Method and apparatus for optically determining note characteristics in a keyboard operated musical instrument
US5524521A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 27, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jun 11, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 27, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG10H1/0553
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A method and apparatus for accurately sensing key motion in a keyboard operated musical instrument, in which optical emitters and sensors are positioned above the hammer shanks. The optical emitters and sensors are arranged on a plurality of individually addressable sensor boards, and the sensor boards are divided into a plurality of individually addressable sensor banks. Each sensor board is independently and sequentially activated by a controller according to a specified timing sequence. As the controller activates a sensor board in one bank, allowing the board to warm up, another sensor board in the second bank, which has previously been activated and warmed up, is read and analyzed by the controller. Activation and reading of sensor boards alternates between sensor banks as the sensor boards are sequenced through. This overlapping of sensor board activation and reading, which is made possible by the preferred arrangement of the dual sensor banks as well as the data acquisition method employed, provides for a higher throughput of data conversion than has been heretofore achieved, and thus more efficient sensing and recording of musical expression information from keyboard instru…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.