US3755608A
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US
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Apparatus and method for selectively alterable voicing in an electrical instrument
Assignee: Boeing North American Inc
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Filing: 1971-12-06
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Granted: 1973-08-28
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Expires: 1991-12-06
Abstract
Abstract A number of different voices of an electrical organ are stored in specification memories as groups of amplitude samples of respective voices of the instrument. Under control of selectively actuated stops, groups of amplitude samples of chosen voices are extracted from the specification memories, combined, and stored in an alterable or registration memory. The latter is addressed for read out at a rate selected according to the frequency of the note to be generated. The various voices are combinable in different groups and chosen combinations are selectively stored in any one of several registration memories of which there may be one for each division of an organ and which may feed two or more separate audio channels. Selective scaling of one or more of the voices read from the specification memories will increase the number of voice combinations available. Loading of a newly selected voice combination into the registration memory may occur continuously during read out of the registration memory, or only upon actuation of a stop. Although loading of a new voice combination into the registration memory in one embodiment takes place during the read out of the registration memory, the loading may take place at less than musical frequency and at rates slower than registration memory read out rates.
Inventors
- 👤 R Deutsch
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 21:30
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10H; G10H7/00; G10H7/02; G10H7/04; G10H1/00; G10H1/18; G10H1/24
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
95 words
An alterable memory system for an electrical musical instrument comprising a registration memory, a plurality of voice memories, each containing a group of amplitude sample representations of a complex wave form of an instrument voice, means for combining amplitude sample representations read from a selected combination of one or more of said voice memories, means for writing said combined amplitude sample representations into said registration memory, and means for reading said combined representations from said registration memory at a group repetition rate related to the frequency of a tone to be generated by said instrument.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
95 words
An alterable memory system for an electrical musical instrument comprising a registration memory, a plurality of voice memories, each containing a group of amplitude sample representations of a complex wave form of an instrument voice, means for combining amplitude sample representations read from a selected combination of one or more of said voice memories, means for writing said combined amplitude sample representations into said registration memory, and means for reading said combined representations from said registration memory at a group repetition rate related to the frequency of a tone to be generated by said instrument.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said combined representations are read from said registration memory at a rate that is independent of the rate at which said combined represnetations are written into said registration memory.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least some of said voice memories are read only memories.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for writing combined representations into said registration memory loads successive address locations thereof at intervals between readout from different address locations thereof.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for reading representations for said voice memories comprise means for reading such representations one by one, and means for combining corresponding representations of selected voice memories and writing such combined representations one by one into said registration memory during intervals between read out of successive combined representations from said registration memory.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus oF claim 1 wherein said means for combining and writing representations from said voice memories and writing such combined representations comprises means for accomplishing such combining and writing into a single address location of said registration memory during a period in which more than one read out from said registration memory occurs.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for combining representations from said voice memories and writing said combined representations comprises means for combining and writing one complete group of representations into said registration memory during the time that a complete group of combined representations is read from said registration memory more than once.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said means for combining groups of amplitude sample representations read from said voice memories comprises an adder, and means for trasnsferring to said adder representations from respective ones of said voice memories in sequence.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
90 words
The system of claim 1 including a second registration memory, said voice memories including first and second sets, said means for writing comprising means for writing into said first-mentioned registration memory combined representations read from memories of said first set, and means for writing into said second registration memory combined representations read from memories of said second set, said means for reading from said registration memories comprising means for separately reading from either or both at group repetition rates related to frequencies of tones to be generated by said instrument.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
133 words
The method of generating a musical tone which tone comprises the combination of a selected one or more of a number of musical voices each of which is separately stored in a voice memory as a group of amplitude sample representations of a complex wave form of a respective voice, said method comprising the steps of reading amplitude sample representations from at least selected ones of said voice memories, combining corresponding representations read from different ones of said voice memories in accordance with a desired voice combination of a tone to be generated, said combining being at a first rate, temporarily storing said combined amplitude sample representations, and reading said temporarily stored combined amplitude sample representations at a second rate related to the frequency of the tone to be generated by the instrument.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
133 words
