Keyboard device and method for attaching rotation member

Abstract

A holder 10 is formed by base parts 11a of to-be-attached parts 11 being connected together by means of flat-plate-like connecting parts 11b, 11c. Accordingly, the to-be-attached parts 11 (connecting parts 11b, 11c) can be flexed in a state before the holder 10 is fixed to a substrate 9. By bending the to-be-attached parts 11, shaft parts 13 formed on wall parts 12 can be easily inserted into insertion holes 71 of displacement members 7 because opposing intervals between the shaft parts 13 can be widened slightly. Accordingly, the workability of attachment work for the displacement members 7 can be improved. After the displacement members 7 are supported on the holder 10, the widening (the to-be-attached parts 11 are bent) of the opposing intervals between the shaft parts 13 of the wall parts 12 can be suppressed by fixing the holder 10 to the substrate 9 that has a greater stiffness than the holder 10. Accordingly, falling of the displacement members 7 from the holder 10 can be suppressed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a keyboard device and a method for attaching a rotating member, and more particularly, to a keyboard device and a method for attaching a rotating member that can facilitate the attachment of the rotating member and suppress the detachment of the rotating member after attachment.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a keyboard device including a support member (chassis 110), a rotating shaft provided on the support member, and a rotating member such as a key or a hammer rotatably supported on the rotating shaft.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Since a plurality of rotating members exemplified by the above keys and hammers are arranged side by side in the scale direction of the keyboard device, it takes time to attach these plurality of rotating members to the support member. Therefore, a technique for facilitating the attachment work of the rotating member is required. On the other hand, it is also required that the rotating member does not fall off from the support member after the attachment.

[0005] The present invention has been made to meet this requirement, and an object thereof is to provide a keyboard device and a method for attaching a rotating member that can facilitate the attachment of the rotating member and suppress the detachment of the rotating member after attachment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve this object, the keyboard device of the present invention includes a plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and which has higher rigidity than the support member. The support member includes an attachment portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the attachment portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotation shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction into which the rotation shaft is inserted. and a guide groove having one end connected to the insertion hole and capable of receiving the rotating shaft from an open portion at the other end; and includes The guide groove includes a groove side inclined surface formed on a groove bottom surface facing the tip of the rotating shaft. By sliding the rotating shaft received from the open portion along the guide groove, the rotating shaft can be guided toward the insertion hole. By the sliding of the rotating shaft along the groove side inclined surface, the opposing interval between the wall portions is elastically deformable the attached part so as to be widened. The keyboard device of the present invention includes a plurality of rotating members arranged in a scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and which has higher rigidity than the support member. The support member extends in the scale direction and includes an attached portion attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the attached portion and rotatably support the rotating members between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft protruding in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed on a side surface facing the scale direction into which the rotating shaft is inserted. The attached portion is elastically deformable so as to widen the opposing interval between the wall portions. The support member includes a connecting portion that connects outer side surfaces on opposite sides of the plurality of wall portions, which are opposite to the rotating member. The keyboard device of the present invention includes a plurality of rotating members arranged in a scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and which has higher rigidity than the support member. The support member extends in the scale direction and includes an attached portion attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the attached portion and rotatably support the rotating members between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft protruding in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed on a side surface facing the scale direction into which the rotating shaft is inserted. The attached portion includes a base portion from which the wall portions rise up, and a connecting portion that is formed to be thinner than the base portion and connects the base portions in the scale direction. The attached portion is elastically deformable so as to widen the opposing interval between the wall portions.

[0007] The method for attaching a rotating member of the present invention includes a plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and which has higher rigidity than the support member. The support member includes an attachment portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the attachment portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotation shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction into which the rotation shaft is inserted. and a guide groove having one end connected to the insertion hole and capable of receiving the rotating shaft from an open portion at the other end; and includes the guide groove includes a groove side inclined surface formed on a groove bottom surface facing the tip of the rotating shaft a method for attaching the rotating member in the keyboard device, By sliding the rotating shaft received from the opening portion along the guide groove, the rotating shaft is guided toward the insertion hole, and by the sliding of the rotating shaft along the groove side inclined surface wherein the attachment portion is elastically deformed, and the rotation shaft is inserted into the insertion hole in a state where the opposing interval between the wall portions is widened, thereby attaching the rotating member to the support member. The method for attaching a rotating member of the present invention includes a plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member. The support member includes an attachment portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise from the attachment portion so as to be arranged in the scale direction and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposed surfaces. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole that is formed in a side surface facing the scale direction and into which the rotating shaft is inserted. The support member includes a connecting portion that connects outer surfaces on the opposite side of the side surfaces of the plurality of wall portions from the rotating member. In the method for attaching the rotating member in a keyboard device, the attachment portion is elastically deformed, and the rotating shaft is inserted into the insertion hole in a state where the opposing interval between the wall portions is widened, thereby attaching the rotating member to the support member. The method for attaching a rotating member of the present invention includes a plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member. The support member includes an attachment portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise from the attachment portion so as to be arranged in the scale direction and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposed surfaces. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole that is formed in a side surface facing the scale direction and into which the rotating shaft is inserted. The attachment portion includes a base portion from which the wall portion rises, and a connecting portion that is formed to be thinner than the base portion and connects the base portions in the scale direction. In the method for attaching the rotating member in a keyboard device, the attachment portion is elastically deformed, and the rotating shaft is inserted into the insertion hole in a state where the opposing interval between the wall portions is widened, thereby attaching the rotating member to the support member.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the keyboard device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 in the first embodiment.

[0010] In FIG. 1, a cross-section cut in a plane orthogonal to the scale direction (the direction in which a plurality of keys 2 are arranged) of the keyboard device 1 is shown. Further, in the following description, the front side (the left side in FIG. 1) as viewed from the performer is defined as the front side of the keyboard device 1, the opposite side (the right side in FIG. 1) is defined as the rear side, and the direction in which a plurality of keys 2 are arranged (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1) is described as the scale direction. Also, in FIG. 1, the protruding portion 64 of the hammer 6 is shown by a dashed line (the same applies to FIGS. 2 and later).

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard device 1 is a keyboard instrument (electronic piano) having a plurality (88 in this embodiment) of keys 2. The keys 2 are composed of a plurality (52 in this embodiment) of white keys 2a for playing fundamental tones and a plurality (36 in this embodiment) of black keys 2b for playing derived tones, and the plurality of white keys 2a and black keys 2b are arranged side by side in the scale direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1).

[0012] The keyboard device 1 includes a bottom plate 3 for supporting the white keys 2a and black keys 2b. The bottom plate 3 is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the scale direction using synthetic resin, steel plate, or the like, and a resin chassis 4 is supported on the upper surface of the bottom plate 3. Both front and rear end portions of the chassis 4 are fixed to the bottom plate 3 via channel members 5.

[0013] On the upper surface of the rear end side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the chassis 4, a rotation shaft 20 of the key 2 is provided, and the rear end portion of each key 2 is rotatably (oscillatably) supported by the chassis 4 by this rotation shaft 20. Below the key 2, a hammer 6 and a displacement member 7 that are interlocked with the rotation of the key 2 are provided.

[0014] The detailed configuration of the white key 2a will be described below, but such a configuration is substantially the same also in the black key 2b. Therefore, the actions and effects according to the configuration of the white key 2a described below are also achieved in the black key 2b in the same manner.

[0015] At a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the chassis 4, the hammer 6 is rotatably supported around a rotation shaft 60 along the scale direction. The hammer 6 includes a mass portion 61 (mass body) for imparting a key-pressing feel when the white key 2a is pressed, and the mass portion 61 is located on the rear side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the rotation shaft 60.

[0016] Among the hammer 6, the portion on the front side of the rotation shaft 60 is configured as a pressing portion 62 for pushing the displacement member 7 when the white key 2a is pressed. On the upper surface of the pressing portion 62, a receiving portion 63 that is recessed downward is formed, and a protrusion 21 of the white key 2a is inserted into this receiving portion 63.

[0017] The protruding portion 21 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the substantially central portion of the white key 2a in the front-rear direction, and the bottom surface of the receiving portion 63 is configured as a sliding surface on which the tip (lower end) of the protruding portion 21 slides back and forth. When the white key 2a is pressed, the protruding portion 21 of the white key 2a slides along the bottom surface of the receiving portion 63, and the pressing portion 62 is pushed downward by the protruding portion 21, causing the hammer 6 to rotate about the rotation axis 60 (counterclockwise in FIG. 1).

[0018] Due to the rotation of this hammer 6, the guide pin 65 formed on the protruding portion 64 of the hammer 6 slides along the groove 70 of the displacement member 7, causing the displacement member 7 to rotate. The details of the structure for rotating this displacement member 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0019] FIG. 2(a) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 in the IIa portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 taken along the line IIb-IIb of FIG. 2(a). FIG. 3(a) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 showing the state where the white key 2a is pressed from the state of FIG. 2(a), and FIG. 3(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 showing the state where the white key 2a is pressed to the end position from the state of FIG. 3(a).

[0020] Note that the detected portion 8 is plated (electroplated, gold-plated) on the displacement member 7, and the coil 90 is printed on the substrate 9. However, in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cross-sections of the detected portion 8 and the coil 90 are schematically illustrated (the same applies to the subsequent figures).

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, a protruding portion 64 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the pressing portion 62, and a guide pin 65 protrudes in the scale direction from the side surface of the protruding portion 64 (the surface facing the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2). These protruding portion 64 and guide pin 65 are integrally formed with the pressing portion 62 of the hammer 6.

[0022] The guide pin 65 is slidably engaged with a groove 70 formed in the displacement member 7, and the displacement member 7 is rotatably supported by a holder 10 fixed to the substrate 9. The substrate 9 is fixed to the chassis 4 below the hammer 6, and a coil 90 for detecting the rotation of the displacement member 7 is printed on the substrate 9.

[0023] The holder 10 includes a mounting portion 11 attached to the upper surface of the substrate 9, a wall portion 12 rising upward from the mounting portion 11, and a substantially cylindrical shaft portion 13 formed at the upper end side of the wall portion 12. A plurality of wall portions 12 are arranged on the mounting portion 11 extending in the scale direction (the left - right direction in FIG. 2(b)), and the displacement member 7 is rotatably supported between the opposing walls of these plurality of wall portions 12.

[0024] In the following description, among the side surfaces of the wall portion 12 (the surfaces facing the scale direction), the side surface sandwiching the displacement member 7 is defined as the inner side surface 12a of the wall portion 12, and the side surface opposite to the inner side surface 12a is described as the outer side surface 12b. From the inner side surface 12a of the wall portion 12, the shaft portion 13 projects in the scale direction, and this shaft portion 13 is inserted into an insertion hole 71 penetrating the displacement member 7 in the scale direction.

[0025] The rotation of the displacement member 7 with respect to the shaft portion 13 is performed by the sliding between the guide pin 65 of the hammer 6 described above and the groove 70 formed in the displacement member 7. The groove 70 extends from the upper end portion of the displacement member 7 toward the rear side (the right side in FIG. 2(a)). Among the groove 70, the upper and lower sliding surfaces on which the guide pin 65 slides when the white key 2a is pressed (released) are defined as the upper sliding surface 70a and the lower sliding surface 70b for description.

[0026] The guide pin 65 of the hammer 6 engages with each sliding surface 70a, 70b of the groove 70 in the region between the rotation axis 60 of the hammer 6 and the shaft portion 13 (the rotation axis of the displacement member 7) of the holder 10. Also, in the initial state before the white key 2a is pressed, the lower sliding surface 70b of the groove 70 extends so as to intersect the displacement locus of the guide pin 65 around the rotation axis 60.

[0027] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the key is pressed, the pressing portion 62 of the hammer 6 is pushed downward by the protrusion 21 of the white key 2a, and when the guide pin 65 rotates around the rotation shaft 60 (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), the lower slide surface 70b is pushed downward by the guide pin 65. As a result, the displacement member 7 rotates around the shaft portion 13 (clockwise in FIG. 3).

[0028] As the displacement member 7 rotates, the detected portion 8 provided on the bottom surface of the displacement member 7 is displaced relative to the coil 90 of the substrate 9. That is, as the stroke amount of the white key 2a increases from the state before the key is pressed, the intrusion amount of the detected portion 8 into the region facing the coil 90 (hereinafter referred to as the "detection region") increases. The intrusion amount of the detected portion 8 is the size of the area where the detected portion 8 and the coil 90 face each other in the thickness direction of the substrate 9.

[0029] On the other hand, when the white key 2a is released after being pressed (hereinafter referred to as "when the white key 2a is released"), the guide pin 65 rotates around the rotation shaft 60 (clockwise in FIG. 3) so as to return to the initial state by the weight of the mass portion 61 (see FIG. 1) of the hammer 6. By this rotation of the guide pin 65, the upper slide surface 70a is pushed up by the guide pin 65, and the displacement member 7 rotates around the shaft portion 13 (counterclockwise in FIG. 3). At this time, the intrusion amount of the detected portion 8 into the detection region decreases.

[0030] Since the detected portion 8 is formed using a non-magnetic metal (such as copper), when a current is passed through the coil 90 to generate a magnetic field, if the intrusion amount of the detected portion 8 into the detection region is increased, the inductance of the coil 90 decreases, and if the intrusion amount of the detected portion 8 into the detection region is decreased, the inductance of the coil 90 increases. Based on the increase and decrease of the inductance of this coil 90, the sensor output value (V) changes (see FIG. 4). Based on the increase and decrease of this sensor output value, key press information (note information) is detected.

[0031] Regarding this sensor output, reference will be made to FIGS. 3 and 4 for explanation. FIG. 4(a) is a graph showing the relationship between the stroke amount of key 2 and the sensor output. The vertical axis represents the magnitude (V) of the sensor output, and the horizontal axis represents the stroke amount (mm) of key 2. FIG. 4(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 obtained by enlarging the IVb portion of FIG. 3(a), and FIG. 4(c) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 1 along the line IVc-IVc of FIG. 4(b). Note that in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c), illustration of some components (such as the holder 10 shown in FIG. 3) is omitted, and only the main part of the keyboard device 1 is illustrated.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4(a), in this embodiment, the sensor output is configured to decrease substantially proportionally as the white key 2a is pressed. This is because, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower slide surface 70b of the groove 70 is formed in a downwardly convex arc shape, and the stroke amount of the white key 2a (the rotation amount of the guide pin 65 around the rotation axis 60) during key pressing and the rotation amount of the displacement member 7 around the shaft portion 13 are substantially proportional.

[0033] Also, since the upper slide surface 70a also has a shape corresponding to the lower slide surface 70b (the interval between the slide surfaces 70a and 70b is constant), when the white key 2a is released, the sensor output increases substantially proportionally to the decrease amount of the stroke of the white key 2a. Based on the increase and decrease of this sensor output, key pressing information such as the depth and speed of pressing the white key 2a is detected. In order to accurately detect this key pressing information, it is necessary to make the clearance between the detected portion 8 and the coil 90 have dimensions as designed for each key 2.

[0034] In the conventional technology of detecting key pressing information with such a non-contact type sensor, a configuration is adopted in which a detected portion is provided on a rotating member such as key 2 or hammer 6 (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-048295). In such a configuration, variations are likely to occur in the clearance between the coil 90 and the detected portion 8.

[0035] As a first reason for this variation, since the keys 2 and the hammers 6 are large in their own dimensions (long in the longitudinal dimension), there is a tendency for dimensional errors to occur in each key 2 and each hammer 6. Further, as a second reason, since the chassis 4 that supports the keys 2 and the hammers 6 is also large in dimension, there is a tendency for mounting (assembly) errors to occur in the keys 2 and the hammers 6.

[0036] In contrast, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, instead of the white keys 2a and the hammers 6, a detected portion 8 is provided in a displacement member 7 that interlocks with those white keys 2a and hammers 6. Since the displacement member 7 can be formed to be smaller than the white keys 2a and the hammers 6, it is difficult for dimensional errors to occur in each displacement member 7. Further, since the displacement member 7 is pivotally supported by a relatively small holder 10 directly attached to the substrate 9 instead of the chassis 4, mounting errors of each displacement member 7 are also difficult to occur. By reducing these dimensional errors and mounting errors, the clearance between the coil 90 and the detected portion 8 is likely to have dimensions as designed for each key 2. Therefore, the key pressing information of each key 2 can be detected with high accuracy.

[0037] Also, although details will be described later, since a plurality of displacement members 7 arranged in the scale direction are supported by one holder 10 (see FIG. 6), for example, compared to the case where separate holders 10 are provided for each of the plurality of displacement members 7 (one displacement member 7 is attached to the substrate 9 with one holder 10), the clearance between the coil 90 and the detected portion 8 is likely to have dimensions as designed for each key 2.

[0038] Furthermore, by fixing the holder 10 extending in the scale direction to the substrate 9, deformation of the substrate 9 can be restricted by the holder 10. Also by this, the clearance between the coil 90 and the detected portion 8 is likely to have dimensions as designed for each key 2.

[0039] In addition, if the guide pin 65 of the hammer 6 and the groove 70 of the displacement member 7 are engageable, that is, if the displacement member 7 is rotatable in conjunction with the rotation of the hammer 6, the shape of the displacement member 7 and the arrangement of the rotation axis (shaft portion 13) can be freely changed. That is, by appropriately setting the shape of the displacement member 7 and the position of the rotation axis, the arrangement of the coil 90 (the arrangement of the coil 90 on the substrate 9 and the arrangement of the substrate 9 itself) can also be changed to a desired position. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the design of the keyboard device 1 is improved.

[0040] Here, even if the displacement member 307 is slidably supported by the holder 310 fixed to the substrate 9 as in the third embodiment (see FIGS. 15 and 16) described later, dimensional errors and mounting errors of the displacement member 307 can be reduced. However, in the case of the configuration as in the third embodiment, the displacement member 307 may not slide smoothly with respect to the holder 310, and the feel when pressing the white key 2a is likely to deteriorate.

