JP4079166B2 - Electronic musical instrument keyboard device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a keyboard device used for an electronic organ, a portable electronic keyboard instrument, an electronic piano, an elevation board in a music classroom, and the like, and more particularly, a keyboard of an electronic musical instrument that can emit a key of a keyboard during practice. Relates to the device.

  Conventionally, as a key press display device such as an electronic organ, one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-12615 is known. This device is provided with a display in the frame around the keyboard, and this display is displayed based on signals from various recording devices, and the performer (practitioner) presses the key according to the display on the display. Thus, the practice of electronic keyboard instruments is performed.

  However, in the keyboard of this electronic keyboard instrument, there is a problem that the visibility of the displayed key is inferior, it is difficult to clearly grasp the key pressing state, and the cost of the product is increased. In other words, when the indicator is provided on the frame around the keyboard, the indicator is provided behind or in front of the key. The display is hidden by a finger or hand, and it becomes difficult for the performer to reliably see the key that emits light. Moreover, although the said prior art also suggests providing a display device in a key, the specific example is not disclosed.

So, generally consider the case where a display is attached to the key. Generally, the key is pivotally fixed to a support member such as a frame. Therefore, if the indicator is fixed to the key, wiring for supplying power becomes complicated. That is, the closer the fixing position is to the free end of the key, the larger the movable range of the display unit with respect to the support member, and the wiring needs to be flexible. However, since the key needs to be repeatedly pressed and released hundreds of thousands of times, disconnection is likely to occur. In addition, since the display is fixed for each key, wiring processing avoiding necessary parts such as key return springs, key guides, and key switches becomes extremely difficult, and the touch feeling is poor due to complicated wiring processing. Become.
In this way, the idea of providing a display device as a key has existed in a form close to the desire in the past, but at the product level, it is currently not being adopted.

The key press display in consideration of the visibility, which is the above-mentioned problem, has been filed by the same applicant as Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 8-83073 and 8-95560. In this prior art, the key is configured to be transparent so that the light of the indicator fixed to the frame is emitted upward from the lower surface of the key. As a result, it can be said that the visibility is improved as compared with Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-125015. However, since JP-A-8-95560 etc. is a method in which direct light from an LED or the like is once received by the key surface and indirect light entering the eye is visually recognized, the light is scattered by the key surface and Unless the brightness is increased, the visibility is poor. Moreover, it is necessary to make the key transparent, but doing so is not preferable because the inside can be seen. Also, assuming that it is made translucent to the extent that it cannot be seen, unless the brightness is increased, the visibility is further reduced. If the brightness is increased, a large amount of power is used, which is uneconomical.

In view of the above background, there has been a demand for a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument with a key press display with improved visibility.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument with a key press display with improved visibility.

A first configuration of a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument for achieving the corresponding object described above includes a key that is operated by pressing and releasing a key, a key indicator that guides the pressed key or the key to be pressed, and the key In a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument having a support member that slidably holds at a fulcrum portion,
While maintaining a fixed relationship with the support member, and providing an installation board equipped with a keyboard circuit etc.,
The key indicator comprises a light emitter and a light guide,
The light guide includes a main body, a top portion locked in a hole opened to a key surface in a distal direction with respect to the main body, and a skirt portion configured in a skirt shape so that a portion connected to the installation panel has elasticity. And having a structure for guiding the light of the light emitter to the outside,
The light emitter is provided below the light guide body and fixed to the installation board or the light guide,
The light guide is sandwiched between the installation board and the key over the entire process of pressing and releasing keys.

According to the first configuration, the height of the light guide is made variable by imparting elasticity to the light guide skirt. Since the light guide is held between the installation board and the key and the top of the light guide is exposed on the key surface over the entire process of pressing and releasing keys, What is necessary is just to look at the display part (light guide top part) on the key surface.
Therefore, a key press display guide is made by looking at the key to be pressed. In addition, when the light emitter is provided on the light guide fixing part (lower surface of the light guide body), if the supply voltage to the light emitter remains the same even if the stroke length at the time of pressing and releasing the key changes, the brightness of the visual recognition part Does not change. When the light emitter is fixed to an installation board such as a substrate, the brightness of the light emitter increases as the key is pressed. This increases the visual recognition effect. In this case, when the key is not pressed, the light emission from the top of the light guide on the key surface can be directly viewed, so that it is also easy to visually recognize.

