JP2024050328A - Drop action piano - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a piano with a drop action that ensures good operation of the action, reduces the length of the keys, and compacts the depth of the piano. [Solution] A piano 1 with a drop action includes a first key 2A that extends in the front-rear direction, is supported rotatably at its rear end, and is operated by a player, a second key 2B that is located below the first key 2A, is supported rotatably at its center, and the front end of the second key 2B abuts against the first key 2A, an action 3 that is located behind and below the first and second keys 2A and has a wippen 21 that drives a hammer 4 by rotating upward to strike the strings, and a connecting member (wire 13) that is connected to the rear end of the second key 2B and the wippen 21, and lifts and rotates the wippen 21 upward as the rear end of the second key 2B rotates upward in response to pressing of the first key 2A. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a piano with a drop action, which is an action located below the keyboard.

A conventional piano with a drop action is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 3, this piano 101 has keys 102 (white and black keys) that extend in the front-rear direction and are rotatably supported at the center by balance pins 102a, and an action 103 that is disposed behind the keys 102 and drives a hammer 104 when the key is pressed. The configuration of the action 103 is basically the same as that of an upright piano, and its main components are a wippen 105 that is rotatable around its rear end, a jack 106 attached to the wippen 105, and a rotatable butt 107 that has the hammer 104 as an integral part and against which the jack 106 abuts from below.

The lower end of the extension lever 108 is rotatably connected to the front end of the wippen 105. The extension lever 108 extends vertically, and its upper end is connected to a capstan screw 111 screwed into the upper surface of the rear end of the key 102 via an extension plate 109 and a fixing device 110. In the above configuration, when the key 102 is pressed, it rotates around the balance pin 102a, and its rear end moves upward, lifting the front end of the wippen 105 via the extension lever 108. As a result, the wippen 105 rotates upward, and the jack 106 pushes up the butt 107, rotating the hammer 104 backward, causing the hammer 104 to strike the string S.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 49-2178

In the conventional piano described above, the rear end of the key 102 and the wippen 105 of the action 103 are directly connected by an extension lever 108, and when the key 102 is pressed, the extension lever 108 moves together with the rear end of the key 102, causing the wippen 105 to rotate upward. For this reason, if you want to ensure a rotation stroke of the wippen 105 that is the same as the depression stroke of the key 102, it is necessary to set the length from the balance pin 102a, which is the fulcrum of the key 102, to the rear end of the key 102 to the length to the front end. This increases the overall length of the key 102, and therefore increases the depth (length in the front-to-rear direction) of the piano 101.

In addition, if the extension lever 108 is made of a rigid body such as metal (e.g., stainless steel or iron), the overall weight is large, which tends to cause the static load of the key 102 to become excessive, and the movement of the extension lever 108 becomes sluggish, adversely affecting the response of the string and the ability to strike repeatedly. For this reason, there is a limit to the length of the extension lever 108, making it difficult to position the action 103 extremely low relative to the key 102. In fact, in a conventional piano 101, as shown in FIG. 3, the action 103 is only slightly lower than the key 102, and the hammer 104 protrudes slightly above the key 102. For this reason, it is not possible to lower the height of the roof (not shown) that covers the key 102 and hammer 104, and therefore the height of the piano 101, or it is prevented from making the roof flat.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a piano with a drop action that ensures good operation of the action while reducing the length of the keys and thus making the depth of the piano more compact.

To achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is a piano with a drop action, characterized in that it comprises: a first key that extends in the front-rear direction, is supported rotatably at its rear end, and is operated by the player; a second key that is located below the first key, is supported rotatably at its center, and the front end of the second key abuts against it; an action that is located behind and below the first and second keys, and has a wippen that drives the hammer when rotated upward to strike the strings; and a connecting member that is connected to the rear end of the second key and the wippen, and that lifts and rotates the wippen upward as the rear end of the second key rotates upward in response to pressing the first key.

The piano according to the present invention comprises a first key operated by the player, a second key located below it, an action located behind and below the first and second keys, and a connecting member connected to the rear end of the second key and the wippen of the action. When the first key is pressed, the rear end of the second key rotates upward, and the connecting member lifts the wippen and rotates it upward, thereby driving the hammer, which strikes the strings.

In this case, due to the support positions of the first and second keys and the connection relationship between them, i.e., the first key is supported rotatably at the rear end and the second key is supported rotatably at the center with the first key abutting the front end, when the first key is pressed, it is possible to obtain a rotation stroke of the rear end of the second key equivalent to the key pressing stroke. As a result, the amount of rotation of the wippen driven by the connecting material is ensured, and the hammer is sufficiently driven, thereby ensuring good operation of the action. In addition, since the second key is located below the first key, the length of the entire keyboard device in the front-to-rear direction can be shortened compared to the conventional case in which the keys extend equally on both the front and rear sides of the fulcrum, and therefore the depth of the piano can be made compact.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that in the piano with drop action described in claim 1, the connecting material is a flexible wire material stretched between the rear end of the second key and the wippen.

