JP2003302963A - Pedal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable players to exactly operate pedals of an upright piano in four-handed performance. <P>SOLUTION: An opening 10a is formed at a lower panel 10 of a piano body (upright piano) to make pedals 11 movable vertically and laterally in the range of the opening 10a. The pedals 11 are held by a pedal board within the body and this pedal board is made vertically and laterally slidable by means of a perpendicular slider and horizontal slider. The pedal board is fixed by fixing means, such as screws. The operations of the pedals 11 are transmitted to a piano body side by driving wires. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pedal device attached to an upright piano.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pedal device for an upright piano has a pedal arranged through an opening formed in a front base of a piano body, and a rear part of the pedal is a bottom plate inside the front base (inside the main body). It has a structure in which it is supported by a fixed bearing.

[0003]

However, in the conventional pedal device, since the normal performance is performed in the approximate center of the keyboard of the piano, this pedal device is also mounted in the center of the piano body. As a result, when performing a continuous performance, the pedal is far from the player, making it difficult to step on the pedal, resulting in a decrease in the accuracy of pedal operation (pedaling). In addition, there is a problem that even in a normal performance, it is difficult to play because it is difficult for the foot to reach the pedal depending on the height of the player. In this case, it was necessary to separately prepare an auxiliary pedal and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to make it easy to operate a pedal device of an upright piano, not only during normal performance by one person but also during continuous performance. Another object is to be able to cope with the height of the player.

[0005]

A pedal device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a pedal device mounted on an upright piano, comprising a pedal, a pedal base on which the pedal is arranged, and a bottom of a piano body. A pedal stand holding mechanism for holding the pedal stand by projecting the pedal from an opening formed in the front plate and moving the pedal horizontally and / or vertically within a range of the opening. It is characterized by In this specification, "horizontal direction" means the direction in which keys are arranged in the upright piano, and "front"
Will be described as the keyboard side, and "rear" as the back side.

According to the pedal device of the first aspect of the present invention configured as described above, when the pedal base holding mechanism is capable of moving the pedal in the left-right direction, the pedal is arranged in the center during normal performance in which the pedal is held by a single player, and a continuous hit is performed. At the time of performance, the pedal can be moved to the side of the performer who operates the pedal. Therefore, the pedal operation becomes easy not only during normal performance but also during continuous performance. Further, when the pedal stand holding mechanism can move the pedal in the vertical direction, the pedal can be positioned above the player for a player with a short height, and the height of the player can be dealt with. When the pedal is constructed so as to straddle the front base, the opening through which the pedal projects may be formed only in the lower front plate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedal device having the structure according to the first aspect, wherein the pedal base holding mechanism is
A vertical slider portion that holds the pedal stand slidably in the vertical direction and a horizontal slider portion that holds the pedal stand slidably in the horizontal direction are provided.

According to the pedal device of the second aspect of the invention configured as described above, the pedal can be moved in the left and right direction and the up and down direction by the pedal stand holding mechanism.
In addition to the same effect as the above, the vertical slider portion is fixed to the piano body and the horizontal slider portion is held by the vertical slider portion, or the horizontal slider portion is fixed to the piano body and the vertical slider portion is held by the horizontal slider portion. Since the pedal base holding mechanism that moves the pedal in the left-right direction and the vertical direction can be configured only by holding the portion, the structure is simple.

A pedal device according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized by including the structure of the first or second aspect, and further including fixing means for fixing the pedal base at a moving position.

According to the pedal device of the third aspect having the above-mentioned structure, the same effect as that of the first or second aspect can be obtained, and the pedal stand, that is, the pedal can be fixed at the moving position. Accurate pedal operation is possible even with pedal operation.

A pedal device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention has the structure of the first, second or third aspect, and connects the pedal base and the piano body with a drive wire to operate the pedal. The driving wire is transmitted to the damper mechanism of the piano body.

