JP2013160780A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accelerate the return of a key from an end position at the time of key release.SOLUTION: A feeling generation unit 17 which receives a driving force from an actuator 13 of a key K is fixed to a part 16 to be driven of a hammer body. The actuator 13 being a hammer driving part is "a sliding part", and the part 16 to be driven (practically, the feeling generation unit 17) is "a part to be slid". The actuator 13 is brought into contact with the feeling generation unit 17 in a rest corresponding position Pr in the case of a key non-depression state and is brought into contact with the feeling generation unit 17 in an end corresponding position Pe in the case of a key depression end state. A high repulsion part 24 has higher repulsion energy than a low repulsion part 21 with respect to the same pressing force, and the actuator 13 is swiftly bounced when a key release operation is performed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a keyboard apparatus having a hammer body that gives inertia to a key pressing operation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a keyboard apparatus having a hammer body corresponding to a hammer of an acoustic piano is known in order to give inertia to a key pressing operation. For example, in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, the key is swung by the key pressing operation, and the key actuator drives the hammer body. In the key pressing process, the pressing member of the actuator slides with respect to the contact portion of the hammer body.

  By the way, in general, an acoustic piano has a whippen mechanism, and a key return speed is high when a key release operation is performed after pressing the key to the end position. As a result, immediately after the key is released from the end position, the operation is performed such that the key is attached to the finger.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-33239

  However, in the keyboard device of Patent Document 1, when the key is released, the key moves mainly in the return direction due to the weight of the hammer body, so the return speed of the key at the beginning of the key release is not fast. For this reason, the touch does not feel that the key is attached to the finger, and good repetitive hitting like an acoustic piano cannot be obtained. If the return speed is increased by providing a spring that biases the key or hammer body in the return direction, it affects the key press feeling and is different from the key press feeling that gives a large inertia like an acoustic piano. It will become something.

  Therefore, it is unavoidable to improve the repeatability as much as possible by setting the equivalent mass of the entire swinging system including the key and the hammer body to be lighter than that of the acoustic piano. However, on the other hand, there is some sacrifice in terms of the key press feeling due to the inertia given to the key press operation.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device that can speed up the return of the key from the end position when the key is released.

  In order to achieve the above object, a keyboard apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention has a hammer drive section (13), a key that swings a range from a rest position to an end position by a push-and-release operation, and a driven section. (16) a hammer body which is provided corresponding to the key and swings when the driven part is pressed and driven by the hammer driving part of the corresponding key to give inertia to the key pressing operation; In the key pressing process, the sliding part (13, 16a) which is one of the hammer driving part and the driven part can slide with respect to the sliding part (17) which is the other. Of the sliding area of the slidable portion that is configured and can come into contact with the sliding portion, the key is more than the rest corresponding portion (Pr) with which the sliding portion comes into contact when the key is in the rest position. The end corresponding part where the sliding part abuts when the is in the end position ( Who e), characterized in that repulsive energy for pressing from the sliding portion is large.

  Preferably, the first predetermined position (P1) closer to the end corresponding portion than the rest corresponding portion in the sliding region of the sliding portion is defined as the first predetermined position in the sliding region. The region closer to the end corresponding portion than the region closer to the rest corresponding to the position has a larger repulsive energy against the pressure from the sliding portion (Claim 2).

  Preferably, in the sliding region, the same pressing force received from the sliding portion in the region closer to the end corresponding portion than the region closer to the rest corresponding to the first predetermined position. The amount of elastic deformation with respect to is large (claim 3). Preferably, in the region closer to the rest corresponding part than the first predetermined position in the sliding region, the first predetermined position from the second predetermined position (P2) closer to the first predetermined position. A friction increasing region where the generated frictional force is increased is provided in the region up to (4). Preferably, a sheet-like member (28) that is flush with the non-key-pressed state is provided in the sliding region of the sliding portion (Claim 5).

  In addition, the code | symbol in the said parenthesis is an illustration.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the return of the key from the end position when the key is released can be accelerated.

  According to the third and fourth aspects, it is possible to generate a click feeling near the end position.

  According to the fifth aspect, the sliding between the sliding portion and the sliding portion can be made smooth.

It is a schematic diagram of the principal part which paid its attention to one key of the keyboard apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the engagement portion between the key actuator and the driven portion of the hammer body (FIG. (A)), and a diagram showing the transition of the stroke position of the key K when the key is released from the end position (FIG. (B)). is there. It is a figure which shows the 1st, 2nd, 3rd modification of a touch production | generation unit.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a main part paying attention to one key of a keyboard device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This keyboard device has a plurality of keys K arranged in parallel and a hammer body HM corresponding to them, and is suitable for an electronic keyboard instrument. In the present invention, the key K corresponds to a white key and a black key, but their configuration and the configuration of the corresponding components are basically the same.

