Percussion instrument and method for generating musical sound

Abstract

To provide a percussion instrument that can generate a variety of musical sounds, and a method for generating musical sound.SOLUTION: The percussion instrument includes an optical sensor 19 that detects a position (a position between an initial position and a terminal position of a lever 14) of the lever 14 between an ON state and an OFF state of the lever 14, wherein a musical sound is generated in accordance with the position of the lever 14 detected by the optical sensor 19. In other words, different musical sounds are generated when a head 6 is struck in each of the ON state and the OFF state and a state between them of the lever 14, so it is possible to generate a wider variety of musical sounds than with a conventional technique which can only generate musical sounds based on the ON state or the OFF state of the lever 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a percussion instrument and a method for generating musical sounds, and more particularly to a percussion instrument and a method for generating musical sounds that can generate a variety of musical sounds. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a percussion instrument in which the snare wires 29 can be brought into contact with or separated from the underside of the resonance head 22 by rotating a lever 34. In this percussion instrument, a sensor 48 provided on the underside of the resonance head 22 detects whether the snare wires 29 are in contact with the resonance head 22, and when the butter head 21 is struck, different musical tones are generated depending on whether the resonance head 22 and the snare wires 29 are in contact with each other or separated from each other. This allows a variety of musical tones to be generated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-194585 A (for example, paragraphs 0019, 0022, Figures 1 and 2) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology can only generate two types of musical tones: when the resonance head 22 and the snare wires 29 are in contact with each other (when the lever 34 is ON) and when they are separated from each other (when the lever 34 is OFF). Therefore, it is still insufficient in terms of generating a variety of musical tones.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a percussion instrument capable of generating a variety of musical sounds and a method of generating musical sounds. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve this objective, the percussion instrument of the present invention comprises a struck body that is struck by a player, a rotatable operator provided for adjusting the musical sound produced when the struck body is struck, and a first sensor that detects the position of the operator between the initial position and the end position of the rotational movement of the operator, and is capable of generating information for controlling the musical sound in accordance with the position of the operator detected by the first sensor.

[0007] The method for generating musical sounds of the present invention is a method for generating musical sounds in a percussion instrument that includes a struck body that is struck by a player, a rotatable operator provided for adjusting the musical sound produced when the struck body is struck, and a first sensor that detects the position of the operator between an initial position and an end position of the rotational movement of the operator, and generates musical sounds based on the position of the operator detected by the first sensor. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a percussion instrument according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lever is removed from the bracket. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the percussion instrument showing a state in which the lever has been rotated from the state shown in FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the percussion instrument taken along line VV in FIG. 3. [Figure 6] 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the percussion instrument; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a detection circuit. [Figure 8] 13A is a flowchart of an initialization process, and FIG. 13B is a flowchart of a periodic process. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart of a lever position detection process. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart of a musical sound generation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A preferred embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the overall configuration of a percussion instrument 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a percussion instrument 1 in one embodiment, and Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lever 14 has been removed from a bracket 15.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 1, percussion instrument 1 is an electronic percussion instrument that imitates an acoustic drum, and includes a shell 2 that constitutes its housing. Shell 2 is formed into a cylindrical shape using metal, wood, or resin. In the following explanation, the direction around the axis of shell 2 is described as the circumferential direction, and the direction perpendicular to the axis of shell 2 is described as the radial direction. A frame 5 that supports a head sensor 3 and a rim sensor 4 (see Fig. 6 for the rim sensor 4) is hooked onto the upper edge of shell 2.

[0011] The frame 5 comprises a substantially disk-shaped bottom 50, a side wall 51 rising upward from the outer edge of the bottom 50, and a curved portion 52 formed on the upper edge of the side wall 51, and each of these portions 50-52 is integrally formed using a resin material.

[0012] The side wall 51 of the frame 5 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the entire circumference of the bottom 50, and a curved portion 52 is curved from the upper edge of the side wall 51 toward the outer periphery. The curved portion 52 is formed in an arc shape (convex upward) along the upper edge of the shell 2, and the frame 5 is supported on the inner periphery of the shell 2 by hooking the curved portion 52 onto the upper edge of the shell 2.

[0013] The opening at the upper end side of the frame 5 (shell 2) is covered by the head 6. The head 6 is formed in a disk shape using a mesh made of woven synthetic fibers, and a circular head frame 60 is fixed to the outer edge of the head 6. The head frame 60 is formed using a resin material, and the head 6 and the head frame 60 are molded integrally by mold molding. Note that the head frame 60 may be formed using a material other than resin (for example, a metal such as aluminum or iron), and the head frame 60 may be joined to the head 6 by adhesion or the like.

[0014] The head 6 is fixed to the percussion instrument 1 (housing) by an annular rim 7. The rim 7 has through holes (not shown) for inserting tension bolts 8 formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and a plurality of lugs 9 (eight in this embodiment) for fastening the tension bolts 8 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the shell 2 (housing).

[0015] A vertically extending female threaded hole 90 is formed in the lug 9, and tension is applied to the head 6 by fastening a tension bolt 8 to the female threaded hole 90 of the lug 9 with the head frame 60 of the head 6 hooked onto the rim 7. This causes the upper surface of the head 6 to become the striking surface, and the vibration of the strike on this striking surface is detected by the head sensor 3.

[0016] The head sensor 3 is composed of one central sensor 3a supported in the center of the bottom 50 of the frame 5, and multiple (three in this embodiment) peripheral sensors 3b arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery side of the central sensor 3a. Each of these sensors 3a, 3b is attached to a plate 10 fixed to the bottom 50 of the frame 5.

[0017] A disk-shaped sensor (piezoelectric element, not shown) is attached to the upper surface of the plate 10 via a cushion (not shown) with double-sided tape on both sides, and a cushion is attached to the upper surface of this sensor. These cushions and sensors constitute the central sensor 3a and the peripheral sensor 3b. The cushions attached to the upper surfaces of the central sensor 3a and the peripheral sensor 3b are truncated cone-shaped buffer materials made of flexible materials such as sponge, rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, etc., and these cushions come into contact with the lower surface of the head 6.

[0018] Although not shown, a rim sensor 4 (see FIG. 6) for detecting a strike on the rim 7 is adhered to the underside of the plate 10 supporting the central sensor 3a. The rim sensor 4 is a disk-shaped piezoelectric element. When vibrations are detected by the head sensor 3 and the rim sensor 4, a musical sound signal based on the detection results is generated by a sound source 11 (see FIG. 6), and the musical sound signal is output to an amplifier 12 and a speaker 13 (see FIG. 6), causing an electronic musical sound to be emitted from the speaker 13. The percussion instrument 1 is provided with a lever 14 for controlling the tone color, volume, etc. of the electronic musical sound. The lever 14 is rotatably attached to the outer circumferential surface of the shell 2 by a bracket 15.

[0019] 2, bracket 15 has an outer circumferential wall 150 that constitutes its outer circumferential surface, and a pair of side walls 151 extend from both ends of outer circumferential wall 150 toward the inner circumferential side (shell 2 side). The upper ends of the pair of side walls 151 are connected to each other in the circumferential direction by an upper wall 152, and the lower ends are connected to each other in the circumferential direction by a lower wall 153. These walls 150 to 153 of bracket 15 are integrally formed using metal.

[0020] Bracket 15 has an internal cavity 154 surrounded by the walls 150 to 153, and bracket 15 has an opening 155 that connects this cavity 154 to the outside. Opening 155 is formed by continuously cutting out outer peripheral wall 150 and bottom wall 153 of bracket 15, and an insertion hole 156 that penetrates side wall 151 (outer peripheral wall 150) is formed on the lower end side of opening 155.

[0021] A pair of insertion holes 156 are formed facing each other across the opening 155, and a cylindrical rotating shaft 16 is inserted into each of the pair of insertion holes 156. The lever 14 is supported by the rotating shaft 16.

[0022] Lever 14 is formed in a generally L-shape and includes an operating part 140 extending vertically, and a supported part 141 protruding inward from the inner peripheral surface of the lower end side of operating part 140. Shaft holes 142 are formed in both side surfaces facing the circumferential direction of supported part 141.

[0023] When assembling the lever 14 to the bracket 15, the supported portion 141 is inserted from the opening 155 toward the cavity 154 inside the bracket 15, and in this inserted state, the rotating shaft 16 that has passed through the insertion hole 156 is fitted into the shaft hole 142 of the lever 14. Next, the rotating shaft 16 fitted into the shaft hole 142 is fixed to the bracket 15 (insertion hole 156) with a set screw (not shown), whereby the lever 14 is rotatably supported by the bracket 15.

[0024] Next, the structure for rotating the lever 14 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the percussion instrument 1, and Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the percussion instrument 1 showing a state in which the lever 14 has been rotated from the state shown in Fig. 3. Note that Figs. 3 and 4 show a cross section cut along a plane that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft 16 and includes the optical sensor 19 (the optical axis of the light irradiated by the light-emitting element 190). In Figs. 3 and 4, the rotating shaft 16 hidden by the lever 14 is shown by a dashed line, and part of the internal structure of the bracket 15 (for example, the support wall 159 shown in Fig. 5) is omitted and shown in a schematic manner.

[0025] 2 and 3, when the lever 14 is supported by the rotating shaft 16, the supported portion 141 of the lever 14 protrudes from the rotating shaft 16 toward the cavity 154 of the bracket 15. The supported portion 141 has an insertion hole 143 having an opening at its tip (end portion on the inner circumferential side), and the pin 17 of the plunger is inserted into this insertion hole 143.

[0026] The pin 17 comprises a cylindrical tubular portion 170 that is inserted into the insertion hole 143, and a substantially hemispherical blocking portion 171 that blocks one axial end side (the right side in Figure 3) of the tubular portion 170, and these portions 170, 171 are formed integrally.

[0027] Coil spring 18 is inserted into the inner periphery of tube portion 170, and coil spring 18 applies an elastic force to pin 17 in a direction protruding from insertion hole 143 (a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of rotation shaft 16). This elastic force presses blocking portion 171 at the tip portion of pin 17 against sliding wall 157 of bracket 15. Sliding wall 157 is formed with a first concave surface 157a, a convex surface 157b continuous with an upper edge of first concave surface 157a, and a second concave surface 157c continuous with an upper edge of convex surface 157b.

[0028] In a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft 16, the first concave surface 157a and the second concave surface 157c are formed in a curved shape concave in a direction away from the rotating shaft 16. In the same cross-sectional view, the convex surface 157b is formed in a curved shape convex toward the rotating shaft 16 side, and these concave and convex surfaces 157a to 157c are smoothly continuous from the lower end side to the upper end side of the sliding wall 157. When the blocking portion 171 of the pin 17 is pressed against the first concave surface 157a, the operating portion 140 of the lever 14 is in a position extending in the up-down direction (vertical direction).

[0029] 3 and 4, when the lever 14 is rotated around the rotation axis 16 by tilting the operating part 140 from a state in which the blocking part 171 of the pin 17 is pressed against the first concave surface 157a, the blocking part 171 of the pin 17 slides up the convex surface 157b. At this time, the pin 17 slides inside the insertion hole 143 of the supported part 141 in a direction that compresses the coil spring 18, so that the user can feel a sense of resistance when tilting the lever 14.

[0030] When lever 14 is rotated until blocking portion 171 passes over the apex of convex surface 157b, pin 17 extends from insertion hole 143 due to the elastic force of coil spring 18, and blocking portion 171 is pressed against second concave surface 157c. In a state in which blocking portion 171 is pressed against second concave surface 157c, operating portion 140 of lever 14 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. When this inclined lever 14 is rotated around rotation axis 16 so as to rise, blocking portion 171 slides along sliding wall 157 and is pressed against first concave surface 157a by the reverse operation to that when lever 14 is tilted.

[0031] In this way, lever 14 is configured to be rotatable between a position in which operating portion 140 is raised (the state in FIG. 3) and a position in which it is lowered (the state in FIG. 4). Although the percussion instrument 1 of this embodiment does not have a snare wire attached thereto like an acoustic snare drum, by rotating lever 14 in an upright position, it is possible to simulate the operation of contacting the snare wire with the resonance head (the head attached to the opening of the shell on the opposite side to head 6 shown in FIG. 1). On the other hand, by performing the reverse operation, it is possible to simulate the operation of removing the snare wire from the resonance head.

[0032] In the following explanation, the state in which lever 14 is raised (the state in Figure 3 in which blocking portion 171 is pressed against first concave surface 157a) is defined as the ON state of lever 14, and the state in which lever 14 is lowered (the state in Figure 4 in which blocking portion 171 is pressed against second concave surface 157c) is defined as the OFF state of lever 14.

[0033] The position of lever 14 within this movable range between ON and OFF (the rotation angle of lever 14) is detected by optical sensor 19. A board 20 is fixed inside bracket 15, and optical sensor 19 is attached to the underside of this board 20. Optical sensor 19 is composed of a light-emitting element 190 that emits light downward, and a light-receiving element 191 (see FIG. 5) that faces a light-receiving portion downward to receive the light.

[0034] A detected portion 144 protrudes from the inner circumferential surface of the operating portion 140 toward the inner circumferential side, and the upper surface of the detected portion 144 is configured as a flat reflective surface 144a. When the lever 14 is in the ON state (the state in FIG. 3), the optical sensor 19 and the reflective surface 144a face each other from above and below, and light emitted from a light-emitting element 190 of the optical sensor 19 is reflected by the reflective surface 144a and received by a light-receiving element 191 (see FIG. 5).

