JPH062117U - Bending amount detector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In a bending amount detector including a connection base body for accommodating and protecting a connection portion between a flexible sensor and an output supply means for electrically connecting the sensor to the outside, Make it possible to significantly extend the service life. [Structure] The sensor is flexible and bends following the bend of the detection target. The output supply means is connected to the sensor to electrically connect the sensor to the outside. The connection base body houses and protects the connection portion between the sensor and the output supply means, and the remaining portion of the sensor extends from one end thereof. Due to the flexibility of the sensor, when the sensor bends following the bend of the object to be detected, the sensor additionally bends with respect to one end of the connection base body. The guide surface forms a space that gradually expands outward at one end of the connection base body and prevents the sensor from sharply bending at one end when the sensor bends following the detection target. To do. In this way, the service life of the sensor can be extended.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a bending amount detector using a flexible sensor that outputs an electric signal according to the bending amount thereof, and particularly to the sensor and an output supply means for supplying the output of the sensor to the outside. , Which is provided with a connection base body for accommodating and protecting the connection part of the sensor, prevents the sensor from sharply bending with respect to the connection base body, and thereby makes it possible to remarkably extend the service life of the sensor. Regarding

[0002]

[Prior art]

 By detecting the type and degree of various gestures (hereinafter referred to as performance gestures) performed by the performer during performance, the characteristics of the musical tone signal to be generated are controlled according to the detection. As a result, various types of electronic musical instruments that are capable of generating musical sounds that reflect the player's actual playing sensation have been known.

For example, as such an electronic musical instrument, the bending amount of the elbow is detected in response to a performance gesture that bends or extends the elbow of the performer, and a musical tone signal is generated according to the detected bending amount. Those that control the characteristics are considered. As a means for detecting the bending amount of the elbow as described above, for example, a bending amount detector as shown in FIG. 5 is considered.

That is, in the bending amount detector of FIG. 5, the sensor 20 is composed of a flexible strain gauge adapted to bend following the elbow of the performer when the performer makes a performance gesture with the elbow. It is a thing. The sensor 20 is such that the resistance value of the resistor changes depending on the amount of bending. One end of the sensor 20 is connected to a lead wire 21, and by passing a predetermined current through the resistor of the sensor 20 through the lead wire 21, an electric signal having a voltage corresponding to the bending amount of the elbow can be obtained. This electric signal is sent to the musical sound generator TG. The connection base body 22 accommodates and supports the connection portion between the sensor 20 and the lead wire 21, and protects this from the outside. Since the sensor 20 is more flexible than the connection base body 22, when the bend is made to follow the bend of the player's elbow, as shown by the chain double-dashed line, The end surface 22a is also bent considerably.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 By the way, in the bending amount detector as described above, the end surface 22a of the connection base body 20 forms a steep angle (approximately 90 degrees) with respect to the portion of the sensor 20 extending in the connection base body 22. ing. As a result, when the sensor 20 bends following the bend of the player's elbow, the sensor 20 bends with a large or steep curvature centering on the boundary portion with the end face 22a. Due to such a sharp bend, the sensor 20 is apt to be deteriorated or damaged at the boundary portion, and as a result, the service life of the sensor 20 is shortened. This invention has been made in view of the above points, and has a bending amount provided with a connection base body for accommodating and protecting a connection portion of a flexible sensor and an output supply means for electrically connecting the sensor to the outside. In a detector, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bending amount detector which can remarkably extend the service life of the sensor.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The bend amount detector according to the present invention is a flexible sensor that bends by following the bend of a detection target, and an output supply means connected to the sensor for electrically connecting the sensor to the outside. And a connection base body for accommodating and protecting the connection portion between the sensor and the output supply means, and extending the remaining portion of the sensor from one end thereof, and the connection base body. A guide that forms a space that gradually expands outward at the one end of the sensor and that prevents the sensor from sharply bending at the one end when the sensor bends following the detection target. And a surface.

In one embodiment, the guide surface is formed with a predetermined curvature, and when the sensor bends following an object to be detected, the sensor bends with respect to the one end of the connection base body. It is preferable that the guide surface comes into contact with the portion of (1) to prevent the portion of the sensor from bending with a sharp curvature with respect to the one end portion.

