JPH0147798B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a keyboard device in an electronic musical instrument in which the touch feel of a key can be variably set according to the player's preference or by a tone color setting operation.

In conventional keyboard devices for electronic musical instruments,
Since the keys are simply pressed against the force of a spring, the touch of the keys is different from that of an ordinary piano, and this has the disadvantage that it is difficult for those accustomed to ordinary pianos to play.

Therefore, by attaching a magnet to the key or its frame and using its attraction force, or by attaching a weight to the key, the inertial force of the key is increased, thereby obtaining a key touch feeling similar to that of a normal piano. A device that enables this has been developed and put into practical use. However, with this device, once the key touch feeling is set, it cannot be changed, and therefore even if a player wishes to perform with a different key touch feeling, it is not possible to respond to this request.

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances,
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new keyboard device that can arbitrarily change the feel of a key touch according to the player's preference, and to be able to control the initial position of the parts that can provide the feel of a key touch. This is what I did.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
This will be explained with reference to the figure and FIGS. 2a and 2b. 1 in the diagram
is a key, and a large number of keys 1 are arranged between the oak trees A and A on both sides, and the rear end of the keys 1 is rotatably supported on a fulcrum part 3 of a keyboard frame 2. The key 1 is urged clockwise around the fulcrum 3 in FIG. It is held in a non-operating position by being brought into contact with a cushioning material 6 made of felt, and on the other hand, when a key is pressed, it is guided by a cushioning material 7 made of felt provided on the keyboard frame 2 and moved counterclockwise in the figure. By rotating and coming into contact with the buffer material 7, the rotation limit position in the same direction is reached. A groove 8 is formed at a predetermined location inside the side wall of the key 1, and a recess 8' is formed at the innermost part of the groove 8. The moving shaft 10 is press-fitted using the slight elasticity of the side wall of the key 1, and then fitted into the recess 8' and the shaft 1
0 is rotatably arranged. A weight (mass body) 11 made of lead or the like is attached to the other end of the arm 9. And this arm 9 has a weight 11
1 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1, and is brought into contact with a support member 12 normally provided on the keyboard frame 2. A bar 13 is arranged below the weight 11. This bar 13 extends in the direction in which the keys 1 are lined up, and its both ends are attached to the keyboard frame 2 so as to be movable up and down. A shaft 14 is disposed below the bar 13 and is rotatably supported by the keyboard frame 2. This shaft 14 has a plurality of cams 1
5 is mounted eccentrically. In addition,
The bar 13 has a plurality of cams (key touch control means) 15
is placed on the cam surface of the Then, as the cam 15 rotates together with the shaft 14, the bar 13
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the arm 9 is in the lower limit position where it simply contacts the weight 11 of the arm 9 in the normal position, and the upper surface of the arm 9 is in the lower limit position as shown by the chain double-dashed line in the same figure. Arm 9 together with weight 11
The valve is controlled to any position between the upper limit position for pushing up the cylinder and the upper limit position. Note that the shaft 14 can be rotated to any position by either turning a manual lever (not shown) or by transmitting the driving force of a motor (not shown) via a worm or a worm wheel. ing.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned constituent device will be explained.
First, when the key 1 is pressed against the force of the spring 4 in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. It rotates counterclockwise in the figure. Therefore, the force resisting the spring 4 and the arm 9 are exerted on the fingertip that presses the key 1.
The weight of the weight 11 and the like act as a reaction force. In addition, during normal key presses, the movement is performed at a constant velocity, so
During the transition from a stationary state to uniform motion, that is, when the acceleration at the start of keystroke is large, a force is required to accelerate the arm 9 and weight 11, so the reaction force acting on the fingertips temporarily increases. , and when the displacement of the key 1 increases, there is no need to apply any force to the arm 9 and the weight 11, and the reaction force is reduced. At the most depressed position of the key 1, the tip of the arm 9 (the weight 11) comes into contact with the cushioning material 16. As a result, it is possible to obtain a key touch feeling similar to that of an ordinary piano. At this time, musical tones are generated by driving a key switch (not shown) with an actuator (not shown) provided at the bottom of the key 1 or the tip of the arm 9.

