JP5939068B2 - Electronic keyboard instrument - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic keyboard instrument that mutes sound based on a detection position of a hammer.

  Conventionally, some electronic keyboard instruments using an action mechanism perform musical tone control using key position information. However, in order to perform more realistic musical sound control, some use hammer position information. . For example, in the musical instrument disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, a physical quantity related to the movement of a hammer is detected, and mute (sound) is performed based on the detection result.

  In general, in a keyboard instrument having strings and dampers, mute is started when the dampers come into contact with the strings as the keys are returned. In Patent Document 1, in order to define the silencing start position from the position of the hammer, the operation of the back check is taken into consideration, and when the hammer passes the predetermined silencing position after being removed from the back check, the electronic sound is stopped. It is timing. Therefore, the mute position that determines the mute timing is constant.

JP 2008-70895 A

  However, the speed of the hammer varies depending on the strength of the key depression, and the hammer bounces faster as the speed increases. If the rebounding speed is high, the hammer tends to be displaced too much in the rest direction during the back check. If the degree of displacement is large, the hammer may exceed the silencing position (threshold) that determines the silencing timing (overshoot).

  In this case, the mute is started even though the mute should not be started yet, and an inappropriate sound cut occurs. In the action mechanism of an upright piano, the above phenomenon is particularly likely to occur due to the characteristics of the back check mechanism. In order to avoid this, if the mute position that determines the mute timing is set to the rest side in advance, the mute will be delayed during normal or weak key depression.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic keyboard instrument that can avoid inappropriate silencing due to hammer overshoot during back check. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic keyboard instrument according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided corresponding to a key (24) to be pressed and released, and driven by a key pressing operation of the corresponding key, A hammer (HM) that pivots between a rest position and an end position, back check means (34, 44) for back checking the hammer that moves from the end position to the rest position, and a note when the key is pressed A velocity detecting means (41) for detecting on-velocity, a performance signal generating means (11) for generating a note-on performance signal due to a key pressing operation, a setting means (11) for setting a mute position, and the hammer In the process of moving from the end position to the rest position, the passage detection means (41) for detecting that the hammer has passed through the silence position set by the setting means, and the performance signal The passage detection means detects that the hammer has passed through the mute position in the process of generating a musical tone according to the note-on performance signal generated by the generation means and moving the hammer from the end position to the rest position. And a control means (11) for controlling the musical sound generated for the key corresponding to the hammer to be silenced, wherein the setting means is for a predetermined time after the note-on performance signal is generated. Before the time (Tx) elapses and the note-on velocity detected by the velocity detection means is a predetermined value (Vx) or more, the mute position is shifted to the rest side.

  Preferably, the setting means changes the degree of shift of the mute position to the rest side according to the detected note-on velocity value (claim 2).

  Preferably, the hammer has a hammer position detecting means (41) for detecting the position of the hammer in a process of moving the hammer from the rest position to the end position, and the performance signal generating means is detected by the hammer position detecting means. The note-on performance signal is generated based on the position.

  Preferably, the hammer includes a hammer position detecting unit that detects a position of the hammer in a stroke in which the hammer moves from a rest position to an end position, and the velocity detection unit detects the note-on velocity at the time of key depression. Detection is performed based on the position detected by the means.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the said parenthesis is an illustration.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to avoid inappropriate noise reduction due to hammer overshoot during back check.

  According to the second aspect, by setting the silencing position according to the predicted degree of overshoot, it is possible to suppress an excessive delay in silencing while avoiding inappropriate silencing.

  According to claim 3, the key sensor is not essential.

  According to claim 4, the key sensor is not essential, and the degree of overshoot is accurately predicted.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rear part (the principal part of a keyboard structure part) of the electronic keyboard musical instrument which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of an electronic keyboard instrument. It is a conceptual diagram of a sound stop position table. It is a flowchart of a performance signal generation process. It is a flowchart of a silence position setting process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rear part (the main part of the keyboard structure) of an electronic keyboard instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 1 shows one key 24 and the corresponding action mechanism ACT.

  In this electronic keyboard instrument, a plurality of keys 24 that are white keys and black keys are arranged in parallel. Each key 24 is disposed so as to be swingable in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions of FIG. 1 around a key fulcrum (not shown). The right side of FIG. 1 is the player side, and the front side and the left side are the back side. The front portion of the key 24 not shown in the figure is pushed and released. An action mechanism ACT is provided above the rear end of the key 24 corresponding to each key 24.

  The action mechanism ACT mainly includes a wippen 42, a hammer body HM which is a hammer assembly and is a mass body, and a jack 43. The whippen 42 is driven up by the corresponding key 24. A jack 43 is pivotally supported on the whippen 42 via a jack flange so as to be rotatable in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions of FIG.

  A back check wire (BC rod) 46 is planted at the front end portion (free end portion) of the wippen 42 so as to be inclined forward. A back check 44 that elastically receives the catcher 34 of the hammer body HM is disposed at the upper end of the back check wire 46. The catcher 34 and the back check 44 constitute back check means.

  The hammer body HM mainly includes a bat 30 and a hammer shank 31. A bat 30 is disposed so as to be rotatable in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions of FIG. The hammer body HM is urged clockwise in FIG. 1 as a whole by its own weight in the non-key-pressed state shown in FIG.

  In the non-key-pressed state, the rear end of the key 24 abuts against the key stopper 48 to define the initial position of the key 24, and the wippen 42 abuts against the capstan portion 47, thereby defining the initial position of the wippen 42. Is done. Further, the initial position of the hammer body HM is defined by the rearward extending portion 37 coming into contact with the stopper 49. Further, at the initial position, the jack 43 is urged counterclockwise by the spring 51 so that the hit portion 33 of the hammer body HM also contacts the upper end of the jack 43.

  Further, the sensor unit 40 is fixedly arranged with respect to the musical instrument via an attachment member 52. An optical sensor 41 is provided on the sensor substrate 55 in the sensor unit 40. The optical sensor 41 is provided for each key 24. On the other hand, a reflective surface 35 is provided at a portion facing the optical sensor 41 in the lower rear portion of the bat 30 of the hammer body HM. A gray scale is formed on the reflective surface 35. In this gray scale, a plurality of black portions having an isosceles triangle convex upward are formed in parallel on a white surface (see the schematic display in FIG. 2).

  The optical sensor 41 outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of light reflected by the reflecting surface 35. Driven by the key pressing operation of the key 24 and the corresponding hammer body HM rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 from the initial position, the amount of light reflected by the reflecting surface 35 continuously changes and increases or decreases. As shown in FIG. 2, a pattern as shown in FIG. Therefore, the optical sensor 41 continuously detects the rotational position of the hammer body HM based on the amount of reflected light. The position detection by the optical sensor 41 has a linear characteristic. Any sensor that can detect the position of the hammer body HM may be used, and a detection mechanism other than an optical sensor (for example, a magnetic pattern detector) may be employed.

  Further, an upper limit stopper 45 for the hammer body HM is fixedly provided to the musical instrument via an upper bent portion 53 of the attachment member 52 and an attachment piece 54 fixed to the upper bent portion 53. In the hammer body HM, when the abutting portion 32 of the bat 30 abuts on the upper limit stopper 45, a limit position in the rotation direction corresponding to the key pressing direction is defined. By the way, the limit position in the key pressing direction of the key 24 is defined by the front portion of the key 24 coming into contact with a key pressing stopper (not shown) provided below the front portion of the key 24.

  When the key strike is stronger than the pianissimo or the pianissimo, the abutting portion 32 and the upper limit stopper 45 come into contact with each other, so that the hammer body HM bounces back and returns to the initial position. At that time, in the state where the key depression is continued, the catcher 34 is received by the back check 44 to be in the back check state and maintained. On the other hand, there may be a case where the abutting portion 32 and the upper limit stopper 45 do not come into contact with each other as in the case of an early passage method or repeated hitting. 1 may be returned to the initial state shown in FIG. 1 without being contacted and back-checked.

  The name of the rotation direction is determined as follows. In both the key 24 and the hammer body HM, the position in the non-key-pressed state (FIG. 1) is the initial position, and the direction of rotation from the initial position in the key stroke is the forward rotation. The direction returning to the initial position is the backward rotation.

  Here, the positions of the key 24 and the hammer body HM in the initial state shown in FIG. 1 are referred to as “rest positions”. Further, for the key 24 and the hammer body HM, the forward rotation end position is referred to as an “end position”.

  The operation of the action mechanism ACT having the above structure will be described. When the key 24 is pressed from the non-pressed state, the capstan portion 47 at the rear end pushes up the wippen 42. Then, the jack 43 is raised, the hit portion 33 of the bat 30 is pushed up, and the hammer body HM is rotated in the forward direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 1) around the hammer rotation shaft 36.

  Eventually, the jack 43 rotates clockwise and the upper end portion escapes from the hit portion 33 of the bat 30 and escapes. In the case of a normal key press (intermediate key press) or a strong key press, after the escapement, the hammer body HM freely rotates, and the contact portion 32 contacts the upper limit stopper 45 and rebounds. However, the hammer body HM does not come into contact with the upper limit stopper 45 in the case of a weak weak key that is below a certain level.

  After the escapement, when the hammer body HM rotates in the backward direction, the catcher 34 of the hammer body HM is elastically received by the back check 44 to enter the back check state, and as long as the key pressing state is maintained, the action mechanism ACT The whole is stable in that posture.

  There are various modes of operation from key depression to key release, and the behavior of the hammer body HM differs depending on the speed of key depression and key release. The hammer body HM may return without being in the back check state. Further, even in the back check state, the catcher 34 contacts the back check 44 but does not come to a standstill, and the hammer body HM may return immediately after sliding.

  By the way, the speed of the hammer body HM varies depending on the strength of the key depression, and the repulsive force when the abutting portion 32 abuts on the upper limit stopper 45 also varies. Depending on the rebound speed of the hammer body HM, the behavior of the hammer body HM during the back check also varies. For example, when the rebound speed is high, the catcher 34 strongly collides with the back check 44, and the amount of displacement of the hammer body HM in the rest direction is larger than when the rebound speed is low.

  In the present embodiment, the sound is silenced at the timing when it passes through the silence position set by the hammer body HM. Therefore, if the degree of displacement of the hammer body HM at the time of back check is too large, it will exceed the mute position for starting mute (overshoot), and mute will be started at the time of back check, resulting in inappropriate sound interruption There is a risk. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, the muffling timing is switched in consideration of the degree of overshoot of the hammer body HM at the time of back check.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the electronic keyboard instrument.

  In this musical instrument, a ROM 17, a RAM 18, a timer 19, an operation unit 20, a storage unit 21, various interfaces (I / F) 22, an A / D conversion unit 23, a display unit 12, a tone generator circuit 13 and an effect circuit 14 are connected to a bus 16. Are connected to the CPU 11 via the CPU. A timer 19 is connected to the CPU 11, and a sound system 15 is connected to the sound source circuit 13 via an effect circuit 14. The I / F 22 includes a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) I / F.

  An analog signal from the optical sensor 41 is converted into a digital detection signal by the A / D converter 23 and supplied to the CPU 11. The CPU 11 controls the entire musical instrument. The ROM 17 stores a control program executed by the CPU 11 and various table data. The RAM 18 temporarily stores performance data, various flags, buffer data, calculation results, and the like. The timer 19 measures the interrupt time and various times in the timer interrupt process. The storage unit 21 stores various application programs including the control program, various music data, various data, and the like.

  The tone generator circuit 13 converts performance data based on the detection signal from the A / D converter 23, preset performance data, and the like into a musical sound signal. The effect circuit 14 gives various effects to the musical tone signal input from the sound source circuit 13, and the sound system 15 converts the musical tone signal input from the effect circuit 14 into sound.

  FIG. 3A is a conceptual diagram of the sound stop position table. This sound stop position table is stored in the ROM 17 in advance. FIG. 3B will be described later as a modified example.

  In FIG. 3A, the horizontal axis represents note-on velocity Vel (MIDI value), and the vertical axis represents the mute position (sound stop position) (mm). The note-on velocity Vel is a MIDI value representing the rotational speed of the hammer body HM detected by the optical sensor 41 when the key is depressed. The mute position is a value obtained by standardizing the rotation position of the hammer body HM detected by the optical sensor 41 with respect to a rotation stroke of, for example, 0 to 10 mm.

