JPH07152365A - Keyboard musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a good key touch feel both at the time of ordinary performance and at the time of non-stringing performance. CONSTITUTION:A blocking means 61 is disposed above a hammer assembly 13 freely movably in the juxtaposing direction of a keyboard 4. The blocking means 61 has many cushion members 65 juxtaposed at approximately the same pitch as the pitch of action divisions. The respective cushion members exist between adjacent hammer shanks 25 of action mechanisms 7 at the time of ordinary performance and correspond and align to the respective hammer shanks 25 when the blocking means 61 is moved by about half pitch of the action division by moving means at the time of non-stringing performance. The hammer shanks 25 collide against the cushion members 65 just before hammers 38 strike strings 3 and the turning beyond the point is blocked when the key touch operation is made in this state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard instrument having an action mechanism which works in conjunction with a keyboard and strikes a string, and particularly to a normal performance of striking a string with a hammer and stopping the hammer immediately before striking the string. The present invention relates to a keyboard instrument capable of selectively switching a non-stringed performance in which a string is not struck.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a keyboard musical instrument such as a grand piano or an upright piano that strikes a string with an action mechanism that operates in conjunction with a key depression operation on a keyboard, the playing volume is high, so the playing volume is selectively lowered. It is equipped with a sound reduction mechanism. In the case of a grand piano, this weak sound mechanism is designed to weaken the performance sound by moving the entire action mechanism together with the keyboard reed in the direction of parallel arrangement of the keyboard by a pedal operation, and reducing the number of strings hit by the hammer. On the other hand, in the upright piano, the muffler felt is selectively interposed between the string and the hammer by pedal operation, or the hammer rail that locks the hammer assembly at the initial position is moved to the string side to move the string and the hammer. By shortening the distance, the striking force of the hammer on the strings is weakened, and the playing sound is weakened.

Recently, with the diversification of musical instruments, a keyboard musical instrument has been proposed which completely prevents the string striking sound, as described in US Pat. No. 2,250,065. This keyboard instrument prevents the hammer from striking the strings by preliminarily lifting the hammer assembly during non-string striking performance that does not generate string striking sounds on the grand piano and preventing the jack from pushing up the hammer assembly during key-pressing operations. , It is possible to realize a performance that does not generate a string-striking sound (silence performance). In addition, by incorporating sensors such as key sensors and hammer sensors used in automatic playing pianos into such keyboard musical instruments, you can enjoy the performance of a natural piano during normal performance that does not mute (including when playing weak sounds). Therefore, the user can enjoy the performance of the electronic piano in which the tone control circuit is controlled by the sensor to generate an electronic sound during the non-string striking performance.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional sound deadening device, since the hammer assembly is lifted in advance at the time of non-striking performance, the jack does not push up the hammer assembly even if the key is pressed, and the jack does not move. Because it does not escape from the hammer assembly,
There was a drawback that the key touch feeling during normal performance was not obtained.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a good key touch feeling in both normal playing and non-string playing. It is to provide a keyboard instrument that can be obtained.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hammer assembly for striking a string,
It consists of a jack that pushes up the hammer assembly when striking a string, a regulating assembly that causes the jack to escape from the hammer assembly during string striking, and so on.
In a keyboard instrument that has an action mechanism in which the hammer strikes the strings by operating in conjunction with key depressions on the keyboard, does not prevent the hammer from striking the strings during normal playing, and the hammer strikes when not playing strings. Immediately before that, a blocking means for blocking the rotation of the hammer shank of the action mechanism and a moving means for moving the blocking means in the keyboard juxtaposition direction are arranged, and the blocking means comprises a string and a hammer shank. A hammer shank stopper movably arranged between the keyboard shank and a plurality of cushion members arranged in parallel on the surface of the hammer shank stopper facing the hammer shank at substantially the same pitch as the action split. The cushion member is positioned between the adjacent hammer shanks during normal playing and enables striking by the hammer. , In which the hammer shank stopper at the time of non-string-striking performance corresponds match the hammer shank of each action mechanism by being moved substantially semi pitch action split by said moving means, to prevent the string striking with a hammer.