The second configuration of the keyboard device of the electronic musical instrument for achieving the corresponding object described above includes a key that is operated by pressing and releasing, a key indicator that guides the pressed key or the key to be pressed, and the key A keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument having a support member that swingably holds at a fulcrum portion, and a key return means for returning the key to a non-pressed state,
The key is provided with a key indicator on its surface, held in a fixed relationship with the support member, and provided with an installation board on which a keyboard circuit and the like are mounted,
The key indicator comprises a light emitter and a light guide,
The light guide has a main body and a skirt configured in a skirt shape so that a portion connected to the installation board has elasticity, and is configured to guide the light of the light emitter outward.
The light emitter is provided below the light guide body and fixed to an installation board or the light guide,
The skirt portion was configured as the key return means by holding the light guide below the key indicator between the installation board and the key over the entire stroke of the pressing / releasing key.
According to the second configuration, in addition to the operation of the first configuration, since the skirt portion is used as the key return means, it is possible to eliminate the need for another key return means using a spring or the like.

A third configuration of the keyboard device of the electronic musical instrument for achieving the corresponding object described above is an electronic device having a key that is operated by pressing and releasing, and a support member that swingably holds the key at a fulcrum portion. In the keyboard device of a musical instrument,
An installation board that is held in a fixed relationship with the support member and has a keyboard circuit and the like, and a skirt part that is placed on the installation board and has elasticity that can be compressed in the longitudinal axis direction (same as the key pressing direction) when the key is pressed. A movable side key operation sensing member comprising
The sensing member is formed of a translucent material that does not substantially elastically deform the upper portion of the skirt portion, and the upper portion is fixed to the key, and the key display light emitter is fixed to the lower surface of the upper portion. The key is provided with means for deriving light from the light emitter to the key surface.
According to the third configuration, the key operation sensing member, which is an essential member for the key configuration, and the key indicator (light guide) are integrally formed, and the light emitter, the light guide, While the route to the visual recognition part on the key surface is fixed length, the movable part accompanying the key movement is not limited to the movable permissible body (for example, the skirt part 432) of the key display part, but is shared with the key operation sensing part. As a result, the configuration is simple and the assembly is easy.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object corresponding to the above first to third configurations, a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 of the present invention is a keyboard comprising a plurality of white keys and a plurality of black keys. And a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument comprising a key indicator that guides the pressed key or the key to be pressed, the black key key indicator is disposed at the free ends of the plurality of black keys, The white key key indicator is arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the white key so as to be juxtaposed with the black key indicator, and the key indicator is pressed or pressed. A light guide that guides the power key; and a light guide that guides light from the light emitter to the outside of the key. The light guide has a main body that is fixed to the key and a skirt that supports the main body. A skirt portion for providing a key restoring force, and the skirt portion includes a key indicator for the black key and a key indicator for the white key. Together provided continuously to a common base portion, and is formed integrally with the key upper limit stopper of the fixed-side with respect to the black keys and the white keys.
In order to achieve the corresponding object, an electronic musical instrument keyboard device according to claim 2 of the present invention is the electronic musical instrument keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein the upper ends of the free end portions of the plurality of black keys are raised. provided upright in an oblique direction lying in the key fulcrum direction relative key surface, wherein a plurality of free end elevation the upper end, and a white key surface to line the key arrangement direction connecting the plurality of free end elevational top end In addition, the key indicator was fixed.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the key indicator is fixed to the upper end of the black key free end portion , the key indicator can be best seen by the player. In addition to the white key display, the visual effect is enhanced because it is provided in a place closest to the performance part in addition to being provided in a place where fingers are not touched so much during performance.
In addition, the key indicator is further enhanced if it is configured to expose at least the top of the light guide that guides light from the light emitter to the upper end of the vertical surface and the white key surface of the white key corresponding part. Can improve the visual recognition effect .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to expect a visual effect to be improved by displaying in a performance guide of a keyboard device of an electronic musical instrument, a key display in a music classroom or the like, and a key display of a key performance instruction in a keyboard device with an automatic performance function.

