JPH06175648A - Keyboard device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a unpleasant noise from being generated by a key when the key is pressed and released by eliminating clearance between the fulcrum part of the key and the fulcrum support part of a key board frame. CONSTITUTION:The opposite surfaces of the fulcrum part 12 of the key 11 and the fulcrum support part 14 of the keyboard frame 13 which supports it in a freely swing able state are formed in a saddle shape and pressed against each the energizing force of a flat leaf spring 16 while rotated mutually by 90 deg. to eliminate the gap between them at all times without reference to whether or not the key is pressed, and a contact part has nearly no friction close to rolling contact even when the key is pressed and released, thereby preventing a noise from being generated owing to the abrasion, squeak, rub, etc., of the fulcrum part 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard device for various keyboard musical instruments such as electronic organs and electronic pianos, and more particularly to a fulcrum structure of the keys.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a keyboard device used for keyboard musical instruments such as electronic organs and electronic pianos is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-275297. In this keyboard device, a fulcrum formed by bending a key in the lower part of the rear end of the key toward the front of the key is fitted into a square hole formed in the plane of a keyboard frame that is a key supporting member, and the entire key is spring-loaded. By biasing forward and upward by
The fulcrum of the key is hooked on the edge of the square hole to make contact with the fulcrum, and the entire key swings with the fulcrum as the fulcrum.

The key is formed in a U-shaped cross-section with its lower side open, and the inner surfaces of both side walls contact both side surfaces of a key guide projecting in front of the keyboard frame so as to correspond to each key. The key is prevented from rolling laterally, and the key has a degree of freedom only in the vertical direction.

In the keyboard device, a fulcrum part of the key is fitted in a square hole formed in a rising part of the keyboard frame and is swingably supported (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-57409),
Or form a V-shaped wedge on the keyboard frame,
A rear end of the key is formed in a V-shape having an acute angle with respect to the wedge-shaped portion, and a fulcrum portion having a rounded tip is pressed by a spring to be swingably supported (Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-8828).
No. gazette) etc.

[0005]

However, in the case of a keyboard device in which a fulcrum portion of a key is fitted in the square hole to support the key, the lateral swing of the key and the swing in the rolling direction are prevented from occurring. The lateral end of the fulcrum is restricted by the side end of the fulcrum, and the key guide also restricts the runout in the lateral direction and the rolling direction, but the groove width of the key part of the fulcrum part forms the square hole of the keyboard frame. If the width is large with respect to the plate thickness, rattling or prying may occur when a key is pressed or returned, and noise (mechanical noise) due to rubbing or squeaking may easily occur at the fulcrum portion.

Further, even if the groove width of the key portion is formed with the same high precision as the plate thickness of the square hole portion, the key guide for preventing the lateral vibration of the key is, for example, a part of the keyboard frame. If it is formed by cutting and raising, and the resin etc. is outsert on the outer peripheral part,
Even if the cut-and-raised part is formed with high accuracy, if some dimensional variation occurs in the outsert resin part due to a phenomenon such as a sink mark, the fulcrum part may also rub against it. Noise is likely to occur.

On the other hand, in the case of the keyboard device of the type in which the fulcrum portion of the key and the pressure contact portion of the keyboard frame are pressed against the wedge-shaped surface by the biasing force of the spring, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-8828. If the key guide portion is loose, when one moves the key in the lateral direction, one of the both ends of the key support portion separates from the fulcrum portion on the frame side and comes back into contact with the fulcrum. Further, if the key is rotatably attached to the fulcrum portion without the precision of the key guide portion, one of the both side ends remains separated, and rattling occurs at the time of keystroke.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and prevents rattling between the fulcrum part of the key and the fulcrum support part of the key support member, and at the time of keystroke and its return. The purpose is to prevent the key from rubbing against other members and causing unpleasant noise.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a key, a key support member for swingably supporting a fulcrum portion of the key by a fulcrum support portion, and a state in which the key is not depressed. The key return means for urging the fulcrum of the key and the fulcrum means for urging the fulcrum portion of the key and the fulcrum support portion of the key support member in pressure contact with each other. The opposing surfaces of the fulcrum support portions are both formed into a saddle-shaped or V-shaped concave surface, and pressed at positions where they are rotated by about 90 ° to form a keyboard device.

[0010]

According to the keyboard device constructed as above, the fulcrum portion of the key is pressed against the fulcrum support portion of the key support member by the urging force of the urging means, and the fulcrum portion of the key and the fulcrum support portion of the key support member. Both facing surfaces are formed into a saddle-shaped or V-shaped concave surface and pressed against each other at a position where they are rotated by about 90 °. Therefore, the gap between the fulcrum part and the fulcrum support part is keyed or not. However, since the pressure contact portion has friction close to rolling contact at the time of keystroke, noise due to rubbing or the like does not occur at the fulcrum portion.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view and a vertical cross-sectional view of a part of a keyboard device showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a shape of a facing surface of a fulcrum part of a key of the keyboard device and a fulcrum support part of a keyboard frame. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view in which the fulcrum portion and the fulcrum support portion are longitudinally sectioned along a plane passing through the pressure contacts.

This keyboard device has a key 11 as shown in FIG.
And a keyboard frame 13 which is a key support member for swingably supporting a fulcrum portion 12 formed at the rear end of the key 11 by a fulcrum support portion 14, and the key 11 after being keyed is moved upward with the keystroke portion 11a side. A flat plate spring 16 is provided which urges the fulcrum portion 12 of the key 11 into pressure contact with a fulcrum support portion 14 fixed to the keyboard frame 13 by an urging force acting in the direction of the arrow A as well as urging so as to return.

As shown in FIG. 1B, one end 16a of the flat spring 16 is locked to a spring locking portion 13a formed by cutting and raising the keyboard frame 13, and the other end of the flat spring 16 is connected to the key 11.
It is attached to the spring receiving portion 11b formed at the rear of the so that the central portion in the longitudinal direction slightly bulges upward as shown in the figure with the spring receiving portion 11b attached. Therefore, by mounting in a slightly bent state, the reaction force exerts an urging force in the direction of arrow A.

In this embodiment, the flat spring 16
Functions as a key returning means that urges the key 11 to hold it in a non-depressed state, and urges the fulcrum portion 12 of the key 11 and the fulcrum support portion 14 of the keyboard frame 13 in a pressure contact direction. It also functions as a force means. Further, as the key returning means, for example, a coil spring, a weight or the like may be provided separately, and the key returning means may be constituted by a member different from the flat spring which is the urging means.

The key 11 is, for example, one octave (12 keys)
1B, which is the direction in which the keys are arranged, are aligned in the front and back directions. The key 11 is wholly integrally formed of a resin material or the like, and has a vertical cross-sectional shape of a U shape with the lower surface side open.
L-shaped stopper pieces 11c and 11c are vertically provided on both side walls of the front portion (left side in FIG. 1) of FIG. 1, and the front end side thereof is a vertical wall surface of a step portion 17 formed at the front end portion of the keyboard frame 13. It is made to project in the opening 18 formed in.

Further, an upper limit stopper 19 is attached to a position corresponding to the stopper pieces 11c, 11c on the back surface of the keyboard frame 13, and a lower limit stopper 21 is similarly made to correspond to the stopper pieces 11c, 11c on the upper surface of the step portion 17. I have attached it.

When the key-pressing portion 11a of the key 11 is pushed down, the lower surfaces of the stopper pieces 11c and 11c contact the lower limit stopper 13 so that the lower limit position is restricted, and the stopper pieces 11c and 11c are returned when the key is returned. The return position is regulated by the upper surface of the overhanging portion of the abutting contact with the upper limit stopper 19 (state of FIG. 1).

Further, a key guide 22 is vertically installed on the keyboard frame 13 so as to correspond to both side walls of the front portion of the key 11.
The U-shaped inner wall surface of 1 is formed on both side surfaces of the key guide 22.
By making sliding contact as shown in (a) of FIG. It should be noted that the key guide 22 may be formed by cutting and raising a part of the keyboard frame 13 so as to be vertically bent upward, and a sound absorbing material such as a soft elastomer or foam may be outsert-processed on the outer peripheral portion thereof to be integrated. Good.

As shown in FIG. 2, the facing surfaces 12a and 14a of the fulcrum portion 12 of the key and the fulcrum support portion 14 of the keyboard frame are
Both of them are formed in a saddle shape, and their opposing surfaces are in pressure contact with each other when the keys 11 are assembled at positions where they are rotated by approximately 90 ° with respect to each other. The horse-saddle shape is, for example, a half-moon shaped block in which a columnar member is vertically divided into halves, and its arcuate surface side has a gentle diameter so that it has the smallest diameter (radius) at a position of approximately ½ height. The curved surface has valleys formed along the circumferential direction.

Therefore, when the facing surfaces 12a and 14a of the fulcrum portion 12 and the fulcrum support portion 14 formed in the horseshoe shape are pressed against each other at a position rotated by approximately 90 °, the vertical sectional shape at the time of the pressure contact is shown in FIG. As shown, the concave curved surface having a large radius of curvature on the fulcrum portion 12 side contacts the convex curved surface having a smaller radius of curvature than that on the fulcrum support portion 14 side at the press contact portion Pco with a very small area close to point or point contact. .

When these press-contact parts are viewed in a horizontal cross-section (horizontal cross-section), the fulcrum portion 12 side has a convex curved surface and the fulcrum support portion 14 side has a concave curved surface, contrary to the case of the vertical cross-section. Then, they contact each other (see (a) of FIG. 1).

According to the keyboard device having such a key fulcrum structure, the key 11 is biased by the flat spring 16 so that the fulcrum portion 12 becomes the fulcrum support portion 1 of the keyboard frame 13.
When the key 11 is pressed, the pressure contact portion is infinitely close to rolling contact friction (close to zero) even when the key 11 is pressed. Since the state of the zero gap is maintained by moving at, the noise due to rubbing or prying at the fulcrum portion 12 does not occur.

If the fulcrum portion 12 and the fulcrum support member 14 having the horse-saddle-shaped facing surfaces 12a and 14a have a positional relationship in which they are rotated by approximately 90 °, the positional relationship between them is reversed and FIG. The fulcrum portion 12 may be horizontal as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure contact portion (contact point) Pco between the fulcrum portion 12 of the key 11 and the fulcrum support portion 14 of the keyboard frame 13 is a point or a very small contact surface which is infinitely close to the point. Since the pressure contact is made with the key, the movement in each of the X, Y, and R directions shown in FIG. 11 can be moved freely in each direction.
Then, the tip end side of the key 11 is moved to X, R by the key guide 22.
Even if the movement of the key in each direction is restricted, the fulcrum portion 12 is not twisted because of the key fulcrum structure as described above.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the fulcrum portion of the key in this keyboard device is a curved surface of the fulcrum portion 12 on the key 11 side in both horizontal and vertical sections. Since the curved surface of the fulcrum support portion 14 on the keyboard frame 13 side is both horse-saddle-shaped and they come into contact with each other at a position rotated by about 90 °, a convex surface having a smaller radius of curvature is pressed against a concave surface having a larger radius of curvature. By this pressure contact, the protruding apex of the convex surface is automatically aligned with the center of the concave surface (the lowest position that is the bottom of the concave surface).

That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, in the horizontal cross section, the fulcrum portion 12 of the convex curved surface of the key 11 is pressed against the concave fulcrum support portion 14 having a larger radius of curvature than that of the key 11, and the vertical cross section is shown. Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, the fulcrum portion 12 of the concave curved surface of the key 11 is pressed against the fulcrum support portion 14 of the convex curved surface having a smaller radius of curvature, so that the self-centering action works. .

By the way, the key guide 22 for restricting the shake in the X and R directions indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4 is, like the key guide 22 'shown in phantom in FIG.
If it is provided at a position corresponding to 11c, the vertical guide surface for guiding the key 11 is increased by the key guide 22 ', so that the shake in the above direction can be further suppressed.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a keyboard device in which the fulcrum portion of the key and the fulcrum support portion of the keyboard frame are different in pressure contact direction, and the portions corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. There is. This keyboard device differs from the keyboard device described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 in the direction of pressure contact between the fulcrum portion 12 of the key 11 'and the fulcrum support portion 14 of the keyboard frame.

