Patent Grant
8546676
The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-218665, which was filed on Sep. 29, 2010, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pedal device for an electronic percussion instrument.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is conventionally known a pedal device for an electronic percussion instrument. In one known pedal device, a foot board is pivotably supported on the base, and a weight is provided at a free end of the foot board. Further, a tension coil spring is provided at the free end of the foot board. The known pedal device aims at achieving a depression feeling close to that of an acoustic drum owing to an inertial force by the weight and a load increase by the tension coil spring at a time when the foot board is depressed or stepped on.
In the known pedal device described above, however, the weight is provided at the foot board. Accordingly, the weight needs to be disposed so as not to hinder the operation of the foot board, and therefore there are various constraints in terms of the size and configuration of the weight. In addition, a displacement amount of the weight depends on a displacement amount of a portion of the foot board to which the weight is attached. In the arrangement, therefore, a degree of freedom in adjustment of the inertial force by the weight is low, and it is not easy to design so as to obtain a desired inertial force. Hence, there is room for improvement in making the depression feeling more natural.
In the known pedal device described above, when the foot board is depressed, the foot board comes into contact with the base, and a depression end position of the foot board is regulated or defined. On this occasion, an impact in a downward direction is applied to the floor surface via the base, causing a vibration and an impact sound. In an electronic drum, in particular, such vibration and impact sound are felt as a nuisance, as compared with an acoustic drum. Further, the feeling at a time of depression end in the electronic drum differs from that in the acoustic drum, thus leaving room for improvement.
The present invention has been made to solve the conventionally experienced problems described above. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a pedal device for an electronic percussion instrument in which an impact on a floor surface is mitigated and a degree of freedom for improving a depression feeling is enhanced.
To achieve the object indicated above, the present invention provides a pedal device for an electronic percussion instrument, comprising:
a base (10) placed on a floor surface (26);
a foot board (20) supported at a first end portion (20a) thereof with respect to the base and configured to pivot by a depressing operation;
an arm (21) rotatably supported at a first end (21a) thereof at a pivot point (23) which is located at a position of the foot board near to a second end portion (20b) of the foot board, the arm being configured to be pivotable about the pivot point;
a mass portion (22) provided at a position of the arm near to a second end (21b) of the arm;
a regulating portion (14a; 50a; 51a) configured to regulate a locus of displacement of the mass portion when the foot board is moved from a depression start position to a depression end position; and
a stopper portion (30) provided on the base and configured to define the depression end position of the foot board by contacting the mass portion in a forward stroke of depression of the foot board,
wherein the regulating portion is configured to regulate the locus of the displacement of the mass portion so as not to contain a downward component in the forward stroke of depression of the foot board.
The reference numerals in the brackets attached to respective constituent elements of the device in the above description correspond to reference numerals used in the following embodiments to identify the respective constituent elements. The reference numerals attached to each constituent element indicates a correspondence between each element and its one example, and each element is not limited to the one example.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
There will be described embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings.
The pedal device is constituted as a kick pedal for an electronic bass drum as the electronic percussion instrument. The pedal device is disposed on a floor surface 26 and is operated for performance by depressing or stepping on a foot board 20.