Hereinafter, one of the embodiments of the present invention (first example) will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, with the display portion removed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing another portion from which the key is removed, and shows a state in which the indicator portion is placed on a frame which is a support member with the indicator portion as a center. Yes. 3 is a front view of a keyboard composed of a plurality of keys, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view along the longitudinal axis of the white key, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view along the longitudinal axis of the black key. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the light guide unit 4 constituting the main part of the key indicator with the lower surface facing upward, and FIG. 7 shows the light guide unit 4 mounted thereon and supplies power to the light emitter. It is the top view which showed the board | substrate (installation board) 100 for doing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard including the white key bodies 11, 12, and the black key body 2, is composed of a key assembly composed of three units, and includes key common base ends 2b, 1w1, By arranging 1w2 so as to overlap each other, a keyboard unit composed of one octave key is formed. That is, this keyboard is composed of a black key unit BU having all black keys in one octave with the base end portion 2b disposed at the top, and C, E, G, B having the base end portion 1w1 disposed in the middle stage. And a white key unit wu2 composed of D, F, and A with the base end 1w2 disposed at the lowest position.

Accordingly, the key body 11 represents the B key, the key body 12 represents the A key, and the key body 2 represents the A # key body. And between the key bodies 2, 11, 12 and the base end portions 2 b, 1 w 1, 1 w 2 are provided key connection portions 21, 22, 121 (121 is for wu 2) including a hinge fulcrum portion. Thus, the key body and the base end portion are coupled so as to be swingable in the pressing / releasing key direction. The connecting portion will be described with the connecting portion 21 as a representative. The connecting portion 21 is a wider portion wider than the rear portion 25 of the key body, and includes a fulcrum portion hg composed of a thin portion on the base end side, and a thick portion hv that is difficult to yaw. It consists of and.
The free end portion of the key is provided with two L-shaped vertical portions 112 extending downward from the key side wall SD that constitutes a key swing stopper, and the upper surface of the key constitutes the upper limit stopper SU of the key. To do. A key indicator dsp (more precisely, a light guide body top portion to be described later) is disposed on the key body upper surface U slightly on the fulcrum side from the performance unit UP. In FIG. 1, since the substance is omitted, a through hole h3 for disposing a display is shown.

In the keyboard constructed as described above, the distal end of the stopper portion SS of the key vertical portion 112 is swingably inserted into the hole 321 provided in the vertical portion 32 in front of the frame 3, and the base end portion is supported by the support member. It is fixed to the rear of a certain frame 3 by screws (not shown) from the mounting holes h1.
Then, a key indicator, which will be described in detail later, is arranged on the upper surface near the vertical portion 32 of the frame 3 below the through hole h3 to form a keyboard device.
The keyboard device thus configured has a screw (not shown) from a screw hole h33 provided in the lower horizontal portion 33 of the performer side and a screw (not shown) from an attachment hole h34 provided at the rear of the frame 3. To the lower case upper surface (not shown).

The light guides 41, 42 and 43 in FIG. 2 are represented by 430 in FIG.
This is because the white key light guide and the black key light guide have almost the same configuration from the light guide body 431 to the base portion 40 excluding the front end portion, and thus the same numbers are given together. .
The common part of the white key light guide and the black key light guide is as follows. The light guide 430 includes a curved truncated cone-shaped main body 431 made of a transparent or translucent resin material, a skirt portion 432 having a skirt shape for supporting the main body 431, and a top portion 433 including a tip tp of the main body 431. The top portion 433 and the main body 431 are connected by a slope and form a tapered shape as shown in the figure. The white key has an S shape as a whole, and the black key has a square shape. And the front-end | tip tp of the top part 433 is exposed and fitted in the key surface from the through-hole h3 provided in the key. A base portion 40 is provided radially from the bottom of the skirt portion 432, and the base portion 40 is connected to the skirt portion of another light guide.