[0035] 3 and 4, when lever 14 is rotated from the ON state to the OFF state, the amount of light reflected from reflecting surface 144a toward light receiving element 191 (received by light receiving element 191) decreases, whereas when lever 14 is rotated from the OFF state to the ON state, the amount of light reflected from reflecting surface 144a toward light receiving element 191 increases. Optical sensor 19 outputs an output value according to the change in the amount of light received by light receiving element 191, and the position of lever 14 is detected from the output value of optical sensor 19. When playing percussion instrument 1, various operations are performed using lever 14. A method of playing using percussion instrument 1 will be described.

[0036] First, the performer operates the switch 21 fixed to the top surface of the board 20 to perform various settings for the percussion instrument 1. The various settings include setting the output level (volume) of the musical sound signal, turning on / off the effects applied to the musical sounds, setting the drum kit (type of musical sounds to be generated), etc. An example of drum kit setting will be described below.

[0037] The switch 21 has an operating portion 210 that the performer can push in or turn, and a through hole 158 for passing the operating portion 210 passes through the upper wall 152 of the bracket 15. By operating the operating portion 210 and setting the mode of the percussion instrument 1 to a drum kit change mode, the drum kit can be selected by rotating the lever 14 between the ON and OFF states.

[0038] An illuminant 22 such as an LED is provided on the outer edge side of the board 20 relative to the switch 21 (to the left in Figs. 3 and 4), and this illuminant 22 emits light in a color that corresponds to the drum kit selected by the performer. In other words, the illuminant 22 emits light in a color that corresponds to the position of the lever 14. The illuminant 22 is fixed to the upper surface of the board 20, and a lens 23 that transmits the light of the illuminant 22 to the outside is fixed to the corner where the outer peripheral wall 150 and the upper wall 152 of the bracket 15 intersect. The type of drum kit selected can be confirmed by visually checking the light of the illuminant 22 emitted from this lens 23.

[0039] After selecting the drum kit, the operation unit 210 is operated to complete various settings (for example, the mode of the percussion instrument 1 is set to performance mode). In this state, when the lever 14 is rotated from the OFF state (the state in FIG. 4) to the ON state (the state in FIG. 3), a sound is generated when the snare wires come into contact with the resonance head. On the other hand, when the lever 14 is rotated from the ON state to the OFF state, a sound is generated when the snare wires come off the resonance head. Naturally, such a sound that imitates the sound of the snare wires attaching and detaching can be generated even if the head 6 or rim 7 (see FIG. 1) is not struck.

[0040] In this embodiment, the speed of the lever 14 is calculated based on the change over time in the output value of the optical sensor 19 (i.e., the position of the lever 14), and a musical tone corresponding to the speed is also generated. For example, when the lever 14 is operated from the OFF state to the ON state at a relatively fast speed, the contact sound between the resonance head and the snare wire is generated at a relatively high volume. On the other hand, when the lever 14 is operated from the OFF state to the ON state at a slower speed, the contact sound is generated at a relatively low volume. In this way, by generating the sound of the snare wire being attached and detached when the lever 14 is operated, the percussion instrument 1 can imitate an acoustic snare drum.

[0041] Also, when the head 6 or rim 7 (see FIG. 1) is struck with the lever 14 in the ON state, a striking sound (electronic musical sound) is generated when the snare wire is in contact with the resonance head. On the other hand, when the head 6 is struck with the lever 14 in the OFF state, a striking sound is generated when the snare wire is out of contact with the resonance head.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the head 6 is struck while the lever 14 is located between the ON state and the OFF state, a musical tone with a further different tone is generated. Examples of musical tones with a further different tone include musical tones to which effects (sound effects) such as reverb, delay, and vibrato are added to the musical tones generated when the head 6 is struck, and musical tones with a different tone or volume from the musical tones generated when the head 6 is struck. Also, musical tones with different effects are generated when the head 6 is struck while the lever 14 is operated at a relatively fast speed and when the head 6 is struck while the lever 14 is operated at a relatively slow speed.

[0043] In this manner, in this embodiment, an optical sensor 19 is provided that detects the position of the lever 14 between the ON and OFF states (an intermediate position between the initial and final positions of the lever 14), and a musical tone is generated according to the position of the lever 14 detected by the optical sensor 19. That is, when the head 6 is struck, different musical tones are generated in each of the ON and OFF states of the lever 14 and between these states, so a greater variety of musical tones can be generated compared to the conventional technology that can only generate musical tones based on the ON or OFF state of the lever 14. Furthermore, the speed of the lever 14 can also be detected from the change in the position of the lever 14 over time, so that different musical tones can be generated according to the speed, thereby enabling the generation of a greater variety of musical tones.

[0044] Here, the position of the lever 14 can also be detected by using a magnetic sensor, but in such a configuration, there is a risk that other surrounding metal parts (magnetic bodies) may interfere with the magnetism of the magnetic sensor.

[0045] In contrast, in this embodiment, the position of the lever 14 is detected by an optical sensor 19 including a light projecting element 190 that projects light toward the reflecting surface 144a of the lever 14, and a light receiving element 191 that receives the light reflected from the reflecting surface 144a. Unlike the case where a magnetic sensor is used, this configuration can prevent other surrounding metal parts (magnetic bodies) from adversely affecting the position detection of the lever 14 by the optical sensor 19. Therefore, the position of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy.

[0046] As another method for detecting the position of lever 14 with optical sensor 19, a configuration in which the reflective surface of lever 14 is displaced in the optical axis direction of optical sensor 19 (light-projecting element 190) can be adopted. An example of such a configuration is a configuration in which the tip surface (the surface facing the right side in FIG. 3) of detected portion 144 is used as the reflective surface, and optical sensor 19 is disposed in a position in which it irradiates light in a direction approximately perpendicular to the reflective surface (the left side in FIG. 3). In the case of such a configuration, the width dimension above and below the reflective surface (the thickness of detected portion 144) should be made large enough to reflect the light from optical sensor 19.

[0047] However, if the reflective surface of the lever 14 is configured to be displaced in the optical axis direction of the optical sensor 19, the output value of the optical sensor 19 drops sharply when the detected part 144 (reflective surface) rotates in a direction away from the optical sensor 19. Therefore, the range in which the position of the lever 14 can be detected tends to become narrow.

[0048] In contrast, in this embodiment, when the lever 14 is in the ON state (the state in FIG. 3), the reflective surface 144a of the detection target portion 144 and the optical axis of the optical sensor 19 are perpendicular to each other, and when the lever 14 is rotated from this state to the OFF state, the reflective surface 144a is displaced (rotated) in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the optical sensor 19 (light projecting element 190). By displacing the reflective surface 144a in such a direction, when the lever 14 is rotated from the ON state to the OFF state, the area of ​​the reflective surface 144a that reflects the light of the optical sensor 19 (hereinafter referred to as the "reflective area of ​​the reflective surface 144a") can be gradually reduced, while when the lever 14 is rotated in the opposite direction, the reflective area of ​​the reflective surface 144a can be gradually increased.