According to the pedal device of the fourth aspect configured as described above, the same operation and effect as those of the first, second or third aspect can be obtained, and the pedal operation can be performed by the damper mechanism of the piano body. The transmission mechanism has a simple structure.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an upright piano to which a pedal device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG.
3 is a plan view of the pedal device of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view of FIG. The pedal device of this embodiment has a pedal 11 protruding from an opening 10a formed in a lower front plate 10 of a piano body. Then, as will be described later, the pedal 11 can be arbitrarily moved up, down, left and right in the opening 10a as shown by a dashed line.
A blindfold cloth 10b is provided inside the opening 10a.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pedal device includes a pedal 11, a pedal base 12, a vertical slider portion 13,
Horizontal slider portion 14, drive wire 15, and fixing means 16
Is equipped with. The vertical slider portion 13 is erected on the bottom plate 20 of the piano body, and a vertical dovetail groove 13a is formed in the center of the front surface side of the vertical slider portion 13.
The horizontal slider portion 14 is formed by a vertical plate 14a and a horizontal plate 14b to have an L-shaped cross section, and a convex strip 14a1 having an inverted trapezoidal cross section is vertically formed on the back surface of the vertical plate 14a. The ridge 14a1 is fitted into the dovetail groove 13a of the vertical slider portion 13. As a result, the horizontal slider portion 14 is slidably held in the vertical direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3) on the front surface side of the vertical slider portion 13.

Further, the horizontal plate 14b of the horizontal slider portion 14
A dovetail groove 14b1 is formed on the left and right sides of the pedal base 1
A ridge 12a having a trapezoidal cross section is formed on the lower surface of 2 in the left-right direction. The ridge 12a is fitted in the dovetail groove 14b1 of the horizontal slider portion 14. As a result, the pedal base 12 is held on the horizontal slider portion 14 slidably in the left-right direction (the arrow direction in FIG. 2). The vertical slider portion 13 and the horizontal slider portion 14 constitute the "pedal base holding mechanism" in claim 1.

The pedal 11 includes a pedal body 11a and an arm 1.
The arm 11b is rotatably supported on the pedal base 12 on the rear side by a bearing 12b. A part of the arm 11b has a U-shaped cross section, and the arm 11b is formed so as to straddle the front base 30 of the piano body. A stopper member 12c that restricts the upper limit position of the arm 11b is provided near the U-shaped section of the arm 11b.

The drive wire 15 is a tubular outer case 15a which is flexible to some extent and does not expand or contract in the axial direction of the tube.
The inner wire 15b is provided inside, and the end of the outer case 15a is fixed to the pedal base 12 by a fixing member (not shown). Although only the pedal 11 and the drive wire 15 on the right side are shown in FIG. 3, the other pedals and drive wires have the same structure. In addition, the inner wire 1 of the drive wire 15
One end of 5b is fixed to the arm 11b of the pedal 11 between the stopper member 12c and the bearing 12b, and the other end is connected to a damper mechanism in the piano body (not shown).

The fixing means 16 includes a nut 16a embedded in the vertical plate 14a of the horizontal slider portion 14, a lock screw 16b screwed into the nut 16a, a nut 16c embedded in the pedal base 12, and a nut 16c. The lock screw 16d is screwed together. The end portion of the lock screw 16b can project into the dovetail groove 13a of the vertical slider portion 13. By tightening the lock screw 16b, the ridge 14a1 of the horizontal slider portion 14 is fixed in the dovetail groove 13a by the lock screw 16b. . Further, the end of the lock screw 16d can be brought into contact with the horizontal plate 14b of the horizontal slider portion 14 via the nut 16c, and by tightening the lock screw 16d, the protrusion 12a of the pedal base 12 is moved by the lock screw 16d. It is fixed in the dovetail groove 14b1 of the portion 14.

That is, after moving the pedal base 12 and the horizontal slider portion 14 to desired positions in the vertical direction, the lock screw 16b
The upper and lower positions of the pedal base 12 are fixed by tightening. Further, after moving the pedal base 12 to a desired position on the left and right, by tightening the lock screw 16d, the pedal base 1
The left and right positions of 2 are fixed. This allows stable pedal operation. The horizontal slider 14
If a suitable frictional force is generated between the dovetail groove 14b1 and the ridge 12a of the pedal base 12, the lock screw 16d and the nut 16c may be omitted.