The method of generating a musical tone which tone comprises the combination of a selected one or more of a number of musical voices each of which is separately stored in a voice memory as a group of amplitude sample representations of a complex wave form of a respective voice, said method comprising the steps of reading amplitude sample representations from at least selected ones of said voice memories, combining corresponding representations read from different ones of said voice memories in accordance with a desired voice combination of a tone to be generated, said combining being at a first rate, temporarily storing said combined amplitude sample representations, and reading said temporarily stored combined amplitude sample representations at a second rate related to the frequency of the tone to be generated by the instrument.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 10 wherein said second rate is less than said combining rate.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 10 wherein said second rate is greater than the rate of storing said combined representations.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 10 wherein at least one of said steps of reading said voice memories, combining representations read from said voice memories, and temporarily storing such combined representations is initiated when a different voice or combination of voices is chosen.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 13 wherein said one step that is initiated when a different voice or combination of voices is chosen is terminated after a number of complete cycles of temporary storage of combined representations.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 14 for use in an electrical musical instrument wherein said one step is also initiated when power is applied to said instrument.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
100 words
An electrical musical instrument comprising first storage means for storing sampled amplitude representations of a musical voice, means for reading said stored sampled amplitude representations from said first storage means, means for modifying the sampled amplitude representations read from said first storage means, second storage means, means for reading repetitive groups of sampled amplitude representations from said second storage means at a group repetition rate corresponding to a selected frequency of a musical tone, and means for writing said modified sampled amplitude representations into said second storage means at a rate that is indEpendent of said group repetition reading rate.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
100 words
An electrical musical instrument comprising first storage means for storing sampled amplitude representations of a musical voice, means for reading said stored sampled amplitude representations from said first storage means, means for modifying the sampled amplitude representations read from said first storage means, second storage means, means for reading repetitive groups of sampled amplitude representations from said second storage means at a group repetition rate corresponding to a selected frequency of a musical tone, and means for writing said modified sampled amplitude representations into said second storage means at a rate that is indEpendent of said group repetition reading rate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
43 words
The instrument of claim 16 wherein said means for modifying said sampled amplitude representations read from said first storage means comprises means for combining with said representations of said first storage means a group of sampled amplitude representations delineating a second musical voice.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
92 words
The method of combining voices of a multiple voice electrical instrument comprising the steps of generating representations of a plurality of voices, selectively combining representations of at least two of said voices, storing said combined representations in a storage device, repetitively reading out of said storage device groups of combined representations stored therein, said reading out being repeated at a group repetition rate that is manually selectible according to the frequency of a tone to be generated including said combined voices, and producing an output signal from said repetitive groups of representations.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
92 words
The method of combining voices of a multiple voice electrical instrument comprising the steps of generating representations of a plurality of voices, selectively combining representations of at least two of said voices, storing said combined representations in a storage device, repetitively reading out of said storage device groups of combined representations stored therein, said reading out being repeated at a group repetition rate that is manually selectible according to the frequency of a tone to be generated including said combined voices, and producing an output signal from said repetitive groups of representations.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 18 wherein said representations comprise amplitude samples collectively delineating a complex wave shape.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the rate of storing representations in said storage device is independent of the rate of read out therefrom.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
158 words
An alterable memory system for a musical instrument comprising a read-write registration memory having a plurality of address locations for respectively storing representations of amplitude samples of a complex wave form, read out means including means for advancing from one address location of said memory to the next at a rate related to a selected musical frequency, whereby groups of said amplitude representations are repetitively read from said memory at a group repetition rate related to said musical frequency, a plurality of voice memories, each storing representations of amplitude samples of a musical voice, and means for combining representations from selected voices and loading such combined representations into successive address locations of said registration memory, said last-mentioned means including means for advancing said loading of combined representations from one address location to the next in said registration memory at a rate that is independent of said first-mentioned rate of read out advancing from one location to the next.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
158 words
An alterable memory system for a musical instrument comprising a read-write registration memory having a plurality of address locations for respectively storing representations of amplitude samples of a complex wave form, read out means including means for advancing from one address location of said memory to the next at a rate related to a selected musical frequency, whereby groups of said amplitude representations are repetitively read from said memory at a group repetition rate related to said musical frequency, a plurality of voice memories, each storing representations of amplitude samples of a musical voice, and means for combining representations from selected voices and loading such combined representations into successive address locations of said registration memory, said last-mentioned means including means for advancing said loading of combined representations from one address location to the next in said registration memory at a rate that is independent of said first-mentioned rate of read out advancing from one location to the next.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
56 words
The system of claim 21 wherein said rate of advancing from one address location to the next for loading into said registration memory is less than said rate of advancing from one address location to the next for read out therefrom, whereby selected ones of said voices may be combined at rates less than musical frequencies.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
45 words
The system of claim 21 wherein said rate of advancing from one address location to the next for loading into said registration memory is substantially equal to said rate of advancing from one memory location to the next for read out from said registration memory.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 21 wherein said rate of advancing from one address location to the next for loading into said registration memory is greater than said rate of advancing from one address location to the next for read out therefrom.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-08-27 | 1977-02-26 | 1977-08-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-08-27 | 1981-02-26 | 1981-08-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-08-27 | 1985-02-26 | 1985-08-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |