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US5874686A
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Apparatus and method for searching a melody
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1996-10-31
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Granted: 1999-02-23
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Expires: 2016-10-31
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus and method for easily, efficiently, and accurately searching melodies. A melody is inputted to a computer and converted into a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes thereof. A melody database is searched for at least one sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes which at least approximately matches the sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes of the melody.
Inventors
- 👤 Asif U. Ghias
- 👤 Jonathan A. Logan
- 👤 David W. Chamberlin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:40
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10H; G10H1/00; G10H1/0033; G10H1/0041; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/60; G06F16/63; G06F16/632; G06F16/634; G06F16/68; G06F16/683; G10H2210/00; G10H2210/031; G10H2210/066; G10H2240/00; G10H2240/011; G10H2240/046; G10H2240/071; G10H2240/121; G10H2240/131; G10H2240/141; G10H2250/00; G10H2250/131; G10H2250/135; G10H2250/215; G10H2250/251
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
109 words
Apparatus for searching a melody comprising a computer means having a database of melodies each including a plurality of notes in a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes, means for inputting a melody to said computer means, means for converting the melody into a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes thereof, and means for searching said melody database for at least one sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes which at least approximately matches said sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes of the melody.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
109 words
Apparatus for searching a melody comprising a computer means having a database of melodies each including a plurality of notes in a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes, means for inputting a melody to said computer means, means for converting the melody into a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes thereof, and means for searching said melody database for at least one sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes which at least approximately matches said sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes of the melody.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said input means comprises a microphone.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for outputting from said computer a ranked list of approximately matching melodies.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said converting means comprises an autocorrelation based pitch detector means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said converting means comprises an autocorrelation based pitch detector means having low-pass filter means for removing non-vocal frequencies and center-clipping means for eliminating unwanted formant structure.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said converting means comprises a wavelet pitch tracker.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said converting means comprises a cubic spline wavelet pitch tracker.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for approximately matching sequences of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for searching a melody comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a computer means having a database of melodies each including a plurality of notes in a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes, (b) inputting a melody to the computer means, (c) converting the melody into a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes thereof, and (d) searching the melody database for at least one sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes which at least approximately matches the sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes of the melody.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for searching a melody comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a computer means having a database of melodies each including a plurality of notes in a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes, (b) inputting a melody to the computer means, (c) converting the melody into a form of a sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes thereof, and (d) searching the melody database for at least one sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes which at least approximately matches the sequence of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes of the melody.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of inputting the melody comprises humming into a microphone.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method according to claim 9 further comprising operating the computer to output a ranked list of approximately matching melodies.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of converting comprises applying to the sequence of representations of relative pitch changes between successive notes of the hummed melody an autocorrelation based pitch detector.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
49 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of converting comprises applying to the sequence of representations of relative pitch changes between successive notes of the hummed melody an autocorrelation based pitch detector having low pass filtering for removing non-vocal frequencies and center-clipping for eliminating unwanted formant structure.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of converting comprises applying to the sequence of representations of relative pitch changes between successive notes of the hummed melody a wavelet pitch tracker.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of converting comprises applying to the sequence of representations of relative pitch changes between successive notes of the hummed melody a cubic spline wavelet pitch tracker.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 9 further comprising operating the computer means to obtain approximate matches of sequences of digitized representations of relative pitch differences between successive notes.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-02-22 | 2002-08-24 | 2003-02-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-02-22 | 2006-08-24 | 2007-02-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-02-22 | 2010-08-24 | 2011-02-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |