Patent Description:
Nowadays, there are various types of vibration devices available for users to experience vibration, such as vibrating chair, massage gun, or the likes. Some of these vibration devices may provide a variety of vibrating parameters for the user to choose from, but these vibrating parameters are preset fixed, and cannot satisfy the need for delicate vibrating feel of modern user.

<CIT> describes a music massager system and method according to the preambles of claims <NUM> and <NUM>. The system comprises vibrating motors, a motor control unit, an audio input unit, and a signal processing unit. The audio input unit receives an audio signal, which is low-pass filtered and amplitude-modulated by the signal processing unit based on the motors' rated revolution. The modulated signal controls the motors via the motor control unit. The system appears to include a setting unit to receive beat instructions with speed and note parameters, enabling the calculation of vibration time to control the motors. The operation methods involve processing audio signals and beat instructions to generate modulated signals and calculate vibration times, ensuring synchronized vibrations with the audio input. This system provides a customizable massaging experience, adapting to various music types and user preferences.

The present invention is identified in claim <NUM> and claim <NUM>.

A vibration device of the present disclosure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an audio input unit, a signal processing unit, a motor control unit and at least one vibration motor, wherein the signal processing unit is connected to the audio input unit and the motor control unit, and the at least one vibration motor is connected to the motor control unit. The audio input unit is configured to obtain audio signal. The signal processing unit is configured to perform low-pass filtering on the audio signal to generate a filtered signal, modulate the filtered signal according to the rated revolution of the at least one vibration motor to generate a modulated signal, and control the at least one vibration motor through the motor control unit according to the modulated signal.

A vibration device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, including a setting unit, a signal processing unit, a motor control unit and at least one vibration motor, wherein the signal processing unit is connected to the setting unit and the motor control unit and the at least one vibration motor is connected to the motor control unit. The setting unit is configured to receive a beat setting instruction, the beat setting instruction includes a speed parameter and a note parameter. The signal processing unit is configured to calculate the vibration time according to the speed parameter and the note parameter, and control the at least one vibration motor through the motor control unit according to the vibration time.

An operation method of a vibration device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: obtaining an audio signal; performing a low-pass filtering on the audio signal to generate a modulated signal; performing a modulation on the at least one vibration motor to generate a modulated signal according to a rated revolution of the at least one vibration motor; and controlling the at least one vibration motor according to the modulated signal.

An operation method of a vibration device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes: receiving a beat setting instruction, the beat setting instruction includes a speed parameter and a note parameter; calculating the vibration time according to the speed parameter and the note parameter; and controlling the at least one vibration motor according to the vibration time.

In summary, the vibration device and operation method thereof disclosed by the present application may adjust multiple vibrating parameters of a vibration motor according to an audio signal or outside inputs, to provide users with various vibration experience.

The description of the present disclosure and the description of the embodiments below are used to provide a further explanation of the claims of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter he accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure and wherein:.

According to the description, claims and the drawings disclosed in the specification, one skilled in the art may easily understand the concepts and features of the present invention. The following embodiments further illustrate various aspects of the present invention, but are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.

Please refer to <FIG> which is a functional block diagram illustrating a vibration device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a vibration device <NUM> includes a plurality of vibration motors 11_1-11_n, a motor control unit <NUM>, an audio input unit <NUM> and a signal processing unit <NUM>, wherein the vibration motors 11_1-<NUM>-11_n is electrically connected to the motor control unit <NUM>, and the motor control unit <NUM> and audio input unit <NUM> may be connected to the signal processing unit <NUM> through wire or in a wireless way. It should be noted that the number of the vibration motors illustrated in <FIG> may be at least three, but in other embodiments, the number of the vibration motors of vibration device <NUM> may be one or two, and the present disclosure does not limit the number of vibration motors. The vibration motors 11_1-11_n may be flat vibration motors but are not limited to thereof. The motor control unit <NUM> is configured to be controlled by the signal processing unit <NUM> to control the vibration motors 11_1-11_n. In one implementation, the motor control unit <NUM> may be a motor control circuit. In another implementation, the motor control unit <NUM> may be a programmable logic controller. The audio input unit <NUM> is configured to obtain an audio signal. For example, the audio input <NUM> may be microphone or other recording equipment, or the audio input unit <NUM> may be a signal transmission port to receive audio signal from an outside device.

The signal processing unit <NUM> may include a low-pass filter and a amplitude modulator, and is configured to perform low-pass filtering on the audio signal received by the audio input signal <NUM> to generate a filtered signal, modulate the filtered signal according to the rated revolution of the vibration motors 11_1-11_n to generate a modulated signal, and control the vibration motors 11_1-11_n through the motor control unit <NUM> according to the modulated signal, wherein the low-pass filter and the amplitude modulator may be implemented by software, hardware circuit, or a combination of both. In one implementation, the signal processing unit <NUM> may be a signal processing element with the low-pass filter and the amplitude modulator built in it, and the signal processing element includes an audio processor and/or a microcontroller, wherein the audio processor may be, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the signal processing unit <NUM> may include a low-pass filtering circuit and an amplitude modulation circuit. In yet another implementation, the signal processing unit <NUM> may include one or both of the low-pass filtering circuit and the amplitude modulation circuit mentioned above and the signal processing element mentioned above at the same time.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a flow chart illustrating an operation method of a vibration device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the operation method of the vibration device includes step S21: obtaining an audio signal; step S22: performing low-pass filtering on the audio signal to generate a filtered signal; step S23: performing a modulation on the filtered signal according to the rated revolution of the motor to generate a modulated signal; and step S24: controlling the vibration motors according to the modulated signal. The operation method of vibration device may be adapted to the vibration device shown in <FIG>, the following descriptions exemplarily illustrate the flow chart of the operation method shown in <FIG> with the vibration device <NUM> shown in <FIG> and signal waves shown in <FIG>, wherein <FIG> are schematic diagrams illustrating the signal changes in the process of signal processing of a vibration device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In step S21, the audio input <NUM> obtains an audio signal. Specifically, step <NUM> may be using a microphone recording a user's voice or a music in the environment, or may be obtaining the audio file (for example, MPD file) by an external device through electrical connection or internet connection.

In step S22, the signal processing unit <NUM> performs low-pass filtering on the audio signal to generate a filtered signal. Specifically, the audio signal (the waveform shown in <FIG>) may become the filtered signal through being low-pass filtered by the low-pass filtering circuit inside the signal processing unit <NUM> or by the low-pass filtering software built in the signal processing unit <NUM>, wherein the filtered signal is as shown in <FIG> and the signal shown in <FIG> is an enlarged view of the area A shown in <FIG>. Moreover, the cut-off frequency of low-pass filtering may be preset as <NUM>.

In step S23, the signal processing unit <NUM> modulates the filtered signal according to the rated revolution of vibration motors <NUM>-_1-11_n to generate the modulated signal. Specifically, the modulated signal includes an amplitude parameter and a frequency parameter, the amplitude parameter corresponds to the amplitude of the filtered signal and the frequency parameter corresponds to the rated revolution of the vibration motors 11_1-11_n. More specifically, the modulating process may be expressed by the relation below: <MAT> In the above relation, "Sv" is the modulated signal, "SLP" is the filtered signal, and "ω" is the rated revolution of the vibration motors 11_1-11_n. This modulated signal includes the amplitude and frequency of the vibration motors 11_1-11_n, the modulated sine signal uses the rated revolution of the vibration motors as the base frequency of the modulation, SLP provides the amplitude magnitude, that is, the vibration motors 11_1-11_n may have part of the amplitude magnitude of SLP while spinning with the original base frequency to provide users with feelings of rhythm. As shown in <FIG>, the signal C1 is the modulated signal and the signal C2 is the filtered signal.

In step S24, the signal processing unit <NUM> controls the vibration motors 11_1-11_n through the motor control unit S12 according to the modulated signal, that is, the modulated signal mentioned above is the control signal of the vibration motors 11_1-11_n. Through modulation based on the vibrating revolution coordinating with the low frequency part of the filtered signal mentioned above, the vibration motors may generate vibration like the low frequency part of the input signal under the change of current and voltage, and the modulated amplitude magnitude determines the vibration time and intensity of the vibration in the input signal directly, and because of the alternating current characteristic of the sinusoidal signal, the vibration motors may achieve different feelings of vibrating comparing to the vibration motors controlled by a direct current.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a functional block diagram illustrating a vibration device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the vibration device <NUM> includes a plurality of vibration motors 51_1-51_n, a motor control unit <NUM>, a signal processing unit <NUM> and setting unit <NUM>. The vibration motors 51_1-51_n may be connected to the signal processing unit <NUM> through wire or in a wireless way. It should be noted that the number of the vibration motors 51_1-51_n illustrated in <FIG> is at least <NUM>, but in other embodiments, the number of vibration motors may be one or two, the present disclosure does not limit the number of the vibration motors.

The vibration motors 51_1-51_n may be but not limited to, for example, flat vibration motors. The motor control unit <NUM> is configured to control the vibration motors 51_1-51_n. In an implementation, the motor control unit <NUM> may be a motor control circuit. In another implementation, the motor control unit <NUM> may be a programmable logic controller. The setting unit <NUM> may be, for example, buttons providing multiple options, a display touch panel that can provide a user setting interface, and other input devices or signal transmission port, and is configured to receive a beat setting instruction, the beat setting instruction includes a speed parameter and a note parameter. Specifically, the speed parameter may be beats per minutes (BPM) and the note parameter may be quarter note, eighth note or the likes.

The signal processing unit <NUM> may calculate the vibration time according to the speed parameter and the note parameter, and control the vibration motors 51_1-51_n through the motor control unit <NUM>. Further, the signal processing unit <NUM> may control the vibration motors 51_1-51_n through the motor control unit <NUM> by using a pulse-width modulation signal (PWM). Furthermore, the signal processing unit <NUM> may generate the PWM signal to control the vibration motors 51_1-51_n through the motor control unit <NUM> when a time condition is met. For example, the signal processing unit <NUM> may include a microcontroller with a program of the operation mentioned above built in it. The particular way of calculating the vibration time may be described hereinafter.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a flow chart illustrating an operation method of a vibration device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the operation method of vibration device includes step S61: receiving a beat setting instruction; step S62: calculating the vibration time according to the speed parameter and the note parameter; and step S63: controlling the motor according to the vibration time. The operation method shown in <FIG> may be adapted to the vibration device <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the operation method of a vibration device may be described hereinafter with the vibration device <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

In step S61, the setting unit <NUM> receives the beat setting instruction.

In step S62, the signal processing unit <NUM> calculates the vibration time according to a speed parameter and a note parameter. Specifically, the signal processing unit <NUM> may generate a first value by dividing a preset time length by a value of the speed parameter, and generate a second value by dividing a preset note value by a value of the note parameter, and divide the first value by the second value to generate the vibration time. More specifically, the vibration time may be calculated by the formula below: <MAT>.

In the above formula, "<NUM>" means that the preset time length is <NUM> seconds; "BPM" represents the value of the speed parameter included in the beat setting instruction; "Quarter_Note" represents that the preset note value is <NUM>/<NUM>; "NOTE" represents the value of the note parameter included in the beat setting instruction. For example, when the value of the speed parameter is <NUM> and the value of the note parameter is <NUM>/<NUM>, the first value is <NUM> divided by <NUM>, which is <NUM>. The second value is <NUM>/<NUM> divided by <NUM>/<NUM>, which is <NUM>. The vibration time is <NUM> divided by <NUM>, which is <NUM> seconds, and that is <NUM>.

In step S63, the signal processing unit <NUM> controls the vibration motors 51_1-51_n through the motor control unit <NUM> according to the vibration time. Moreover, the signal processing unit <NUM> may generate the PWM signal according to the vibration time to control the vibration motors 51_1-51_n through the motor control unit <NUM>.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a flow chart illustrating an operation method of a vibration device according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the operation method of a vibration device includes steps S61-S63 shown in <FIG>, and step S62 of calculating the vibration time further includes step S71: determining whether the value of the speed parameter is in a preset speed range; and step <NUM>: determining whether the value of the note parameter matches one of a plurality of preset note values. The flow chart illustrated in <FIG> may be adapted to the vibration device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, and the flow chart illustrated in <FIG> is described with the vibration device illustrated in <FIG> hereinafter.

In step S71, the signal processing unit <NUM> determines whether the value of the speed parameter from the setting unit <NUM> is in a preset speed range. For example, the preset speed range may be equal to or greater than <NUM> BPM and smaller or equal to <NUM> BPM.

In step S72, the signal processing unit <NUM> determines whether the value of the note parameter matches one of the plurality of preset note values. For example, the preset note value may be a quarter note, an eighth note, a sixteenth note, a triplet, or a triplet with the middle one rested.

Step S71 may be regarded as the first determination and step S72 may be regarded as the second determination. It should be noted that the operation order of the two determination is not limited to the illustration of <FIG>, and step S72 may be perform before or at the same time with step S71. When the result of the first determination and the second determination is positive (i.e., "yes"), which means that the value of the speed parameter is in the preset speed range and the note parameter matches one of the plurality of preset note values, the signal processing unit <NUM> performs step S62 to calculate the vibration time; when the result of the first determination or the second determination is negative (i.e., "no"), which means that the speed parameter is not in the preset speed range or the note parameter does not match any preset note value, the signal processing unit <NUM> operates step S61 to wait for another beat setting instruction from the setting unit <NUM>, and performs the first determination and the second determination mentioned-above on this beat setting instruction.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a flow chart illustrating an operation method of a vibration device according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, in addition to the steps S61-S63 shown in <FIG>, the operation method further includes the flow process of motor number setting, operation order setting and intensity setting, including step S81: receiving the motor number setting instruction, the operation order instruction and the intensity setting instruction; step S82: determining whether the motor setting number is in a preset number range; step S83: setting an order of the Nth vibration motor; step S84: determining whether N equals to the motor setting number; step S85: N=N+<NUM>; step S86: setting the intensity of the Nth vibration motor; step S87: determining whether N equals to the motor setting number; and step S88: N=N+<NUM>. The method of the motor number setting, the operation order setting and the intensity setting illustrated in <FIG> may be adapted the vibration device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, the flow process of the motor number setting, the operation order setting and the intensity setting is described with the vibration device illustrated in <FIG> hereinafter.

In step S81, the signal processing unit <NUM> receives the motor number setting instruction, the operation order instruction and the intensity setting instruction. Specifically, the motor number setting instruction may instruct the motor setting number (referred to as M in the following descriptions) which is the number of motor to be turned on; the operation order instruction may instruct the operation order between M motors of the vibration motors 51_1-51_n, for example but not limited to, using the arrangement order of the motors as the operation order; the intensity setting instruction may instruct the motor setting intensity, such as a percentage of the highest intensity.

In step S82, the signal processing unit <NUM> determines whether the motor setting number is in the preset number range. The preset number range may be, for example, the total number of the vibration motors 51_1-51_n. For example, the vibrating device <NUM> has <NUM> motors in total, when the motor setting number is <NUM>, the signal processing unit <NUM> performs step S83; when the motor setting number is <NUM>, and the signal processing unit <NUM> may wait for a new motor number setting instruction.

In step S83, the signal processing unit <NUM> sets the order of the Nth vibration motor. For example, the signal processing unit <NUM> may set the order of the first vibration motor as <NUM>, then the first vibration motor may be the third motor to vibrate.

In step S84, the signal processing unit <NUM> determines whether N equals to the motor setting number, specifically, this step is configured to determine whether the vibration motor that is set right now is the last motor. For example, when the motor setting number is <NUM> and N equals to <NUM>, N does not equal to the motor setting number, and the signal processing unit <NUM> may operate step S85, and when the motor setting number is <NUM> and N is <NUM>, the signal processing unit <NUM> operates step S86.

In step S85, the signal processing unit operates N=N+<NUM>, and operates step S83 again. Specifically, this step may set the motor to be set to the next motor. For example, when N=<NUM>, after performing N=N+<NUM>, N=<NUM>, and the second vibration motor will be set when step S83 is performed again.

The process method of steps S86, S87, and S88 are similar to steps S83, S84, and S85, the difference point is the motor parameter that is set is the intensity parameter, so the description may not be repeated herein. It should be noted that steps S86-S88 are performed after steps S83-S85, but in other embodiments, steps S86-S88 may be performed before or at the same time as steps S83-S85, and when performing step S86 for the first time, N may be set to its initial value (e.g., <NUM> or other value which is not greater than the motor setting number).

Additionally, although the flow chart in <FIG> illustrates receiving the motor number setting instruction, the operation order setting instruction and the intensity setting instruction to be performed in one process, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, there may be only one or two of the three instructions mentioned above, in other words, in the operation method of a vibration device, there may be one or two of the combination of steps S81-S82, the combination of steps S83-S85, and the combination of steps S86-S88.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a flow chart illustrating an operation method of a vibration device according to further another embodiment of the present disclosure. The flow process shown in <FIG> may be an implementation of step S63 of controlling the vibration motors according to the vibration time shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the method of controlling the vibration motors includes step S91: driving the Nth motor; step S92: counting the operation time of the Nth motor; step S93: determining whether the operation time reaches the vibration time; step S94: determining whether N equals to the motor setting number; step S95: stopping the operation of the Nth motor; step S96: N=N+<NUM>; and step S97: N=<NUM>. The method of driving the vibrating method shown in <FIG> may be adapted to the vibration device <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the method of controlling the vibration motors shown in <FIG> is described with the vibration device <NUM> shown in <FIG> hereinafter.

In step S91, the signal processing unit <NUM> drives the Nth motor through the motor control unit <NUM>, wherein N is a natural number, and the initial value may be <NUM>, the vibration motor 51_1 may be regarded as the Nth motor as an example hereinafter.

In step S92, the signal processing unit <NUM> counts the operation time of the vibration motor 51_1.

In step S93, the signal processing unit <NUM> may determine whether the operation time reaches the vibration time, wherein the vibration time is obtained through step S62. For example, assuming the vibration time is <NUM> seconds, when the operation time reaches <NUM> seconds, the signal processing unit <NUM> may perform step S94.

In step S94, signal processing unit <NUM> determines whether N equals to the motor setting number, wherein the motor setting number may be obtained through the motor setting instruction mentioned above. Specifically, this step is configured to determine whether the current setting motor is the last motor. For example, assuming the motor setting number is <NUM>, when N is <NUM>, which means that the current driving motor is not the last motor, so the signal processing unit <NUM> operates step S95, and when N equals to <NUM>, which means that the current performing motor is the last motor, so the signal processing unit <NUM> operates step S97.

In step S95, the signal processing unit <NUM> stops the operation of the vibration motor 51_1 through the motor control unit <NUM>. Specifically, it stops the motor that is currently vibrating.

In step S96, the signal processing unit operates N=N+<NUM>. Specifically, it changes to control the next motor of the vibration motor 51_1, such as the vibration motor 51_2 or the next motor of vibration motor 51_1 set in the operation order instruction mentioned above.

In step S97, signal processing unit <NUM> sets N as <NUM>, and then performs step S91, which means to drive the vibration motors from the start. In another embodiment, step S97 may be the end of control.

Moreover, in steps S91~S97 performed by the signal processing unit <NUM>, the control of the vibration motor may be implemented with the PWM signal method.

Please refer to <FIG>, which is a functional block diagram illustrating a vibration device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the vibration device <NUM> includes a plurality of vibration motors 10_1-10_n, a motor control unit <NUM>, a setting unit <NUM>, an audio input unit <NUM>, and a signal processing unit <NUM>, wherein the implementation element and the function of the vibration motors 10_1-10_n, the setting unit <NUM>, and the audio input unit <NUM> are the same as the ones with the same names shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, so they will not be repeated herein. The number of the vibration motors 10_1-10_n illustrated in <FIG> is at least three, but in other embodiments, the number of the vibration device <NUM> may be one or two, the present disclosure does not limit the number of the vibration motors.

