1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to keyboard device wherein hammers are supported at a frame and operatively connected to keys such that the hammers rotate to apply inertia to the corresponding keys.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional keyboard devices have been known in which a plurality of hammers are supported at a frame and operatively connected to keys such that the hammers rotate to apply inertia to pivoting movements of the, corresponding keys. In these kinds of devices, hammer support parts are provided at the frame, and the hammers are assembled to the corresponding hammer support parts in such a manner that the hammers can rotate (Patent documents 1 to 3 listed below).
In the keyboard device of Patent document 1, a mass part of each of the hammers is inserted into a slit of the frame provided for each of the hammers, such that the mass part is mounted while being ducked, when the hammers are assembled to the frame (See FIG. 8 of document 1). The hammers are inserted from above.
In the keyboard device of Patent document 2, key contact parts of the respective hammers are inserted into slit-shaped cutout parts of the frame from the front area, and the hammers are returned to the opposite side such that the hammers are engaged with hammer support parts (See FIG. 4 of document 2). The hammers are inserted from below.
In the keyboard device of Patent document 3, the hammers are inserted from front and above such that the hammers are engaged with hammer supports parts while the hammers override key guides arranged at the front side of white keys.
[Patent document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. H6-25884
[Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-226687
[Patent document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-25589
In the keyboard devices of Patent documents 1, 2 and 3, however, the hammers must be inserted into the frame from above or below due to restrictions caused by the shape of the frame or obstacles such as the key guides.
Particularly, in Patent document 1, it is necessary to assemble the hammers to the frame while changing the direction in which the hammers are inserted, and the range of fluctuation in the direction is also large. Also, in Patent document 2, it is necessary to change the direction in which the hammers are inserted and, in addition, to move the hammers in the reverse direction once. Also, in Patent document 3, the key guides become obstacles, with the result that it is necessary to assemble the hammers to the frame while changing the angle at which the hammers are inserted, and the range of fluctuation in the angle is also large.
For these reasons, each of the conventional keyboard devices has a problem in that it is not easy to assembly the hammers to the frame.
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problem of the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard device constructed such that hammers can be inserted into a frame from the front side, thereby easily achieving assembly of the hammers to the frame.
In order to accomplish the above object, a keyboard device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a frame having a plurality of key support parts and a plurality of hammer support parts, the frame being formed of resin and being supported on an instrument main body; a plurality of keys supported at the key support parts such that the respective keys are pivoted by a key-pressing operation of a player in a vertical direction, the keys being arranged in parallel to each other along a width direction of the keyboard device; and a plurality of hammers arranged in parallel to each other along the width direction such that the hammers correspond to the respective keys, the hammers being supported at the respective hammer support parts such that the hammers are operatively connected to the corresponding keys below the corresponding keys to rotate about the respective hammer support parts, the hammers applying inertia to pivoting movements of the corresponding keys, wherein the frame has an opening portion open at a front area which faces the player, and located more frontward than the hammer support parts, and the frame is constructed such that the hammer support parts are located between an upper limit position and a lower limit position of the opening portion in the vertical direction, and the hammers can be inserted into the frame through the opening portion from the front area when the hammers are mounted to the respective hammer support parts.
Preferably according to a second aspect of the invention, a distance between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the opening portion in the vertical direction is greater than a maximum vertical size of the hammers which is defined in the vertical direction in a state where a longitudinal direction of the hammers is parallel to a depth direction extending from front to rear of the keyboard.
Preferably according to a third aspect of the invention, a width of the opening portion in the width direction of the keyboard device is greater than a maximum width size of the hammers supported at the respective hammer support parts in the width direction of the keyboard device.
Preferably according to a fourth aspect of the invention, the opening portion is open continuously over each key zone covering a plurality of keys in the width direction of the keyboard device.
Preferably according to a fifth aspect of the invention, a frontmost position of the upper limit position of the opening portion is located more frontward than the hammer support parts, and an acute angle formed by a line segment interconnecting the frontmost position and the hammer support part and a line segment parallel to the depth direction through the hammer support part is 15 degrees or more when viewed from a side of the frame.
Preferably according to a six aspect of the invention, each of the hammers has an engagement part open rearward, the hammers are rotatably supported at the respective hammer support parts by engaging the engagement parts with the corresponding hammer support parts, and the hammers are moved rearward in parallel to each other when the hammers are mounted to the respective hammer support parts such that the engagement parts are engaged with the corresponding hammer support parts.
Preferably according to a seventh aspect of the invention, the upper limit position of the opening portion is located more frontward than the lower limit position and the hammer support parts, and the opening portion is open downward as well as rearward between the upper limit position and the lower limit position.
Preferably according to an eighth aspect of the invention, the frame has key guide parts provided for the respective keys to guide the pivoting movements of the respective keys, and the key guide parts are provided more frontward than the hammer support parts and more upward than the upper limit position of the opening portion.