  The keyboard device has a chassis 10. The key K is disposed so as to be swingable (turnable) about the key fulcrum 11 by a pushing / separating operation. The key fulcrum 11 is pivotally supported by the chassis 10. The key K is provided with an actuator 13 projecting downwardly.

  The hammer body HM is disposed below the corresponding key K, and is disposed so as to be swingable (turnable) about the hammer fulcrum 14. The hammer fulcrum 14 is pivotally supported on the chassis 10. The hammer body HM has a mass concentrating portion 18 at its free end, and is always urged counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by its own weight. A touch generating unit 17 that receives a driving force from the actuator 13 of the key K is fixed to the driven portion 16 of the hammer body HM. A hammer upper limit stopper 19 is fixed to the upper part 10 a of the chassis 10, and a hammer lower limit stopper 9 is fixed to the lower part 10 b of the chassis 10.

  In the non-key-pressed state, the hammer body HM is in contact with the hammer lower limit stopper 9 by its own weight, and the key K and the hammer body HM are located at an initial position (rest position) indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. When a key pressing operation is performed, the actuator 13 of the key K drives the driven portion 16 via the touch generating unit 17, and the hammer body HM swings clockwise in FIG. 1 to give inertia to the key pressing operation. When the hammer body HM comes into contact with the hammer upper limit stopper 19, the rotation end position (end position) of the key K and the hammer body HM is regulated.

  FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of an engagement portion between the actuator 13 of the key K and the driven portion 16 of the hammer body HM.

  In this embodiment, since the actuator 13 slides with respect to the touch generating unit 17 in the key pressing process, the actuator 13 which is a hammer driving unit is a “sliding unit”, and a driven unit which is a driven unit. 16 (substantially, the touch generating unit 17) is the “sliding part”.

  The tip of the actuator 13 presses and drives the touch generating unit 17 by a key pressing operation. A flush surface facing the actuator 13 in the touch generating unit 17 is a sliding contact surface. There are various types of key presses, and if the key press is slow (weak key press), the actuator 13 is in a sliding relationship with the touch generation unit 17 throughout the key press forward stroke. However, when a strong (fast) key is pressed, the touch generating unit 17 may be separated from the actuator 13 during the key pressing, and the hammer body HM may freely rotate.

  In any case, however, the actuator 13 abuts against the touch generating unit 17 at the rest corresponding position Pr in the non-key-pressed state. Further, the actuator 13 abuts against the touch generating unit 17 at the end corresponding position Pe in the key-pressing end (press-cut) state. That is, the rest corresponding position Pr and the end corresponding position Pe correspond to the rest position and end position of the key K, respectively. In the touch generation unit 17, a region from the rest corresponding position Pr to the end corresponding position Pe is a sliding region in which the actuator 13 slides.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the touch generating unit 17 includes a low repulsion unit 21 and a high repulsion unit 24. The low repulsion part 21 and the high repulsion part 24 are separated from each other at a first predetermined position P1 closer to the end corresponding position Pe than the rest corresponding position Pr in the sliding region of the touch generating unit 17. The low repulsion part 21 has a low friction part 22 and a high friction part 23. The low friction part 22 and the high friction part 23 are separated from each other at the second predetermined position P2 near the first predetermined position P1 in the region of the low repulsion part 21.

  The first predetermined position P1 and the second predetermined position P2 are set so as to correspond to the vicinity of the position where the jack is removed from the roller in the keystroke forward stroke by the weak key depression on the acoustic piano. That is, it corresponds to a stroke position where a click feeling is generated in the key pressing forward stroke.

  The high repulsion part 24 is made of a polymer repulsion material, has a larger restitution coefficient than the low repulsion part 21, and has a large repulsion energy for the same pressing force. Moreover, the high repulsion part 24 is richer in elasticity than the low repulsion part 21 and has a large amount of elastic deformation for the same pressing force. The low repulsion part 21 is made of resin, for example. The low friction portion 22 and the high friction portion 23 of the low repulsion portion 21 are materials having common resilience and elasticity, and only the friction coefficient of the sliding contact surface is different depending on the difference in surface roughness. The low friction part 22 and the high friction part 23 may be made of different materials.

