JP2748616B2 - Keyboard instrument - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard instrument, and more particularly, to a keyboard instrument configured to sound by striking a sounding body in response to a key operation. .

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a keyboard instrument such as a piano, a striking means is mechanically connected to a key, and the striking means is operated by operating the key. string)
Sound is produced by striking and vibrating, and the damper is brought into contact with the string by returning the key to suppress the vibration, thereby stopping the sound. Further, the string and the damper are operated by operating the damper with a pedal. By controlling the state of contact with the strings, maintenance of the sounding of the strings or adjustment such as muting is performed.

With this type of keyboard instrument, it is possible to perform only by the player directly operating the keys.

On the other hand, conventionally, a keyboard instrument capable of automatic performance as shown in FIG. 10 has also been proposed.

The upright type piano 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a balance pin 4 in a reed 3 provided at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of a shelf 2.
A key 5, which is swingably mounted via a key, a reed 6 provided on a rear portion of the shelf plate 2, and an upper surface of the reed 6, the rear end of the key 5 abuts. A stopper 7 made of an elastic material to be moved, and a reed front 8 provided at a front portion of the shelf 2
An oval key pin 9 fixed to the front of the reed 8 and slidably fitted to the front end of the key 5 to restrict the key 5 from swinging in a direction orthogonal to the swing direction; It includes a string 10 provided corresponding to the key 5, and a striking means 11 disposed between the string 10 and the key 5. The striking means 11 includes a hammer 12 for striking the string 10. , A damper 13 that suppresses the vibration of the string 10, and a hammer 12 and a damper 13
And the key 5 and an action mechanism 14 for connecting the key 5.

The automatic performance device 15 applied to the piano 1 having such a configuration includes a solenoid 16 disposed on the upper surface of the shelf plate 2 between the reed 6 and the reed 3, and a solenoid 16.
And a controller 17 that drives the.

 The operation of the piano 1 is as follows.

A drive signal is output from the controller 17 to a solenoid 16 based on a performance signal from an external input 18, and the key 5 is swung by the solenoid 16 with a force corresponding to the drive signal.

With the swing of the key 5, the damper 13 is separated from the string 10 via the action mechanism 14, and
The strings are struck by the hammer 12 to generate sound.

Here, the striking force applied to the hammer 12 corresponds to the key pressing force applied to the key 5, so that the striking force based on the performance signal given by the external input 18 is obtained.

The automatic performance device 15 is not limited to the upright type shown in the figure, but can be applied to other types of keyboard instruments such as a grand piano.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the piano 1 having the above-described configuration, the following problems to be solved remain.

First, the problem that arises from the structure of the main unit is that the keyboard and the sounding part are integrated, so that it is heavy, the installation location is restricted by load restrictions, etc., or the performance can only be performed at that installation location. Points.

In addition, since a large installation area is particularly required for a grand piano, the installation location is likely to be restricted from this aspect as well.

On the other hand, a problem arising from the structure for sounding is that the movement of the key 5 driven by the solenoid 16 is transmitted to the striking means 11, and the striking means 11 strikes the string 10 to sound the sound. There is a problem that the operational feeling (so-called touch feeling) differs between an upright piano and a grand piano having different structures of the striking means 11, and the touch feeling of the grand piano cannot be reproduced on the upright piano.

Therefore, conventionally, measures against these inconveniences are left, and the present invention is intended to solve such problems left in the past.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a keyboard instrument that can effectively solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes a keyboard section for generating performance information, and performance information output from the keyboard section. A keyboard, a key portion, key operation state detection means for electrically detecting the operation state of the key, and key operation information detected by the key operation state detection means. A performance resistance generating means for applying an operation reaction force to the key, and performance information output means for outputting performance information in accordance with the key operation information. Hitting means for electrically driving the sounding body based on the sounding means, and sound stopping means for controlling the vibration of the sounding body based on the performance information, wherein the hitting means includes a solenoid comprising a coil and a plunger. And said The sound damping means is constituted by a solenoid composed of a coil and a plunger, and a damper directly fixed to the plunger, and the keyboard portion and the sound generating portion are separated from each other. It is characterized by being provided in.

