US4244264A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for registering and selecting stops in a musical instrument
Assignee: Thales SA
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Filing: 1978-02-17
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Granted: 1981-01-13
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Expires: 1998-02-17
Abstract
Abstract An electronic musical instrument, such as a pipe organ, has a multiplicity of manually and electrically positionable knobs for selecting and restoring respective organ stops, any combination of signals representing selected and unselected stops being recordable in a nonvolatile memory from which that combination can be subsequently read out under the control of a keyboard and a set of pushbuttons. Whenever a new signal combination is called forth from the memory, switching instructions are loaded into a multiplicity of cascaded register stages whose outputs are connected via respective interface circuits to selecting or restoring coils of respective knobs. The interface circuits are unblocked simultaneously by a transfer instruction from the memory to establish the new knob positions. The loading of the register stages is controlled by a unit which compares the existing positions of the knobs with those specified by the selected signal combination and sends switching instructions only to those register stages whose knobs have to be repositioned. A series of cascaded ancillary memories of the read/write type may be loaded with a limited number of signal combinations appearing consecutively in the nonvolatile main memory for facilitating a quick changeover from one of these combinations to another.
Inventors
- 👤 Dominique Fellot
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 18:35
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10H; G10H1/00; G10H1/18; G10H1/24; G10B; G10B3/00; G10B3/10; G10B3/22
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
267 words
In a musical instrument having a multiplicity of independently movable stops provided with respective actuators electrically operable to displace said stops between selected and unselected positions, the combination therewith of: nonvolatile memory means with a multiplicity of sequentially accessible storage areas each having recorded therein a combination of binary signals identifying the selected and unselected positions of respective stops; a cascade of ancillary read/write memories connected to said nonvolatile memory means for consecutive loading with respective signal combinations from as many adjacent storage areas thereof; a multiplicity of register stages with output connections respectively extending to said actuators; player-operated selector means for identifying a storage area of said nonvolatile memory means containing a chosen signal combination and feeding the latter via a first memory of said cascade into a second memory of said cascade while loading said first memory with an adjacent signal combination; control means connected to said second memory for reading out said chosen signal combination and converting same into positioning commands entered into said register stages and for immediately advancing said adjacent signal combination from said first memory to said second memory as a replacement of the chosen signal combination read out therefrom while immediately replacing said adjacent signal combination in said first memory with a further signal combination read out from the next-following storage area of said nonvolatile memory means whereby said cascade always contains a plurality of signal combinations substantially less than the number of said storage areas; and interface means inserted in said output connections for simultaneously transmitting said positioning commands to the respective actuators in response to a transfer instruction.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
267 words
In a musical instrument having a multiplicity of independently movable stops provided with respective actuators electrically operable to displace said stops between selected and unselected positions, the combination therewith of: nonvolatile memory means with a multiplicity of sequentially accessible storage areas each having recorded therein a combination of binary signals identifying the selected and unselected positions of respective stops; a cascade of ancillary read/write memories connected to said nonvolatile memory means for consecutive loading with respective signal combinations from as many adjacent storage areas thereof; a multiplicity of register stages with output connections respectively extending to said actuators; player-operated selector means for identifying a storage area of said nonvolatile memory means containing a chosen signal combination and feeding the latter via a first memory of said cascade into a second memory of said cascade while loading said first memory with an adjacent signal combination; control means connected to said second memory for reading out said chosen signal combination and converting same into positioning commands entered into said register stages and for immediately advancing said adjacent signal combination from said first memory to said second memory as a replacement of the chosen signal combination read out therefrom while immediately replacing said adjacent signal combination in said first memory with a further signal combination read out from the next-following storage area of said nonvolatile memory means whereby said cascade always contains a plurality of signal combinations substantially less than the number of said storage areas; and interface means inserted in said output connections for simultaneously transmitting said positioning commands to the respective actuators in response to a transfer instruction.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
61 words
The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said cascade includes a third memory following said second memory for receiving therefrom said chosen signal combination upon the replacement of the latter by said adjacent signal combination, said control means being switchable to said third memory for optionally receiving the contents thereof in lieu of the signal combination written in said second memory.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
66 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 2, further comprising storage means connected to receive positioning information from all said actuators, said control means including comparison means with input connections to said nonvolatile memory means and to said storage means for emitting positioning commands only to those register stages whose actuators are associated with stops in positions different from those specified by the read-out signal combination.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
61 words
The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said actuators are provided with switch contacts disposed at junctions of rows and columns of a diode matrix, further comprising high-speed clock means for scanning said diode matrix and transmitting data on the state of said switch contacts to said storage means, and low-speed clock means for transferring said data to said storage means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said register stages are divided into two groups of cascaded series-input/parallel-output registers respectively receiving selection commands and return commands from said control means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said control means includes a microprocessor.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said nonvolatile memory means comprises a magnetic-disc memory.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said nonvolatile memory means comprises a magnetic-bubble memory.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
42 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said player-operated selector means comprises a keyboard for identifying one of several sections of said nonvolatile memory means and an assembly of pushbuttons for identifying a storage area in the section so identified.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
203 words
In a musical instrument having a multiplicity of independently movable stops provided with respective actuators electrically operable to displace said stops between selected an unselected positions, the combination therewith of: nonvolatile memory means with a multiplicity of sequentially accessible storage areas each having recorded therein a combination of binary signals identifying the selected and unselected positions of respective stops; a cascade of ancillary read/write memories connected to said nonvolatile memory means for consecutive loading with respective signal combinations from as many adjacent storage areas thereof; a multiplicity of register stages with output connections respectively extending to said actuators; player-operated selector means for identifying a limited group of adjacent storage areas of said nonvolatile memory means and successively loading the memories of said cascade with the signal combinations of said group; control means connected to said cascade for reading out a chosen signal combination from any one of a plurality of memories of said cascade and converting the read-out signal combination into positioning commands entered into said register stages while replacing said read-out signal combination with an adjacent signal combination; and interface means inserted in said output connections for simultaneously transmitting said positioning commands to the respective actuators in response to a transfer instruction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
203 words
In a musical instrument having a multiplicity of independently movable stops provided with respective actuators electrically operable to displace said stops between selected an unselected positions, the combination therewith of: nonvolatile memory means with a multiplicity of sequentially accessible storage areas each having recorded therein a combination of binary signals identifying the selected and unselected positions of respective stops; a cascade of ancillary read/write memories connected to said nonvolatile memory means for consecutive loading with respective signal combinations from as many adjacent storage areas thereof; a multiplicity of register stages with output connections respectively extending to said actuators; player-operated selector means for identifying a limited group of adjacent storage areas of said nonvolatile memory means and successively loading the memories of said cascade with the signal combinations of said group; control means connected to said cascade for reading out a chosen signal combination from any one of a plurality of memories of said cascade and converting the read-out signal combination into positioning commands entered into said register stages while replacing said read-out signal combination with an adjacent signal combination; and interface means inserted in said output connections for simultaneously transmitting said positioning commands to the respective actuators in response to a transfer instruction.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
123 words
The combination defined in claim 1 or 10, further comprising comparison means with inputs connected to said player-operated selector means and to said nonvolatile memory means for comparing an address code from said selector means with an identification code registered in said memory means together with a signal combination to be read out therefrom to said cascade, said nonvolatile memory means containing at adjoining locations of each storage area three entries of the same identification code and of the associated signal combination, said comparison means including majority-logic circuitry for enabling the readout of a signal combination only upon ascertaining a match between at least two of the identification codes and at least two of the associated signal combinations entered at a selected address.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
40 words
The combination defined in claim 11, further comprising display means controlled by said comparison means for indicating a mismatch between an address code and an identification code read out from said nonvolatile memory means in response to said address code.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1984-01-13 | 1984-07-14 | 1985-01-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1988-01-13 | 1988-07-14 | 1989-01-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1992-01-13 | 1992-07-14 | 1993-01-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |