Patent Application
20100033426
The present disclosure relates generally to a haptic enabled gaming peripheral for a musical game.
Guitar Hero and RockBand are music video games which are notable for their instrument-shaped controllers used by players to simulate the playing of music, represented on-screen by colored notes that correspond to various buttons (e.g., frets on a guitar, keys on wind instruments, etc.) on the controller. The games support individual play as well as cooperative and competitive modes for two or more players. In total, these games have been released for several home video game consoles (e.g., Sony Playstation, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft's Xbox, etc.) as well as handheld and mobile gaming systems.
For example, while playing a game with a guitar as the gaming peripheral, an extended guitar neck is shown vertically on the screen, and as the song progresses, colored markers indicating notes travel down the screen in time with the music. The colors and positions of the notes match those of various fret buttons on the guitar controller. Once the traveling note(s) on the screen reach the colored marker(s), the player must play the indicated note(s) by holding down the correct fret button(s) (i.e. selecting finger positions on the fret-board) and operating the strum bar on the guitar (i.e. striking or strumming a “virtual string”) in order to score points. Success or failure will cause an on-screen meter to change, showing how well the player is playing (denoted by red, yellow, and green sections on the meter). Should the meter drop below the red section, the song will automatically end, with the player booed off the stage by the audience. Successful note hits will add to the player's score, and by hitting a long series of consecutive successful note hits, the player can increase their score multiplier.
Selected special segments of the song will have glowing notes outlined by stars, whereby successfully hitting all notes in this series will fill a special meter. The special meter can also be filled by using the whammy bar during sustained notes within these segments. Once the special meter is at least half full, the player can activate certain gaming enhancement by pressing the select button or momentarily lifting the guitar into a vertical position. When the gaming enhancement is activated, the scoring multiplier is doubled until the gaming enhancement is depleted. The meter also increases more dramatically when the gaming enhancement is activated, making it easier for the player to make the meter stay at a high level.
Notes shown on the screen can be a single note or be composed of two to four notes that makes a chord. Both single notes and chords can also be sustained as indicated by a colored line following the note marker, which depends on whether a sustained chord or string is present in the song being played. During a sustained note, a player may use the whammy bar on the guitar to alter the pitch or tone of the note. In addition, the games support virtual implementations of “hammer-ons” and “pull-offs,” or other guitar-playing techniques that are used to successfully play a fast series of notes by only changing the fingering on the fret buttons without having to strum the strum bar. This also applies for finger tapping and other multi-touch interactions.
For some video game consoles, such as the Nintendo Wii, the gaming peripheral which is played by the user integrates the Wii's remote controller therein. As such, the gaming peripheral has the potential for haptic feedback as the Wii's remote controller has the ability to output haptic effects. However, the haptic effects output by the Wii remote controller onto the gaming peripheral may be limited due to various aspects of the Wii remote controller, such as motor performance.
What is needed is a haptic enabled gaming peripheral for use with such musical games that provide the user with haptic effects that provide a pleasurable and realistic experience to the user while playing the musical game.
In some implementations of the invention, a gaming peripheral comprises a body simulating a musical instrument. A processor, located within the body, communicates with a host computer running a software program. The gaming peripheral includes a first actuator located in a portion of the body. The first actuator outputs a haptic effect in response to receiving an activating signal from the processor based on an event that occurs in the software program. In some implementations, the first actuator is located in the portion of the body relevant to where a user contacts or interacts with the gaming peripheral. In some implementations, the haptic effect is based on an event that is related to the user's contact or interaction with the gaming peripheral.
In some implementations, the gaming peripheral simulates a guitar including a body including a neck extending therefrom. A processor, located within the body, communicates with a host computer running a software program. The guitar includes a first actuator within the neck. The first actuator outputs a haptic effect in response to receiving an activating signal based on an event that occurs in the software program. In some implementations, the haptic effect is based on an event that is related to the user's contact or interaction with the neck of the guitar.
In some implementations, a first sensor senses at least one input element in the body of the gaming peripheral and sends a first sensor signal to a host computer running a software program. A haptic effect is output to the body of the gaming peripheral via a first actuator in response to receiving a first activating signal from the host computer based on an event that occurs in the software program. In some implementations, the first actuator is located in the portion of the body relevant to where a user contacts or interacts with the gaming peripheral. In some implementations, the first actuator is located in the portion of the body proximate to the at least one input element. In some implementations, the haptic effect is based on an event that is related to the user's contact or interactions (or lack thereof, respectively) with the input element.
In some implementations where the gaming peripheral simulates a guitar having a body including a neck extending therefrom, a first sensor senses a selection of at least one input element in the neck of the guitar and sends a first sensor signal to a host computer running a software program. A haptic effect is output to the neck via a first actuator in response to receiving a first activating signal from the host computer based on an event that occurs in the software program. In some implementations, the first actuator is located in the neck of the guitar. In some implementations, the first actuator is located proximate to the at least one input element. In some implementations, the haptic effect is based on an event that is related to the user's contact or interaction (or lack thereof, respectively) with the input element.
In various implementations of the invention, an actuator is located proximate to where a user contacts the body or other aspect of the gaming peripheral. In various implementations of the invention, an actuator is located proximate to where a user interacts with the body or other aspect of the gaming peripheral. In various implementations of the invention, an actuator is located proximate to an input element where the user provides input to the game via the gaming peripheral.
In some implementations where the gaming peripheral simulates a guitar, the first actuator is configured to output the haptic effect toward a palm side of the neck and/or toward a fret side of the neck. In some implementations, the neck include at least one input element, such as a depressible button, a touch pad or a touch screen. In some implementations, at least one sensing element is coupled to the input element, whereby the sensing element outputs a first sensor signal to the host computer in response to detecting the input element is being selected by a user's first hand. In some implementations, the guitar includes a second actuator that is positioned within the body, wherein the second actuator outputs a corresponding haptic effect to the body upon it receiving a second activating signal in response to a corresponding event that occurs in the software program.
In some implementations, the sensing element is configured to vary the first sensor signal in response to the sensing element detecting a finger of the user's first hand moving in a direction along the input element after the sensing element has detected the user has selected the input element, wherein the varied first sensor signal correspondingly updates the software program. In some implementations, the first actuator is configured to vary the haptic effect in response to a corresponding activating signal based on the sensing element detecting the finger moving in the direction along the input element. In some implementations, the guitar further includes a light emitting device coupled to the input element, wherein the light emitting device is configured to emit a light upon receiving a light emitting signal from the host computer.
In some implementations, the guitar includes one or more strum bars in the body, wherein the strum bar is configured to output a second sensor signal to the host computer in response to the strum bar being moved by a user's second hand. In some implementations, a second actuator is coupled to the strum bar, wherein the second actuator outputs a haptic effect to the strum bar upon receiving an activating signal from the host computer based on an event occurring in the software program. In implementations with multiple strum bars, each strum bar may be individually operable by the user. In some implementations, the guitar includes a whammy bar coupled to the body as well as a third sensing element coupled to the whammy bar, wherein the third sensing element is configured to output a third sensor signal to the host computer upon the user operating the whammy bar. In some implementations, the second actuator outputs a corresponding haptic effect to the body upon receiving a second activating signal in response to the whammy bar being operated. In some implementations, the guitar includes a third actuator coupled to the whammy bar, wherein the third actuator is configured to output a haptic effect to the whammy bar upon receiving a corresponding activating signal from the host computer.
In some implementations of the invention, the gaming peripheral simulates a string instrument. In some implementations of the invention, the string instrument may include, but is not limited to, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a bass guitar, a violin, a mandolin, a cello, a bass, a banjo, or other string instrument.
In some implementations of the invention, the gaming peripheral simulates a wind instrument. In some implementations of the invention, the wind instrument may include, but is not limited to, a clarinet, a saxophone, an oboe, a flute, or other wind instrument.
In some implementations of the invention, the gaming peripheral simulates a brass instrument. In some implementations of the invention, the brass instrument may include, but is not limited to, a trumpet, a trombone, a tuba, a baritone, or other brass instrument.
In some implementations of the invention, the gaming peripheral simulates a keyboard instrument. In some implementations of the invention, the keyboard instrument may include, but is not limited to, a piano, an organ, an electronic keyboard, a synthesizer, an accordion, or other keyboard instrument.
In some implementations of the invention, the gaming peripheral simulates a percussion instrument. In some implementations of the invention, the gaming peripheral simulates a plurality of percussion instruments. In some implementations of the invention, the percussion instruments may include, but are not limited to, a snare drum, a bass drum, a crash cymbal, one or more tom-toms, a high hat, and/or other percussion instruments.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more examples of implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and aspects of the invention.
In the drawings:
Although various examples and implementations of a haptic enabled gaming peripheral for use with a music game are described herein in the context of a haptic enabled guitar, the invention is not so limited. The following description is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. Other gaming peripherals and implementations thereof will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to various implementations of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like items.
In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
In accordance with this disclosure, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that devices of a less general purpose nature, such as hardwired devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, may also be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Where a method comprising a series of process steps is implemented by a computer or a machine and those process steps can be stored as a series of instructions readable by the machine, they may be stored on a tangible medium such as a computer memory device (e.g., ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Eraseable Programmable Read Only Memory), FLASH Memory, Jump Drive, and the like), magnetic storage medium (e.g., tape, magnetic disk drive, and the like), optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, paper card, paper tape and the like) and other types of program memory.
In some implementations, as illustrated in
In operation, the host computer 99 may provide high level commands to the local processor 126 such as the type of haptic effect to be output (e.g. vibration, jolt, detent, pop, etc.) by one or more selected actuators 134, 136, 138, 140, whereby the local processor 126 instructs the actuator 134, 136, 138, 140 as to particular characteristics of the haptic effect which is to be output (e.g. magnitude, frequency, duration, etc.)
The local processor 126 may be housed within the guitar 100 and typically, may not be easily removable from the guitar 100 housing (e.g. Xbox, Playstation 3, etc.). In some implementations, the local processor 126 is within a dedicated video game controller (e.g. Wii remote control) which is removably housed within the guitar 100. In such implementations, the local processor 126 is within the video game controller and receives the information signals from the sensing elements 128, 130, 132 and communicates with the host computer 99. In some implementations, the local processor 126 within the video game controller may provide instructions to and may control any one or more of the actuators 134, 136, 138, 140. The guitar 100 may also include a dedicated local processor in addition to the processor in the dedicated video game controller, whereby processing duties, communications and instructions are efficiently routed between the multiple processors to achieve greater speed, bandwidth, and flexibility.
In some implementations, one or more actuators 140 are targeted to be activated such that only a section of the entire guitar 100 (e.g. portions or all of the body, neck) outputs the haptic effect. The placement of actuators in
In some implementations, inputs from one portion of the guitar may be used to trigger actuators at or proximate to that portion of the guitar. In some implementations of the invention, inputs from one portion of the guitar may be used to trigger actuators at other portions of the guitar. In some implementations of the invention, gaming events independent from inputs from the guitar may be used to trigger actuators at various portions of the guitar. Various inputs and/or gaming events may be used to trigger various actuators as would be appreciated. By way of example of not limitation, inputs from strum bar sensing element 130 may trigger actuator 134 on the next of guitar 100.
Actuators of varying types are contemplated including, but not limited to, eccentric rotational mass (ERM) actuators, linear resonant actuators (LRA), piezoelectric actuator, voice coil actuator, electro-active polymer (EAP) actuators, memory shape alloys, etc.
However, the configuration of the fret buttons 202 of the conventional guitar controller results in several disadvantages. One such disadvantage is the substantially large distance which the finger must travel to register that a note has been played. This impedes the speed of execution as the large amount of distance D does not allow the user's digits to go as fast as they are capable going. Additionally, after a substantial amount of game play, the large distance of travel may cause the user to experience fatigue or injury. Additionally, the conventional configuration of the buttons may make loud noises and provide a spongy confirmation when they are pressed. This may distract from the game experience as the sound of the buttons during depression may be significant to the volume of the music output by the speakers 97 (
The capacitive sensing buttons 304 sense a change in capacitance as the user's digit applies a predetermined force onto the fret button(s) 304. Although the buttons 304 are illustrated to be flush with the top surface 308 of the neck 300, the buttons 304 may be slightly elevated or recessed with respect to the top surface 308 of the neck 300. In some implementations, the buttons 304 are programmed to register that they have been pressed when a threshold amount of pressure is applied thereto. This allows the buttons 304 to be pressed downward by the user without registering that the user has actually played a note. In other words, the user is able to apply pressure on the buttons 304 (without the sensors not actually reading an input) to relieve pressure on the user's wrist and finger joints. In some implementations, a sensing element with sensing buttons which operate using resistive touch technology, as opposed to capacitive touch technology, may be used.
In some implementations, the top surface of the fret button 404 configured to have some compliance to be able to move in a downward direction when the user's digit 96 applies a predetermined amount of force on the top surface of the fret button 404. The emitter/receiver 406 senses a change in the received light over a measured amount of time while the user applies the force to the fret button 404. Once the emitter/receiver 406 senses a threshold change in light, the optical sensing element 402 sends a sensing signal to the processor 126 indicating that the fret button 404 has been depressed. The threshold change may be set such that the fret buttons 404 may be slightly pressed downward by the user without registering that the user has played a note. This allows the user to apply pressure on the button 404 (without the sensors not actually triggering a note selection) to relieve pressure on the user's wrist and finger joints. In an non-limiting example, such a threshold change may be set to an equivalent to the user pressing the fret button 404 more than 400 microns. An advantage of the optical sensing element 402 is that the user can rest his or her fingers on the fret buttons 404 without accidentally triggering the buttons 404. In addition, the optical sensing element 402 allows the user to slide his or her fingers along the fret buttons 404 like a real guitar (for instance to play power chords) rather than having to raise his or her fingers, reposition them and then press down (as with existing game controller guitars).
In some implementations, the fret board includes 4, 5, 6 or 12 ridges or slots thereon, whereby each ridge or slot represents a string which runs along a portion or all of the fret board. The ridges or slots would serve as the strings, whereby sensor would detect when the user presses or puts his or her digits on the string. The processor could receive information as to the fret number and string number (e.g. 4th fret, 3rd string) and output signals representative of that fret position which would be played back through a speaker. Haptic effects would be output to provide the user with a realistic experience that he has pressed a string. This could serve as a training tool for beginner guitar players.
The haptic enabled guitar may have the input sensing element in the form of a touch element such as a touch screen or a touch pad. In some implementations, the touch elements may be along a portion or along the entire length of the fret-board, whereby one or more frets includes the touch element which sense the user's digit upon coming into contact with the touch element. In some implementations, the touch element is a touch screen which displays one or more strings, whereby touch elements on neighboring frets enable multiple rows of strings at multiple locations along the fret-board. In some implementations, the touch screen may highlight which strings and/or buttons for the user to press during the song. This may also be done for multiple strings and across multiple frets, such in playing power chords or slide guitar. The fret-board touch elements may be used to train the user on how to use the haptic-enabled guitar. It should be noted that any other types of touch enabled technology may be utilized to sense the user pressing the input sensing element. Various implementations of the invention may incorporate the use of one or more charged coupled-devices (CCD) or a pressure sensor to detect and monitor finger position on the fret board. In some implementations, the touch screen may display graphics other than virtual strings during play. In an example, the touch screen may display an animated lightning bolt or moving stars along the neck when the user has hit a consecutive note streak or has hit a high score.
In some implementations, any of the above mentioned input sensing elements may be used measure the change in position of the user's digit over a period of time while the digit is pressing on the input sensing element to add additional real life guitar effects. For instance, the sensing element measures the user's digit moving in an upward and/or a downward in direction perpendicular to the orientation of the strum bar. The element can then send a sensing signal indicating that the user is bending the virtual string (and thus modulating the note). In response, the host computer may adjust the pitch of the note and/or chord accordingly. In some implementations, the sensing element can provide a sensor signal representative of a vibrato when the sensing element measures the user's digit select and rapidly wobble the fret button. In response, the host computer will rapidly adjust the pitch of the note accordingly. In some implementations, the bending and/or vibrato feature may be similar to the effect which results from the user operating the whammy bar.
In some implementations, the guitar includes one or more actuators 128 positioned within the neck in which the actuator is coupled to the processor.
The operation of the input sensing elements will now be discussed in relation to
In some implementations of the invention, different haptic effects may be sent to different fret buttons. In some implementations of the invention, different haptic effects may be sent to the same fret button at different times. In some implementations of the invention, different haptic effects may be sent to the same fret button depending on the type of note (e.g., whole note, half note, quarter note, etc.) in the song being played. In some implementations of the invention, different haptic effects may be sent to the same fret button depending on the separation between notes (e.g., staccato, slurs, hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc.) in the song being played. In some implementations of the invention, different haptic effects may be sent to the fret buttons based on a type or feel of a guitar or more generically, a stringed instrument.
As mentioned above, the strum bar 116 may be used as an input element of the haptic guitar, because the video game usually requires the user to emulate strumming or picking of the virtual string along with the selected button 114 by pivotably moving the strum bar upwards and/or downwards. As illustrated in
In some implementations of the invention, however, actuator 136 may output a haptic effect to the strum bar 116 to convey a feeling of the string. This may be advantageous where the user is playing a bass guitar in the video game, whereby bass guitar strings are typically heavier than regular guitar strings. In some implementations, a kinesthetic haptic effect may be applied to the strum bar 116 such that that the virtual string is perceived as “heavy” or “light,” whereby the user is required to apply different forces to the strum bar 116 to strike a note. This may be accomplished by coupling actuator 136 to strum bar 116 and varying a resistive force applied to the actuator 136. In some implementations, an inertial haptic effect may be implemented such that striking the strum bar 116 triggers a vibration generated by the actuator 136. Similar effects could be applied to the fret buttons to simulate playing different strings on different guitars, or different strings on the same guitar. In particular, the actuator may output different resistive forces to the fret buttons depending on the size of the string such that the user would be required to apply different forces to play the note.
As illustrated in
This may provide the user with a tactile indication of one or more virtual strings. In addition, the user may optimize the speed and accuracy at which he or she is playing by utilizing the tactile information to adjust the physical hand motions. In addition, haptic effects provided by the actuator 136 combined with the center-based strum bar configuration may improve the user's experience as it would feel like the strum bar 500 has come alive or has a realistic feeling.
In some implementations, the strum bar may be replaced by a touch element such as a touch pad or touch screen in which the touch element senses the user's digit upon the digit contacting the touch element. The touch element may output a respective sensor signal like that produced by the strum bar discussed above. In some implementations, the touch element displays one or more virtual strings, whereby the user is able to select any or all of the displayed strings by running his or her finger along the touch screen over the displayed string(s). The touch element may include one or more actuators coupled thereto which provide the user with isolated haptic effects to simulate the feel of playing across the virtual displayed strings. In some implementations, the touch element may be programmable to display the desired number of virtual strings (e.g. 4, 5, 6 or 12).
In some implementations, the guitar may utilize a real string instead of a touch element or strum bar, in which the user plucks or strikes the string. A force sensor may be coupled to the string, whereby the force sensor is able to determine when the user strikes the string. In some implementations, the magnitude of the force at which the user strikes the string is monitored, whereby the monitored force is transmitted to the console to affect game play.
In some implementations, the guitar incorporates multiple strum bars (
In some implementations, the haptic enabled guitar may output haptic effects to the whammy bar to provide a pleasurable experience to the user. As mentioned in
In addition to the haptic enabled guitar, the software of the video game may provide additional advantages which provide a more pleasurable experience to the user. In some implementations, the video game may instruct the local processor 126 to cause the actuator to output a first order vibration to the body, fret buttons and/or strum bar of the guitar to achieve a warm, realistic feel of a guitar being played. This haptic effect could start out with low amplitude and increase in magnitude as the user continues to get the timing right for the game in an effort of simulating the ‘flow’ experience of playing a guitar. In some implementations, when the user's timing is off, a discordant haptic effect could be output by any or all of the actuators as an indication to the user. In some implementations, actuators located on the back of the body as well as the front strum hand area and the strum bar could be activated to produce such the above discussed sensations. In some implementations, the haptic effects output by the various actuators may vary depending on the type of guitar selected by the user in the video game (e.g. greater vibrations in the body for “hollow body” guitars as opposed to more subtle vibrations in the body of a “solid body” guitar.)
In some implementations, the guitar may be configured such that it provide haptic confirmation of button presses or strum events when the user successfully strikes the notes in the game. In other words, haptic effects would be output by the actuators to provide confirmation of button presses or strum bar effects when the user successfully depresses the correct button on the guitar with the button displayed on the screen.
In some implementations, the guitar may be configured to output one or more haptic effects to indicate that the user has successfully depressed in a predetermined number of correct notes. For example, in the game there is the concept of “note streaks” when the user successfully depresses a predetermined number of consecutive correct notes. The guitar may output one or more haptic effects from one or more actuators to reward the player after he or she has achieved a note streak milestone. A haptic effect could also be created that increases in magnitude as the user hits consecutive correct notes, whereby the increased magnitude is felt in the body and/or neck of the controller. As soon as the user misses a note the effect resets and the user knows he has ended his effect streak. In some implementations, the guitar may be configured to output another haptic effect when the user depresses one or more incorrect buttons.
As discussed above, the video game may have the ability for the user to utilize hammer-ons and pull offs on the guitar during gameplay. The haptic enabled guitar may use distinct haptic effect while the user to performing a hammer-on or pull-off action in which the actuator outputs the haptic effect on the buttons which the user is performing the actions.
One gaming concept is head-to-head play or “battle mode,” whereby two players compete against one another to successfully hit the most number of notes in a given time. A feature in the battle mode is for one player to launch distraction items that distract the other player during the competition. For example, in the battle mode, one distraction item when launched causes the other player's screen to catch fire, thereby preventing the user from seeing the notes for a given amount of time and thus inhibiting their ability to successfully hit notes during that time. The distraction items can be used with haptic enabled guitars, whereby launched distraction items cause the recipient's guitar to uncontrollably vibrate or output haptic effect which cause an irregular beat or beats not in sync with the notes displayed on the screen, or temporarily disable haptic feedback altogether.
In some implementations, the guitar's on-board accelerometer may send distinct signals of the guitar's position to the host computer which would in turn update the avatar's guitar on the screen to match the user's guitar position. For example, the guitar's accelerometer could sense the user putting the guitar between his legs or behind his head, whereby the host computer would instruct the video game to show the displayed avatar putting the guitar between his legs or behind his head.
As mentioned above, various implementations of the haptic enabled gaming peripheral have been described in the context of the guitar 100. However, various ones of the implementations described above may pertain to simulating other types of instruments as would be appreciated. By way example, the description of fret buttons 114, 118 and their associated sensors 128 and actuators 134 may pertain to keys of various wind instruments and/or valves of various brass instruments and/or keys of keyboard instruments. Other sensors may be used to measure air flow and timing thereof applied by the user to the various wind or brass instruments. Also by way of example, the description of strum bar 116 and its associated sensor 130 and actuator 134 may pertain to other “plucked” string instruments (e.g., mandolin, banjo, steel guitar, etc.). Further by way of example, this description may be readily extended to those string instruments that require use of a bow (e.g., violin, cello, etc.) in which case it may be desirable to employ a first gaming peripheral to simulate the string instrument and a second gaming peripheral to simulate the bow. Still further by way of example, this description may be extended to simulate various percussion instruments through the instruments themselves and/or via the mallets or sticks used to play them.
While various implementations and applications have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. For example, although the above descriptions of the gaming peripheral that simulates a musical instrument for use with a video and/or musical game, it is contemplated that various implementations of the invention may be used as a training tool to teach new players how to play the musical instrument. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.
The present application claims the benefit of priority based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/087,917 filed Aug. 11, 2008, in the name of inventors Danny A. Grant, Robert LaCroix, Erin Ramsay, and Hendrik Bartel, entitled “Haptic Enabled Guitar,” all commonly owned herewith.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61087917 | Aug 2008 | US |