Preferably according to a ninth aspect of the invention, each of the hammers is configured such that a rear part of each of the hammers is rotated upward during a going stroke of the corresponding key, a stopper part is provided at the upper limit position of the opening portion, and an initial position of each of the hammers is restricted by contact between a bottom of the stopper part and each of the hammers.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to insert the hammers into the frame from the front side, thereby easily achieving the assembly of the hammers to the frame.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to insert the hammers into the frame without changing the angle of the hammers in the rotation direction thereof during the assembly of the hammers to the frame, and it is possible to easily insert the hammers into the frame in a state where the longitudinal direction of the hammers is parallel to the depth direction of the keyboard device.
According to the third aspect the present invention, it is possible to insert the hammers into the frame without changing the angle of the hammers in the width direction of the keyboard device during the assembly of the hammers to the frame, and it is possible to easily insert the hammers into the frame in a state where the longitudinal direction of the hammers is parallel to the depth direction.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to secure a sufficient area for the opening portion, thereby easily achieving assembly of the hammers to the frame, and, at the same time, to simultaneously insert the plurality of hammers into the frame.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily achieve the insertion and assembly of the hammers to the frame.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily assemble the hammers to the frame by moving the hammers almost in parallel without changing the physical position of the hammers very much.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to more easily achieve the insertion and assembly of the hammers to the frame.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the key guide parts are prevented from becoming obstacles during the assembly of the hammers to the frame, and therefore, it is possible to more easily achieve the insertion and assembly of the hammers to the frame.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a major part of the opening portion is formed below the stopper part, and therefore, the initial stopper may not become an obstacle during the assembly of the hammers to the frame.
a) and 2(b) are a plan view and a front view illustrating a frame, respectively.
FIG. is a sectional view taken along line A-A of
a) to 4(c) are side views of the frame illustrating a process for rotatably arranging a hammer at the frame.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The white keys 10 and the black keys 20 are arranged in parallel along the left-and-right direction (also referred to as the “side-by-side arrangement direction of keys”). The hammers 30 are arranged in parallel along the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys which is a width direction of the keyboard device. The hammers 30 are arranged such that the hammers 30 correspond to the respective keys. Specifically, the hammers 30 are arranged below the respective keys to apply inertia to pivoting movements of the respective keys.
a) and 2(b) are a plan view and a front view illustrating a frame.
The white keys 10 and the black keys 20 are supported at corresponding key support parts 53 of the frame 40 in such a manner that the front ends of the white keys 10 and the black keys 20 can vertically pivot about the key support parts 53. The key support parts 53 may support the keys 10 and 20 in a swinging manner. Alternatively, the key support parts 53 may be configured in a hinge type structure. That is, the structure of the key support parts 53 is not restricted. The hammers 30 are supported at corresponding hammer rotation shafts 43 of the frame 40 in such a manner that the hammers 30 can vertically rotate (the front ends and rear ends of the hammers 30 can vertically pivot) about the hammer rotation shafts 43. A lower perpendicular piece 11 is suspended downward from the front part of each of the white keys 10. The lower end of the lower perpendicular piece 11 constitutes a hammer drive part 12 including a shock-absorbing member. The same structure is applied to each of the black keys 20.
As shown in
In
The frame 40 is manufactured in one united body by injection molding. The frame 40 is fixed to the top of a deck 19 (See
First, as shown in
A rear side wall part 60 vertically rises upward from the rear side support part 45 such that the rear side wall part 60 forms a step toward the front side. A key support part connection part 51 extends frontward from the upper part of the rear side wall part 60 in one united body. A step is formed toward the lower side from the front part of the key support part connection part 51. A plate-shaped part 54 extends frontward while the plate-shaped part 54 is inclined gradually downward. The plate-shaped part 54 is approximately the middle of the frame 40 in the frontward-and-rearward direction which is a depth direction of the keyboard device. The plate-shaped part 54 extends more rearward than the front side support part 41.
In particular, the stopper mount part 47, the key guide connection part 49, the front side support part 41, the key support part connection part 51, and the plate-shaped part 54 are “portions of the frame 40 extending in one united body over the total length in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys” (See
As shown in
An end stopper 55 is mounted to the bottom of the plate-shaped part 54 such that the end stopper 55 contacts the mass part 32 of the rear extension part 30r of the corresponding hammer 30 to restrict a rotation end position of the hammer 30. When a key-pressing operation is performed, the hammer drive part 12 of each of the keys 10 and 20 drives the lower engagement part 33 of the hammer 30, with the result that the hammer 30 rotates in the counterclockwise direction of
Both the initial stopper 48 and the end stopper 55 are formed of material, such as felt, having a shock-absorbing function, and are provided in one united body over the total length in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys. Alternatively, the initial stopper 48 and the end stopper 55 may be provided for each hammer 30. As another alternative, the initial stopper 48 and the end stopper 55 may be formed of a soft material such as elastomer, and may be formed at the frame 40 in one united body by one-piece molding through two-color molding. A plurality of board mount parts 56 and 57 are formed at the top of the plate-shaped part 54 in one united body (Also see
A key switch 59 corresponding to each of the keys is disposed on the board 58. When one of the keys 10 and 20 is pressed, the key switch 59 senses the key-pressing operation of the corresponding one of the keys 10 and 20. The instrument main body includes a musical sound generation device (not shown), which generates a musical sound based on the sensing result of the key switch 59.