[0041] On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the displacement member 7 is rotatably supported by the holder 10, the displacement member 7 can be smoothly interlocked with the rotation of the hammer 6. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the feel when pressing the white key 2a.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 4(b), the bottom surface 72 (the opposing surface facing the coil 90) of the displacement member 7 is formed in an arc shape centered on the insertion hole 71 (see FIG. 3). At both front and rear ends of the bottom surface 72 of the displacement member 7, a front surface 73 of the displacement member 7 facing the front side (the left side in FIG. 4(b)) in the rotation direction of the displacement member 7 and a rear surface 74 of the displacement member 7 facing the rear side (the right side in FIG. 4(b)) in the same direction are connected. The front surface 73 of the displacement member 7 is a plane extending in the normal direction of the bottom surface 72 from the front edge of the bottom surface 72, and the rear surface 74 is a plane extending in the normal direction of the bottom surface 72 from the rear edge of the bottom surface 72.

[0043] In order to change the magnetic field of the coil 90, it is also possible to provide the detected portion 8 only on the bottom surface 72 of the displacement member 7. However, in the present embodiment, the detected portion 8 includes a facing portion 80 that covers the entire bottom surface 72 of the displacement member 7 (faces the coil 90), and a front portion 81 that is connected to the front end of the facing portion 80 and covers the front surface 73 of the displacement member 7. This is because when the detected portion 8 is formed only on the bottom surface 72 of the displacement member 7, as shown by the broken line in Fig. 4(a), at the initial stage of pressing the white key 2a (when the stroke amount is around 2 mm), the output value of the sensor temporarily increases (hereinafter referred to as "overshoot of the sensor output").

[0044] This overshoot of the sensor output will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5(a) is a schematic diagram of the magnetic field (magnetic flux lines) when a thin detected portion is formed only on the bottom surface 72 of the displacement member 7, and Fig. 5(b) is a schematic diagram of the magnetic field (magnetic flux lines) when the detected portion 8 (facing portion 80 and front portion 81) is formed on the bottom surface 72 and the front surface 73 of the displacement member 7. Note that Fig. 5 schematically shows the state of the magnetic field analyzed by simulation software.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 5(a), when the detected portion 8 is formed thinly (the detected portion 8 is provided only on the bottom surface 72 of the displacement member 7), when the detected portion 8 begins to enter the detection region (the position facing the coil 90 of the substrate 9), magnetic flux lines concentrate at a single point P1 on the leading edge portion of the detected portion 8. It is considered that this concentration of magnetic flux lines at a single point causes the overshoot of the sensor output.

[0046] On the one hand, as shown in FIG. 5(b), when the front portion 81 is provided on the detected portion 8, when the detected portion 8 begins to enter the detection region, the concentration of magnetic field lines (magnetic flux) is dispersed at the connection portion P2 between the opposing surface portion 80 and the front portion 81 of the detected portion 8 and at the upper edge portion P3 of the front portion 81. More specifically, a part (P3) of the point where the magnetic field lines concentrate moves away from the region near the coil where the magnetic field is strong, thereby mitigating the influence on the change in the magnetic field. By dispersing the concentration of the magnetic field lines in this way, it is considered that a sensor output without overshoot as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4(a) can be obtained. By suppressing the overshoot of the sensor output, the key press information can be detected accurately.

[0047] In this case, even in a configuration in which the detected portion 8 is formed using a thick metal plate as in the prior art (for example, the metal plate 55 shown in FIG. 29 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-048295), since the upper and lower widths of the front surface of the detected portion 8 can be ensured to be relatively wide, it is considered that the overshoot of the sensor output as described above can be suppressed. However, using a thick metal plate leads to an increase in the weight and cost of the keyboard device 1.

[0048] On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the front surface 73 of the displacement member 7 is covered by the front portion 81 that rises (bends) from the opposing surface portion 80 of the detected portion 8. With such a configuration, even if the thickness of the detected portion 8 is reduced, the upper and lower widths of the front portion 81 can be ensured to be wide. That is, without using a thick metal plate as in the above prior art, the overshoot of the sensor output can be suppressed, so that while suppressing an increase in the weight and cost of the keyboard device 1, the key press information can be detected accurately.

[0049] In addition, in the present embodiment, in addition to the front surface 73 of the displacement member 7, the rear surface portion 82 of the detected portion 8 is also provided on the rear surface 74 of the displacement member 7. The rear surface portion 82 is connected to the rear end of the opposing surface portion 80 of the detected portion 8 and covers the rear surface 74 of the displacement member 7. Also, as shown in FIG. 4(c), a pair of side surface portions 83 of the detected portion 8 are provided on the side surface 75 of the displacement member 7. The side surface portions 83 rise upward from both ends of the opposing surface portion 80 in the scale direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4(c)).

[0050] In addition to the facing portion 80 and the front portion 81 of the detected portion 8, the rear portion 82 and the side portions 83 are formed in order to easily form the detected portion 8 on the displacement member 7 by plating. That is, when forming the detected portion 8 on the displacement member 7 by plating, the displacement member 7 is masked so as to expose the formation region of the detected portion 8. By applying metal plating to the masked displacement member 7, the detected portion 8 is not formed (the plating does not adhere) in the region where the masking exists, while the detected portion 8 is formed on the outer surface of the displacement member 7 exposed from the masking.

[0051] When forming the detected portion 8 by such plating, for example, in a configuration where the detected portion 8 (the facing portion 80 and the front portion 81) is provided only on the bottom surface 72 and the front surface 73 of the displacement member 7, it is necessary to perform masking with a step between the front surface 73 and the side surface 75 of the displacement member 7. Therefore, the work of masking the displacement member 7 requires time and effort.

[0052] On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since each of the portions 80 to 83 of the detected portion 8 is formed on each of the bottom surface 72, the front surface 73, the rear surface 74, and the side surface 75 of the displacement member 7, the above-described masking with a step is not required. Therefore, the masking of the displacement member 7 can be easily performed.

[0053] As described above, since the detected portion 8 of the present embodiment is formed by plating metal on the outer surface of the displacement member 7, the thicknesses of the portions 80 to 83 of the detected portion 8 are substantially constant. The thickness being substantially constant means that, with respect to the average value of the thicknesses of the portions 80 to 83 of the detected portion 8, for example, the minimum and maximum thicknesses of the front portion 81 are within the range of ±30%.

[0054] Also, the vertical width dimensions (the rising height from the facing portion 80) of the front portion 81, the rear portion 82, and the pair of side portions 83 of the detected portion 8 are also substantially constant. The vertical width dimensions being substantially constant means that, with respect to the average value of the vertical width dimensions of the portions 80 to 83 of the detected portion 8, for example, the minimum and maximum vertical width dimensions of the front portion 81 are within the range of ±30%.

[0055] Thus, the vertical width dimension (the rising height from the opposing surface portion 80) of the front surface portion 81 of the detected portion 8 is substantially constant, and the upper edge 81a of the front surface portion 81 of the detected portion 8 is formed in a straight line along the scale direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 4(b)). Thereby, compared with the case where a pointed portion exists at the upper edge 81a of the front surface portion 81 (for example, the upper edge 81a of the front surface portion 81 is mountain-shaped), it is possible to suppress the concentration of the change in the magnetic field on a part of the upper edge 81a of the front surface portion 81. Therefore, the key-pressing information can be detected accurately.

[0056] Further, the detected portion 8 includes a curved portion 84 that connects the opposing surface portion 80 and the front surface portion 81 in a curved manner. Since the curved portion 84 smoothly connects the boundary (corner) portion between the front end of the opposing surface portion 80 and the lower end of the front surface portion 81, it is possible to suppress the concentration of the change in the magnetic field at that boundary portion. Therefore, the key-pressing information can be detected accurately.

[0057] Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, a method of attaching the displacement member 7 to the substrate 9 (holder 10) will be described. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the keyboard device 1. FIG. 7(a) is a partially enlarged front view of the holder 10, FIG. 7(b) is a partially enlarged top view of the holder 10 as viewed in the direction of arrow VIIb in FIG. 7(a), and FIG. 7(c) is a front view of the holder 10 showing a state where the holder 10 is bent. FIG. 8(a) is a perspective view showing a state where the shaft portion 13 of the holder 10 is slid along the guide groove 76, and FIG. 8(b) is a perspective view showing a state where the holder 10 to which the displacement member 7 is attached is fixed to the substrate 9.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of coils 90 are arranged in the scale direction on the substrate 9, and above each of these coils 90, a plurality of displacement members 7 are pivotally supported by a holder 10. The attachment of the displacement member 7 and the holder 10 to the substrate 9 is performed by attaching the displacement member 7 to the holder 10 and then fixing the holder 10 to the substrate 9.

[0059] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the attached portion 11 of the holder 10 fixed to the upper surface of the substrate 9 includes a base portion 11a where the wall portion 12 rises, and connecting portions 11b and 11c (see FIG. 7(b)) that connect the base portions 11a to each other, and these portions 11a to 11c are integrally formed using a resin material (synthetic resin).

[0060] The base portion 11a extends from the lower end of the wall portion 12 to both the front and rear sides, and both the front and rear end portions of the base portion 11a are connected in the scale direction by the connecting portions 11b and 11c. Therefore, a rectangular through-hole 11d surrounded by the base portion 11a and the connecting portions 11b and 11c is formed in the attached portion 11. These through-holes 11d are arranged in the scale direction at an arrangement interval corresponding to the coil 90 of the substrate 9.

[0061] A plurality of screw holes 11e are formed in the attached portion 11, and the holder 10 is fixed to the substrate 9 by screwing a screw (not shown) inserted into the through-hole 91 of the substrate 9 into the screw hole 11e of the attached portion 11.

[0062] Since a plurality of displacement members 7 arranged in the scale direction are attached to the holder 10, in this embodiment, it is configured to facilitate their attachment while suppressing the detachment of the displacement members 7 after attachment. This configuration will be described below, but the problem of "facilitating the attachment of the rotating member while suppressing detachment" is the same for the key 2 and the hammer 6, and the support structure of the key 202 for solving such a problem will be described later in the second embodiment (FIGS. 11 to 13).

[0063] In the holder 10 of this embodiment, the bases 11a of the attached parts 11 are connected by flat connection parts 11b and 11c. Therefore, before fixing the holder 10 to the substrate 9, as shown in FIG. 7(c), the attached parts 11 (connection parts 11b and 11c) can be bent. By bending the attached part 11, the opposing interval between the shaft parts 13 formed on the wall part 12 slightly widens. Thus, when attaching the displacement member 7 to the holder 10, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the pair of shaft parts 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7. Therefore, the workability of the attachment operation of the displacement member 7 can be improved.

[0064] On the other hand, after attaching the displacement member 7 to the holder 10, by fixing the holder 10 to the substrate 9 which is relatively (higher than the holder 10) rigid as shown in FIG. 8(b), it is possible to suppress the widening of the opposing interval between the shaft parts 13 of the wall part 12 (bending of the attached part 11). Therefore, it is possible to suppress the shaft part 13 from coming out of the insertion hole 71 of the displacement member 7, and thus it is possible to suppress the displacement member 7 from falling off the holder 10.

[0065] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the thickness of the connection parts 11b and 11c connecting the bases 11a is thinner than the thickness of the base 11a where the wall part 12 rises. By forming such a thin part between the bases 11a, the opposing interval of the wall part 12 (shaft part 13) is widened, making the attached part 11 more easily bendable.

[0066] In addition, since through holes 11d are formed between the connection parts 11b and 11c (between the wall parts 12), this also makes the attached part 11 more easily bendable. By making the attached part 11 easily bendable, the pair of shaft parts 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7.

[0067] Here, since the axial force of the screw acts around the screw hole 11e of the attached part 11, it is necessary to form it with a relatively large thickness. Therefore, for example, if the screw hole 11e is provided on the front side or the rear side between the opposing wall parts 12 (the region where the connection parts 11b and 11c are formed), the deformation of the attached part 11 that widens the opposing interval of the wall part 12 (shaft part 13) is likely to be inhibited.

[0068] In contrast, in the present embodiment, since the screw holes 11e are formed on both end sides before and after the base portion 11a, the thickness of the front side and the rear side (the region where the connecting portions 11b and 11c are formed) between the opposing wall portions 12 can be reduced. As a result, the opposing interval of the wall portions 12 (shaft portions 13) is widened so that the attached portion 11 is easily bent, and thus the pair of shaft portions 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7.

[0069] The insertion of the shaft portion 13 into the insertion hole 71 is guided by guide grooves 76 formed on each of the pair of side surfaces 75 of the displacement member 7 (see Fig. 8(a)). The guide groove 76 extends downward from the insertion hole 71 and bends forward, and an opening portion 76a of the guide groove 76 is formed at the front end portion of the displacement member 7. The thickness of the displacement member 7 in the scale direction in the region where the opening portion 76a is formed is formed thinner than the opposing interval of the pair of shaft portions 13. That is, each guide groove 76 formed on the pair of side surfaces 75 of the displacement member 7 is configured to be able to receive the pair of shaft portions 13 from its opening portion 76a.

[0070] In this way, since one end side of the guide groove 76 is connected to the insertion hole 71 and the other end side is configured to be able to receive the shaft portion 13 from the opening portion 76a, the shaft portion 13 received from the opening portion 76a can be guided along the guide groove 76, and thus the shaft portion 13 can be guided toward the insertion hole 71. Therefore, the pair of shaft portions 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7.

[0071] Here, among the guide grooves 76, the surface facing the scale direction (opposing the tip of the shaft portion 13) is defined as the groove bottom surface 76b. An inclined surface 76c that rises toward the insertion hole 71 is formed on the groove bottom surface 76b so as to increase the thickness of the displacement member 7 in the scale direction. When the shaft portion 13 slides on this inclined surface 76c, the opposing interval of the pair of shaft portions 13 is automatically expanded by the elastic deformation of the wall portion 12. Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to widen the opposing interval of the shaft portions 13 with his or her fingers, and thus the pair of shaft portions 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7.

[0072] In this embodiment, the inclined surface 76c is formed in the vicinity of the insertion hole 71. However, for example, an inclination corresponding to the inclined surface 76c may be provided in the vicinity of the open portion 76a. That is, the formation position of the inclined surface 76c in the groove 70 can be set as appropriate. Note that the vicinity of the insertion hole 71 is a position where the distance from the inclined surface 76c to the insertion hole 71 is closer than the distance from the open portion 76a to the inclined surface 76c.

[0073] When the shaft portion 13 slides on the inclined surface 76c of the guide groove 76, the inclined surface 14 formed on the shaft portion 13 slides on the inclined surface 76c. The inclined surface 14 is inclined upward so as to obliquely notch (away from the opposing shaft portion 13) the upper end of the tip surface of the shaft portion 13. That is, since the inclined surface 14 is inclined in a direction corresponding to the inclined surface 76c of the guide groove 76, the inclined surfaces 14 and 76c slide on each other when the shaft portion 13 slides along the inclined surface 76c. Thereby, for example, compared with the case where the inclined surface 14 is not formed on the shaft portion 13, the shaft portion 13 can be smoothly slid with respect to the inclined surface 76c. Therefore, the pair of shaft portions 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7.

[0074] By inserting the pair of shaft portions 13 into the insertion holes 71, the attachment of the displacement member 7 to the holder 10 is completed. After the displacement member 7 is attached, the detachment of the displacement member 7 due to the elastic deformation of the holder 10 (the attached portion 11 and the wall portion 12) can be generally suppressed by fixing the holder 10 to the substrate 9 as described above.

[0075] However, although the substrate 9 has relatively high rigidity (compared to the holder 10), since deformation may occur, in order to more reliably prevent the displacement member 7 from falling off, the holder 10 also requires a certain degree of rigidity.

[0076] Therefore, in this embodiment, the connecting portion 15 that connects the outer side surfaces 12b of the wall portions 12 to each other is formed on the holder 10. By providing such a connecting portion 15, the expansion of the opposing interval between the wall portions 12 after the holder 10 is attached to the substrate 9 can be restricted by the connecting portion 15. Therefore, the displacement member 7 can be prevented from falling off the holder 10.

[0077] On the other hand, for example, if the entire outer surface 12b of the wall portion 12 (from the upper end to the lower end) is connected by the connecting portion 15, it becomes difficult for the wall portion 12 to elastically deform when the shaft portion 13 slides on the inclined surface 76c of the guide groove 76. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the region on the lower end side of the outer surface 12b of the wall portion 12 is connected by the connecting portion 15. That is, the connecting portion 15 connects the outer surfaces 12b of the wall portion 12 on the lower side (the side of the attached portion 11) than the shaft portion 13, and a gap is formed between the outer surfaces 12b in the region where the shaft portion 13 is formed (the position overlapping the shaft portion 13 in the scale direction).

[0078] Due to this gap, elastic deformation of the wall portion 12 when the shaft portion 13 slides on the inclined surface 76c of the guide groove 76 can be allowed, so that the pair of shaft portions 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 71 of the displacement member 7. In this way, in the vertical direction (the rising direction of the wall portion 12 from the base portion 11a), by connecting a partial region of the outer surface 12b of the wall portion 12 with the connecting portion 15, the wall portion 12 can be elastically deformed appropriately. Therefore, while facilitating the attachment of the displacement member 7 to the holder 10, it is possible to suppress the displacement member 7 from falling off the holder 10 after attachment.

[0079] Also, in the present embodiment, in order to give the holder 10 a certain degree of rigidity, a thick portion 11f is formed in the connecting portion 11b that connects the front ends of the base portion 11a among the connecting portions 11b and 11c. The thick portion 11f is a portion formed with the same thickness as the base portion 11a. The thick portion 11f extends in the scale direction from the front end portion of the base portion 11a, and a notch portion 11g is formed in the central portion of the thick portion 11f in the scale direction.

[0080] By providing these thick portions 11f and notch portions 11g, the attached portion 11 (connection portions 11b and 11c) can be elastically deformed appropriately. That is, while being able to bend the attached portion 11 (see Fig. 7(c)), it is possible to suppress the elastic deformation of the attached portion 11 after being fixed to the substrate 9. Therefore, while facilitating the attachment of the displacement member 7 to the holder 10, it is possible to suppress the displacement member 7 from falling off the holder 10 after attachment.

[0081] After fixing the holder 10 with the displacement member 7 attached to the substrate 9, an assembly operation such as inserting the guide pin 65 of the hammer 6 (see Fig. 3) from the open portion 70c of the groove 70 formed above the wall portion 12 (see Fig. 8) is performed. During such an assembly operation, if the displacement member 7 rotates excessively with respect to the holder 10, the workability deteriorates. Therefore, protrusions 77a and 77b for restricting the rotation are formed on the displacement member 7.

