JPH0572593B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a player piano that allows performance information to be recorded more faithfully.

Generally, a player piano that has not only a playback function but also a recording function is equipped with a sensor that is used during recording. This sensor is usually called a key sensor, and is placed below each key to detect the pressed key, as well as detect the difference in opening and closing times of the contacts to detect keystroke speed, etc., and record faithfully. I try to do this.

However, the sound generation mechanism of a player piano is constructed in the same way as a general piano, and the strings are struck by a key and an action mechanism that rotates and flies the hammer in conjunction with the key, and at the same time, just before the string is struck, The damper mechanism, which operates in conjunction with the key, releases the string and allows it to vibrate when the string is struck, so the movements of the action mechanism and damper mechanism are strictly speaking different from the movement of the key, and therefore they only reflect the movement of the key. Merely detecting faithfully does not mean that string striking information (pronunciation information) and sound stop information have been faithfully detected. Therefore, accurate string striking timing, sound stop timing,
It was not possible to obtain performance information based on the strength and weakness of the strings. Particularly in special performances such as staccato and rapid repeated hits, inaccuracies are noticeable in the keystroke information by the keys, the string strike information by the hammer, and the stoppage information by the damper mechanism, making faithful recording difficult.

This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and provides a self-playing piano that enables more faithful and accurate recording by separately detecting key hitting information, string hitting information, and sound stop information. The player piano according to the present invention includes a key sensor 20, a hammer sensor 45, and a damper sensor 130. The hammer sensor 80 outputs a detection signal when it detects that the hammer 45 is pressed down deeply, and the hammer sensor 80 detects that the hammer 45 passes through a first passing point and a second passing point set in its travel stroke. The damper sensor 130 detects and outputs first and second hammer detection signals, respectively, and the damper sensor 130 detects and outputs the movement of the damper 121.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of an embodiment of the action mechanism of a player piano according to the present invention. In the figure, a keyboard reed 2 is placed on a shelf board 1 of a player piano, and a plurality of (for example, 88) keys 4 are placed on top of the keyboard reed 2, corresponding to the strings 3 of each pitch. are arranged parallel to each other so as to be able to freely swing in the vertical direction centering on their respective intermediate portions.

The keyboard reeds 2 each include a reed front 5, a reed middle 6, and a reed middle 6, which are arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the keys 4, and each have a length that extends in common to all the keys 4. The back of the reed 7, and a plurality of keys arranged at appropriate intervals in the arrangement direction of the keys 4, extending in the longitudinal direction of the key 4, and integrally connecting the front of the reed 5, the middle of the reed 6, and the back of the reed 7. Book keyboard reed 8
It is formed into a lattice-like shape. A long hole (not shown) is formed in the lower surface of the front end portion 4a of the key 4, and a long hole (not shown) is formed in the front-rear direction.
The upper end of the oval key pin 9 planted on the upper surface is always engaged, thereby regulating the movement of the key 4 in the left and right direction. Further, a fan-shaped long hole 10 is bored through the middle part of the key 4, and this long hole 10 is planted on the reed center 6 to allow the key 4 to swing freely in the vertical direction. A supporting balance key pin 11 is inserted. The front end 4a of the key 4 normally lifts up from the front 5 of the reed due to the load of the action mechanism 13, which will be described later, and the rear end 4b is placed on the upper surface of the rear 7 of the reed via the felt 12, maintaining the initial position. ing.

A plurality of actuators 14, which are used during playback, are arranged at the rear end of the lower surface of the shelf board 1, corresponding to each key 4. These actuators 14 are constituted by well-known electromagnetic plungers, and have a solenoid 14a, the lower end of which is loosely inserted into the center hole of the solenoid 14a, and the upper end of which is inserted into the through hole 15 of the shelf board 1 and the keyboard reed. Hole 1 of Nakasho 8
6, and a plunger 14b whose top end surface closely opposes the lower surface of the rear end of the corresponding key 4. Therefore, when a voltage pulse is applied to the solenoid 14a to excite it, the plunger 14b
moves upward instantaneously and pushes up the lower surface of the rear end portion 4b of the key 4, so that the key 4 is operated as if it were pressed by hand. In this case, the actuator 14 is not necessarily located at the shelf board 1.
Of course, it is not limited to the bottom surface of the key 4, and may be made thinner and placed between the shelf board 1 and the key 4, or may be placed above the front end 4a of the key 4 as in a bolseter type piano. be.

A plurality of key sensors (key detection means) 20 are arranged on the upper surface of the front end of the keyboard reed 2 in correspondence with the keys 4. These key pin sensors 20 are for detecting the operation of the pressed keys when recording a performance, converting it into a digital signal, and sending this signal to a data recorder (not shown). For example, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a base 21 having a common extending length for all keys 4 and fixed on the keyboard reed support 8, and a height-adjustable base 21 on this base 21 via a spacer 23 are provided. a plurality of leaves 2 fixed to the upper surface of the sensor base 22, extending in the longitudinal direction of the base 22, and corresponding to each key 4;
4, and a spacer 25 at the front end of the upper surface of the sensor base 22.
6 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the base 22; a second printed circuit board 29 extending in the direction;
9, and constitutes a fixed contact common to each key 4. The front end of each leaf 24 is connected to the electric circuit of the first printed circuit board 27, and the rear end behind the leaf holder 25 normally contacts the wire 30 from below to form a break contact, Further, a substantially inverted J-shaped pressed portion 24A is integrally provided at the rear end, and is pressed down by the lower surface of the front end of the key 4 when the key 4 is pressed. in this case,
The pressed portion 24A is separated from the lower surface of the front end of the key 4 by keeping a predetermined distance, as shown in FIG.
It is pressed when it descends to 1/1/2. Therefore,
The leaf 24 separates from the wire 30 and breaks the key sensor 20, and the signal sent out at this time is used as a detection signal (key name signal) for the key 4.
Furthermore, when the key 4 begins to return to rotation after the key press operation, the pressed portion 24A is released from the key 4 in the middle of the rotation, so it returns elastically upward, causing the leaf 24 to come into contact with the wire 30 again, in other words. key sensor 2
Make 0. Therefore, key sensor 2
By detecting the time from the break time of 0 to the make time, the key depression time of the key 4, etc. can be detected.

Note that a noise-preventing leather 35 is fixed to the lower surface of the front end of the key 4 in correspondence with the pressed portion 24A.

The action mechanism 13 includes a rear end portion 4 of each key 4.
b, and is provided with a support 41 which is raised and rotated by the key 4. One end of this support 41 is rotatably supported on a support rail 42 via a support flange 43, and a support heel 41a provided on the lower surface of the free end side is attached to a cap implanted on the upper surface of the rear end of the key 4. It is always placed on a stance screw 44, and is configured to be rotated upward in a counterclockwise direction when the capstance screw 44 is raised as the key 4 is driven. A repetition lever 46 for holding a hammer 45 (described later) at an initial position is swingably disposed on the upper surface of the intermediate portion of the support 41 via a repetition lever flange 47. And this repetition lever 46
is always given the habit of rotating counterclockwise by a spring 48, and a repetition button 49 is attached to one end thereof to abut against the upper surface of the support 41 and restrict the rotation of the lever 46. has been done.

The hammer 45 has a hammer shank 52 whose one end is rotatably supported on a shank rail 51 via a shank flange 50, and a hammer shank 53 at the other end of the hammer shank 52.
A hammer felt 54 is fixed thereto, and a hammer roller 55 as a buffer member is attached to the lower surface of the rotation fulcrum side of the shank 52 and placed on the upper surface of the other end side of the repetition lever 46. There is.

At the free end of the support 41, a jack 61 formed in a substantially L-shape is provided with its bent portion rotatably supported, and the upper end of this jack 61 is connected to the repetition lever. It is always engaged in a long hole 62 provided at the other end of the hammer roller 46 while being allowed to rotate by a small angle, and its top end surface is normally in contact with the lower surface of the hammer roller 55 . Therefore, when the support 41 rotates upward in conjunction with the drive of the key 4, the jack 61 rises together with it and pushes up the hammer roller 55, thereby causing the hammer shank 52 to rotate upward. A hammer felt 54 is configured to strike the string 3. In addition, during the upward movement of the jack 61, the small jack 61A comes into contact with a leg retching button 66 attached to the shank rail 51 via a leg wrench rail 65, and the upward movement of the jack 61 is blocked. It is rotated clockwise and temporarily escaped from the lower part of the hammer roller 55. After the string-striking operation, the jack 61 presses the regulation retching button 6 as the support 41 rotates and descends.
6 and is rotated back by the force of the spring 48, so that its upper end enters the lower part of the hammer roller 55 again. On the other hand, even after the jack 61 escapes, the hammer 45 rotates upward due to inertia, strikes the string 3, rotates downward due to its own weight and the repulsive force of the string 3, and is caught by the back check 67. , the hammer roller 55 is held at the initial position by coming into contact with the repetition lever 46. In this case, the string-striking timing and string-striking strength of the hammer 45 are naturally determined by the string-striking speed of the hammer 45 itself.
In other words, the thrust force of the jack 61 and the hammer 4
It is determined by the mass of 5.

