Pioneer Corporation

Pioneer Electronic Corporation

Takeaki Funada

Gen Inoshita

Youichi Yamada

Hiroyuki Isobe

Yoichi Yamada

Tomohiko Kimura

Koichiro Sakata

Ko Atsumi

Junichi Takagaki

Kazuo Kamei

Naomi Amemiya

Keitaro Kaburagi

Yoshinori Kataoka

Akiharu Yagi

Tetsuya Kikuchi

Kensuke Chiba

Takashi Suzuki

Hiroyasu Eguchi

Yoshiyuki Kakuta

Chihaya Oga

Tatsuya Shiraishi

Kou Atsumi

Satomi Kasuya

Jun Minokami

Toru Yada

Masahiko Miyashita

Takao Yamada

Yuuji Murai

Koji Ogura

Atsuki Tada

An information playback apparatus is provided to obtain editing effects using an optical disc in the same sense as an analog record disc is manipulated. An audio editing apparatus for playing back an optical disc such as a CD is provided with a rotatable jog dial, detecting device for detecting the amount of rotation of the jog dial, and sensing device for sensing the presence or absence of a pressing force on the jog dial. When the jog dial is rotated while being depressed with a predetermined pressing force, processing for providing sound effects is performed on the playback data to be played back from the optical disc in response to the amount of rotation detected by the detecting device. It is thereby possible to provide the same feeling of operation as provided by rotating an analog record disc through hand operations to produce playback sounds.

Information playback apparatus

An audio signal mixer capable of performing a long mix editing with simple manipulations. A second audio signal producing means is prevented from producing a second audio signal when an operating member is positioned at a first end, while a first audio signal producing means is prevented from producing a first audio signal when the operating member is positioned at a second end. As the operating member is moved away from the first end or the second end, the first and second audio signals are mixed. As the operating member is moved toward the second end, the level of the first audio signal is gradually decreased while the level of the second audio signal is gradually increased. Conversely, as the operating member is moved toward the first end, the level of the second audio signal is gradually decreased while the level of the first audio signal is gradually increased. Thus, only by manipulating the operating member, it is possible to control two audio signal producing means such as CD players to reproduce or stop as well as to control a cross-fade operation for audio signals reproduced therefrom.

Audio signal mixer for long mix editing

A signal adjusting apparatus includes a movable member, a setting device, and a prohibiting device. The movable member is movable in a movable range to have the electrical signal adjusted in accordance with a position of the movable member. The setting device sets a prohibition range in the movable range. The prohibition range is a range where a volume level of the electrical signal is to be constant. The prohibiting device prohibits the volume level from being adjusted under the state that the movable member is located in the prohibition range.

Apparatus for adjusting a signal and prohibiting adjustment of the signal based on a position of a movable member

An audio signal processing apparatus comprises a signal processing section for processing audio signals fed from outside equipments, an operating section for producing commands in order for said signal processing section to process the audio signals, a storing memory for storing past operation data containing past operation information of the operating section, a controller for setting parameters in order for said signal processing section to process the audio signals in accordance with said past operation data stored in said storing memory.

Audio signal processing apparatus

A signal adjusting apparatus comprises a movable member, a first detecting device, a second detecting device, and a correction device. The member is movable in a movable range composed of a plurality of intervals. The first detecting device detects one of the intervals where the member is located. The first detecting device is constituted by a first movable portion mounted on the member and a first fixed portion spaced apart from the first movable portion. The one of the intervals is an absolute position. The second detecting device detects a relative position of the member within the detected interval. The second detecting device is constituted by a second movable portion mounted on the member and a second fixed portion spaced apart from the second movable portion. The correction device corrects the detected relative position based on a relationship between the absolute position and the relative position stored in a memory.

Apparatus for adjusting a signal based on a position of a movable member

Audio information is read out of a recording medium which records musical pieces as audio information. The audio information read out is processed to detect BPM values and positions of beats in the musical piece. A musical piece is reproduced from the recording medium by reproducing audio information in accordance with the detected BPM values and positions of beats. The BPM value indicates the tempo of a musical piece, and the beat indicates a strength of a sound which repeatedly appears in each musical piece. When the audio information is reproduced in accordance with the detected BPM values and positions of beats, the musical piece is reproduced at the correct tempo and beats without giving an unnatural feeling to the listener.