[0082] The protrusions 77a and 77b are protrusions that protrude in the scale direction from the side surface 75 of the displacement member 7. In a state where the displacement member 7 is attached to the holder 10, the protrusion 77a is located on the front side of the wall portion 12 (the front side in the rotation direction of the displacement member 7), and the protrusion 77b is located on the rear side of the wall portion 12. Thereby, the excessive rotation of the displacement member 7 with respect to the holder 10 can be restricted by the contact between the protrusions 77a and 77b and the wall portion 12. Therefore, the workability of the above-described assembly operation can be improved.

[0083] In this embodiment, the protrusions 77a and 77b are formed on each of the pair of side surfaces 75 of the displacement member 7. However, the protrusions 77a and 77b may be formed only on one of the pair of side surfaces 75.

[0084] Further, a guide portion 78 for stabilizing the rotation of the displacement member 7 with respect to the holder 10 is formed on the displacement member 7. The guide portion 78 is a convex portion protruding in the scale direction from each of a pair of side surfaces 75 of the displacement member 7. By providing such a guide portion 78, the rotation of the displacement member 7 around the shaft portion 13 can be guided by the contact between the guide portion 78 and the wall portion 12. As a result, the detected portion 8 can easily rotate while maintaining a predetermined clearance with respect to the coil 90 of the substrate 9, so that the push key information can be detected accurately.

[0085] Since the guide portion 78 extends in an arc shape centered on the insertion hole 71 (shaft portion 13 which is the rotation axis of the displacement member 7), while enabling the rotation of the displacement member 7 to be guided by the guide portion 78, the contact area of the guide portion 78 with respect to the wall portion 12 can be reduced. Therefore, the guide portion 78 can easily slide smoothly with respect to the wall portion 12.

[0086] Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a modification of the displacement member 7 will be described. In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the sensor output decreases substantially proportionally to the stroke amount of the key 2 when the key is pressed was described.

[0087] In contrast, in the modifications of FIGS. 9 and 10, a configuration for increasing the degree of decrease in the sensor output with respect to the stroke amount of the key 2 when the key is pressed or a configuration for gently decreasing the sensor output will be described as compared with the first embodiment.

[0088] FIG. 9(a) is a side view of the displacement member 7 showing a first modification, and FIG. 9(b) is a graph showing the relationship between the stroke amount of the push key and the sensor output when the displacement member 7 of the first modification is used. FIG. 10(a) is a side view of the displacement member 7 showing a second modification, and FIG. 10(b) is a graph showing the relationship between the stroke amount of the push key and the sensor output when the displacement member 7 of the second modification is used. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the sensor output when the displacement member 7 of the above-described first embodiment is used is shown by a broken line.

[0089] In addition, each of the modified examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 has the same configuration as the displacement member 7 of the first embodiment, except that the shape of the groove 70 (upper slide surface 70a and lower slide surface 70b) is different. Therefore, in each of the modified examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment will be used for description.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 9(a), the groove 70 of the displacement member 7 of the first modified example has a straight upper slide surface 70a and a straight lower slide surface 70b. That is, in the first modified example, the radius of curvature of each of the slide surfaces 70a and 70b is larger than that in the first embodiment. By adopting such a shape of the groove 70, the amount of rotation of the displacement member 7 with respect to the stroke amount of the key 2 (that is, the amount of rotation of the guide pin 65 around the rotation axis 60 shown in FIG. 3) becomes larger than that in the first embodiment. Therefore, according to the displacement member 7 of the first modified example, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the degree of decrease in the sensor output with respect to the stroke amount of the key 2 when the key is pressed can be made larger than that in the first embodiment.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 10(a), the groove 70 of the displacement member 7 of the second modified example has a smaller radius of curvature of the upper slide surface 70a and the lower slide surface 70b than that in the first embodiment. By adopting such a shape of the groove 70, the amount of rotation of the displacement member 7 with respect to the stroke amount of the key 2 becomes smaller than that in the first embodiment. Therefore, according to the displacement member 7 of the second modified example, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the degree of decrease in the sensor output with respect to the stroke amount of the key 2 when the key is pressed can be made gentler than that in the first embodiment.

[0092] As described above, in the first embodiment and the modified examples shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, since the displacement member 7 rotates by the sliding between the guide pin 65 (see FIG. 3) of the hammer 6 and the groove 70, the sensor output (that is, the displacement mode of the displacement member 7) can be adjusted by changing the shape of the groove 70. That is, by attaching a displacement member 7 corresponding to the sensor output required by the user to the keyboard device 1 or replacing the displacement member 7 attached to the keyboard device 1, a sensor output corresponding to the user's requirement can be obtained.

[0093] When adjusting such sensor output, for example, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a groove 70 is formed on the hammer 6 side while a guide pin 65 is formed on the displacement member 7 side. However, the hammer 6 is large in its own dimensions and expensive. Therefore, if a groove 70 is formed on the hammer 6 side, the cost increases when replacing the hammer 6 with a different groove 70 shape (changing the sensor output).

[0094] On the other hand, the displacement member 7 can be formed smaller (cheaper) than the hammer 6. Therefore, by forming a groove 70 on the displacement member 7 side and forming a guide pin 65 on the hammer 6 side, the cost can be reduced when replacing the displacement member 7 with a different groove 70 shape (changing the sensor output).

[0095] Note that in the displacement member 7 shown in the first embodiment and FIGS. 9 and 10, when the upper slide surface 70a and the lower slide surface 70b of the groove 70 have corresponding shapes (the distance between the slide surfaces 70a and 70b is constant), that is, when the correlation between the stroke amount of the key 2 and the sensor output is the same when pressing the key and when releasing the key, this has been described, but it is not necessarily limited to this.

[0096] For example, the shape of the upper slide surface 70a (see FIG. 3) of the first embodiment may be changed to the shape of the upper slide surface 70a (see FIG. 9) of the first modification. That is, a configuration in which the correlation between the stroke amount of the key 2 and the sensor output is different when pressing the key and when releasing the key may be adopted by changing the distance between the slide surfaces 70a and 70b in part (or all) of the region where the guide pin 65 slides.

[0097] Next, with reference to FIGS. 11 to 14, the keyboard device 201 of the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the case where the displacement member 7 is rotatably supported by the holder 10 or the case where the displacement member 7 is rotated by the hammer 6 has been described. In contrast, in the second embodiment, a configuration in which the key 202 is supported by a holder 210 having the same configuration as the holder 10 and a case where the displacement member 207 is displaced by the key 202 will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

[0098] First, referring to FIG. 11, the overall configuration of the keyboard device 201 of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 201 of the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, a cross-section cut in a plane orthogonal to the scale direction (the arrangement direction of the plurality of keys 2) of the keyboard device 201 is shown.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 11, the keyboard device 201 of the second embodiment includes a chassis 204 supported by a bottom plate 3. The chassis 204 includes a pair of leg portions 240 spaced apart by a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction, and a support portion 241 that connects the upper ends of the pair of leg portions 240 in the front-rear direction. The leg portions 240 and the support portion 241 are integrally formed using a synthetic resin, a steel plate, or the like, and a holder 210 is fixed to the upper surface of the support portion 241. A plurality of keys 202 (white keys 202a and black keys 202b) arranged in the scale direction are rotatably supported by the holder 210.

[0100] The support structure of the keys 2 by this holder 210 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the keyboard device 201. FIG. 13(a) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 201 showing a state where the shaft portion 213 of the holder 210 is fitted into the insertion hole 223 of the white key 202a, and FIG. 13(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 201 showing a state where the shaft portion 213 of the holder 210 is fitted into the insertion hole 223 of the white key 202a.

[0101] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a protruding portion 222 protrudes rearward from the rear end portion of the white key 202a. The protruding portion 222 is formed in a plate shape having a dimension in the scale direction smaller than that of the white key 202a (the portion to be pressed) (see FIG. 12), and an insertion hole 223 penetrating in the scale direction is formed in the protruding portion 222.

[0102] The holder 210 includes an attached portion 211 attached to the upper surface of the chassis 204 (support portion 241), a wall portion 212 rising upward from the attached portion 211, and a substantially columnar shaft portion 213 formed at the upper end side of the wall portion 212. These portions 211 to 213 are integrally formed using a resin material (synthetic resin). A plurality of wall portions 212 are arranged in the scale direction, and the protruding portion 222 of the white key 202a is rotatably supported between the opposing wall portions 212.

[0103] In the following description, among the side surfaces of the wall portion 212 (the surfaces facing the scale direction), the side surface sandwiching the protruding portion 222 is defined as the inner side surface 212a of the wall portion 212 (see FIG. 12), and the side surface opposite to the inner side surface 212a is described as the outer side surface 212b. The shaft portion 213 protrudes from the inner side surface 212a of the wall portion 212 in the scale direction.

[0104] Since the attached portion 211 is formed in a plate shape extending in the scale direction, although not shown in the figure, in the state before fixing the holder 210 to the support portion 241 (see FIG. 11) of the chassis 204, the attached portion 211 can be bent. By bending the attached portion 211, the opposing interval between the shaft portions 213 formed on the wall portion 212 slightly expands. Therefore, when attaching the white key 202a to the holder 210 as shown in FIG. 13(a), the pair of shaft portions 213 can be easily inserted into the insertion hole 223 of the white key 202a. Thus, the workability of the attaching operation of the white key 202a can be improved.

[0105] On the other hand, after attaching the white key 202a to the holder 210, as shown in FIG. 13(b), by fixing the holder 210 to the chassis 204 (support portion 241) having higher rigidity than the holder 210 (attached portion 211), it is possible to suppress the bending of the attached portion 211. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the expansion of the opposing interval between the shaft portions 213, and thus it is possible to suppress the shaft portion 213 from coming off from the insertion hole 223 of the white key 202a. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the white key 202a from falling off the holder 210.

[0106] In addition, since the attached portion 211 is provided with a through hole 211a formed between the wall portions 212 facing each other with the protruding portion 222 therebetween, the attached portion 211 is easily bent. Therefore, the pair of shaft portions 213 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 223 of the white key 202a.

[0107] In the present embodiment, the attached portion 211 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape, but the attached portion 211 may be formed with irregularities (for example, rib-shaped protrusions, etc.). That is, as long as the structure can bend the attached portion 211, the shape of the attached portion 211 can be appropriately set and is not limited to a flat plate shape.

[0108] When inserting the protruding portion 222 of the white key 202a between the shaft portions 213, the insertion is guided by the inclined surface 224 formed on the protruding portion 222 and the inclined surface 214 formed on the shaft portion 213. The inclined surfaces 224 are formed in a pair at both ends on both sides in the scale direction on the lower surface of the protruding portion 222, and these pair of inclined surfaces 224 are inclined upward toward the outside in the scale direction.

[0109] On the other hand, the inclined surface 214 of the shaft portion 213 is inclined upward so as to obliquely notch the upper end of the tip surface of the shaft portion 213 (away from the opposing shaft portion 213). That is, since the inclined surface 214 of the shaft portion 213 is inclined in the direction corresponding to the inclined surface 224 of the white key 202a, by inserting the protruding portion 222 of the white key 202a from above between the opposing pair of shaft portions 213, the inclined surfaces 214 and 224 slide against each other. Due to this sliding, the wall portion 212 elastically deforms and the opposing interval between the pair of shaft portions 213 automatically expands, so that the shaft portion 213 can be easily inserted into the insertion hole 223 of the white key 202a.

[0110] By inserting the pair of shaft portions 213 into the insertion holes 223, the attachment of the white key 202a to the holder 210 is completed. Since the outer surfaces 212b of the wall portions 212 are connected by the connecting portion 215, the expansion of the opposing interval between the wall portions 212 after attaching the holder 210 to the chassis 204 (support portion 241) can be restricted by the connecting portion 215. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the white key 202a from falling off the holder 210.

[0111] The connecting portion 215 connects the outer surfaces 212b of the wall portions 212 on the lower side (the side of the mounted portion 211) than the shaft portion 213. In the region where the shaft portion 213 is formed (the position overlapping the shaft portion 213 in the scale direction), a gap is formed between the outer surfaces 212b. Thereby, the wall portion 212 can be elastically deformed moderately. Therefore, while facilitating the attachment of the white key 202a to the holder 210, it is possible to suppress the white key 202a from falling off the holder 210 after attachment.

[0112] On the upper surface of the front end side of the mounted portion 211, a cylindrical holding wall 217 for holding the coil spring 216 is formed, and a plurality of the holding walls 217 are arranged in the scale direction. At the central portion on the inner peripheral side of each holding wall 217, a conical convex portion 218 protruding upward is formed.

[0113] On the lower surface of the white key 202a, a recess 225 (see FIG. 11) is formed at a position facing the holding wall 217 up and down, and on the inner peripheral side of this recess 225, a conical convex portion 226 protruding downward is formed. The coil spring 216 is sandwiched from above and below by the convex portion 218 of the mounted portion 211 and the convex portion 226 of the white key 202a, so that the coil spring 216 is held on the inner peripheral sides of the holding wall 217 and the recess 225.

[0114] When the white key 202a is pressed, the key pressing feeling is imparted by the elastic force of this coil spring 216. On the other hand, when the key is released, the white key 202a returns to the initial position by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 216. At the time of such key pressing and key releasing, the displacement member 207 interlocks with the rotation of the white key 202a around the shaft portion 213. A detailed configuration for interlocking this displacement member 207 will be described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0115] FIG. 14(a) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 201 in which the XIVa portion of FIG. 11 is enlarged, and FIG. 14(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 201 showing a state where the white key 202a is pressed to the end position from the state of FIG. 14(a).

[0116] As shown in FIG. 14(a), a protrusion 228 projects downward from the lower surface of the white key 202a, and a guide pin 229 projects in the scale direction from the side surface of the protrusion 228. These protrusion 228 and guide pin 229 are formed integrally with the white key 202a.

[0117] The guide pin 229 is slidably engaged with a groove 270 formed in the displacement member 207. An insertion hole 271 penetrating in the scale direction is formed in the displacement member 207, and the shaft portion 13 of the holder 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 271, whereby the displacement member 207 is rotatably supported by the holder 10. The substrate 9 to which the holder 10 is fixed is supported by the bottom plate 3.

[0118] The rotation of the displacement member 207 with respect to the shaft portion 13 is performed by the sliding of the guide pin 229 of the white key 202a described above and the groove 270 formed in the displacement member 207. The upper slide surface 270a and the lower slide surface 270b of the groove 270 are formed in parallel (linear).

[0119] In the initial state before the white key 202a is pressed, each slide surface 270a, 270b of the groove 270 extends so as to intersect the displacement locus of the guide pin 229 around the shaft portion 213 (see FIG. 11).

[0120] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14(b), when the guide pin 229 rotates around the shaft portion 213 (see FIG. 11) when the key is pressed, the lower slide surface 270b is pushed downward by the guide pin 229. As a result, the displacement member 207 rotates around the shaft portion 13, and with this rotation, the amount of intrusion of the detected portion 208 into the detection region facing the coil 90 increases.

[0121] On the other hand, when the white key 202a is released, the guide pin 229 rotates around the shaft portion 213 (see FIG. 11) so as to return to the initial state by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 216 (see FIG. 11). By the rotation of the guide pin 229, the upper slide surface 270a is pushed up by the guide pin 229, so that the displacement member 207 rotates around the shaft portion 13, and the amount of intrusion of the detected portion 208 into the detection region decreases.

[0122] Also in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which a detected portion 208 is provided on a displacement member 207 that interlocks with the white key 202a. Since the displacement member 207 can be formed smaller than the white key 202a or the hammer 6 (see FIG. 1), it is difficult for dimensional errors to occur in each displacement member 207. Further, since the displacement member 207 is pivotally supported not by the chassis 204 but by a relatively small holder 10 attached to the substrate 9, it is also difficult for attachment errors of each displacement member 207 to occur. As a result, the clearance between the coil 90 and the detected portion 208 is likely to have dimensions as designed in each key 202, so that the key depression information of each key 202 can be detected accurately.

[0123] Also, if the guide pin 229 of the white key 202a and the groove 270 of the displacement member 207 can be engaged, that is, if the displacement member 207 can rotate in conjunction with the white key 202a, the shape of the displacement member 207 and the arrangement of the rotation axis (shaft portion 13) can be freely changed. That is, by appropriately setting the shape of the displacement member 207 and the position of the rotation axis, the arrangement of the coil 90 can also be changed to a desired position. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the design of the keyboard device 1 is improved.

[0124] The detected portion 208 includes a facing portion 280 that covers the bottom surface 272 of the displacement member 207 (faces the coil 90), and a front portion 281 that is connected to the front end of the facing portion 280 and covers the front surface 273 of the displacement member 207. Thereby, when the detected portion 208 begins to enter the detection region, the concentration of magnetic field lines can be dispersed at the connection portion between the facing portion 280 and the front portion 281 and at the upper edge 281a of the front portion 281 (the same effect as in FIG. 5(b)). Therefore, a sensor output without overshoot can be obtained, so that the key depression information can be detected accurately.

[0125] In addition, since the front surface portion 281 rising from the facing surface portion 280 of the detected portion 208 covers the front surface 273 of the displacement member 207, even if the thickness of the detected portion 208 is reduced, a sufficient vertical width of the front surface portion 281 can be ensured. That is, without using a thick metal plate as in the above-described prior art, overshoot of the sensor output can be suppressed, so that it is possible to accurately detect key press information while suppressing an increase in the weight and cost of the keyboard device 201.

[0126] The detected portion 208 is formed with the facing surface portion 280 and the front surface portion 281 by bending a single metal plate. Although illustration is omitted, the detected portion 208 is not provided on a pair of side surfaces (surfaces facing the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 14) of the displacement member 207. Thereby, the detected portion 208 can be easily formed by joining (adhering) the bent metal plate to the bottom surface 272 and the front surface 273 of the displacement member 207.

[0127] Note that the method of attaching the displacement member 207 to the holder 10 in the present embodiment is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above. Therefore, although illustration is omitted, when attaching the displacement member 207 to the holder 10, the facing interval between the shaft portions 13 can be widened by deflecting the attached portion 11 (see FIG. 4), so that the pair of shaft portions 13 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 271 of the displacement member 207.

[0128] On the other hand, after attaching the displacement member 207 to the holder 10, by fixing the holder 10 to the substrate 9 having higher rigidity than the holder 10 (the attached portion 11), it is possible to suppress widening of the facing interval between the shaft portions 13 of the wall portion 12 (deflection of the attached portion 11). Therefore, it is possible to suppress the displacement member 7 from falling off the holder 10.

[0129] Next, referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the keyboard device 301 of the third embodiment will be described. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the case where the displacement members 7 and 207 are rotated by the hammers 6 and the white keys 202a has been described. In the third embodiment, a configuration in which the displacement member 307 is linearly moved will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

[0130] FIG. 15(a) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 301 of the third embodiment, and FIG. 15(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 301 taken along line XVb-XVb of FIG. 15(a). FIG. 16(a) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 301 showing a state where the white key 2a is pressed from the state of FIG. 15(a), and FIG. 16(b) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the keyboard device 301 showing a state where the white key 2a is pressed to the end position from the state of FIG. 16(a). Note that in FIG. 15(b), only the main part of the keyboard device 301 is shown.

[0131] As shown in FIG. 15, in the keyboard device 301 of the third embodiment, a substrate 9 along the vertical direction is fixed to the chassis 4. A coil 90 is printed on the rear surface (the right surface in FIG. 15) of the substrate 9, and a holder 310 is provided above the coil 90.

[0132] The holder 310 includes a flat plate-shaped attached portion 311 attached to the substrate 9, and a holding portion 312 that slidably holds the displacement member 307 on the rear surface of the attached portion 311. These portions 311 and 312 are integrally formed using a resin material (synthetic resin).

[0133] A plurality of the holding portions 312 are arranged in the scale direction. Each of these holding portions 312 includes a pair of projecting portions 312a (see FIG. 15(b)) that project rearward from the rear surface of the attached portion 311, and a bent portion 312b that bends toward the space between the pair of projecting portions 312a.

[0134] From the front end of the displacement member 307 (the left end in FIG. 15(b)), a pair of guided portions 370 project in the scale direction, and the displacement member 307 is formed in a T shape in top view. In the holding portion 312, a T-shaped holding space is formed by the projecting portion 312a and the bent portion 312b in top view. By inserting the displacement member 307 from the open portion on the upper side (the upper side in FIG. 15(a)) of this holding space, the displacement member 307 is slidably held by the holding portion 312.

[0135] Note that, among the T-shaped holding space of the holding portion 312, the space for holding the guided portion 370 of the displacement member 307 is closed at its lower end side by a wall (not shown), and the displacement member 307 is prevented from falling downward by the engagement between this wall and the guided portion 370.

[0136] From the rear surface of the displacement member 307, a pair of upper and lower projecting pieces 371 project rearward, and the upper slide surface 372a and the lower slide surface 372b of the groove 372 are formed by these pair of projecting pieces 371. The guide pin 65 of the hammer 6 is inserted between these slide surfaces 372a, 372b.

[0137] The upper slide surface 372a and the lower slide surface 372b of the groove 372 are formed in parallel (linear). In the initial state before the white key 2a is pressed, each of the slide surfaces 372a, 372b of the groove 372 extends so as to intersect the displacement locus of the guide pin 65 around the rotation axis 60.

[0138] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, when the guide pin 65 rotates around the rotation axis 60 during key pressing, the lower slide surface 372b is pushed downward by the guide pin 65. As a result, the displacement member 307 slides downward along the holding portion 312 of the holder 310. On the other hand, when the white key 2a is released, the upper slide surface 372a is pushed upward by the guide pin 65, so that the displacement member 307 slides upward along the holding portion 312. Due to the vertical sliding displacement of this displacement member 307, the amount of intrusion of the detected portion 308 into the detection region increases or decreases.

[0139] Thus, also in this embodiment, the detected portion 308 is provided on the displacement member 307 that interlocks with the rotation of the white key 2a or the hammer 6. Since the displacement member 307 can be formed to be smaller than the white key 2a or the hammer 6, it is difficult for dimensional errors to occur in each displacement member 307. Further, since the displacement member 307 is slidably supported by a relatively small holder 310 attached to the substrate 9 instead of the chassis 4, it is also difficult for mounting errors of each displacement member 307 to occur. As a result, the clearance between the coil 90 and the detected portion 308 is likely to have dimensions as designed in each key 2, so that the key depression information of each key 2 can be detected accurately.

[0140] Further, if the guide pin 65 of the hammer 6 and the groove 372 of the displacement member 307 can be engaged, that is, if the displacement member 307 can slide in conjunction with the hammer 6, the shape of the displacement member 307 and the like can be freely changed. That is, by appropriately setting the shape of the displacement member 307 and the like, the arrangement of the coil 90 (substrate 9) can also be changed to a desired position. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the design of the keyboard device 301 is improved.

[0141] The detected portion 308 includes a facing portion 380 that covers the front surface of the displacement member 307 facing the coil 90, and a bottom portion 381 that is continuous with the facing portion 380 and covers the bottom surface of the displacement member 307 (the outer surface facing the front side in the displacement direction of the displacement member 307). Thereby, similar to each of the above embodiments, a sensor output without overshoot can be obtained without using a thick metal plate.

[0142] Further, the detected portion 308 is formed with the facing portion 380 and the bottom portion 381 by bending a single metal plate. Although not shown, the detected portion 308 is not provided on a pair of side surfaces of the displacement member 307 (the surfaces facing the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 16). Thereby, the detected portion 308 can be easily formed by joining (adhering) the bent metal plate to the bottom surface and the front surface of the displacement member 307.

[0143] Although the above has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments at all, and it can be easily inferred that various improvements and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0144] Part or all of the above embodiments may be combined with or replaced by part or all of other embodiments. Therefore, for example, the support structure of the white key 202a in the second embodiment and the configuration of the detected portion 208 may be applied to the keyboard device 1 in the first embodiment, or the linearly moving displacement member 307 in the third embodiment may be applied to the keyboard device 201 in the second embodiment. Further, as described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 as a modification example of the first embodiment, by changing the shape of the groove 270 of the displacement member 207 in the second embodiment and the groove 372 of the displacement member 307 in the third embodiment, the displacement modes (sensor outputs by the coil 90) of the displacement members 207 and 307 may be adjusted.

[0145] In the above embodiments, the case where the white keys 2a, 202a (keys 2, 202) are rotatably (rockably) supported by the rotation shafts 20 and the shaft portions 213 has been described. However, for example, the white keys 2a, 202a (keys 2, 202) may be rockably supported by other known means such as hinges.

[0146] In the above embodiments, the coil 90 has been exemplified as an example of a sensor for detecting the key-pressing information of the white keys 2a, 202a (keys 2, 202), but it is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, a sensor that detects key-pressing information based on a change in capacitance may be used, or other known non-contact sensors (for example, the sensor described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-048295) or contact sensors (for example, the switch described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-111235) may be used to detect key-pressing information.

[0147] In the above embodiments, the case where the guide pins 65, 229 are formed on the hammer 6 and the white key 202a side, while the grooves 70, 270, 372 are formed on the displacement members 7, 207, 307 side has been described. However, grooves may be formed on the hammer 6 and the white key 202a side, and guide pins may be formed on the displacement members 7, 207, 307 side.

[0148] In each of the above embodiments, the case where a plurality of displacement members 7, 207, 307 and keys 202 are supported by holders 10, 210, 310 extending in the scale direction has been described, but it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, one displacement member 7, 207, 307 may be supported by one holder 10, 310, or one white key 202a may be supported by one holder 210. Further, the hammer 6 may be supported by a member corresponding to the holders 10, 210, 310, or when the keyboard devices 1, 201, 301 are electronic organs, the pedal keyboard of the electronic organ may be rotatably supported by a member corresponding to the holders 10, 210, 310.

[0149] In each of the above embodiments, non-magnetic metal (such as copper) has been exemplified as an example of the material of the detected portion 8, 208, 308 that changes the magnetic field of the coil 90, but the material of the detected portion 8, 208, 308 may be a magnetic metal or a conductive material other than metal. That is, the detected portion 8, 208, 308 is not limited in its material as long as it is a conductor that generates eddy currents in response to a change in the magnetic field.

[0150] In each of the above embodiments, the case where the detected portion 8, 208, 308 is provided on the displacement member 7, 207, 307 has been described, but the detected portion 8, 208, 308 may be provided on other rotating members such as the keys 2, 202 and the hammer 6.

[0151] In each of the above embodiments, the case where the front surface portion 81, 281 and the bottom surface portion 381 of the detected portion 8, 208, 308 are provided on the outer surface facing the front side in the displacement direction of the displacement member 7, 207, 307 has been described, but it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, as in the prior art, a thick metal plate may be joined to the opposing surface (the surface facing the coil 90) of the displacement member 7, 207, 307 to provide a portion corresponding to the front surface portion 81, 281 and the bottom surface portion 381. Further, the front surface portion 81, 281 and the bottom surface portion 381 of the detected portion 8, 208, 308 may be omitted, and the detected portion 8, 208, 308 may be composed only of the opposing surface portion 80, 280, 380.

