Electronic music stand performer subsystems and music communication methodologies

• US 20030100965A1
• Filed: 12/18/2002
• Published: 05/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bama Gaming LLC (Equitable IP Corporation), Intellectual Ventures Assets 28 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: David H Sitrick
• Inventors: Sitrick, David H., Fling, Russell T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,989,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/83
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/023 Electrically operated
• CPC Class Codes: G10G 1/00 Means for the representation of music
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• 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

Abstract

An electronic music stand system and methodologies relating thereto are presented. The electronic music stand system is comprised of a performer subsystem comprising a processing subsystem, librarian logic, performance logic, and communications management logic. The communications management logic provides management of communication via the communications interface with external apparatus responsive to the performance logic and the librarian logic. The user input apparatus and the display apparatus can be integrated into a touch-screen input display. The user input apparatus can alternatively be at least one of a touch-tablet, a stylus-based writing tablet, a mouse, a keyboard, a joystick, a game controller, and a switch. In a preferred embodiment, the librarian logic, the performance logic and the communications management logic are defined by program data stored in the data storage apparatus, and the processor is responsive to the program data for managing data formatting, displaying music, and management of communications of data with the external apparatus. In one embodiment, two Performer subsystems are operable alternatively as one of a single appliance as a linked set a linked mode and as two independent appliances a stand-alone mode, wherein in the linked mode each of the two Performer subsystems operate cooperatively with each other as a linked set to provide a two page display on the video presentation, and wherein in the stand alone mode each of the two Performer subsystems operates independently and mutually exclusive of the other to provide two independent and mutually exclusive single page displays on the video presentation. The present invention also relates to a method for providing for video display of music responsive to the music data stored in a music database. The method is comprised of defining a page of music image data from the music database; defining ordered logical sections; storing the mapping in a memory for selective retrieval; and providing for the video display of the music responsive to the mapping and the storing.

Claims

1. A method of providing a display of music as a video presentation utilizing a musical appliance apparatus, comprised of a processing system, stored music data and a user interface, the method comprising:

providing for user input sufficient for full functional control input for operation of the musical appliance apparatus;

processing the stored music data in the processing systems according to defined logic and responsive to the user input, to provide for functional operation of the musical appliance apparatus;

providing a display as pages of music as a video presentation responsive to the processing.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing for user input via a touch-screen display.

3. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing for user input via at least one of a writing tablet responsive to a stylus, a touch-sensitive tablet, a mouse, a keyboard, a joystick, a game controller, and a set of buttons.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the stored music data is located on a separate system.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the providing for user input is further comprised of:

providing first and second touch sensitive areas on a touch-screen display,

changing the display as turning a page forward in the video presentation responsive to touching the first touch-sensitive area on the touch-screen display screen;

changing the display as turning a page backward in the video presentation responsive to touching the second touch sensitive area on the touch-screen display screen.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a list of bookmarks responsive to a user touching of a third touch-sensitive area on the touch-screen display.

7. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing touch sensitive areas on a left side and a right side of a touch-screen display providing for user input;

causing a backward page-turn in the video presentation responsive to a user touching the touch-sensitive area on at least a portion of the left side of the touch-screen display; and

causing a page turn forward in the video presentation responsive to a user touching a touch-sensitive area on at least a portion of the right side of the touch-screen display.

8. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a draw mode, wherein a user can annotate using the user input to provide an image overlay to be displayed atop the display in the video presentation of the stored music data; and

storing overlay data associated with respective stored music data.

8b. b. The method as in claim 8, further comprising:

providing for user input, while in the draw mode, of forward page-turn input and backward page-turn input;

causing a backward page-turn in the video presentation, while in the draw mode, responsive to the backward page-turn input; and

causing a page turn forward in the video presentation , while in the draw mode, responsive to the forward page-turn input.