[0008]

[Action]

 The sensor is made of, for example, a strain gauge having flexibility and bends following the bend of the detection target. The output supply means is connected to the sensor in order to electrically connect the sensor to the outside. The connection base body accommodates and protects the connection between the sensor and the output supply means, and the remaining part of the sensor extends from one end thereof. Due to the flexibility of the sensor, when the sensor bends following the bend of the object to be detected, the sensor additionally bends toward the one end of the connection base body. The guide surface forms a space that gradually expands outward at the one end of the connection base body, and when the sensor bends following the detection target, the sensor is Prevent sharp turns. Due to the action of the guide surface, deterioration, damage and the like due to the use of the sensor are prevented, and therefore the service life of the sensor is extended.

[0009]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example in which a bending amount detector according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an electronic musical instrument. The bend amount detector 2 in this embodiment is implemented as an elbow-type bend amount detector that detects the bend amount of an elbow when the performer makes a performance gesture such as bending or extending the elbow. It was done.

The bending amount detector 2 is connected via a lead wire 4 to a grip operator 3 which is held by a player's hand. The grip operator 3 detects the resistance value of the resistor of the bend amount detector 2 and outputs a bend amount detection signal, for example, via the output unit 5 attached to the waist of the performer to generate a musical sound. It is designed to be sent to TG. The tone generator TG controls the characteristics of the tone signal to be generated according to the detected bending amount of the elbow, and acoustically emits the tone signal thus controlled. In addition, preferably, the grip operator 3 can detect, for example, a movement (vibration) of the operator 3 itself by the player, a gripping pressure by the player, and the like, and these detection signals are detected by the detector. It is adapted to be sent to the musical tone generator TG together with the bending amount detection signal given from 2.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the bend amount detector 2 in more detail. In the bend amount detector 2, the sensor 6 performs a performance when the performer makes a performance gesture such as bending or extending the elbow. It consists of a flexible gauge, such as a strain gauge, which is adapted to bend following the elbow of a person. The sensor 6 is such that the resistance value of its resistor changes according to the bending amount of the elbow to be detected. The connector 7 is connected at one end to the lead wire 4 and at the other end to one end of the sensor 6, and electrically connects the sensor 6 and the lead wire 4.

Further, the connection base body 8 has rigidity and accommodates the connector 7 in the central portion thereof, and at the one end side portion thereof, the connection portion between the connector 7 and the lead wire 4 is The connecting portion between the connector 7 and the sensor 6 is housed in the end portion (referred to as the front end portion). In this way, the connection base body 8 protects the connector 7 and each of the connection portions from the outside. The lead wire 4, the connector 7, the sensor 6, and the connection base body 8 are detachably attached to the mounting tool 12 integrally (that is, as one unit) by the configuration described later. In the following description, the lead wire 4, the connector 7, the sensor 6, and the connection base body 8 that are integrally attached to and detached from the mounting tool 12 in this manner may be referred to as a sensor unit S.

The mounting tool 12 can be detachably mounted around a part centering on the player's elbow, and is flexible and stretchable so that the player can bend following the player's elbow. It is a cylindrical body made of the material that has. A pocket 14 is formed in the longitudinal direction on a part of the mounting tool 12 in the circumferential direction. The pocket 14 includes a flexible pocket base portion 14a made of, for example, a synthetic resin film, and a cover portion 14b made of, for example, felt, which is shorter than the pocket base portion 14a but slightly longer than the sensor 6. . Thus, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2, by inserting the entire sensor 6 and at least the tip end side portion of the connection base body 8 into the pocket 14, the sensor unit S is attached to and detached from the mounting tool 12. It is designed to be attached to the formula. When the performer makes a performance gesture by bending and stretching the elbow while wearing the wearing tool 12 with the sensor unit S attached in this way, the sensor 6 follows the elbow through the wearing tool 12. As a result of bending, the sensor 6 outputs a bending amount detection signal in accordance with the bending.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a tip side portion of the connection base body 8 which protects a connection portion between the sensor 6 and the connector 7. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, showing the inside of the tip side portion. Note that, in FIGS. 3 and 4, for the sake of clarity, the wearing tool 12 and the pocket 14 thereof are not shown. As is clear from FIG. 3, the end portion of the tip side portion of the connection base body 8 is rectangular, and two guide end surfaces 9 forming a substantially semicircular convex surface are formed on the left and right sides of the rectangular end portion. They are formed symmetrically opposite each other. In this way, a tapered space gradually expanding outward is formed at the rectangular end portion. The tip side portion is preferably made of an elastically deformable material.

