KEYBOARD-TYPE TONE PLATE PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT

Abstract

A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument that permits a player to make an operation to select percussion unit's striking a tone plate with or without intervention of a displacement member between percussion units and tone plates, making it possible to change, with a simple construction, tone color produced by a struck tone plate. In response to key depression, a corresponding percussion unit (24) is driven. The percussion unit directly strikes a corresponding tone plate when a displacement member (78, 178, 278, 378), which is different in material and hardness from percussion units, is extracted from between keys and the percussion units, but indirectly strikes the tone plate via the displacement member when the displacement member is interposed therebetween.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a section view showing the internal construction of an upper half of a keyboard instrument, which is a keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal construction of the upper half of the instrument;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged front view showing a left side part of the upper half of the instrument;

FIG. 4 is a left side view showing an essential part of a tone color changing mechanism of the instrument;

FIG. 5 is a left side view schematically showing the construction of a tone color changing mechanism of a percussion instrument according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is a view showing a modification of an intervening member that is interposed between percussion units and tone plates;

FIG. 6B is a view showing another modification of the intervening member; and

FIG. 6C is a view showing still another modification of the intervening member.

Claims

1. A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument, comprising: a plurality of keys that constitute a keyboard;a plurality of tone plates each of which sounds a musical tone of a specific tone pitch when struck;a plurality of percussion units that are disposed so as to correspond to respective ones of the plurality of keys and the plurality of tone plates and are each driven in response to a corresponding key depression operation;a displacement member disposed for displacement between an intervening position where it is interposed between the keys and the percussion units and a non-intervening position where it is extracted from between the keys and the percussion units, the displacement member being different in material and hardness from the percussion units; andan operating device for being operated to displace the displacement member,wherein each percussion unit directly strikes a corresponding tone plate when driven with the displacement member extracted from between the keys and the percussion units, and indirectly strikes the corresponding tone plate via the displacement member when driven with the displacement member interposed between the keys and the percussion units.

2. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein said displacement member is movable toward and away from between the keys and the percussion units for movement between the intervening position and the non-intervening position thereof, wherein the displacement member is formed into a plate having a thickness thereof varying in a direction along which the displacement member is moved, andwherein the striking tone color varies depending on a thickness of that portion of the displacement member which is interposed between the keys and the percussion units when the corresponding tone plate is struck indirectly by the percussion unit via the displacement member.

3. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein said operating device includes an operation lever that is manually operable, and a pivot arm that is coupled to the operation lever and supports said displacement member.

4. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein said operating device includes a pedal for being stepped on and a pivot arm that is coupled to the pedal and supports said displacement member.

5. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein said operating device includes a pedal casing for accommodating the pedal, said operating device having an engaging portion for maintaining the pedal in a stepped on state.

6. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein said displacement member is softer in material and lower in hardness than said percussion units.

7. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 1, wherein said displacement member includes a proximal end thereof coupled to said operating device and a body portion thereof extending from said proximal end toward said percussion units.

8. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 7, wherein the body portion of said displacement member is divided by cutting into pivotally movable bodies corresponding to respective ones of said percussion units.

9. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 7, wherein the body portion of said displacement member is formed into a plate that is uniform in thickness.

10. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 9, wherein the body portion of said displacement member has a tone plate-side surface, and said displacement member includes a plate that can be interposed between said tone plates and said percussion unit, the plate being disposed on the tone-plate side surface of the body portion.

11. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 7, wherein the body portion of said displacement member has a thickness thereof decreasing stepwise in a direction from the proximal end toward said percussion units.

12. The keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument according to claim 7, wherein the body portion of said displacement member has a thickness thereof gradually decreasing in a direction from the proximal end toward said percussion units.