[0007]

In the present invention, the cushion members are arranged in parallel with the hammer shank stopper at an action split, that is, at a pitch substantially the same as the arrangement pitch of the action mechanism. When the hammer shank stopper is moved by about half a pitch for action splitting by the moving means when not playing a string without blocking the string, the hammer shank corresponds to the hammer shank of each action mechanism, and immediately before the hammer strikes the hammer shank. Prevent the rotation of. Therefore, the hammer does not strike the strings and enables non-string playing.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an action mechanism section during normal performance showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a grand piano, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a blocking means and a moving means, and FIG. 3 is a mounting structure of the blocking means. 4 is a side sectional view showing FIG.
[Fig. 3] is a perspective view of an essential part of a blocking means. In these figures,
A keyboard reed 2 is arranged on the shelf 1, on which all 88 keyboards 4 corresponding to the strings 3 of each pitch can be vertically swung by a balance key pin 5 at the substantially central portion thereof. It is supported and arranged. The strings 3 of each pitch are stretched substantially horizontally on a frame (not shown) arranged above the keyboard 4 via tuning pins and frame pins. Below the strings 3, support rails 6 extending in common for all the strings 3 are provided.
Is located above the rear end of the keyboard 4 and extends transversely,
An action mechanism 7 for striking the corresponding string 3 that operates in conjunction with the keyboard 4 is arranged on the support rail 6, and the free vibration of the normal string 3 is blocked behind the action mechanism 7 so that the string 3 can be hit when striking the string.
A damper mechanism 8 is provided for releasing the. A plurality of the support rails 6 are arranged on the shelf board 1 in parallel with the keyboard 4 via an action table (not shown), for example, 3 to 3.
All the brackets 10 are connected by being installed and fixed substantially horizontally on the rear end upper surfaces of the four brackets 10. Further, these brackets 10 are also connected to each other by a shank rail 11 that is transversely extended on the upper surface of the front end portion thereof so as to extend commonly to all the keyboards 4. The bracket 10 is movable in the left-right direction, and is operated integrally with the keyboard reed 2 by depressing a shift pedal (not shown) provided in the lower part of the musical instrument body when playing a low tone. It is configured to be moved in the juxtaposed direction.

The action mechanism 7 moves up with the whip pen 12 that is rotated by the key depression operation of the keyboard 4, the hammer assembly 13 that strikes the strings 3, and the hammer mechanism 13 ascends with the key depression operation to push up the hammer assembly 13. The jack 14 for rotating, the repetition lever 15 for receiving the hammer assembly 13 after the string striking operation and returning it to the initial position, and the jack 14 for the string striking operation.
Is composed of a regulating assembly 16 and the like for temporarily escaping from the hammer assembly 13.

The whip pen 12 has a base end (rear end) pivotally supported by a pin 18 on an upper end of a support flange 17 fixed to the support rail 6 so as to be vertically rotatable. The whipen heel 12A, which is integrally provided on the lower surface on the (front end) side, is placed on the capstan 19 that is planted on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the keyboard 4, so that it is normally held substantially horizontally. A hammer shank stop felt 20 is provided on the upper surface of the base end portion of the whip pen 12 via a support-attached tree 21.

The jack 14 is bent and formed in an L shape in a side view, and a bent portion at the lower end thereof is pivotally supported in the front end of the whip pen 12 via a pin 22 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction, and a repetition spring 23. As a result, the habit of turning counterclockwise in FIG. 1 is imparted. The one arm 14A extending upward of the jack 14 is inserted from below into a long hole 24 formed through the upper and lower surfaces of the front end of the repetition lever 15 and the upper surface thereof is the hammer assembly 13 described above. Is in contact with the lower surface of the hammer roller 26 arranged on the lower surface of the hammer shank 25 on the base side. The other arm 14B of the jack 14 extends substantially horizontally toward the front, and its front end portion is located below the regulating assembly 16 so that the small jack 27 is provided.
Is formed. And Jack 14 is one arm 14A
The rotation button 28 attached to the middle part of the is normally pressed against the jack stop 29 planted on the wippen 12 by the spring force of the repetition spring 23, so that the rotation in the counterclockwise direction is restricted and held at the initial position. Has been done.

