Training Setting Apparatus for Intuitive Student Grouping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional music performance training systems require cumbersome switch operations for grouping multiple students, making it time-consuming and labor-intensive for instructors to manage groups and visually identify corresponding students, especially when many students are grouped into several groups.

Innovation Solution

A training setting apparatus and system that uses a display device to visually represent slave instruments, allowing instructors to select and move images of these instruments on a screen to change their group assignments, with the system updating group information accordingly, enabling intuitive grouping and visual identification of student correspondences.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If conventional switch operations are used for grouping students, then group assignments can be changed, but the operation becomes extremely cumbersome and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegrouping operationVSAvoidtime for grouping

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces mechanical switch operations with a graphical user interface system. Instructors can visually drag and drop student icons onto group regions on a display screen, substituting cumbersome physical switch operations with intuitive graphical interactions. This resolves the contradiction by making the grouping operation much easier while reducing the time required.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates visual copies (icons) of students and groups on a display screen that mirror the actual classroom arrangement. Instructors manipulate these graphical copies through drag-and-drop operations, which automatically updates the underlying group assignments. This copying approach simplifies the operation significantly compared to direct switch manipulation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Adaptability or versatility

If many students are grouped into several groups, then comprehensive group management is achieved, but the switch operation becomes extremely labor-intensive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegroup management capabilityVSAvoidswitch operation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the classroom space into distinct group regions on the display screen, each representing a logical group. Students are represented as individual icons that can be freely assigned to any group region. This segmentation approach allows flexible management of multiple groups without increasing operational complexity, as each group is independently controllable through the graphical interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The graphical interface system serves multiple functions: visualizing student positions, managing group assignments, displaying classroom layouts, and providing training instructions. This universal interface replaces multiple specialized switches and controls, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive group management capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Loss of information

If conventional training systems are used, then training can be conducted, but instructors cannot visually identify student-group correspondences

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisual identification of correspondencyVSAvoidgroup management

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses color-coding to visually distinguish different groups and their corresponding students. Each group region and its member students are displayed with consistent color indicators, allowing instructors to immediately identify which students belong to which groups. This visual feedback mechanism eliminates the information loss about correspondencies while maintaining ease of group management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

The display screen acts as an intermediary between the physical classroom arrangement and the logical group assignments. It provides a visual representation that bridges the gap between physical student positions and abstract group memberships, allowing instructors to maintain both visual awareness and operational simplicity simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS7858866B2Training setting apparatus and system, and grouping method thereof and computer-readable medium containing computer program therefor

Publication Date: 2010.12.28 YAMAHA CORP

AI summary

An apparatus, system, method, and computer-readable medium provides control for displaying, on a display device, a classroom screen with symbolic images representative of a plurality of slave instruments connected to a master instrument in accordance with actual positional relationship between the slave instruments in the classroom, or by different locations thereof. Any one of the symbolic images displayed on the display device can be selected and moved to a desired position from the original position. A moved position of the moved symbolic image is determined. If the determined moved position is a position corresponding to another of symbolic images, the group identification, which can be stored in a storage, of the slave instrument corresponding to the moved symbolic image is changed to the group identification corresponding to the slave instrument associated with the symbolic image located at the moved position. The display is automatically changed so that the moved symbolic image returns from the moved position to the original position.