9. The method as in claim 8, further comprising:

providing a plurality of touch-sensitive locations on a touch-screen display as the user input, and

causing a line to be drawn in the video presentation responsive to the user touching at least one of the touch-sensitive locations on the touch-screen display.

10. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

providing control locations on the touch-screen display as the user input, and

changing the line characteristics of the display responsive to touching at least one of a pre-defined one of the locations on the touch-screen display.

11. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

providing control locations on the touch-screen display as the user input, and

changing the line color of the display responsive to touching at least one of a pre-defined one of the additional control locations on the touch-screen display.

12. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

providing control locations on the touch-screen display as the user input, and

changing the line width of the display responsive to touching one of the control locations on the touch-screen display.

13. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

providing color printing in the draw mode, wherein the line that is drawn is displayed as a translucent overlay in the video presentation.

14. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

delimiting separate lines.

15. The method as in claim 9, wherein the providing for user input is further comprised of:

associating a time-stamp with the line, and

storing the time-stamp associated with the line.

16. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

storing a definition of the line associated relative to video display page dimensions.

17. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

making certain separate ones of the lines invisible on the display.

18. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

selecting specific lines to be selected lines by touching the touch-screen display, wherein all lines within a predefined distance of the touch on the touch-screen display are the selected lines.

19. The method as in claim 9, further comprising:

selecting specific lines to be selected lines by touching the touch-screen display at a first location with an object;

dragging the object across the touch-screen display to a second location; and

selecting as the selected lines all of the lines contained in a region defined by the first location where the object first touched the touch-screen display and the second location where the object was lifted from the dragging on the touch-screen display.

20. The method as in claim 17, further comprising:

providing for user input responsive to a pressing of a specific area of a touch-screen display to cause selected ones of non-displayed invisible lines to be converted into displayed visible lines.

21. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a visual presentation display of an image of a page of paper music responsive to the stored music data.

22. The method as in claim 21, further comprising:

providing an external source for activating page turn signaling, and

changing the visual presentation to display a different page of a plurality of pages responsive to the activating of the page turn signaling.

23. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing two operationally independent processing subsystems; and

processing according to the defined logic and responsive to the user input to provide for operation as a linked set of the two operationally independent processing systems to function as a dual musical appliance apparatus.

24. The method as in claim 23, further comprising;

communicating control data between the two operationally independent processing subsystems;

monitoring the communicating to determine operational mode as one of a linked mode and a stand-alone mode;

operating the musical appliance apparatus as an inter-linkage of the two operationally independent processing subsystems for providing a cooperative two-page display responsive to the linked mode;

providing independent operation of each of the two processing subsystems for providing separate independent page displays responsive to the stand-alone mode; and

operating the musical appliance apparatus responsive to a selected operational mode as one of the linked mode and the stand-alone mode.

25. The method as in claim 24, further comprising:

monitoring the communicating during the linked mode for detecting loss of communicating control data from either of the two subsystems;

responding to detecting the loss of communicating control data by activating the stand-alone mode in at least one of the two subsystems; and

providing continued operation in the stand-alone mode from where operation had left off in the linked mode as of when the loss of communicating control data was detected.

26. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

processing according to the defined logic and responsive to the user input to provide for functional operation of the musical appliance apparatus comprising a plurality of at least first, second and third operationally independent processing subsystems.

27. The method as in claim 26, further comprising:

communicating control data between the at least first, second and third operationally independent processing subsystems;

monitoring the communicating to determine operational mode as one of a linked mode and a stand-alone mode;

operating the musical appliance apparatus as an inter-linkage of the at least the first, second, and third processing subsystems for providing at least a three page display in the linked mode;

independently operating each of the at least first, second and third processing subsystems for providing three independent page displays in the standalone mode; and

operating the musical appliance apparatus responsive to a selected operational mode as one of the linked mode and the stand-alone mode.