On the other hand, in the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the arm 9 is pushed up together with the weight 11 to the uppermost position by the bar 13, and the arm 9 is moved counterclockwise along with the weight 11 around the shaft 10 in the figure. When the key 1 is pressed against the force of the spring 4 in the rotated position, the axis 1 of the arm 9
is lowered, but the arm 9 rotates counterclockwise in the figure using the weight 11 as a fulcrum, and the key switch is driven by the key 1 or the arm 9, and even when the key is finished pressing, the arm 9 remains on the supporting member. 12. Therefore, only the force acting against the spring 4 acts as a reaction force on the fingertip that presses the key 1. As a result, a key touch feeling that simply resists the force of the spring 4 can be obtained.

Furthermore, by setting the cam 15 in the middle of the two positions mentioned above, it is possible to freely select the key touch of the pipe organ, electronic piano, or electric piano at any time. In this case, the arm 9 does not come into contact with the support member 12 at the initial position of the key rotation, and initially there is a feeling of the key being touched against the force of the spring 4, and in the middle of the rotation, the arm 9 is at a position where it comes into contact with the support member 12. Therefore, in addition to the force resisting the spring 4, a force giving acceleration to the weight 11 is required. Therefore, it is possible to realize the touch feeling of the key 1, which is light at first, heavy in the middle, and light again at the end.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4a and 4b. Reference numeral 21 in the figure is a key, and this key 21 is rotatably supported by a balance rail 23 provided at the center of the upper surface of the shelf board 22 and a balance pin 24 implanted therein. A guide pin 26 implanted in a front rail 25 provided at the front of the upper surface prevents its lateral vibration. And this key 2
The second half of 1 has a narrower key width than the front half,
Weight buried in the rear end (key return means) 27
The cushioning material 28 made of felt is normally biased clockwise in FIG. 3 through the fulcrum part of the balance rail 23 by
is held in the non-operating position by being brought into contact with the
When the key 21 is pressed, the key 21 rotates counterclockwise in the figure, so that the bottom surface of the tip of the key 21 comes into contact with a cushioning material 29 made of felt provided on the front rail 25. Furthermore, arms 30 are disposed on both outer sides of the rear half of the key 21, respectively. One end of these arms 30 is rotatably attached to the central portion of the key 1 via a shaft (rotating shaft) 31, and a weight 32 made of lead or the like is attached to the other end. In addition, these weights (mass bodies)
32 are connected by a connecting rod 33. The arm 30 is urged clockwise in FIG. 3 by the weight 32, and is normally held at a position where the connecting rod 33 contacts the key 21. A bar 34 is arranged below the arm 30 and the key 21. This bar 34 extends in the direction in which the keys 21 are lined up, and its both ends are attached to guide members 38 provided on the shelf board 22 so as to be vertically movable. A bar 34 is provided on the upper surface of the bar 34 at a location corresponding to the arm 30.
A comb-shaped push-up piece 35 is provided integrally with or separately from the push-up piece 35 . A shaft 36 is attached to the shelf board 22 on the underside of the bar 34.
It is rotatably supported by a support plate 18 provided in the. This shaft 36 has a plurality of cams 37.
is mounted eccentrically. Note that the bar 34 is placed on the cam surfaces of the plurality of cams 37. Then, as the cam 37 rotates together with the shaft 36, the bar 34 is brought to the lower limit position where the push-up piece 35 simply contacts the arm 30 in the normal position, as shown by the solid line in FIG. As shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, the arm 30 is controlled by the push-up piece 35 to be in any position between the lifting limit position in which the arm 30 is pushed up together with the weight 32. The shaft 36 can be rotated to any position by either transmitting the driving force of the motor 39 via a transmission mechanism 40 consisting of a worm, a worm wheel, etc., or by turning a manual lever (not shown). It is made so that it can be done. That is, the cam 37, shaft 36, motor 39, etc. constitute key touch control means for setting the operation start position at which the arm 30 rotates counterclockwise in the figure. In the figure, 19 is a cam, and 20 is a position sensor that detects the position of the cam 19, that is, the rotational position of the shaft 36.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned constituent device will be explained.
First, when the key 21 is pressed against the force of the weight 27 in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. It moves integrally with the key 21. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain a key touch feeling similar to that of an ordinary piano. On the other hand, the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
