US3784718A - Touch-responsive keying circuit for electronic musical instruments - Google Patents

Touch-responsive keying circuit for electronic musical instruments Download PDF

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Publication number
US3784718A
US3784718A US00273608A US3784718DA US3784718A US 3784718 A US3784718 A US 3784718A US 00273608 A US00273608 A US 00273608A US 3784718D A US3784718D A US 3784718DA US 3784718 A US3784718 A US 3784718A
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United States
Prior art keywords
circuit
contact
touch
charge
responsive
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Expired - Lifetime
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US00273608A
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English (en)
Inventor
Y Uchiyama
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Nippon Gakki Co Ltd
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Nippon Gakki Co Ltd
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Publication date
Priority claimed from JP46053580A external-priority patent/JPS5030447B1/ja
Priority claimed from JP6347671U external-priority patent/JPS5036526Y2/ja
Priority claimed from JP6347571U external-priority patent/JPS5041897Y2/ja
Application filed by Nippon Gakki Co Ltd filed Critical Nippon Gakki Co Ltd
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Publication of US3784718A publication Critical patent/US3784718A/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H1/00—Details of electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H1/32—Constructional details
    • G10H1/34—Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S84/00—Music
    • Y10S84/23—Electronic gates for tones

Definitions

  • tone keyer circuits are respectively controlled by touch-responsive keying circuits.
  • the touch-responsive keying circuit comprises: a key switch having a break contact, a make contact and a movable contact; a first chargedischarge circuit having a charging capacitor and a discharging resistor both connected between the movable contact and the ground; an electrical source +B connected to the break contact; a switchingtransistor with its base connected to the make contact; and a second charge-discharge circuit being provided be tween the emitter of the transistor and the ground with a second capacitor and with a series circuit of a second resistor and an normally closed switch which is ganged with the key switch, the capacitor being connected to the keyer circuit.
  • the first charge-discharge circuit While the movable contact of the key switch travels from the break contact to the make contact, the first charge-discharge circuit is discharged with a predetermined time constant.
  • the switching transistor is brought conductive to the extent responsive toa charged voltage remaining in the first charge-discharge circuit at the time the movable contact touches the make contact.
  • the second chargedischarge circuit is charged through the transistor to establish a keying voltage.
  • the present invention relates generally to electronic musical instruments and more particularly to a touchresponsive keying circuit to be used in electronic musical instruments.
  • FIG. 1 which comprises a key switch 1 having stationary contacts b and m and a movable contact 0.
  • the movable contact c is connected to a first chargedischarge circuit 2 consisting of a charging capacitor C and a discharging resistor R and the break stationary contact b is connected to a D. C. source 3.
  • the make stationary contact m is connected through a reversecurrent-blocking diode 4 to a second charge-discharge circuit 5 consisting of a charging capacitor C and a discharging resistor R
  • An outputW for keying a keyer circuit 6 is obtained across the second chargedischarge circuit 5.
  • the voltage of the capacitor C or the output keying voltage W in the case of the short travelling period (curve I) is greater in peak value than that in the case of the long travelling period (curves II and Ill). Accordingly, it will be apparent that if the key-depressing speed is controlled as desired during the playing of an electronic musical instrument, acoustic volume of the electronic musical instrument can be controlled in response to the keydepressing speed.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch-responsive keying circuit for an electronic musical instrument, in which its output can be obtained even when the travelling time of the key switch is made longer by a soft keying operation.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a touch-responsive keying circuit for an electronic musical instrument which can ensure the production of a keying output correctly responsive to a key-depressing speed, with the output level substantially sustained during the key depression.
  • a still further object of the present invention is to provide a touch responsive keying circuit for an electronic musical instrument in which either a touchresponsive keying voltage of a level dependent on a key-depressing speed or a touch-irresponsive keying voltage of a level independent of the key-depressing speed can be selectively applied to the tone keyer circuit.
  • a specific object of the present invention is to provide a touch-responsive keying circuit for an electronic musical instrument in which, when a key is depressed very slowly, an output can be obtained even if a first charge and discharge circuit has been discharged, whereby a pianissimo performance effect can be easily and stably rendered as desired.
  • FIG. 1 is an electrical connection diagram showing a conventional touch-responsive keying circuit together with a tone keyer circuit
  • FIG. 2 is a chart showing waveforms of the keying voltages for a description of the operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is an electrical connection diagram showing one example of a touch-responsive keying circuit according to the present invention together with a tone keyer circuit;
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 are waveform charts for a description of the operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 3;
  • FIG. 6 is an equivalent circuit diagramof an essential part of the circuit shown in FIG. 3.
  • FIG. 7 is an electrical connectiondiagram showing another example of the present invention together with a tone keyer circuit.
  • the example of the present invention shown therein comprises a touchresponsive keying circuit 1 1 and a tone keyer circuit 12 whose gating operation is controlled by an output W of the touch-responsive keying circuit 11.
  • the tone keyer circuit 12 itself is a circuit well known in the art and comprises: a transistor 13 for receiving the output W of the touch-responsive keyingcircuit 11; a transistor 15 for receiving a musical tone signal I which is applied to a musical tone signal input terminal 14; and a transistor 16 for amplifying a gated output produced by the transistors 13 and 15, whereby an output musical tone signal whose envelope is defined by the waveform of the addition to the musical tone signal I.
  • the existence of such other combinations is indicated by the representation 18 in FIG. 3.
  • the movable contact 0 of a key switch 21 in the touch-responsive keying circuit 11 is connected through a resistor R to a first charge-discharge circuit 22 which comprises a charging capacitor C and a discharging resistor R and one end of the circuit 22 is connected to ground line E. Furthermore, a break contact b of the key switch 21 is connected to a power source +B (12V), and a make contact m is connected to the base of a switching transistor 23. The collector of the transistor 23 is connected to the power source +B.
  • the emitter of the transistor 23 is connected to a charging capacitor C through a charging resistor R
  • One terminal of the capacitor C is grounded, while the other terminal thereof is also grounded through the resistor R.
  • a second charge-discharge circuit 28 is formed with the capacitor C and the resistors R and R
  • the other end of the first charge-discharge circuit 22 is connected through a resistor R to the power source +B.
  • the resistor R is a limiting resistor which serves to limit an electric current charging the capacitor C In the circuit described above, as long as an associated key is not depressed the contacts 0 of the key switches 21 and 27' are in contact with their respective break contacts b, and the capacitor C is charged through the contacts b and c of the switch 21 and the resistor R, by the power source +B. In this case, if the non-conductive and no tone signal output appears at the terminal 17.
  • the charge-discharge circuit 22 has a D.C. power source V,., the voltage of which is equal to Vc [R /(R -l-R X 12V, that is, a
  • the transistor 23 becomes on or conductive at the instant t t;,, or t.,, respectively to the extent represented by the voltage V,, V or V,-.
  • the capacitor C is charged, through the transistor 23, thus made conductive, to a voltage which is lower.
  • waveforms of the outputs W of the circuit are as shown in FIG. 5.
  • the waveforms W W and W rise with a time constant determined mainly by the capacitance of the capacitor C and the resistance value of the resistor R at instants 2 t and t respectively, and, furthermore, undergo decay at an instant t,, with a time constant determined mainly by the capacitance of the capacitor C and the resistances of the resistors R and R
  • the peak values of these waveforms correspond to the time periods required for switching the key switches 21 and 27, that is, the speeds of the key-depressing operations.
  • FIG. .7 Another example of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. .7 has a touch-responsive keying circuit 11 further comprising a change-over switch 25 provided with switching contactsj and k.
  • the contactj is connected to the contact b ofa key switch 21, while the contact k is connected to the contact c of the key switch 21 through a resistor 26 and a diode 27 as required.
  • a movable contact I is connected to a power source +8.
  • the diode 27 serves to block a reverse current in the case when a plurality of touchresponsive keying circuits are switched over by using one common change-over switch 25.
  • the other components and their-arrangements are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 3.
  • a touch-responsive output of the circuit 11 can be obtained by connecting the movable contact I to the contact j.
  • the other general operations of the circuit are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 3.
  • the movable contact I When a touch-irresponsive output is to be produced from the circuit 11, the movable contact I is moved into contact with the contact k. Under this condition, when the contacts 0 of the switches 21 and 27 are brought into contact with their respective contacts m by a keying operation, i.e., by a depressing the key, predetermined voltage is applied to the base of the transistor 23 by the power source +B through the movable contact 1, the contact k, the resistor 26, the diode 27 and the contacts c and m of the switch 21.
  • a keying operation i.e., by a depressing the key
  • the capacitor C is charged to a voltage corresponding to the predetermined voltage, and the voltage of the capacitor C thus obtained becomes a touch-irresponsive output W of the circuit.
  • the predetermined voltage is determined by the resistors 26, R and R diode 27, and power source +B.
  • the keyer circuit l2 produces a musical tone signal having an envelope of a certain level keyed by the constant output W.
  • This operation of the circuit 12 is the same as the ordinary operation of a conventional tone keyer circuit, having no touch-responsive circuit, of an electronic musical instrument.
  • both the touch-responsive output which causes the keyer circuit to produce a musical tone sig nal having an envelope of a level determined by the keying speed and the touchirresponsive output which causes the keyercircuit to produce a musical tone signal having an envelope of a predetermined level regardless of the keying speed can be selectively obtained immediately by merely changing-over the switch 25 without troublesome operations.
  • the touchresponsive output can be obtained.
  • the rising time and decay time of the touchresponsive output are caused to be of a small value of the order of 50ms, the values of the capacitors of the charge-discharge circuits can be made considerably small.
  • keying circuit 11 Only one touch-responsive. keying circuit 11 is shown in the accompanying drawings, but in practice a plurality of touch-responsive keying circuits are provided. In
  • one changeover switch 25 may be provided in common for those plurality of touch-responsive keying circuits, so that the contactsj and k of the switch 25 are connected to the contact b of the switch 21 and the resistor 26 in each touch-responsive keying circuit.
  • a touch-responsive keying circuit comprising: a
  • circuit ground a power source; a key switch having a break contact connected to said power source, a make contact and a movable contact; a first charge-discharge circuit having a charging capacitor and a discharging resistor both connected between said movable contact and said ground; a transistor having a base connected to said make contact, a collector connected to said power source, and an emitter; and a second chargedischarge circuit including a second capacitor connected between said emitter and said ground, a second resistor and a second switch connected in series between said emitter and said ground, said second switch being of a normally closed type and gang-operated with said key switch.
  • a touch-responsive keying circuit as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a change-over switch having a first stationary contact connected to said power source.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Electrophonic Musical Instruments (AREA)
  • Electronic Switches (AREA)
US00273608A 1971-07-20 1972-07-20 Touch-responsive keying circuit for electronic musical instruments Expired - Lifetime US3784718A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP46053580A JPS5030447B1 (fr) 1971-07-20 1971-07-20
JP6347671U JPS5036526Y2 (fr) 1971-07-20 1971-07-20
JP6347571U JPS5041897Y2 (fr) 1971-07-20 1971-07-20

Publications (1)

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US3784718A true US3784718A (en) 1974-01-08

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US00273608A Expired - Lifetime US3784718A (en) 1971-07-20 1972-07-20 Touch-responsive keying circuit for electronic musical instruments

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3784718A (fr)
CA (1) CA970604A (fr)
DE (1) DE2235339B2 (fr)
FR (1) FR2146417B1 (fr)
GB (1) GB1385407A (fr)
IT (1) IT961462B (fr)
NL (1) NL156259B (fr)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4095502A (en) * 1976-05-21 1978-06-20 Rhythm Band, Inc. Sound control system in an electronic musical instrument
US4201106A (en) * 1976-05-24 1980-05-06 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Electronic musical instrument
US4205582A (en) * 1979-02-22 1980-06-03 Kimball International, Inc. Percussion envelope generator
US4248123A (en) * 1979-04-25 1981-02-03 Baldwin Piano & Organ Company Electronic piano
US4278001A (en) * 1979-12-26 1981-07-14 Marmon Company Selective keyer biasing to enhance percussion effect
US4510836A (en) * 1983-12-01 1985-04-16 Allen Organ Company Touch sensitivity in an electronic musical instrument having non-positive attack
US4552051A (en) * 1982-11-02 1985-11-12 Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha Electronic musical instrument with key touch detector and operator member
US20030067451A1 (en) * 1994-11-14 2003-04-10 James Peter Tagg Capacitive touch detectors

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3535972A (en) * 1967-06-19 1970-10-27 Hitachi Ltd Switching device for electronic musical instrument with sustain effect
US3544699A (en) * 1968-09-30 1970-12-01 Baldwin Co D H Electronic piano with percussive effects employing zener operation
US3602626A (en) * 1968-09-27 1971-08-31 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic music keying circuit with diode and capacitor for reducing leakage current
US3626075A (en) * 1969-07-12 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3626074A (en) * 1969-06-24 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3627897A (en) * 1970-04-06 1971-12-14 Baldwin D H Chiff circuit
US3634594A (en) * 1969-08-05 1972-01-11 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3636232A (en) * 1969-07-04 1972-01-18 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3651730A (en) * 1969-09-10 1972-03-28 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Sound level control device in electronic musical instrument employing touch responsive keying means

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3535972A (en) * 1967-06-19 1970-10-27 Hitachi Ltd Switching device for electronic musical instrument with sustain effect
US3602626A (en) * 1968-09-27 1971-08-31 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic music keying circuit with diode and capacitor for reducing leakage current
US3544699A (en) * 1968-09-30 1970-12-01 Baldwin Co D H Electronic piano with percussive effects employing zener operation
US3626074A (en) * 1969-06-24 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3636232A (en) * 1969-07-04 1972-01-18 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3626075A (en) * 1969-07-12 1971-12-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3634594A (en) * 1969-08-05 1972-01-11 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Touch-responsive tone envelope control circuit for electronic musical instruments
US3651730A (en) * 1969-09-10 1972-03-28 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Sound level control device in electronic musical instrument employing touch responsive keying means
US3627897A (en) * 1970-04-06 1971-12-14 Baldwin D H Chiff circuit

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4095502A (en) * 1976-05-21 1978-06-20 Rhythm Band, Inc. Sound control system in an electronic musical instrument
US4201106A (en) * 1976-05-24 1980-05-06 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Electronic musical instrument
US4205582A (en) * 1979-02-22 1980-06-03 Kimball International, Inc. Percussion envelope generator
EP0015052A1 (fr) * 1979-02-22 1980-09-03 Kimball International, Inc. Générateur de contours d'instruments à percussion pour instrument de musique électronique
US4248123A (en) * 1979-04-25 1981-02-03 Baldwin Piano & Organ Company Electronic piano
US4278001A (en) * 1979-12-26 1981-07-14 Marmon Company Selective keyer biasing to enhance percussion effect
US4552051A (en) * 1982-11-02 1985-11-12 Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha Electronic musical instrument with key touch detector and operator member
US4510836A (en) * 1983-12-01 1985-04-16 Allen Organ Company Touch sensitivity in an electronic musical instrument having non-positive attack
US20030067451A1 (en) * 1994-11-14 2003-04-10 James Peter Tagg Capacitive touch detectors

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL7210068A (fr) 1973-01-23
CA970604A (en) 1975-07-08
FR2146417A1 (fr) 1973-03-02
FR2146417B1 (fr) 1978-05-26
DE2235339A1 (de) 1973-02-01
GB1385407A (en) 1975-02-26
DE2235339B2 (de) 1977-05-18
NL156259B (nl) 1978-03-15
IT961462B (it) 1973-12-10
AU4464272A (en) 1973-07-05

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