medium flowing relative to the string. The simulated string is supported ... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7361825 | Electronic keyboard instrument In an electronic keyboard instrument, each key moves from an initial position to a full stroke position via first, second, and third positions sequentially. A velocity detector detects a first key velocity of the key when the key moves from the first position to the... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7355109 | Separate automatic player driving keys and pedals of keyboard musical instrument 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 carr... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7356465 | Perfected device and method for the spatialization of sound The invention relates to a computer device comprising a memory 108 for storing audio signals 114, in part pre-recorded, each corresponding to a defined source, by means of spatial position data 116, and a processing module 110 for process... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7342166 | Method and apparatus for randomized variation of musical data An initial note series is collected from a real-time source of musical input material such as a keyboard or a sequencer playing back musical data, or extracted from musical data stored in memory. The initial note series may be altered to create variations of the ini... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7339105 | Automatic musical performance device Provide an automatic musical performance device, which is capable of giving a concert magic function in an acoustic instrument with a feeling of normally playing the acoustic instrument. A time period Tv between two points, and a tempo Tmp found based on a ti... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7335833 | Music performance system A method and apparatus for producing a musical output is disclosed. The method and apparatus permit the creation, storage and retrieval of a first data structure representing a musical piece. The first data structure includes digital music information that represent... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7334010 | Feedback digital filter A digital filter includes a data storage section, a filter coefficient storage section, a multiplier, an accumulative adder section, a data output section and a control section. The data storage section stores the latest multiple input data for every channel and out... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7326847 | Methods and systems for dynamic channel allocation Methods and systems of dynamic channel allocation. The provided methods and systems can be employed in a music synthesis system comprising a synthesizer. Audio instructions from sources, such as MIDI players, are received. Available channels provided by the synthesi... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7323630 | Automatic performance system An automatic musical performance system stores musical data such as performance patterns and pattern sequences. During performance, the user provides input indicating tones to be added to or deleted from the musical performance, and the stored musical data is update... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7314995 | Data acquisition system preparing inner force sense data for inner sense controller A data acquisition system is used in the transplantation of the piano key touch from an acoustic piano to an electronic piano, and the function thereof is broken down into a table producer, a motion controller and a servo-controller; a table, which expresses relatio... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7309828 | Hysteresis waveshaping This invention provides a signal processing and signal synthesis technique from a family of signal processing and signal synthesis techniques designed to readily interwork or be used individually in creating new forms of rich musical timbres. Synthetic hysteresis wa... | 12/18/2007 |