DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE PLAYBACK OF A FILE OF SIGNALS TO BE REPRODUCED

• US 20120059494A1
• Filed: 02/12/2010
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), Movea SA (TDK Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), Movea SA (TDK Corporation)
• Inventors: David, Dominique
• Granted Patent: US 8,880,208 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0686 Timers, rhythm indicators or pacing apparatus using electric or electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0041 in coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/40 Rhythm
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/206 Conductor baton movement detection used to adjust rhythm, tempo or expressivity of, e.g. the playback of musical pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/311 MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/04 Time compression or expansion

Abstract

Controlling playback by strokes entered via a MIDI interface or measured by one or more motion sensors is disclosed. The variations of the playback speed can also be smoothed to ensure a better musical rendition. The velocity of the strokes can also be taken into account to control the volume of the audio output and other gestures or strokes can also act on the tremolo or vibrato.

Claims

1. A control device enabling a user to control the playback rate of a prerecorded file of signals to be reproduced and the intensity of said signals, said signals being encoded in said prerecorded file in a substantially continuous manner, said device comprising a first interface module for entering control strokes, a second module for entering said signals to be reproduced, a third module for controlling the timing of said prerecorded signals and a device for reproducing the inputs of the first three modules, wherein said second module can be programmed to determine the times at which control strokes for the playback rate of the file are expected, and in that said third module is capable of computing, for a certain number of control strokes, a corrected speed factor relating to strokes preprogrammed in the second module and strokes actually entered in the first module and an intensity factor relating to the velocities of said strokes actually entered and expected, then of adjusting the playback rate of said second module to adjust said corrected speed factor on the subsequent strokes to a selected value and the intensity of the signals output from the second module according to said intensity factor relating to the velocities.

2. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first module comprises a MIDI interface.

3. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first module comprises a motion capture submodule and a submodule for analyzing and interpreting gestures receiving as input the outputs from the motion capture submodule.

4. The control device as of claim 3, wherein the motion capture submodule performs said motion capture on at least one first and one second axes, the submodule for analyzing and interpreting gestures comprises a filtering function, a function for detecting of a meaningful gesture by comparing the variation between two successive values in the sample of at least one of the signals originating from at least the first axis of the set of sensors with at least one first selected threshold value and a function for confirming the detection of a meaningful gesture, and the function for confirming the detection of a meaningful gesture can compare at least one of the signals originating from at least the second axis of the set of sensors with at least one second selected threshold value.

5. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first module comprises an interface for capturing neural signals from the brain of the user and a submodule for interpreting said neural signals.

6. The control device as of claim 4, wherein the velocity of the stroke entered is computed on the basis of the deviation of the signal output from the second sensor.

7. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first module also comprises a submodule capable of interpreting gestures on the part of the user, the output of which is used by the third module to control a characteristic of the audio output selected from the group consisting of vibrato and tremolo.

8. The control device of claim 1, wherein the second module comprises a submodule for placing tags in the file of prerecorded signals to be reproduced at the times at which control strokes for the playback rate of the file are expected, said tags being generated automatically according to the rate of the prerecorded signals and being able to be shifted by a MIDI interface.

9. The control device of claim 1, wherein the value selected in the third module to adjust the playback rate of the second module is equal to a value selected from a set of computed values, of which one of the limits is computed by application of a corrected speed factor equal to the ratio of the time interval between the next tag and the preceding tag minus the time interval between the current stroke and the preceding stroke to the time interval between the current stroke and the preceding stroke and of which the other values are computed by linear interpolation between the current value and the value corresponding to that of the limit used for the application of the corrected speed factor.

10. The control device of claim 9, wherein the value selected in the third module to adjust the playback rate of the second module is equal to the value corresponding to that of the limit used for the application of the corrected speed factor.

11. A control method enabling a user to control the playback rate of a prerecorded file of signals to be reproduced and the intensity of said signals, said signals being encoded in said prerecorded file in a substantially continuous manner, said method comprising a first interface step for entering control strokes, a second step for entering said signals to be reproduced, a third step for controlling the timing of said prerecorded signals and a step for reproducing the inputs of the first three steps, wherein said second step can be programmed to determine the times at which control strokes for the playback rate of the file are expected, and in that said third step is capable of computing, for a certain number of control strokes, a corrected speed factor relating to strokes preprogrammed in the second step and strokes actually entered in the first step and an intensity factor relating to the velocities of said strokes actually entered and expected, then of adjusting the playback rate in said second step to adjust said corrected speed factor on the subsequent strokes to a selected value and the intensity of the signals output from the second module according to said intensity factor relating to said velocities.