That is, in the state where the arms 30 on both sides and their weights 32 are pushed up by the push-up pieces 35 of the bar 34 and rotated counterclockwise in the figure about the shaft 31, the key 21 is pushed up by the weight 27. When a key is pressed against the force, the shaft 31 of the arm 30 rises slightly, and the arm 30, together with the weight 32, rotates slightly clockwise in the figure using the push-up piece 35 as a fulcrum. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, a key touch feeling that simply resists the force of the weight 27 (relatively light key touch feeling) can be obtained.
Note that, in the state between the state shown by the solid line and the state shown by the middle two-dot chain line, various key touch sensations can be obtained as in the first embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. Note that the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted. In this embodiment, a rod 41 is disposed below the weight 11 of the arm 9 and extends in the direction in which the keys 1 are arranged. This rod 41 has one end attached to one end of a bent portion 42' of a substantially L-shaped manual lever 42 that moves integrally with the shaft 43, and the other end attached to the bent portion 42' of the other bent portion 42' (other than the manual lever 42). It is attached to one end (there is no end), and is attached to the keyboard frame 2 so as to be able to move substantially vertically. The other end of the hand-operated lever 42 is configured to protrude outside, and an operator 42'' is inserted and fixed at the tip of the hand-operated lever 42.
It is adapted to be locked in five positions indicated by symbols P ₁ to _{P 5} in the figure by a click mechanism. This click mechanism, for example, as shown in FIG.
A corrugation process is applied to the contact surface B between the protrusion 58 provided on the side wall of the keyboard frame 2 or the side plate of the instrument body and the worm wheel 45, which will be described later.
This is done by inserting the strong coil spring 57 through the shaft 43 and fitting it into the recess 58' of the protrusion 58, but it goes without saying that other mechanisms may be used. Further, the positions of the manual lever 42 indicated by symbols P ₁ to _{P 5} are detected by a position sensor 44 provided at a predetermined position on the keyboard frame 2 . Note that the position sensor 44 is connected to the manual lever 4.
It has an actuator 44' that moves following the rotation of 2,
This actuator 44' is biased into a compressed state by a coil spring at position _P1 , and is extended to the maximum length at position _P5 . And this actuator 44'
For example, the resistance value changes depending on its position. A worm wheel 4 is attached to the shaft 43.
5 is provided, and this worm wheel 45
A worm 46 is engaged with the worm 46 . warm 4
6 is attached to a shaft 47 having a cross-shaped cross section so as to rotate integrally with the shaft 47 and to be able to slide in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. A flange 48 is provided at one end of the shaft 47, and this flange 48 is connected to an output shaft 50 of a motor 49. Further, a flange 51 is provided at the other end of the shaft 47, and this flange 51 is rotatably supported by a bearing 52. Here, the rod 4
1, manual lever 42, worm 46, motor 4
Reference numeral 9 constitutes a key touch control means for setting the operation start position at which the arm 9 rotates counterclockwise in the figure. Note that an operator 53 is provided at the tip of the arm 9. Also, on the trajectory drawn by this operator 53, there is a movable contact of a switch 54, which is attached to the cut and raised part 2' of a part of the rear end of the keyboard frame 2 and detects the contact time difference. Piece 55
is located. Further, a cushioning material 56 made of felt is provided at a location corresponding to the tip of the arm 9 of the key 1.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned constituent device will be explained.
The movements of the arm 9 and the weight 11 when the key 1 is pressed are the same as those in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. However, at this time, when the key 1 is pressed to the maximum, the tips of the arm 9 and the weight 11 come into contact with the cushioning material 56, which prevents the rebound force from being transmitted to the fingertip that pressed the key 1. It is designed to prevent the feeling of bounce. Also, when the key is pressed, the movable contact piece 55 of the switch 54 is pushed up against its elastic force by the operator 53, thereby turning on the switch 54.
A sound corresponding to the pressed key 1 is electrically generated. Even if the key 1 is kept in the most depressed position, the position of the operator 53 will settle down to approximately the position drawn by the two-dot chain line. In other words, it is configured to drive the movable contact piece 55 only when a key is pressed, and is very weak (slow).
When the key is pressed down, the movable contact piece 55 is not driven and no sound is produced.

