JP3380601B2 - Compound piano auto-off device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hammer which is started from a stationary position and abuts against a string, and an external force generated by a key depression is applied to the hammer to move the hammer in the string direction from the stationary position. A device for automatically turning off a power source in a compound piano, which has a mechanism for controlling an electronic sound source based on a keyboard operation in addition to an external force transmission mechanism for separating the hammer from the hammer before abutting against the hammer and inertially moving the hammer. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a composite piano in which an electronic piano is combined with an electronic sound source so that an electronic sound source can be used in addition to a normal piano performance. For example, by providing a rail that stops a hammer shank (hereinafter referred to as a hammer shank stop rail) that blocks a hammer striking motion based on a key depression at a predetermined position, a striking sound is generated when playing by an electronic sound source. A piano that prevents this has been proposed. According to this, even if the keyboard operation is performed when the electronic sound source is controlled and played based on the operation related to the key depression / key release, the hammer shank hammers after the hammer starts the inertial movement and before striking the strings. The cushion felt disposed on the shank stop rail is brought into contact with the cushion felt to prevent its movement. Therefore, no string striking sound is generated. Therefore, if you play while listening to the performance sound from the electronic sound source based on the keyboard operation with headphones etc., the performance sound will not leak to the outside, and you can freely perform in a condominium or a densely populated area, or practice at night. There is an advantage.

The movement preventing means for preventing the string striking by the hammer is moved between the operation inhibiting position for preventing the string striking operation and the operation permitting position for permitting the string striking operation by operating a lever, a pedal or the like. There was a manual type that is performed by using the above, or an electric type that is moved by pressing a setting switch.

[0004]

However, in the present sound deadening mechanism, when the player tries to play as an acoustic piano next time due to forgetting to return the lever or turning off the power switch, the electronic sound source is switched to the play mode. The situation may occur in which the sound is still held and no sound is produced. In particular, since the appearance is based on the current acoustic piano, the consciousness as a so-called electronic piano is weakened, and I forget to turn off the power. Also, if both the power switch and the setting switch are present, the power is turned off while the operation blocking means is moved to the operation blocking position, and the power is not turned on the next time the piano is played. But,
There may be a situation where no sound is produced because the operation preventing means remains stopped at the operation preventing position.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a compound piano capable of playing an electronic sound source in addition to a normal piano playing, the operation blocking means is forgotten while being moved to the operation blocking position. To prevent
The purpose is to be able to start as an acoustic piano at the next performance.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An auto-off device for a compound piano according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, starts from a stationary position as illustrated in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. And a hammer that abuts the string and moves the hammer in the string direction from the rest position while applying an external force to the hammer by depressing the key, and separates the hammer from the hammer before the hammer abuts the string and inertia of the hammer. In a compound piano equipped with a mechanism for controlling an electronic sound source based on keyboard operation in addition to an external force transmission mechanism for movement, a motion blocking position for blocking the hammering motion by the hammer and an operation for permitting the hammering motion. An operation preventing means M1 movably provided between the permitting position, an electric drive means M2 for driving the operation inhibiting means M1 to the operation inhibiting position and the operation permitting position, and a power source. A power switch M3 for performing on-off from the outside power source switch M3 and the keyboard K
A detection means M4 for detecting the presence or absence of an operation of an operator related to the control by the electronic sound source, and a state in which none of the control-related operators is operated for a predetermined time based on the detection result by the detection means M4. And an auto-off control means M5 for turning off the power supply after controlling the electric drive means M2 to move the operation prevention means M1 to the operation permission position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an auto-off device for a compound piano according to the first aspect, wherein the auto-off control means M5 is operated via the power switch M3 to turn off the power. In such a case, the electric drive unit M2 is controlled to move the operation blocking unit M1 to the operation permission position, and then the power is turned off.

[0008]

The overall operation of the compound piano having the auto-off device according to claims 1 and 2 having the above construction will be described first. In the case of playing as a normal acoustic piano, the external force transmission mechanism moves the hammer in the string direction from the rest position while applying the external force by pressing the key to the hammer, and then the hammer is moved before the hammer contacts the string. And the hammer is inertially moved. After that, the hammer strikes the strings while inertially moving, so that a striking sound is emitted. Note that "normal" in the present compound piano refers to the case where the instrument is played as an acoustic piano.

On the other hand, when the electronic sound source is controlled and played based on the operation of the keyboard K, the operation preventing means M1 is driven to the operation preventing position by the electric drive means M2. The driving by the electric driving unit M2 may be performed by, for example, operating the power switch M3 to turn on the power of the entire system on the electronic sound source side and automatically controlling the electric driving unit M2. Alternatively, a setting switch different from the power switch M3 may be provided and the setting switch may be operated to control the electric drive unit M2.

The operation preventing means M1 thus moved to the operation preventing position prevents the hammer from striking the strings. As a method of preventing this, an external force by key pressing is applied to the hammer via the external force transmission mechanism, the hammer moves from the rest position to the string direction, and the external force transmission mechanism causes the hammer to move before the hammer contacts the string. To prevent the string-striking sound from being generated by the motion blocking means M1 blocking the striking motion of the hammer between the moment the hammer starts the inertial motion and the moment the hammer starts the inertial motion and then contacts the string. You should do it. In this case, the movement blocking means M1 blocks the movement of the hammer between the moment the hammer starts the inertial movement and the time when the hammer contacts the strings, so that the touch of the piano can be kept almost the same as in the normal case.

Next, the auto-off function which is the main point of the present invention will be described. In the present invention, the electric drive means M2
Thus, the operation blocking means M1 can be driven to the operation blocking position and the operation allowing position. On the other hand, the detection means M4
Detects the presence / absence of an operation of an operator (also corresponding to the above-mentioned setting switch) related to the control by the electronic sound source, such as the power switch M3 and the keyboard K,
Based on the detection result of the detection means M4, if none of the control-related operators are operated for a predetermined time, the electric drive means M2 is controlled to move the operation blocking means M1 to the operation permission position. Then turn off the power.

Accordingly, even if the user forgets to turn off the power, the power is automatically turned off. At that time, even if the operation inhibiting means M1 is in the operation inhibiting position, the power is turned off after moving to the operation permitting position. Therefore, you can always start as an acoustic piano at the next performance.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the auto-off device for a compound piano is configured so that the auto-off control means M5 performs a power-off operation via the power switch M3. In the case of the operation), the electric drive unit M2 is controlled to move the operation blocking unit M1 to the operation permission position, and then the power is turned off. Therefore, the power is not turned off with the operation blocking means M1 remaining in the operation blocking position, and the power is turned off after being moved to the operation allowing position without fail, so that the acoustic piano is always started at the next performance. it can.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a compound piano equipped with the auto-off device of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an internal mechanism when the compound piano of the present embodiment is applied to an upright piano. . 4 is a perspective view of the lever up-and-down mechanism of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the control means in the upright piano of this embodiment.

