JPH11219165A - Damper for piano - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a damper for a piano, capable of properly stopping the sound of a string in low and medium compass without any need of the high accuracy of an alignment work with the string. SOLUTION: A damper 11 has a string contact part 17, and allows or stops sound generation through the vibration of a string S, as a result of the contact and separation of the string contact part 17 with and from the string S, interlocked with the operation of a keyboard 2. In this case, the string contact part 17 has a flat string contact plane 18a extended along the array direction of the string S, and is formed out of an elastic material capable of attenuating the vibratory component of the string S along the array thereof via the deformation of the string contact plane 18a like biting into the string S, upon contact therewith.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a damper for an acoustic piano, which permits and stops sound generation due to vibration of a string by moving in and out of the string in conjunction with operation of a keyboard in an acoustic piano.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows a general configuration of an action of an upright piano. Hereinafter, the description will be made with the back side as “front” and the near side as “back” when viewed from the keyboard side of the piano. This action 50 is
A rotatable wippen 3 mounted on each keyboard 2 via a capstan screw 6 on each keyboard 2, a jack 4 rotatably attached to the whippen 3, and a rotatable whippen 3. And a hammer 5. Keyboard 2
Is pressed by the capstan screw 6, the wippen 3 rotates upward and the jack 4
Rises and pushes up the hammer 5 at its tip. As a result, the hammer 5 rotates forward (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), strikes the string S, and vibrates, thereby generating a piano sound.

The action 50 further includes a damper. FIG. 4 shows a conventional damper 51. The damper 51 includes a rotatable damper lever 12 (see FIG. 3), a damper wire 13 made of, for example, mild steel and extending upward from the damper lever 12. Damper block 14 fixed to the upper end of damper wire 13
And a damper cloth 15, a damper head 16, and a string contact portion 57 which are sequentially bonded to the front surface of the damper block 14.

The string contact portion 57 is made of a wool felt 5
8 and one keyboard 2 as shown in FIG.
In accordance with the number of the strings S provided in, three types of cross sectional type felts 58 are used properly. That is, in the bass range where one string S is provided for each key, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
A single string damper 51a using 8a (hereinafter referred to as "M-type felt") is used. In the midrange where two strings S, S are provided, as shown in FIG. 4B, two strings using a felt 58b having a triangular cross section (hereinafter referred to as “V-shaped felt”) having a convex front end side are used. A string damper 51b is used. Further, in the middle and high range where three strings S, S, S are provided, as shown in FIG. 3C, a felt 58c (hereinafter, referred to as a “flat type”) having a flat contact surface 58e with the string S is provided. A three-string damper 51c using "felt") is used.

According to the configuration of the damper 51, the keyboard 2
When the whippen 3 is rotated by the key depression, the damper spoon 22 attached to the whippen 3 is moved to the damper lever 12.
Is pressed, the damper 51 rotates clockwise in FIG. As a result, before the hammer 5 strikes the string S, the string contact portion 57 separates from the string S and allows sounding due to the vibration. Thereafter, when the keyboard 2 is released, the damper lever 12 rotates counterclockwise by the spring force of the damper lever spring 21 and the string contact portion 57
By pressing this, the sound generation is stopped (stop sound).

At the time of stopping the sound, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of the single string damper 51a, the M-shaped felt 58a is used.
In the case of the two-string damper 51b, the V-shaped felt 58b abuts in a wedge-like manner between the two strings S, S in the case of the two-string damper 51b. As a result, the vibration of the string S is attenuated for both the front and rear and the left and right components, thereby stopping the sound. Further, in the case of the three-string damper 51c, the string S in the middle and high frequency range is relatively easily attenuated.
By simply abutting the flat contact surface 58e of c on the string S, the vibration is attenuated and the sound is stopped.

[0007]

However, as is apparent from the above-described configuration, in order to properly stop sound with the conventional single-string damper 51a or double-string damper 51b,
These need to be accurately aligned with the string S in the left-right direction. For example, FIG. 6 shows a two-string damper 51b.
Indicates that the two strings S, S are installed to be biased to one side. In this situation, since the V-shaped felt 58b abuts on the other string S at all or insufficiently, not only the sound stopping of the other string S becomes impossible or insufficient, but also the V-shaped felt 58b is displaced from the string S. A sound is generated by rubbing one of the strings S every time it separates, and this sound is mixed as noise in a regular piano sound produced by striking the hammer 5. Although not shown, the M of the single string damper 51a is not shown.
It is clear that even when the mold felt 58a is displaced in the left-right direction, poor sound stopping occurs due to the sound stopping mechanism.

For this reason, in the conventional damper 51, in particular, the single-string damper 51a and the double-string damper 51b
, The M-shaped felt 58a and the V-shaped felt 58b
Must be accurately aligned with the string S for each damper 51 such that the center of the string S and the center between the strings S, S respectively match. Conventionally, this alignment work has been performed by bending a mild steel damper wire 13 or the like, and requires a high level of technology and a great deal of time, which contributes to an increase in cost.

As shown in FIG. 7, for example, the felt of the single-string damper 51a is removed by such a positioning operation.
If the flat felt 58c has the same shape as the three-string damper 51c, the shape can be omitted. In this case, the longitudinal component of the vibration of the string S (A direction in the figure) can be attenuated relatively well. However, the vibration component in the left-right direction (B direction) cannot be sufficiently attenuated, resulting in poor sound stopping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and satisfactorily stops a low-middle range string without requiring a highly accurate alignment operation with the string. The aim is to provide a piano damper that can.

