Keyboard Instrument Key Guide Structure With Rib Wall Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional key guide structures for keyboard instruments face issues such as inward deflection of side walls due to molding, leading to increased friction and lateral swing of keys, and cumbersome maintenance processes due to the placement of key guides immediately rearward of the keys, making removal difficult.
Innovation Solution
A key guide structure with a rib wall inside the key and two guide walls extending forward from the rib wall, preventing inward deflection and allowing smooth pivotal movement while maintaining a distance for stable guidance, and facilitating easy removal during maintenance by sliding the keys rearward.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the key guide is placed immediately rearward of the key front wall, then the key guidance is compact and space-efficient, but the key cannot be removed for maintenance and maintenance work becomes troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The key guide structure is segmented into multiple functional zones: the first key guide portion for guiding the key during depression, the second key guide portion for guiding removal, and the third key guide portion for guiding reinstallation. This segmentation allows the key to be removed and reinstalled while maintaining guidance functionality throughout the process
Solution Approach 2:
The key guide structure dynamically adapts its guidance function based on the key's position and movement state. During normal depression, the first portion guides the key; during removal, the second portion engages; during reinstallation, the third portion guides. This dynamic functionality resolves the contradiction between compactness and maintainability
2Reliability
If a relatively large gap is set between the key side walls and key guide, then friction is reduced and smooth guiding is achieved, but lateral swing of the key occurs during depression
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the key guide structure have different functional qualities: the first key guide portion has a width that provides appropriate guidance friction to prevent lateral swing, while the second and third portions facilitate removal and reinstallation. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between smooth guidance and lateral stability
3Stability of the object's composition
If the key side walls are in firm contact with the key guide, then lateral swing is prevented, but friction increases due to inward fall of side walls during molding
Solution Approach 1:
The key guide structure extends in the front-rear direction of the key, utilizing the longitudinal dimension to resolve the contradiction. By distributing the guidance function across multiple portions along the key's length, the structure provides lateral stability through the first portion while enabling smooth removal through the second and third portions, avoiding the friction problem caused by firm contact over the entire contact area
Data Source
AI summary
A key guide structure for a keyboard instrument including a plurality of keys, for guiding each of the keys being pivotally moved in accordance with depression of the key. Each key includes a rib wall provided inside the key and extending between left and right side walls of the key in a left-right direction, and two left and right guide walls provided inside the key and extending forward a predetermined length from the rib wall with a predetermined spacing therebetween in the left-right direction. The keyboard chassis includes a plurality of key guides each provided on a key-by-key basis such that each key guide protrudes upward, each key guide being inserted between the two guide walls of each associated one of the keys from below and brought into sliding contact with the two guide walls.