The upright piano 1 of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the electronic sound source 5 is incorporated in addition to the normal string striking mechanism 3. Changeover switch 7 of upright piano 1
Is set to the acoustic mode 7a, it is sounded through the string striking mechanism 3 as an acoustic piano.
In this embodiment, the case where the acoustic mode 7a is set is referred to as "normal case". On the other hand, if the changeover switch 7 is set to the electronic tone generator mode 7b, the electronic tone generator 5 produces a performance sound by operating the keyboard 2 of the upright piano 1. Also, electronic sound source 5
Can be heard through the headphones 9 connected to the output terminal of the upright piano 1. The changeover switch 7 can be changed over by operating the power switch 6 after turning on the power of the entire system.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upright piano 1 is provided with a key 11 which is rocked by a player's operation, a capstan screw 12 which is raised when the key 11 is pressed, and a center via a wippen flange 13. A wippen 15 that is swingably supported by a rail 14 and swings upward when the capstan screw 12 rises, and is swingably connected to the wippen 15 until the jack tail 17 a comes into contact with the regulating button 31.
5, a jack 17 that rises together with 5, a butt 18 that abuts and separates from the jack 17, and that is swingably supported by a center pin 18b of a bat flange 18a that is fixed to the center rail 14, and that is inserted into the bat 18. A hammer shank 21 that is fixed and swings counterclockwise when the butt 18 is pushed up by the jack 17, a catcher shank 19 that is inserted and fixed in the bat 18 so as to project in a direction orthogonal to the hammer shank 21, and a catcher shank 19 20 attached to the tip of the
A hammer 23 attached to the tip of the hammer shank 21, a string 25 struck by the hammer 23, and a cushioning portion 28a for abutting the side of the hammer shank 21 that is shaken back after striking the string to reduce vibration of the hammer 23. A hammer striking mechanism 28 equipped with a string striking mechanism 3 (see FIG. 2).
See).

Further, the catcher regulating rail 32 as the movement preventing means M1 and the hammer 23 from the rest position while applying the external force by the key depression to the hammer 23.
The regulating rails 30 for setting the moving distance in the five directions shorter than usual are both rail up-and-down mechanisms 3 fixed to both ends of the upright piano 1 body.
5 (see FIG. 4).

As shown in FIG. 4, the rail up-and-down mechanism 35 includes a swing shaft 39 fixed to both ends of the upright piano 1, and a swing lever swingably supported by the swing shaft 39. 37, and a lever drive solenoid 3 as an electric drive means M2 for positioning the swing lever 37 around a swing shaft 39 at an operation permitting position or an operation preventing position described later.
6 and 6.

The regulating lever 30 and the catcher regulating rail 32 are fixed to the swing lever 37 so as to be parallel to each other. Regulatoring rail 3
0 and the catcher regulating rail 32 are provided with a regulating button 31 and a catcher regulating button 33 at positions corresponding to the individual jack tails 17a and the catcher 20, respectively.
It is screwed by a. This regulation button 3
1 and the catcher regulating button 33 rotate the screws 31a and 33a to adjust the regulating rail 30 and the catcher regulating rail 32.
The amount of protrusion from the lower surface of the can be adjusted. The cushion felt 31 for cushioning is provided on the lower surfaces of the regulating button 31 and the catcher regulating button 33.
b and 33b are attached.

When the swing lever 37 is positioned at the operation permitting position by the lever driving solenoid 36, the regulating rail 30 and the catcher regulating rail 32 are fixed at the positions shown by the dotted lines in FIG. At this time,
The catcher regulating button 33 provided on the catcher regulating rail 32 does not come into contact with the catcher 20. Further, the regulating button 31 comes into contact with the jack tail 17a at a normal position (position when playing as an acoustic piano) to separate the jack 17 and the bat 18. That is, Jack 17
As the wippen 15 is pushed up by the key depression, the wippen 15 is swung clockwise while ascending, and an external force is applied to the bat 18. As a result, the hammer shank 21 swings in the chord direction, that is, the counterclockwise direction. When the jack tail 17 a comes into contact with the regulating button 31, the jack 17 swings largely clockwise and is separated from the bat 18. Then hammer 2
3 starts inertial motion and hits the string 25.

On the other hand, when the rocking lever 37 is positioned at the operation inhibiting position by the lever driving solenoid 36, the regulating rail 30 and the catcher regulating rail 32 are fixed to the positions shown by the solid lines in FIG. At this time, the catcher regulating button 33 contacts the catcher 20 at a predetermined position, so that the hammer 23 (see the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3) does not hit the string 25. still,
The predetermined position is set after the bat 18 is separated from the jack 17 and the hammer 23 starts the inertial motion until it reaches the string 25. Further, the regulating button 31 is located slightly below the normal position.
Therefore, the jack 17 separates from the bat 18 earlier than when the swing lever 37 is in the operation permitting position.
That is, the jack 17 swings in the clockwise direction as the wippen 15 is pushed up by the key depression and ascends to apply an external force to the bat 18, but the distance at which the external force can be applied is at the operation permission position. Short compared to. Therefore, the hammer 23
The mechanical energy applied to is small.

