JPH1020857A - Keyboard device of keyboard musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard device of a keyboard musical instrument having a key driving mechanism which is simple in construction, allows the reduction of its size and cost and is highly practicably usable. SOLUTION: An electromagnetic actuator 20 of a bidirectional driving type is arranged below a key 1 energized in a key depression direction by a key depression spring 10 and its plunger 50 is depressed to a key 1. This plunger 50 is supported by a key release spring 11 to balance the key 1 in a rest position by means of both springs 10, 11. The rear surface of the plunger 50 is equipped with a key sensor 60 for detecting the position of the key 1. Automatic playing or tactile control is executed by driving the plunger 50 in according with the key depression information detected by this key sensor 60 and the position information of the key 1. Since the key 1 is energized in both directions of the key depression and the key release, the plunger 50 is surely pressed to the key 1 and the smaller driving electric power of the electromagnetic actuator 20 is necessitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard device for a keyboard instrument, which is capable of giving an appropriate driving force to a key of a keyboard to perform an automatic performance, a touch feeling, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some keyboard musical instruments give a new playing form or playing effect in addition to a normal playing by giving a driving force to a key. For example, an automatic piano
The performance is automatically performed by driving a key based on performance data recorded in advance. Further, in electronic keyboard instruments such as electronic pianos, force sense control means for giving a player a touch feeling of keys unique to an acoustic piano has been developed. The force sense control means applies a reaction force to the key in accordance with control information such as the position and acceleration of the key or the force of operating the key of the player, and the player learns the reaction force with the finger as the touch feeling. And so on.

When a driving force is applied to a key, a solenoid type electromagnetic actuator is mainly used to actually drive the key. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-111631, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-11765, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-204
Japanese Patent No. 697 discloses a technique for reproducing keys by driving a key of an electronic keyboard instrument with a plunger of an electromagnetic actuator. In these publications, generally, the key is rotatably supported via a rotation fulcrum, and a return force is applied by a spring. The plunger of the electromagnetic actuator is pin-connected to the rotation end of the key. I have.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-232691 discloses a technique in which a magnetic force acts between a magnet attached to a key and an electromagnet to drive the key in a non-contact manner to apply a reaction force to the key. I have.

[0005]

When the plunger of the electromagnetic actuator is pin-coupled to the key as in the former case,
It is assumed that generation of a certain amount of play at the joint is unavoidable due to its structure. Since such play causes an operation error, it is necessary to minimize the play. For this purpose, it is sufficient to integrate the connected state. However, when integrated, it is difficult to maintain the operation reliability for a long period of time, and there is an inconvenience that the assemblability is deteriorated and the position adjustment is complicated. In addition, the orbit drawn by the connecting portion between the rotating member and the plunger during operation is, of course, arc-shaped, and thus requires a complicated connecting member such as a universal joint that corrects the orbital deviation between the two. There have been various problems such as balance of touch feeling based on the structure, reliability and cost. In addition, in order to drive the key against a spring that gives a restoring force, a correspondingly large electromagnetic actuator is required. On the other hand, in the latter case, in which the key is driven by magnetic force, it is necessary to set the magnetic force of the magnet and the drive current of the electromagnet to have a sufficient capacity in order to secure the force for driving the key. And a disadvantage that it is not practical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a keyboard musical instrument provided with a highly practical key drive mechanism by solving the above problems while simplifying the structure, reducing the size and cost. It is intended to provide a keyboard device.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a keyboard device for a keyboard musical instrument in which a plurality of keys are rotatably arranged in parallel, the key being pressed in a key pressing direction. A direction urging member, a key releasing direction urging member for urging the key in the key releasing direction, and cooperating with the key pressing direction urging member to balance the key to the rest position; An actuator driven by an appropriate driving force, performance information detecting means for detecting the operation of the key being pressed, and applying the necessary driving force to the actuator based on the performance information obtained by the performance information detecting means. And a drive control means. In the invention according to claim 2, at least one of the key pressing direction urging member and the key releasing direction urging member is
It is characterized by being used in combination as the performance information detecting means. The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the performance information detected by the performance information detecting means is key depression information indicating whether or not the key is depressed. Claim 4
The performance information detected by the performance information detecting means is position information of the pressed key.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (1) First Embodiment A. Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a keyboard device of an electronic keyboard instrument such as an electronic piano according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the keyboard device. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes one of a large number of keys constituting a keyboard device, and reference numeral 2 denotes a keyboard frame that supports the key 1 rotatably. The performer is the key 1
Press the key at the front end on the right side in the figure to play. Keyboard frame 2
Is composed of a lower plate 3, an upper plate 4 that covers the rear end of the lower plate 3 and is attached to the lower plate 3, and a support plate 5 that is attached between the plates 3 and 4. It is composed of a combination and opens forward. The key 1 is inserted into the keyboard frame 2 from the front opening, and is rotatably supported by the support plate 5 via the support point 6 at the rear end. At the front end of the lower plate 4, a support 7 extending in the arrangement direction of the keys 1 is placed.
A front pin 8 that is fixed and protrudes upward is provided on the support base 7 in correspondence with the key 1. These front pins 8 are inserted into the back of each key 1 and rotate the key 1.
Regulates the lateral deflection of the

A plate-like key-pressing spring (key-pressing-direction urging member) 10 for urging the key 1 in the key-pressing direction is attached to the inner surface of the upper plate 4. This key press spring 1
In the reference numeral 0, the base end portion is fixed to the inner surface of the upper plate 4 and extends forward, and the curved front end portion elastically contacts the upper surface of the rear end portion of the key 1.

On the other hand, on the lower surface of the lower plate 3, a bidirectional drive type electromagnetic actuator 20 for applying a predetermined driving force to the key 1 and a key sensor for detecting the pressed state of the key 1 and the position of the key 1 are provided. (Information detecting means) 60 is attached. In the electronic keyboard instrument of the present embodiment, the electromagnetic actuator 20 can perform two performance modes, an automatic performance in which the performance is automatically performed, and a force sense control in which the touch feeling of an acoustic piano is reproduced by imitating. .

The electromagnetic actuator 20 comprises a combination of an upper backward solenoid 30 and a lower forward solenoid 40. Solenoids 30 and 40 include yokes 31 and 41 and solenoid coils 32 and 42, respectively.
It is composed of One plunger 50 is inserted into the upper and lower solenoid coils 32 and 42. The electromagnetic actuators 20 are arranged in a staggered manner along the direction in which the keys 1 are arranged, with the adjacent keys 1 and the front and rear arrangements being alternately changed. A bottom plate 54 is fixed to the lower surface of the yoke 41 of the forward solenoid 40. The plunger 50 is connected to each of the solenoid coils 32, 42.
The main body 51 is slidably fitted in the body,
From both ends of the body 51, an upper rod 52 and a lower rod 53 respectively extend along the axis. The upper rod 52 penetrates the lower plate 3 of the keyboard frame 2,
The cushion 52 a attached to the tip is in contact with the lower surface of the key 1. On the other hand, the lower rod 53 penetrates through the bottom plate 54, and its tip is in contact with a key sensor 60 described later.

A coil-shaped key release spring (key release direction urging member) 11 is interposed between the bottom plate 54 and the body 51 of the plunger 50. The key release spring 11 urges the entire plunger 50 upward through the body 51, and therefore the key 1 is
1 is urged in the key release direction. The key 1 is urged in the key-depressing direction by the key-pressing spring 10 and urged in the key-release direction by the key-release spring 11, and the two springs 10 whose urging directions are opposed to each other.
The key 1 is balanced to the rest position by the cooperating movement of the keys 11. In this balanced state, both springs 10 and 11 are compressed to some extent and have elasticity.