In this embodiment, when the manual lever 42 is operated to reach one of the positions P ₁ to P ₅ , the position of the rod 41 is accordingly changed to the position Q ₁ to _{Q 5} .
As a result, the initial position of the arm 9 and the weight 11, that is, the position in which the key 1 is not pressed, becomes one of the five modes, and for example, the manual lever 42 is in the corresponding position. When the rod 41 is in the position indicated by P ₁ and the symbol Q ₁ , the arm 9 and the weight 11 are in the fifth position.
When the arm 9 and the weight 11 are in the initial position indicated by the solid line in the figure, and the manual lever 42 is in the position indicated by the symbol P ₅ and the rod 41 is in the position indicated by the symbol Q ₅ , the arm 9 and the weight 11 are indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure. In the initial position shown. Therefore, for example, when the arm 9 and the weight 11 are at the initial position shown by the solid line in FIG. This greatly increases the touch feel of the keys, which is similar to that of a piano. On the other hand, for example, when the arm 9 and the weight 11 are at the initial position shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, the amount of displacement until they come into contact with the cushioning material 56 is small, so when the key 1 is pressed, the arm 9 and the weight 11 are There is almost no increase in the moment of inertia, and therefore a key touch feeling similar to that of an organ can be obtained. In addition,
When the manual lever 42 is at the positions indicated by P ₂ , P ₃ and P ₄ , the user can obtain the touch feeling of a key like that of a pipe organ, an electronic piano, or an electric piano, respectively. Further, when the manual lever 42 is rotated, the worm wheel 45 rotates together with the shaft 43, and at this time, the worm 46 rotates around the shaft 4, which has a cross-shaped cross section.
It only slides in the direction of arrow A or B with respect to 7, but does not rotate, and therefore no load is applied to the motor 49.

Next, the arm 9 and the weight 1 are moved by the motor 49.
The case of controlling the initial position of 1 will be explained with reference to the circuit diagram shown in FIG. The feature of this circuit is that the initial position of the arm is automatically varied based on the input operation of each tone setting operator, so that the key touch feeling can be varied as appropriate. 61a-6 in Figure 8
1e is organ, pipe organ, electronic piano,
This is a switch for presetting tones for electric pianos and pianos. Now, when the power switch (not shown) is turned on, a one-shot initial clear signal IC is generated, and this IC signal causes the RS type flip-flops (hereinafter referred to as FF) 62a to 62 to be turned on.
e is reset. At this time, for example, if the manual lever 42 is at the position indicated by the solid line in _FIG . The display lamp 63e shown lights up. In this state, for example, switch 6 for organ
When 1a is turned on, the signal "1" resets the FFs 62a to 62e through the OR 88 and the differentiating circuit 89, and the reset is canceled when the output signal of the differentiating circuit 89 falls, so the push button signal "1" of the switch 61a is reset. ” sets the FF62a.
When FF62a is set, its output “Q=1”
is supplied to a tone control circuit 64, which sets the tone of the tone source signal from a tone generator circuit (not shown) to "organ". On the other hand, FF6
“Q=1” in 2a is ANDed with the clock from the display lamp blinking oscillator OSC by AND AD1 to become a blinking signal, and this blinking signal is ORed.
Since the signal is supplied to the display lamp 63a via OR1, the display lamp 63a blinks, indicating that the touch feeling is currently being transferred from "piano" to "organ" (waiting for touch feeling setting). More FF
62a turns on the gate 65a, and the reference voltage 4V corresponding to the switch 61a is outputted from the gate 65a and inputted to the (+) terminal of the differential amplifier 66. On the other hand, the output voltage from the position sensor 44 is input to the (-) terminal of the differential amplifier 66, but since it has been preset to the piano, the (-)
The terminal is at 0 [V], and as a result, the differential amplifier 66
is approximately equal to the power supply voltage supplied to this +V
[V] is output.

