JPH09179548A - Sound volume adjusting device for piano - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly control the sound volume with relatively simple constitution without altering a touch feeling or timbre by providing a radiation passage for outputting an internally generated piano sound to the outside, an operation member, and an opening and closing mechanism which opens and closes the radiation passage associatively with the operation of this operation member. SOLUTION: The opening and closing mechanism 30 consists of a couple of right and left holders 26 made of steel plates, etc., which are fitted to respective master plates 2 through pins 34 and have lower end parts coupled with an intermediate pedal 33 through wires 35, a cushion 38 made of foamed urethane adhered to the front surface of a press bar 37, and a coil spring 39 which always energizes the holders 36 counterclockwise. In this constitution, the cushion 38 blocks an opening part 32a inside the radiation passage 32 of a back tone spreader 29 unless the intermediate pedal 33 is stepped. Consequently, the output of the piano sound is stopped and sound-reduced playing in a sound reduced state is enabled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a volume control device for a piano that controls the volume of sound emitted from the piano.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, upright pianos have become widespread in ordinary households, and there are many opportunities to play them in a room. However, due to the housing situation in Japan, the volume of conventional pianos tends to be too loud, and for this reason, it is not uncommon for the piano to be played while taking into consideration that the piano sound will not be a noise to the neighborhood. In such cases, the central muffler pedal is generally used in conventional upright pianos. That is, in the conventional upright piano, when the muffler pedal is stepped on, a thin felt or cloth drops between the strings and the hammer due to the action of the levitation rod or wire that interlocks with the muffler pedal, and the hammer strikes the strings from above the felt. Therefore, it is possible to perform the sound reduction performance by considerably lowering the volume.

Alternatively, a muffling piano has been developed to eliminate the noise of the piano. As is well known, the mute piano is designed so that the acoustic normal performance by hammer striking and the mute performance can be switched, and in the mute playing, the hammer striking is stopped by a stopper and the keyboard is played. The key depression information is detected by a sensor provided for each keyboard, and a performance is performed while listening to an electronic sound generated based on the detection result with headphones.

[0004]

However, in the sound reduction performance using the muffler pedal, since the hammer strikes the strings through the felt or the like, the touch feeling and the tone color are different from those in the normal performance. There is a drawback that it ends up. Further, since the degree of the sound reduction effect by the felt tends to be large in the high tone range and small in the low tone range, there is also a drawback that the overall volume balance is disturbed. In addition, when playing a mute piano, the mute piano produces only electronic sounds, which is different from the original acoustic sounds, and because headphones must be worn at all times, it is easy to get tired and practice for a long time. It is not suitable for, and has a drawback that it is expensive because a sensor is provided for each keyboard.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and the volume of a piano can be appropriately controlled with a relatively simple structure without changing the touch feeling and tone color. The purpose is to provide an adjusting device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a volume control device for a piano according to the present invention has a radiation passage for communicating the inside and outside of the piano and radiating the piano sound generated inside to the outside. It is characterized by comprising an operating member and an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the radiation passage in association with the operation of the operating member.

In this volume control device, the opening / closing mechanism opens / closes the radiation passage in association with the operation of the operating member. For example, when the operating member is not operated, the opening / closing mechanism closes the radiating passage to prevent the piano sound from radiating to the outside through the radiating passage. You can

On the other hand, when the operating member is operated, the opening / closing mechanism opens the radiating passage in synchronism with the operation, and the piano sound is radiated to the outside through the radiating passage, so that a louder volume is played. It can be performed. In this way, the volume can be switched between the low volume and the high volume and controlled appropriately by simply operating the operation member without changing the touch feeling or the tone color.

In this case, the operating member is preferably a pedal. According to this configuration, by stepping on the pedal with the legs, the volume can be appropriately controlled to a low volume and a high volume even during the performance of the piano.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3
Shows an upright piano to which the present invention is applied. As shown in these figures, the upright piano 1 includes a pair of left and right parent plates 2, 2, a bottom plate 3, an upper front plate 4, a lower front plate 5, a rear roof 6 and a front roof 7 as case parts C. Is equipped with. Further, a keyboard 8, an action 9, a string 10, a soundboard 11, etc. are provided in an internal space surrounded by these case parts C, and a hammer 12 of the action 9 is rotated when the keyboard 8 is pressed. A sound is generated from the soundboard 11 by moving and striking the string 10.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the case component C includes a sound insulating material 13 at the center and lauan plywood 14 on both sides of the sound insulating material 13.
14 and the decorative materials 15 and 15 on both sides thereof, which are made of phenol backer or the like, are laminated and adhered to each other. The sound insulating material 13 is composed of a commercially available sound insulating sheet, a vibration damping rubber sheet, or the like.

According to this structure, the sound generated by the sound board 11 by the striking string of the hammer 12 is shielded by the sound insulation material 13 when passing through the case component C, and is emitted to the outside in a reduced sound state. . In the upright piano, the ratio of the transmitted sound to the piano sound is very high due to its structure. Therefore, by providing the sound insulating material 13 in the case component C to reduce the transmitted sound as described above, the sound volume is effectively reduced. Can be reduced. In addition, since the sound is generated from the soundboard 11 by directly striking the string 10 with the hammer 12, the sound is reduced without changing the touch feeling or the tone color. You can

The case component C can be arbitrarily configured as long as it has the sound insulating material 13. The material of the sound insulating material 13 is
The number, arrangement, etc. can be changed as appropriate. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the sound insulating material 13 may be attached to the back surfaces of the decorative material 15 and the lauan plywood 14 that are adhered. . Further, the sound insulating material 13 may be provided only on a part of the case parts C having a large sound reducing effect.

Also, in this upright piano 1, 2
In the part where the two case parts C, C are butted against each other,
It has been covered. In the example shown in FIG. 5, a sealing material 16 is attached to the joint between each parent plate 2 and the upper front plate 4 so as to fill the gap. As a result, the gap at the joint between the main plate 2 and the upper front plate 4 is closed with the sealing agent 16 to prevent sound leakage from this part, so that the sound reduction effect can be further enhanced. In order to surely obtain the sound reduction effect by sealing, the sealing agent 16 is preferably a material having sound insulation and elasticity and having a certain thickness, for example, a commercially available tape made of high-density urethane rubber. Shaped items are suitable.

FIG. 6 shows another example for preventing sound leakage from the gap between the case parts. In this example, the flexible sound insulation sheet 17 is bent toward the joint between the main plate 2 and the upper front plate 4, and both ends thereof are crimped to the inner surfaces of the main plate 2 and the upper front plate 4. It was done. Sound insulation sheet 17
Is a rectangular shape having almost the same height as the upper front plate 4, one end of which is bonded to the inner surface of the main plate 2, and
With the whole body bent in a semi-cylindrical shape toward the joint between the main plate 2 and the upper front plate 4, the free other end is pressed against the inner surface of the upper front plate 4 only by its own elastic reaction force. There is.

In this structure, the sound insulation sheet 17 covers the entire joint between the main plate 2 and the upper front plate 4, and both ends thereof are crimped to the inner surfaces of the main plate 2 and the upper front plate 4, respectively. Similarly to the example of FIG. 5, it is possible to prevent sound leakage from the joint portion and obtain a sound reduction effect. Further, since only one end is bonded and the other end is pressure-bonded in a free state, there is an advantage that the upper front plate 4 can be attached and detached without any trouble during tuning. Of course, it is possible to bond both ends, but in view of the above advantages, one end bonding is preferable. When the elastic reaction force of the sound insulation sheet 17 is insufficient for the crimping force, it is preferable to use a leaf spring 18 made of steel, for example, as shown in FIG. As a result, the crimping force is increased by the spring force of the leaf spring 18, and sound leakage can be prevented more reliably.

Both FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the main board 2
This is an example in which the joint between the upper front plate 4 and the upper front plate 4 is targeted, but other parts where the two case components C, C are butted against each other, for example, the joint between the main plate 2 and the lower front plate 5, or A sealing agent 16 and a sound insulating sheet 17 may be similarly provided at the abutting portion between the upper front plate 4 and the roof front 7. Further, contrary to the example of FIG. 6, the sound insulating sheet 17 may be adhered only to the upper front plate 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower front plate 5 is constructed so that it can be opened and closed. More specifically, the lower front plate 5 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, it is composed of a fixed plate portion 5a that stands upright from the front base 19 and a movable plate portion 5b that is rotatably attached to the upper end of the fixed plate portion 5a via a hinge 20 (FIG. 2). reference). The hinge 20 has a predetermined angle α (for example, 30
It is a structure that can be rotated only in the range of (degrees). Also,
A stopper plate 22 is provided on the shelf plate 21 so as to project downward at a position facing the movable plate portion 5b.
2, a magnet push latch 23 is embedded, an iron plate 24 is attached to the back surface of the movable plate portion 5b correspondingly, and an operating knob 25 is attached to the front surface.

With the above construction, the movable plate portion 5b is closed by the magnet push latch 23 (see FIG. 7).
Can be opened and closed between a solid line position) and an open position (position indicated by a chain line in FIG. 2) opened by a predetermined angle α with respect to the fixed plate portion 5a. When the movable plate portion 5b is set to the closed position, the movable plate portion 5b can be played in the above-described sound reduction state, and when there is no fear of noise or the like.
With b being the open position, the sound can be emitted directly from the open portion, so that the performance can be performed at a higher volume. In this way, by opening and closing the movable plate portion 5b according to the playing environment, the volume can be switched between the low volume and the high volume and appropriately controlled without changing the touch feeling or the timbre.

Further, a flexible sound insulating sheet 26 is attached to the back surfaces of the fixed plate portion 5a and the movable plate portion 5b so as to cover them. Each end of the sound insulation sheet 26 is fixed by screws 28 via fixing plates 27. Thereby, sound leakage from the gap between the fixed plate portion 5a and the movable plate portion 5b can be reliably prevented by the sound insulation sheet 26. Since the sound insulation sheet 26 has flexibility, if it is attached with play,
It does not hinder the opening and closing of the movable plate portion 5b.

Note that the sound insulation sheet 26 may be directly bonded instead of being screwed to the fixed plate portion 5a and the movable plate portion 5b, or may be extended vertically as shown in FIG. The movable plate portion 5b may be attached so as to cover almost the entire surface thereof to prevent sound leakage more reliably. Further, FIG. 7 is an example in which the lower front plate 5 is configured to be openable and closable, but a similar configuration is applied to another case component C, for example, the upper front plate 4, instead of or simultaneously with the lower front plate 5. It is also possible to do so.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upright piano 1 further includes a back tone spreader 29 for radiating the piano sound to the outside and an opening / closing mechanism 30 for opening and closing the back tone spreader 29. The back tone spreader 29 has a box-like shape made of wood or resin, extends horizontally to cover almost the entire upright piano 1, and is mounted on the girder 31. In the back tone spreader 29, a radiation passage 32 having a trumpet-shaped cross-sectional shape that spreads outward is formed so as to communicate the inside and outside of the piano.

The opening / closing mechanism 30 opens / closes the radiation passage 32 in conjunction with the middle pedal 33. Specifically, the opening / closing mechanism 30 is rotatably attached to each main plate 2 via a pin 34, and has a lower end connected to a middle pedal 33 via a wire 35. Holder 36 (only one is shown), a pressing bar 37 made of aluminum cast material and the like held between the upper ends of the holder 36, and a cushion 38 made of urethane foam or the like adhered to the front surface of the pressing bar 37. , A coil spring 39 that constantly urges the holder 36 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1.

With this structure, when the middle pedal 33 is not stepped on, the holder 36 of the opening / closing mechanism 30 is rotated counterclockwise by the spring force of the coil spring 39, and the cushion 38 is rotated by the back tone spreader 29. The opening 32a inside the radiation passage 32 is blocked (solid line in FIG. 1). As a result, the emission of the piano sound through the radiating passage 32 is blocked, and the sound reduction performance can be performed in the sound reduction state.

On the other hand, when the middle pedal 33 is stepped on, the holder 36 is pulled by the wire 35 and pivots in the clockwise direction, so that the cushion 38 separates from the opening 32a to open the radiation passage 32 (see FIG. Two-dot chain line). As a result, the piano sound is radiated through the radiation passage 32, and the performance can be performed at a higher volume. In this way, by operating the middle pedal 33, the volume can be switched between the low volume and the high volume and controlled appropriately without changing the touch feeling or the tone color. Further, in this case, as compared with the case where the lower front plate 5 is opened and closed as described above, there is an advantage that the volume can be appropriately controlled during the performance by operating the middle pedal 33.

A sound insulation sheet may be attached to the front surface of the cushion 38 to further enhance the sound reduction effect during the sound reduction performance. Further, in the above example, the opening / closing mechanism 30 is interlocked with the middle pedal 33, but an operating lever is attached to the lower surface of the shelf board 21 as an operating member, and the opening / closing mechanism is interlocked with the manual operation of the operating lever. Three
It is also possible to activate 0.

Although the above-described embodiment is an example of an upright piano, the present invention is applicable to a grand piano as well.
Of course, it can be applied.

[0028]

As described in detail above, the volume control device for a piano according to the present invention is capable of appropriately controlling the volume with a relatively simple structure without changing the touch feeling and tone color. have.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an upright piano to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the upright piano of FIG.

3 is an external perspective view of the upright piano of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a case part.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of preventing sound leakage between case parts.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example different from FIG.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a configuration of a lower front plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Upright piano 30 Opening / closing mechanism 32 Radiation passage 33 Medium pedal

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A radiating passage that communicates the inside and outside of the piano and radiates the piano sound generated inside to the outside, an operating member, and an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the radiating passage in association with the operation of the operating member. And a volume control device for a piano. 2. The volume control device for a piano according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is a pedal.