Karaoke apparatus

• US 6,352,432 B1
• Filed: 03/23/1998
• Issued: 03/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushikikaisha Daiichikosho, Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Tsurumi, Kanehisa, Tachibana, Satoshi, Tsai, Tom Jen
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US09/046,253
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 434/307-R-3, 434/318, 434/365, 273/454, 846/09--15, 846/77.R, 846/30--34, 846/50, 369/53, 381/56, 381/63, 386/46, 382/103, 345/358, 348/77, 348/564, 704/209, 704/261, 463/1, 463/8
• US Class Current: 434/307.00A
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/00 Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26
• 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 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/091 for performance evaluation, i.e. judging, grading or scoring the musical qualities or faithfulness of a performance, e.g. with respect to pitch, tempo or other timings of a reference performance
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/145 Multiplayer musical games, e.g. karaoke-like multiplayer videogames
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 MIDI or other note-oriented file format
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/245 ISDN [Integrated Services Digital Network]

Abstract

A karaoke apparatus is provided in which a plurality of singers can sing at a time and superiority/inferiority of singing voices can be matched. One karaoke music piece is performed, and two persons sing the music piece at a time by using different microphones. Singing voice signals input through the two microphones are respectively scored, and characters displayed on a screen are caused to fight based on the score results. If the point of the singer having microphone is higher, an animation in which character attacks character is displayed. If the singing point of microphone is higher, animation in which character attacks character is displayed.

Claims

1. A karaoke apparatus, comprising:

a performing device which is configured to perform a karaoke music piece;

a plurality of microphones for singing through which singing voices of individual singers are respectively input during a performance of the karaoke music piece;

a scoring device which is configured to individually score a plurality of singing voices input through the microphones, for each predetermined performance section of the karaoke music piece; and

a superiority/inferiority displaying device displaying which singing voice of a singer is superior during or immediately after a performance of the predetermined performance section, based on a score result of the scoring device, wherein;

the scoring device is configured to score a singing voice on each of a plurality of factors including a frequency, a volume, a rhythm, and a total, in which the total is a summation of said frequency, volume, and rhythm scores; and

the superiority/inferiority displaying device is adapted to display superiority/inferiority of the singing voice for each of the factors in the form, of an action taken by animated characters involved in a battle game.

2. A karaoke apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of microphones for singing;

a displaying device which is adapted to display evaluations of singing voices respectively input through the microphones in a performance of a karaoke music piece, with respectively predetermined characters adapted to engage in a battle game; and

a microphone identifying device which is adapted to receive a voice signal from one of the microphones before the performance of the karaoke music piece is started, and displays, through the displaying device, an identification indicative of the character to which the one microphone through which the voice signal is input corresponds.

3. A karaoke apparatus, comprising:

a performing device which is adapted to perform a karaoke music piece;

a microphone for singing, through which a singing voice of a singer is input during a performance of the karaoke music piece;

an image displaying device which is configured to display an image of a character with a motion during the performance of the karaoke music piece, wherein the character is adapted to engage in a battle game; and

a motion controlling device which is configured to control the motion of the image in accordance with a singing voice input through the microphone.

4. A karaoke apparatus, comprising:

a performing device which is adapted to perform a karaoke music piece;

a plurality of microphones for singing through which singing voices of individual singers are respectively input during a performance of the karaoke music piece;

an image displaying device which is configured to display a plurality of battle game characters with motions which respectively correspond to the microphones, during the performance of the karaoke music piece;

a scoring device which is configured to individually score a plurality of singing voices input through the microphones, for each predetermined performance section of the karaoke music piece; and

a motion controlling device which is configured to control a motion of at least one of the characters based on a score result of the scoring device.

5. A karaoke apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of microphones for singing;

a scoring device which is configured to individually score a plurality of singing voices input through the microphones, for each predetermined performance section of a karaoke music piece;

a displaying device which is adapted to display evaluations of the singing voices respectively input through the microphones in said performance of the karaoke music piece, with respectively predetermined characters adapted to engage in a match; and

a microphone identifying device which is adapted to receive a voice signal from one of the microphones before the performance of the karaoke music piece is started, and displays an identification indicative of the character to which the one microphone through which the voice signal is input corresponds.

6. A karaoke apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the displaying device is configured to display a plurality of said characters with motions which respectively correspond to the microphones, during the performance of the karaoke music piece, the apparatus further comprising a motion controlling device which is configured to control a motion of at least one of the characters based on a score result of the scoring device.

7. A karaoke apparatus which is configured to process music-piece data of a designated karaoke music piece to acoustically output a karaoke musical accompaniment, said karaoke apparatus comprising:

two microphones adapted for use by two singers;

a voice processing device configured to collect a voice signal to be input to each of said two microphones;

a scoring device configured to compare voice signals collected from said two microphones with reference data incidental to said music-piece data based on a predetermined algorithm and sequentially and individually calculate two points corresponding respectively to each of said two microphones based on said comparison in the process of performance of said musical accompaniment;

a martial-art animation producing device configured to produce a martial-art animation having two characters corresponding to said two singers, and change relative superiority in martial art between said characters in response to said two points input from said scoring device; and

a display control device configured to display on a display said martial-art animation produced by said martial-art animation producing device.

8. A karaoke apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said voice processing device is configured to collect voice signals for a plurality of factors, said scoring device is configured to individually compare reference data corresponding to each of said plurality of factors with said factors in said voice signals to calculate said two points for every factor, and said martial-art animation producing device is configured to input said two points for each said factor from said scoring device and produce a martial-art animation in which each character is adapted to perform an animated martial-art trick corresponding to one of said factors.

9. A karaoke apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said martial-art animation producing device is adapted to produce an animation including an expression indicating a correspondence between one of said two characters and one of said two microphones once a voice signal is input to either of said two microphones at a time when a karaoke musical accompaniment is not performed.