Audio information reproduction device and audio information reproduction system

An audio signal processor performs a signal processing on the first audio signal and the second audio signal in correspondence with an operation to produce an output. The processor comprises and operation device, a signal processing device and a control device. The operation device is operatively movable between one end and the other end. The one end is associated with the first audio signal and the other end is associated with the second audio signal. The signal processing device performs a signal processing on any one of the first audio signal and the second audio signal to provide at least one kind of predetermined effect. The control device controls the signal processing device so that the effect is provided for any one of the first audio signal and the second audio signal at a predetermined timing based on a position of the operation device and a moving direction thereof.

Audio signal processor

An information playback apparatus is provided, which displays the status of playback in a way more suitable to the human sense as well as detects and then displays as new information the feature characteristic of audio information such as a music selection. The frequency of occurrence of variations in amplitude of audio information to be played back is measured at each predetermined frequency. The measured frequency of occurrence is displayed in a predetermined area of a display unit as the feature information of beat densities with respect to the playback elapsed time of the audio information to be played back. An index display unit is displayed in a substantially circular playback speed display unit. The amount of audio information to be sequentially played back corresponding to elapsed time is divided by a predetermined value to determine a remainder. The index display unit is displayed at an angular position corresponding to the remainder, while being rotatably moved along a virtual track, thereby displaying the status of playback.

Playback apparatus for displaying angular position based on remainder corresponding to elapsed time

Both of one audio information and another audio information are recorded on a same information record medium. An audio information reproducing apparatus is provided with: a detecting device for detecting said one audio information and said another audio information from the information record medium and also detecting a time period required for one beat of the detected another audio information; and an accumulating device for accumulating said one audio information detected from the information record medium to thereby continue reproducing and outputting said one audio information through the accumulating device. The audio information reproducing apparatus is also provided with a controlling device for controlling the detecting device to detect said another audio information and the time period required for one beat, within a time duration that the accumulated one audio information is being reproduced and outputted through the accumulating device.

Method of and apparatus for reproducing audio information, program storage device and computer data signal embodied in carrier wave

An audio signal processing apparatus for changing a tempo of an input audio signal is disclosed. The apparatus includes a magnification designator capable of designating a plurality of different magnifications. A device is capable of automatically detecting a beat(s) per minute, BPM, or the audio input signal. The device may also detect a beat period of the input audio signal. The device also changes the BPM or beat period in accordance with a magnification designated by the magnification designator. Further, the device changes the tempo of the audio signal in accordance with the changed BPM and the changed beat period.

An information playback apparatus is provided to obtain sound effects by using an optical disc in much the same way an analog record is manipulated. A pressing pressure applied onto a rotatable jog dial is detected by providing a pressure sensing layer to the jog dial. When no pressing pressure is applied onto the jog dial, audio information is played back from an optical disc at a normal tempo. When an end of the jog dial at rest is pressed with a pressing pressure within a predetermined range, a tempo of a playback sound played from the audio information is changed in response to the pressing pressure. When an end of the jog dial at rest is pressed with a large pressing pressure, a tempo of a playback sound played from the audio information is changed in such a manner that playback of a playback sound is stopped eventually. When the pressing pressure is released from the jog dial at rest, a tempo of a playback sound played back from the audio information is changed in such a manner that a playback sound is eventually played back at the normal tempo. Also, a tempo of a playback sound is changed in various manners in response to a pressing pressure onto the jog dial by providing manipulation keys for adjusting a quantity of change when changing a tempo of a playback sound in response to the level of a detection signal.

An apparatus for sampling partial audio information from audio information and storing it in a memory device provided with: a sampling device for sampling the partial audio information from the audio information in the sampling time which is a integral multiple of a time interval between each beat and the next in the audio information, and a storing device for storing the sampled partial audio information in a memory device.

Apparatus and method for sampling and storing audio information and apparatus for outputting audio information

A method for reproducing information, comprising the steps of: reading compressed audio data from an information recording medium in which the compressed audio data is recorded in a frame unit; and subjecting the compressed audio data thus read to an expansion processing to reproduce same. When an instruction is given to make a special reproduction in which a frame region to be reproduced and an other frame region not to be reproduced are mixed, control is made so that the compressed audio data in respective frames are successively reproduced in the frame region to be reproduced, and a header information for the respective frames is read out in the other frame region not to be reproduced, and determination on a leading position of a subsequent frame is made on a basis of the header information, thereby conducting a successive migration for the respective frames.

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Tokorozawa, Japan

Takeaki Funada