AT514416A1 - musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

Musical instrument (1), with a plurality of keys (2), each of which can be manually depressed from a rest position (Si) to a depressed position (S2), thereby triggering a sound of the musical instrument (1), at the latest at Letting go (t3) of the key (2) over a decay time, for each key (2) an electromechanical actuator (9) for exerting a force on the key (2), and an electronic control circuit (8) for activating the actuators (9 ), wherein the control circuit (8) is adapted, by means of the actuator (9), to release the key (2) (t3, t3 ', t3 ") at a speed (vrei) which is determined by the remaining decay time (Ta ) depends on their tone, to move back to the rest position (Si).

Description

PATENT OFFICER DIPL.-ING · DRTECIIN. ANDREAS WEISER EUROPEAN PATENT ÄND TRADEMARK ATTORNEY A-1130 VIENNA · KOPFGASSE 7 05692

Mario Aiwasian A-3423 St. Andrä-Wördern (AT)

The present invention relates to a musical instrument having a plurality of keys, each manually depressible from a rest position to a depressed position, thereby triggering a sound of the musical instrument sounding at the latest upon release of the key over a release time, for each key one electromechanical actuator for applying a force to the button, and an electronic control circuit for controlling the actuators.

Musical instruments of this type are known, for example, from EP 1 356 449 B1 and the literature cited therein in the form of electronic pianos, in which the actuators are used to apply a precisely controlled, distance-dependent and speed-dependent counterforce to the keys to give the musician a lifelike feeling as in a real piano.

The invention sets itself the goal of constructing a musical instrument based on these constructions; create, which allows novel musical expressions.

This object is achieved with a musical instrument of the kind mentioned in the introduction, which according to the invention is characterized in that the control circuit is designed to release the key by means of the actuator when it is released. TEL. (+43: 1): 879 17 06 FAX: (+43 1) 879 17 07: · E-MAIL: ΛΓΑIL («'PATENT-NET-WEB: WWW.PETENTENET FIRST BANK 038-56704 -BUZ: 20111 IBAN: A ^ iyäo ^ l 100003856704 - BIG: GIBAATWW -VAT : AT iU 5: 3832900 2

Dizziness, which depends on the remaining decay time of their tone, into the. To return to idle position. In this way, the musician is given an optical and tactile feedback on the sound behavior of the musical instrument, which allows novel expressions.

The inventive construction is suitable both for musical instruments with physical sound generators such as strings, bars, sound panels, etc., e.g. Pianos, as well as for electronic musical instruments with electronic sound generating modules such as E-Rianos, synthesizers, Hämmohd organs, etc. in the former case, the release of a button remaining decay time of the sound preferably using a time measuring device for measuring the duration of depression and / or the velocity and / or velocity of a button are determined

In the case of a physical tone generator such as a string, the decay time of a tone, which is dependent on the duration of the depression, the velocity of the attack and / or the velocity of the stop, can be determined by reference measurements, so that it is e.g. can be stored in a table in a memory of the control circuit. By measuring the current depression duration, velocity and / or velocity, the relaxation time remaining when the key is released can then be determined from the table. The latter can then be used to calculate the return speed of the key to its rest position. 3/18 3

Specifically, in electronic musical instruments with electronic tone generating modules controlled by one key, the remaining sounding time of a key is usually known in the arithmetic registers of tone generation and can be directly provided to the control circuit.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings shows:

FIG. 1 shows a musical instrument according to the invention in a perspective view; FIG.

FIG. 2 shows the path of movement of a key of the musical instrument of FIG. 1 during a press of the bodice; FIG.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the musical instrument of Fig. 1 with physical sound generators;

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the musical instrument of the invention having an electronic sound generator; and

5 shows time diagrams of various signals occurring in the musical instrument of the invention,

Fig. 1 shows a musical instrument in the form of an acoustic, electric or electronic piano 1 with a plurality of keys 2, each manually, i. be pressed low by finger power and thereby solve a sound of the musical instrument,. In FIG. 2, a key 4/18 4 :: 2 moves in the direction of the arrow 3 at its front end by a movement path x from a rest position S] shown in solid lines to a depressed position S2 shown by broken lines , When you release the key 2, it moves - caused by weight or spring force - back to the movement path x in its rest position Sa back.

Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of the musical instrument s 1 with physical sound generators in the form of sound panels, sound bars, etc. or (here :) strings 4, each of a key 2 when pressed down on a - here only symbolically simplified - classic llammermechanik 5 are struck. A sensor 6 associated with the key 2 de-tects the depression or the movement of the key 2 and reports this via a signal path 7 to a control circuit 8. The sensor 6 can, for example, detect intermediate positions of the key 2, ie. H. the current depression path X (t) over the time t, both analog and discrete-digital, or (only) reaching one of the end positions S2 and S2, and optionally the velocity and / or 'speed of the key 2, and report this to the control circuit 8.

Each key 2 is further associated with an electromechanical actuator 9, which - with appropriate control via an electrical control path 12 - can exert a mechanical force F on the key 2, and either · down, parallel to the finger of the musician on the key 2 , as 5/18 - 5 - also upwards against the finger of the musician to provide an electrically adjustable counterforce. For the purposes of the present invention, it is sufficient if the electromechanical actuators 9 can exert only a downward force F on the keys 2. The actuator 5 can be realized, for example, by an armature 10 mounted on the underside of the key 2, which immerses in a coil 11, which can be acted upon electrically to pull down the armature 10 via the control line 12. Alternatively, any other type of electromechanical actuator may be used, e.g. As an electric motor, capacitive, inductive, magneto or piezostrictive transducer, etc. in the present case, the actuators 9 are used to delay after releasing a key 2 their return to the rest position Si, to slow down or to control their speed , Fig. 5 shows this in detail.

In Fig. 5a, the movement path x (t) of a key 2 over the time t is plotted, if no such control is used. At an exemplary time ti is started with the depression 13 of the key 2 and this until the stop (S2) - or even to an intermediate position - depressed (time t2). At a later time t3, the key: 2 is released again, whereupon it (in conventional musical instruments without the subsequently described control) with a defined by the slope 14 6/18 6

Speed returns to its rest position S2 (time t4). The duration Tk: = t3 - ti corresponds approximately to the time of holding down the key 2, wherein the velocity of attack: the slope 13 corresponds.

Fig. 5b shows a simple ADSR model of the amplitude or. Volume envelope of a tone triggered by a key 2. After the time ti, the amplitude a of the sound in a section "attack " (A) to a peak value P dependent on the stop ramp 13, the amplitude a falls in a section "decay " (D) until it reaches a sustain value S ("sustain") at a time tB, which is maintained as long as the key 2 is kept depressed, and from the release of the key 2 at the time t3 the ten sounds in a section " release " (R) over a release time TR until a time t5. Of course, the ADSR envelope model is just an example here; the envelope a (t) could also have a more complicated course, as known in the art.

If the decay phase D has already ended when the key 2 is released (t3), the decay time Ta of the ten is: S: equal to the release time TR. If the decay phase D has not yet ended when the key 2 is released, as shown for example by the dashed line for the release time t3 ', the total release time Ta may also include the remaining portion TD; rem of the decay phase D. ie Ta = Pr + Td, rem · The release time Ta when the key 2 is released also depends on the current level a (t) of the envelope of the tone, see, for example, the dash-dot drawn release phase for a release time t3 ", which is within Attack phase A.

In the case of physical sound generators as in FIG. 3, the decay time Ta remaining on release of the key 2 can be determined from measured values of the depression duration TK (the velocity or force and / or the velocity (13), which parameters are based on the current amplitude a (FIG. t) on release (t3, T3 ', T3 ") of the key 2, and corresponding further reference measurements are determined on the tone generators, eg strings 4. The control circuit 8 has, for example, a database 16 with reference values of Off - Sounding times Ta as a function of pressing durations TK, velocity, force and / or velocities (13), etc., and then - depending on the current measured values supplied by a sensor 6 - those at release (t3, t3 ', t3 ") determine, for example, the sensors 6 only the end positions Si, S2, the control circuit 8, the stop speed (13) even from the Dif measure the times ti, t2.

The control circuit 8 is now adapted, depending on the remaining release time Ta, when releasing (t3, t3 ', t3 ") a key 2, the speed v: "i, i. the slope of the ramp 14, with which the key 2 returns to its rest position Si, to control by means of the actuator 9. Each actuator 8/18: 8: 9 is controlled via the control line 12 from the St euer circuit 8 so that it successively: such a downward (or down and up) directed retention force (or holding force) F on the key 2 exerts that it returns to its rest position Si with the calculated return speed vrei = f (Ta).

Fig. 5c shows the thus resulting movement path x (t) of the key 2 of the example over the time t. As can be seen, the pitch of the return ramp 14 is now much flatter than in Fig. 5a without actuator control. The ramps 14 'and 14 " correspond to the return movements of the key 2 for the exemplary release times t3 'and t3 " , The return movements 14, 14 ', 14 " The keys 2 thus visually and tactually indicate the acoustic decay of their respective tone.

Fig. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the musical instrument 1 with a - preferably polyphonic and / or multi-timbral - electronic sound module 17 instead of the physical tone generator of Fig. 3. In the electronic tone generation is the current release time Ta of a sound at the release of a key 2 in the internal arithmetic registers of the SöUhdmöduls 17 and can therefore be used directly for the calculation of the control signals on the control lines 12 of the actuators 9.

As is known in the art, the actuators 9 can simultaneously serve as sensors 6. So z. B. a by manual actuation of the button 2 in the coil 11 and thus Lei 9/18 9 device 12 induced counter voltage from the control circuit 8 de-tektiert. Also, the actuator drive of a key 2 during the return motion 14, 14 ', 14 " interrupted or terminated when the user touches the key 2 or pressed. This can prevent the user from "playing" against the force of the actuators 9. if he hits a key 2 again during the release time Ta.

The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, but includes all variants and codifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims. 10/18

Claims (3)

Patentο claims; 1. musical instrument (1), with a plurality of keys (2), each of a rest position (Si) in a depressed position (S2) are manually depressible while a sound of the musical instrument (1): trigger, the latest at For each key (2) an electromechanical actuator (9) for exerting a force on the key (2), and an electronic control circuit (8) for activating the actuators (9 ), characterized in that the control circuit (8) is adapted, by means of the actuator (9), to release the key (2) at release (t3, t3 ', t3 ") at a rate re, which depends on the remaining decay time ((). Ta) depends on their tone; to return to the rest position (Sa). 2, musical instrument according to claim 1, characterized by a time measuring device for measuring the duration (TK) of depressing a key (2), wherein the control circuit (8) is adapted to the at release (t3, t3 ', t3 ") of Key (2) remaining decay time (Ta) depending on the measured depression time (T: <), 3 :. Musical instrument according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized by a device (8) for measuring the speed (13) of the low-pressure of a key (2), the control circuit (8) being designed for this purpose; t 13 ', 13 ") of the key (2) remaining Auszeitung time (Ta) also depending on the measured depression speed (13) to determine. A musical instrument according to claim 1, comprising an electronic tone generation module 1 (17) controlled by the keys (2), characterized in that the tone generation module (17) is adapted to give the control circuit (8) information on release (t 4 , t31, tj ") of a key (2) to provide remaining decay time (Ta). 12/18