Auto-playing Piano Muting via Drive Timing Advance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auto-playing pianos struggle to simulate muting effectively without deviating from the intended sound generation timing, as current methods primarily reduce hammer striking intensity and velocity, leading to delayed string striking and altered sound quality.
Innovation Solution
A drive control device that adjusts the drive start timing of the striking member based on muting data, ensuring the sounding member is struck at the designated timing while controlling sound volume through velocity data, allowing for accurate muting simulation without timing deviations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the hammer striking intensity and velocity are reduced to simulate muting, then the sound volume decreases, but the string striking timing is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The control device performs preliminary action by determining the drive start timing in advance based on velocity data, and then performs muting control by advancing the drive start timing. This ensures that the hammer still strikes the string at the designated striking timing while reducing the striking velocity to achieve muting effect, thus avoiding timing delay.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of drive start timing by advancing it based on muting data. This parameter change allows the hammer to start moving earlier but still reach the string at the correct timing with reduced velocity, thereby achieving both volume reduction and timing accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If the drive start timing is advanced to maintain striking timing, then the hammer velocity can be controlled, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces complex mechanical muting mechanisms with a control system that uses data processing. The control device determines drive start timing based on velocity data and performs muting control by advancing timing based on muting data, substituting mechanical complexity with computational control.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device performs multiple functions: determining drive start timing based on velocity data, performing muting control by advancing timing, and ensuring accurate striking timing. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
A sound generation mechanism, provided with a string for generating a vibration sound in response to striking by a hammer, is automatically played in accordance with performance data. The performance data include striking data (note-on event data) for designating timing at which the string should be struck by the hammer, velocity data indicative of an intensity of the striking, and muting data (soft pedal data) for controlling muting. A controller determines drive start timing of the hammer in accordance with the velocity data in such a manner that the string is struck by the hammer at the timing designated by the striking data and performs control such that the drive start timing is advanced in accordance with the muting data. Thus, the string is struck at the striking timing designated by the striking data, but also muting control is performed in accordance with the muting data.