JPS6343513Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] This invention relates to an input device for an electronic musical instrument that uses breathing as an input means.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as an electronic musical instrument equipped with an input device that uses breathing as an input means, for example, a harmonica as shown in FIG. 1 has been considered. This type of harmonica has a harmonica body 1 formed with a channel 2 through which air flows when exhaled or inhaled, and a valve 3 that swings in response to the air flow is disposed within this channel 2. When the operating contact 4 is brought into contact with the stationary contact 5 by the swinging of the contact 3, a conductive signal is output from the electrodes 4a and 5a of each contact 4 and 5. In this case, the valve 3 is the harmonica body 1.
The arm portion 3a that protrudes to the outside of the flow path 2 passes through the insertion hole 1a, and penetrates the elastic rubber plate 6 that covers the insertion hole 1a.
is provided, and is designed to swing around this fulcrum 7 due to the flow of air in the flow path 2. Moreover, when the flow of air stops, it returns to its original position due to the elastic force of the elastic rubber plate 6. , the operating contact 4 is separated from the stationary contact 5 to cut off the current supply.
Note that the valve 3 shown in the figure is operated by inhalation during respiration, and in the case of exhalation, the valve 3 operates through the flow path 2.
It comes into contact with the inner stopper piece 2a to prevent it from swinging. In addition, 8a and 8b in the figure are harmonica body 1
It is the cover of

[Problems with conventional technology]

However, the above-mentioned harmonica input device has a complicated structure, which makes it difficult to mass-produce and increases costs.Furthermore, it operates unreliably and has problems with durability. . In particular, the adjustment of the load on the valve 3, which swings in response to breathing, is delicate, so there is a drawback that the adjustment is extremely troublesome.

[Purpose of invention]

This idea was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an extremely simple structure, excellent mass production, and
To provide an input device for an electronic musical instrument that can be manufactured at low cost, operates reliably, has excellent durability, and can easily adjust the load of a movable contact that conducts by contacting a fixed contact.

[Key points of the idea]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, this invention is equipped with a movable contact point provided on a flexible sheet such as a film that bends and deforms in response to the air flowing through the airway due to exhalation or inhalation. When the sheet is bent and deformed, the movable contact contacts the fixed contact, thereby outputting a conduction signal.

〔Example〕

An embodiment in which this invention is applied to an electronic harmonica will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

Figure 2 shows an electronic harmonica. This electronic harmonica 10 includes a scale designation hole section 11, a mini keyboard section 12, a speaker section 13, and a switch section 14.
etc. The scale designating hole section 11 is used to select and designate a scale by breathing by placing the mouth on the harmonica body 15, and has intake holes 16 and exhalation holes 17 arranged alternately in the order of the scales. The mini-keyboard section 12 has touch keys corresponding to white keys and black keys arranged in musical scale order. The speaker section 13 is for producing musical tones, and the upper switch section 14 is equipped with various switches for controlling power, mode switching, volume control, etc.

3A and 3B show the intake hole 16 in the scale designation hole section 11 of the electronic harmonica 10. FIG.
This intake hole 16 is a hole for causing the air inside the harmonica body 15 that constitutes the instrument body to flow out to the outside in response to an air intake operation by the player. The two printed circuit boards 18 and 19 are separated into two holes, a first air intake hole 16a and a second air intake hole 16b.
That is, the intake hole 16 is connected to the harmonica body 1.
5, a partition wall 15b formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the flat portion 15a, and the flat portion 15a.
It is surrounded by a closing portion 15c formed at the back end (right end in the figure) and the printed circuit boards 18 and 19. In this case, a communication hole 20 communicating with the outside of the intake hole 16 is formed in the printed circuit board 18 disposed on the upper part of the harmonica main body 15 at an intermediate portion thereof. This communication hole 20 allows external air to flow into the intake hole 16 by intake air. Further, on the upper surface of the printed circuit board 18, a fixed contact 21 and a movable contact 22 that contacts the fixed contact 21 so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the fixed contact 21 are provided. The fixed contact 21 is formed by printing conductive ink or the like on the left side of the edge of the communicating hole 20. Also,
The movable contact 22 is made of a long and thin flexible sheet such as a film that bends and deforms in accordance with the flow of air caused by intake air, and one end (the right end in the figure) is fixed to the right side of the printed circuit board 18, and the left side thereof is fixed to the right side of the printed circuit board 18. extends in parallel above the printed circuit board 18 by a spacer 23 provided on the printed circuit board 18, passes over the communication hole 20, and has its left end spaced apart above the fixed contact 21. In this case, the contacts 21 and 22 are connected to connection lines 24a and 24b connected on the printed circuit board 18, respectively. Further, a valve 25 is provided on the lower surface of the printed circuit board 18 to open and close the communication hole 20 . When external air flows into the communication hole 20 due to intake air, the valve 25 bends and deforms, causing the communication hole 20 to
The communication hole 20 is normally closed. Furthermore, the printed circuit board 1
8 and 19 are provided with metal covers 26 and 27 to cover them. An opening 2 is provided at the rear end of each of these covers 26, 27 (right end in the figure).
6a and 27a are formed. However, the flow path 28 through which air flows due to intake air is formed by the intake holes 16,
Communication hole 20, printed circuit board 18 and upper cover 2
6 and the opening 26 of the cover 26
It is composed of a. The movable contact 22 in the flow path 28 configured in this way is spaced apart above the fixed contact 21, as shown in normal FIG. ,
When the valve 25 that closes the communication hole 20 is opened and air flows as shown in FIG. It's summery.

