Visual presentation system and related methods

• US 8,426,714 B1
• Filed: 12/23/2011
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Retinal 3-D, LLC
• Original Assignee: Retinal 3-D, LLC
• Inventors: Bowser, Roger C., Neal, Lawrence A. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US13/336,384
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 846/09, 844/77.R
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 17/00 Apparatus for performing colour-music
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/015 Musical staff, tablature or score displays, e.g. for score reading during a performance. graphical musical score editing G10H2220/121; musical score displays resulting from a transcription G10H2210/086
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/021 Indicator, i.e. non-screen output user interfacing, e.g. visual or tactile instrument status or guidance information using lights, LEDs, seven segments displays screen displays G10H2220/005, graphical user interfaces adapted for electrophonic musical instruments G10H2220/091; tactile key feedback G10H2220/311
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/066 Colour, i.e. indications with two or more different colours
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/311 MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A control interface for a visual presentation system. Implementations include a graphical interface including a plurality of parallel lines and plurality of spaces between and adjacent to the plurality of lines that define at least one visual staff. One or more visual notes may be disposed on the at least one visual staff. An output data stream may be included that includes a control sequence of one or more visual element parameters adapted to operate a visual presentation system and corresponding with the one or more visual notes. The output data stream may be coupled with a visual presentation system. One or more music notes on one or more music staffs may be included on the graphical interface adjacent to the at least one visual staff where the one or more music notes are correlated with the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff.

Claims

1. A method of generating a control sequence for a visual presentation system, the method comprising:

arranging one or more visual notes on a visual staff representing a visually perceived stimuli associated with at least one physical light element of a visual presentation system, the one or more visual notes on the visual staff included in a graphical interface on a display coupled with a computer processor, the graphical interface generated using the computer processor;

associating one or more visual element parameters of the at least one physical light element with each of the one or more visual notes, the visual element parameters comprising at least one of color, intensity, chromaticity, gamma value, alpha channel, rapidity, duration, hue, saturation, red green blue coloring, cyan magenta yellow key coloring, vector positioning, vector displacement, and brightness, of the at least one physical light element;

generating a control sequence from the one or more visual notes on the visual staff and a timing sequence indicated at least in part by relative positioning of the one or more visual notes on the visual staff, the control sequence adapted to control operation of the at least one physical light element of the visual presentation system; and

including the control sequence in an output data stream coupled with the visual presentation system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging one or more dynamic elements on the visual staff adjacent to the one or more visual notes, wherein the one or more dynamic elements are selected from the group consisting of staccato, crescendo, decrescendo, dynamic accent, fermata, trill, rest, slur, legato, glissando, ligature, tuplet, pianississimo, pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, fortissimo, fortississismo, and sforzando, the one or more dynamic elements affecting the control sequence by modifying the control sequence to cause the visual presentation system to control the at least one physical light element with visual display characteristics matching the one or more dynamic elements.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising associating one or more dynamic instructions in the one or more visual element parameters with each of the one or more dynamic elements and modifying the control sequence to cause the visual presentation system to control the at least one physical light element with visual display characteristics including the one or more dynamic instructions.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising defining one of the intensity, chromaticity, gamma value, alpha channel, rapidity, duration, hue, saturation, red green blue coloring, cyan magenta yellow key coloring, vector positioning, vector displacement, and brightness of the physical light element of the visual presentation system using one or more of the one or more dynamic instructions in the control sequence.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein associating one or more visual element parameters with each of the one or more visual notes and generating a control sequence with the one or more visual element parameters further comprises associating one or more timing instructions in the one or more visual element parameters with each of the one or more visual notes and including the one or more timing instructions in the control sequence.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising defining a display duration for the physical light element in a visual display of the visual presentation system using the one or more timing instructions.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating a control sequence with the one or more visual element parameters further comprises:

generating a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) channel, MIDI note on command, and MIDI note off command for each of the one or more visual element parameters and generating a corresponding DMX512-A universe channel value and an intensity value corresponding with the generated MIDI channel, MIDI note on command, and MIDI note off command; and

including the DMX512-A universe channel value and the intensity value in the control sequence, the DMX512-A universe channel value corresponding with a tube number associated with the light element in the visual display of the visual presentation system;

wherein the light element is selected from the group consisting of neon tubes, incandescent lights, metal halide tubes, fluorescent tubes, sodium tubes, xenon tubes, solid state lighting (SSL) devices, and light emitting diodes (LEDs).