The A/D converter 67 has 3 inputs ((+)V [V],
0 [V], (-)V [V]), (1, 1),
It outputs (1, 0) or (0, 1), (0, 0), and since +V [V] is currently input, the output is "L1 = 1, L2 = 2" and 81,
Exclusive OR 82 and Noah 83 are supplied. As a result, the output signal "1" is supplied from the AND 81 to the normal rotation terminal of the motor control circuit 68 via the OR 86, so that the motor 49 rotates in the normal direction, causing the shaft 47 to rotate, for example, to the right. As a result, the worm 46 moves, for example, to the right and comes into contact with the flange 51. Then, the manual lever 42 is gradually rotated to the left by the rod 41, and the arm 9 is pushed up.
When the lever 42 comes to the _P5 position, the inputs of the differential amplifier 66 match, so the output is 0.
[V] is output, and the A/D converter 67 outputs "L1=0, L2=1". Therefore, "0" is output from the AND 81 and the NOR 83, and "1" is output from the exclusive OR 82, so the motor 49 is temporarily stopped. However, since the signal that detects that the output of the AND 81 has become "0" is led to the one shot circuit 69 via the delay circuit 84, the reverse signal is ORed only for the one shot period (approximately 1 to 2 seconds) of the one shot circuit 69. It is supplied to the motor control circuit 68 via 87. This one-shot signal (reverse signal) causes the worm 46 to be positioned exactly at the center, changes the initial position of the arm 9, and completes the entire process of changing from piano touch to organ touch. When this step is completed, the actuator 44' of the position sensor is at the positions _P5 and _P'5 , so the signal "1" is transmitted to the conductor 44c and the movable contact 44.
f, 5 conductors P′ ₁ to P′ ₅ and 4 insulators d ₁ to _{d 4}
A conductor that is one of the fixed contact materials 44d consisting of
Since the signal is supplied to the OR1 via _P'5 , the display lamp 63a is lit.

Next, a case will be described in which the touch feeling is changed from organ touch (position P ₅ ) to pipe organ touch (position P ₄ ). When the pipe organ switch 61b, which is a tone and touch setting switch, is turned on, the FF62b is set and outputs "Q=1", and the tone setting circuit 64 presets the tone of the pipe organ, and the OSC clock At AND AD2, a point reduction signal is generated and the display lamp 63b is reduced. On the other hand, the gate 65b is turned on and a reference voltage of 3V is supplied to the (+) terminal of the differential amplifier 66. In addition, the voltage of P5 (4V) is applied to the (-) terminal of the resistor 44a, the movable contact 44e, and the conductor 44b.
The differential amplifier 66 outputs (-)V [V], and the A/D inverter 67 outputs "L1=0, L2=0", and this output signal is supplied to the NOR 83, It is led to the reverse rotation terminal of the motor control circuit 68 via the OR 87. This control signal causes the motor 49 to rotate in reverse, bringing the worm 46 into contact with the flange 48, and then rotating the manual lever 42 to position _P4 . The motor control circuit 68 detects that this lever 42 has rotated to the _P4 position.
In addition to supplying a stop signal, the falling signal of the NOR 83 is delayed by a delay circuit 85, and the motor 49 is rotated in the forward direction by one shot via the one shot circuit 69, thereby moving the worm 46 to approximately the center position. This completes the process of changing from organ touch to pipe organ touch. When this step is completed, the display lamp 63 is
b is lit. Thereafter, timbre and touch settings are made in the same manner using the switches 61a to 61e.