On the other hand, the intake holes 16 and the exhalation holes 17 are arranged alternately as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. That is, the exhalation hole 17 is the same as the intake hole 1 described above.
6, the flat part 15 of the harmonica body 15
a, a partition wall 15b, a closing portion 15c, and two upper and lower rectangular cylindrical holes surrounded by printed circuit boards 18 and 19 disposed above and below these. In this case, a mountain-shaped constriction portion 29 is formed on the lower surface of the flat portion 15a of the harmonica body 15. Also,
A fixed contact 30 and a movable contact 31 that contacts the fixed contact 30 so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the fixed contact 30 are provided on the printed circuit board 19 disposed at the lower part of the harmonica body 15 so as to face the inside of the exhalation hole 17. The fixed contact 30 is made by printing conductive ink or the like directly below the aperture portion 29. In addition, the movable contact 31
is a long and thin flexible sheet such as a film that bends and deforms according to the flow of air caused by exhalation, and both ends of the sheet are connected to the spacer 3 provided on the printed circuit board 19.
It is fixedly attached so as to span over 2 and 32,
Usually, it is spaced above the fixed contact 30 as shown in FIG. 4A. In this case, each contact 3 above
0 and 31 are connected to connection lines 33a and 33b connected on the printed circuit board 19, respectively. Also,
A pore 34 communicating with the exhalation hole 17 and the outside is formed in the closing portion 15c of the harmonica body 15. However, the flow path 35 through which air flows due to exhalation is constituted by the exhalation hole 17 and the pores 34 described above. The movable contact 31 disposed within the exhalation hole 17 of this flow path 35 is normally spaced apart above the fixed contact 30 as shown in FIG. When you breathe in,
As shown in FIG. 4B, the blown air is throttled by the throttle section 29, and the center of the movable contact 31 is pushed down by the squeezed air, deformed and brought into contact with the fixed contact 30. .

Next, the operation of the electronic harmonica 10 configured as described above will be explained. In this case, the user operates the switch section 14 to change the mode to the mouse mode, and sets the scale designation hole section 11 and the mini-keyboard section 12 so that they do not sound at the same time.
In this state, put your mouth on the scale designation hole part 11, and the intake holes 16 and the exhalation holes 1 are arranged alternately in the order of the scale.
7. Breathe through the desired hole. At this time, for example, when breathing through the intake hole 16 as shown in FIG. 3, the valve 25 opens due to the inhalation, and
As shown in the figure, air flows in the flow path 28, and this air flow causes the movable contact 22 to bend and deform downward.
Its left end contacts the fixed contact 21, and the connecting wire 24
A conductive signal is output from a and 24b. When the conduction signal is output in this manner, a musical tone, that is, a musical tone of a scale corresponding to the air intake hole 16 is emitted from the speaker section 13 via a predetermined circuit.

In the embodiment of the intake hole shown in FIG. 3, the movable contact 22 is provided on the outside of the intake hole 16, and the valve 25 on the communication hole 20 opens only during exhalation, creating an airflow and causing the switch to operate. Therefore, even if you blow into the intake hole 16, the contact area will not get wet with saliva etc.
Good operation is always obtained.

For example, when breathing through the exhalation hole 17,
This time, air is blown into the exhalation hole 17 by exhalation, this blown air is squeezed by the throttle part 29, and this squeezed air causes the movable contact 31 to move to the fourth position.
As shown in FIG. B, it is pushed down and deformed, and comes into contact with the fixed contact 30. In this way, the movable contact 31
contacts the fixed contact 30, the connecting wires 33a, 3
A conduction signal is outputted from 3b, and this signal is output as a musical tone from the speaker section 13 through a predetermined circuit in the same manner as described above.

In the embodiment of the exhalation hole shown in FIG. 4, both ends of the flexible sheet 31 are fixedly and closely attached, so that the contact parts are prevented from getting wet with saliva during exhalation, and the exhalation hole 17 is Since the constricted portion 29 is formed in the center, the airflow passing through the constricted portion 29 is strengthened, making the flexible sheet more flexible, and there is an advantage that good contact operation can be achieved.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the switch section 14
By operating and switching the mode to mouse mode, the scale designation hole section 11 and the mini keyboard section 1 can be
2 and 2 do not sound at the same time, this embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the scale designation hole section 11 and the mini-keyboard section 12 may be operated at the same time to output each signal at the same time, and each musical tone of both may be outputted at the same time. may be pronounced simultaneously. In this way, for example, by playing a melody using the scale designation hole section 11 and simultaneously providing accompaniment using the mini-keyboard section 12, it is possible to enjoy an ensemble performance using one electronic harmonica.

Further, in the above embodiment, the intake hole 16 and the exhalation hole 1
7, fixed contacts 21, 30, movable contacts 22, 3
1 and the flow paths 28 and 35 are different, but the combination of the contacts and flow paths is not limited to this, and any one of the combinations can be used to connect the intake hole 16 and the exhalation hole 17. The intake holes 16 and the exhalation holes 17 may be arranged alternately, or the mouthpiece may have only one of the intake holes and the exhalation holes. Further, the signal outputted from this is not limited to the scale designation signal of the main tone, but may be a signal of a derived tone, or may be a simple conductive signal.

Furthermore, this invention can be widely applied as an input device not only to the above-mentioned electronic harmonica but also to electronic musical instruments such as electronic organs.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, in the input device of the electronic musical instrument according to this invention, in response to the intake operation, the valve provided at the first intake hole side of the separating part for separating the inside of the intake hole is opened, and the flexible sheet is flexibly deformed by the negative pressure generated during the opening operation, and at that time, the flexible sheet is electrically connected to the fixed contacts, thereby outputting a musical tone control signal. Therefore, with an extremely simple structure, not only can the musical tone control signal be reliably output in response to the intake operation, but also, in the position on the second intake hole side opposite the first intake hole where the valve is provided,
Since the fixed contact and flexible sheet are provided, even if an exhalation operation is mistakenly performed instead of an inhalation operation through the intake hole, and saliva or the like flows into the first intake hole that constitutes the intake hole, the fixed contact and flexible sheet do not get wet, and good contact operation can always be performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the main parts of a conventional electronic harmonica.
Figures 2 to 4 show an embodiment of this invention, with Figure 2 being a perspective view of an electronic harmonica, and Figure 3 being a perspective view of an electronic harmonica.
Figure A is an enlarged sectional view showing the intake hole, Figure 3B is a sectional view showing the operating state of the intake hole, Figure 4A is an enlarged sectional view showing the exhalation hole, and Figure 4B is an enlarged sectional view of the exhalation hole. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an operating state. 21, 30... Fixed contact, 22, 31... Movable contact, 28, 35... Channel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A musical instrument body having an intake hole for sucking air out to the outside in response to an intake operation, and two holes, a first intake hole and a second intake hole, inside the intake hole of the instrument body. a communication hole formed in the separation part and communicating the first intake hole and the second intake hole, and a communication hole provided at a position of the separation part on the side of the first intake hole. and into the first intake hole from the second intake hole side,
Depending on the intake pressure applied through the communication hole,
a movable valve that is provided at a position on the second intake hole side of the partition and that is deflected in a direction to close the communication hole by negative pressure generated when the valve is opened; an electrically conductive flexible sheet constituting a contact; and a conductive flexible sheet provided at a position on the second intake hole side of the separation part, and electrically conductive with the flexible sheet when the flexible sheet is bent and deformed. What is claimed is: 1. An input device for an electronic musical instrument, comprising: a fixed contact for outputting a musical tone control signal;