The lever driving solenoid 36 is provided with a control section 71 in response to the operation of the changeover switch 7 (see FIG. 2).
When the changeover switch 7 is in the acoustic mode 7a, the swing shaft 39 is positioned at the operation permitting position by the lever driving solenoid 36.
In the case of b, it is positioned at the operation blocking position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a stepped shutter 61 and key sensors 63 and 65 are provided on the lower surface of the key 11 as detecting means for detecting an operation related to key depression / key release. Each of the key sensors 63 and 65 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element as a set, and is configured to emit an ON signal when the two elements are blocked. The stepped shutter 61 blocks the optical paths of the key sensors 63 and 65 with a certain time difference when the key 11 is pressed.

As shown in FIG. 5, these key sensors 63 and 65 are connected to a control section 71 as control means. The control unit 71 is a well-known CPU 7
2, a logical operation circuit including a ROM 73, a RAM 74 and the like, and is connected to the key sensors 63 and 65 via an input / output interface 75. The CPU 72 detects the timing and time difference when the optical paths of the key sensors 63 and 65 are blocked, creates performance information based on the control program stored in the ROM 73, and outputs this to the electronic sound source 5.
The power switch 6 and the changeover switch 7 described above are also connected to the input / output interface 75.

The event data forming the performance information is 1
It is configured as data in which one unit is 3 bytes including a status byte of 2 bytes and a data byte of 2 bytes. Of these, in the status byte, data indicating key depression (note on), key release (note off), etc. is set,
In the data byte, data indicating a key number (note number) that is a pitch, a keying strength (velocity) that is a volume, etc. is set.

A pedal sensor (not shown) for detecting the operation of a pedal mechanism such as a damper pedal or a soft pedal is also connected to the control section 71. Based on this detection information, the performance function information includes a damper function. Information such as is also set. Upright piano 1 configured as described above
In order to stop the string striking sound and produce a performance sound only from the electronic sound source 5, the changeover switch 7 of the control section 71 is operated to set the upright piano 1 to the electronic sound source mode 7b. When the electronic sound source mode 7b is set, the swing shaft 39 is automatically positioned at the operation blocking position.

In this state (in the electronic tone generator mode 7b), when the player presses the key 11, the capstan screw 12 rises to swing the wippen 15 upward, and the jack 17 that rises together with the wippen 15 While pushing up the bat 18 and applying an external force to the bat 18, the hammer shank 21 is swung counterclockwise. Furthermore,
As the jack 17 rises, the jack tail 17a
Comes into contact with the regulating button 31 earlier than in the normal case, and then the jack 17 swings largely clockwise with respect to the wippen 15 in the figure. As a result, the bat 18
Starts an inertial motion with the hammer shank 21 away from the jack 17.

When the hammer shank 21 inertially moves to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3, the catcher 20 causes the cushion felt 3 of the catcher regulating button 33 to move.
Contact 3b. At this time, the hammer 23 does not swing to the position where it abuts on the string 25, so that no striking sound is generated.
Further, since the distance that the jack 17 applies the external force to the bat 18 is shorter than that in the normal case, the mechanical energy applied to the bat 18 is smaller than that in the normal case. As a result, the collision sound between the catcher 20 and the catcher regulating button 33 is reduced, and no discomfort is given.

In this electronic sound source mode 7b, the position at which the inertial motion starts is different from that in the normal case, but the position at which the string striking action is blocked is set between the start of the inertial motion and the contact with the string 25. Therefore, the touch of the key 11 in the electronic sound source mode 7b changes only slightly compared with the normal case, and can be kept almost the same.