The vibration device <NUM> shown in <FIG> may have the function of the vibration device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> and the function of the vibration device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Specifically, the vibration device <NUM> may have two modes, one mode is a music mode and another mode is a beat mode. When the vibration device <NUM> id in the music mode, it may perform the operation method of the vibration device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, when the vibration device <NUM> is in the beat mode, it may perform the operation method of the vibration device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>.

More specifically, the signal processing unit <NUM> of the vibration device <NUM> may include an audio processor <NUM> (for example, DSP) and a microcontroller <NUM>. The audio processor <NUM> is connected to the audio input unit <NUM>, and is configured to perform low-pass filtering on the received audio signal to generate a filtered signal, and modulates the filtered signal according to the rated revolution of the vibration motors 10_1-10_n to generate the modulated signal. The detailed operation content are the same as the operation of the signal processing unit <NUM> of the vibration device <NUM> mentioned above, so they will not be repeated herein. The microcontroller <NUM> is connected to the audio processor <NUM> and the motor control unit <NUM>, and is configured to control the vibration motors 10_1-10_n through the motor control unit <NUM> according to the modulated signal generated by the audio processor <NUM>, or calculate the vibration time according to a speed parameter and a note parameter of a beat setting instruction and control the vibration motors 10_1-10_n through the motor control unit <NUM> according to the vibration time. The detailed content of the operation is the same as the operation of the signal processing unit <NUM> of the vibration device <NUM> mentioned above, and it is not repeated herein.

In another embodiment, the signal processing unit <NUM> of the vibration device <NUM> may include a microcontroller <NUM> and does not include the audio processor <NUM>. In this embodiment, the microcontroller <NUM> may perform the operation of the signal processing unit <NUM> of the vibration device <NUM> mentioned above when receiving an audio signal, and may perform the operation of the signal processing unit <NUM> of the vibration device <NUM> mentioned above when receiving a beat setting instruction.

One or more embodiments of the vibration device mentioned above and the operation method thereof may be adapted to various kinds of equipment having a vibrating function, for example, a massage chair, a drummer stool, or the likes, but the present disclosure is not limited to thereof.

Claim 1:
A vibration device (<NUM>, <NUM>), comprising:
at least one vibration motor (11_1-11_n);
a motor control unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) connected to the at least one vibration motor (11_1-11_n);
an audio input unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) configured to obtain an audio signal;
a signal processing unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) connected to the audio input unit (<NUM>,<NUM>) and the motor control unit (<NUM>, <NUM>), and configured to perform low-pass filtering on the audio signal to generate a filtered signal, perform an amplitude modulation on the filtered signal according to a rated revolution of the at least one vibration motor (11_1-11_n) to generate a modulated signal, and control the at least one vibration motor (11_1-11_n) through the motor control unit (<NUM>,<NUM>) according to the modulated signal; and
a setting unit (<NUM>) connected to the signal processing unit (<NUM>), characterized in that the setting unit (<NUM>) is configured to receive a beat setting instruction comprising a speed parameter and a note parameter;
wherein the signal processing unit (<NUM>) is further configured to calculate vibration time according to the speed parameter and the note parameter, and control the at least one vibration motor (11_1-11_n) through the motor control unit (<NUM>) according to the vibration time; and
wherein the signal processing unit (<NUM>) is further configured to perform a first determination of whether a value of the speed parameter is in a preset speed range and a second determination of whether a value of the note parameter matches one of a plurality of preset note values on the beat setting instruction before calculating the vibration time, wherein when a result of the first determination and a result of the second determination are positive, the signal processing unit (<NUM>) calculates the vibration time, and when the result of the first determination or the second determination is negative, the signal processing unit (<NUM>) waits for another beat setting instruction obtained from the signal processing unit (<NUM>) and performs the first determination and the second determination on the another beat setting instruction.