28. The method as in claim 27, further comprising;

monitoring the communicating to determine operational mode as one of the linked mode and the stand-alone mode;

monitoring the communicating during the linked mode for detecting loss of communicating control data from any of the at least first, second and third processing subsystems;

responding to detecting the loss of communicating control data by activating the stand-alone mode in at least one of the at least first, second and third processing subsystems; and

allowing continued operation in the stand-alone mode from where operation had left off in the linked mode as of when the loss of communicating control data was detected.

29. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least another musical appliance apparatus; and

communicating with the at least another musical appliance apparatus.

30. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a music editing mode responsive to the user input; and

providing at least one of modification, deletion, and copying operations on the display responsive to the user input and the music editing mode.

31. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a navigation mode responsive to the user input; and

providing navigational operations on the display responsive to the user input and the navigation mode.

32. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a music display mode responsive to the user input; and

providing operation controls for displaying music responsive to the user input and the music display mode.

33. The method as in claim 8, further comprising:

providing at least one of redo and deletion operations in the draw mode responsive to the user input.

34. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing networking operations for user interaction with a network via a network graphical user interface (GUI).

35. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing librarian operations for user interaction with stored music data via a librarian graphical user interface (GUI).

36. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

providing an appliance state signal responsive to the functional operation,

wherein the appliance state signal represents a current state of the appliance for reference upon startup, and

storing the appliance state signal.

37. The method as in claim 36, further comprising:

restoring the musical appliance apparatus to a state responsive to the stored appliance state signal.

38. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

importing and storing the music data in a first format;

converting the stored music data in the first format into a second format compatible for use with the musical appliance apparatus; and

storing the music data in the second format.

39. The method as in claim 38, wherein the music data is imported from is at least one of a central server, a flash RAM device, a floppy drive, a zip drive, a hard drive, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM and a source coupled via a modem.

40. The method as in claim 1, further comprising;

providing for communication between a plurality of the musical appliance apparatus.

41. The method as in claim 40, further comprising:

providing a discovery and identification protocol that provides for each of the musical appliance apparatus to identify and discover other of the musical appliance apparatus over a network.

42. An electronic music stand system comprising:

a performer subsystem comprising;

a processing subsystem comprising a processor, a data storage apparatus for storing program data and music data, a user input apparatus, a display apparatus for providing a video presentation responsive to the processor and the music data, and a communications interface;

librarian logic for managing storage, selection, retrieval and indexing of the music data in the data storage apparatus;

performance logic defining data formatting and providing a presentation upon the display apparatus responsive to the input apparatus and the librarian logic; and

communications management logic providing management of communication via the communications interface with external apparatus responsive to the performance logic and the librarian logic.

43. The system as in claim 42, wherein the user input apparatus and the display apparatus are integrated into a touch-screen input display.

44. The system as in claim 42, wherein the user input apparatus is at least one of a touch-tablet, a stylus-based writing tablet, a mouse, a keyboard, a joystick, a game controller, and a switch.

45. The system as in claim 42, further comprising:

a source of music data for selectively coupling the music data via the communications interface to the performer subsystem.

46. The system as in claim 42, wherein the librarian logic, the performance logic and the communications management logic are defined by program data stored in the data storage apparatus,

wherein the processor is responsive to the program data for managing data formatting, displaying music, and management of communications of data with the external apparatus.

47. The system as in claim 42, wherein the presentation upon the display apparatus is at least one of the same page as equivalent printed music, a subsection of the equivalent printed music, and a completely repaginated version of the equivalent printed music.

48. The system as in claim 46, wherein there are two Performer subsystems operable alternatively in a linked mode as a single linked appliance as a linked set and as two independent appliances a stand-alone mode,

wherein in the linked mode each of the two Performer subsystems operate cooperatively with each other as a linked set to provide a two page display on the video presentation, and further provide for cooperation in displaying on the video presentation the turning of pages of music,

wherein in the stand alone mode each of the two Performer subsystems operates independently and mutually exclusive of the other to provide two independent and mutually exclusive single page displays on the video presentation, and provides for turning of pages of music on the video presentation, independently and mutually exclusively on each of the Performer subsystems.