  On the player side (front side) of the base unit 40, a lower limit stopper 401 at the lowest key pressing time when the key is pressed is formed in a uniform cross-sectional shape along the key arrangement direction. It is formed integrally with the base part excluding the stopper 401. The stopper 401 may be provided integrally with the black key set lower so that the stroke length at the free end of the black and white key is the same.

As shown in FIG. 7, the inside of the skirt portion 432 is hollow, the top surface 435 is configured in parallel with the substrate (installation panel / installation member) 100, and a dome-shaped recess 4351 is formed at the center of the top surface 435. The small substrate 450 with a chip is fixed to the top surface 435 with a conductive adhesive so that the chip-like LED 412 as a light emitter is fitted in the recess 4351. As shown in FIG. 6B, the small substrate 450 is made of a flexible film made of resin such as polyethylene with circuit patterns P1 and P2, and the LED chip is integrally formed with a conductive adhesive beforehand. Keep it.
The small substrate 450 is fixed to the top surface 435 with the top surface 435 facing down, for example, by an automatic insertion machine to a predetermined point of the substrate recess 4352 corresponding to the dotted line portions 452 and 453 in FIG. The small substrate 450 may be placed in the recess 4352 while dropping the adhesive, chucking the small substrate 450 with the tip of the arm, and checking the recess 4353 of the substrate recess 4352 corresponding to the mark protrusion 451 with a sensor. The small substrate 450 may be attached to the top surface 435 by hand, of course, but in this case as well, the work efficiency is improved by providing the mark protrusion 451.

The side surface of the skirt portion 432 of the light guide is constituted by a side wall 436 including a thin portion 437, and the side wall 436 mainly has elasticity. Then, the elasticity of the skirt portion 432 is used to absorb the distance difference between the key and the frame or the substrate when the key is pressed. Further, the key restoring force may be given by the elasticity. In the keyboard device of FIGS. 1 and 2, the key returning force is generated only by the elasticity of the skirt portion 432 without using a spring or the like.
On the inner surface of the skirt portion, circuit patterns P3 and P4, which are power supply paths to the LEDs 412, are provided in pairs from the lower surface of the base portion 40 to the top surface 435 through the inner surface 361. Protrusions 439 and 439 with hooks to the substrate 100 are provided at two points of the part. Protrusions 4356 and 4358 projecting in the direction of the substrate 100 are provided around the top surface 435. This is a forceless light guide in a display having no switch as shown in FIG. It serves as a stopper for protecting the LED 412 and the small substrate 450 against body sinking displacement, and acts as a movable contact protrusion in a display with a switch as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, circuit patterns as power supply paths to the LEDs 412 are provided on the substrate 100 as a pair along the lower surface of the skirt portion 432 in a circular shape, an arc shape, or a horseshoe shape. Since it is desired to use a LED 412 having a high luminance as much as possible, in order to increase the current capacity accordingly, the pattern is formed by applying carbon patterns P8 and P9 on metal patterns P6 and P7 such as copper and silver. Become. Between the end portions of the patterns P8 and P9, through holes 14 and 14 into which the holding projections 439 are press-fitted are provided. The protrusion 439 passes through the frame through hole 300 and fixes the light guide and the substrate 100 together through the through hole 14. P5 is a general copper foil circuit pattern.

The light guide described above with reference to FIG. 6 does not have a switch. In this type, a switch device using a separate member (not shown) is provided between the key and the frame, and the key pressing operation is detected by this switch.
The keyboard apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is a type in which a switch is incorporated in a light guide, and the configuration thereof is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and will be described in detail below.