[Operation] According to the present invention, when a key is operated on the keyboard,
The key operation state is electrically detected by the key operation state detection means, and an operation response corresponding to the key operation state is given to the key by the performance resistance generation means.

 Thereby, the player can obtain a good touch feeling.

In addition to the application of the reaction force to the key, performance information is generated by the performance information output means, and the performance information is output to the sound generator.

In the sound generator, the striking means and the sound stopping means are electrically driven based on the performance information to generate sound.

In this way, the keyboard and the sounding section are electrically connected and mechanically separated, and a good sounding state is reproduced.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
A description will be given based on the drawings.

In the following description, the same parts as those in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be simplified.

In FIG. 1, the keyboard instrument 20 includes a keyboard section 20a for generating performance information, and a sounding section 20b for performing based on the performance information output from the keyboard section 20a.

The keyboard section 20a includes a key 21, key operation state detection means 22 for electrically detecting the operation state of the key 21, and key operation information detected by the key operation state detection means 22. Performance resistance generating means 23 that gives operation reaction force to 21
And performance information output means 24 for outputting performance information in accordance with the key operation information. The sounding section 20b includes a sounding body (string) 25 and the string driven electrically based on the performance information. A basic portion is constituted by a striking means 26 for striking the string 25 and a sound stopping means 27 for suppressing the vibration of the string 25 based on the performance information.

Next, to explain these details, the key operation state detecting means 22 includes, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a touch sensor 22a composed of a piezoelectric element mounted on the upper surface of the tip of the key 21. A drop load sensor 22b, which is a piezoelectric element mounted on the lower surface of the base end of the key 21 and is opposed to the stopper 7, and the upper surface of the shelf 2 between the front reed 8 and the middle reed 3; The key 21 includes a key displacement sensor 22c disposed opposite to the lower surface of the key 21.

The touch sensor 22a detects the pressure to detect the player's keying force, and the drop load sensor 22b also detects the pressure to detect the load when the key 21 returns, and further detects a key displacement sensor. Reference numeral 22c detects the displacement, displacement speed, and acceleration of the key 21 using reflection of light.

The performance resistance generating means 23 is provided between the reed 3 and the reed 6 and between the key 21 and the shelf 2.
A magnet 23a mounted on the lower surface of 21 and mounted on the shelf 2;
It is constituted by coils 23b opposed to both side surfaces of the magnet 23a at a predetermined interval.

The playing resistance generating means 23 adjusts the balance between the magnetic force generated in the coil 23b and the magnet 23a in accordance with the magnitude of the voltage applied to the coil 23b, so that the The acting force, that is, the operation reaction force or the driving force is adjusted.

The sensors 22a to 22c and the performance resistance generating means 23 are connected to a control unit 28 as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 28 uses the detection values of the respective sensors 22a to 22c as parameters and
ROM2 in which the correlation between the operation state and the operation reaction force is written
9, a RAM 30 and a backup RAM 31 that store the detection values of the sensors 22a to 22c, and a CP that performs processing such as setting an operation reaction force based on the information and calculating performance information.
It has U32.

The performance information output means 24 is the first
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, a transceiver is used, the performance information generated by the CPU 32 is wirelessly transmitted, and the operation signal from the sound generator 22b is transmitted to the C section.
Input to PU32.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the striking means 26 includes a hammer 34 disposed substantially orthogonal to the string 25, and a push-fitting device mounted on a base end of the hammer 34. And a pull solenoid 35.

This push-pull solenoid 35 is
The base end of the hammer 34 is fixed to 36, and a reverse voltage is applied to a pair of provided coils 37 and 38, and the plunger 36 and the hammer 34
The hammer 34 is moved in the direction approaching and moving away from it, and the moving speed of the hammer 34, that is, the string striking force is adjusted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the sound-stopping means 27 has the same push-pull solenoid as the hitting means 26.
39, a rod 40 that is moved in the length direction by the push-pull solenoid 39, and a damper 41 attached to the string 25 side of the rod 40, and a voltage is applied to the push-pull solenoid 39. Thereby, the damper is brought into contact with the string 25 to suppress the vibration of the string 25 to stop the sound, and the contact pressure between the damper 41 and the string 25 is adjusted by the difference between the voltages applied to both coils. It has become.