[0049] In this way, by increasing or decreasing the reflective area of ​​the reflective surface 144a in accordance with the rotation of the lever 14, a sudden increase or decrease in the output value of the optical sensor 19 is less likely to occur compared to the above-mentioned case in which the reflective surface is displaced in the optical axis direction of the optical sensor 19. Therefore, the detection range for the position of the lever 14 can be made wider, and the position of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy.

[0050] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the axis of the rotating shaft 16 (the rotation center of the lever 14) and the optical axis of the optical sensor 19 are perpendicular to each other (the rotating shaft 16 is located on an extension of the optical axis of the optical sensor 19). This makes it easier for the position of the lever 14 and the reflection area of ​​the reflecting surface 144a (the output value of the optical sensor 19) to increase or decrease proportionally, compared to a configuration in which the axis of the rotating shaft 16 and the optical axis of the optical sensor 19 are not perpendicular to each other (for example, the optical sensor 19 is located to the left of the position shown in FIG. 3). This makes it possible to detect the position of the lever 14 with greater accuracy.

[0051] Furthermore, a reflecting material 24 is attached to the reflecting surface 144a of the detection target portion 144. Although not shown in the drawings, the reflecting material 24 is composed of a resin layer formed using a resin (e.g., PET) film, and a metal layer made of a metal (e.g., aluminum) laminated on the resin layer. The metal layer is formed by laminating a metal foil on the resin layer, or by coating the resin layer with a metal by vapor deposition or the like. The metal layer is laminated between the reflecting surface 144a and the resin layer, and the upper surface of the metal layer is covered by the resin layer, so that damage to the metal layer can be suppressed.

[0052] By attaching such a reflecting material 24 to the reflecting surface 144a, it is possible to adjust the amount of light reflected from the reflecting surface 144a (the reflecting material 24) toward the light receiving element 191. This allows the light receiving element 191 to receive an appropriate amount of light, so that the increase or decrease in the reflecting area of ​​the reflecting surface 144a accompanying the rotation of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy by the light receiving element 191. Therefore, the position of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy.

[0053] In this manner, in this embodiment, the position of the lever 14 is detected based on the amount of light received by the light receiving element 191 of the optical sensor 19, and therefore, if the light receiving element 191 receives disturbance light, it will be unable to accurately detect the position of the lever 14. Examples of disturbance light include light that pulses (blinks at high speed) at a certain frequency, such as LED lighting, and light that lights continuously without blinking, such as sunlight or a light bulb.

[0054] In contrast, in this embodiment, the details of which will be described later, a detection circuit 27 (see FIG. 7) is configured to blink the light-projecting element 190 of the optical sensor 19 at high speed (for example, at intervals of 0.4 ms). This makes it possible to distinguish whether the light received by the light-receiving element 191 is from the light-projecting element 190 or from ambient light such as sunlight that is continuously illuminated.

[0055] Meanwhile, disturbance light such as the above-mentioned LED lighting blinks at high speed like the light-projecting element 190, but while the LED lighting is turned on in the wavelength region of visible light, the light-projecting element 190 of this embodiment is turned on in the wavelength region outside the visible light region (near-infrared light). This makes it possible to distinguish whether the light received by the light-receiving element 191 is from the light-projecting element 190 or disturbance light such as the LED lighting.

[0056] In this way, by flashing the light-emitting element 190 at high speed or lighting it with a wavelength outside the visible light region, it is possible to distinguish between disturbance light and the light of the light-emitting element 190, but in order to detect the position of the lever 14 with greater accuracy, it is preferable that disturbance light is not irradiated onto the light-receiving element 191 as much as possible. The light-shielding part 25 for blocking disturbance light will be described mainly with reference to Figures 3 and 5, but also with reference to Figure 2 as necessary. Figure 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the percussion instrument 1 taken along line VV in Figure 3.

[0057] 3 and 5, the light receiving element 191 (see FIG. 5) of the optical sensor 19 has its light receiving portion facing the lower surface side of the substrate 20. Therefore, light from lighting or the like provided on the ceiling side is blocked by the substrate 20 and the upper wall 152 of the bracket 15, so that it is possible to prevent the light receiving element 191 from erroneously detecting such disturbance light.

[0058] On the other hand, an opening 155 for inserting the supported part 141 of the lever 14 is formed on the bottom wall 153 (see FIG. 3) side of the bracket 15, and the lever 14 is supported by a rotating shaft 16 provided in this opening 155. Since a gap is formed around the rotating shaft 16 (the movable part of the lever 14) between the supported part 141 and the opening 155, light reflected by the floor or the like may enter through this gap. This disturbance light from the floor side is blocked by the light blocking part 25.

[0059] The light blocking part 25 has a bottom wall portion 250 for covering the detected portion 144 of the lever 14 from below, and side wall portions 251 rise upward from both circumferential ends of the bottom wall portion 250. An inner wall portion 252 rises upward from the end portion on the inner circumferential side (the right side in FIG. 3) of the bottom wall portion 250, and the inner wall portion 252 connects the pair of side wall portions 251 to each other.

[0060] A pair of overhanging portions 253 (see FIG. 5) overhang on both circumferential sides from the side surfaces on the upper end sides of the pair of side wall portions 251, and a substantially L-shaped claw portion 254 (see FIG. 2 for the fact that the claw portion 254 is formed in an L shape) is formed at the lower end of each of the pair of side wall portions 251. Each of the walls 250 to 254 of the light shielding part 25 is integrally formed using an elastic body such as rubber or elastomer. The light shielding part 25 is attached to the support wall 159 (see FIG. 5) of the bracket 15 by utilizing the overhanging portions 253 and the claw portion 254.

[0061] The support wall 159 is an L-shaped wall protruding from the inner surface of the side wall 151 of the bracket 15. The support wall 159 is formed on each of the pair of side walls 151, and the light-shielding part 25 is attached to the inside of the bracket 15 by hooking the protruding part 253 and the claw part 254 of the light-shielding part 25 to the pair of support walls 159.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 3, when viewed in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 16, the lower wall portion 250 of the light-shielding part 25 is disposed between the optical sensor 19 and the rotating shaft 16, and as shown in FIG. 5, when the lever 14 is in the ON state (a state in which the light of the optical sensor 19 is irradiated to the reflecting surface 144a), the reflecting surface 144a of the lever 14 is located between the optical sensor 19 (light receiving element 191) and the light-shielding part 25 (lower wall portion 250). As a result, even if a gap between the supported part 141 of the lever 14 and the opening 155 of the bracket 15 is formed around the rotating shaft 16, the lower wall portion 250 of the light-shielding part 25 can block disturbance light entering through the gap. Therefore, the light receiving element 191 can be prevented from receiving disturbance light, so that the position of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy.

[0063] Furthermore, when the lever 14 is in the ON state, the side wall portion 251 and the inner wall portion 252 (see FIG. 3) of the light-shielding part 25 protrude upward (toward the optical sensor 19) from the reflecting surface 144a, and the reflecting surface 144a is surrounded by these walls 251, 252. As a result, even if disturbance light enters the inside of the bracket 15, the disturbance light irradiated onto the reflecting surface 144a can be blocked by the walls 251, 252. Therefore, the light-receiving element 191 can be prevented from receiving disturbance light, so that the position of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy.

[0064] In this way, disturbance light irradiated from the lower side of bracket 15 can be mostly blocked by light-shielding component 25. Furthermore, as described above, disturbance light from the upper side of bracket 15 is also mostly blocked by board 20 and upper wall 152 of bracket 15. On the other hand, it is difficult to block all disturbance light that reaches light receiving element 191, such as external light that is reflected by lever 14 and enters bracket 15, and external light that enters bracket 15 directly (for example, through opening 155).

[0065] In contrast, the present embodiment is configured to prevent erroneous detection of the position of the lever 14 due to disturbance light received by the light receiving element 191. This configuration will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the percussion instrument 1, and Figure 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the detection circuit 27.

[0066] As shown in Fig. 6, the percussion instrument 1 includes a control device 26 for controlling each part of the percussion instrument 1. The control device 26 includes a CPU 260, a flash ROM 261, and a RAM 262, which are connected via a bus line 263. The CPU 260 is a calculation device that controls each part connected by the bus line 263. The head sensor 3, the rim sensor 4, the detection circuit 27, and the sound source 11 are each connected to the bus line 263. The detection circuit 27 is a circuit for detecting the position of the lever 14 (see Figs. 3 and 4). The sound source 11 may be connected to the percussion instrument 1 wirelessly.

[0067] 7, the detection circuit 27 includes a control circuit 270 that controls the lighting of the light-emitting element 190 of the optical sensor 19. As described above, the light emitted from the light-emitting element 190 is reflected by the detection target portion 144 (the reflecting surface 144a) of the lever 14 and received by the light-receiving element 191. The optical sensor 19 outputs an output value according to the amount of light received by the light-receiving element 191 to the conversion circuit 271.

[0068] The control circuit 270 blinks the light-projecting element 190 of the optical sensor 19 at a predetermined interval (for example, turns on at 0.4 ms intervals), and connects the conversion circuit 271 to the holding circuit 272 when the light-projecting element 190 is turned off. The conversion circuit 271 converts the current value (output value) output from the light-receiving element 191 when the light-projecting element 190 is turned off into a voltage value and outputs it to the holding circuit 272. The output value output by the light-receiving element 191 when the light-projecting element 190 is turned off (hereinafter referred to as the "light-off output value") is a value indicating the amount of disturbance light.

[0069] On the other hand, when the light-projecting element 190 is lit, the control circuit 270 cuts off the connection between the conversion circuit 271 and the holding circuit 272, and the conversion circuit 271 converts the current value (output value) output from the light-receiving element 191 when the light-projecting element 190 is lit into a voltage value and outputs it to the arithmetic circuit 273. The output value output by the light-receiving element 191 when the light-projecting element 190 is lit (hereinafter referred to as the "lighted output value") is a value indicating the total amount of the above-mentioned ambient light and the light reflected from the detection target portion 144.

[0070] Then, the arithmetic circuit 273 subtracts the light-off output value held in the holding circuit 272 from the light-on output value, and outputs the correction value obtained by the subtraction to the CPU 260 as a value indicating the position of the lever 14. This makes it possible to subtract the output value increased by the disturbance light from the output value of the optical sensor 19, thereby making it possible to prevent the position of the lever 14 from being erroneously detected due to the influence of the disturbance light (the position of the lever 14 can be detected with high accuracy).

[0071] Here, as described above, when the lever 14 rotates from the ON state to the OFF state, the detected portion 144 (the reflecting surface 144a) is gradually exposed to the outside of the bracket 15 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), so the amount of disturbance light received by the light receiving element 191 is likely to be greater when the lever 14 is in the OFF state than when the lever 14 is in the ON state. In other words, the amount of disturbance light changes depending on the position of the lever 14.

[0072] In contrast, in this embodiment, the light-projecting element 190 blinks at an extremely high speed (lights up at 0.4 ms intervals), and when the light-projecting element 190 lights up, the light-off output value immediately before the light-projecting element 190 lights up (the previous time when the light-projecting element 190 was turned off) is held in the holding circuit 272. This light-off output value immediately before the light-projecting element 190 lights up almost matches the amount of disturbance light actually received by the light-receiving element 191 when the light-projecting element 190 emits light, so the output value of the optical sensor 19 can be accurately corrected by subtracting the light-off output value immediately before the light-projecting element 190 lights up from the light-on output value (the increase in the output value due to disturbance light can be accurately subtracted). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the position of the lever 14 from being erroneously detected due to the influence of disturbance light (the position of the lever 14 can be accurately detected).

[0073] In addition, the control circuit 270 turns on the light-projecting element 190 for a time (e.g., 0.1 ms) shorter than the time for which the light-projecting element 190 is turned off (e.g., 0.3 ms), thereby reducing the power consumption of the optical sensor 19 and improving the life of the optical sensor 19 (light-projecting element 190).

[0074] Returning to Fig. 6, the explanation will be given. The flash ROM 261 of the control device 26 is a rewritable non-volatile storage device that stores programs executed by the CPU 260, fixed value data, etc. The flash ROM 261 stores a control program 261a executed by the CPU 260. The RAM 262 is a memory for rewritably storing various work data, flags, etc. when the control program 261a is executed.

[0075] When the control program 261a is executed by the CPU 260, the generation of musical tones is controlled by an initialization process and a periodic process (see Figs. 7 and 8) described later. Although the details of these processes will be described later, the percussion instrument 1 outputs a sound generation instruction from the CPU 260 to the sound source 11 according to the detection results of the head sensor 3, the rim sensor 4, and the detection circuit 27 (generating information for controlling the musical tones generated by the sound source 11 according to the position of the lever 14 detected by the optical sensor 19).

[0076] The sound source 11 is a device that controls the tone color of musical sounds (percussion sounds) and various effects in accordance with sound generation instructions from the CPU 260. The sound source 11 has a built-in DSP 110 that performs calculation processing such as filtering waveform data and adding effects. The sound source 11 is connected to an amplifier 12, which is connected to a speaker 13. The musical sound signal processed by the sound source 11 is amplified by the amplifier 12, and a musical sound based on the amplified musical sound signal is emitted from the speaker 13.

[0077] The RAM 262 includes a lever position memory 262a, a lever state flag 262b, a masking process flag 262c, and a masking time counter 262d.

[0078] The lever position memory 262a stores the positions of the lever 14 detected by the detection circuit 27 (the corrected values ​​of the output values ​​of the optical sensor 19 described above) in chronological order. The lever position memory 262a stores the positions of the lever 14 for the past 5 ms, for example, and the operation speed of the lever 14 can be calculated from the positions of the lever 14 stored in chronological order.

[0079] The lever state flag 262b is a flag indicating whether the lever 14 is in an ON state or an OFF state, and the mask processing flag 262c is a flag indicating whether a mask processing is being performed or not. The mask processing is a process for preventing erroneous musical tones from being generated due to vibrations caused when the lever 14 is operated.

[0080] More specifically, because the lever 14 is attached to the shell 2 via the bracket 15 as described above (see FIG. 1), vibrations generated when the lever 14 is operated to the ON or OFF state (end positions of its movable range) and vibrations generated while the lever 14 is being operated (when the lever 14 is rotating partway through its movable range) are transmitted to the shell 2. If the vibrations transmitted to the shell 2 are detected by the rim sensor 4, there is a risk that a musical sound similar to that produced when the rim 7 is struck (hereinafter referred to as the "rim 7 strike sound") will be produced. In other words, the rim 7 strike sound may be erroneously produced despite the lever 14 having been operated.

[0081] The vibrations transmitted to the shell 2 when the lever 14 is operated in this manner are often smaller than when the player strikes the rim 7. Therefore, in this embodiment, a masking process is initiated when the lever 14 is operated, and for the specified time that this masking process is performed, the production of impact sounds of the rim 7 that are generated when the output value of the rim sensor 4 is relatively small (that is, the volume of the impact sounds is relatively small) is canceled out of the impact sounds of the rim 7 that are generated based on the detection results of the rim sensor 4. This makes it possible to prevent the generation of impact sounds of the rim 7 due to vibrations caused when the lever 14 is operated.

[0082] The masking process ends when a predetermined time has elapsed after the start of the masking process, and a counter that indicates whether or not the time for this masking process has elapsed is the masking time counter 262d. The control of musical sound generation including this masking process will be described with reference to Figs. 8 to 10.

[0083] First, the initialization process and periodic process of the percussion instrument 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8(a) is a flow chart showing the initialization process, and Fig. 8(b) is a flow chart showing the periodic process. The initialization process shown in Fig. 8(a) is executed immediately after the power supply of the percussion instrument 1 is turned on.

[0084] 8(a), in the initialization process, the lever state flag 262b is set to OFF (S1), and the mask process flag 262c is set to OFF (S2). Next, the mask time counter 262d is set to "0", and the series of processes is terminated.

[0085] The periodic process shown in Fig. 8(b) is repeatedly executed every 0.1 ms after the initialization process by an interval interrupt process every 0.1 ms. In the periodic process, a lever position detection process (S4) for detecting the position of the lever 14 and a musical sound generation process (S5) for controlling sound generation based on the detection results of the head sensor 3, the rim sensor 4, and the detection circuit 27 are executed in order. These processes will be described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing the lever position detection process (S4), and Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing the musical sound generation process (S5).

[0086] 9, in the lever position detection process of S4, the position of the lever 14 (hereinafter referred to as the "lever position") is obtained from the detection circuit 27 and stored in the lever position memory 262a (S10). As described above, the operating speed of the lever 14 can be calculated from the positions of the lever 14 for the past 5 ms stored in this lever position memory 262a.

[0087] After S10, it is confirmed whether or not the current lever position acquired in S10 is ON (S11). If the current lever position is ON (S11: Yes), it is confirmed whether or not the lever state flag 262b is OFF in order to confirm whether or not the lever position has been operated from OFF to ON (S12).

[0088] If the lever state flag 262b is OFF (S12: Yes), the lever state flag 262b is set to ON (S13). If the lever state flag 262b is set from OFF to ON, this indicates that the lever operation has ended, so the mask processing flag 262c is set to OFF (S14). On the other hand, if the lever state flag 262b is ON in the processing of S12 (S12: No), the processing of S13 and S14 is skipped.

[0089] On the other hand, in the process of S11, if the current lever position is not ON (S11: No), it is checked whether the current lever position is OFF (S15).If the current lever position is OFF (S15: Yes), it is checked whether the lever state flag 262b is ON to check whether the lever position has been changed from ON to OFF (S16).

[0090] If the lever state flag 262b is ON (S16: Yes), the lever state flag 262b is set to OFF (S17). If the lever state flag 262b is set to ON from OFF, this indicates that the lever operation has ended, so the mask processing flag 262c is set to OFF (S14). On the other hand, if the lever state flag 262b is OFF in the processing of S16 (S16: No), the processing of S17 and S14 is skipped.

[0091] In the process of S11, if the current lever position is not ON (S11: No), and in the process of S15, if the current lever position is not OFF (S15: No), the current lever position is between ON and OFF, that is, the lever 14 is being operated.

[0092] Therefore, in the process of S15, if the current lever position is not OFF (S15: No), it is confirmed whether the lever state flag 262b is ON or OFF (S18). If the lever state flag 262b is ON (S18: ON), the operation of the lever 14 is started from the ON state, and in this case, it is confirmed whether the current lever position has reached the first intermediate position (S19). This first intermediate position is a value indicating that the lever position is 60, for example, where the lever position is OFF as 0 and the lever position is ON as 100.

[0093] Furthermore, in the process of S18, if the lever state flag 262b is OFF (S18: OFF), the operation of the lever 14 has started from the OFF state, and in this case, it is confirmed whether or not the current lever position has reached the second intermediate position (S19). If the first intermediate position is 60 as described above, this second intermediate position is a position having a smaller value (for example, 40). In other words, the processes of S19 and S20 are for confirming whether or not the lever 14 has been operated to the intermediate region of its movable range (the movable region between the first intermediate position and the second intermediate position).

[0094] When the lever 14 is operated to the intermediate region of its movable range, it is necessary to cancel the generation of the musical sound (start a masking process) so that the vibration generated when the lever 14 reaches the ON or OFF state does not mistakenly produce the striking sound of the rim 7.

[0095] Therefore, if the processing in S19 indicates that the lever position has reached the first intermediate position (S19: Yes), or if the processing in S20 indicates that the lever position has reached the second intermediate position (S20: Yes), it is checked whether the mask processing flag 262c is OFF (S21).