FIG. 8 is a pattern plane of a conductor (fixed contact) applied to the substrate 100, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the light guide viewed from below. As shown in FIG. 8, the substrate 100 is provided with the same circuit pattern P5 as that of FIG. 7 as a power supply path to the LEDs 412, and substantially the same as the patterns P8 and P9 of FIG. Similar patterns P88 and P99 are provided (the opposing interval is wider in FIG. 8). These patterns are provided so as to face each other, electric circuit patterns 83, 84 for the fixed contacts 81, 82 are interposed between the faces, and the fixed contacts 81, 82 are arranged in pairs in the upper and lower directions in the drawing, It is formed in a comb-teeth shape and is meshed with each other. The patterns 81 a and 82 a that connect each pair of fixed contacts are arranged so as to avoid the conductive portion on the light guide top surface 435.
Furthermore, the substrate 100 is provided with through holes 93 corresponding to the light guide holding projections 39 with the flanges at appropriate intervals.

  In the light guide 400, the patterns 61 and 62 for relaying the electric path from the substrate 100 shown in FIG. This pattern is applied to the top surface 435 through the inner surface 361 and is coupled to the pattern of the small substrate 450. A conductive pattern is not provided between the joint portions of the horseshoe patterns 61 and 62, and is secured as a passage to the fixed contact. The movable contacts 66 and 67 are provided on the surfaces of the protrusions 4356 and 4358 that act as the stoppers described in the case of the light guide with only the display. The movable contacts 66 and 67 are formed, for example, by applying a conductive ink containing carbon or silver powder to the portion shown in the drawing and drying.

  The light guide body configured as described above is arranged as shown in FIG. 2 regardless of which light guide body with or without a switch is used in the keyboard device of FIG. 1, and the tip tp of the top portion 433 is It is exposed on the key surface. 3 is a keyboard surface view showing the state, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 showing a light guide installed state with a white key, and FIG. 5 is a view showing that of a black key. 5 is a cross-sectional view as viewed from 5-5 in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the light guides 41 and 42 are supported by the planar ribs L1, L2, and L3 when arranged on the key. The ribs L1 and L2 are formed in a U shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the key, and the black key rib L3 is formed with a front end portion (lower side) of the front surface thereof, and a light guide is formed on the front portion. The main body is configured to contact.
The operation when the key is depressed will be described with reference to FIG. In the non-key-pressed state, the upper surface (stopper SU) of the stopper portion ss is in contact with the upper limit stopper FSU provided in front of the lower surface of the frame, but as the key is pressed and the key moves downward, the plurality of ribs L1 to L3 As a result, the light guide body 431 is pushed downward. The light guide body is deformed by the elasticity of the skirt portion 432 so that the light guide body deformation mode at the time of key pressing is shown as representative of the portion of another embodiment (FIG. 10) described later, and the most pressed position. In the vicinity, the lower surface of the key side wall SD contacts the lower limit stopper 401 (402 in FIG. 10). At this time, since the LED, which is a light emitter, is fixed to the light guide body side, even if the overall length of the light guide body changes, the LED brightness viewed from above the key remains unchanged if the supply voltage or current is the same. Can be.

In addition, in the display with a switch shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the LED brightness can be kept constant even when the skirt portion is deformed during switching. Therefore, regardless of whether the switch (light guide) starts to be pressed, halfway, end of push, halfway after release, halfway from release, or completely released after the end of push, display with a switch with constant brightness Can be realized.
In the contact type contact switch, at least the movable contact can detect the contact / non-contact of the fixed contact, and thereafter the display can be turned on / off at an arbitrary position or time by an electric circuit or software processing. it can. However, if the lower surface (substrate facing surface) of the small substrate 450 is painted white and configured as a reflecting plate, and an optical switch having a photo reflector configuration is disposed in the corresponding portion of the substrate, it can be arbitrarily controlled by controlling the electric circuit or the like. The on / off control of the display can be performed by the position. Therefore, the above expression was used.

By the way, in the light guide shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the lower limit stopper is to be arranged at the free end as much as possible, and the indicator dsp in each key has a white key on the front end face of the black key. Therefore, the light guide body top portion 433 is bent with respect to the light guide body so as to be arranged (see FIG. 3). by this,
1) The key indicator is very easy to see.
2) The feeling of stop at the end of the key press became better.
However, as the light guide manufacturing technology, the bent portion (top portion 433) is undercut, and it is possible to manufacture with a mold using a slide core, or to make a forced manufacturing method without using a slide core, The former is expensive, and the latter may increase the defect rate when forced. Accordingly, another embodiment in which the shape of the top of the light guide is improved will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view along the key axis in the center of the black key width direction.