[0011]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention has a string contact portion, and the string contact portion separates from and comes into contact with the string in accordance with the operation of the keyboard, thereby causing the vibration of the string. A damper for a piano which permits and stops the sounding of the piano, wherein the string contact portion has a flat string contact surface extending along the direction in which the strings are arranged, and the string contact surface contacts the string. It is characterized by being formed of an elastic material capable of attenuating the vibration component of the string in the direction in which the strings are arranged by deforming so as to cut into the string.

According to this damper for a piano, when the keyboard is released, the string contact surface of the string contact portion made of an elastic material abuts against the vibrating string and presses it.
The vibration component of the string in the contact direction is attenuated. Further, the flat string contact surface is deformed so as to bite into the string when it comes into contact with the string, thereby restraining and attenuating vibration components in the direction in which the strings are arranged. As described above, the vibration of the string can be reliably attenuated not only in the component in the contact direction of the damper but also in the component in the direction in which the strings are arranged due to the deformation of the string contact surface. Even in the low-mid range where the string S is provided, the sound can be stopped well. Also, since the string contact surface extends flat along the direction in which the strings are arranged, even if the string contact portion of the damper is slightly displaced from the strings in the direction in which the strings are arranged, the above-described operation can be reliably performed. This eliminates the need for highly accurate alignment with the strings.

In this case, it is preferable that the elastic material is formed of one of foamed resin, silicone gel and rubber.

According to this structure, by using the above-mentioned material having substantially the same elasticity as felt as the elastic material constituting the string contact portion, the above-described function of the damper can be realized, and the damper can be made relatively inexpensive. Can be configured.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a damper of an upright piano to which the present invention is applied. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for elements having the same configuration as the conventional damper described above.

The damper 11 is commonly used in a low frequency range where one string S is provided and a middle frequency range where two strings S are provided. The damper 11 is fixed to a damper lever 12 (see FIG. 3) whose center is rotatably supported, a mild steel damper wire 13 extending upward from the damper lever 12, and an upper end of the damper wire 13. Damper block 14, a damper cloth 15 made of felt or the like adhered to the front surface thereof, a wooden plate-shaped damper head 16 adhered to the front surface thereof, and adhered to the front surface of the damper head 16 to face the string S. A string contact portion 17 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the string contact portion 17
The upper and lower blocks 18 are divided into two blocks 18. Each block 18 is made of a material having substantially the same elasticity as felt, for example, a hard foamed resin, silicon gel, or soft rubber. As shown in FIG. 2, the front surface of the block 18 is a flat string contact surface 18 b extending in the left-right direction, that is, along the direction in which the strings S are arranged, and the hardness of the block 18 When the string S abuts, the string abutment surface 18b cuts into the string S (see FIG. 2) and is selected so as to restrain the vibration component of the string S in the left-right direction. In the case where the string contact portion 17 is made of a foamed resin, for example, adopting hard urethane foam containing bituminous material can reduce the sound of a low-pitched string which is generally difficult to stop. It is particularly preferable for good performance.

Next, the operation of the damper 11 having the above configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the damper 11 is incorporated as a part of the action 50 similarly to the conventional damper 51, and its basic operation is the same as the conventional damper 51. That is, as the keyboard 2 is depressed, the damper spoon 22 attached to the wippen 3 presses the damper lever 12 and rotates it clockwise in FIG. Before striking a string,
The string contact portion 17 separates from the string S, and allows sounding due to its vibration. By maintaining this state while the keyboard 2 is being pressed, sound generation is continued. Thereafter, when the keyboard 2 is released, the damper lever 12 rotates counterclockwise by the spring force of the damper lever spring 21, and the string contact surfaces 18 a, 18 a of the string contact portion 17 contact the strings S. The sound is stopped by contact.

In this case, the string contact surface 18a of the string contact portion 17 made of an elastic material abuts against the string S and presses the string S to attenuate the vibration component of the string S in the front-back direction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the flat string contact surface 18a is deformed so as to bite into the string S.
8b restrains and attenuates the vibration component of the string S in the left-right direction. As described above, the vibration of the string S can be reliably attenuated not only in the front-back direction component but also in the left-right direction component by the deformation of the string contact surface 18a. Even in the low-middle tone range provided, sound can be stopped well. Further, since the string contact surface 18a extends flat along the left-right direction, even if the string contact portion 17 is slightly displaced in the left-right direction, the above-described operation can be reliably obtained. This eliminates the need for high-precision alignment work.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be implemented in various modes.
For example, as the elastic material constituting the string contact portion 17, any material other than that shown in the embodiment can be adopted as long as the spirit of the present invention is met. Although the embodiment is an example of a damper of an upright piano, it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to a damper of a grand piano.

[0021]

As described above, the damper for a piano according to the present invention can satisfactorily stop the strings in the low-mid range without the need for a high-precision alignment operation with the strings. It has effects such as.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a damper of an upright piano according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state in which the damper is in contact with a string.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a situation when a string contact portion of the damper of FIG. 1 contacts a string.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an action including a damper.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a conventional damper.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of three types of conventional dampers in a state in which they are in contact with strings.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a situation when a conventional damper is installed shifted.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a situation when a flat felt is used for a low string.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Keyboard 11 Damper 17 String contact portion 18a String contact surface 18b Deformed portion S string

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A damper for a piano having a string contact portion, wherein the string contact portion is separated from and attached to a string in response to operation of a keyboard, thereby permitting and stopping sound generation due to vibration of the string. The string contact portion has a flat string contact surface extending along the direction in which the strings are arranged, and the string contact surface is deformed so as to bite into the string when the string contact surface contacts the string. A damper for a piano, comprising a resilient material capable of attenuating vibration components of strings in a row direction. 2. The piano damper according to claim 1, wherein the elastic material is made of one of foamed resin, silicone gel, and rubber.