The repetition lever 15 is rotatably supported in the vertical direction by a center pin 32 at the upper end of a repetition lever flange 31 protruding from the center of the whip pen 8 via a center pin 32. The repetition spring 23 imparts the habit of turning counterclockwise in FIG. At the rear end of the repetition lever 15, there is provided a repetition button 33 which is pressed against the upper surface of the base of the wippen 12 by the spring force of the repetition spring 23, whereby the repetition lever 15 rotates counterclockwise. Is restricted.

The hammer assembly 13 is rotatably supported in the vertical direction through a pin 37 at the rear end of a shank flange 36 fixed to the upper surface of the shank rail 11 together with a bracket 69 described later. The hammer shank 25, the hammer 38 arranged at the free end of the hammer shank 25, and the hammer roller 26 arranged on the lower surface of the base end portion of the hammer shank 25.
The hammer roller 26 is normally placed on the upper surface of the front end portion of the repetition lever 15 and locked at the initial position. When the whip pen 12 is pushed up by the capstan 19 in accordance with the key depression operation of the keyboard 4 and rotates upward in the counterclockwise direction about the pin 18, the jack 14 pushes up the hammer roller 26 from below and the hammer assembly 13 in the clockwise direction. The hammer 38 is raised and rotated, whereby the hammer 38 strikes the string 3 corresponding to the pressed keyboard 4. Jack 14
The jack small 27 is the regulating assembly 16
When the upper end of the jack 14 is temporarily moved out of the lower part of the hammer roller 26, the upper end of the jack 14 is temporarily moved away from the repetition spring 23 by being abutted against the upper end of the hammer roller 26 and prevented from moving upward. This escape time is set when the hammer 38 approaches the string 1 by about 2 to 3 mm during normal playing. In this embodiment, the escape time is always set so that the hammer 18 comes close to the string 1 by about 10 mm in order to make it escape even during non-string striking. However, in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-200581. If the escape timing is made variable by using the disclosed technique or the like, it is possible to set the escape timing to be 2 to 3 mm in the normal performance and about 10 mm in the non-string striking performance.

After the string striking operation, the hammer assembly 13 is rotated and returned by the repulsive force of the string 3 and its own weight.
Is returned to the initial position by the hammer roller 26 being received by the repetition lever 15. At this time, the repetition lever 15 is rotated clockwise around the center pin 32 against the repetition spring 23 by the drop impact of the hammer assembly 13, thereby absorbing and relaxing the drop impact, and the hammer roller 26 is rotated. It prevents bounces and enables quick consecutive hits with the same key. Further, the jack 14 is rotated and returned in conjunction with the downward movement of the whip pen 12 accompanying the return operation of the keyboard 4 after the string striking operation by the hammer 38, so that the upper end thereof again enters the lower part of the hammer roller 26, and Enables string striking action.

The regulating assembly 16 is
The 88-key action mechanism 7 is grouped into a plurality of action mechanisms 7 on the shank rail 11, and the regulating rail 40 is extended transversely so as to extend for each of a plurality of sections, and the jack 14 of each action mechanism 7 is provided. Regulating rail 40 corresponding to Jack small 27
And a plurality of regulating buttons 42 arranged on the lower surface side of the regulating via a regulating screw 41. As for the distance d between the regulating button 42 and the small jack 27, the hammer 38 is 2 to 3 mm on the string 1.
When the jack 14 approaches the hammer roller 2
It is set to the distance to escape from the bottom of 6. In addition, when the regulating button 42 is turned, the regulating button 42 moves up and down to finely adjust the distance d,
When the distance d is increased, the escape time of the jack 14 is delayed, and when the distance d is decreased, the escape timing is accelerated.

On the upper surface of the rear end portion of the keyboard 4, there is a back check wire 44 that elastically receives the hammer 38 which is returned by the repulsive force of the string striking string 3 and the weight of the hammer assembly 13. It is arranged through.

The rear end of the damper mechanism 8 is pivotally supported by a damper lever flange 51 provided on a damper lever rail 50 so as to be vertically rotatable via a pin 52.
A damper lever 5 whose front end extends above the rear end of the keyboard 4
3, a damper block 54 disposed on the front end side of the damper lever 53, a damper 56 disposed on the damper block 54 via a damper wire 55, and the like. The damper 56 normally prevents the free vibration of the strings 3 by pressing the strings 3 from above, and when the keyboard 4 is pressed, the damper lever 53 causes the keyboard 4 to move.
When it is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by, it rises and is separated from the string 3. And this damper 5
The hammer 38 strikes the string 3 after the separation of 6, thereby enabling normal performance. The action mechanism 7 and the damper mechanism 8 described above are exactly the same as the action mechanism and the damper mechanism of the conventional grand piano.

In the present invention, a device for enabling non-string-striking performance that does not generate a string-striking sound without impairing the key touch feeling during the above-described normal performance, that is, a muffling device 60.
Is equipped with. The muffler 60 is arranged in the space between the string 3 and the hammer assembly 13 and does not prevent the hammer 38 from striking the string during normal playing, and immediately before the hammer 38 strikes the string when the string is not striking.
It is composed of a blocking means 61 for blocking the rotation of the keyboard 4 and a moving means 62 for moving the blocking means 61 in the juxtaposed direction of the keyboard 4.

The blocking means 61 is provided with a plate-like hammer shank stopper 63 which is movably transversely extended in the juxtaposed direction of the strings 3 corresponding to all the action mechanisms 7, and the front end of the hammer shank stopper 63 is provided. A reinforcing plate 64 is fixed to the lower surface of the portion in order to increase the rigidity of the stopper 63, and a plurality of cushion members 65 are divided into actions at the rear end portion of the lower surface, that is, the arrangement pitch of the action mechanisms 7 (about 13
mm) and are arranged in parallel at substantially the same pitch. The hammer shank stopper 63 is held by stays 66 provided at both ends and three positions in the middle, a total of five positions. This is an 88-key action mechanism 7
In order to avoid the piano frame
This is because the stay 66 is provided at this position because there is a gap at a position corresponding to the frame. The stay 66 is formed by bending a metal plate into a reverse U shape in a front view and has a pair of front and rear shafts 68A and 68B which are parallel to each other. The hammer shank stopper 63 is attached to the upper surface by a set screw 67. It is fixed. The shafts 68A and 68B are axially movably held by the bracket 69 and the bearing member 70, which are provided above the action mechanism 7 in correspondence with the stays 66. The bearing member 70 is formed in a side view Ω type as shown in FIG. 3, the shafts 68A and 68B are disposed in the curved portion through a cross 71, and both ends are fixed to the bracket 69 by a set screw 72. It is fixed. The front end of the bracket 69 is fixed to the upper surface of the shank rail 11 together with the shank flange 36 by a set screw 73, and the bent portion 69a provided at the front end is also the shank rail 11.
While being fixed to the front surface of the bracket by a set screw 74, the rear end portion is fixed to a bracket receiving member 76 arranged on the support rail 6 by a set screw 77. The bracket receiving member 76 is arranged so that its height can be adjusted by a screw 78. The rear end of the bracket 69 is bent into an L shape to form a mounting portion of the stay 66, and the vertical portion 69b and the horizontal portion 69c thereof hold the shafts 68A and 68B. The bearing members 70 are fixed.

Further, a plurality of hammer sensors 80 are arranged above the bracket 69 corresponding to the hammer shank 25 of each action mechanism 7. The hammer sensor 80 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and a shutter 81 disposed on the hammer shank 25 blocks a light emitted from the light emitting element and received by the light receiving element during a string striking operation. In other words, the movement of the keyboard 4 is detected, and the output signal thereof causes the electronic sound source to emit an electronic sound. Note that such a hammer sensor 80 is conventionally known.