The feature of this embodiment is that the light guide body is placed as close as possible to the black key front end surface ( upper end upper surface of the free end) 2f as much as possible, and the light guide body top portion 433 is extended substantially vertically upward from the main body 431. There is in point. In FIG. 10, both the white key W and the black key B indicate the depressed state. Due to the above characteristics, the lower limit stopper 402 of the black key B is integrally disposed on the base portion just behind the light guide (near the key fulcrum) so as not to drop the above-mentioned stop feeling. A large lower limit stopper was used so that the contact area between the lower surface and the upper surface of the stopper 402 was increased. In the previous embodiment, the key lower limit stopper is disposed at the same position as the black and white key in the longitudinal direction of the key. In this embodiment, the white key lower limit stopper 333 is provided on the frame on the lowermost front part (player side) of the key. It was. In other structures, the arrangement of the white light guides is substantially the same as the arrangement of the black keys.

In addition, a holding projection 9 similar to that described above is integrally provided on the lower surface of the base portion of the light guide in FIG. 10, and at this projection 9, the light guide, together with the substrate 100, has a through-hole ( It is fixed to the frame 3 through a frame through hole (not shown).
Only the black key B is formed with the tip bottom surface B1 slightly cut off so that the deformed portion m of the skirt portion can be deformed without difficulty in the illustrated key depression state.
The difference between the white key W and the black key is that the top 433 of the white key light guide 430 is slightly shorter than that of the black key. In the black key, the tip surface of the top portion 433 is exposed as the top end surface Btp on the tip surface (inclined surface) 2f of the black key, but in the white key, a position indicated by a dotted line at the same position as that of the black key. Provided. Since the tip surface Wtp of the white key light guide is disposed above the light guide body together with that of the black key, the mold at the time of manufacturing the light guide is undercut without being undercut. It became a cut avoidance type and could be a low cost type.

  In all the embodiments of the present invention, there is no guide member for guiding the swing of the key in the key release / release direction. As described above, the key guide is configured to be wider than the rear part 25 of the main body of the key as described above. Even when the key is added, the mechanism has a mechanism that hardly yaws (displacement in the key arrangement direction) with respect to the key common base end fixed to the frame. Since the key guide is not required, the key indicator can be arranged in the most crowded part of the key required parts near the tip of the black key. A key indicator can be arranged at the same longitudinal position.

In all of the embodiments described so far, the light guide for guiding the light from the light emitter for the key press display to the outside of the key and the key lower limit stopper are integrally formed of a rubber-like soft resin. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the key upper limit stopper US may be formed integrally with the light guide body CO. In this case, the key stopper pieces L1 and L2 are horizontally stretched from below the vertical portion 112, and the upper portions of the stopper pieces are connected to each other to form the stopper portion ST. The upper limit stopper on the fixed side is formed by projecting a collar portion US projecting downward from the base portion B of the light guide body CO onto the lower surface of the frame through the substrate and the through hole of the frame. Therefore, the key swings with the stopper pieces L1 and L2 fitted in the stopper hole fo of the frame vertical portion 32, and the center portion of the stopper portion ST (indicated by a dotted line) when the key is not pressed. Abuts against the flange US. At the key pressing position, the key lower limit stopper SDU (see FIG. 1) abuts on the fixed side lower limit stopper 401 to stop the key. Also in this embodiment, a switch portion may be formed on the light guide CO and the substrate as in the previous embodiment.
In the embodiment according to FIG. 11, since a large number of necessary parts in the keyboard device can be integrated, the keyboard device can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

  Furthermore, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIG. 10, the light guide is incorporated into the key so that the tip of the light guide is exposed on the key surface. As a result, the visual recognition effect is considerably improved. On the other hand, a light guide tip end through-hole must be provided on the key surface, and a key die different from a key die without a display is required. Therefore, as shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 12, only the display portion of the key is formed extremely thin so that the key without display and the key with display are shared. The configuration will be described next.