The hammer 34 and the damper 41 have the first
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a hammer sensor 42 and a damper sensor 43 for detecting the displacement, the displacement speed and the acceleration are arranged to face each other. As shown in FIGS. It is electrically connected to a control unit 44 provided in 22b.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The piece 4 attached to the sound board 45 provided in the sounding section 22b
6, a sound board sensor 47 made of a piezoelectric element is mounted, and a string sensor 48 is disposed at a predetermined distance from the string 25, and detects and controls the vibration of the sound board 45 and the string 25. By outputting to the unit 44, the sounding time and the sound stopping time are detected.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 44 includes a hammer sensor 42, a damper sensor 43, and a soundboard sensor.
Using the detection values of the 47 and the string sensor 48 as parameters, the performance information input from the keyboard 22a and the hammer 34 and the damper 4
A ROM 49 in which a correlation with the driving force is written, a RAM 50 and a backup RAM 51 for storing detection values of the hammer sensor 42, the damper sensor 43, the soundboard sensor 47 and the string sensor 48, and a hammer based on these information. 34 and a CPU 52 that performs processing such as setting of the driving force of the damper 41,
Further, the control unit 44 includes the keyboard unit.
A transmitter / receiver 53 for transmitting / receiving information to / from 20a and an M for external input
The IDI input terminal 54 is connected.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment thus configured will be described.

First, the outline of the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

When the player starts playing by operating the key 21, the playing state of the player is detected by the keyboard section 20a, and the playing state is calculated as performance information and output to the sounding section 20b. After the performance target value is calculated based on the performance signal, a drive signal is output to the hammer 34 and the damper 41 via the comparison amplifier.

The operating states of the hammer 34 and the damper 41 are fed back to the comparison amplification section to correct the drive signal, and the corrected drive signal causes the hammer 34 to operate.
The damper 41 is driven while its operating state is being adjusted to produce sound and stop sound.

Next, the control of the keyboard section 20a will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, at the request of the player, a reaction force generation selection process is performed (S1, S2).

This is a process to match the form of the touch feeling to the player's preference.

Next, at the start of the performance, the detection values of the touch sensor 22a, the drop load sensor 22b, and the key displacement sensor 22c are read (S3), and the CPU 32 calculates the performance information (at least the identifier, key number, and velocity) based on this information. After that (S4), the performance information is transmitted (S5).

From this, when the operation signal of the sound generator 20b is received (S
6) The CPU 32 calculates the basic value of the operation reaction force applied to the key 21 based on the selected information stored in the ROM 29 (S7), and the touch sensor 22a and the drop load sensor 22b.
Feedback correction is performed based on the detection value of the key displacement sensor 22c (S8), and the operation reaction force on the key 21 generated by the performance resistance generating means 23 is adjusted (S8).
9).

By such control, the player can be given a touch feeling as good as a grand piano.

Next, the control of the sound generator 20b in response to the control of the keyboard 20a will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the sound generator 20b is activated (S1), the hammer sensor 4
2, damper sensor 43, soundboard sensor 47 and string sensor 48
Is detected (S2).

Next, an operation signal of the sound generator 20b is transmitted to the keyboard 20a (S3), and performance information from the keyboard 20a is input (S4).

When the performance information is input, the driving force of the hammer 34 and the damper 41 is calculated in the CPU 52 based on the performance information based on the map stored in the ROM 49 of the control unit 44 (S5 and S6). By comparing the calculated driving force with the feedback signals from the hammer sensor 42 and the damper sensor 43, the hammer driving force and the damper driving force are corrected (S7 and S8), and the driving force is applied to the hammer 34 and the damper 41. It is output (S9 / S10).

By such control, the hammer 34 and the damper 41
Is driven in an optimal state, and a performance according to the player's key operation is performed.

Then, the actual movement of the operation of the hammer 34 and the damper 41 is fed back and corrected by comparison with the target value, so that a faithful performance is reproduced.

Moreover, since there is no mechanical force transmission mechanism between the keyboard 20a and the sound generator 20b, and the two are separated, the weight of each individual is greatly reduced and the volume is also reduced ( For example, if the sound piano 20b is installed in the upright position, the occupied area becomes smaller than that of a grand piano.) Therefore, the degree of freedom of the installation position is greatly improved.