[0152] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the case where the shaft portions 13 and 213 are formed on the holder 10 and 210 sides and the insertion holes 71 and 271 into which the shaft portions 13 and 213 are inserted are formed on the displacement member 7 and 207 sides has been described. However, the shaft portions may be formed on the displacement member 7 and 207 sides, and the insertion holes into which the shaft portions are inserted may be formed on the holder 10 and 210 sides.

[0153] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the case where the insertion holes 71 and 271 are through holes penetrating the displacement member 7 and 207 has been described. However, the insertion holes 71 and 271 may be recesses (holes) formed on the side surfaces of the displacement member 7 and 207.

[0154] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the case where a partial region of the outer side surfaces 12b and 212b of the wall portions 12 and 212 on the holder 10 and 210 sides are connected by the connecting portions 15 and 215 has been described. However, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the entire region from the upper end to the lower end of the outer side surfaces 12b and 212b may be connected by the connecting portions 15 and 215, or the connecting portions 15 and 215 may be omitted.

[0155] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the inclined surfaces 14 and 76c are formed on the guide groove 76 and the shaft portion 13 has been described, and in the second embodiment, the case where the inclined surfaces 224 and 214 are formed on the white key 202a and the shaft portion 213 has been described. However, a configuration in which these inclined surfaces are omitted (for example, making the groove bottom surface 76b of the guide groove 76 flat) may also be used.

[0156] In the above-described second and third embodiments, the case where the detected portions 208 and 308 are formed by joining bent metal plates has been described. However, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the detected portions 208 and 308 may be formed by plating.

[0157] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the thin portions (connection portions 11b and 11c and notch portion 11g) are formed in the attached portions 11 of the holders 10 and 210 has been described. However, these thin portions may be omitted, and the entire attached portion 11 may be formed with the same thickness as the base portion 11a, or a convex portion (for example, a rib-shaped protrusion) thicker than the base portion 11a may be formed in the attached portion 11. That is, if the attached portion 11 can be bent, the attached portion 11 is not limited to the above form.

[0158] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the front surface 73 and the rear surface 74 of the displacement member 7 are planes extending in the normal direction from both front and rear ends of the bottom surface 72 has been described. However, the front surface 73 and the rear surface 74 of the displacement member 7 may be inclined with respect to the normal direction of the bottom surface 72. Further, the front surface 73 and the rear surface 74 of the displacement member 7 may be curved surfaces.

[0159] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the guide groove 76, the protrusions 77a and 77b, and the guide portion 78 are formed in the displacement member 7 has been described. However, for example, one or more of the configurations of the guide groove 76, the protrusions 77a and 77b, and the guide portion 78 may be omitted. Further, instead of forming the guide portion 78 in an arc shape centered on the insertion hole 71, the guide portion 78 may be formed linearly.

[0160] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the vertical width dimension (the height of the rise from the opposing surface 80) of the front portion 81 of the detected portion 8 is substantially constant and the upper edge 81a of the front portion 81 is formed in a straight line along the scale direction has been described. However, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, a configuration in which the upper edge 81a of the front portion 81 has irregularities or curved portions (for example, the upper edge 81a of the front portion 81 is in a mountain shape) may be used.

[0161] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the facing portion 80, the front portion 81, the rear portion 82, and the side portion 83 of the detected portion 8 are formed by plating, that is, the case where the detected portion 8 is formed by plating a part of the displacement member 7 has been described. However, for example, the detected portion 8 may be formed by plating the entire (entire surface) of the displacement member 7. Further, a configuration in which the detected portion 8 (the facing portion 80, the front portion 81, the rear portion 82, and the side portion 83) is formed by joining a metal plate to the displacement member 7 may also be used. In the case of this configuration, the detected portion 8 may be formed from a single metal plate, or the detected portion 8 may be formed from a plurality of metal plates.

[0162] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the facing portion 80 and the front portion 81 of the detected portion 8 are connected via the curved portion 84 has been described. However, for example, a configuration in which the curved portion 84 is omitted (the connection portion between the facing portion 80 and the front portion 81 is angled) may also be used.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0163] 1,201,301 Keyboard device 202a White key (rotating member) 223 Insertion hole 241 Support portion (base member) 7,207 Displacement member (rotating member) 71 Insertion hole 76 Guide groove 76a Open portion 76b Groove bottom surface 76c Inclined surface (groove side inclined surface) 77a Projection (first projection) 77b Projection (second projection) 9 Substrate (base member) 10,210 Holder (support member) 11,211 Mounted portion 11a Base portion 11b, 11c Connection portion 12,212 Wall portion 13,213 Shaft portion (rotation shaft) 14 Inclined surface (shaft side inclined surface) 15,215 Connecting portion

Claims

1. A plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member, wherein the support member includes an attached portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the attached portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides, wherein either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other one includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction into which the rotating shaft is inserted, and a guide groove that has one end connected to the insertion hole and is capable of receiving the rotating shaft from an open portion at the other end, wherein the guide groove includes a groove side inclined surface formed on a groove bottom surface facing the tip of the rotating shaft, wherein the rotating shaft received from the open portion can be guided toward the insertion hole by sliding the rotating shaft along the guide groove, and wherein the attached portion is elastically deformable so as to widen the opposing interval between the wall portions by sliding of the rotating shaft along the groove side inclined surface. A keyboard device characterized by this.

2. A plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member, wherein the support member includes an attached portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the attached portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides, wherein either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other one includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction into which the rotating shaft is inserted, wherein the attached portion is elastically deformable so as to widen the opposing interval between the wall portions, and wherein the support member includes a connecting portion that connects outer surfaces on opposite sides of the plurality of wall portions, which are opposite to the rotating member. A keyboard device characterized by this.

3. A plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member, The support member includes a mounted portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member, and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be aligned in the scale direction from the mounted portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other one includes an insertion hole that is formed on a side surface facing the scale direction and into which the rotating shaft is inserted. The mounted portion includes a base portion from which the wall portion rises, and a connecting portion that is formed to be thinner than the base portion and connects the base portions in the scale direction, and is characterized in that it is elastically deformable so as to widen the opposing interval between the wall portions. A keyboard device.

4. The rotating shaft includes a shaft-side inclined surface that inclines in a direction corresponding to the groove-side inclined surface. The keyboard device according to claim 1, characterized in that the groove-side inclined surface and the shaft-side inclined surface are configured to be slidable when the rotating shaft slides along the groove-side inclined surface.

5. The connecting portion connects the outer surfaces to each other on the side of the mounted portion with respect to the rotating shaft. The keyboard device according to claim 2, characterized in that a gap is formed between the outer surfaces in a region where the rotating shaft is formed.

6. The rotating member includes a first protrusion and a second protrusion that protrude in the scale direction. The first protrusion is located on the front side of the wall portion in the rotation direction of the rotating member. The keyboard device according to claim 1, characterized in that the second protrusion is located on the rear side of the wall portion in the rotation direction of the rotating member.

7. A plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member, wherein the support member includes: a mounting portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member; and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the mounting portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction and into which the rotating shaft is inserted, and a guide groove that has one end connected to the insertion hole and can receive the rotating shaft from an open portion at the other end. The method for attaching the rotating member in a keyboard device, wherein the guide groove includes a groove side inclined surface formed on a groove bottom surface facing a tip of the rotating shaft, By sliding the rotating shaft received from the open portion along the guide groove, guiding the rotating shaft toward the insertion hole, The method for attaching a rotating member, characterized in that the rotating member is attached to the support member by elastically deforming the attached portion by sliding of the rotating shaft along the groove side inclined surface, widening the opposing interval between the wall portions, and inserting the rotating shaft into the insertion hole. A plurality of rotating members arranged in the scale direction, a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members, and a base member to which the support member is attached and that has higher rigidity than the support member, wherein the support member includes: a mounting portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member; and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be arranged in the scale direction from the mounting portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides. Either one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotating shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction and into which the rotating shaft is inserted. The support member includes a connecting portion that connects outer side surfaces on opposite sides of the plurality of wall portions, which are opposite to the rotating member. The method for attaching the rotating member in a keyboard device, The method for attaching a rotating member, characterized in that the rotating member is attached to the support member by elastically deforming the attached portion and inserting the rotating shaft into the insertion hole in a state where the opposing interval between the wall portions is widened.

9. A keyboard device comprising: a plurality of rotating members arranged in a scale direction; a support member that supports the plurality of rotating members; and a base member to which the support member is attached and which has higher rigidity than the support member, wherein the support member includes: an attachment portion that extends in the scale direction and is attached to the base member; and a plurality of wall portions that rise up so as to be aligned in the scale direction from the attachment portion and rotatably support the rotating member between their opposing sides, wherein one of the rotating member and the wall portion includes a rotation shaft that protrudes in the scale direction, and the other includes an insertion hole formed in a side surface facing the scale direction and into which the rotation shaft is inserted, and the attachment portion includes a base portion from which the wall portion rises up and a connection portion that is formed to be thinner than the base portion and connects the base portions in the scale direction, and a method for attaching the rotating member in the keyboard device, comprising: attaching the rotating member to the support member by elastically deforming the attachment portion and inserting the rotation shaft into the insertion hole in a state where the opposing interval between the wall portions is widened.