  As will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, a note-on performance signal is generated based on the detection result of the optical sensor 41 when the hammer body HM passes a predetermined position in the forward rotation direction. The note-on velocity Vel is detected from the rotational movement speed of the hammer body HM at the time of passing through the position. When the key is released, a note-off performance signal is generated when the hammer body HM moves in the backward rotation direction and passes through the mute position. However, the mute position is determined with reference to the sound stop position table of FIG. 3 (a) according to the note-on velocity Vel corresponding to the tone currently being sounded before the elapse of the predetermined time Tx from the start of sound generation.

  Specifically, the mute position is determined for each key depression of each key 24, and the mute position is initially set after a predetermined time Tx has elapsed from the start of sound generation or when the Vel value is less than the predetermined value Vx. It is constant at 3.5 mm. However, before the predetermined time Tx elapses from the start of sound generation and the Vel value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Vx, the mute position is shifted to the end side (a value smaller than 3.5 mm) according to the sound stop position table. The predetermined value Vx is set to 63, for example, and the predetermined time Tx is set to 70 ms, for example, as a sufficient time until the back check state is stabilized after note-on. When the same key 24 is repeatedly hit, the mute position is determined by the elapsed time from the start of the latest pronunciation and the Vel value for the latest pronunciation start.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the performance signal generation process.

  This performance signal generation processing is executed by the CPU 11 as a part of processing for normal performance, that is, real-time performance processing (not shown), and is executed for each key 24.

  First, it is determined whether or not note-on, that is, whether the hammer body HM has passed a predetermined position in the forward rotation direction is detected by the optical sensor 41 (step S101). If the note is not on, the process proceeds to step S106. If the note is on, a note-on performance signal is generated and output as a MIDI signal (step S102).

  When the note-on is detected, the note-on velocity Vel is also detected from the moving speed of the hammer body HM. The note-on performance signal includes a note number corresponding to the hammer body HM in which note-on is detected and a detected note-on velocity Vel. The note-on performance signal is transmitted to the tone generator circuit 13, and a musical tone having a tone color designated at that time is generated.

  Next, a timer is started (step S103). Next, the detected value of the note on velocity Vel is stored in the RAM 18 in association with the note number (step S104). In step S103, the timer is reset every time there is a new note-on, and the timing is restarted. In step S104, the Vel value is also updated every time there is a new note-on.

  Next, the shift execution flag F is set to ON (step S105). The shift execution flag F is a flag indicating that the mute position is shifted based on the time measured by the timer and the Vel value for the pitch of the key 24 corresponding to note-on.

  Next, in step S106, it is determined whether or not the optical sensor 41 has detected that the hammer body HM has passed through the silencing position in the backward direction. As a result of the determination, if the hammer body HM has not passed the mute position, it can be determined that the key pressing state or the back check state is continuing, and thus this processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the hammer body HM has passed the mute position, a note-off performance signal is generated and output as a MIDI signal (step S107). As a result, the tone that has been pronounced is muted. Thereafter, this process is terminated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the mute position setting process.

  This process is repeatedly executed at regular time intervals by the timer interrupt process in parallel with the real-time performance process by the CPU 11.

  First, it is determined whether or not the shift execution flag F is set to ON (step S201). The determination is repeated, and when the shift execution flag F is turned on, the process proceeds to step S202, and the current timer value (time count time of the timer) and the value of the note on velocity Vel are read. And it is discriminate | determined whether a timer value is less than predetermined time Tx and a Vel value is more than predetermined value Vx (step S203).

  As a result of the determination, if timer value <predetermined time Tx and Vel value ≧ predetermined value Vx are satisfied, the setting is changed to shift the mute position to the rest side (step S204). That is, as described above, the CPU 11 refers to the sound stop position table of FIG. 3A and sets the value according to the Vel value as the sound silence position, thereby shifting the sound silence position to the rest side.

  As a result, in the time zone immediately after the back check state, if the Vel value is large, the silencing position shifts to the rest side, so even if the overshoot of the hammer body HM during the back check is large, inappropriate silencing is performed. It is avoided that a start is made. Thereafter, the process returns to step S202.

  On the other hand, if timer value <predetermined time Tx and Vel value ≧ predetermined value Vx is not satisfied, the mute position is set to the initial position of 3.5 mm (step S205). Then, the shift execution flag F is reset to OFF (step S206), and this process ends.

  According to the present embodiment, before the predetermined time Tx elapses after the note-on performance signal is generated and when the note-on velocity Vel is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Vx, the mute position is shifted to the rest side. Inappropriate silencing (abnormal sound interruption) due to hammer overshoot during back check can be avoided.