The installation hole h33 of the light guide body top portion 433 provided on the surface UP of the key (white key) w is set as an impermeable hole, and the top portion 433 is fitted into the hole h33. A small rib ring F1 is provided around the hole h33. The distance DS between the light guide tip tp and the key surface corresponding part wtp is an extremely thin thickness of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm.
With such a key structure, the indicatorless key and the indicator key can be formed in the same mold using the opaque resin in the normal key structure in the same mold. That is, even an opaque resin is used, it can be translucent in a thin portion.
In the case of a key without display, the key is arranged as it is on the frame, but there is no sense of incongruity because there is no through hole. In the key with indicator, the indicator including the light guide is attached to the key and disposed on the frame. In the key with display, the distance DS is set to be extremely small, so that the portion becomes translucent and can perform a key display function. The distance can be increased by selecting a resin.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the light guide is provided with a skirt portion to give elasticity. As a result, the key recovery means can also be used. However, when the key return means is separately provided by a leaf spring between the key and the frame, the elasticity of the skirt portion may be set weak. In any case, due to the elasticity of the skirt, the same light guide and / or the same light guide for a plurality of models having different key movement distances in one stroke (for example, a keyboard having a large long health and a keyboard having a short small key) Alternatively, a key switch can be provided. A key having a small key movement distance is disposed between the key and the frame while pre-compressing the light guide.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the light emitter is provided so as to be fixed to the lower surface (upper surface of the skirt portion) of the light guide body, but may be provided on the upper surface of the substrate (installation panel) on which the light guide is installed. Good.

It is a perspective view of the keyboard apparatus except the light guide which showed one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view of the keyboard apparatus corresponding to FIG. 1 which showed the other part which removed the key. It is a surface view of the keyboard which consists of a plurality of keys in one embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the longitudinal axis of the white key in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the longitudinal axis of the black key in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which showed the light guide unit 4 which comprises the principal part of the key indicator in one Embodiment of this invention with the lower surface up. It is the top view which showed the board | substrate (installation board) for mounting the light guide unit which concerns on this invention, and supplying electric power to a light-emitting body. It is a top view of the other board | substrate (installation board) for light guides showing one Embodiment of this invention. It is a rear view of the other light guide showing one Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the keyboard apparatus which showed other embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part perspective view of the keyboard apparatus which showed other embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the keyboard apparatus which showed further another embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11, 12, 13, W ... white key (white key body), 2, B ... black key (black key body), dsp ... key indicator, hg ... key fulcrum, 3 ... support member (frame) 100 ... Installation board (substrate), 412 ... Light emitter (LED), 4 ... Light guide unit, 41, 42, 43, 430 ... Light guide (key operation sensing member), 431 ... Light guide body, 432 ... Skirt (key return means), 433 ... light guide top, 2f ... black keys free end elevational upper (distal end face)

Claims (2)

In a keyboard device of an electronic musical instrument comprising a keyboard composed of a plurality of white keys and a plurality of black keys, and a key indicator that guides the pressed key or the key to be pressed,
A key indicator for the black key is disposed at a free end of the plurality of black keys, and the white key is placed at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the white key by being arranged in parallel with the key indicator for the black key. and disposed of the key indicators,
The key indicator has a light emitter that guides the key to be pressed or the key to be pressed, and a light guide that guides light of the light emitter to the outside of the key,
The light guide has a main body fixed to the key, and a skirt that forms a skirt that supports the main body and has elasticity to give a key returning force,
The skirt portion is connected to a base portion common to the key indicator for the black key and the key indicator for the white key, and is formed integrally with a key upper limit stopper on the fixed side with respect to the black key and the white key. Is
A keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument. Standing in an oblique direction which lay the key fulcrum direction to the free end elevation the upper end of the key surfaces of the plurality of black keys, the plurality of free end elevation the upper end, the plurality of free end elevational top end 2. The keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the key indicator is fixed to a surface of a white key with respect to a line in a key arrangement direction connecting the keys.

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