The reason why the worm 46 is controlled to be set at the center position after setting the touch feeling is to prevent a case in which manual setting cannot be performed after electric setting if this control is not performed. In other words, it is assumed that the electric setting is set to _P3 . In this case, since the worm 46 is not in the center position but in contact with one of the flanges, it cannot be moved further in the direction of contact by manual operation.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9. Note that parts with the same names as those in the third embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and a description of some of them will be omitted. In this embodiment, the arm 9 is rotatably attached to the keyboard frame 2 via a shaft (rotation shaft) 71, and an actuating member 72 provided on the key 1
Therefore, by pushing down one end of the arm 9, the arm 9 and the weight 11 are rotated about the shaft 71. Further, the manual lever 42 has a substantially dogleg shape, one end of the manual lever 42 is rotatably attached to the keyboard frame 2 via a shaft 43, and an eccentric cam rod 7 is attached to the shaft 43.
3 (corresponding to the rod 41 of the third embodiment), and the initial positions of the arm 9 and the weight 11 are controlled by this eccentric cam rod 73. That is, the manual lever 4
2. The shaft 43, the eccentric cam rod 73, etc. are connected to the arm 9.
constitutes key touch control means for setting the operation start position for rotation clockwise in the figure. Note that the operation of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the third embodiment or the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, the lower limit stopper member 90 of the arm 9 may be omitted and the eccentric cam rod 73 may be disposed at the position of the lower limit stopper member so that the eccentric cam rod 73 also serves as the lower limit stopper member.

Furthermore, as another example, the present technology can be applied to a keyboard device having an arm (hammer member) at the top of the key, such as a mechanism that has an arm (hammer member) at the top of the key, such as the action mechanism of an upright piano. may be applied.

As explained above, according to the keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument according to the present invention, it is possible to control the starting position of the rotation of the arm having a mass at the tip, which changes the touch feeling of the key. Not only is it light at the beginning of the movement, heavy in the middle, and then light again, but it is also possible to arbitrarily set the time when it becomes heavier in the middle, allowing the performer to obtain a variety of key touch sensations according to his/her preference. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2a is a bottom view of a part thereof, Fig. 2b is an enlarged view of the circular part in Fig. 2a, and Fig. 3 is this. FIG. 4a is a partial bottom view of the second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 4b is a partial side view of the same, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the invention. Side view, No. 6
7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 5, FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram shown to explain its operation, and FIG. 9 is a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1, 21... Key, 4... Spring (key return means), 9, 30... Arm, 11, 32... Weight (mass body), 13, 34... Bar, 15... Cam (key touch control) means), 42...hand-operated lever, 4
5... Worm wheel, 46... Worm, 3
9, 49...Motor, 54...Switch, 73...
...eccentric cam rod.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A key that is rotatably operated in a rotation range from a non-operating state to a key-depression end state; , a key return means that always operates to return the key to the non-operating state, and a mass body arranged rotatably around a rotation axis, and a mass body provided at one end of the key return means, the key returning to the non-operating state. is urged to rotate in one direction, receives a force to rotate the key at a predetermined position within the rotation range of the key, and as the key rotates, it also rotates in a direction opposite to the one direction. A keyboard device comprising: an arm; and key touch control means for setting a position at which the arm starts rotating in the opposite direction by setting an initial rotation position of the arm.