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging a clef, key, and time signature on the at least one visual staff, defining one or more frequency bands within a range of frequencies corresponding with the clef and the key, defining one or more regions of the visual staff each corresponding with one of the one or more frequency bands, and associating one or more visual notes with each of the one or more regions of the visual staff.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forming one or more music notes representing an audibly perceived stimuli on one or more music staffs from a music source using the computer processor and the graphical interface;

arranging the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff on the graphical interface by correlating the music notes on the one or more music staffs with the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff using the computer processor.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging one or more icons comprising a representation of the visual presentation system on a presentation staff on the graphical interface, where the presentation staff is adjacent to the visual staff and the representation corresponds with an appearance of a visual display of the visual presentation system.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising animating the representation with one or more frames generated by the computer processor by following a timing indicated by each of the one or more visual notes and by changing one of the color, intensity, chromaticity, gamma value, alpha channel, rapidity, duration, hue, saturation, red green blue coloring, cyan magenta yellow key coloring, vector positioning, vector displacement, and brightness of a representation of the physical light element in the visual display of the visual presentation system in each frame in response to encountering a position of each of the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising simultaneously playing music corresponding with one or more music notes included on one or more music staffs included on the graphical interface wherein the one or more music notes are correlated with the one or more visual notes on the visual staff included on the graphical interface and wherein a timing of the music is synchronized with the changes in the representation of the visual display of the visual presentation system included in the one or more icons on the presentation staff using the computer processor.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing haptic or tactile feedback to one or more viewers of the visual presentation using a haptic or tactile feedback system coupled with the output data stream.

14. A control interface for a visual presentation system comprising:

a graphical interface coupled with a computer processor, the graphical interface comprising a plurality of parallel lines and a plurality of spaces between and adjacent to the plurality of lines, the plurality of parallel lines and plurality of spaces defining at least one visual element staff, wherein one or more visual element notes representing a visually perceived stimuli associated with one or more physical light elements of a visual presentation system are disposed on the at least one visual staff on the plurality of parallel lines or within the plurality of spaces;

an output data stream comprising a control sequence of one or more visual element parameters associated with the at least one physical light element and adapted to operate a visual presentation system comprising at least one of color, intensity, chromaticity, gamma value, alpha channel, rapidity, duration, hue, saturation, red green blue coloring, cyan magenta yellow key coloring, vector positioning, vector displacement, and brightness, the control sequence corresponding with the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff and a timing sequence indicated at least in part by relative positioning of the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff, the output data stream coupled with a visual presentation system; and

one or more music notes representing an audibly perceived stimuli on one or more music staffs included on the graphical interface adjacent to the at least one visual staff, the one or more music notes correlated with the one or more visual notes on the at least one visual staff.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising one or more icons comprising a representation of a visual display of the visual presentation system on a presentation staff included on the graphical interface adjacent to the at least one visual staff, where the representation corresponds with an appearance of the display of the visual presentation system, and comprises one or more frames.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein a portion of the graphical interface comprises a representation of the visual display of the visual presentation, wherein the representation comprises one or more frames included in a video image of the operation of the one or more physical light elements in the visual display of the visual presentation system, the one or more frames generated using the visual element parameters in the control sequence.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more physical light elements are selected from the group consisting of neon tubes, incandescent lights, fluorescent tubes, sodium tubes, metal halide tubes, xenon tubes, solid state lighting (SSL) devices, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and video images.