According to this configuration, the connecting material of claim 1 is a flexible wire stretched between the rear end of the second key and the wippen. This makes the connecting material lighter than in the case of a conventional extension lever, reducing the static load of the first key. In addition, the wire moves more smoothly and is more likely to bend and return to its original position after striking the string, improving the response of the string and the ability to strike repeatedly.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the piano with drop action described in claim 2 further includes an adjustment screw that is screwed into the upper surface of the rear end of the second key and has a shaft around which wire is wound, and the degree of tension in the wire is adjusted by turning the adjustment screw to change the amount of wire wound around the shaft.

With this configuration, the adjustment screw screwed into the top surface of the rear end of the second key can be turned from above to change the amount of wire wound around the shaft of the adjustment screw, adjusting the degree of tension in the wire, and easily adjusting the static load of the first key, the string striking responsiveness, and the ability to strike repeatedly.

The invention according to claim 4 is a piano with a drop action according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the action is positioned below the first and second keys so that the hammer is positioned below the first key.

With this configuration, the action and the hammer above it are positioned lower than the first key, so the height of the roof covering the first key and hammers, and therefore the height of the piano, can be lowered, and the flat roof improves the design of the piano.

1 is a side view, with a portion cut away, showing the keyboard, action, hammer, etc. of a piano to which the present invention is applied in a key-released state. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the piano of FIG. 1 in a state in which a string is being struck. 1 is a side view showing the keyboard, action, hammers, etc. of a conventional piano.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a piano 1 to which the present invention is applied includes a keyboard 2, an action 3 as a drop action, and hammers 4. In the following description, the front side of the piano 1 as seen from the player's side will be referred to as the "front" and the back side as the "rear."

The keyboard 2 has a number of first keys 2A (white and black keys, only one of each is shown) lined up in the left-right direction of the piano 1, and a number of second keys 2B (only one of each is shown) arranged below the first keys 2A and lined up in the left-right direction. Each first key 2A extends in the front-to-rear direction (left-to-right direction in FIG. 1), and is supported at its rear end so as to be freely rotatable by a balance pin 6a erected on a reed 6 on the shelf board 5, and is guided at its front by a front pin 7. An actuator pin 8 that extends downward through the shelf board 5 is integrally provided at the front of the underside of the first key 2A.

The second key 2B is placed between the shelf 5 and the bottom plate 9 below it. A support plate 10 is attached between the shelf 5 and the bottom plate 9, and the second key 2B is supported by the support plate 10 at a position about 1/3 of the total length from its front end so that it can rotate freely via a fulcrum 10a. The actuator pin 8 provided on the corresponding first key 2A abuts the front end of the second key 2B from above, and the rear end of the second key 2B rests on a lower limit stopper 11 provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 9 when the first key 2A is in the released state. An adjustment screw 12 is screwed into the rear end of the upper surface of the second key 2B, and immediately behind it, a guide hole 2c is formed that penetrates in the vertical direction, and the upper end of a wire 13 described later is wound around the shaft of the adjustment screw 12 and passed through the guide hole 2c.

The action 3 is disposed behind and below the first key 2A and the second key 2B, and has a wippen 21 provided for each first key 2A. The wippen 21 is supported at its rear end by a center rail 22 extending in the left-right direction via a wippen flange 21a so as to be freely rotatable. A mounting screw 23 having a ring portion 23a is screwed into the front end of the wippen 21, and the lower end of the wire 13 engages with and is attached to this ring portion 23a.

The wire 13 is made of a material with suitable flexibility and strength, for example a core made of high-strength nylon with a surface coated with fiber or carbon, and is stretched between the adjustment screw 12 of the second key 2B and the mounting screw 23 of the wippen 21. The degree of tension is adjusted by turning the adjustment screw 12 and changing the amount of wire 13 wound around its shaft.

The structure of the action 3, other than the wippen 21, is basically the same as that of an upright piano, and will be briefly explained below. The action 3 has a jack 24, a butt 25, and a damper lever 26, which are provided for each first key 2A.

The jack 24 is formed in an L-shape with a base extending forward and a hammer thrust portion extending upward from the rear end of the base, and is rotatably attached to the center of the wippen 21 at the corners of both parts.

The butt 25 is supported rotatably on the center rail 22 via the butt flange 25a, and when the first key 2A is in the released state, the hammer thrust portion of the jack 24 abuts against it from below. The hammer shank 4a of the hammer 4 is erected on the upper surface of the butt 25, and a hammer head 4b is provided at its upper end. When the first key 2A is in the released state, the hammer head 4b faces the string S stretched to the rear.

