JP4777409B2 - Mouthpiece - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mouthpiece for operation signal input used when a physically handicapped person with a handicapped hand or foot plays a musical instrument using a musical instrument performance assisting device.

  In recent years, musical instrument performance assist devices have been developed and used as support means when a physically handicapped person with a handicapped or handicapped performance of a musical instrument. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a pedal performance assisting device that enables a rich expression of performance by operating a pedal of a piano by movement of the upper body even if the piano player is inconvenient for the lower body.

  The pedal performance assisting device described in Patent Document 1 includes a pedal drive unit that drives a piano pedal, a motion detection unit that is attached to the performer and detects the motion of the upper body of the performer, and a detection by the motion detection unit. And a pedal driving means for displacing the pedal by a continuous amount by driving the pedal driving section based on the result. The movement of the upper body of the performer is detected by the motion detecting means, and based on this detection signal By driving the pedal drive unit, the piano pedal is pushed down.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-154504 (full text, all figures)

  By the way, in the said pedal performance auxiliary device, the detection apparatus using a mouthpiece is employ | adopted as one of the motion detection means for detecting the motion of a player's upper body (FIG. 7 (a) of cited reference 1). reference). This detection device includes a belt part to be mounted on the performer's head, a mouthpiece extending in a head microphone shape from one end of the belt part and arranged near the player's mouth, and blown from the mouthpiece The blower sensor is used to detect the exhalation (breath) strength of the performer. The exhalation (breath) strength of the performer blown from the mouthpiece is changed to a resistance change by the blow sensor. A voltage change due to the change is output as a detection signal for operation.

  Although the detection device using the mouthpiece is excellent, the following problems still remain. That is, since the shape of the mouthpiece is not sufficiently ergonomically devised, it is easily slipped off from the mouth, and it is difficult to keep the mouthpiece in the mouth for a long performance. Therefore, it was necessary to attach the mouthpiece to the belt part attached to the head like a head microphone.

  Moreover, there was only one detection signal for pedal operation obtained by the detection device using the mouthpiece. On the other hand, for example, a piano generally has two or three pedals. For this reason, in the detection apparatus using the mouthpiece, only one pedal can be operated, and it is impossible to operate a plurality of pedals independently.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is difficult to slip from the mouth, can be kept for a long time without the need for a head-microphone-like support mechanism, and a mouthpiece. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mouthpiece for a musical instrument performance assisting device that can independently operate a plurality of operation objects.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means .
That is, the mouthpiece according to the first invention comprises a gripping portion consists of a body portion connected thereto, said gripping portion includes multiple ing from a predetermined cross-sectional shape toward the body portion from the end face of the tip end to form a number of breath blowing inlet, inside the barrel, before each several breath blowing ports Kifuku independently form several cavities shaped saliva sump chamber double that through communication, reservoir該唾solution At each appropriate position of the chamber, an exhalation discharge pipe is attached through the inside and outside of the trunk.

  Moreover, the mouthpiece which concerns on 2nd invention is a mouthpiece which concerns on the said 1st invention, and forms the hollow part which becomes circular arc shape by side view in the lower surface part of the said holding part.

According to the mouthpiece according to the first invention is provided with the several breath blowing ports double, by closing the exhalation blowing inlet that is not used in the tip of the tongue, it can be blown breath only from the breath blowing ports desired . For this reason, by changing the position where the tongue is closed, it becomes possible to operate a plurality of operation objects with one mouthpiece, and the performance range of the musical instrument can be expanded. Moreover, since the saliva reservoir chamber is provided in the trunk, even if saliva flows into the mouthpiece during performance, the saliva that has flowed in can be received and stored in the saliva reservoir chamber. For this reason, clogging of the exhalation discharge pipe due to saliva can be prevented, and musical instrument operation by exhalation can be performed more smoothly.

  In addition, according to the mouthpiece according to the second invention, since the depression part having an arc shape in a side view is formed on the lower surface part of the holding part, the lower lip hits the depression part when it is held in the mouth, The mouthpiece does not slide out of the mouth easily. For this reason, even if it is long performance time, a mouthpiece can be reliably hold | maintained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show an embodiment of a mouthpiece according to the present invention. 1A to 1E are diagrams showing the detailed structure of the mouthpiece, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mouthpiece.

  The mouthpiece 1 of the illustrated example has a whistle-like shape used in an athletic meet or the like as a whole, a cube-shaped holding portion 2 projecting forward, and a cylindrical shape connected thereto. The torso 3 is formed. The holding part 2 and the body part 3 are made of plastic and are integrally formed by injection molding or the like.

  The mouth portion 2 is formed with two exhalation air inlets 4a and 4b having a quadrangular cross section from the end face on the front end side toward the body portion 3 in parallel with each other. Two hollow saliva reservoir chambers 5a and 5b communicating with the two exhalation breathing ports 4a and 4b independently of each other are formed.

  In the two saliva reservoirs 5a and 5b, two exhalation discharge pipes 6a and 6b having a predetermined length are provided at appropriate positions (in the illustrated example, obliquely below the outer end of the trunk 3). It is fixed by penetrating inside and outside. The outer end portions of the two exhalation discharge pipes 6a and 6b are exposed to the outside of the trunk portion 3 in a state where each of the exhalation discharge pipes 6a and 6b protrudes as appropriate. In order to prevent the saliva accumulated in the water from entering, the saliva reservoir chambers 5a and 5b are extended to the vicinity of the center.

  The exhalation discharge pipes 6a and 6b may be formed by embedding them integrally at the time of injection molding of the holding part 2 and the body part 3 by using a metal pipe such as brass, for example. Further, the same plastic resin as that of the holding part 2 and the body part 3 may be used, and injection molding may be performed integrally with the holding part 2 and the body part 3.

  Furthermore, in addition to the above structure, the mouthpiece 1 of the present invention is formed with a concave portion 7 having an arc shape in a side view on the lower surface portion of the holding portion 2, and the lower lip is formed when the holding portion 2 is held in the mouth. It has been devised so that the mouthpiece 1 can be held firmly by hitting the recess 7 firmly.

  Next, the case where the mouthpiece 1 is used to operate a piano pedal will be described as an example with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a view showing an installation example of the mouthpiece and the pedal performance assisting device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the pedal portion in FIG.

  In the figure, 1 is a mouthpiece of the present invention, 21 is an expiration sensor, 22 is a pedal control device, 23a and 23b are pedal operation arms, 24 is a pedal depression speed controller, and 25a and 25b are piano pedals to be operated. is there.

  The exhalation sensor 21 is a sensor that detects the intensity of the exhalation (breath) of the player blown into the mouthpiece 1 and outputs a detection signal having a value corresponding to the intensity. For example, a diaphragm, a magnet, a hall It is composed of elements. The breath sensor 21 and the mouthpiece 1 are connected by flexible tubes 26a and 26b for guiding the breath (breath) blown by the performer to the breath sensor.

  In the case of this example, the exhalation sensor 21 has two sets of sensor mechanisms therein, and a flexible tube 26a (see FIG. 2) is provided between one sensor mechanism and the exhalation discharge pipe 6a of the mouthpiece 1. And the other sensor mechanism and the exhalation discharge pipe 6b of the mouthpiece 1 are connected by a flexible tube 26b (see FIG. 2).

  The pedal control device 22 receives a detection signal from the exhalation sensor 21 and depresses the piano pedal. The pedal control device 22 and the exhalation sensor 21 are connected by a signal cable 27. In the case of the illustrated example, the pedal control device 22 includes two pedal operation arms 23 a and 23 b in accordance with the two breath blowing ports 4 a and 4 b of the mouthpiece 1. The pedal control device 22 is installed on the rear side of the pedal (back side of the pedal as viewed from the performer), and the pedal operation arms 23a and 23b are selectively flipped upward by a built-in microcomputer, motor, and gear mechanism. Thus, the two pedals 25a and 25b of the piano are selectively depressed.

  Normally, a grand piano is provided with three pedals (see FIG. 4): a shift pedal 25a on the left side as viewed from the performer side, a damper pedal 25b on the right side, and a sostenuto pedal 25c in the middle. However, in the illustrated example, the left pedal operation arm 23a is made to correspond to the left shift pedal 25a, and the right pedal operation arm 23b is made to correspond to the right damper pedal 25b, so that the left and right two of the three pedals The pedal is configured to be depressed by the performer's exhalation (breath). In order to operate the middle sostenuto pedal 25c as well, another mouthpiece may be provided in the mouthpiece 1 and the mouthpiece 1 may be operated using the three mouthpieces.

  The pedal depression speed adjuster 24 adjusts the pedal depression speed (depression acceleration), and can freely adjust the pedal depression speed by turning an adjustment dial 24a. A signal cable 28 is connected between the pedal depression speed controller 24 and the pedal controller 22.

  Next, the operation method will be described by taking as an example a case where a performer with poor feet plays a piano while riding a wheelchair.