Each guide end surface 9 is formed over substantially the entire length of the rectangular end portion (more precisely, the same length that is slightly shorter than the longitudinal edge 8a of the rectangular end portion). These guide end faces 9 extend downwardly from the respective opposed longitudinal edges 8a of the rectangular end portion toward the widthwise central portion of the rectangular end portion so as to gradually approach each other. Further, these guide end surfaces 9 end in a state of being spaced apart from each other and facing each other at the center of the rectangular end portion, and a narrow central opening 10 is formed between each end edge. It should be noted that, similarly to the above-mentioned guide end surface 9, the both end edges 8b adjacent to the longitudinal edge 8a of the rectangular end portion form a tapered space that gradually widens toward the outside. The end face 11 extends, and the end edges of both end faces 11 determine the length of the central opening 10. In this way, the central opening 10 extends longitudinally in the widthwise central portion of the rectangular end portion in parallel with the longitudinal edge 8a. Thus, the width of the central opening 10 formed by the end edges of each of the surfaces 9 and 11 is substantially equal to the thickness of the sensor 6, and the length of the central opening 10 is substantially equal to the width of the sensor 6. Has become.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sensor 6 is connected to the connector 7 inside the tip side portion of the connection base body 8, and from the connector 7 through the central opening 10, that is, both It extends between the guide end faces 9 to the outside of the connection base body 8. More specifically, in the portion that passes through the central opening 10, the sensor 6 is sandwiched in the thickness direction by the guide end surface 9 and in the width direction by the end surface 11.

Thus, in response to the playing gesture by the player's arm, the sensor 6 makes surface contact with one of the guide end faces 9 and is guided by the guide end face 9 as shown by the arrow, as shown by the chain double-dashed line. It will turn in the front and back direction. That is, the sensor 6 bends with a curvature that gradually changes according to the curvature of the guide end surface 9, and does not bend abruptly with a curvature larger than a predetermined value. Since the end surface 11 forms the tapered space, when the sensor 6 bends in this way, rubbing between both side edges of the sensor 6 and the end surface 11 is prevented. Since the sensor 6 does not bend sharply with such a large curvature, the sensor 6 is not deteriorated, damaged, or the like due to its use, and can therefore be used for a long period of time. As described above, it is more effective to form the above-mentioned tip side portion, particularly, the rectangular end portion of the elastically deformable material.

In the above embodiment, the mounting tool 12 is provided with the pocket 14 and the sensor 6 or the like is inserted into the pocket 14 to attach the sensor unit S detachably. However, as an alternative, The sensor unit S may be removably or fixedly attached to the mounting tool 12 by other suitable mounting means such as an adhesive surface fastener without providing the mounting tool 12 with the pocket 14. Further, the guide end surface 9 is not limited to the convex arcuate surface as described above, but may be another gradually inclined surface that can prevent the sensor from being largely bent. Further, in order to protect the sensor, the entire surface of the sensor may be covered with a protective member made of felt or the like. As a result, the sensor can be protected from the bending stress applied to the entire sensor, and the part of the sensor that contacts the guide end surface 9 can be further protected.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the elbow type for detecting the bending amount of the elbow as described above, but for other types of detecting the bending amount of other parts such as the wrist and ankles of the performer. It may be one. Further, the present invention is not limited to the case of controlling the characteristics of the musical sound generated by the electronic musical instrument as described above, but may be applied to other bending amount detecting applications.

[0020]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, the present invention provides the guide surface having a predetermined curvature at one end of the connection base body, and the guide surface allows the sensor to move suddenly with respect to the one end of the connection base body. Since it is prevented from bending due to the curvature, it has an excellent effect that the service life of the sensor can be remarkably extended.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example in which an elbow type bend amount detector according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an electronic musical instrument.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing in detail the bending amount detector according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a tip side portion of a connection base body in the sensor unit of FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a bend amount detector that has been conventionally considered.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... Lead wire, 6 ... Sensor, 8 ... Connection base body, 9 ... Guide end face

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A sensor which is flexible and bends following a bend of an object to be detected; output supply means connected to the sensor for electrically connecting the sensor to the outside; and the sensor. A connection base body for accommodating and protecting the connection part with the output supply means, and extending the remaining part of the sensor from one end thereof, and an outside at the one end part of the connection base body. Bending amount detection that forms a space that gradually expands toward the sensor, and includes a guide surface that prevents the sensor from sharply bending at the one end when the sensor bends following an object to be detected. vessel.