The damper lever 26 extends vertically and is supported at its center by the center rail 22 via a damper flange 26a so as to be freely rotatable, with a damper 26b provided at its upper end. When the first key 2A is in the released state, the damper 26b presses against the string S, and the spoon 27 erected at the rear end of the wippen 21 faces the lower end of the damper lever 26 from the front.

Next, the operation of the piano 1 configured as described above will be described. When the player presses the first key 2A from the key-released state shown in FIG. 1, the first key 2A rotates downward (clockwise in FIG. 1) around the balance pin 6a at the rear end, and presses down the front end of the second key 2B via the actuator pin 8. As a result, the second key 2B rotates clockwise around the fulcrum 10a, just like the first key 1A, and its rear end moves upward, lifting the wippen 21 via the wire 13. As a result, the wippen 21 rotates upward, and the jack 24 attached to the wippen 21 pushes up the butt 25, causing the hammer 4 integrated with the butt 25 to rotate backward and strike the string S (state shown in FIG. 2).

In addition, as the wippen 21 rotates, the spoon 27 that is integral with it moves backward and presses the lower end of the damper lever 26, causing the damper lever 26 to rotate clockwise, and the damper 26b moves away from the string S, ensuring that sound is produced by the vibration of the string S.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a rotation stroke of the rear end of the second key 2B that is equivalent to the depression stroke of the first key 2A, and as a result, it is possible to ensure the rotation amount of the wippen 21 driven by the wire 13, and by sufficiently driving the hammer 4, it is possible to ensure good operation of the action 3. In addition, because the second key 2B is located below the first key 2A, the length of the entire keyboard device in the front-to-rear direction can be shortened compared to the conventional case in which the keys extend equally on both the front and rear sides of the fulcrum, and therefore the depth of the piano 1 can be made compact.

A flexible wire 13 is stretched between the rear end of the second key 2B and the wippen 21 as a connecting member. This makes the connecting member lighter than in the case of a conventional extension lever, reducing the static load of the first key 2A. In addition, the wire 13 moves more smoothly and is more likely to bend and return to its original position after striking the string, improving the response of the string and the ability to strike repeatedly.

Furthermore, by operating and turning the adjustment screw 12 screwed into the upper surface of the rear end of the second key 2B from above, the amount of wire 13 wound around the shaft of the adjustment screw 12 can be changed, and the degree of tension in the wire 13 can be adjusted, making it easy to adjust the static load of the first key 2A, the response of the string striking, and the ability to strike repeatedly.

In addition, because the action 3 and the hammer 4 above it are positioned lower than the first key 2A, the height of the roof covering the first key 2A and hammer 4, etc., and therefore the height of the piano, can be lowered, and the design of the piano 1 can be improved by making the roof flat.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be implemented in various ways. For example, in the embodiment, a flexible wire 13 is used as the connecting material connecting the rear end of the second key 2B to the wippen 21, but it is also within the scope of the present invention to use a rigid material such as a metal, as in the conventional case.

In addition, while the wire 13 is described as having a core made of high-strength nylon and a surface coated with fiber or carbon, other materials may be used as long as they have adequate flexibility and strength. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the actuator pin 8 for transmitting the movement of the first key 2A to the second key 2B is provided on the first key 2A side, but it may be provided on the second key 2B side and configured to protrude upward. Other details of the configuration may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

1 Piano 2A 1st key 2B 2nd key 3 Action 4 Hammer 6a Balance pin (fulcrum of 1st key)
10a Fulcrum (fulcrum of the second key)
12 Adjustment screw 13 Wire (connecting material)
21 Wippen

Claims (4)

a first key extending in the front-rear direction, rotatably supported at a rear end thereof, and operated by a player;
a second key disposed below the first key, supported rotatably at a center portion thereof, and having a front end portion against which the first key abuts;
an action having a wippen disposed behind and below the first key and the second key, the wippen rotating upward to drive a hammer and strike a string;
a connecting member that is connected to a rear end portion of the second key and the wippen, and that lifts and rotates the wippen upward as the rear end portion of the second key rotates upward in response to the depression of the first key;
A piano having a drop action, comprising: The piano with drop action according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting material is a flexible wire stretched between the rear end of the second key and the wippen. The second key further includes an adjustment screw that is screwed into the upper surface of the rear end portion of the second key and has a shaft portion around which the wire is wound.
3. The piano having a drop action according to claim 2, wherein the degree of tension of the wire is adjusted by turning the adjustment screw to change the amount of the wire wound around the shaft portion. A piano with a drop action according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the action is disposed below the first key and the second key such that the hammer is positioned below the first key.