In addition, reference numeral 70 in FIG.
The brackets 73 and 74 to which the jack rail 50 is fixed are a jack button and jack stop for setting the initial position of the jack 61.

A plurality of hammer sensors (hammer detection means) 80 are arranged above the rotation fulcrum side of the hammer shank 52 in correspondence with each action mechanism 13. This hammer sensor 80 is for detecting the string striking timing and string striking strength of the hammer 45, and is attached to the inner surface of a sensor bracket 81 as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, for example. . That is, the sensor bracket 81 has a length that extends commonly to all the action mechanisms 13 and is bent into a substantially inverted L shape, so that the sensor bracket 81 is composed of a vertical portion 81a and a horizontal portion 81b. An upper hinge piece 83A of the hinge 83 is fixed to this vertical portion 81a. On the other hand, the lower hinge piece 83B of the hinge 83 is always screwed and fixed to a base bracket 84 fixed to the right side surface of the shunt rail 51 in FIG. Usually fixed with screws. Therefore, the action mechanism 13 and the key 4 are connected to the keyboard reed 2.
Pull it out from the keyboard part together with the upper hinge piece 83.
After removing the screws (not shown) fixing A and the vertical portion 81a to the base bracket 84, move the sensor bracket 81 approximately clockwise in FIG.
When rotated 180 degrees, the bracket 81 is turned over as shown by the two-dot chain line, thereby facilitating maintenance, inspection, replacement, etc. of the hammer sensor 80.

The horizontal portion 81b of the sensor bracket 81 extends beyond the shank flange 50 and above the hammer shank 52, and each hammer sensor 80 is attached to the lower surface of the horizontal portion 81.
are arranged accordingly. Each hammer sensor 80 has a leaf 8 whose middle portion is held by a leaf holder 87 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
8, and a pair of upper and lower wires 89 that are arranged at the rear of this holder 87 and constitute a common fixed contact point for the leaves 88 of all the hammer sensors 80.
A, 89B, and the front end of the leaf 88 is connected to a leaf printed circuit board 90 (see FIG. 1) disposed on the lower surface of the horizontal portion 81b. On the other hand, of the pair of wires 89A and 89B, the upper wire 89A is fixed to the surface of a fixed contact printed circuit board 91 disposed on the lower surface of the horizontal portion 81b, and the lower wire 89B is fixed to the surface of the printed circuit board 91 disposed on the lower surface of the horizontal portion 81b.
1 through a spacer, and is fixed to the upper surface of the plate 93, facing the upper wire 89A,
A predetermined distance is set and maintained between these two wires 89A, 89B. And both wires 89A,
The rear end of the leaf 88 is inserted between the spaces 89B and normally contacts the lower wire 89B from above, and the rear end of the leaf 88 is bent into a substantially J-shape to be pressed by the hammer shank 52. 88A.

A holder 87 for holding the leaf 88 is fixed to the lower surface of a tongue-like part 100 provided on the horizontal part 81b, and this tongue-like part 100 has a substantially U-shaped cutout groove 101 as shown in FIG. It consists of a tongue surrounded by a tongue, and small holes 102 for adjusting the leaf height are bored at appropriate locations. In this case, the mounting height of the leaf 88 can be adjusted by inserting a suitable adjusting tool 104 into the small hole 102 to change the height of the tongue-shaped portion 100, as shown in FIG. That is, when the tongue piece-shaped portion 100 is bent in the thickness direction (vertical direction) or in the torsional direction, the height of the pressed portion 88A of the leaf 88 changes, so that the distance between the pressed portion 88A and the hammer shank 52 changes. This allows the unevenness of the hammer sensor 80 to be adjusted. A felt 105 is provided on the lower surface of the tip of the horizontal portion 81b, which prevents the hammer 45 from unexpectedly rotating upward after the action mechanism 13, key 4, etc. are pulled out from the keyboard portion. This prevents the leaf 88 etc. from being damaged. Also,
The leaf 88 is located on the upper surface of the hammershank 52.
A cushioning member 1 made of leather or the like corresponds to the pressed portion 88A.
08 is fixed.

