US3747461A

US3747461A - Piano action with sostenuto mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3747461A
Application number: US00244045A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Yui
Original assignee: Nippon Gakki Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nippon Gakki Co Ltd
Priority date: 1971-04-19
Filing date: 1972-04-14
Publication date: 1973-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-24

Abstract

In a piano action, a damper lever, pivoted intermediate thereof and with its damper biased toward the string, has a tab portion extending in the side opposite to the damper side. A sostenuto block, rotatably supported beside the tab portion, has a lip portion rotatable against a biasing force and resting on a stop. The rotation of the block causes the lip portion to come near and away from the tab portion. When the block is rotated while the damper is brought away from the string upon depression of the key, the lip portion catches the tab portion and prevents the damper from coming into contact with the string even after release of the depressed key so long as the block is in a rotated position, thus permitting the string struck by the hammer to continue its vibration so that a sustaining tone is obtained. A plurality of such sustenuto blocks for a plurality of damper levers are fixed to a transversely extending rockable rail, so that the rail rotates all of the blocks at one time. When the damper levers other than the one which the lip portion has caught are to be rotated while all of the blocks are in rotated position, the damper levers to be rotated are permitted their rotation by their tab portions pushing and rotating the corresponding lip portions against the biasing force imparted thereto.

Description

United States Patent 1 Yui [ July 24, 1973 PIANO ACTION WITH SOSTENUTO MECHANISM [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha, Shizuoka-ken, Japan [22] Filed: Apr. 14, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 244,045

Akira Yui, Hamamatsu, Japan [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-Richard B..Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin Attorney-Robert D. Flynn, Leonard Holtz et a1.

57 ABSTRACT In a piano action, a damper lever, pivoted intermediate thereof and with its damper biased toward the string, has a tab portion extending in the side opposite to the damper side. A sostenuto block, rotatably supported beside the tab portion, has a lip portion rotatable against a biasingforce and resting on a stop. The rotation of the block causes the lip portion to come near and away from the tab portion. When the block is rotated while the damper is brought away from the string upon depression of the key, the lip portion catches the tab portion and prevents the damper from coming into contact with the string even after release of the depressed key so long as the block is in a rotated position, thus permitting the string struck by the hammer to continue its vibration so that a sustaining tone is obtained.

A plurality of such sustenuto blocks for a plurality of damper levers are fixed to a transversely extending rockable rail, so that the rail rotates all of the blocks at one time. When the damper levers other than the one which the lip portion has caught are to be rotated while all of the blocks are in rotated position, the damper levers to be rotated are permitted their rotation by their tab portions pushing and rotating the corresponding lip portions against the biasing force imparted thereto.

18 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PIANO ACTION WITH SOSTENUTO MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a piano action and more particularly to the sostenuto mechanism thereof, especially adapted for an upright piano.

With the ordinary piano action, key depression causes the wippen and in consequence the damper lever to rotate. Accordingly, the damper is moved away from the string and is held up, allowing a hammer to strike the string so as to produce a tone. Upon release of a key, the damper is returned to hold a String with the resultant cessation of the tone. Where, therefore, it is desired, as is sometimes the case, during piano performance to sustain a particular tone even after release of a key, theordinary type of piano action fails to effect such operation.

Accordingly, this invention is intended to provide a piano action fitted with a sostenuto mechanism capable of offering a sostenuto or tone-sustaining effect even after release of a key simply by operation of a pedal without the necessity of repeatedly depressing the key.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an example of the sostenuto mechanism of this invention the bottom or tab portion of a damper lever, which rotates by engagement with a spoon fitted to'a free end of a wippen upon rotation thereof, extends below the wippen. Where a player operates a sostenuto pedal after rotation of the damper lever, then means for preventing the return of the damper lever (hereinafter referred to as damper lever stopper means") is operatedto be disposed between the tab portion of the damper lever thus rotated and the wippen so as to stop the return of the damper lever. A plurality of such damper lever stopper means are so designed as to be operated by a common pedal. When the damper lever for a given key is thus prevented from returning, the corresponding string struck by the hammer is kept vibrating. Where there is operated another key under such condition, it is necessary that the corresponding damper lever be not affected by the action of the damper lever stopper means commonly rotated along with the one which has already obstructed the return of the damper lever of the first mentioned key. According to an embodiment of this invention, therefore, the damper lever stopper means of each key has a sostenute block to which there is pivoted a lip or projecting tip so biased by a spring as to rotate toward the wippen. However, the biasing is restricted by a projection or stop formed on the upper surface of the soste nuto block. Where a key is not depressed, the damper lever is so positioned as to cause the lip or tip to be brought to the outside of the tab portion of the damper lever (namely, the tab portion is disposed between the lip and wippen). Where, under such condition, the damper lever is rotated upon key depression, then the end of its tab portion engages the lip to cause it to be rotated against the action of the spring. Therefore, the movement of the damper lever is not restricted due to the rotation of the damper lever stopper means. Conversely where, after key depression, the damper lever stopper means is so rotated as to cause the lip to be brought between the tab portion of the damper lever and wippen, then the tab portion is pressed against the lip portion to prevent its rotation even after release of the key, so that the damper lever is prevented from returning.

According to another embodiment of this invention, the bottom end of the tab portion of the damper lever is fitted with a flexible tab lip which is rotated or flexed only toward the wippen. The damper lever stopper means is formed into an L-shape. When operated, the stopper means has the end of the L-shaped portion brought between the tab lip and wippen to abut against the tab lip, thereby preventing the return of the damper lever.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fractional side view, partly in section, of a piano action according to an embodiment of this invention, where it is in a rest position;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are side views of the piano action of FIG. 1, where it is in operation;

. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the sostenuto block of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a fractional side view, partly in section, of a piano action according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are side views of the piano FIG. 5, where it is in operation;

FIG. 8 illustrates the manner in which the tab lip of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is fitted to the tab section of the damper lever;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a modification of the tab lip of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7;

FIG. 10 is a side view of another modification of the tab lip;

FIG. 11 is a side view of still another modification of the tab lip;

FIG. 12A is a side view of a further modification of the tab lip;

FIG. 12B is a front view of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13A is a side view of a still further modification of the tab lip;

FIG. 13B is a front view of FIG. 13A;

FIG. 13C is a back view of FIG. 13A;

FIG. 13D is a sectional view on line 13D-l3D of FIG. 13B; and

FIG. 13B is a sectional view on line 13E-13E' of FIG. 13.

action of DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS There will now be described by reference to FIG. 1

the basic construction of an upright piano action. A

wippen 11 is pivoted near its end to a wippen flange 12 fixed to a center rail 13. The underside of the opposite endof the wippen 11 is coupled with a keyboard (not shown) through a capstan rod 14 and other means. That part of the upper surface of wippen 11 which faces the capstan rod 14 is fitted with a jack flange 15. The wippen 11 is connected through the jack flange 15 to a hammer and its driving mechanism (not shown). The inner end of the wippen 11 is fitted with a spoon 16. To the upper end of the center rail 13 is fixed a damper lever flange 17, to which there is pivoted a damper lever 18. To the upper end of the damper lever 18 is attached a damper 20 by means of a damper wire 19 so as to be pressed against a string 21. Between the damper lever flange l7 and damper lever 18 is stretched a spring 22 for pressing or biasing the damper 20 against the string 21. To the lower end of the damper lever 18 is fitted a damper lever tab portion 23 whose end extends below the wippen 11. The tab portion 23 is formed of a flat strip of cold rolled steel or aluminum, the end portion of which is made permissibly as thin as 0.5 to 1.0 mm so as to be bendable to shift the position ofthe free end thereof relative to the laterdescribed projection 32. To the lower end of the center rail 13 is fitted a hinge 24 whose pivotal section 25 is positioned below the wippen 11. To the pivotal section 25 is attached a rockable sostenuto block rail 27 through a connection member 26. The rail 27 takes an L-shape. To the inner wall of the bent portion of the rail 27 is fixed a sostenuto block 28 by means of a screw 29. The rail 27 is extended transversely to the block 28. To the intermediate section of the block 28 is pivoted a lip or tip 30 rotatable about a pin 31. The lip or tip 30 has a projection 32 with a triangular cross section integrally formed on one side of the upper surface thereof. The projection 32 is coated all over with a piece of soft cloth or felt 33. That part of the sostenuto block 28 which faces the projection 32 is slightly raised to act as a stopper 28A for the lip and also coated on one side with a piece of cloth or felt 34. Between the lip 30 and block28 is stretched a spring 35 so as to bias the lip 30 toward the stopper 28A. The biasing, however,'is restricted by the lip stopper 28A as coated with the cloth or felt 34. The construction of an assembly of the sostenuto block 28 and lip 30 will be clearly understood from its exploded view shown in FIG. 4. To the underside of the sostenuto block rail 27 is fitted by the screw 29 a plate member 36 which is connected through a sostenuto rod 37 to a sostenuto or tone sustaining pedal (not shown). The hatchings of FIG. 1 represent parts common to all the keys. In the Figures, only one sostenuto block is shown, but a plurality of such sostenuto blocks are, of course, fixed to the transversely extending rockable rail 27 in side by side relationship to each other corresponding to the number of the damper levers.

There will now be described the operation of a piano action arranged as described above. FIG. 1 shows a piano action remaining in a rest position where the keys and sostenuto pedal are not operated. Under such condition, the sostenuto block 28 is inclined, as shown in FIG. 1, to such extent that the projection or engagement portion 32 of the lip 30 is positioned below the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 so as to substantially face its bottom end. Upon key depression, the capstan rod 14 is lifted to rotate the wippen ,11. As a result, the spoon 16 so rotates the damper lever 18 against the action of the spring 22 as to cause the damper 20 to be removed from the string 21 as shown in FIG. 2. Where, under this condition, there is operated a sostenuto pedal, then the sostenuto rod 37 is lifted to rotate the sostenuto block 28 to such extent that the block 28 is brought to a substantially horizontal position as indicated in FIG. 2. At this time, the projection or engagement portion 32 of the lip 30 is brought between the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 and wippen I]. Where, under thiscondition the depressed key is released, the wippen I1 is brought back to its original position. Though, in this case, the damper lever 18 tends to regain its original position by the action of the'spring 22, the bottom end of the tab portion of the damper lever 18 abuts against the projection or engagement portion 32 of the lip, preventing the return of the damper lever 18, and in consequence keeping the damper 20 removed from the string 21. The pieces of cloth or felt 33 and 34 coated over the projection 32 of the lip-30 and on one side of the lip stopper 28A respectively absorb shocks or prevent the occurrence of noises when the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 abuts against the projection or engagement portion 32 of the lip 30. i

There will now be described by reference to FIG. 3 the case where there is depressed another key under the condition of FIG. 2 in which the sostenuto pedal is kept operated. At this time the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 is located between the lip 30 and wippen 11. Accordingly, upon depression of said another key, the wippen 11 and consequently damper lever 18 rotate. At the time of the rotation, the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 is pressed against the projection or engagement portion 32 of the lip 30 to rotate the projection against the force of the spring 35. Therefore, the damper lever 18 for said another key can rotate just as in the case where the sostenuto pedal is not operated. As previously mentioned, the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 is formed thin so as to be bended or deformed, which well serves to adjust the positional relationship of the bottom end of the tab portion 23 and the projection or engagement portion 32 of the lip There will now be described by reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 a pianoaction according to another embodiment of this invention. The parts of these Figures the same as those of FIGS. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same numerals. To the bottom end of the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 is fitted a tab lip or projecting tip 40 made of elastic materialsuch as, Neoprene rubber so as to be flexed only toward the wippen 11. The sostenuto block 28 and rail 27 of FIG. I is replaced by only a sostenuto rail 41 taking an L-shape and having the end 42 of the upward bend portion thereof facing the end of the tab lip 40. The end 42 of the sostenuto rail 41 is coated with a piece of cloth or felt 43.

The tab lip 40 which can only be flexed in one direction has its near top portion alone fitted to the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 with a rivet or adhesive 44. Experiments were made with a tab lip prepared from Neoprene rubber having a hardness of about to as specified by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), a thickness of about 1.0 to 2.0 mm, a length of about 16 mm and a width of about 8 mm. The tab lip 40 whose entire length was designated as l, as shown in FIG. 8, was fitted to the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 at a point equal to V4] as measured from the top of the tab lip 40 and caused a Al part of its lower portion to extend downward from the bottom end of the tab portion 23. Then there were obtained good results.

There will now be described the operation of the piano action of FIGS. 5 to 7. Under the condition of FIG. 6 corresponding to that of FIG. 2, the end 42 of the upward bent portion of the L-shaped sostenuto rail 41 abuts against the bottom end of the tab lip 40 fitted to the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18. Though the damper lever 18 is biased by the spring 22 to return to its original position, it can not take such position because the tab lip 40 is inflexible in a direction permitting the return.

Referring next to FIG. 7 corresponding to FIG. 3, the end 42of the upward bent portion of the L-shaped sostenuto rail 41 is disposed between the tab lip 40 and wippen '11 due to a given key being depressed. Where,

under this condition, there is depressed another key, then the damper lever 18 rotates to cause the tab lip 40 to be pressed against the end 42 of the upward bent portion of the sostenuto rail 41. However, the rotation of the damper lever is not obstructed in any way because the tab lip, 40 is flexed toward the wippen ll. Namely, where, after operation of a sostenuto pedal for a given key, there is depressed another key, then the damper lever 18 of the latter key can make a normal movement.

FIGS. 9 and 10 represent modifications of the tab lip 40 for enabling it to be reliably flexed or rotated only in one direction. The modification of the tab lip 40 shown in FIG. 9 comprises'a first member 45 made of inflexible material, for example, wood and coated with a piece of cloth 48 on one side and a second downward tapered or wedge-shaped member 46 similarly made of wood which is disposed below the first member at a small space 47 and is hingedly connected to the first member by the cloth 48. The first member 45 is fitted, for example, by a rivet 44 to the tab section 23 of the damper lever 18 so as to cause the aforesaid space to be positioned below the bottom end of the tab section 12. Thus the second member 46 is rotatable in the direction shown by an arrow, but the rotation of the second member 46 in the opposite direction is restricted by the abutment of the second member on the downward edge of the first member 45.

The modification of the tab lip 40 shown in FIG. 10 is prepared from inflexible material, for example, synthetic resin such as polypropyleneor rubber-like material such as Neoprene, and consists of first and

second sections

50 and 51 formed integral with each other and substantially separated by a groove 52 formed on the opposite side of the tab lip 40 to the wippen 11. The part of the tab lip 40 which is thinned by the groove 52 acts as a hinge. The first section 50 is fixed, for example, by a rivet 44 to the tab section 23 of the damper lever 18 so as to cause the aforementioned groove 52 to be disposed below the bottom end of the tab portion 23. The second section 51 is tapered downward or takes a wedgeshape.

Another modification of the tab lip 40 shown in FIG. 11 is prepared from a flexible material such as Neoprene rubber or polypropylene and consists of a thin upper portion 53 and a thick lower portion 54 having a downwardly tapered tip 54A. At least one boundary between the upper and

lower portions

53 and 54 constitutes a stepped portion where there is formed a groove 55. The lower end portion of the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18 is coated all over with a piece of shock-absorbing cloth 56. The upper portion 53 of the tab lip 40 is fixed to the tab portion 23 so as to cause that surface 57 of the lower portion 54 of the tab lip 40 which is disposed adjacent to the aforesaid groove 55 to face the coated lower end portion of the tab portion 23. The shock-absorbing cloth 56 is intended to prevent the occurrence of noises when the surface 57 of the lower end portion 54 of the tab lip 40 is pressed against the lower end of the tab portion 23.

The modification of the tab lip 40 illustrated in FIGS. I2A and 12B is a type where there is fitted a thin spring metal strip 58 on that flat surface of the tab lip 40 of FIG. 11 which faces the wippen 11, more particularly that part of the surface which faces the aforesaid groove 55, thus enabling the lower portion 54 of the tab lip 40 easily to return to its original position due to the increased rigidity and elasticity of the spring metal coated portion when depressed by the lower end of the tab portion 23 of the damper lever 18.

In the modification of the tab lip 40 indicated in FIG. 13A, the metal strip 58 of FIG. 12B is replaced by at least one rib 60 integrally formed with the tab lip 40, the rib running perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the groove 55. There is provided another rib 61 on the opposite side of the wedged part of the lower portion 54 of the tab lip 40 to the wippen l1. Provision of the another rib 61 on the wedged part of the lower portion 54 of the tab lip 40 is for the following reason. Where, under the condition of FIG. 7, a depressed key is released, then the damper lever 18 returns to its original position to cause the damper to be pressed against a vibrating string 21. At this time, the damper lever 18 itself is also shaken by the vibrating string 21, so that the tab lip 40 repeatedly impinges on the cloth or felt 43 coated over the end of the upward bent portion of the L-shaped sostenuto rail 41 with the resultant occurrence of noises. If, in such case, the wedged part of the lower portion 54 of the tab lip 40 is provided with a rib 61, then the area of the cloth or felt 43 contacted by the lower portion 54 will decrease to minimize such noises.

What is claimed is:

1. A piano action comprising:

a plurality of damper levers each having a damper supported movably to and away from a string,

a first member extending from each of said damper levers and movable therewith,

a second member movable toward and away from each of said first members, and

a selectively bendable projecting tip member fixed on one of said first and second members, said projecting tip member being engageable with the other of said first and second members when said second member is moved toward said first member, said projecting tip including a flexible member which is bendable when pushed in a first direction and being unbendable and acting as a stop when pushed in a second direction opposite to said first direction such that when the damper is moved away from the string and thereafter the second member is moved toward the first member, said projecting tip, acting as the stop, engages with the other of said first and second members to maintain the damper moved away from the string, and, when the second member is moved toward the first member while the damper rests on the string, and thereafter the damper is moved away from the string, the projecting tip is flexed or bent by said movement of the damper away from the string, thereby allowing the damper to move to and away from the string.

2. A piano action as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second member comprises a common rail, and a plurality of blocks attached to said rail, each of said blocks corresponding to each of the damper levers and carrying a member engageable with said projecting tip.

3. A piano action as claimed in claim 1 wherein said flexible member comprises a strip of flexible material with one end fixed to said one of said first and second members adjacent to one side and the end of said one of said first and second members and the other end thereof being free, said strip having a substantial portion overlapping said one of said first and second members with said other free end thereof projecting beyond the free end of said one of said first and second members.

4. A piano action as claimed in claim 3 wherein about three-fourths of the length of said strip of flexible material overlaps said one of said first and second members and about one-fourth of the length of said strip projects beyond said free end of said member.

5. A piano action as claimed in claim 4 wherein said strip is fixed to said one of said first and second members at about one-fourth the distance from the end thereof opposite said projecting end.

6. A piano action as claimed in claim 1 wherein said projecting tip comprises a first and a second section of substantially inflexible material, said first section being fixed to said one of said first and second members, said flexible member connecting said second section to the first section along one edge portion thereof, said first and second sections having end edges facing each other and adapted to contact each other for restricting the movement of said second section in said second direction, said flexible member being of reduced crosssection relative to said end edges.

7. A piano action as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second sections are hingedly connected by means of said flexible member.

8. A piano action as claimed in claim 7 wherein said flexible member comprises a flexible sheet bridging said first and second sections.

9. A piano action as claimed inclaim 6 wherein said second section has at least onerib on the surface which.

abuts the other of said first and second members.

10. A piano action as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second sections have at least one rib formed integral therewith and bridged across said flexible member.

11. A piano action as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second sections and said flexible member are formed in one integral body of the same material.

12. A piano action as claimed in claim 11 wherein said flexible member comprises at least one strip of spring metal bridging the first and second sections.

13. A piano action as claimed in claim 11 wherein said projecting tip further comprises at least one strip of spring metal bridging the flexible member and the first and second sections.

14. A piano action as claimed in claim 6 wherein said second section is progressively thinner toward the free end thereof.

15. A piano action as claimed in claim 1 wherein said projecting tip comprises a first section fixed to said one of said first and second members, and a second section connected to said first section by said flexible member, said sections having end edges which face each other, and said flexible member being of reduced crosssection relative to said end edges, the edge of said second section being adapted to abut on the free end of said one of said first and second members for restricting the movement of the second section in said second direction.

16. A piano action as claimed in claim 15 wherein said projecting tip further comprises at least one strip of spring metal bridging the first and second sections at the hingedly connected portion and reinforcing the action of the hinged portion.

17. A piano action as claimed in claim 15 wherein said first and second sections have at least one rib formed integral therewith and bridged between the first and second sections at the hinged portion thereof.

18. A piano action as claimed in claim 15 wherein said second section has at least one rib on the surface which abuts the other of said first and second members.

Claims

1. A piano action comprising: a plurality of damper levers each having a damper supported movably to and away from a string, a first member extending from each of said damper levers and movable therewith, a second member movable toward and away from each of said first members, and a selectively bendable projecting tip member fixed on one of said first and second members, said projecting tip member being engageable with the other of said first and second members when said second member is moved toward said first member, said projecting tip including a flexible member which is bendable when pushed in a first direction and being unbendable and acting as a stop when pushed in a second direction opposite to said first direction such that when the damper is moved away from the string and thereafter the second member is moved toward the first member, said projecting tip, acting as the stop, engages with the other of said first and second members to maintain the damper moved away from the string, and, when the second member is moved toward the first member while the damper rests on the string, and thereafter the damper is moved away from the string, the projecting tip is flexed or bent by said movement of the damper away from the string, thereby allowing the damper to move to and away from the string.

6. A piano action as claimed in claim 1 wherein said projecting tip comprises a first and a second section of substantially inflexible material, said first section being fixed to said one of said first and second members, said flexible member connecting said second section to the first section along one edge portion thereof, said first and second sections having end edges facing each other and adapted to contact each other for restricting the movement of said second section in said second direction, said flexible member being of reduced cross-section relative to said end edges.

9. A piano action as claimed in claim 6 wherein said second section has at least one rib on the surface which abuts the other of said first and second members.

15. A piano action as claimed in claim 1 wherein said projecting tip comprises a first section fixed to said one of said first and second members, and a second section connected to said first section by said flexible member, said sections having end edges which face each other, and said flexible member being of reduced cross-section relative to said end edges, the edge of said second section being adapted to abut on the free end of said one of said first and second members for restricting the movement of the second section in said second direction.