As shown in FIG. 3, the key sensor 60 is formed by attaching a plurality of strain gauges 62 to an elongated thin elastic plate 61. One end of the key sensor 60 is fixed to the lower surface of the bottom plate 54, and the other end is fixed to the free end. The lower rod 53 of the plunger 50 is in contact. When the key 1 is pressed, the plunger 50 moves down and pushes the elastic plate 61 downward. The degree of distortion generated in the elastic plate 61 when the elastic plate 61 is pressed is detected by the strain gauge 62, and the detection signal is output as key press information and position information of the key 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the output information is recorded as recording data (drive control unit) 6 such as a floppy disk as performance data of an automatic performance.
9 and supplied to a memory (drive control means) 70 for force sense control.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electromagnetic actuator 2
0 is the solenoid coil 3 of each solenoid 30, 40
The first and second drive circuits (drive control means) 71 and the second drive circuit (drive control means) 72 for force sense control are supplied to the drive circuits 2 and 42 by driving current. Has become. When a driving current is supplied to the solenoid coil 32 of the forward solenoid 30, the plunger 50 moves down and the key 1 rotates in the key pressing direction. When a drive current is supplied to the solenoid coil 42 of the return solenoid 40, the plunger 50 moves upward, the key 1 rotates in the key release direction, and returns to the rest position.

In the electronic keyboard instrument according to the present embodiment, as described above, two performance modes of automatic performance and force sense control are executed. In the automatic performance, when a drive current is supplied from the first drive circuit 71 to the solenoid coil 42 of the electromagnetic actuator 20 based on the performance data recorded in the recording means 69, the key 1 is given a key-pressing operation, Is performed. On the other hand, in the force sense control, in order to reproduce a unique touch feeling (resistance) felt by the finger based on the action of the action of the acoustic piano by the electromagnetic actuator 20, a reaction force characteristic corresponding to the touch feeling is determined by a key 1. Give to. The reaction force characteristic changes every moment depending on the position of the key 1, so that the position of the key 1 is
0 is detected. The position information of the key 1 detected by the key sensor 60 is supplied to the memory 70. The memory 70 stores a touch table in which the reaction force to be applied to the key 1 is patterned according to the position of the key 1, and the magnitude of the drive current according to the touch table is determined by the second drive. Instructed by the circuit 72. Then, the second driving circuit 7
2, the drive current corresponding to the position of the key 1 is supplied to the solenoid coil 3242.

B. Following the operation of the first embodiment, illustrating the automatic performance and the force control is playing the form of a keyboard instrument according to the present embodiment. B-1. The performance data recorded in the "automatic performance" recording means 69 is sequentially read out as time passes. Based on this performance data,
A drive current is supplied from the first drive circuit 71 to the solenoid coil 42 of the solenoid 40, and key press and key release are repeated. Key press and key release are performed as follows. First, a drive current is supplied to the solenoid coil 42 of the forward moving solenoid 40, and the plunger 50 moves downward. Then
The key 1 rotates downward by the urging force of the key pressing spring 10. As a result, a key is depressed, and a key-on signal is sent to the electronic sound source to produce a musical sound. In this state, if a drive current is supplied to the solenoid coil 32 of the forward solenoid 30, the key 1 starts to rotate upward by the urging force of the key release spring 11. As a result, the key is released, a key-off signal is sent to the electronic sound source, and the generation of a musical tone is stopped. That is, the automatic performance operation can be performed only by the solenoid coil 32. By such movement of the plunger 50 of the electromagnetic actuator 20, a key pressing operation based on the performance data is performed, and an automatic performance is performed.

B-2. When the key 1 is pressed by the "force control" player, the position of the key 1 is detected by the key sensor 60, and the position information of the key 1 is stored in the memory 70.
Supplied to Next, depending on the position of the key 1, the degree of the reaction force of the key 1 at that position is determined based on the touch table stored in the memory 70, and the driving force corresponding to the reaction force is determined by the key 1 , A drive current is supplied from the second drive circuit 72 to the solenoid coil 32. Then, the plunger 50 has a strength corresponding to the drive current.
Gives the key 1 a reaction force. Since the touch feeling of the key 1 is caused by the resistance feeling given to the finger, the basic operation is to brake the key 1 with the plunger 50 when the key is pressed. Then, a braking force, that is, a reaction force according to the position of the key 1 is applied to the key 1. As described above, the reaction force is applied to the key 1 by the plunger 50, so that the player can
To get a sense of touch according to the position of. Then, this touch feeling is continuously obtained according to the touch table for each position as the key 1 rotates.

According to the first embodiment, the key 1 is urged in the key depressing direction by the key depressing spring 10 and in the key depressing direction by the key depressing spring 11. By moving, the key 1 is balanced at the rest position. And on the underside of this key 1,
Plunger 5 of electromagnetic actuator 20 for driving key 1
Zero upper rod 52 is in contact. This upper rod 5
2 naturally touches the lower surface of the key 1 when the key is pressed, and
Again, the urging force of the key release spring 11 makes contact with the lower surface of the key 1. That is, the upper rod 52 of the plunger 50 that drives the key 1 always keeps the key 1
Abuts the lower surface of. That is, the plunger 50 and the key 1 are always in contact with each other due to the force of the key pressing spring 10 and the key releasing spring 11, and the play is suppressed to a minimum or the play does not occur even though they are not integrally connected. Accordingly, the key 1 is driven smoothly, long-term operation reliability is maintained, and the assemblability is improved. Further, since the upper rod 52 of the plunger 50 is merely brought into contact with the key 1, the structure is simplified, and the adjustment of the mutual positional relationship can be easily changed. Also, the deviation of the intersection trajectory between the rotation and the linear movement can be achieved by rough positioning if the contact points are kept sufficiently smooth by applying a tape having good lubrication.

Since the key 1 is urged by the springs 10 and 11 in the key pressing direction and the key releasing direction as described above, the driving force of the electromagnetic actuator 20 for rotating the key 1 is small. . That is, when the key 1 is rotated in the key pressing direction by the forward movement solenoid 40, the key pressing spring 10
When the key 1 is rotated in the key release direction by the return solenoid 30, the biasing force of the key release spring 11 is applied. Therefore, when the key 1 is rotated in any direction, the urging force of each of the springs 10 and 11 is applied. As a result, the driving force of the electromagnetic actuator 20 can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced by reducing the driving power, and the electromagnetic actuator 20 can be downsized.

(2) Second Embodiment A. Configuration of Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 80 in FIG. 4 denotes an electromagnetic actuator. The electromagnetic actuator 80 includes a solenoid 84 having a yoke 81, a solenoid coil 82, and a plunger 83, and is a one-way drive type in which the plunger 83 moves upward during operation. The plunger 83 has a main body 85 inserted into the solenoid coil 82, and a cushion 86 a at the tip of the upper rod 86 is
Is in contact with the lower surface.

Under the yoke 81, one end of an elongated plate spring-shaped key release spring 90 is fixed, and the free end of the key release spring 90 is attached to the body 8 of the plunger 83.
5 are supported. When the plunger 83 moves down as the key 1 is depressed, the key release spring 90 is elastically deformed and urges the key 1 through the plunger 83 in the key release direction. The key 1 has a key release spring 90
And the key press spring 10 cooperate,
Balanced at rest position.

As shown in FIG. 6, a strain gauge 62 is attached to the key release spring 90, and when the key 1 is pressed, the plunger 85 moves down and the key release spring 90 is moved.
Press down. When the key release spring 90 is pressed downward, the degree of distortion generated in the key release spring 90 is detected by the strain gauge 62, and the detection signal is output as key press information and position information of the key 1. That is, the key release spring 90 is also used as a key sensor (performance information detecting means) 91. Information output from the key sensor 91 is recorded as performance data of an automatic performance on a recording means 69 such as a floppy disk, and is supplied to a memory 70 for force sense control.

The electromagnetic actuator 80 includes a solenoid 8
The fourth solenoid coil 82 is driven by supplying a drive current from the second drive circuit 72.
When a drive current is supplied to the solenoid coil 82, the plunger 83 moves upward and the key 1 attempts to rotate in the key release direction. When the drive current to the solenoid coil 82 stops,
The plunger 83 moves down and the key 1 tries to rotate in the key pressing direction. However, actually, when a current is applied, it acts as a reaction force when a key is pressed with a finger, and when the current is turned off, the reaction force disappears. Return to the rest position.

B. Operation of Second Embodiment Next, the operation of the keyboard instrument of the second embodiment during force sense control will be described.

B-1. "Hap Control" As in the first embodiment, the position information of the key 1 is stored in the memory 70.
And the reaction force of the key 1 corresponding to the position of the key 1 is stored in the memory 7.
A drive current is supplied from the second drive circuit 72 to the solenoid coil 82 so that the key 1 is determined based on the touch table within 0 and a drive force corresponding to the reaction force is given to the key 1. Then, the plunger 83 brakes the key 1 with a strength corresponding to the drive current to give a reaction force. In this way, by applying a reaction force to the key 1 by the plunger 83, the player obtains a touch feeling according to the position of the key 1. And
This touch feeling is continuously obtained according to the touch table for each position as the key 1 rotates.

According to the second embodiment, the key release spring 90 for urging the key 1 in the key release direction and the key sensor 91 for detecting the position of the key 1 are used together. The cost reduction and reduction in size accompanying the reduction of the size are promoted.

The yoke 81, the solenoid coil 82
Is mechanically movable between the positions of the yoke 31 and the solenoid coil 32 in FIG. 1 and the positions of the yoke 41 and the solenoid coil 42, and each circuit surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 5 is provided. In the configuration of FIG. 4 as well, not only force sense control but also automatic performance can be executed.

(3) Modification of the Present Invention The plunger of the electromagnetic actuator may be connected to the key by means such as pin connection. An electromagnetic actuator that imparts a pivoting action to the key may be associated with a key press spring above the key. Further, a solenoid for automatic performance may be related to the key press spring, and a solenoid for force sense control may be related to the key release spring. Furthermore, if the pivot point of the key is in the middle of the key,
At the front or rear side of the pivot point, a key press spring,
A key release spring and an electromagnetic actuator can optionally be provided. The key sensor may be configured not to be displaced by the electromagnetic actuator but to directly detect the position of the key. Also, it is of course possible to use a non-contact type such as an optical sensor instead of a contact type such as a strain gauge. The key release spring may be provided so as to directly contact the key, similarly to the key press spring, in which case the plunger of the electromagnetic actuator is coupled to the key. Haptic control is a unique control form given to an electronic keyboard instrument such as an electronic piano, but if it is only for automatic performance, it can be applied to an acoustic piano, and only for haptic control, automatic performance only, or Whether to deploy both may be determined as needed.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the key is urged in both the key-pressing direction and the key-release direction by the key-pressing direction urging member and the key-releasing direction urging member. Since the key is driven by an actuator, the play at the contact point between the key and the actuator is minimized, simplifying the key drive mechanism and ensuring long-term reliability, and reducing the driving force of the actuator. Accordingly, miniaturization and downsizing are achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a keyboard device of an electronic keyboard instrument according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the keyboard device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the key sensor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a keyboard device of an electronic keyboard instrument according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the keyboard device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a key sensor according to a second embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... key, 10 ... key pressing spring (key pressing direction urging member),
11. Key release spring (key release direction urging member), 20, 8
0: electromagnetic actuator, 60, 91: key sensor (performance information detecting means), 69: recording means (drive control means), 70: memory (drive control means), 71: first drive circuit (drive control means), 72 ... Second drive circuit (drive control means).

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A keyboard device for a keyboard instrument in which a plurality of keys are rotatably arranged in parallel, a key pressing direction urging member for urging the keys in a key pressing direction, and a key pressing direction key in a key releasing direction. A key release direction urging member that urges and cooperates with the key pressing direction urging member to balance the key to the rest position; an actuator that drives the key with a required driving force; A keyboard comprising: performance information detecting means for detecting an operation of the key; and drive control means for applying the necessary driving force to the actuator based on the performance information obtained by the performance information detecting means. Keyboard device for musical instruments. 2. A keyboard for a keyboard instrument according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said key pressing direction urging member and said key releasing direction urging member is used in combination as said performance information detecting means. apparatus. 3. The keyboard of a keyboard instrument according to claim 1, wherein the performance information detected by the performance information detecting means is key depression information indicating whether or not the key has been depressed. apparatus. 4. The keyboard apparatus for a keyboard musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the performance information detected by said performance information detecting means is position information of said depressed key.