In addition, since the connection between the keyboard 20a and the sound generator 20b is an electrical connection, there is no variation in sound generation and no adjustment is required as compared with a conventional connection using an action mechanism, and productivity and productivity are improved. This is advantageous in maintainability.

On the other hand, according to the operating state of the key 21, the voltage applied to the push-pull solenoids 35 and 39 is adjusted according to the striking force of the striking means 26 and the contact pressure between the sound stopping means 27 and the strings 25. In combination with the improvement of the operational feeling described above, the strings are struck and stopped according to the player's operation, so that the same sound as that of a natural musical instrument such as improved continuous hitting is obtained.

Changing the touch feeling of the key 21 is easily performed by replacing the ROM 29 provided in the control unit 28 with a ROM in which another information map is recorded.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a sequencer or another electronic musical instrument is connected to the MIDI input terminal 54 provided in the sounding section 20b, so that ready-made performance information or other keyboards can be obtained. It is also possible to perform a performance by a section or a reproduction performance.

Furthermore, the RAM 30 of the control unit 28
In addition, the performance information of the direct performance by the keyboard 21 is recorded,
By processing the recorded performance information as external performance information in the CPU 27, the recorded performance can be reproduced.

According to this, the performer can objectively grasp the performance of the performer himself, which helps to confirm the playing technique and to assist repetitive practice.

The various shapes, dimensions, and the like of the components shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like.

For example, in each of the above embodiments, an upright-type piano is shown as an example of a keyboard instrument. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a musical instrument having a keyboard such as a charesta or a harpsichord.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the magnet 23a and the coil 23b are used as the operation reaction force generating means 23 has been described. Instead, as shown in FIG. 9, a push-pull solenoid 55 is used. Further, a sensor having a structure in which the key operation state detecting means 27 detects the inclination of the key 21 by using light reflection is shown.
A structure that detects the distance to 21 can also be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the keyboard instrument according to the present invention has the following excellent effects.

Eliminates the need for mechanical connection between the keyboard and the sound generator,
The two parts are separated from each other, whereby the weight of each part can be greatly reduced and the volume can be reduced, so that the freedom of the installation position and the performance position can be greatly improved.

Further, variation in pronunciation can be suppressed as compared with a keyboard instrument provided with an action mechanism, and productivity and maintainability can be improved because adjustment is not required.

Furthermore, by generating an operation reaction force according to the key operation state, it is possible to obtain a good touch feeling equivalent to that of the ground piano, and to change the touch feeling by changing the operation reaction force generation pattern. It can be done easily.

Further, since the striking means and the sound stopping means are constituted by directly attaching a hammer or a damper to the plunger of the solenoid, the behavior of the plunger and the hammer or the damper coincide with each other. Or fine control of the damper's string touch timing or the like can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of a keyboard, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a keyboard portion, and FIG. And FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a sound generator, FIG.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system, FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining control of a keyboard, FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining control of a sound generator, and FIG. 9 is a modification of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a key portion showing an example of a conventional keyboard instrument. 20 keyboard instrument, 20a keyboard section, 20b sounding section, 21 key, 22 key operation state detecting means, 23 performance resistance generating means, 24 performance information output means, 25 ... strings, 26 ... hitting means, 27 ... sound-stopping means.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ichiro Oe 10-1 Nakazawa-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Yamaha Corporation (56) References JP-A-58-98788 (JP, A) JP-A-49- 24121 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A keyboard for generating performance information; and a sound generator for performing a performance based on the performance information output from the keyboard. The keyboard includes a key and an operation state of the key. Key operation state detecting means, a key operation information detected by the key operation state detection means, a performance resistance generating means for applying an operation reaction force to the key, and performance information corresponding to the key operation information. The sounding section includes a sounding body, a striking means that is electrically driven based on the performance information to strike the sounding body, and a sounding section of the sounding body based on the performance information. A damping means for suppressing vibration, wherein the hitting means is constituted by a solenoid comprising a coil and a plunger, and a hammer directly fixed to the plunger; And a damper directly fixed to the plunger, and wherein the keyboard and the sound generator are provided separately.