Electronic Wind Instrument Tonguing Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Electronic wind instruments struggle to replicate the nuanced performance representations achievable with natural-wood wind instruments, particularly in terms of tonguing operations, as they rely on sensors to detect reed interactions which fail to provide a wide range of performance representations.

Innovation Solution

An electronic wind instrument equipped with sensors to detect lip position and tonguing performance, utilizing a processor to perform lip position determining, tonguing performance detecting, and tone muting processes, allowing for a broader range of performance expressions by accurately simulating the effects of tonguing operations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a sensor is used to detect reed touching for tone muting in electronic wind instruments, then tone muting effect can be achieved, but the instrument cannot provide a wide range of performance representations like natural-wood wind instruments

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveperformance representation capabilityVSAvoidtonguing performance information
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the reed surface into multiple detection zones with multiple sensors arranged along the reed. Each sensor detects tongue contact at different positions, allowing the system to distinguish between different tonguing techniques (light touch, heavy touch, position variations) that correspond to different performance representations, thereby recovering the lost tonguing performance information

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds a spatial dimension to tongue detection by placing multiple sensors at different positions on the reed rather than using a single sensor. This multi-dimensional detection approach enables the system to detect not only whether the tongue touched the reed but also where and how strongly, providing rich performance representation data

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Measurement precision

If multiple sensors are arranged on the reed to detect tongue position, then detection precision is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetongue position detection precisionVSAvoidsensor arrangement complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent designs the sensor array to serve multiple functions: detecting tongue contact position, detecting contact strength, and determining tonguing technique type. This multi-functional approach allows the system to achieve high measurement precision without proportionally increasing complexity, as the same sensor network extracts multiple performance parameters

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3422341B1Electronic wind instrument, method of controlling the electronic wind instrument, and computer readable recording medium with a program for controlling the electronic wind instrument
Publication Date: 2020.07.15 CASIO COMPUTER CO LTD
  • EP3422341B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~1B
  • EP3422341B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3422341B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An electronic wind instrument is provided, which is capable of representing a wide range of performances using a tonguing operation. The electronic wind instrument has at least one sensor, a sound source for generating a tone, and a controller. The controller controls a tonguing performance detecting process for detecting a tonguing performance played by the player based on the output value from the one sensor, and a tone muting process for muting the tone output from the speaker in accordance with the lip position of the player determined in the lip position determining process, while the tonguing performance is being detected in the tonguing performance detecting process.