The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 24, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 10, 1996
Pamela K Clift, Vacaville, CA (US);
Charles R Lee, Placerville, CA (US);
Burgett, Inc., Sacramento, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for accurately sensing key motion in a keyboard operated musical instrument, in which optical emitters and sensors are positioned adjacent to the keys. The optical emitters and sensors are arranged on a plurality of individually addressable sensor boards, and the sensor boards are divided into a plurality of individually addressable sensor banks. Each sensor board is independently and sequentially activated by a controller according to a specified timing sequence. As the controller activates a sensor board in one bank, allowing the board to warm up, another sensor board in the second bank, which has previously been activated and warmed up, is read and analyzed by the controller. Activation and reading of sensor boards alternates between sensor banks as the sensor boards are sequenced through. This overlapping of sensor board activation and reading, which is made possible by the preferred arrangement of the dual sensor banks as well as the data acquisition method employed, provides for a higher throughput of data conversion than has been heretofore achieved, and thus more efficient sensing and recording of musical expression information from keyboard instruments than has been previously attained.