In FIG. 2, the moving means 62 for moving the blocking means 61 moves the hammer shank stopper 63 by approximately half a pitch for action splitting when switching from a normal playing state to a non-string playing state or vice versa. It has a turning lever 91 for moving it to the left or right. The rotating lever 91 is integrally provided at a rear end of a shaft 93 whose intermediate portion is rotatably supported by a bearing member 92 arranged on the shank rail 11 and the hammer shank. For example, a plate-shaped operation portion 94 that is inserted and engaged from below with a stay 66 that holds the central portion of the stopper 63 is provided. At the front end of the shaft 93, one end of a lever 95 that rotatably holds a ball 96 is fixed by a set screw 97. The ball 96 is fixed to one end of the wire 98. The ball-side end of the wire 98 is slidably held by a wire case 100 detachably arranged at the lower end of a bracket 99 having the upper end fixed to the shank rail 11, and the other end side thereof is the action mechanism 7 or the like. Is led out to the outside from the inside of the musical instrument main body for housing along the lower surface of the shelf board 1, and is connected to the knob 101. The knob 101 is held movably back and forth by a holder 102 fixed to an appropriate place on the lower surface of the front end portion of the shelf board 1, and is set and held in the retracted position shown in FIG. 2 during normal playing.

Next, the operation of the silencer 60 having the above structure will be described. During normal performance, pick 10
1 is retracted to the lower surface side of the shelf board 1. In this state, the hammer shank stopper 63 is set and held on the high string side, and the cushion members 65 are positioned between the adjacent hammer shanks 25 of the action mechanism 7. Therefore, even if the keyboard 4 is pressed in this state and the jack 14 pushes up the hammer assembly 13 and rotates, the hammer shank 25 contacts the cushion member 65 and is prevented from rotating further. Instead, the string 3 can be hit with the hammer 38.

Next, when the knob 101 is pulled toward the front side and the wire 98 is pulled, the lever 95 and the rotating lever 91 are integrally rotated counterclockwise by a predetermined angle, and the operating portion 94 moves the stay 66 to the bass string side. Press to move. Therefore, the hammer shank stopper 63 also moves integrally with the stay 66. Since the movement amount of the hammer shank stopper 63 is set to approximately half the pitch for action splitting as described above, each cushion member 65 corresponds to the hammer shank 25 of each adjacent action mechanism 7 and accordingly, from the normal playing state. Switch to the non-string playing state.

In this case, the hammer shank stopper 63
Although the description of the movement amount setting of the hammer shank stopper 63 is omitted, the stopper members are provided on both sides of the hammer shank stopper 63, the pull-out amount of the knob 101 is regulated, or the bearing member 70 that pivotally supports the shafts 68A and 68B. The width of the bent portion of the stay 66 is set to be smaller than the width of the stay 66.
Various methods are possible, such as positioning inside and restricting the movement of the stay 66 by this bent portion.

When the keyboard 4 is depressed in the non-string-playing state, the action mechanism 7 operates in conjunction with this, and when the jack 14 rotates the hammer assembly 13 upward, the hammer 38 strikes the string 3. try to. And
The jack 14 comes into contact with the regulating button 42 during the string striking operation and is prevented from rising, so that the jack 14 rotates clockwise and escapes from the lower portion of the hammer roller 26.
On the other hand, the hammer assembly 13 tries to continue to rotate upward even after the jack 14 escapes. Since the rotation is blocked, the hammer 38 is repelled without hitting the strings 3 and returns to the initial position. Further, the jack 14 also descends in association with the whip pen 8 and the upper end surface thereof reenters the lower portion of the hammer roller 26 and returns to the initial position. As a result, it is possible to perform a non-string-striking performance in which no string-striking sound is emitted.

As described above, in the keyboard instrument according to the present invention, the blocking means 61 is arranged between the string 3 and the hammer assembly 13 so as to be movable in the juxtaposed direction of the keyboard 4, so that the keyboard 4 is not struck. The blocking means 61 is moved to move the cushion member 65.
Is configured to correspond to the hammer shank 25 of the action mechanism 7, thereby preventing the hammer shank 25 from rotating immediately before the hammer 38 hits the string 3, so that the jack 14 can be used even when the string is not hit. Since the hammer roller 26 is pushed up and escapes in the same manner as in the normal performance, it is possible to obtain a good key touch feeling as in the normal performance. Also, since it is only necessary to shift by half a pitch to the left and right, the shifting mechanism can be simplified and it can be installed in a small space.

Further, the present invention is provided with the hammer sensor 80, which detects the movement of the action mechanism 7 and controls the musical tone control circuit by the detection signal to generate the electronic sound from the electronic sound source. You can enjoy playing the electronic piano without damaging the touch of the grand piano. Also, if you listen to the electronic sound at this time with headphones or sound it with a small volume from the speaker, neighboring residents regardless of daytime or nighttime. It does not cause noise pollution.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of the turning lever 91, a flat stay 110 can be moved above the shank rail 11 so as to be orthogonal thereto, and by a guide (not shown), can be moved in the left-right direction by an approximately half pitch for action splitting. The block 111 for rotatably holding the ball 96 is fixed to the front end of the stay 110, and the rear end is connected to the hammer shank stopper 63 to switch between the normal playing state and the non-string striking playing state. Stay 110 by knob 101
Is configured to move to the left or right by about half a pitch for action splitting. Other configurations are the same as those in the above embodiment. Even with such a configuration, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the blocking means 61 is used.
The knob 1 manually operated as a moving means 62 for moving the
01 and the wire 98 are used, the present invention is not limited to this, and the blocking means 6 is operated by pedal operation.
1 can be directly moved, the rotating lever 91 can be rotated by a drive motor, and the stay 110 can be moved by a solenoid. Also, stay 66
Although the rotating lever 91 or the stay 110 is provided in one of the five, the rotating lever 91 or the stay 110 may be provided in the front portion or a part of the stay 66. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a grand piano, but can be applied to an upright piano.

[0030]

As described above, in the keyboard instrument according to the present invention, the blocking means is provided between the string and the hammer assembly, and the blocking means is moved in the direction of juxtaposition of the keyboard by the moving means for normal performance. It is configured to switch between the state and the non-string-playing state and prevent the hammer assembly from rotating by the blocking means immediately before the hammer hits the string during the non-string-playing performance. You can enjoy the non-striking performance that does not generate the striking sound.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an action mechanism section during normal performance showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a grand piano.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a blocking unit and a moving unit.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an attachment structure of a blocking means.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of a blocking unit.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Shelf Board 3 String 4 Keyboard 6 Support Rail 7 Action Mechanism 8 Damper Mechanism 12 Wippen 13 Hammer Assembly 14 Jack 14B Jack Small 16 Regulatoring Assembly 25 Hammer Shank 38 Hammer 42 Regulatoring Button 60 Noise Reduction Device 61 Blocking Means 62 Moving Means 63 Hammer Shank stopper 65 Cushion member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hammer assembly for striking a string, a jack for pushing up the hammer assembly during a string striking operation, a regulating assembly for moving the jack out of the hammer assembly during a string striking operation, and the like,
A keyboard instrument that has an action mechanism in which the hammer strikes the strings by operating in conjunction with key depressions on the keyboard.In normal playing, the hammer does not prevent the hammer from striking the strings, and the hammer strikes the strings when not playing. Immediately before, blocking means for blocking the rotation of the hammer shank of the action mechanism, and moving means for moving the blocking means in the direction in which the keyboard is arranged side by side are arranged, and the blocking means comprises a string and a hammer shank. A hammer shank stopper movably arranged between the keyboard shank and a plurality of cushion members arranged in parallel on the surface of the hammer shank stopper facing the hammer shank at substantially the same pitch as the action split. The cushion member is located between the adjacent hammer shanks during normal playing, and enables striking by the hammer. However, the hammer shank stopper is moved by approximately half a pitch of the action split by the moving means during non-string striking to correspond to the hammer shank of each action mechanism and to prevent string striking by the hammer. A keyboard instrument that