Keyboard Apparatus with Variable Weight Transmission and Hammer Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional keyboard mechanisms in acoustic pianos create uneven key loads between low-pitched and high-pitched tones, leading to an unnatural playing experience due to the need for additional weights, which increases costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard apparatus with adjustable transmission and hammer members, where the weight and inertial moment of these components vary between tones to maintain consistent initial loads and simulate the key touch feeling of acoustic pianos, using synthetic resin materials for the supporting structures and adjustable weights to achieve a balanced action load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If heavier weights are attached to keys in the low-pitched tone side to maintain constant key loads, then the key touch feeling becomes natural, but the structure becomes complicated and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different weight configurations to transmission members and hammer members at different key positions. Specifically, transmission members for low-pitched keys have different weights than those for high-pitched keys, and similarly for hammer members. This local differentiation in weight distribution achieves natural key touch feeling across the keyboard while avoiding the need for additional external weights on each key.
2Ease of operation
If additional weights are attached on keys to achieve acoustic piano-like key touch feeling, then the key load becomes balanced, but the cost of the instrument increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the weight function directly into the transmission members and hammer members themselves. Instead of adding separate weight components to each key, the weight characteristics are merged into the existing mechanical components. This consolidation achieves balanced key loads while reducing overall instrument cost by eliminating additional weight attachments.
3Force
If the weight of hammer members varies between low-pitched and high-pitched tones, then the action load changes appropriately, but the initial load at the key position becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses transmission members as counterweights to balance the varying weights of hammer members. When hammer members are made heavier for low-pitched tones to increase action load, the transmission members are made lighter to compensate. Conversely, for high-pitched tones, hammer members are lighter but transmission members are heavier. This counterbalancing approach maintains uniform initial loads across all keys while achieving the desired variation in action loads.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a consistent key touch feeling across tones, reducing the need for additional weights and maintaining the natural playing experience of acoustic pianos while simplifying the structure and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
plural transmission members provided for the plural keys respectively, each having one of plural kinds of weights, each of which displaces, when a corresponding key is pressed by a user, and plural hammer members provided for the plural keys respectively, each having one of plural kinds of weights, each of which swings in accordance with displacement of the corresponding transmission member, when the corresponding key is pressed by the user, thereby applying an action load onto the pressed key
Data Source
AI summary
A keyboard apparatus is provided, which is provided with plural keys 2 disposed in parallel, plural transmission members 10 rotating in response to a key pressing operation on the plural keys, and plural hammer members 11 rotating in accordance with rotation of the transmission member to give an action load to the key. The weights of the transmission members together with the weights of the hammer members bring the plural keys to the initial positions and initial loads of the keys are adjusted by the weights of the hammer members. Even if the weight of the hammer member is changed, the initial load of the key can be adjusted based on the weight of the transmission member. Therefore, when the weights of the hammer members are changed, the initial loads of the keys can be kept constant on the high-pitched tone side and the low-pitched tone side.