JPH0720713Y2 - Touch data generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a touch data generation device used in an electronic musical instrument or the like.

[Prior Art and its Problems] An electronic musical instrument having a function of reflecting a key pressing speed (touch speed) or a key pressing force on a musical sound, that is, a so-called touch response function is known. In order to realize such a touch response function, touch data is generated by detecting the key pressing speed or the key pressing force with respect to the key which is the performance input operator by some method, and the touch data is passed to the musical tone generator side. A generator is required.

As an example of this type of touch data generation device,
-4418 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-5545.

FIG. 5 is a diagram quoted from these patent publications. This system is provided with a contact switch 1 that operates in conjunction with the keys on the keyboard, and counts (measures) the clock 2 in the counter 6 for the moving time of the switch 1 which is inversely proportional to the key pressing speed. Is converted into touch data via the decoder 7 and the memory 9.

In the illustrated example, the counter 6 has a very limited length of 4 bits for convenience of explanation.

As a practical value of the resolution of the movement time of the switch 1, for example, 50
Microseconds, for example 20 as a practical value for the longest time
If you choose 0 ms, the counter would be 4000 in this case.
It requires the ability to take the state of, and therefore must consist of 12 bits.

When this is arranged in each key, for example, for a 76-key keyboard, a counter corresponding to a total of 76 × 12 = 912 bits is required, and the capacity of the decoder 7 and the memory 9 for converting the output is also in accordance with this. The size of the entire circuit becomes very large. The main reason for this is
It is considered that the time resolution (speed of clock 2) is constant and is independent of the key touch.

Examining the relationship between human senses and key touches, there is a difference in the time resolution that is considered to be effective when hitting the key fast, when hitting normally, and when hitting slowly, and conventional examples ignore this completely. It seems that this leads to the waste of the circuit.

The second problem of the related art is related to individual differences in touch feeling between individual users, variations in touch response characteristics among musical instruments having a touch response function, and the like. For example, a person who is accustomed to a certain musical instrument often likes the touch response characteristic of the musical instrument. In such a case, when the person tries to play an instrument having a different touch response characteristic, the desired musical tone may not be obtained. From the experience of the previous instrument, I expected that if I hit the key with this level of strength, that musical tone should come out, but I got a disappointing musical tone (One of the reasons why this is By creating touch data with a different value from the previous instrument for the touch speed).

Therefore, a function capable of adjusting the size of touch data generated for the same touch speed, that is, a function capable of changing and adjusting touch sensitivity is desired.

As a way to incorporate this touch sensitivity adjustment function into the above-mentioned conventional example (a) Selection data set by the user (sensitivity data)
Then, the oscillation frequency (clock) of the oscillator 2 is changed.

(B) By providing a large number of conversion memories 9 having different conversion characteristics,
The conversion memory to be used is switched according to the sensitivity data selected by the user.

Can be considered. However, in the method (a), only the time resolution is changed, that is, the response characteristic curve for the entire input range of the touch speed is moved in parallel on the characteristic plane, and the shape is not changed. In short, the touch response characteristics desired by the user cannot be obtained. On the other hand, in the case of the method (b), the drawbacks of the method (a) are eliminated by enriching the characteristic curves of the conversion memory. However, this only comes into play at the cost of a large memory capacity, which leads to an unacceptable increase in storage capacity.

[Purpose of Invention] This invention was made in view of the above situation.
The main purpose thereof is to provide a new touch data generation device capable of obtaining a touch response characteristic desired by a user.

Further, according to this invention, it becomes possible to simplify the circuit configuration and scale necessary for achieving this main purpose.

[Points of the Invention] In this invention, a switch means that operates in association with the operation of an operator, a counting means that counts the time between the operation start time and the operation end time of the switch means, and sensitivity data from the outside. Setting means for setting, variable means for varying the counting rate of the counting means based on the sensitivity data set by the setting means and the counting contents of the counting means, and touch data based on the count value of the counting means. And a touch data generating means for generating.

[Development] Some of the developed forms and embodiments of the present invention are listed below.

(2) In the touch data generation device as claimed in the utility model registration claim, the control means selects a clock generation means for generating a plurality of clocks of different rates and one of the clocks from the clock generation means. And a selection means for giving a clock to the counting means.

(3) In the touch data generation device according to the second aspect, the control means has means for changing or switching a rate combination of a plurality of clocks given to the selection means by the clock generation means, according to the selection data. Characteristic touch data generation device.

(4) In the touch data generation device according to the second item,
The touch data generating device, wherein the selecting means determines selection of a clock supplied to the counting means according to a combination of the external selection data and an output value of the counting means.

(5) In the touch data generation device according to item 2,
The combination of the rates of the plurality of clocks given to the selecting means by the clock generating means is switched or changed by the selection data, and the clock selected by the selecting means is selected according to the combination of the selection data and the output of the counting means. A touch data generation device characterized in that.

(6) In the touch data generation device according to item 2,
A touch data generating device characterized in that a combination of rates of a plurality of clocks given to the selecting means by the clock generating means is switched or changed by an output of the counting means.

(7) In the touch data generation device according to item 2,
A touch data generating device, wherein a combination of rates of a plurality of clocks given to the selecting means by the clock generating means is switched or changed by a combination of an output of the counting means and the selection data.

(8) In the touch data generation device according to item 2,
A touch data generation device, wherein selection of a clock by the selection means is determined by the selection data.

(9) In the touch data generation device according to item 2,
A touch data generating device, wherein selection of a clock by the selecting means is determined by an output of the counting means.

(10) In the touch data generation device according to the utility model registration claim, the control means includes a selection data for externally setting a rate of a clock given to the counting means and a part of output data of the counting means. A touch data generation device, which is variably controlled according to a combination.

(11) In the touch data generation device according to the fifth aspect, a combination of rates of a plurality of clocks given to the selection means by the clock means is switched or changed by a part of the selection data, and the clock by the selection means. Is determined by a combination of another part of the selection data and a part of the output data of the counting means.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

<Outline of Embodiment> In the embodiment described below, the rate and cycle of the clock given to the counting means for touch data generation are partially selected from the output data of the counting means and selection data or touch sensitivity that can be set from the outside. Select according to the combination with the data.
More specifically, a clock generator capable of generating a large number of clocks of different rates and a clock selection means or a clock selector to which clocks of a plurality of rates are given by the clock generator are used. The combination of the rates of the plurality of clocks output by the clock generator, in other words, the combination of the rates of the clocks input to the clock selecting means is switched or changed depending on a part of the touch sensitivity data or the value of the first touch sensitivity data. . Further, the selection of the clock by the clock selector is determined by the other part of the touch sensitivity data or the combination of the second touch sensitivity data and the part of the count output data. For example, when an 8-bit down counter is used as the counting means as in the illustrated embodiment, a clock selector causes a clock to be generated depending on a combination of a part (for example, upper 3 bits) of the count output of this counter and 2-bit touch sensitivity data. Select.

The clock selected by the clock selector is added to the clock input of the counting means.

Therefore, the circuit scale becomes smaller, and the user can freely select a desired one from various touch speed response characteristics.

<Structure> FIG. 1 shows a circuit structure of a touch data generation device in a keyboard electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment. The key switch represented by 1 is arranged under each key on the keyboard,
Normally, as shown in the figure, the movable arm is located at a position where it is connected to the terminal 1a, and the structure is such that the movable arm moves away from the terminal 1a and moves toward the terminal 1b in conjunction with key depression. Both terminals 1a and 1b are pulled up to the power supply + V, and are at a high level (logic "1") when not in contact with the movable arm of the key switch, and at a low level (logic "logic" through the installed movable arm when contacted. 0 "). Therefore, in the normal state where there is no key depression, the terminal 1a keeps "0" and the terminal 1b keeps "1", both become "1" once with the key depression, and the terminal 1b is pushed when the key switch 1 is pushed down. Changes to “0”. In this embodiment, a signal representing the time until the movable arm of the switch 1 separates from the terminal 1a and reaches the terminal 1b, that is, the time substantially inversely proportional to the key pressing speed, is used and measured as a touch data generation source.

In the remaining circuit configuration of FIG. 1, according to the present invention, the counting means for counting the time signal from the key switch 1 by a variable clock, the speed and cycle of the clock given to the counting means from the output of the counting means and from the outside. It is a structural example of the control means which variably controls according to the combination with the touch sensitivity data which can be variably set.

First, 2 is a clock generator capable of generating a larger number of divided clocks than a basic clock φ (for example, a period of 50 μsec). A combination of a plurality of (five here) divided clocks to be output to the outside is used as a touch sensitivity data. It has an internal selection logic that selects according to a value. In particular, in this example, as shown in the figure, among the five divided clocks 1/2, 1/3, 1 / A, 1 / B, 1 / C, three divided clocks 1 / A, 1 / B, The 1 / C rate is switched by the value of 2-bit touch 8 sensitivity data. An example of this internal selection logic is shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 3 denotes one of the divided outputs output from the basic clock and the clock generator 2 and the output from the counter 6 (here, upper 3 bits data) and touch sensitivity data (here, lower 2 bits data). FIG. 3 shows a clock selector which is selected by a combination of the above and an example of its selection logic.

Reference numeral 6 is a counter for counting a variable clock, which has an 8-bit configuration here, and is used as a down counter for measuring the time signal from the key switch 1 with the variable clock selected by the clock selector 3. The measured value of the counter 6 is used as touch data in a tone generation circuit (not shown).

This tone generation circuit may be inside the keyboard electronic musical instrument body, or may be on the external musical instrument side that can communicate via MIDI or other communication means (for example, in the case of a remote keyboard).

The gate circuits 4, 5, 7, and 8 are circuits that control the operation of the counter 6.

<Operation> Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The user selects the touch sensitivity data by the touch sensitivity data selection input means (not shown). This selection is the response (musical sound) when the key is pressed at various touch speeds.
It is performed by repeating the process of confirming with the ear. That is, the selection work is completed when the touch response characteristics desired by the user are obtained.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that a certain touch sensitivity data is selected.

First, when the key switch 1 is in contact with the terminal 1a, that is, when there is no key depression in the normal state, the terminal 1a is at the logic "0" level. Therefore, the output of the inverter 7 is "1", and the counter 6 is set to the initial state of all 1.

With the start of key depression, both terminals 1a and 1b become "1", and the AND circuit 4 passes the clock from the clock selector 3. At the same time when the terminal 1a changes to logic "1", the output of the inverter 7 also becomes "0", the set input of the counter 6 becomes "0", and the counter 6 becomes a countable state as a down counter. At this stage, the AND circuit 8
Since the output of is "0", the AND circuit 5 is placed in the enabled state. Therefore, the clock output from the clock generator 2 and selected by the clock selector 3 is supplied to the clock input of the counter 6 via the AND circuits 4 and 5.

If the selection logic (output clock switching logic) of the clock generator 2 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the clock selection logic of the clock selector 3 are followed, the clock input to the counter 6 at the first stage is the basic clock. φ, that is, the fastest clock. However, this fastest clock φ
The length of time that is supplied to the counter 6 depends on the value of the touch sensitivity data (see FIG. 4). For example, when touch sensitivity data (here, 4-bit configuration) b ₁ , b ₂ , b ₃ , and b ₄ is “0000”, this fastest clock φ is 2 ⁵ × 3 = 96φ.
Is selected and input to the counter 6. On the other hand, when the 4 bits of the touch sensitivity data are b ₁ , b ₂ , b ₃ , and b ₄ = 0011, the clock is generated only while the upper 3 bits of the counter 6 have “111”, that is, ²⁵ = 36φ. φ is selected.

2 bits of touch sensitivity data (upper 2 bits in FIG. 2, but this has no special meaning in this example)
5 output clocks (1/2, 1/3, 1 / A, 1 / B,
1 / C) is output by the clock generator 2 and input to the clock selector 3, and in the clock selector,
A clock is selected according to the combination of the remaining 2 bits of the touch sensitivity data and the output data of the upper 3 bits of the counter 6, and is supplied to the clock input of the counter 6.

Therefore, after the first stage, as the key pressing time in which the arm of the key switch 1 moves toward the terminal 1b elapses,
A clock having a rate and a cycle according to the selection logic illustrated in the drawings and FIG. 3 is selected, and the content of the counter 6 decreases according to the selected rate.

When the key switch 1 contacts the terminal 1b, the AND circuit 4 is prohibited and the clock supply to the counter 6 is cut off. As a result, the counter 6 stops counting, and the key pressing time measurement is completed. Since the change of the terminal 1b to the "0" level is the Key on signal to the musical tone generating circuit (not shown), the musical tone generating circuit side reads the output of the counter 6 at the time as touch data to generate the corresponding musical tone. be able to.

The AND circuit 8 normally outputs "0", but is configured so as to output "1" when the counter outputs all reach "0".
If it takes an extremely long time to move from 1a to 1b, that is, if the key is pressed too slowly, the counter 6 returns to "1" again and does not continue counting. It has the role of forcibly stopping and completing the measurement of the counter 6 at the lowest level of all “0”.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a key-press time versus counter output characteristic curve (touch response characteristic curve) with externally selectable touch sensitivity data as a parameter.

In this example, since the touch sensitivity data has a 4-bit structure, a total of 16 types of touch response characteristics can be obtained, and the user can freely select a desired one (according to his or her taste, musical composition, etc.). .

[Modification] The present invention has been described above through the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the touch data measuring counter 6 is used as a down counter, but an up counter may be used.

Also, regarding the length of the counter, in the embodiment, it is 8
Although it is a bit length, this is also only an example, and can be determined according to the level and range of the musical sound generation function of the electronic musical instrument to be applied. From this point of view, in the present invention, it is possible to construct and use an optimal-length counter having a smaller number of bits than the conventional one under the condition of a similar tone generation function.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the control for variably controlling the rate and cycle of the clock supplied to the counting means based on the combination of the touch sensitivity data (selection data) that can be selected from the outside and the count output data of the counter (counting means). Regarding the means, the clock selection logic is determined from a part of the selection data on the clock generator, and the other part of the selection data and a part of the count output data of the counting means on the clock selector (selection means). Although the method of deciding from the combination is adopted,
This is only a suitable example.

Various other modifications are easily conceivable when adopting the two-stage clock selection logic. Not all of them can be listed due to space savings, but the first selection data
The part is FS, the second part is SS, and all output data of the counting means is A
If D and its partial data are called PD, these four kinds of arbitrary combinations (FS only, FS + SS, FS + SS + AD, etc.) can be adopted as the output clock selection logic of the clock generator or the input condition of the truth table. Any of these four kinds of combinations can be adopted as the selection logic of the clock selector or the input condition of the truth table.

Similarly, one stage clock selection logic can be employed. In the essential sense, the number of stages is not important.

Further, in the above embodiment, the selection data which can be selected from the outside has a 4-bit structure, but this is merely an example.

Although I did not specify how to select the selection data,
This is because those skilled in the art can easily implement this. For example, in a simple example, a selection switch or key such as a VALUE key is provided, and the user inputs the key so that the touch sensitivity data is set. As another example, for example, a plurality of types of touch sensitivity data are prepared in the memory, and the touch response characteristic curves can be repeatedly retrieved in a slightly different order,
The user selects the touch response characteristic selection mode with a mode switch, and in this mode, the sensitivity data # 1 to # 16 is switched on the device side, for example, at predetermined time intervals (by sequentially accessing the sensitivity memory. ),
On the other hand, the user taps the key at various touch speeds, confirms the musical sound output from the speaker, and when he / she likes it, press the OK key (one key or a predetermined key on the keyboard). The touch sensitivity data at that time can be selected and selected by operating a key combination, for example, the key depression of the chord of Domiso. In addition, the NO key (for example, inharmonic, for example C and C #
The touch sensitivity data may be switched one after another by pressing a key.

Furthermore, the touch sensitivity data may be switched depending on the key on the keyboard, for example, the range.

Further, the touch sensitivity data is divided into, for example, first touch sensitivity data (upper bit side) and second touch sensitivity data (lower bit side), and the touch response characteristics are largely changed by the first touch sensitivity data ( (For COARSE), the touch sensitivity characteristics may be finely changed by the second touch sensitivity data (for FINE).

Various other modifications can be considered regarding the selection of the touch sensitivity data.

The touch data generating device according to the present invention can be easily realized by executing a program in a microcomputer. For example, the memory cells for the number of keys on the keyboard are used as a counter for touch data, and the key scanner operates the state of the key switch that generates the key depression time signal provided for each key. The content of the corresponding memory cell is inspected according to the change of, and while the key is being pressed, the divided output of the clock generator is selected and referred to according to the combination of that value and the value of the touch sensitivity data, and depending on its logic level. If it is "H" (depending on whether the divided output is "H" or "L"), the contents of the memory cell are
Then, the processing of not changing if "L" is performed and the key depression is completed (in the embodiment, the arm of the key switch 1 is the terminal 1b).
(Corresponding to being pushed all the way) is sent to the musical tone generation circuit side as touch data together with the tone generation command (key-on command) and the key name, and the tone generation processing is performed, When it is detected that the key has not been pressed (the key switch 1 is in contact with the terminal 1b), a tone generation end command (key off command) is sent to the tone generation circuit to perform tone generation end processing and a corresponding memory. This can be achieved by adopting a method such as resetting the cell contents.

Furthermore, dynamic storage allocation (DYNAMICSTORAGE ALLOCATIO
The technique of N) may be used to create as many memory cells or storage areas as the touch data generation area by the player as many as the keys currently operated.

Other various modifications and changes are possible.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described in detail above, the present invention generates touch data by a method completely different from the conventional method. That is, for the counting means that counts and evaluates the key depression time indicated by the signal from the switch means with a clock, the rate and period of the clock are set to the output value of the counting means and touch sensitivity data (selection that can be freely set from the outside). It is controlled variably by the combination with the value of (data). Therefore,
This device brings a wealth of technologies for touch data generation, and guarantees that the user can freely select the most desirable touch response characteristics.
Further, it is possible to reduce the circuit scale for realizing the touch data generating device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an output clock combination selection logic diagram of a clock generator, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a clock selection logic of the clock selector, and FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplifying characteristics of key press time versus counter output with touch sensitivity data that is variably selectable from outside as a parameter.
FIG. 5 is a diagram used for explaining the conventional example. 1 ... Key switch, 2 ... Clock generator, 3 ... Clock selector, 6 ... Counter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A switch means operating in conjunction with the operation of an operator, a counting means for counting the time between the operation start time and the operation end time of the switch means, and a setting for setting sensitivity data from the outside. Means, variable means for varying the counting rate of the counting means based on the sensitivity data set by the setting means and the count content of the counting means, and touch data generated based on the count value of the counting means. A touch data generating device comprising: touch data generating means.