Karaoke network system with endless broadcasting of song data through multiple channels

• US 5,899,699 A
• Filed: 02/11/1997
• Issued: 05/04/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Kamiya, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): CHENG, JOE H
• Application Number:
  US08/798,649
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 434/307 R-309, 434/318, 434/365, 434/118, 84/477 R, 84/601, 84/603, 84/609, 84/610, 84/625, 84/630, 84/631, 84/634, 84/645, 369/1, 369/2, 369/4, 369/48, 369/178, 369/192, 360/32, 360/33.01, 360/49, 360/70, 360/72.22, 360/77.01, 348/7, 348/12-14, 348/473, 348/478, 348/484, 348/488, 348/563, 348/564, 348/571, 348/595, 348/723, 395/250, 395/200.49, 704/269, 345/141, 345/143, 345/147, 345/302, 381/51, 379/90, 379/93, 370/95.1, 370/95.2, 370/85.8, 370/432, 370/535, 340/825.03, 455/4.2, 455/5.1, 455/6.3
• US Class Current: 434/307.00A
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/365 the accompaniment information being stored on a host computer and transmitted to a reproducing terminal by means of a network, e.g. public telephone lines
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 MIDI or other note-oriented file format
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/125 Library distribution, i.e. distributing musical pieces from a central or master library
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/265 CATV transmission, i.e. electrophonic musical instruments connected to community antennas or cable television networks

Abstract

A karaoke network system is composed of a central station for serving a plurality of song data pieces, and a karaoke terminal connected to the central station through a communication network having multiple channels for selectively receiving therefrom one song data piece so as to locally present a desired karaoke song in response to a request, command. The central station includes a transmitter for sorting the plurality of song data pieces into a multiple of groups corresponding to the multiple channels to thereby transmit each group of the song data pieces successively to the corresponding channel in an endless manner. The karaoke terminal includes a receiver for selecting one of the channels designated by the request command and for picking up one song data piece specified by the same request command from the selected channel so that the karaoke terminal can present the desired karaoke song according to the picked up song data piece.

Claims

1. A karaoke network system comprising:

a central station for serving a plurality of song data pieces; and

a karaoke terminal connected to the central station through a communication network having multiple channels for selectively receiving therefrom one song data piece so as to locally present a desired karaoke song in response to a local request command used in the karaoke terminal,

wherein the central station includes transmitter means for sorting and dividing the plurality of song data pieces into multiple groups corresponding in number to the multiple channels to thereby transmit each group of the song data pieces successively to the corresponding channel in an endless manner, and

wherein the karaoke terminal includes receiver means for selecting one of the multiple channels designated by the request command and for receiving one song data piece specified by the local request command from the selected channel so that the karaoke terminal can present the desired karaoke song according to the received song data piece.

2. A karaoke network system according to claim 1, wherein the karaoke terminal includes input means for inputting a local request command indicative of a channel number effective to designate one channel of the multiple channels and a song code effective to specify one song data piece of the plurality of song data pieces sorted and divided into one group assigned to said one channel designated by the channel number.

3. A karaoke network system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of song data pieces are divided into the number of multiple groups corresponding to the number of channels to minimize a maximum waiting period to cycle through the entire plurality of song data pieces such that the maximum waiting period is approximately determined by a time to cycle through the entire plurality of song data pieces over a single channel divided by the number of the multiple groups.

4. A karaoke terminal apparatus connectable to a central station which broadcasts a plurality of song data pieces through a communication network having multiple channels, the apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting a local request command used in the karaoke terminal to request a desired karaoke song;

selector means responsive to the local request command for selecting one of the multiple channels which is assigned with a chain of song data pieces provisionally collected as a group from the plurality of the song data pieces by the central station, to receive the chain of the song data pieces from the selected channel;

receiver means for receiving one song data piece specified by the local request command from the received chain of the song data pieces; and

audio synthesizer means for processing accompaniment information contained in the received song data piece so as to synthesize an instrumental accompaniment of the requested karaoke song.

5. A karaoke terminal apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising video synthesizer means for processing lyric information contained in the received song data piece so as to produce lyric characters of the requested karaoke song.

6. A karaoke terminal apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising memory means connected between the receiver means and the audio synthesizer means for storing the received song data piece.

7. A karaoke network system for providing a plurality of song data, the karaoke network system comprising:

a central station for serving the plurality of song data;

a communication network connected to the central station, the communication network having multiple channels for receiving the plurality of song data; and

a karaoke terminal connected to the central station through the communication network to selectively receive one of the plurality of song data to present a desired karaoke song on the karaoke terminal in response to a local request command used in the karaoke terminal;

wherein the central station includes a transmitter that sorts and divides the plurality of song data into multiple groups that contain a group of the plurality of song data, the multiple groups corresponding in number to the multiple channels so that each of the multiple groups of the song data are successively transmitted in a corresponding one of the multiple channel in an continuous manner; and

wherein the karaoke terminal includes a receiver that selects one of the multiple channels designated by the local request command and receives one of the plurality of song data specified by the local request command from the selected channel so that the karaoke terminal can present the desired karaoke song according to the received song data.

8. A karaoke network system according to claim 7, wherein the karaoke terminal includes an input circuit for inputting the local request command, the local request command indicating a channel number effective to designate one channel of the multiple channels and a song code that specifies one of the plurality of song data that is divided into one of the multiple groups assigned to the one channel designated by the channel number.

9. A karaoke network system according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of song data are divided into the number of multiple groups corresponding to the number of channels to minimize a maximum waiting period to cycle through the entire plurality of song data such that the maximum waiting period is approximately determined by a time to cycle through the entire plurality of song data over a single channel divided by the number of the multiple groups.