With the above structure, when the pedal 11 is stepped on, the inner wire 15b of the drive wire 15 is pulled out from the piano body side, and the pedal operation is transmitted. Further, the pedal base 12 can be freely moved vertically and horizontally by the vertical slider portion 13 and the horizontal slider portion 14, and the pedal 11 can be moved to any position vertically and horizontally within the opening portion 10a of the lower front plate 10. It can be fixed by the fixing means 16.

In the above embodiment, the horizontal slider portion 14
The pedal base 12 is manually moved, but may be electrically driven by, for example, an ultrasonic motor. In the case of an ultrasonic motor, the position is automatically maintained when electricity is cut off.

In the above embodiment, the pedal stand holding mechanism is composed of the vertical slider portion 13 and the horizontal slider portion 14,
The vertical slider portion 13 holds the horizontal slider portion 14 so that it can move up and down, and the horizontal slider portion 14 holds the pedal base 12 so that it can move horizontally. However, the vertical slider part may be held by the horizontal slider part so as to be movable left and right, and the pedal base may be held by the vertical slider part so that it can be moved up and down. Further, the pedal base holding mechanism may have any structure as long as it can move the pedal base 12 to any position in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the pedal 11 can be moved both vertically and horizontally, it is possible to easily operate the pedal even during the continuous playing, and it is possible to cope with the height of the player. However, the pedal 11 may be movable only left and right. In this case, although it is not suitable for accommodating the player's height, it is possible to easily operate the pedal even during continuous playing. Further, the pedal 11 may be movable only up and down. In this case, although it is not suitable for continuous playing, it is possible to cope with the height of the player.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the drive wire is used to transmit the pedal operation to the piano body side, the pedal operation transmission mechanism can be made simple. Although such a transmission mechanism has a complicated structure, it may be a mechanism in which a plurality of rods are combined.

In the above embodiment, the pedal 11 is used.
Although the (arm 11b) is configured to straddle the front base 30, the height of the front base may be lowered so as not to interfere with the pedal, or the front base may not be provided. In this case, the opening 1 of the lower front plate 10 is reduced by the amount by which the front base is removed.
The area of 0a may be reduced.

[0026]

According to the pedal device of the first aspect of the present invention, when the pedal stand holding mechanism is capable of moving the pedal in the left and right directions, the pedal is arranged in the center during normal performance in which one person plays, and the pedal is operated during continuous performance. The pedal can be moved to the side of the performer to be placed on either side. Therefore, the pedal operation can be facilitated not only during the normal performance but also during the continuous performance. Further, it is possible to deal with the height of the player such as a player with a short height.

According to the pedal device of claim 2, claim 1
In addition to the same effect as described above, the pedal base holding mechanism that moves the pedal in the left and right direction and the up and down direction can have a simple structure.

According to the pedal device of claim 3, claim 1
Alternatively, the same effect as that of the second aspect can be obtained, and since the pedal base, that is, the pedal can be fixed at the moving position, accurate pedal operation can be performed even with intense pedal operation.

According to the pedal device of the fourth aspect, the same effect as that of the first, second or third aspect can be obtained, and the mechanism for transmitting the pedal operation to the damper mechanism of the piano body has a simple structure. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an upright piano to which a pedal device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the pedal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a partial cross-sectional side view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Lower front plate, 10a ... Opening part, 11 ... Pedal, 12 ...
Pedal stand, 13 ... Vertical slider part, 14 ... Horizontal slider part, 15 ... Drive wire, 16 ... Fixing means, 20 ... Bottom plate,
30 ... Front base

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pedal device attached to an upright piano, comprising: a pedal, a pedal base on which the pedal is arranged, and the pedal protruding from an opening formed in a lower front plate of the piano body. A pedal base holding mechanism that holds the pedal base by allowing the pedal to move left and right and / or up and down within the range of the opening. 2. The pedal stand holding mechanism includes a vertical slider section that holds the pedal stand slidably in a vertical direction, and a horizontal slider section that holds the pedal stand in a slidable direction in the horizontal direction. The pedal device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The pedal device according to claim 1, further comprising fixing means for fixing the pedal base at a moving position. 4. The pedal base and the piano body are connected by a drive wire, and the operation of the pedal is transmitted to a damper mechanism of the piano body by the drive wire. The pedal device according to claim 2 or 3.