49. The system as in claim 48, wherein there are a plurality of the performer subsystems, wherein at least two of the Performer subsystems are coupled to selectively provide a linked set operable via a linked mode as a single cooperative unit, and alternately capable of being operated in the stand-alone mode, the system further comprising communications management providing for internal communications between each of the Performer subsystems in the interlinked set that is distinguishable and mutually exclusive from external communications with the other ones of the Performer subsystems.

50. The system as in claim 47, wherein the music data has predefined sections, wherein the video presentation on the display shows one of the predefined sections.

51. The system as in claim 50, wherein the video presentation upon the display apparatus shows at least two of the predefined sections in a logical order.

52. The system as in claim 50, wherein the video presentation upon the display apparatus shows at least two pages of the equivalent printed music.

53. The system as in claim 51, wherein the video presentation upon the display apparatus shows at least a portion of a page of the equivalent printed music.

54. The system as in claim 48, wherein the linked mode operation of the linked set is monitored between one performer subsystem and an other performer subsystem forming the linked set, and wherein responsive to a detection of failure by the one performer subsystem of failure in operation of the other performer subsystem operating cooperatively as the linked set in the linked mode, the one performer subsystem provides for switchover to the stand alone mode of operation responsive to the detection.

55. The system as in claim 48, wherein the linked set is comprised of a plurality of performer subsystems, which are operable together in a linked mode and separately each in a stand alone mode, wherein in the linked mode all of the plurality of performer subsystems interact in a cooperative manner each interactively operating to provide a single coherent display to provide a multiple page display on the video presentation, and provide for cooperation in turning of multiple pages of music, wherein the multiple is a number equal in quantity to the plurality of Performer subsystems.

56. The system as in claim 42, wherein there are a plurality of performer subsystems, each having a communications interface for communicating to other ones of the plurality of performer subsystems.

57. The system as in claim 56, where the communications between the plurality of the performer subsystems is via a shared communications channel.

58. The system as in claim 56, wherein the communications interface is at least one of a universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, RS-232, RS-242, serial communications, parallel communications, infrared communications, IEEE 802.11 wireless, and Firewire.

59. The system as in claim 56, wherein at least one of the appliances is the single linked appliance comprised of the linked set, wherein communications is via separate communications channels providing at least one communications channel for internal use per each of the linked set of performer subsystems, and at least one communications channel for all additional communications between the linked set and at least one other one of the plurality of the appliances.

60. The system as in claim 56, wherein the internal use communication between each of the Performer subsystems in the linked set is physically separate from the additional communications.

61. The system as in claim 59, wherein the internal use communications between each of the Performer subsystems in the linked set is via a first type of communications channel, and wherein the additional communications is via a different type of communications channel.

62. The system as in claim 61, wherein the communications channels are at least one of Ethernet, serial, USB, IEEE1394/I-link/Firewire, parallel, infrared, and IEEE 802.11 wireless.

63. The system as in claim 61, wherein the additional communications is managed by a centralized controller.

64. The system as in claim 61, wherein the additional communications is managed via distributed control among at least some of the plurality of the Performer subsystems.

65. A musical appliance apparatus for providing a display of music as a video presentation, the apparatus comprising:

stored music data;

a user interface providing for user input sufficient for full functional control input for operation of the musical appliance apparatus;

a processing subsystem responsive to the stored music data in the processing systems according to defined logic and responsive to the user input, to provide for functional operation of the musical appliance apparatus; and

a display subsystem for providing a display of pages of music as the video presentation responsive to the processing subsystem.

66. The apparatus as in claim 65,

wherein the user input is provided via at least one of a touch-screen display, a writing tablet responsive to a stylus, a touch-sensitive tablet, a mouse, a keyboard, a joystick, a game controller, and a set of buttons.

