JP2013167790A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a clear click feeling when weakly depressing a key.SOLUTION: When key depressing operation is performed, an actuator 13 of a key K drives a part 16 to be driven, via a feeling generation unit 17, and the actuator 13 slides on a slide region of the feeling generation unit 17. A reactive force increase region R0 is provided in a position nearer to an end corresponding position Pe than to a rest corresponding position Pr in the slide region. A region where a fuzz group of a fuzzed member is arranged is the reactive force increase region R0. The fuzz group is implanted at an angle to a backward direction of slide in side view and is stood obliquely. When the actuator 13 slides on a slide surface 17a in a forward direction in a forward process for key depression, a generated frictional force is temporarily increased in the reactive force increase region R0 due to the existence of the fuzz group though a generated frictional force is small in the case of a low-friction member.

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. In addition, there is known an acoustic piano that has been devised to realize a close click feeling that occurs when a jack comes out during a key pressing process.

  For example, in the device of Patent Document 1, a depression or protrusion for giving a click feeling is provided on the lower surface of the key, and a corresponding protrusion or depression for sliding contact is provided on the hammer body. A click feeling is generated when sliding.

  In an acoustic piano, there are various key pressing modes, and if the key is pressed slowly (weak key pressing), the key and the hammer are in contact with each other in the key pressing process. However, when a strong (fast) key is pressed more than a predetermined value, the hammer may be separated from the key in the middle of the key pressing, and the hammer may freely rotate. Therefore, the feeling of jack loss occurs when the key is pressed weakly but does not occur when the key is pressed hard.

JP-A-4-166994

  However, in the device of Patent Document 1, since the concave portion and the protrusion are engaged regardless of the strength of the key depression, a click feeling that cannot be ignored is generated even when the key depression is strong, and the key depression feeling is that of an acoustic piano. It will be different. On the other hand, if the action of the click generation mechanism is designed to be weak in order to reduce the click feeling when the key is pressed hard, the click feeling when the key is pressed weakly becomes unclear.

  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 capable of generating a clear click feeling when a weak key is pressed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a keyboard apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention has a hammer drive section (13, 117), and a key (K) that rotates a range from a rest position to an end position by a key pressing operation. And driven parts (16, 17), provided corresponding to the keys, and rotated when the driven parts are pressed and driven by the hammer driving parts of the corresponding keys. And a sliding part (13, 16a) which is one of the hammer driving part and the driven part in the key-pressing process. The sliding part is configured to be slidable with respect to the moving parts (17, 117), and the sliding is performed when the key is at a rest position in a sliding region of the sliding part on which the sliding part can come into contact. The key is at the end position rather than the rest corresponding position (Pr) where the part abuts In the region close to the end corresponding position (Pe) where the sliding portion comes into contact, the reaction due to friction generated when the sliding portion slides in the forward direction with respect to the sliding portion in the key pressing stroke. A reaction force increasing region (R0) in which the force temporarily increases is provided.

  Preferably, the reaction force increasing region (R0) is configured such that the sliding portion is in the key release stroke more than the sliding portion is moved in the forward direction relative to the sliding portion. The frictional force to be generated is smaller when sliding in the backward direction with respect to the sliding portion (claim 2).

  Preferably, a raised group (24) is provided on the surface (17a, 117a) of the reaction force increasing region in the sliding portion, and the raised group is planted by being inclined in the backward direction in a side view. (Claim 3).

  Preferably, the reaction force increasing region in the sliding portion is provided with a groove group (25) recessed from the surface, and the groove group is closer to the forward direction toward the bottom in a side view. It is formed to be inclined (claim 4).

  Preferably, a hard portion (28) is embedded in the reaction force increasing region in the sliding portion (claim 5). Preferably, the surface of the reaction force increasing region of the sliding portion is formed in a convex shape (29).

  In order to achieve the above object, a keyboard apparatus according to claim 7 of the present invention has a hammer drive unit, a key that rotates a range from a rest position to an end position by a key pressing operation, and a driven unit. A hammer body that is provided corresponding to the key and rotates 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 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, 117) which is the other. Of the sliding area of the sliding part that can be brought into contact with the sliding part, the key is more than the rest corresponding position (Pr) with which the sliding part comes into contact when the key is in the rest position. End corresponding position (P The region close to), characterized in that embedded hard portion (28).

  Preferably, the surface of the region where the hard portion is provided in the sliding portion is formed in a convex shape (29).

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

  According to claims 1 and 7 of the present invention, it is possible to generate a clear click feeling when the key is depressed weakly.

  According to the second aspect, it is possible to reduce a feeling of clicking in the key release process and suppress a feeling of strangeness.

  According to the fifth, sixth, and eighth aspects, the click feeling can be further clarified.

Schematic view (FIG. 1 (a)) of a main part focusing on one key of the keyboard device according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side, and an engagement portion between a key actuator and a driven part of a hammer body It is an enlarged view (figure (b)). It is an enlarged view near the reaction force increase region of the touch generation unit (FIG. (A)), and an enlarged view near the reaction force increase region of the touch generation unit of the modification. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the key pressing stroke and key pressing reaction force at the time of the weak key pressing in the key pressing process, and the strong key pressing. It is an enlarged view (figure (a)) near the reaction force increase field of a feeling generation unit in a 2nd embodiment, and a figure (figure (b)) showing a modification of a feeling generation unit.

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

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a main part of the keyboard device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the side, focusing on one key. 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 rotatable (swingable) 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 rotatable (swingable) 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. 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 the initial position (rest position) indicated by the phantom 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 rotates in the clockwise direction of FIG. give. 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. 1B is an enlarged view of an engaging 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 17a. 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. The weak key press is a key press at a very slow speed (about 2 mm / sec), and in the case of an acoustic piano, the key press is such that a click feeling is generated when the jack is released during the key press process. . However, when the key is strongly pressed (fast key pressing), 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 can slide.

  When the actuator 13 slides with respect to the touch generating unit 17, the actuator 13 moves to the left in FIG. 1B in the key pressing process and moves to the right in the key releasing process. Hereinafter, with respect to the sliding direction of the actuator 13, the left side of FIG.

  The reaction force increasing region R0 shown in FIG. 1B is a region in which friction between the actuator 13 and the sliding contact surface 17a is temporarily increased in the forward stroke of the key depression in the sliding region. The reaction force increasing region R0 is provided at a position closer to the end corresponding position Pe than the rest corresponding position Pr in the sliding region of the touch generating unit 17. The reaction force increasing region R0 is set so as to correspond to the vicinity of the position where the jack is removed from the roller in the key pressing forward stroke by the weak key pressing on the acoustic piano. That is, the reaction force increasing region R0 corresponds to a stroke position where a click feeling is generated in the key pressing forward stroke.

  A specific configuration example for increasing the generated friction in the reaction force increasing region R0 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the reaction force increasing region R0 of the touch generating unit 17. FIG. The touch generating unit 17 includes a cushion material 21, a low friction member 22, and a raised member 30. The cushion material 21 is fixed on the driven portion 16, and the low friction member 22 is fixed on the cushion material 21. The raising member 30 is fixed so as to be exposed at a part of the low friction member 22.

  The cushion material 21 is a member having elasticity such as rubber and sponge. The low friction member 22 is made of high density PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) or the like, but may be made of other materials as long as the surface roughness is small and the friction coefficient is small. In the raising member 30, raising groups 24 are planted from the surface of a base material such as artificial leather, and a region where the raising groups 24 are disposed is a reaction force increasing region R0.

  In the raising member 30, the raising group 24 can be raised and planted by, for example, electrostatic flocking technology. This is realized by applying an adhesive to a material to be planted (artificial leather), forming an electric field and flying flocks (hairs) or piles (short fibers). The raised groups 24 are planted so as to be inclined in the backward direction of sliding (right side of FIG. 2A) in a side view (front view of FIG. 2A), and stand up diagonally. The angle of inclination can be controlled by the direction of the electric field during electrostatic flocking.

  When the actuator 13 that is the sliding portion slides in the forward direction with respect to the sliding contact surface 17a of the touch generating unit 17 that is the sliding portion in the key pressing process, the frictional force generated by the low friction member 22 is small. However, the presence of the raised group 24 increases the frictional force generated in the reaction force increasing region R0.

  Moreover, since the raised group 24 is inclined in the backward direction, the friction coefficient μR when sliding in the backward direction is smaller than the friction coefficient μG when sliding in the forward direction in the reaction force increasing region R0. . Accordingly, the frictional force generated when the actuator 13 slides in the reverse direction in the reaction force increasing region R0 in the key release stroke is not much different from when the low friction member 22 is slid.

  By the way, the raising group 24 should just exist in reaction force increase area | region R0, and the adhering relationship between the raising member 30 and the low friction member 22 is not ask | required. For example, the raising member 30 may be fixed to the cushion material 21, and the low friction member 22 may be arranged separately by the raising member 30.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the relationship between the key pressing stroke and the key pressing reaction force when the key is weakly pressed and when the key is strongly pressed in the key pressing process.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, when the key is weakly pressed, the reaction force temporarily increases like a bump in the middle of pressing the key. That is, when a weak key is pressed from the non-key-pressed state, the actuator 13 slides to the left in FIG. 2A relative to the sliding contact surface 17a of the touch generating unit 17. Friction is small until the reaction force increasing region R0 is reached from the rest corresponding position Pr, and the sliding is smooth. When the actuator 13 passes through the reaction force increasing region R0, friction temporarily increases and the key pressing reaction force increases. Thereafter, immediately after the actuator 13 passes through the reaction force increasing region R0, the friction becomes smaller again and the key pressing reaction force decreases. When the key pressing reaction force suddenly decreases immediately after the key pressing reaction force, a feeling of clicking through a jack on an acoustic piano occurs.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, the initial reaction force is large because the inertial mass of the hammer body HM acts as a reaction force at the initial stage of key depression when the key is strongly depressed, but the reaction force increases greatly thereafter. Never do. That is, when the key is weakly pressed, the force due to the weight of the hammer body HM is constantly applied, but not when the key is strongly pressed. When the key is pressed hard, the hammer body HM is greatly accelerated. Therefore, when the actuator 13 passes through the reaction force increasing region R0, it is not in strong contact or in contact at all. Therefore, the influence of the friction in the reaction force increasing region R0 is small, and the change in the reaction force is small before and after the passage. Therefore, when the key is pressed hard, there is almost no feeling of clicking. This feel is similar to an acoustic piano.

  In the key release process, there is almost no change in the frictional force before and after passing through the reaction force increasing region R0. Therefore, there is no sense of incongruity when the keys are released, and the feel is similar to that of an acoustic piano.

  According to the present embodiment, the reaction force increasing region R0 in which the frictional force generated when sliding in the forward direction is temporarily increased is provided in the region near the end corresponding position Pe in the sliding region. A clear click feeling can be generated when the key is pressed weakly. In addition, since the reaction force increasing region R0 generates less frictional force when sliding in the backward direction than when sliding in the forward direction, the click feeling in the key release process is reduced and the uncomfortable feeling is suppressed. can do.

  By the way, in the reaction force increasing region R0, the configuration for reducing the friction in the backward direction rather than the forward direction is not limited to the raised member 30, and a modification as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the reaction force increase region R0 of the touch generation unit 17 of the modification. The touch generating unit 17 includes a cushion material 21 and a low friction member 23. The cushion material 21 is fixed on the driven portion 16, and the low friction member 23 is fixed on the cushion material 21. The material of the low friction member 23 is the same as that of the low friction member 22 (FIG. 2A), for example.