  As for the inertial mass, the hammer body HM is larger than the key K. In such a configuration, when a weak key pressing operation is performed from the non-key pressing state, the actuator 13 slides to the left in FIG. 2A relative to the sliding contact surface of the touch generating unit 17. From the rest corresponding position Pr to the second predetermined position P2 is a region where the friction is small (low friction portion 22) and slides smoothly. However, when the actuator 13 passes through the friction increasing region (high friction portion 23) from the second predetermined position P2 to the first predetermined position P1, the friction temporarily increases and the key pressing reaction force increases. After that, when the actuator 13 passes through the first predetermined position P1, it becomes a region (high repulsion portion 24) where the elastic deformation is increased, so the actuator 13 falls in the biting direction with respect to the high repulsion portion 24.

  When the actuator 13 falls, the key pressing reaction force decreases rapidly. Accordingly, since the reaction force decreases immediately after the reaction force rises at the high friction portion 23, it is possible to produce a feeling (click feeling) like a jack omission in an acoustic piano.

  After that, when the key is pushed down to the end and the key K reaches the end position, the actuator 13 is in the key depression end state in which the end corresponding position Pe in the high repulsion portion 24 is pushed. Here, since the high repulsion unit 24 has a large repulsion energy, the actuator 13 is rebounded vigorously when the key release operation is performed. Thereby, the feeling that the key K is attached to the finger is obtained.

  FIG. 2B shows the transition of the stroke position of the key K when the key is released from the end position. The horizontal axis shows the elapsed time after key release, and the vertical axis shows the stroke position.

  In a conventional keyboard device that is not devised like the high repulsion unit 24, the key K immediately after key release returns slowly as shown by the curve L1, but in the keyboard device of the present invention, as shown by the curve L2. In addition, the return speed of the key K immediately after the key release increases. As a result, the repeatability is improved, and the feel when the keys are released is close to that of an acoustic piano.

  According to the present embodiment, the end-corresponding position Pe has a larger repulsion energy against the pressure from the actuator 13 than the rest-corresponding position Pr, so that the return of the key K from the end position when the key is released can be accelerated. it can. Since the return speed of the key K is faster and the inertial mass of the hammer body HM is larger than that of the key K, the key K comes to the finger immediately after the key is released, and the feel at the time of repeated hits is improved. Repeatability improves. Further, it is possible to bring the equivalent mass of the entire oscillating system including the key K and the hammer body HM closer to that of an acoustic piano while maintaining continuous hitting performance. As a result, the return profile of the key K can be brought close to that of an acoustic piano, and the touch feeling due to inertia can be improved to the same level as an acoustic piano.

  Further, in the key pressing forward stroke, the amount of elastic deformation of the touch generating unit 17 increases from the first predetermined position P1 due to the presence of the high repulsion portion 24, so that a click feeling can be generated near the end position. . Coupled with this, in the key pressing forward stroke, the key pressing reaction force increases due to the increase in the frictional force by the high friction portion 23 immediately before the first predetermined position P1, so that the click feeling becomes clear.

  By the way, about the touch production | generation unit 17, several modifications as shown in FIG. 3 can be considered. For example, when setting the rebound energy at the end corresponding position Pe to be large, the rebound energy is not limited to the high repulsion portion 24, and modifications such as those illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B can be employed.

  FIGS. 3A, 3 </ b> B, and 3 </ b> C are diagrams illustrating first, second, and third modified examples of the touch generation unit 17.

  In the first modification shown in FIG. 3A, the touch generating unit 17 is provided with a leaf spring 25 instead of the high repulsion unit 24. The leaf spring 25 is fixed to the driven part 16 by a fixture 26. The plate spring 25 is formed so that the portion facing the actuator 13 is parallel to the driven portion 16 and cooperates with the low repulsion portion 21 to form a flush sliding surface.

  When the actuator 13 passes the first predetermined position P1 in the key pressing forward stroke, the plate spring 25 is pressed, so that the plate spring 25 is elastically deformed and the actuator 13 is dropped, and the key pressing reaction force is rapidly reduced. To do. In the key pressing end state, the actuator 13 is in a state of pressing the end corresponding position Pe in the leaf spring 25. Since the leaf spring 25 has a large rebound energy, the actuator 13 rebounds vigorously when the key is released. Therefore, as with the example of FIG. 2A, it is possible to generate a click feeling and speed up the return of the key K from the end position when the key is released.