[0096] If the masking flag 262c is OFF (S21: Yes), the masking time counter 262d is set to, for example, "800" (i.e., the masking time is set to 80 ms) (S22), and the masking flag 262c is set to ON (S23). This starts the masking process. During this masking process, as described above, for vibrations estimated to have been caused by lever operation, the generation of musical sounds based on the vibrations (sounds of striking the rim 7) is cancelled, but if it is estimated that the head 6 has been struck (the vibrations detected by the head sensor 3 are relatively large), the generation of musical sounds based on the strikes is not cancelled.

[0097] If the masking flag 262c is ON in the process of S21 (S21: No), the masking process has already started, and therefore the processes of S22 and S23 are skipped. Also, if the lever position has not reached the first intermediate position in the process of S19 (S19: No), or if the lever position has not reached the second intermediate position in the process of S20 (S20: No), then the lever 14 has not reached the intermediate region of the movable range. Therefore, in these cases, there is no need to start the masking process, and therefore the processes of S21 to S23 are skipped.

[0098] After the processes of S12, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, and 23, it is checked whether the mask time counter 262d is 1 or more (S24). If the mask time counter 262d is 1 or more (S24: Yes), 1 is subtracted from the mask time counter 262d (S25), and the series of processes is terminated. If the mask time counter 262d is not 1 or more (S24: No) in the process of S24, the mask process is terminated, so the process of S25 is skipped and the series of processes is terminated. After the lever position detection process of S4, the musical tone generation process (S5) of FIG. 10 is executed.

[0099] As shown in Fig. 10, in the musical tone generation process of S5, it is confirmed whether the head 6 or the rim 7 (see Fig. 1) has been struck based on the output value output from the head sensor 3 (rim sensor 4) (S30). If the head sensor 3 (rim sensor 4) detects an output value equal to or greater than a predetermined value, that is, if the head 6 or the rim 7 has been struck (S30: Yes), the striking strength and striking position are calculated (S31). On the other hand, if the head 6 or the rim 7 has not been struck (S30: No), the series of processes ends.

[0100] After calculating the impact strength and impact position in the process of S31, it is confirmed whether the value of the mask time counter 262d is 1 or more (S32). If the value of the mask time counter 262d is 1 or more (S32: Yes), the mask process is in progress, but the impact sound of the rim 7 is generated by the following processes of S33 to S35 (mask process canceling means).

[0101] Specifically, if the value of the mask time counter 262d is 1 or greater (S32: Yes), the peak values ​​of the output values ​​of the head sensor 3 and the rim sensor 4 are obtained (S33), and it is confirmed whether the peak value of the head sensor 3 is less than or equal to a first threshold value (S34).

[0102] If the peak value of the head sensor 3 is equal to or less than the first threshold value (S34: Yes), it is checked whether the "peak value of the rim sensor 4 / peak value of the head sensor 3" is equal to or greater than the second threshold value (S35). If the peak value of the head sensor 3 is relatively small (S34: Yes) and the "peak value of the rim sensor 4 / peak value of the head sensor 3" is relatively large (S35: Yes), that is, if the vibration detected by the rim sensor 4 is relatively large, there is a high possibility that the rim 7 has been struck.

[0103] Therefore, if the "peak value of the rim sensor 4 / peak value of the head sensor 3" is greater than or equal to the second threshold value (S35: Yes), a musical sound corresponding to the strike on the rim 7 is generated (a sound generation instruction is output) (S36), and the series of processes is terminated.

[0104] On the other hand, if the peak value of the head sensor 3 exceeds the first threshold value in the process of S34 (S34: No), or if the "peak value of the rim sensor 4 / peak value of the head sensor 3" is less than the second threshold value in the process of S35 (S35: No), it is highly likely that the rim 7 has not been struck. Therefore, in these cases, the processes of S35 and S36 are skipped, and the series of processes ends without generating a striking sound of the rim 7 (outputting a sound generation instruction).

[0105] Furthermore, in the processing of S32, if the value of the mask time counter 262d is 0 (less than 1) (S32: No), mask processing is not in progress, so a musical sound is generated in response to a strike on the head 6 or rim 7 (control information for the musical sound in response to the position of the lever 14 is generated and output to the sound source 11) (S36), and the series of processing is terminated.

[0106] Thus, in this embodiment, while the masking process prevents the generation of an impact sound on the rim 7 due to vibrations caused by lever operation, if it is presumed that the rim 7 has been struck (vibrations from a strike on the rim 7 are detected by the rim sensor 4), the above steps S33-35 can be used to generate an impact sound on the rim 7 even during the masking process. This makes it easier to produce the musical tone intended by the performer.

[0107] The above has been explained based on the above embodiment, however, the present invention is in no way limited to the above embodiment, and it can be easily inferred that various improvements and modifications are possible within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention.

[0108] In the above embodiment, an electronic percussion instrument (electronic drum) that imitates an acoustic drum is exemplified as an example of the percussion instrument 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in an acoustic drum equipped with a "strainer lever" or a timpani or vibraphone equipped with a "pedal", the musical sound (electronic sound) generated when the "striked body" is struck may be changed based on the position of the "strainer lever" or the "pedal". For example, when the "pedal" of a timpani or vibraphone is used as the control, the head of the timpani or the sound plate of a vibraphone corresponds to the "striked body". In other words, the technology of the above embodiment can be applied to any percussion instrument equipped with a "rotatable control provided for adjusting the musical sound generated when the struck body is struck".

[0109] In the above embodiment, the position of the lever 14 between the ON and OFF states is detected by the optical sensor 19, and different musical tones are generated for the initial position (ON state), the terminal position (OFF state) and a position between them (a position halfway between ON and OFF; hereinafter referred to as the "intermediate region") in the movable range of the lever 14. That is, when the head 6 (struck body) is struck while the lever 14 is in the intermediate region, one type of musical tone is generated that is different from the state when the lever 14 is in the initial and terminal positions, but this is not necessarily limited to the above.

[0110] For example, the intermediate region within the movable range of the lever 14 may be divided into a plurality of regions, and different musical tones may be generated in each of these regions. As an example of such a configuration, for example, the intermediate region within the movable range of the lever 14 may be divided into two regions, a first region close to the ON side and a second region close to the OFF side, and different musical tones (musical tones with different effects) may be generated when the head 6 is struck with the lever 14 positioned in the first region and when the head 6 is struck with the lever 14 positioned in the second region. With such a configuration, a greater variety of musical tones can be generated. Furthermore, if the intermediate region within the movable range of the lever 14 is divided into three or more regions (if three or more types of musical tones are generated in the intermediate region), even more diverse musical tones can be generated.

[0111] In the above embodiment, the musical sound produced when the head 6 is struck is changed according to the position of the lever 14, but this is not necessarily limited to the above. For example, the musical sound produced when the rim 7 is struck may be changed according to the position of the lever 14 (different effects may be provided according to the position of the lever 14). In addition, the position or speed of the lever 14 may be detected, and other control may be performed according to the detection results. Examples of other control include switching of stage lighting and video.