That is, the fulcrum portion 12 formed on the curved surface of the saddle shape described in FIG. 2 is formed on the lower surface of the rear end of the key 11 ', and the upper surface is formed on the curved surface of the saddle shape so as to face the fulcrum portion 12. The fulcrum support portion 14 is provided on the keyboard frame 13 (see FIG. 1) side, and the facing surface 12a on the fulcrum portion 12 side and the facing surface 14a on the fulcrum support portion 14 side are rotated by about 90 ° with respect to each other at the key position. The upper surface of the rear end portion (right side in the figure) of 11 'is pressed and urged toward the fulcrum support portion 14 by an urging means such as a spring (not shown), and the fulcrum portion 12 of the key 11' is pressed against the fulcrum support portion 14. There is.

Thus, the fulcrum portion 12 and the fulcrum support portion 14
Even if they are pressed against each other in the vertical direction, the same operational effects as the keyboard device of FIG. 1 can be obtained. When the key 11 'is swingably supported by the fulcrum support portion 14 with the structure shown in FIG. 5, if the key 11' is extended to the right side in the drawing, a dedicated key such as a spring is used. The key 11 'after tapping can be returned to its original position by the weight of the extension portion without providing a returning means.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the keyboard device in which the shapes of the opposing surfaces of the fulcrum portion of the key and the fulcrum support portion of the keyboard frame are different. This keyboard device includes a fulcrum portion 32 of a key 31.
Both the facing surface 32a and the facing surface 34a of the fulcrum support portion 34 of the keyboard frame are formed in a V-shaped concave surface, and they are pressed against each other at positions shown in the drawings, which are rotated by approximately 90 ° (see FIG. 6). It is shown in a separated position for convenience).

In this way, the opposing surfaces 32a and 34a are
Since the point contact is surely made, noise due to rubbing or prying at the fulcrum portion 32 of the key 31 at the time of keystroke is further less likely to occur. Further, the self-aligning action of the key 31 on the fulcrum support portion 34 is further enhanced.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, the opposing surfaces of the fulcrum portion of the key and the fulcrum support portion of the key support member are both formed into a saddle-shaped or V-shaped concave surface, and they are mutually formed. Since the pressure contact is made at a position rotated by about 90 °, the gap at the fulcrum is always zero regardless of the presence or absence of keystroke, and the contact portion is close to rolling contact and almost zero even when keystroke and key return. Since it becomes friction, noise due to rubbing, squeaking, and prying at the fulcrum does not occur.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view in which a part of a keyboard device showing one embodiment of the present invention is shown in section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a fulcrum part of a key and a fulcrum support part of a keyboard frame of the keyboard device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the fulcrum portion and the fulcrum support portion similarly cut along the pressure contact portion.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a keyboard device in which the postures of a fulcrum portion and a fulcrum support portion are changed with respect to the keyboard device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the keyboard device in which the press contact directions of the fulcrum part of the key and the fulcrum support part of the keyboard frame are different.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a keyboard device in which the shapes of the opposing surfaces of the fulcrum portion of the key and the fulcrum support portion of the keyboard frame are different.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 11 ', 31 ... Key, 11a ... Keystroke part, 12, 32
... fulcrum part, 13 ... keyboard frame (key support member), 14,
34 ... fulcrum support part, 16 ... plate spring, 12a, 14a,
32a, 34a ... Opposing surfaces

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A key, a key support member for swingably supporting a fulcrum portion of the key by a fulcrum support portion, a key returning means for urging the key so as to hold the key in a non-depressed state, and The key fulcrum portion and the fulcrum support portion of the key support member are urged in a direction of pressing the fulcrum portion, and the fulcrum portion of the key and the opposing surface of the fulcrum support portion of the key support member are both saddle-shaped. Alternatively, the keyboard device is characterized in that it is formed in a V-shaped concave surface and is pressed against each other at positions where they are rotated by approximately 90 °.