  Moreover, you may combine the damper material 27 with the leaf | plate spring 25 in a 1st modification (FIG. 3 (a)) like the 2nd modification shown in FIG.3 (b). The damper material 27 is fixed to the back side of the leaf spring 25 and keeps a space between the driven portion 16 in the non-key-pressed state and is sandwiched between the leaf spring 25 and the driven portion 16 when the key is finished. Arranged to receive a compressive force. According to this, regarding the feeling of escape at the end of the key press, the spring-like feel is alleviated and a natural feel is obtained.

  Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a sheet-like member 28 that covers the low resilience portion 21 and the leaf spring 25. The sheet-like member 28 is disposed using the fixing portion 29 so as to cover the entire low resilience portion 21 and the leaf spring 25. The sheet-like member 28 has flexibility and provides a flush sliding surface in a non-key-pressed state.

  Since the amount of depression of the actuator 13 changes with the first predetermined position P1 as a boundary, when there is no sheet-like member 28, the actuator 13 may be caught at the first predetermined position P1 mainly at the time of return due to a temporarily generated step. is assumed. However, by providing the sheet-like member 28, the operation when the actuator 13 slides on the sliding contact surface in the reciprocating stroke becomes smooth.

  In addition, about the part corresponding to the high friction part 23, it is good to comprise the friction coefficient of the sheet-like member 28 large. Further, the sheet-like member 28 may be applied to the configuration shown in FIG.

  In the third modification shown in FIG. 3C, the relationship between the “sliding part” and the “sliding part” is reversed from the example in FIG. That is, for the key K, the actuator 13 is abolished and the touch generating unit 17 is provided, while the protruding portion 16a is provided on the driven portion 16 of the hammer body HM. And it is comprised so that the touch production | generation unit 17 may drive the protrusion part 16a by key pressing operation.

  Therefore, the touch generating unit 17 becomes a hammer driving unit. The lower surface of the touch generation unit 17 is a sliding contact surface, and the protruding portion 16a slides relative to the touch generation unit 17 to the right in FIG. The arrangement order of the low friction part 22, the high friction part 23, and the high repulsion part 24 is opposite to the example of FIG. Even in such a configuration, the operation is the same as in the example of FIG.

  It should be noted that it is not essential to provide the high-friction portion 23 in the above-described embodiment and each modification for speeding up the recovery of the key K. Further, it is not essential to provide a difference in repulsive energy by dividing the region at the first predetermined position P1. At the minimum, the sliding part comes into contact with the sliding part when it is at the end position, rather than the resting part (rest correspondence position Pr) with which the sliding part comes into contact when the key K is in the rest position. The part (end-corresponding position Pe) may be configured to have a larger repulsion energy against the pressure from the sliding part.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included.

  K key, HM hammer body, 13 actuator (hammer drive part), 16 driven part, 17 touch generation unit, 21 low repulsion part, 24 high repulsion part, 28 sheet-like member, P1 first predetermined position, P2 second Position, Pr rest compatible position (rest compatible part), Pe end compatible position (end compatible part)

Claims (5)

A key that has a hammer drive and swings the range from the rest position to the end position by pushing and releasing;
A hammer body which has a driven part, is provided corresponding to the key, and swings when the driven part is pressed and driven by the hammer driving part of the corresponding key to give inertia to the key pressing operation; Have
In the key pressing process, the sliding part which is one of the hammer driving part and the driven part is configured to be able to slide with respect to the sliding part which is the other,
When the key is at the end position of the sliding area of the sliding part that the sliding part can abut than the rest corresponding part where the sliding part abuts when the key is at the rest position A keyboard device characterized in that the end corresponding portion with which the sliding portion abuts has a larger repulsive energy against the pressure from the sliding portion.   With the first predetermined position closer to the end corresponding part than the rest corresponding part in the sliding area of the sliding portion, the rest corresponding part from the first predetermined position in the sliding area 2. The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein the region closer to the end corresponding portion has a larger repulsive energy against the pressure from the sliding portion than the region closer to the end.   Of the sliding region, the region closer to the end corresponding part than the region closer to the rest than the first predetermined position is elastically deformed with respect to the same pressing force received from the sliding part. 3. The keyboard device according to claim 2, wherein the amount is large.   Occurred in a region from the second predetermined position close to the first predetermined position to the first predetermined position in a region closer to the rest corresponding part than the first predetermined position in the sliding region 4. The keyboard device according to claim 2, further comprising a friction increasing region in which a frictional force to be increased is provided.   The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein a sheet-like member that is flush with a non-key-pressed state is provided in the sliding area of the sliding portion.

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