US4019419A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tuning device
Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc
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Filing: 1975-05-27
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Granted: 1977-04-26
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Expires: 1995-05-27
Abstract
Abstract A tuning device for musical instruments or voices comprises a visual stroboscopic displaying means which displays a light flow at a speed proportional to the difference of a tone to be tuned from the signal of the corresponding standard pitch. A standard pitch in a predetermined octave is synthesized from pulses generated by a high frequency oscillator the standard pitch and is divided into a pitch in a predetermined lower octave for comparing the tone to be tuned in the stroboscopic displaying means. The tone to be tuned is also divided into a signal of a pitch in the lower octave and it is transmitted to the stroboscopic displaying means.
Inventors
- 👤 Haruzo Yoshikawa
- 👤 Keiji Shimano
- 👤 Noritoshi Oishi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 17:16
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10G; G10G7/00; G10G7/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
217 words
A tuning device for tuning musical instruments or voices comprising: a standard pitch generating circuit including a high frequency oscillator for generating high frequency pulses at a predetermined frequency, means for generating mixing pulses having a pulse width much narrower than that of the high frequency pulses and at one of a plurality of preselected frequencies, means connected to receive both the high frequency pulses and the mixing pulses for mixing them together to accordingly shift the pitch of the high frequency pulses to thereby obtain pitch-shifted pulses, a synthesizer connected to receive the pitch-shifted pulses and operative to synthesize therefrom synthesized pulses of a desired standard pitch in a higher octave, and an octave divider circuit connected to receive the synthesized pulses to divide the same into divided pulses of the standard pitch in a lower octave; a tone-electric transducing circuit including means for detecting a tone which is to be tuned and transducing the tone into a corresponding electric signal, and a trigger circuit connected to receive the electric signal to shape the same and produce a shaped tone signal; and indicating means receptive of both the divided pulses from said octave divider circuit and the shaped tone signal from said trigger circuit for providing a visual indication of the pitch difference between the two.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
217 words
A tuning device for tuning musical instruments or voices comprising: a standard pitch generating circuit including a high frequency oscillator for generating high frequency pulses at a predetermined frequency, means for generating mixing pulses having a pulse width much narrower than that of the high frequency pulses and at one of a plurality of preselected frequencies, means connected to receive both the high frequency pulses and the mixing pulses for mixing them together to accordingly shift the pitch of the high frequency pulses to thereby obtain pitch-shifted pulses, a synthesizer connected to receive the pitch-shifted pulses and operative to synthesize therefrom synthesized pulses of a desired standard pitch in a higher octave, and an octave divider circuit connected to receive the synthesized pulses to divide the same into divided pulses of the standard pitch in a lower octave; a tone-electric transducing circuit including means for detecting a tone which is to be tuned and transducing the tone into a corresponding electric signal, and a trigger circuit connected to receive the electric signal to shape the same and produce a shaped tone signal; and indicating means receptive of both the divided pulses from said octave divider circuit and the shaped tone signal from said trigger circuit for providing a visual indication of the pitch difference between the two.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 1; wherein said indicating means includes means for providing a visual sweep signal having a sweep speed proportional to said pitch difference.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
91 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2; wherein said indicating means includes an electronic stroboscope indicator having a decoder coacting with said octave divider circuit to decode the divided pulses into distributed sweep signals and including means to mask the shaped tone signal on the divided pulses to thereby generate blank portions in the sweep signals in proportion to said pitch difference, an array of light-emitting elements, and a driver circuit responsive to the sweep signals to sequentially energize said array of light-emitting elements to provide said visual sweep signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
93 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a sharp-flat indicating circuit which includes a series of flip-flop circuits for counting the divided pulses from said octave divider circuit, a gate connected to receive said divided pulses and said shaped tone signal and operative to transmit the divided pulses to said series of flip-flop circuits in every gate time generated by the shaped tone signal, and a pair of drivers to energize a sharp flat mark signal or a mark signal in response to the number counted by the flip-flop circuits.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for generating mixing pulses includes means for generating mixing pulses at preselected frequencies at even number multiples of the ratio of the high frequency pulses to a standard pitch.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said means for generating mixing pulses includes a series of condensers, each condenser having a capacity equal to that of each other and being provided with a shift number select switch terminal on one pole thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said means for generating mixing pulses comprises an oscillator.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
31 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tone electric-pulse transducing circuit further includes a second octave divider circuit to divide the shaped tone signal into a divided octave.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tone electric-pulse transducing circuit further includes an automatic gain controller connected before said trigger circuit to compensate the tone signal level.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
35 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said tone electric-pulse transducing circuit further includes a filter circuit to eliminate noise from the detected tone, said filter circuit passing a selected frequency signal through.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
16 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said high frequency oscillator is quartz oscillator.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
42 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising means including a set of selecting switchs for choosing a desired octave, said switches selecting dividing steps in the second divider circuit, thereby making the output frequency always in a predetermined octave.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
50 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 10, further comprising two-coacting selecting switches for choosing a desired octave, one of said switches selecting dividing steps in said second divider circuit, and the other changing the filter band or cut-off frequency of said filter circuit in response to the selected octave.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
A tuning device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising an audible tone generator and a set of select switches to select an output step from said octave divider circuit according to a desired octave and transmitting the output to said tone generator.
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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) | 1980-04-25 | 1980-10-25 | 1981-04-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-04-25 | 1984-10-25 | 1985-04-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-04-25 | 1988-10-25 | 1989-04-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |