Keyboard device, electronic musical instrument

Abstract

To provide a compact keyboard device and electronic musical instrument with excellent key pressing feel.SOLUTION: In an electronic musical instrument that includes a switch panel, a display, a speaker, pedals, etc., in addition to a keyboard device, the keyboard device 1 comprises a keyboard that includes a plurality of keys 20, a hammer 30 that rotates in response to keyboard operation around an axis in a direction in which the plurality of keys 20 are aligned, and a stopper 60 that is a hammer stopper that contacts the hammer 30 when a key is pressed to regulate rotation of the hammer 30. The hammer 30 is provided with a protruding portion 452 that protrudes from a contact portion 451 that is in contact with the stopper 60 and that is provided farther from a shaft 43 than the contact portion.EFFECT: By providing the protruding portion farther from the shaft portion than the contact portion, a lightweight hammer can efficiently apply a moment load to the key. Thus, a lightweight and compact keyboard device can be realized.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The disclosure of this specification relates to a keyboard device and an electronic musical instrument. [Background technology]

[0002] A keyboard device of an electronic musical instrument is provided with a hammer that applies a moment load to a key in order to make the feel when the key is pressed closer to the feel of an acoustic musical instrument. Such a keyboard device is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-236056 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is generally desirable for electronic musical instruments to be compact, so it is desirable for the hammers of electronic musical instruments to be designed to fit into the limited space inside the keyboard device while still providing sufficient load in response to key depression to reproduce a feel similar to that of an acoustic musical instrument.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a compact keyboard device and an electronic musical instrument that provide an excellent feel when the keys are pressed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A keyboard device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a keyboard including a plurality of keys, a hammer that rotates in response to key operation around an axis in the direction in which the plurality of keys are aligned, and a key press stopper that restricts the rotation of the hammer by abutting against the hammer when a key is pressed, wherein the hammer has a protruding portion that protrudes toward the abutment portion that abuts against the key press stopper. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the above aspects, it is possible to provide a compact keyboard device and an electronic musical instrument that provide an excellent feel when the keys are pressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a keyboard device of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment when a key is pressed. [Diagram 3] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a keyboard device of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment when a key is released. [Figure 4A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hammer body as viewed obliquely from above. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hammer body as viewed from diagonally below. [Figure 4C] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the external appearance of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a keyboard device of the electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment when a key is pressed. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard device of the electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment when a key is released. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the hammer body as viewed obliquely from above. FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the hammer body as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. 4C is a side view of the hammer body. Hereinafter, the configurations of the electronic musical instrument 100 and keyboard device 1 according to this embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] 1 is, for example, an electronic piano or synthesizer, and includes a keyboard device 1, which will be described later with reference to Figures 2 to 4C. In addition to the keyboard device 1, the electronic musical instrument 100 may also include a switch panel 101, a display 102, a speaker 103, pedals 104, and the like.

[0011] The switch panel 101 may include switches for operating the volume specification, sound source, tone color, etc., song (accompaniment) selection (accompaniment), song playback start / stop, song playback settings (tempo, etc.), etc. The display 102 may display lyrics, musical scores, various setting information, etc. The speaker 103 may be used to emit sounds generated by playing. The pedal 104 may be a sustain pedal that has the function of sustaining the sound of a pressed key while the pedal is pressed, or may be a pedal for operating an effector that processes tone color, volume, etc.

[0012] The keyboard device 1 is a keyboard device of an electronic musical instrument equipped with a keyboard for specifying pitches, such as a keyboard device of an electronic piano, a synthesizer, etc. Figures 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views perpendicular to the direction in which a plurality of keys 20 included in the keyboard are aligned, and show how the keyboard device 1 is compactly configured in the front-to-rear direction of the keys 20.

[0013] In this specification, the alignment direction of the multiple keys 20 is referred to as the width direction of the keyboard device 1, and the front-to-back direction of the keys 20 is referred to as the depth direction of the keyboard device 1. In the depth direction, the side of the keyboard device 1 from which the user operates the keyboard device 1 is referred to as the front side, and the opposite side is referred to as the back side. Additionally, the direction in which the keys 20 move up and down, which is perpendicular to both the alignment direction and the front-to-back direction, is referred to as the up-down direction.

[0014] The keyboard device 1 comprises a keyboard chassis 10 and a keyboard including a number of keys 20. Each key 20 included in the keyboard is supported by the keyboard chassis 10 so as to be rotatable about a support shaft 21 in the width direction provided on the rear side of the key 20. The key 20 rotates in response to keyboard operation, i.e., key pressing or key release operation, and the movable range of the key 20 is restricted within a predetermined range by a stopper 13 described later.

[0015] The front part of the keyboard chassis 10 is provided with a front leg 11 that protrudes towards the key 20. The upper end of the front leg 11 is provided with a keyboard guide 12 that comes into sliding contact with the key 20 to prevent the key 20 from shaking laterally in the width direction. The front leg 11 is also provided with a stopper 13 that regulates the upper and lower limit positions of the key 20 when it is rotated.

[0016] A switch board 14 is attached to a portion facing the keys 20, behind the front legs 11. A switch unit 15 is mounted on the switch board 14, which is turned on in response to a key 20 being pressed. A switch unit 15 is provided for each key 20. The switch unit 15 detects a key press by a switch protrusion 22 that protrudes from the bottom of the key 20 toward the keyboard chassis 10 acting on the switch unit 15 in response to the key press, and outputs an ON signal. As a result, the electronic musical instrument equipped with the keyboard device 1 generates musical sound information based on the ON signal, and produces musical sounds from the speaker 103 based on this musical sound information.

[0017] A number of hammers 30 corresponding to a number of keys 20 are aligned in the width direction inside the keyboard chassis 10. The hammers 30 are supported by the keyboard chassis 10 so as to be rotatable about a shaft portion 43 which is an axis extending in the width direction, and rotate around the shaft portion 43 in response to key operation.

[0018] Further provided inside the keyboard chassis 10 are a stopper 60 which is a key depression stopper that restricts the rotation of the hammer 30 by coming into contact with the hammer 30 when the key is depressed, and a stopper 70 which is a key release stopper that restricts the rotation of the hammer 30 by coming into contact with the hammer 30 when the key is released.

[0019] Each hammer 30 includes a hammer body 40 and a hammer cap 50. The hammer body 40 includes an arm 41, a force point 42, and a weight 44. A shaft hole 41a is formed in the arm 41, penetrating it in the width direction, and the arm 41 is rotatably supported on the keyboard chassis 10 by a shaft 43 inserted into the shaft hole 41a.

[0020] The force point 42 is an end of the hammer body 40 located closer to the front-rear direction than the arm 41 (shaft 43), and functions as a force point when the hammer body 40 rotates with the shaft 43 as a fulcrum. A hammer cap 50 made of an elastic material such as rubber is attached to the force point 42. A rectangular through hole opening in the front-rear direction is formed at the lower end of the hammer pressing part 23 that extends from the bottom of the key 20 toward the inside of the keyboard chassis 10. The force point 42 with the hammer cap 50 attached is inserted into this through hole, connecting the key 20 and the hammer 30.

[0021] Plummet 44 is an end of hammer body 40 located further back in the front-to-rear direction than arm 41 (shaft 43), and functions as a point of action when hammer body 40 rotates about shaft 43. Plummet 44 has a generally triangular shape that is long in the front-to-rear direction when viewed from the axial direction (width direction), as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and is connected to arm 41 at a short side portion that is the front face of the three faces that form the generally triangular shape.

[0022] The arm 41, the force point 42, and the weight 44 that make up the hammer body 40 are constructed by bending members of a predetermined shape cut out from a flat metal plate with a relatively high specific gravity. Specifically, the weight 44 has a three-layer structure in which the crease is folded twice in the front-rear direction around the part connected to the arm 41, as shown in Figures 4A to 4C.

[0023] Of the multiple hammers 30, the weights 44 of the hammers 30 on the bass side are made heavier than the weights 44 of the hammers 30 on the treble side. The notches 44a formed in the weights 44 are used to adjust the weight of the hammers 30. In the keyboard device 1, a weight difference is created between the hammers 30 on the bass side and the treble side by adjusting the size and number of the notches 44a.

[0024] Of the three faces forming the approximately triangular shape of weight section 44, the upper face has an approximately flat abutment section 451. When key 20 is pressed down by a key pressing operation, hammer pressing section 23 presses force point section 42 vertically downward. This causes hammer 30 to rotate with shaft section 43 as a fulcrum, and weight section 44 is pressed vertically upward within keyboard chassis 10, as shown in Fig. 2. Abutment section 451 is an abutment section that comes into contact with stopper 60 extending vertically downward from the top of keyboard chassis 10 when such a key pressing operation is performed, that is, when a key is pressed.

[0025] 2, it is desirable that the contact portion 451 is formed so as to be approximately horizontal when it contacts the stopper 60. As a result, when the key is pressed, the contact portion 451 contacts a wide area of ​​the lower surface of the stopper 60, which is also formed as an approximately flat surface, so that the impact of the hammer 30 can be absorbed by the stopper 60.

[0026] Of the three faces forming the substantially triangular shape of weight portion 44, the upper face has, in addition to contact portion 451, protruding portion 452 provided for adjusting the mass distribution of hammer 30. As shown in Fig. 2, protruding portion 452 is a portion that protrudes toward contact portion 451 from contact portion 451. In other words, protruding portion 452 is a portion that protrudes toward the side that abuts against stopper 60 from contact portion 451, and can be rephrased as a portion that protrudes toward the side that abuts against stopper 60 from contact portion 451, or a portion that protrudes toward the side that abuts against stopper 60 from contact portion 451. Protruding portion 452 is provided farther from shaft portion 43 than contact portion 451.

[0027] Having the protruding portion 452 protrude toward the side where it abuts against the stopper 60 contributes to efficiently utilizing the space inside the keyboard device 1 and making the keyboard device 1 compact. Furthermore, having the protruding portion 452 positioned farther from the shaft portion 43 than the abutting portion 451 makes a significant contribution to applying a sufficient moment load to the key 20 while making the keyboard device 1 lightweight and compact. This point will be explained in detail below.

[0028] The stopper 60, to which a force according to the key pressing speed is applied, has a certain thickness so that it can absorb shocks even when a large force is applied. As a result, a space equivalent to the thickness of the stopper 60 is generated around the stopper 60, which was not used in the past. The above-mentioned arrangement of the protruding portion 452, particularly the arrangement in which the protruding portion 452 protrudes toward the side where it abuts against the stopper 60, makes effective use of this unused space. This allows the protruding portion 452 to be provided for adjusting the mass distribution without extending the length of the hammer 30 in the front-rear direction, so that the keyboard device 1 equipped with the hammer 30 with an improved touch when the key is pressed can be constructed in a compact manner.

[0029] Furthermore, in order to efficiently apply a moment load to the key 20 with a lightweight hammer 30, it is desirable to distribute as much mass as possible at a position as far away from the shaft 43 as possible. In the keyboard device 1, this is achieved by providing the protruding portion 452 farther from the shaft 43 than the contact portion 451. As a result, the keyboard device 1 can apply a larger moment load than a conventional hammer of the same weight as the hammer 30, and can provide the user with a heavier feeling (touch) when pressing a key. Also, because the protruding portion 452 is provided farther from the contact portion 451, the movable range of the hammer 30 is not limited by the protruding portion 452, unlike when the protruding portion 452 is provided on the contact portion 451.

[0030] Therefore, the keyboard device 1 having the hammer 30 can provide the user with a heavier feel when pressing a key with the same weight as before. Alternatively, the keyboard device 1 can be made lighter than before while providing the user with the same feel when pressing a key as before.

[0031] By locating the protruding portion 452 farther from the shaft portion 43 than the contact portion 451, the moment load can be applied efficiently, but it is undesirable to extend the hammer 30 to the rear in the front-rear direction for this purpose. This is because, in a compact electronic musical instrument, extending the length of the hammer 30 in the front-rear direction would also increase the length of the electronic musical instrument in the depth direction. In the keyboard device 1, the protruding portion 452 is located farther from the shaft portion 43 than the contact portion 451, and protrudes toward the side where it abuts against the stopper 60, thereby avoiding the extension of the length of the hammer 30 in the front-rear direction.

[0032] As described above, when the key is pressed, the protrusion 452 is accommodated in the space around the stopper 60 created by the thickness of the stopper 60. In order to avoid contact between the protrusion 452 and the keyboard chassis 10 at this time, it is desirable that the vertical length of the protrusion 452 (i.e., the amount of protrusion) is shorter than the vertical length of the stopper 60 (i.e., the thickness).

[0033] It is also possible to efficiently apply the moment load by making the protrusion 452 protrude in the width direction farther from the shaft 43 than the contact portion 451. However, a configuration in which the protrusion protrudes in the width direction is undesirable because there is a risk of interference with the adjacent hammer 30.

[0034] Of the three faces forming the approximately triangular shape of weight 44, the lower face has an approximately flat abutment portion 453. When pressure on key 20 is released by a key-release operation, weight 44 falls vertically downward due to its own weight. This causes hammer 30 to rotate around shaft 43 as a fulcrum, and weight 44 abuts against stopper 70 as shown in Fig. 3. Abutment portion 453 is the abutment portion that abuts against stopper 70 extending vertically upward from the lower portion of keyboard chassis 10 when such a key-release operation is performed, that is, when the key is released.

[0035] 3, it is desirable that the contact portion 453 is formed so as to be approximately horizontal when it contacts the stopper 70. As a result, when the key is released, the contact portion 453 contacts a wide area of ​​the upper surface of the stopper 70, which is also formed as an approximately flat surface, so that the impact of the hammer 30 can be absorbed by the stopper 70.

[0036] The contact portion 453 is configured as a recess that is recessed from the other portion of the lower surface. In other words, the hammer 30 has the contact portion 453, which is a recess that contacts the stopper 70, on the side that contacts the stopper 70. Configuring the contact portion 453 as a recess contributes greatly to preventing the hammer 30 from bouncing when the key is released. This point will be described in detail below.

[0037] If the stopper 70 cannot stop the momentum of the hammer 30 when the key is released and the hammer 30 bounces on the stopper 70, various inconveniences can occur. Typical examples include poor response to finger movements when repeatedly striking the key 20, unnecessary vibrations being transmitted to the fingers making the playing feel worse, double ringing with one keystroke, etc. These tend to occur more significantly the more compact the electronic musical instrument is constructed.

[0038] In order to prevent the hammer 30 from bouncing when the key is released, it is desirable to make the stopper 70 thicker. In the keyboard device 1, the contact portion 453 is configured as a recess, which ensures a larger space that can be used for the stopper 70 without changing the movable range of the hammer 30, making it possible to arrange a thicker stopper 70 than before. This allows the keyboard device 1 to make the stopper 70 thicker, which improves vibration control performance when the key is released, preventing the hammer 30 from bouncing and avoiding various inconveniences that may occur due to the bouncing.

[0039] The stopper 70 has a three-layer structure consisting of, in order from the side that contacts the hammer 30, a sound-deadening layer 71, a buffer layer 72, and a base layer 73. The sound-deadening layer 71 is a layer that reduces the impact sound between the hammer 30 and the stopper 70, and is made of a material such as polyester felt. The buffer layer 72 is a layer that exhibits a buffering effect, and is made of an elastic material such as rubber to suppress the bounding of the hammer 30. The buffer layer 72 is preferably made of a material that exhibits performance over a wide range of temperatures, from low to normal temperatures. The base layer 73 is a layer that prevents the impact sound from being transmitted to the keyboard chassis 10 and reverberating, and is made of a foam material, for example.

[0040] In the keyboard device 1, in order to prevent the hammer 30 from bouncing, it is desirable to use the space secured by forming the contact portion 453 as a recess to increase the thickness of the buffer layer 72. More specifically, it is desirable for the buffer layer 72 to be thicker than the sound deadening layer 71 and also thicker than the base layer 73. This efficiently improves the effect of suppressing the hammer 30 from bouncing by increasing the thickness of the stopper 70, so that the hammer 30 can be suppressed from bouncing without making the stopper 70 excessively thick.

[0041] Furthermore, in the keyboard device 1, it is desirable that the stopper 70 is provided farther from the shaft 43 than the stopper 60. By providing the stopper 70 farther from the shaft 43 than the stopper 60, the protrusion 452, which is provided farther from the contact portion 451 that contacts the stopper 60, is located approximately above the contact portion 453 that contacts the stopper 70. With this positional relationship, the stopper 70 can firmly absorb the impact caused by the protrusion 452 when the key is released, so that the occurrence of bounding can be efficiently suppressed.

[0042] In the keyboard device 1 configured as above, the protrusion 452, which adjusts the mass distribution inside the hammer 30, is located farther from the shaft 43 than the abutment part 451, so that a moment load can be efficiently applied to the key 20 in relation to the weight of the hammer 30. Furthermore, by making the protrusion 452 protrude toward the side where it abuts against the stopper 60, the space inside the keyboard device 1 can be effectively utilized, which makes it possible to avoid an increase in the size of the keyboard device 1. Therefore, with the keyboard device 1, it is possible to realize a lightweight and compact keyboard device that provides an excellent feel when the keys are pressed, which is particularly suitable for use in electronic musical instruments such as electronic pianos.

[0043] Furthermore, when comparing the weight 44 of the keyboard device 1 with a conventional triangular weight that does not have the protruding portion 452 and the recessed portion (contact portion 453), the weight 44 can be considered as a weight in which the mass of the position corresponding to the contact portion 453 of the conventional weight has been moved to the position corresponding to the protruding portion 452. Since the hammer 30 has its center of gravity in an area relatively close to the arm portion 41 in the weight 44, the protruding portion 452 and the contact portion 453 are at approximately the same distance from the center of gravity, and the movement of mass from the contact portion 453 to the protruding portion 452 has almost no effect on the position of the center of gravity. Therefore, the hammer 30 having the above-mentioned protruding portion 452 and the contact portion 453 has its center of gravity at approximately the same position as the conventional hammer, and is therefore also desirable in that it is possible to avoid a change in the touch feeling due to a change in the position of the center of gravity.

[0044] The above-mentioned embodiment is a specific example shown to facilitate understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and should be understood as including various modified and alternative forms of the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, it will be understood that the above-mentioned embodiment can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the spirit of the embodiment. It will also be understood that various embodiments can be implemented by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment. Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various embodiments can be implemented by deleting some components from all the components shown in the embodiment, or by adding some components to the components shown in the embodiment. In other words, the above-mentioned keyboard device and electronic musical instrument can be variously modified and changed without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the protrusion 452 is provided on the stopper 60 side, that is, in the upper space, but it may also be provided in a position that can effectively utilize the space within the keyboard device 1, for example, it may be provided on the stopper 70 side, that is, in the lower space. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1:Keyboard device 20:Key 23: Hammer pressing part 30: Hammer 40: Hammer body 41: Arm 42: Force point 43: Shaft 44: Weight part 44a: Notch 50: Hammer cap 60, 70: Stopper 71: Sound deadening layer 72:Buffer layer 73: Base layer 451, 453: Contact part 452:Protrusion

Claims

1. A keyboard including a plurality of keys; a hammer that rotates around an axis in the direction in which the keys are aligned in response to key operation; a key depression stopper that restricts the rotation of the hammer by contacting the hammer when the key is depressed; The hammer has a protruding portion that protrudes toward the contact portion with respect to the contact portion that contacts the key depression stopper. A keyboard device characterized by:

2. The keyboard device according to claim 1, The hammer is provided farther from the shaft than the abutment portion. A keyboard device characterized by:

3. The keyboard device according to claim 1 or 2, The vertical length of the protrusion is shorter than the vertical length of the key press stopper. A keyboard device characterized by:

4. The keyboard device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a key release stopper that restricts rotation of the hammer by contacting the hammer when the key is released, The hammer further includes a recess on a side that contacts the key release stopper. A keyboard device characterized by:

5. The keyboard device according to claim 4, The key release stopper has a three-layer structure including, in order from the side that contacts the hammer, a sound-absorbing layer, a buffer layer, and a base layer, The buffer layer is thicker than the sound-absorbing layer and is thicker than the base layer. A keyboard device characterized by:

6. 6. The keyboard device according to claim 5, The key release stopper is provided farther from the shaft than the key depression stopper. A keyboard device characterized by:

7. An electronic musical instrument comprising the keyboard device according to claim 1.

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