On the other hand, when the key 11 swings, the stepped shutter 61 blocks the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the key sensors 63 and 65, and the keyboard operation is detected. Control unit 71
Creates performance information according to the detected key depression information and transmits this information to the electronic sound source 5. As a result, the electronic sound source 5
Plays a sound.

Next, the operation of the auto-off device, which is the main feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power switch 6 is pressed and the power is turned on, the process of FIG. 6 starts. First, the counter value C is reset to "0" (step 100. The step will be simply referred to as "S" hereinafter), and then at S110, the key 11 is operated. At S120, the pedal is depressed.
At 130, it is determined whether or not the switches have been operated.

When the key 11 is operated (S11
In 0: YES), the process proceeds to S200 and the key operation processing routine is executed. As described above, this key operation processing routine creates performance information in accordance with the detected key depression information, transmits this information to the electronic sound source 5, and causes the electronic sound source 5 to generate a performance sound.

On the other hand, when the pedal is depressed (S120:
If YES, the process proceeds to S300 and the pedal processing routine is executed. This pedal processing routine is to add a damper action and a soft action to the performance information corresponding to a pedal which is stepped on such as a damper pedal or a soft pedal.

When the switches are operated (S1
30: YES), after shifting to S180 and determining whether or not the power switch 6 has been operated, if it is not the power switch 6 that was operated (S180: NO), S
Then, the process proceeds to 400 to execute the process corresponding to another switch. This process is, for example, a process corresponding to the operation of the changeover switch 7 described above. That is, when the changeover switch 7 is set to the acoustic mode 7a, the lever driving solenoid 36 is controlled to position the swing shaft 39 at the operation permitting position, while when it is set to the electronic sound source mode 7b, the operation inhibiting position is set. To position.

When the processes of S200, S300, and S400 described above are completed, the process returns to S100 in each case, the counter value C is reset (C = 0), and the processes of S110 and subsequent steps are repeated. On the other hand, if the determinations in S110, S120, and S130 are all negative, that is, if there is no key operation, the pedal is not depressed, and the switches are not operated,
The process proceeds to S140 and the counter value C is incremented (C ← C + 1). Then, it is compared with the predetermined value a in S150, and if the counter value C is smaller than the predetermined value a (S15
If the counter value C is equal to or greater than the predetermined value a (S150: Y)
In ES), the processes of S160 and S170 described below are performed.

Here, the predetermined value a will be described. Figure 6
As can be seen from the flowchart of FIG. 6, when the counter value C is smaller than the predetermined value a, the processing of S110 to S140 is repeated, and when the counter value C reaches the predetermined value a, the process proceeds to S160 for the first time. That is, there is no key operation, the pedal is not depressed, and the switches are not operated until the counter value C reaches the predetermined value a. There is an affirmative judgment even once in the processing of S110 to S130 on the way, and the subsequent S200, S300, S400.
This is because the counter value C is reset after returning to S100 as described above after performing the processing of. In this embodiment, the counter value C is set to the predetermined value a for about 5 minutes. Therefore, if there is no key operation for about 5 minutes, the pedal is not depressed, and the switches are not operated, S16
It shifts to zero.

Then, in S160, the lever driving solenoid 36 is controlled to position the swing shaft 39 at the operation permitting position, and after the positioning is completed, the power is turned off in S170 and the present process is completed. In this way, the operators associated with the control by the electronic sound source 5, such as the key 11, the pedal, the switches such as the power switch 6 and the changeover switch 7,
In this embodiment, if no operation is performed for about 5 minutes,
The power is turned off after the swing shaft 39 is positioned at the operation permitting position.

Therefore, even if the user forgets to turn off the power, the power is automatically turned off. At that time, even if the rocking shaft 39 is in the operation inhibiting position, the power is turned off after the movement to the operation permitting position. Therefore, you can always start as an acoustic piano at the next performance.