  In addition, since the degree of shift of the silencing position to the rest side is changed according to the Vel value, excessive silencing is avoided while avoiding inappropriate silencing by setting the silencing position according to the predicted degree of overshoot. Delay can be suppressed.

  In addition, the generation of the note-on performance signal and the note-off performance signal, and the detection of the note-on velocity Vel when the key is pressed are both performed based on the position of the hammer body HM detected by the optical sensor 41. No means for detecting 24 positions is required. Moreover, detecting the note-on velocity Vel based on the position of the hammer body HM makes the prediction of the degree of overshoot of the hammer body HM at the time of back check more accurate than when based on the position of the key 24. It is advantageous for appropriate setting of the mute position.

  In addition, as a silence position table used for the mute position setting process, the table shown in FIG. 3A is an example, and a table that is changed stepwise as shown in FIG. 3B may be used. In the sound stop position table of FIG. 3B, when the Vel value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Vx, the degree of shift to the rest side changes in a plurality of stages. Note that a simple table that changes by one step with the predetermined value Vx as a boundary may be used.

  Alternatively, instead of adopting a table format, the mute position may be determined by an arithmetic expression according to the Vel value. For example, “mute position = initial setting value − {(Vel value−Vx) / 127} × initial setting value” is exemplified as an arithmetic expression.

  In the present embodiment, since the optical sensor 41 serves as the means for detecting the note-on and Vel values and the passage detecting means for detecting that the hammer body HM has passed through the silencing position, the detecting means is provided. Although only one is required, both may be detected by separate detection means. Further, the optical sensor 41 is configured to continuously detect the rotational position of the hammer body HM, but a simple configuration such as a switch that detects passage of two predetermined locations may be employed. In this case, for example, note-on is determined based on the passage of one predetermined place, and the Vel value is detected from the passage time between two predetermined places.

  Note that the note-on performance signal may be generated due to the key pressing operation, and it is not essential to detect it from the movement of the hammer body HM. For example, a key sensor for detecting the rotational position of the key 24 is provided separately, and note-off is detected from the movement of the hammer body HM using the optical sensor 41, while note-on and Vel values are detected with respect to the key sensor. May be used.

  The present invention can be applied to both upright type and grand piano type musical instruments, and it does not matter whether or not it has strings.

  11 CPU (performance signal generation means, setting means, control means), 24 keys, 34 catcher (back check means), 41 optical sensor (velocity detection means, passage detection means, hammer position detection means), 44 back check (back check) Means), HM hammer body (hammer)

Claims (4)

The key to be pressed and released,
A hammer provided corresponding to the key, driven by a key pressing operation of the corresponding key, and rotating between a rest position and an end position;
Back check means for back checking the hammer moving from the end position to the rest position;
Velocity detection means for detecting note-on velocity at the time of key depression;
Performance signal generating means for generating a note-on performance signal due to a key pressing operation;
Setting means for setting the mute position;
Passage detecting means for detecting that the hammer has passed through the muffling position set by the setting means in the process of moving the hammer from the end position to the rest position;
According to the note-on performance signal generated by the performance signal generation means, the passage detection means detects that the hammer has passed through the mute position in the process of moving the hammer from the end position to the rest position. Control means for controlling to mute the musical sound generated for the key corresponding to the hammer in response to being detected;
The setting means sets the mute position to the rest side before a predetermined time elapses after the note-on performance signal is generated and the note-on velocity detected by the velocity detection means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Electronic keyboard instrument characterized by shifting to   2. The electronic keyboard instrument according to claim 1, wherein the setting means changes the degree of shift of the mute position to the rest side in accordance with the detected note-on velocity value.   Hammer position detecting means for detecting the position of the hammer in the process of moving the hammer from the rest position to the end position, and the performance signal generating means is configured to detect the note based on the position detected by the hammer position detecting means. 3. The electronic keyboard instrument according to claim 1, wherein an on performance signal is generated.   Hammer position detecting means for detecting the position of the hammer in a stroke in which the hammer moves from a rest position to an end position, and the velocity detecting means detects note-on velocity at the time of key depression by the hammer position detecting means. The electronic keyboard instrument according to claim 1, wherein the electronic keyboard instrument is detected based on the position of the electronic keyboard.

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