Yamaha Corporation

Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha

Shingo Kamiya

Minoru Ogita

Norio Tomisawa

Hirokazu Kato

Takurou Sone

Masakazu Fujishima

Keizyu Anada

Shinji Aoshima

Music piece data of so-called managed music pieces, each of which requires allowance of performance for each karaoke apparatus are stored in a hard disk in the same manner as music piece data of other karaoke music pieces. A ROM (), which has stored therein key data for allowing performance of a managed music piece, is produced for each of the managed music pieces and for each of karaoke apparatuses. Performance of a managed music piece is allowed by setting a corresponding ROM () into a karaoke apparatus. Accordingly, a karaoke apparatus is not required to have a medium such as a CD-ROM for each of managed music pieces, and the copyright holder of a managed music piece can physically manage the number of allowed performances by way of the ROM ().

Karaoke apparatus, content reproducing apparatus, method of managing music piece data for a karaoke apparatus, and method of managing content data for content reproducing apparatus

In an informing mode, a coin box outputs informing pulses, the number of which corresponds to the number of remaining credits, in response to pulses supplied from a service providing apparatus (steps S to S ). The service providing apparatus counts the number of informing pulses to detect the number of remaining credits. In an accounting mode, when the coin box detects a pulse output from the service providing apparatus, the coin box decrements the number of remaining credits one by one for every detection of a pulse output from the service providing apparatus (steps S to S ). In this way, the accounting is performed by decrementing the number of remaining credits in the coin box by the number of pulses corresponding to the service compensation.

Karaoke system money counting machine and karaoke apparatus

A karaoke network system is composed of a central station for serving a plurality of song data pieces, and a karaoke terminal connected to the central station through a communication network having multiple channels for selectively receiving therefrom one song data piece so as to locally present a desired karaoke song in response to a request, command. The central station includes a transmitter for sorting the plurality of song data pieces into a multiple of groups corresponding to the multiple channels to thereby transmit each group of the song data pieces successively to the corresponding channel in an endless manner. The karaoke terminal includes a receiver for selecting one of the channels designated by the request command and for picking up one song data piece specified by the same request command from the selected channel so that the karaoke terminal can present the desired karaoke song according to the picked up song data piece.

Karaoke network system with endless broadcasting of song data through

A karaoke apparatus has an information source for providing a performance data containing musical tone designation information, lyric indication information and fading control information according to progression of a karaoke song in response to a request. A tone generator operates according to the musical tone designation information for generating musical tones of the karaoke song. A first signal generator operates according to the lyric indication information for generating a lyric image signal indicative of lyric words of the karaoke song. A second signal generator generates a background image signal representative of a background scene of the karaoke song. A video superimposer operates according to the fading control information for mixing the lyric image signal and the background image signal with each other to synthesize a composite image signal such that a mixing ratio of the lyric image signal and the background image signal is time-variably controlled according to the fading control information during the course of the progression of the karaoke song. A display device operates according to the composite image signal for displaying a mixture of the lyric words and the background scene in either of fade-in and fade-out manners relative to each other during the course of the progression of the karaoke song.

Karaoke apparatus and method for displaying mixture of lyric words and

A device for reducing noise includes a first delay circuit for producing a first delay signal which is spacewise continuous to a current signal, a second delay circuit for producing a second delay signal which is timewise continuous to the current signal, first and second signal coincidence judging circuits for comparing the current signal with the first and second delay signals at a smapling period and judging whether or not difference in level between the current signal and the first and second delay signals is below a predetermined value continuously for a predetermined number of samples, and a conditional averaging circuit for providing, when it has been judged by the first or second signal coincidence judging circuit that the condition that difference in level between the current signal and the first or second delay signals is below the predetermined value continuously for the predetermined number of samples has been satisfied, an output signal which is an average value of one or both of the delay signals satisfying said condition and the current signal and providing, when there is no delay signal satisfying said condition, the current signal as an output signal thereof. Video S/N and color S/N of signals reproduced from video disc player etc. can be improved in the stage of a composite video signal.

Device for reducing noise in a composite video signal

An optical pickup control device receives a laser beam reflected from a disc pit with a four split photo-detector and performs a tracking servo in response to two diagonal sum outputs of this four split photo-detector. The device comprises a neutral position control circuit which receives a left adjacent sum output and a right adjacent sum output of the four split photo-detector and, in response to these adjacent sum outputs, controls a neutral position of an objective lens so that these adjacent sum outputs become equal to each other. In an embodiment of the invention, the neutral position control circuit servo-controls a feed motor of the optical pickup with a difference signal between the left and right adjacent sum outputs. The device effectively corrects deviation of a beam spot from a center of the four split photo-detector and thereby improves the quality of a tracking error signal.

Optical pickup control device

In picking up recorded data from a revolving optical disc by an optical reproduction system in an optical type disc reproduction device and detecting time data of Q subcode from the picked up data for performing operations such as searching a target position, the position control device according to this invention facilitates handling of data in cases such as computing time difference by converting detected present time data from a BCD code into a binary code by a BCD/binary conversion circuit and using the binary coded data. For searching a target position, time difference is detected by a time difference detection circuit on the basis of a difference between the binary coded present time data and target time data and a relative position of the optical reproduction system with respect to the optical disc is changed by a relative position change driver such that the time difference is reduced to zero.

Position control device for an optical reproduction system in an optical

A power amplifying circuit detects the crest factor of an electric signal, especially an audio signal, requiring amplification. In case this crest factor is great, the level of supply voltage for power amplifying elements of the power amplifying circuit is raised, and conversely in case the crest factor is small, the supply voltage level is lowered, thereby minimizing the development of distortions in the power amplifying elements as well as minimizing thermal loss thereof.

Power amplifying circuit with changing means for supply voltage

An amplifier with power supply switching is arranged so that the levels of the power supply voltages to be supplied to the amplifying elements of the output stage are switched over in accordance with the level and the rise time of a signal corresponding to an input signal of the amplifier, thereby, to enhance the power efficiency and to prevent an increase of distortion, as well as to reduce switching noises which tend to occur during the switching of the power supply voltages.

Amplifier with power supply switching

A complementary push-pull amplifier comprising a pair of complementary transistors each of which is connected to a voltage source through a relatively large resistance and having the base biased with a voltage formed from the emitter-collector voltage of the transistor. Means for equalizing the amplitudes of second order distortion caused by the respective transistors is provided in a portion of the circuit other than the emitter circuit. The collector current is stabilized by the relatively large resistance connected to the collector and the asymmetry of the pair of transistors can be corrected by the amplitude equalizing means for cancellation of the second order distortion.

Growing community of inventors

Hamamatsu, Japan

Shingo Kamiya