  In the reaction force increasing region R0 of the low friction member 23, a groove group 25 that is recessed downward from the sliding contact surface 17a that is the surface is provided. The groove group 25 is formed to be inclined so as to be closer to the forward direction toward the bottom side in a side view (a front view on the paper in FIG. 2A).

  Since the groove group 25 is inclined, the friction coefficient μR when sliding in the backward direction is smaller than the friction coefficient μG when sliding in the forward direction in the reaction force increasing region R0. Therefore, the same operation as that of the configuration of FIG. 2A occurs, and the click feeling in the key release process can be reduced and the uncomfortable feeling can be suppressed.

  It should be noted that the contact force between the actuator 13 and the sliding contact surface 17a is not large at the time of strong key pressing or key release stroke. Therefore, if emphasis is placed on the click feeling when the key is depressed weakly, it is effective to configure the reaction force increasing region R0 as a region having a larger friction coefficient than other sliding regions. Therefore, as long as it is limited to this point of view, it is not always necessary to provide the raised members 30 and the groove group 25 with an inclination.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the reaction force increasing region R0 having a different friction coefficient in the reciprocation is provided. However, as described above, the contact force between the actuator 13 and the sliding contact surface 17a is not large at the time of strong key pressing or key release stroke. For this reason, various other configurations are conceivable as long as the emphasis is placed on the click feeling at the time of weak key depression. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the touch generating unit 17 is different from that of the first embodiment, and the other configurations are the same.

  FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the reaction force increasing region R0 of the touch generating unit 17 in the second embodiment.

  The touch generating unit 17 includes a cushion material 27 and a low friction member 26. The cushion material 27 is fixed on the driven portion 16, and the low friction member 26 is fixed on the cushion material 27. The materials of the cushion material 27 and the low friction member 26 are the same as those of the cushion material 21 and the low friction member 22 (FIG. 2A) in the first embodiment.

  The low friction member 22 is formed with a convex portion 29 bulging upward in the reaction force increasing region R0. Further, a hard member 28 is embedded in the cushion material 27 in the reaction force increasing region R0. The hard member 28 is a hard portion that is less likely to be elastically deformed (has a larger elastic coefficient) than the other portions in the cushion material 27, and is located inside the sliding contact surface 17a. The material of the hard member 28 does not matter.

  In the key pressing process, when the actuator 13 slides in the reaction force increasing region R0, the actuator 29 gets over the convex portion 29. The key-pressing reaction force temporarily increases when the convex portion 29 is overcome, and decreases immediately after that. Thereby, a click feeling is generated. In addition to this, when the actuator 13 slides in the reaction force increasing region R0, the key pressing reaction force increases due to the presence of the hard member 28.

  That is, the portion of the low friction member 26 pressed by the actuator 13 bends (dents) downward mainly due to elastic deformation of the cushion material 27. However, since the amount of elastic deformation is small in a region where the hard member 28 is present, the amount of bending of the low friction member 26 is also small. As a result, the key pressing reaction force increases in the reaction force increase region R0. The reaction force increase is clear due to the synergistic effect of the convex portion 29 and the hard member 28.

  In this way, the reaction force significantly increases only when the key is depressed weakly in the key depression process, as in the first embodiment. At the time of strong key depression and key release stroke, the reaction force does not change greatly before and after passing through the reaction force increasing region R0, and the sense of incongruity is small.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4A, the slope of the mountain-shaped slope of the convex portion 29 is gentler on the down slope than the forward slope (right side of FIG. 4A). . Thereby, in the key release process, the rapid increase of the reaction force in the reaction force increase region R0 is further alleviated, which contributes to the suppression of the uncomfortable feeling.

  According to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved with respect to generating a clear click feeling when the key is pressed weakly.