As shown in
A plurality of bosses 44 are also formed at the front side support part 41 in one united body. Furthermore, although not shown, a plurality of bosses are also formed at the rear side support part 45 in one united body. The frame 40 is fixed to the instrument main body by threadedly fixing the deck from below through threaded holes (not shown) provided in these bosses 44. Positions where the bosses 44 are formed in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys correspond to the positions where the vertical ribs 46 are formed. Consequently, various kinds of force applied to the frame 40 are easily transmitted to the deck 19 in a direct manner through the vertical ribs 46 and the bosses 44.
A pair of protruding pieces 52 protrude from the top of the key support part connection part 51 in one united body such that the protruding pieces 52 correspond to each key. The above-described key support parts 53 are formed at the surface where a pair of protruding pieces 52 are opposite to each other.
The initial stopper 48, the key guide part 50, the hammer rotation shaft 43, the key support part 53, the key switch 59, and the end stopper 55 engage, in contact, with the components of the keyboard device excluding the frame 40 during the use of the keyboard device. The initial stopper 48, the key guide part 50, the hammer rotation shaft 43, the key support part 53, the key switch 59, and the end stopper 55 are components causing the frame 40 to function as a key frame and a hammer frame to appropriately support the keys 10 and 20 and the hammers 30. These components are referred to as “frame function parts.” The front side support part 41 and the rear side support part 45 have a function to make them to be fixed to the deck 19 in a direct contact manner. Consequently, the front side support part 41 and the rear side support part 45 are also the “frame function parts.”
On the other hand, the key guide connection part 49, the front side support part 41, the key support part connection part 51, and the plate-shaped part 54 function to interconnect a plurality of identical components (key guide part 50, hammer rotation shaft 43, key support part 53, key switch 59) in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys. The stopper mount part 47 is the portion where the initial stopper 48 is mounted. Also, the stopper mount part 47 is the portion extending continuously in one united body in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys. The plate-shaped part 54 is the portion where the end stopper 55 is mounted, and, at the same time, the board 58 is mounted via the board mount parts 56 and 57. Also, the plate-shaped part 54 is the portion extending continuously in one united body in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys. The front side support part 41 and the rear side support part 45 are in contact with the deck 19. The front side support part 41 and the rear side support part 45 are the portions receiving reaction force from the deck 19 when each of the keys is pressed. Also, the front side support part 41 and the rear side support part 45 are the portions extending continuously in one united body in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys. The key guide connection part 49, the front side support part 41, the key support part connection part 51, and the plate-shaped part 54, the stopper mount part 47, and the rear side support part 45 are referred to as “integrated continuous parts.”
The “integrated continuous parts” are defined as “portions formed at the frame 40 in one united body, extending continuously in one united body over a key zone having a plurality of keys in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys, receiving external force directly or via the frame function parts, and/or where components constructed separately from the frame 40 are mounted.”
As shown in
In the frontward-and-rearward direction, the bottom 47a of the stopper mount part 47 is located more frontward than the top 41a of the front side support part 41. Therefore, the opening portions OP are also referred to as openings open downward in addition to the openings open frontward.
When viewing the front of the frame 40, the hammer rotation shafts 43 can be visually recognized through the opening portions OP (See
a) to 4(c) are side views of the frame 40 illustrating a process for rotatably arranging each of the hammers 30 at the frame 40. In the assembly process, each of the hammers 30 is inserted into the frame 40 through the corresponding opening portion OP from the front side.
The maximum vertical size of each hammer 30 in the vertical direction is denoted by Hh (See
As shown in
In the above-described structure, when the hammer 30 is assembled to the frame 40, the hammer 30 is inserted through the corresponding opening portion OP from the front side in a state where the longitudinal direction of the hammer 30 is almost parallel to the frontward-and-rearward direction (See
However, when the vertical distance Hf of opening portions has no sufficient tolerance as compared with the maximum vertical size Hh of the hammer 30, the initial stopper 48 may be mounted after the assembly of the hammer 30 to the frame 40. Alternatively, the distance between the bottom 48a of the initial stopper 48 and the top 41a of the front side support part 41 in the upward-and-downward direction may be set to be greater than the maximum vertical size Hh of the hammer 30. In this case, it is possible to assembly the hammer 30 by moving the hammer 30 rearward while the hammer 30 is parallel in the frontward-and-rearward direction even in a state where the stopper mount part 47 is pivotably mounted.