In addition, if an affirmative determination is made in S180, S16
Move to 0. As described above, the process of FIG. 6 starts when the power switch 6 is pressed and the power is turned on. Therefore, the positive determination in S180 means that the power switch 6 is pressed again, which is an operation for turning off the power. In this case, the lever driving solenoid 36 is controlled to position the swing shaft 39 at the operation permitting position (S160), and then the power is turned off (S170).

As described above, even when the player intentionally operates the power switch 6 to turn off the power, the power is turned off after the swing shaft 39 is moved to the operation permitting position. Let Therefore, you can always start as an acoustic piano at the next performance.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modes can be adopted without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, although the catcher regulating rail 32 that blocks the operation of the catcher 20 is used as the operation blocking unit, a hammer shank stop rail 51 that blocks the operation of the hammer shank 21 may be used as shown in FIG. 7. The hammer shank stop rail 51 is provided with a cushion felt 51a at a portion which collides with the hammer shank 21. Further, the catcher regulating rail 32 and the hammer shank stop rail 51 may be used together in order to more reliably prevent the string striking sound.

Further, it is not limited to the upright piano,
The same applies to grand pianos. In the case of a grand piano, a hammer shank 2 as shown in FIG.
It is sufficient to adopt a configuration in which the hammer shank stop rail 51 blocks the operation of No. 1 above. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the piano having the built-in electronic sound source 5, but the same effect can be obtained even when the electronic sound source 5 is connected to an external electronic musical instrument.

[0043]

As described above in detail, according to the auto-off device of the present invention, in the compound piano capable of playing not only the normal piano performance but also the electronic sound source, the operation blocking means is placed at the motion blocking position. It prevents you from forgetting it while moving it, so you can always start as an acoustic piano the next time you play.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a compound piano equipped with the auto-off device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an internal mechanism when applied to an upright piano as a compound piano.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lever up-and-down mechanism in the upright piano of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control means in the upright piano of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the auto-off device of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an internal mechanism of an upright piano of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Upright piano, 2 ... Keyboard, 3
... string striking mechanism, 5 ... electronic sound source, 6 ... power switch, 7 ... changeover switch, 11 ... key, 19
... catcher shank, 20 ... catcher, 21 ...
Hammer shank, 23 ... Hammer, 25 ...
Strings, 28 ... Hammer rails, 30 ... Regulatoring rails, 31 ... Regulatoring buttons, 32 ... Catcher regulating rails, 33 ... Catcher regulating buttons, 35 ... Rail up / down mechanism, 36 ... Lever driving solenoid, 37 ... Swing Lever, 39 ... Swing shaft, 71 ... Control section

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hammer that starts from a stationary position and abuts against a string, and an external force generated by key depression is applied to the hammer to move the hammer in a string direction from a stationary position before the hammer abuts the string. In a compound piano having a mechanism for controlling an electronic sound source based on keyboard operation, in addition to an external force transmission mechanism for separating the hammer from the hammer for inertial movement, an operation block for blocking a string striking operation by the hammer A position and a motion permitting position for allowing the string striking motion to move, and an electric drive unit for driving the motion inhibiting means to the motion inhibiting position and the motion permitting position. Detecting the presence or absence of operation of a power switch for turning on / off the power from the outside, and an operator associated with the control of the power switch and the electronic sound source such as the keyboard. Based on the output means and the detection result by the detection means, when none of the control-related operators is operated for a predetermined time, the electric drive means is controlled to allow the operation blocking means to operate. An auto-off device for a compound piano, comprising: an auto-off control means for turning off the power source after moving to a position. 2. The auto-off device for a compound piano according to claim 1, wherein the auto-off control means drives the electric drive when an operation corresponding to power-off is performed via the power switch. An auto-off device for a compound piano, characterized in that the power source is turned off after the operation inhibiting means is moved to the operation permitting position by controlling the means.