[0112] In the above embodiment, the optical sensor 19 is exemplified as an example of a sensor (first sensor) that detects the position of the lever 14, but the position of the lever 14 may be detected using other known sensors (such as a sensor that detects changes in a magnetic field or capacitance, or a potentiometer).

[0113] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the reflecting surface 144a is rotated (displaced) in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the optical sensor 19 (light-projecting element 190), but for example, the reflecting surface of the lever 14 may be displaced in the optical axis direction of the optical sensor 19. In other words, as long as the configuration is such that the position of the lever 14 can be detected, the position of the optical sensor 19 can be set appropriately.

[0114] In addition, "the reflective surface 144a is displaced in a direction approximately perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical sensor 19" means that when the light from the optical sensor 19 is irradiated onto the reflective surface 144a (the reflective surface 144a is positioned on the optical axis of the optical sensor 19), the lever 14 rotates so that the angle of the reflective surface 144a with respect to the optical axis of the optical sensor 19 is always 20° or less (more preferably, 10° or less).

[0115] In addition, "the rotation axis 16 of lever 14 (the rotation center of lever 14) and the optical axis of optical sensor 19 are approximately perpendicular" means that, although it is preferable that the rotation center of lever 14 is located on the optical axis of optical sensor 19, the rotation center of lever 14 does not necessarily have to be located on the optical axis of optical sensor 19 as long as lever 14 is structured to rotate so that the angle of reflective surface 144a with respect to the optical axis of optical sensor 19 is always 20° or less (more preferably, 10° or less) as described above.

[0116] In the above embodiment, the reflective material 24 attached to the reflective surface 144a of the lever 14 is composed of a resin layer formed using a resin (e.g., PET) film and a metal layer (e.g., aluminum) laminated on the resin layer, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, other known films may be used as the reflective material 24 as long as they can adjust the light reflected by the reflective surface 144a, or the reflective material 24 may be omitted.

[0117] In the above embodiment, the case has been described where the position of the lever 14 is detected by causing the optical sensor 19 to blink using the detection circuit 27 (control circuit 270) and subtracting the output value when the light is off, which is held in the holding circuit 272, from the output value when the light is on, but such detection processing of the position of the lever 14 may be performed on the CPU 260 instead of the detection circuit 27. Also, a configuration in which the optical sensor 19 is continuously lit and such subtraction is not performed may be used.

[0118] In the above embodiment, the case where the light-projecting element 190 is turned on for a time shorter than the extinguishing time of the light-projecting element 190 has been described, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the extinguishing time and the on-time of the light-projecting element 190 may be the same length, or the light-projecting element 190 may be turned on for a time longer than the extinguishing time of the light-projecting element 190.

[0119] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which masking is performed when the lever 14 is operated, and if it is presumed that the rim 7 has been struck (vibrations from a strike on the rim 7 have been detected by the rim sensor 4), an impact sound on the rim 7 is generated even during masking, but this is not necessarily limited to the case. For example, during masking, all musical tone generation based on the detection results of the head sensor 3 and rim sensor 4 may be cancelled, or a configuration may be adopted in which masking is not performed.

[0120] In the above embodiment, the percussion instrument 1 outputs a sound generation command to the external sound source 11, but the percussion instrument 1 may also be provided with the sound source 11. In either configuration, information for controlling musical tones is generated according to the position of the lever 14 detected by the optical sensor 19, and musical tone signals based on that information are generated by the sound source 11, thereby making it possible to generate a variety of musical tones. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 1 Percussion 2 Shell (Housing) 4 Rim sensor (second sensor) 6 Head (striking object) 14 Lever (operator) 144a Reflective surface 16 Rotation Axis 19 Optical sensor (first sensor) 190 Light emitting element 191 Photodetector 24 Reflective material 25 Light shielding parts 270 Control circuit (lighting control means) 272 Holding circuit (memory means)

Claims

1. a struck body that is struck by a player, a rotatable operator provided for adjusting a musical tone that is generated when the struck body is struck, and a first sensor that detects a position of the operator between an initial position and an end position of a rotational movement of the operator, A percussion instrument capable of generating information for controlling a musical tone in accordance with a position of the manipulator detected by the first sensor.

2. 2. The percussion instrument according to claim 1, further comprising: a speed of the manipulator calculated based on the position of the manipulator detected by the first sensor; and information for controlling a musical tone being generated in accordance with the speed.

3. 2. The percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor is an optical sensor including a light-emitting element that emits light toward a reflective surface of the manipulator, and a light-receiving element that receives light reflected from the reflective surface.

4. 4. The percussion instrument according to claim 3, wherein, in a state in which the light from the light-emitting element is irradiated onto the reflecting surface, the reflecting surface is displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the light-emitting element.

5. 4. The percussion instrument according to claim 3, wherein the rotation axis of the operator and the optical axis of the light-projecting element are substantially perpendicular to each other.

6. a light blocking part disposed between the optical sensor and the rotation shaft when viewed in the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the operation tool, 4. The percussion instrument according to claim 3, wherein the reflecting surface is located between the light receiving element and the light blocking part when the light from the light emitting element is irradiated onto the reflecting surface.

7. 4. The percussion instrument according to claim 3, wherein the manipulator comprises a reflector attached to the reflecting surface for adjusting the amount of light reflected by the reflecting surface.

8. a lighting control means for blinking the light-projecting element, and a storage means for storing an output value of the light-receiving element when the lighting control means turns off the light-projecting element as an output value when the light-receiving element is turned off, 4. The percussion instrument according to claim 3, wherein the position of the operator is detected based on a value obtained by subtracting the light-off output value stored in the memory means from the output value of the light-receiving element when the light-emitting control means turns on the light-emitting element.

9. 9. The percussion instrument according to claim 8, wherein the lighting control means lights up the light-emitting element for a period of time shorter than a period of time for which the light-emitting element is turned off.

10. a housing to which the struck body and the control element are attached, and a second sensor that detects vibration of the housing; The percussion instrument described in claim 1, characterized in that while information for controlling musical sounds can be generated in accordance with the detection result of the second sensor, when it is estimated that vibration of the housing due to operation of the operator has been detected by the second sensor, information for controlling musical sounds based on the detection result is not generated.

11. 11. The percussion instrument according to claim 10, wherein, when it is estimated that vibration of said body due to a strike has been detected by said second sensor, information for controlling a musical tone based on the detection result is generated.

12. A method for generating musical tones in a percussion instrument comprising: a struck body that is struck by a player; a rotatable manipulator that is provided for adjusting a musical tone generated when the struck body is struck; and a first sensor that detects a position of the manipulator between an initial position and an end position of a rotational motion of the manipulator, a first sensor for detecting a position of the control element and a second sensor for detecting a position of the control element;

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