  First, the performer sits in front of the piano in a wheelchair. Then, the mouthpiece 1 of the present invention is added to the mouth. At this time, the arc-shaped depression 7 formed on the lower surface side of the mouthpiece 2 of the mouthpiece 1 hits the lower lip so that the mouthpiece 1 held in the mouth does not fall easily.

The piano performance is started with the mouthpiece 1 being held.
If, for example, the right damper pedal 25b is to be pressed down during the performance, the performer closes the left breath inlet 4b of the mouthpiece 1 in his mouth with his tongue, and only the right breath outlet 4b is opened. State. In this state, breath is blown toward the mouthpiece 1.

  The inhaled breath (exhaled air) is sent to the saliva reservoir chamber 5b in the trunk portion 3 through the right exhaled air inhaling port 4b which is not closed by the tongue, and further, the exhaled air discharge pipe 6b and the flexible tube 26b. To the breath sensor 21. The exhalation sensor 21 detects the intensity of the exhaled breath (breath) that has been blown in, and sends a detection signal having a value corresponding to the exhalation intensity at that time to the pedal controller 22.

  The pedal controller 22 receives the detection signal from the breath sensor 21, controls the internal motor and gear mechanism, and points the pedal operation arm 23b corresponding to the right damper pedal 25b upward by a distance corresponding to the detection signal. Push up. As a result, the damper pedal 25b is rotated in the clockwise direction, and the damper pedal 25b is pushed down. As a result, all string dampers (sound stop devices) are released, and all sounds resonate greatly while resonating, and a rich performance expression is realized by the damper effect. The pedal depression speed at this time may be adjusted in advance by the pedal depression speed adjuster 24.

  On the other hand, if the right side of the mouthpiece 1 is closed with the tip of the tongue and the breath is blown in this state, the blown breath is blown from the left left side of the mouth 4a, Finally, the left shift pedal 25a is pushed down. As a result, the string hammer is shifted to reduce the volume, and a so-called weak sound effect is realized.

  If the mouthpiece 1 is held during the performance, saliva may come out and the exhalation discharge pipes 6a and 6b and the flexible tubes 26a and 26b may be clogged. However, in the case of the mouthpiece of the present invention, saliva that has flowed into the mouthpiece is stored in the saliva reservoirs 5a and 5b. For this reason, there is no possibility that the exhalation discharge pipes 6a and 6b and the flexible tubes 26a and 26b are clogged with saliva, so that the performance is not hindered.

  In addition, although the said embodiment showed about the example at the time of forming two exhalation-breathing ports, if three exhalation-breathing ports are provided as mentioned above, each of the three pedals can be operated individually. it can. Depending on the operation target, it is good also as one exhalation blow-in mouth. The number of exhalation breathing ports to be formed may be determined according to the musical instrument to be operated.

  In the above example, the case where the piano pedal is operated has been described as an example. However, the application target is not limited to the piano pedal operation. It can also be used with musical instruments. In this case as well, the number of exhalation breathing ports formed in the holding portion may be determined according to the musical instrument to be operated.

1 shows an embodiment of a mouthpiece according to the present invention, where (a) is a plan view, (b) is a left side view, (c) is a front view, and (d) is a DD in (a). Line sectional drawing, (e) is the EE sectional view taken on the line in (b). It is a perspective view of the mouthpiece of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of operating the pedal of a piano using the mouthpiece and pedal performance auxiliary device of this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a pedal portion in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mouthpiece 2 Mouth part 3 Trunk part 4a, 4b Expiration blow-in port 5a, 5b Saliva storage chamber 6a, 6b Exhalation discharge pipe 7 Depression part 21 Exhalation sensor 22 Pedal control device 23a, 23b Pedal operation arm 24 Pedal depression speed controller 25a, 25b, 25c Piano pedal 26a, 26b Flexible tube

Claims (2)

It consists of a mouth part and a body part that leads to this,
Wherein the gripping portion, with several breath blowing ports double ing from a predetermined cross-sectional shape toward the body portion from the end face of the tip side is formed, inside the barrel, before Kifuku several breath each blowing inlet independently several cavities shaped saliva sump chamber double that through communication is formed,
A mouthpiece, wherein an exhalation discharge pipe is attached to each of the saliva reservoir chambers through the inside and outside of the trunk. The mouthpiece according to claim 1, wherein
A mouthpiece characterized in that a depression portion having an arc shape in a side view is formed on a lower surface portion of the holding portion.

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