Digital audio signal generating apparatus

• US 5,111,530 A
• Filed: 10/30/1989
• Issued: 05/05/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kutaragi, Ken, Ishibashi, Toshiya, Furuhashi, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Kemeny, E. S.
• Application Number:
  US07/428,842
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: 381/51-53, 381/63, 364/513.5, 84/708
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0091 Means for obtaining special acoustic effects combined with modulation G10H1/043
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/02 Means for controlling the tone frequencies, e.g. attack or decay; Means for producing special musical effects, e.g. vibratos or glissandos
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/205 Amplitude vibrato, i.e. repetitive smooth loudness variation without pitch change or rapid repetition of the same note, bisbigliando, amplitude tremolo or tremulants
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/281 Reverberation or echo
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/475 FM synthesis, i.e. altering the timbre of simple waveforms by frequency modulating them with frequencies also in the audio range, resulting in different-sounding tones exhibiting more complex waveforms
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/00 Instruments in which the tones are synthesised from a data store, e.g. computer organs

Abstract

A digital audio signal generating apparatus suitable for the application to electronic musical instruments, sound effect generators for amusement machines and the like. This digital audio signal generating apparatus has a signal processing section and a memory used to perform a speech synthesis, wherein the signal processing section utilizes a vacant area of the memory to perform a delay processing to add a reverberation sound. Thus, the number of required memories can be reduced and the arrangement of the apparatus can be simplified.

Claims

1. An apparatus for generating a digital audio signal comprising:

memory means for storing a digital audio signal;

control means for controlling a reading the digital audio signal from the memory means;

signal processing means for performing a predetermined processing, including reverberation processing, of the digital audio signal read by the control means;

temporary memory means used by both the control means and the signal processing means; and

means for setting a delay area in vacant areas of the temporary memory means so as to perform a delay processing when a reverberation sound is added to the digital audio signal processed by the signal processing means.

2. An apparatus for generating a digital audio signal according to claim 1, further comprising means for inhibiting an operation of the delay area setting means, wherein the vacant area can be prevented from being inadvertently provided in the temporary memory means.

3. An apparatus for generating a digital audio signal according to claim 1, in which a plurality of digital audio signals read from the memory means are separately processed through a plurality of pitch converting means, comprising means for supplying the output of one of the pitch converting means to another pitch converting means as a control signal, wherein a frequency-modulated digital audio signal is generated from the other pitch converting means.

4. An apparatus for generating a digital audio signal according to claim 1, and wherein

the signal processing means has a first execution cycle to execute its operations and for writing in and reading out data from the temporary memory means;

the control means has a second execution cycle different from the first execution cycle to execute its operation and for writing in and reading out data from the temporary memory means; and

further comprising;

selecting means for selectively connecting one of the signal processing means or the control means to the temporary memory means so that data is written in and/or read from the temporary memory means by one of the signal processing means or the control means;

selecting control means for controlling the selecting means so that data can be written in and/or read from the temporary memory means by the control means during a non-access period in which data is not written in and/or read from the temporary memory means by the signal processing means; and

holding means provided between the control means and the temporary memory means for holding data so that a period in which the control means writes in and/or reads data from temporary memory means substantially coincides with the non-access period.