  In the present embodiment, when the low friction member 26 having high elasticity is used, the hard member 28 may be embedded in the low friction member 26 as a harder portion than the low friction member 26.

  In the example of FIG. 4A, the synergistic effect of the convex portion 29 and the hard member 28 is obtained, but only one of the convex portion 29 and the hard member 28 may be adopted. Moreover, you may combine the structure which produces reaction force by friction as shown to Fig.2 (a) or FIG.2 (b), and the structure of either the convex part 29 and the hard member 28, or both.

  In each of the above embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4B, the relationship between the “sliding portion” and the “sliding portion” may be reversed.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 4B, the relationship between the “sliding portion” and the “sliding portion” is reversed from the above examples. That is, for the key K, the actuator 13 is abolished and a touch generation unit 117 corresponding to the touch generation unit 17 is provided, while a projecting 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 117 drives the protrusion part 16a by key pressing operation.

  Therefore, the touch generating unit 117 is a hammer driving unit. The lower surface of the touch generation unit 117 is a slidable contact surface 117a, and the protruding portion 16a is relatively to the right in FIG. 4B with respect to the slidable contact surface 117a of the touch generation unit 117 during the key press forward stroke. Slide. The projecting portion 16a becomes a “sliding portion”, and the touch generating unit 117 becomes a “sliding portion”. The reaction force increasing region R0 is provided on the lower surface side of the touch generation unit 117. Even in such a configuration, the operation is the same as in the above embodiments.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the cushion material and the low friction member may be integrally configured as a single member.

  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. A part of the above-described embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  K key, HM hammer body, Pr rest corresponding position, Pe end corresponding position, R0 reaction force increasing region, 13 Actuator (hammer driving part, sliding part), 16 driven part, 16a protruding part (sliding part), 17 Touch generation unit (driven portion, sliding portion), 117 Touch generation unit (hammer drive portion, sliding portion), 17a, 117a Sliding contact surface (surface), 24 Brushed group, 25 Groove group, 28 Hard Member (hard part), 29 convex part, 30 raising member

Claims (8)

A key that has a hammer drive and rotates a range from a rest position to an end position by a key pressing operation;
A hammer body which has a driven part, is provided corresponding to the key, and rotates 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 in the end position, compared to the rest corresponding position where the sliding part comes into contact when the key is in the rest position, in the sliding area of the sliding part where the sliding part can come into contact In the region close to the end corresponding position where the sliding portion abuts, the reaction force due to friction generated when the sliding portion slides in the forward direction with respect to the sliding portion in the key pressing stroke is temporarily A keyboard device characterized in that a reaction force increasing region is provided.   The reaction force increasing region is such that the sliding portion is moved relative to the slidable portion in the key release stroke than when the sliding portion slides in the forward direction relative to the slidable portion in the key pressing stroke. 2. The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein the frictional force generated is smaller when sliding in the backward direction.   3. The raised group is provided on a surface of the reaction force increasing region in the sliding portion, and the raised group is planted inclined in the backward direction in a side view. Keyboard device.   The reaction force increasing region in the sliding portion is provided with a groove group that is recessed from the surface, and the groove group is formed so as to be closer to the forward direction toward the bottom side in a side view. The keyboard device according to claim 2.   The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein a hard portion is embedded in the reaction force increasing region in the sliding portion.   The keyboard device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a surface of the reaction force increasing region of the sliding portion is formed in a convex shape. A key that has a hammer drive and rotates a range from a rest position to an end position by a key pressing operation;
A hammer body which has a driven part, is provided corresponding to the key, and rotates 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 in the end position, compared to the rest corresponding position where the sliding part comes into contact when the key is in the rest position, in the sliding area of the sliding part where the sliding part can come into contact A keyboard device characterized in that a hard portion is embedded in a region near the end corresponding position where the sliding portion abuts.   8. The keyboard device according to claim 7, wherein a surface of the sliding portion in which the hard portion is provided is formed in a convex shape.

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