Hammer sensor 80 with such a configuration
In the action mechanism 13, when the key 4 is pressed, the key 4 rotates clockwise around the balance key pin 11, and the wippen 41 is pushed up against the capstan screw 44 and counterclockwise. Rotating clockwise, the jack 61 pushes up the hammer roller 55. Therefore, the hammer 45 rotates upward in the clockwise direction, and on the way, the upper surface of the hammer shank 52 hits the leaf 88.
The pressed portion 88A is pushed up and elastically deformed.
As a result, the leaf 88 separates from the lower wire 89B and contacts the upper wire 89A, thereby forming a transfer contact. At this time, the break point between the leaf 88 and the wire 89B and the leaf 8
Naturally, there is a time difference between the making time of the hammer 45 and the wire 89A, and this time difference is short when the string striking speed of the hammer 45 is fast and long when it is slow. It is possible to detect the string striking speed, that is, the string striking strength. Therefore, by using this string striking information, it is possible to control sound production more accurately and to record performance information faithfully.

FIGS. 5a and 5b are diagrams showing the relationship between the struggle of the key 4, the movement of the hammer 45, and the break and make times of the key sensor 20 and hammer sensor 80,
A and B are the break time and make time of the key sensor 20, and C and D are the break time and make time of the hammer sensor 80. in this case,
Time Δt from break point C to make point D
is recorded as string hitting information by converting it into a digital signal and sending it to a data recorder.

Next, returning to FIG. 1 again to explain the damper mechanism and the damper sensor, a plurality of damper mechanisms 120 are disposed behind the keys 4 and operate in conjunction with each key 4. This damper mechanism 12
Similar to a general grand piano, the damper head 121 is provided corresponding to the string 3 of each pitch, and when not playing, the damper head 121 presses the string 3 from above to prevent its vibration, and when playing, the damper head 121 presses the string 3 from above to prevent its vibration. When the damper lever 122 is pushed up by the damper lever 4, the damper head 121 is moved away from the string 3. Above, damper lever 1
The base of the lever 22 is rotatably supported via a flange on a damper lever rail (not shown), and the free end extends above the rear end 4b of the key 4 at a slight distance. 122 and the damper head 121 are connected via a damper block 124 and a damper wire 125.
Furthermore, the damper mechanism 120 includes a lifting rail 126 that extends below all damper levers 122 in common. This lifting rail 126 is rotated upward in conjunction with the depression of a damper pedal (not shown) provided at the bottom of the piano body, thereby simultaneously pushing up all damper levers 122 and lifting all damper heads. 121 away from the string 3. Therefore, when any string 3 is hit with the hammer 45 while all strings 3 are released by pedal operation, the vibration of that string 3 is transmitted to the other released strings 3, causing them to resonate, and the playing sound is increase.