67. The apparatus as in claim 65, wherein the stored music data is coupled to the apparatus from a separate system.

68. The apparatus as in claim 65, wherein the user interface is further comprised of:

first and second touch sensitive areas on a touch-screen display,

wherein the processing subsystem provides for changing the display as turning a page forward in the video presentation responsive to touching the first touch-sensitive area on the touch-screen display screen; and

wherein the processing subsystem provides for changing the display as turning a page backward in the video presentation responsive to touching the second touch sensitive area on the touch-screen display screen.

69. The apparatus as in claim 65, wherein the processing subsystem provides for displaying a list of bookmarks responsive to the user interface.

70. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

a touch-screen display providing touch sensitive areas on a left side and a right side of a touch-screen display providing for user input;

wherein responsive to a user touching the touch-sensitive area on at least a portion of the left side of the touch-screen display the processing subsystem causes a backward page-turn in the video presentation; and

wherein responsive to a user touching a touch-sensitive area on at least a portion of the right side of the touch-screen display, the processing subsystem causes a page-turn forward in the video presentation.

71. The apparatus as in claim 65, wherein the user interface provides an external signal as the user input to the musical appliance apparatus;

and

wherein the processing subsystem is responsive to the external signal to cause a page turn in the video presentation.

72. The apparatus as in claim 65, wherein there is a draw mode, wherein a user can annotate using the user input to provide an image overlay to be displayed atop the display in the video presentation of the stored music data;

and

wherein overlay data is stored associated with respective stored music data.

73. The apparatus as in claim 72, further comprising:

a touch-screen display providing a plurality of touch-sensitive locations as the user input, and

wherein a line is drawn in the video presentation responsive to the user touching at least one of the touch-sensitive locations on the touch-screen display.

74. The apparatus as in claim 73, wherein the apparatus provides for color printing in the draw mode.

75. The apparatus as in claim 65, wherein the display subsystem provides for displaying a visual presentation display of an image of a page of paper music responsive to the stored music data.

76. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

an external source for activating page turn signaling,

wherein the processing subsystem provides for changing the visual presentation to display a different page of a plurality of pages responsive to the activating of the page turn signaling.

77. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

two operationally independent processing subsystems, providing for processing according to the defined logic and responsive to the user input to provide for operation of the two operationally independent processing systems to function as a dual musical appliance apparatus.

78. The apparatus as in claim 77, wherein

the two operationally independent processing subsystems communicate control data between each other;

wherein the communicating is monitored o determine operational mode as one of a linked mode and a stand-alone mode;

wherein the musical appliance apparatus is operated as an inter-linkage of the two operationally independent processing subsystems for providing a cooperative two-page display responsive to the linked mode.

79. The apparatus as in claim 78,

wherein in the linked mode, control data is communicated between both of the two processing subsystems;

wherein the communicating during the linked mode is monitored to detect loss of communicating of control data from either of the two operationally independent processing subsystems; and

wherein responsive to detecting the loss of communicating control data the apparatus activates the stand-alone mode in at least one of the two subsystems and thereafter provides continued operation in the stand-alone mode from where operation had left off in the linked mode as of when the loss of communicating control data was detected.

80. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

a communications interface for coupling external music data for storage in the musical apparatus.

81. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

edit logic providing for a music editing mode responsive to the user input for providing at least one of the modification, deletion, and copying operations on the display responsive to the user input and the music editing mode.

82. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

navigation logic providing a navigation mode responsive to the user input for providing navigational operations for the display of a selected page responsive to the user input and the navigation mode.

83. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

network logic providing networking operations for user interaction with a network via a network graphical user interface (GUI).

84. The apparatus as in claim 65, further comprising:

an appliance state signal stored responsive to the functional operation,

wherein the appliance state signal represents a current state of the appliance for reference upon startup.

85. The apparatus as in claim 84, wherein the musical appliance apparatus is restored to functional operation responsive to the stored appliance state.