Illumination level/musical tone converter
First Claim
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1. An illumination level/musical tone converter, comprising:
- a timebase oscillator circuit for producing a timebase signal;
a light sensor for producing activation power in response to a level of illumination incident thereon;
an analog/digital converter circuit which operates at least partially from said activation power as a source of power, and generates illumination level digital signals in accordance with the level of said activation power;
a pulse generating circuit coupled to receive said timebase signal and producing control signals to control the operation of said analog/digital converter circuit;
a musical tone selection circuit for producing musical tone selection signals in accordance with said illumintion level digital signals from said analog/digital converter circuit;
a musical tone generating circuit for producing approximate musical tone frequency signals in accordance with said musical tone selection signals from said musical tone selection circuit; and
an acoustic output device coupled to receive said approximate musical tone frequency signals from said musical tone generating circuit, and responsive thereto for producing corresponding audible musical tones.
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Abstract
An illumination level/musical tone converter is described which is suitable for incorporation into a miniature electronic device such as an electronic wristwatch, whereby the pitch of musical notes emitted by an acoustic output device can be varied as desired by the user varying the amount of illumination reaching a light sensor, e.g. by partially shading the sensor using a finger. Melodies can be composed in this way, and means can be provided for memorizing such melodies, which can be subsequently reproduced, e.g. to provide an audible alarm indication.
14 Citations
8 Claims
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1. An illumination level/musical tone converter, comprising:
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a timebase oscillator circuit for producing a timebase signal; a light sensor for producing activation power in response to a level of illumination incident thereon; an analog/digital converter circuit which operates at least partially from said activation power as a source of power, and generates illumination level digital signals in accordance with the level of said activation power; a pulse generating circuit coupled to receive said timebase signal and producing control signals to control the operation of said analog/digital converter circuit; a musical tone selection circuit for producing musical tone selection signals in accordance with said illumintion level digital signals from said analog/digital converter circuit; a musical tone generating circuit for producing approximate musical tone frequency signals in accordance with said musical tone selection signals from said musical tone selection circuit; and an acoustic output device coupled to receive said approximate musical tone frequency signals from said musical tone generating circuit, and responsive thereto for producing corresponding audible musical tones. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An illumination level/musical tone converter, comprising:
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a timebase oscillator circuit for producing a timebase signal; a light sensor for producing an activation power in accordance with the level of illumination incident thereon; an analog/digital converter circuit which receives said activation power as at least a part of the supply power for operation thereof and produces illumination level digital signals in accordance with the level of said activation power; a pulse generating circuit coupled to receive said timebase signal and responsive thereto for producing control signals to control the operation of said analog/digital converter circuit; a memory circuit coupled to receive as inputs to be memorized therein said illumination level digital signals from said analog/digital converter circuit; a write/call control circuit for controlling write-in of data to said memory circuit and call-out of stored data from said memory circuit; a signal changeover circuit for receiving as inputs the output signals from said memory circuit and said illumination level digital signals from said analog/digital converter circuit and for selecting either said illumination level digital signals or said memory circuit output signals to be output therefrom; a musical tone selection circuit for producing musical tone selection signals in accordance with the output signals from said signal changeover circuit; a musical tone generating circuit for producing approximate musical tone frequency signals in accordance with said musical tone selection signals from said musical tone selection circuit; and an acoustic output device for producing audible musical tones in accordance with said approximate musical tone frequency signals from said musical tone generating circuit. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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Specification