Synchronized multiple device audio playback and interaction

• US 9,378,717 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2014
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peter Sui Lun Fong
• Original Assignee: Peter Sui Lun Fong
• Inventors: Fong, Peter Sui Lun, Fong, Kelvin Yat-Kit, Zhu, Xi-Song, Liu, Chun-Yan
• Primary Examiner(s): WARREN, DAVID S
• Application Number:
  US14/541,433
• Publication Number:
  US 20150068388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 846/04, 846/25, 846/60
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0058 Transmission between separate instruments or between individual components of a musical system G10H1/0083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0083 using wireless transmission, e.g. radio, light, infrared
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/26 for automatically producing a series of tones
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/411 Light beams key actuation detection using light G10H2220/305
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/055 Spint toy, i.e. specifically designed for children, e.g. adapted for smaller fingers or simplified in some way; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces with simplified control features
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/325 Synchronizing two or more audio tracks or files according to musical features or musical timings synchronised lyrics, e.g. for karaoke G10H2220/011
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/00 Instruments in which the tones are synthesised from a data store, e.g. computer organs

Abstract

A musical playback amusement system is disclosed. A primary audio track defined by a plurality of time-sequence audio data elements and associated synchronization identifiers are loaded and played back on a first interactive device. A second interactive device is in communication with the first interactive device to receive playback synchronization commands that coordinates playback of a secondary track loaded on the second interactive device. The synchronization identifiers in the primary track are transmitted from the first to the second interactive device as the playback synchronization commands in coordination with the playback of the primary audio track.

Claims

1. An interactive device, comprising:

an acoustic transducer;

a data communications transceiver linkable to a corresponding data communications transceiver on another interactive device to communicate data therewith;

a memory with audio data stored thereon, the audio data including a primary track, a secondary track and a tertiary track, each being respectively defined by a plurality of time-sequenced audio data elements with selected ones of the audio data elements linked to playback synchronization identifiers; and

a programmable data processor connected to the acoustic transducer, the data communications transceiver, and the memory, and operating in either one of a master mode and a secondary mode, in the master mode the audio data elements of the primary track being synthesized as a primary track audio signal to the acoustic transducer while linked ones of the playback synchronization identifiers are being passed to the data communications transceiver as the corresponding audio data elements are being synthesized at given time instants, in the secondary mode the audio data elements of the secondary track being synthesized as a secondary track audio signal to the acoustic transducer, playback synchronization identifiers received from the data communications transceiver designating particular time-sequenced audio data elements being synthesized at given time instants, and configured to mix in the tertiary track with either the primary track or secondary track when the programmable data processor is operating in the master mode or secondary mode, respectively.

2. The interactive device of claim 1, further comprising:

an input device receptive to user input;

wherein in response to user input, the programmable data processor mixes in the tertiary track which is synchronized to at least one of the selected ones of the audio data elements linked to playback synchronization identifiers.

3. The interactive device of claim 2, wherein:

the primary audio track is a melody track of a song;

the secondary audio track is one of an accompaniment track and a harmony track of the song; and

the tertiary audio track is a one of a riff track and a solo track of the song.

4. The interactive device of claim 1, wherein:

the primary audio track is a melody track of a song; and

the secondary audio track is one of an accompaniment track and a harmony track of the song.

5. The interactive device of claim 1, wherein the audio data is stored as one or more Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data files.

6. The interactive device of claim 1, wherein the audio data is represented as pulse-code modulated values of corresponding analog audio signals.

7. The interactive device of claim 1, wherein the data communications transceiver utilizes a linking modality selected from a group consisting of:

infrared, optical, radio frequency, inaudible sounds, inaudible tones and wired.

8. The interactive device of claim 1, wherein the device plays back both the primary and secondary tracks.

9. The interactive device of claim 1, further comprising at least two tertiary tracks.