On the front end surface of the lifting rail 126, that is, the surface facing the rear end surface of the key 4, a plurality of damper sensors (damper detection means) 130 are arranged in parallel corresponding to the damper levers 122 of each damper mechanism 120. . This damper sensor 130 includes a sensor main body 131, a leaf 132 bent into a substantially V-shape, and an actuator 133. The end portion constitutes a pressing portion that presses the actuator 133, thereby forming a break contact. And key 4
When the damper lever 122 rotates upward in conjunction with the operation of the lever 122, the leaf 132 is released from the lever 122, so that it elastically returns in the direction of the key 4, temporarily releasing the pressed state of the actuator 133, and the damper sensor 130 is made, and the signal sent at this time is recorded as the sound stop information of the damper mechanism 120. In this case, the timing of break and make of the damper sensor 130 is determined by the sensor body 13.
This can be easily changed by changing the installation height of leaf 132, the spring force of leaf 132, etc.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the break and make points of the damper sensor 130 and the movement of the key 4.
G is the struggle amount of the key 4, 140 is the movement trajectory of the key 4 during normal key press, 141 is the movement trajectory of the key 4 during staccato, P ₁ is the break point of the damper sensor 90, P ₂ and P ₃ are the make. Time points are indicated. As is clear from this figure, the time Δt ₁ from the break point P ₁ to the make point P ₂ during keystrokes in the statuscato playing style is longer than the time Δt 2 from the break point P ₁ to the make point P ₃ during _normal keystrokes. It becomes shorter. This means that the stop timing is different by Δt ₂ −Δt ₁ between normal keystrokes and staccato keystrokes. Therefore, if you try to obtain sound stop information simply by moving the key 4, the sound stop timing by the damper mechanism 120 will deviate from the actual sound stop timing, resulting in inaccurate information.
If the sound stop timing of 0 is directly detected, it is possible to obtain accurate sound stop information without deviation. Then, Δt ₁ and Δt ₂ are converted into digital signals and sent to a data recorder (not shown) to be recorded as sound stop information.

Note that P ₄ is at the point of make using the conventional key switch, so even if this point ₄ were moved to P ₃ ,
Since it is controlled by the key itself, it is obvious that it is impossible to obtain sound stop information of the damper mechanism in special playing techniques.

Although the description so far has been made regarding the case where the present invention is applied to a grand type automatic performance piano, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied as is to an upright type automatic performance piano. In addition, the mounting position of the damper sensor 130 is not limited to the lifting rail 129, but the damper lever 122,
It may be arranged on the damper 121 or the like, or it may be arranged in correspondence with the key sensor 2.
0 can be adopted.

Furthermore, the configuration of the hammer sensor 80 is not limited to this, and various changes are possible.

As explained above, the automatic performance piano according to the present invention includes the key sensor 20, the hammer sensor 45,
The player piano includes a damper sensor 130, in which the key sensor 20 detects that the key 4 is pressed down deeper than a predetermined depth and outputs a detection signal, and the hammer sensor 80 detects that the key 4 is depressed deeper than a predetermined depth and outputs a detection signal. The damper sensor 130 detects that the damper 45 passes through a first passing point and a second passing point set in its travel stroke and outputs first and second hammer detection signals, respectively. 12
Since the key sensor 20 detects and outputs the movement of the key 1, the keystroke timing is determined by the key sensor 20 and the hammer sensor 4
5 can accurately detect the string-striking timing and string-striking speed, and the damper sensor 130 can accurately detect the sound-stopping timing, thereby making it possible to accurately record the performance. In addition, in conventional player pianos that detect and record only the behavior of the keys,
Even if a special performance such as staccato or rapid consecutive hits is performed, it has not been possible to record information that reflects the performance, but according to the present invention, as described above,
Since it is possible to accurately detect each of the string striking timing, string striking timing, string striking speed, and sound stop timing, even when the above-mentioned special performances are performed, information reflecting such performances can be collected. It has the effect of being able to record. In addition, the structure is simple and easy to install, and it can be easily installed on existing pianos without requiring any special processing, which has great effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the action mechanism of a player piano according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part of the key sensor, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the main part of the hammer sensor. Figure 4 is Figure 3-
Line cross-sectional view, Figures 5a and b are diagrams showing the relationship between the struggle of the key, the movement of the hammer, and the break and make times of the key sensor and hammer sensor. Figure 6 is the relationship between the movement of the key, the break of the damper sensor, and the make time. FIG. 4...Key, 13...Action mechanism, 20...
Key sensor, 24... Leaf, 30... Wire, 45... Hammer, 52... Hammer shank, 80... Hammer sensor, 88... Leaf, 89A, 89B... Wire, 120... Damper mechanism, 122 ...damper lever, 130...
...Damper sensor, 132...Leaf, 133
...actuator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A player piano having a key sensor 20, a hammer sensor 45, and a damper sensor 130, wherein the key sensor 20 detects that the key 4 is pressed deeper than a predetermined depth. The hammer sensor 80 detects that the hammer 45 passes through a first passing point and a second passing point set in its travel stroke, and outputs a detection signal. 2, and the damper sensor 130 detects and outputs the movement of the damper 121.