Abstract
Florida International University (FIU) is seeking a business partner to develop and commercialize techniques and systems for facilitating the calibration of oscillation frequencies for an analog audio synthesizer. The technology uses various techniques and systems for effectively performing the initial calibration procedure and to continuously compensate for frequency irregularities, which originate from insufficient calibration and/or frequency drift of the oscillator circuits. Generally, the techniques include: entering a calibration mode in which audio-producing components have a zero output volume level, retrieving a control value for a musical note to be calibrated, sending the control value to the wave-generating componentry, measuring the output wave frequency, retrieving a reference frequency for the musical note, comparing the measured frequency to the reference frequency with respect to a tolerance value, making an incremental or decremental adjustment to the control value when necessary, and repeating the process for the musical note until calibration of the control value within an acceptable tolerance value. The new technology can be embedded on a microcontroller device as a part of an analog audio synthesizer. It can also be implemented as an update to the firmware of an existing microcontroller on synthesizers that already have microcontrollers. It provides an effective and efficient method to simplify the initial calibration procedure and to compensate online for the frequency irregularities that originate from insufficient calibration and/or frequency drift of the oscillator circuits, without the need to apply elaborate circuitry. It renders many existing drift compensation circuitry used in traditional synthesizers obsolete.
Benefit
Works with the microcontroller already present in most synthesizersRequire no extra hardwareInitial calibration and continuous compensation for frequency irregularitiesEliminates the need of using the costly drift compensation circuitry used in traditional synthesizers
Market Application
Musical instrument design and manufacturing. Audio Equipment
Brochure