The engagement depression 31 of the hammer 30 is open at the rear thereof. Consequently, when the hammer 30 is moved rearward in parallel, the engagement depression 31 naturally engages with the corresponding hammer rotation shaft 43 (See
When viewing the opening portion OP in the frontward-and-rearward direction, as shown in
According to this embodiment, it is possible to insert the hammer 30 into the frame 40 through the corresponding opening portion OP from the front side when assembling the hammer 30 to the frame 40. Consequently, it is possible to easily achieve the assembly of the hammer 30 to the frame 40. In particular, the vertical distance Hf of the opening portion OP is greater than the maximum vertical size Hh of the hammer 30 (See
Furthermore, the crosswise width Bf of the opening portion OP is sufficiently large as compared with the maximum width size Bh of the hammer 30 (see
Furthermore, the acute angle (angle θ) formed at the front side by the line segment L1 and the line segment L0 of the opening portion OP is 20 degrees (See
Meanwhile, the male and female relationship between the engagement depression 31 of the hammer 30 and the hammer rotation shaft 43 of the frame 40 may be reversed.
Meanwhile, it is not entirely necessary to form the entirety of the frame 40 of resin in one united body. The fundamental portions, such as the integrated continuous parts and the vertical ribs 46, of the frame 40 may be formed of resin in one united body. Consequently, the frame 40 may include a separate body, or part of the frame 40 may be formed of another material.
As described above, according to the major aspect of the invention, the keyboard device comprises a frame (40) having a plurality of key support parts (53) and a plurality of hammer support parts (43), the frame being formed of resin in one united body and being supported on an instrument main body (19), a plurality of keys (10, 20) supported at the key support parts such that the respective keys are pivoted by a key-pressing operation, the keys being arranged in parallel, and a plurality of hammers (30) arranged in parallel such that the hammers correspond to the respective keys, the hammers being supported at the respective hammer support parts such that the hammers are operatively connected to the corresponding keys below the corresponding keys to rotate about the respective hammer support parts, the hammers applying inertia to pivoting movements of the corresponding keys, the frame having an opening portion (OP) open at least at a front area, which is a player side, located more frontward than the hammer support parts, the frame being constructed such that the hammer support parts are located between an upper limit position (47a) and a lower limit position (41a) of the opening portion in an upward-and-downward direction, and the hammers can be inserted into the frame through the opening portion from the front side when the hammers are mounted to the respective hammer support parts.
Preferably, the hammers are supported at the respective hammer support parts, a distance (Hf) between the upper limit position and the lower limit position of the opening portion in the upward-and-downward direction is greater than a maximum vertical size (Hh) of the hammers in the upward-and-downward direction in a state where a longitudinal direction of the hammers is parallel to a frontward-and-rearward direction
Preferably, a width (Bf) of the opening portion in a side-by-side arrangement direction of keys is greater than a maximum width size (Bh) of the hammers supported at the respective hammer support parts in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys.
Preferably, the opening portion is open continuously over each key zone having a plurality of keys in the side-by-side arrangement direction of keys.
Preferably, a frontmost position (P1) of the upper limit position of the opening portion is located more frontward than the hammer support parts, and an acute angle formed by a line segment (L1) interconnecting the frontmost position and each of the hammer support parts and a line segment (L0) parallel in the frontward-and-rearward direction through each of the hammer support parts is 15 degrees or more when viewed from a widthwise side of the frame.
Preferably, each of the hammers has an engagement part (31) open rearward, the hammers are rotatably supported at the respective hammer support parts by engaging the engagement parts with the corresponding hammer support parts, and the hammers are moved rearward in parallel, when the hammers are mounted to the respective hammer support parts, such that the engagement parts can be engaged with the corresponding hammer support parts.
Preferably, the upper limit position of the opening portion is located more frontward than the lower limit position and the hammer support parts, and the opening portion is open downward as well as rearward between the upper limit position and the lower limit position.
Preferably, the frame has key guide parts (50) provided for the respective keys to guide pivoting movements of the respective keys, and the key guide parts are provided more frontward than the hammer support parts and more upward than the upper limit position of the opening portion.
Preferably, each of the hammers is configured such that a rear part (30r) of each of the hammers is rotated upward during a going stroke of the corresponding pressed key, a stopper part (48) is provided at the upper limit position of the opening portion, and an initial position of each of the hammers is restricted by contact between a bottom (48a) of the stopper part and each of the hammers during the going stroke of the pressed key.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2008-245799 | Sep 2008 | JP | national |