WO2000007174A1

WO2000007174A1 - Portable, electronic, full size piano keyboard

Info

Publication number: WO2000007174A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/002457
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Higgins; Ian Robert Porter
Original assignee: John Higgins; Ian Robert Porter
Priority date: 1998-07-29
Filing date: 1999-07-28
Publication date: 2000-02-10
Also published as: GB2340285A; AU5176399A; GB9816519D0

Abstract

A portable electronic keyboard constructed from at least two sections (1, 3, 5, 7) each of which contains a plurality of piano keyboard keys situated along the top surface of the keyboard, the keyboard sections being connected together by at least one connector (11, 15) located on or adjacent to the side surface of the keyboard such that the assembled keyboard is rigid and provides the keyboard player with a true live performance keyboard instrument.

Description

"Portable, Electronic, Full Size Piano Keyboard"

This invention relates to keyboards for musical instruments and in particular to piano keyboards.

As an alternative, to full size pianos, electronic pianos or synthesised keyboards, provide a means of simulating authentic acoustic pianos. These musical instruments generate sounds using established digital technology to produce the sound which closely resembles the sound obtained from the acoustic instrument. In addition, modern electronic keyboards also use electro- mechanical piano keys to give the piano a similar key "action" and allow the volume of the note to be increased or reduced depending upon the pressure applied on the key by the player.

Although meeting the requirements of both professional and amateur piano/keyboard players in relation to the sound quality and "action" obtained from the keyboard, electronic keyboards suffer from an innate disadvantage which exists in the acoustic piano they have sought to replace. Electronic keyboards which are used as direct substitutes for acoustic pianos are required to have the same number of keys as the acoustic piano keyboard and in order to give the authentic playing experience, should be of the same dimensions as the keyboard of an acoustic piano having 88 keys and being 123 cm in length. As a consequence, most synthesised keyboards because of their size and weight are very difficult to transport .

The present invention provides an electronic piano keyboard which has the advantages of a quality electronic piano in terms of the sound quality and "action" of the keys whilst also being portable and easy to transport .

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a portable electronic piano keyboard, the keyboard comprising at least two sections each of which contains a plurality of piano keyboard keys arranged along the length of the top surface of the section, the keys being arranged perpendicular to the length of the section and connecting means provided on or adjacent to at least one of two side surfaces, said side surfaces being parallel to the keys and perpendicular to the plane of said top surface, such that the piano keyboard is constructed by fitting together said sections by said connecting means to give a rigid piano keyboard that can be assembled and dismantled by use of said connecting means.

The present invention therefore provides a true live performance instrument which is easily dismantled into sections and is therefore- easy to transport in its dismantled form.

Preferably, the piano keyboard is constructed by fitting together said sections by mutual engagement of said connecting means in a direction parallel to the length of each section.

Preferably, the connecting means comprises a plurality of connectors, a portion of each connector being contained on or adjacent to each side surface to be connected.

Preferably, the connectors provide separate electrical and mechanical connections between adjacent keyboard sections.

Optionally, each of said connectors provide both electrical and mechanical connections between adjacent keyboard sections.

Preferably the connecting means comprises a plurality of rods and holes arranged at spaced apart locations, at least one on each of said two side surfaces, such that corresponding rods and holes fit together.

Preferably, at least one of said holes is fitted with a cam and the corresponding rod contains a follower such that the cam can be turned to pull the follower on the rod to and from a position in the hole where the rod is secured in the hole.

Preferably the sections of the piano keyboard containing the piano keys of highest and lowest pitch contains connecting means only on or adjacent to the side surface of said sections adjacent to the keys of lowest and highest pitch respectively.

Preferably the rods and holes are arranged along said side surfaces in specific locations such that only subsections of the keyboard containing piano keys with adjacent musical pitch can be connected together. Preferably said keyboard is constructed from four substantially equally divided sections.

Optionally said keyboard is constructed from seven substantially equally divided sections.

It will be understood that the keyboard may be constructed from any number of sections, limited only by the number of piano keys

The invention will now be described by example only with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 shows an assembled portable electronic piano keyboard;

Figure 2 shows a portable electronic piano keyboard in four sections;

Figure 3 shows a front elevation of a portable electronic piano keyboard in four sections;

Figures 4A and 4B show side elevations of sections of the portable electronic piano; and

Figure 5 shows a cam and follower mechanism for connecting together the rods and holes.

Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2. Figure 1 shows an assembled -portable electronic keyboard in accordance with the present invention and Figure 2 shows said keyboard in 4 sections. In this case, the three sections which comprise the notes of higher pitch 3, 5 and 7 respectively contain two octaves of keys and the section of the keyboard containing the notes of lowest pitch 1 has slightly over one octave of keys.

These sections sizes have been chosen as a convenient manner in which to split the full keyboard 9 into sections.

It is also convenient to split the keyboard around the C note. It will be understood that the keyboard could be split into more or fewer sections and that these sections need not necessarily be split at C.

In order to assemble the keyboard, the rods 11 shown at the left side surface of sections 3, 5 and 7 are fitted to corresponding holes in the right side surface at their adjacent sections 1, 3 and 5 respectively.

In this embodiment, the rods extend approximately 5 cm from the side surface of the keyboard section in which they are set . The length of the rods ensure that the sections are rigidly held together. In addition, the head of each rod contains a locking mechanism which prevents the sections from being separated.

Figure 2 shows electrical connectors 13 and 15 which connect together each section and are used to transmit electrical signals from each of the keys to a central processing unit which, in turn is connected to an amplifier and loud speaker to produce sound.

As can also be seen in Figure 4, electrical connectors 13, 15 are comprised of a male 15/female 13 connection .- In use, signals which contain information on the key struck and the strength of the key strike is carried by means of the electrical connectors 13, 15 to a central processing unit 21 Figure 3. The amplifier unit is integral to the central processing unit 21 and also contains a volume control, twin foot pedal socket, headphone/line out socket, battery pack compartment and external power supply input . The whole assembly is fitted with non-slip rubber pads 23 fitted as shown.

The rods 11 and holes 17 shown in Figure 4 are arranged at opposite corners of the cross sectional view in this figure. In this embodiment, connecting the entire keyboard together requires the connection of 4 sections at three interfaces. In each case the position of the locking pins and holes is slightly different as this allows the person assembling the keyboard to ensure that the correct sections are being connected together. For example, if it was attempted to connect section 1 and section 5 of Figure 1, the holes and pins would not correspond and the sections would not fit together.

Figure 5 shows a cam and follower mechanism for connecting together the rods and holes. The cam 27 is located inside the hole 17 and is designed to secure the rod in place. In order to achieve this, the rod 11 is modified to have a follower 28 situated at its end. This consists of a bulbous "head" portion and a thinned neck. In use, the rod 11 is inserted into the hole 17 so that the head is inside the space inside the cam. The cam is the turned using the recessed knob 29. This action pulls the rod 11 further into the hole 17 and secures it in position. In order to remove the rod 11, the recessed knob is turned in the reverse direction to the above.

The invention is not restricted in scope to the use of these connectors, but can also use any type of connector which can releasably connect the keyboard sections and be located on the back, front or bottom surfaces of the keyboard sections. The present invention provides a true live performance keyboard instrument, which has all the advantages of other electronic pianos in terms of the quality of sound produced and key "action" but is also highly portable. The present invention may therefore be used in locations where it would be difficult or inconvenient to use a conventional electronic piano for example, in a hotel room, or other place where there may be restricted space. In addition, the present invention can be easily carried by a single person and in some embodiments could easily be carried in hand luggage on an aeroplane.

Claims

1. A portable electronic piano keyboard, the keyboard comprising at least two sections each of which contains a plurality of piano keyboard keys arranged along the length of the top surface of the section, the keys being arranged perpendicular to the length of the section, and connecting means provided on or adjacent to at least one of two side surfaces, said side surfaces being parallel to the keys and perpendicular to the plane of said top surface, such that the piano keyboard is constructed by fitting together said sections by said connecting means to give a rigid piano keyboard that can be assembled and dismantled by use of said connecting means.

2. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in Claim 1 and wherein the piano keyboard is constructed by fitting together said sections by mutual engagement of said connecting means in a direction parallel to the length of each section.

3. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 and wherein the connecting means comprises a plurality of connectors, a portion of each connector being contained on or adjacent to each side surface to be connected.

4. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any preceding Claim and wherein the connectors provide separate electrical and mechanical connections between adjacent keyboard sections.

5. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3 and wherein each of said connectors provide both electrical and mechanical connections between adjacent keyboard sections.

6. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any preceding Claim and wherein the connecting means comprises a plurality of rods and holes arranged at spaced apart locations, at least one on each of said two side surfaces, such that corresponding rods and holes fit together.

7. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any preceding Claim and wherein at least one of said holes are fitted with a cam and said corresponding rod contains a follower such that the cam can be turned to pull the follower on the rod to and from a position in the hole where the rods are secured in the hole.

8. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any preceding Claim and wherein the connectors are arranged along said side surfaces in specific locations such that only sections of the keyboard containing piano keys with adjacent musical pitch can be connected together.

8. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any of the preceding Claims and wherein said keyboard is constructed from four substantially equally divided sections.

9. A portable electronic piano keyboard as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8 and wherein said keyboard is constructed from seven substantially equally divided sections.