Hereinafter, a front-rear direction and an up-down direction of the pedal device are used with reference to a state in which the pedal device is placed on the horizontal floor surface 26, and the right side in
As shown in
A support portion 12 is provided on a bottom plate 11 of the base 10 so as to be positioned at a front portion of the bottom plate 11. A stopper support portion 13 is provided on the bottom plate 11 so as to be positioned at a rear portion of the bottom plate 11. Side plate portions 14 (14L, 14R) are provided on the bottom plate 11 so as to extend upward respectively from left-side and right-side sections of the rear portion of the bottom plate 11. A spring support portion 15 is provided at a position of the bottom plate 11 which is substantially middle in the front-rear direction and is central in the left-right direction, so as to extend upward, as shown in
Leg portions 25 are provided on a lower surface of the bottom plate 11. The leg portions 25 rest on the floor surface 26, as shown in
The support portion 12 has a first pivot shaft 18 that extends in the left-right direction, and a front end portion 20a (as a first end portion) of the foot board 20 is rotatably supported by the first pivot shaft 18. According to the arrangement, the foot board 20 is configured such that a rear end portion 20b (as a second end portion) thereof is pivotable about the first pivot shaft 18 in the up-down direction (i.e., in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction in
A second pivot shaft 23 as a pivot point is provided at the rear end portion 20b of the foot board 20 so as to extend in the left-right direction. The left arm 21L and the right arm 21R are disposed so as to extend parallel with each other, and a front end 21a (as a first end) of each of the arms 21 is rotatably supported by the second pivot shaft 23. According to the arrangement, the arms 21 are configured such that the rear ends 21b thereof are pivotable about the second pivot shaft 23 relatively in the up-down direction (i.e., in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in
A bar-like slide pin 24 extends between the rear end 21b of the arm 21L and the rear end 21b of the arm 21R. The mass portion 22 is disposed between the arms 21L, 21R. The mass portion 22 is preferably formed of a material having a higher degree of specific gravity than the foot board 20 and the arms 21, for permitting a large mass of a system (a motion system) including the foot board 20, the arms 21, and the mass portion 22 to concentrate on the mass portion 22. The slide pin 24 penetrates the mass portion 22 and is rotatable relative to the mass portion 22. While the mass portion 22 has a circular shape in side view in the present embodiment, the mass portion 22 may have a shape other than the circle. The mass portion 22 may be disposed at a position of the arms 21L, 21R other than the rear ends 21b thereof. For instance, the mass portion 22 may be disposed at a position of the arms 21L, 21R near to the rear ends 21b thereof, which position is in a region of the arms 21 located more rearward than middle positions of the arms 21 in the front-rear direction (i.e., the longitudinal direction) of the arms 21.
A concave guide groove 14a is formed in an inside surface in the left-right direction of each of the side plate portions 14 of the base 10, such that the guide groove 14a extends along the front-rear direction. The slide pin 24 is disposed so as to extend between the side plate portions 14 along the left-right direction, such that the left end and the right end of the slide pin 24 are held in engagement with a guide groove 14a of the side plate portion 14L and a guide groove 14a of the side plate portion 14R, respectively. The dimension of each guide groove 14a in the up-down direction is slightly larger than a diameter of the slide pin 24, and the slide pin 24 is slidaly movable in the guide grooves 14a in the front-rear direction. According to the arrangement, the mass portion 22 is displaceable in the front-rear direction, together with the slide pin 24.
A first coil spring 16, as an elastic member, is interposed between a lower surface of the foot board 20 and the bottom plate 11. The attaching position of the first coil spring 16 to the foot board 20 is preferably near to the rear end portion 20b of the foot board 20. But this is not essential. A second coil spring 17, as an elastic member, is interposed between the mass portion 22 and the spring support portion 15. It may be considered that the second coil spring 17 is interposed between the arms 21R, 21L and the spring support portion 15 since the second coil spring 17 transmits its elastic force to the arms 21R, 21L via the mass portion 22 and the slide pin 24. In the non-operating state of the foot board 20, the first coil spring 16 and the second coil spring 17 are both kept in compression state, whereby an equilibrium state of the system of the link mechanism including the foot board 20, the arms 21, and the mass portion 22 is maintained. That is, the foot board 20 in the non-operating state is regulated to be kept at the depression start position shown in
The spring constant, the position, the displacement amount (the deformation amount), etc., of each of the coil springs 16, 17 may be arbitrarily determined, whereby a depression torque of the foot board 20 may be set as desired in accordance with preferences of the performer. Further, the depression start position, i.e., the initial angle, of the foot board 20 may be set as desired. Incidentally, both of the coil springs 16, 17 may be placed in tension state for maintaining the equilibrium state of the system of the link mechanism in the non-operating state.
When a depressing operation of the foot board 20 is started from the non-operating state (
In a forward stroke of depression, a linear distance between the start point PaS and the end point PaE of the slide pin 24 is larger than a linear distance between the start point PfS and the end point PfE of the second pivot shaft 23. The displacement amount of the mass portion 22 is larger than the displacement amount of the second pivot shaft 23, whereby an inertial mass of the mass portion 22 in the system is made larger than in a conventional structure in which a mass portion is fixed directly to a foot board. Accordingly, as compared with the conventional structure, it is easier to design such that the influence of the inertial force by the mass portion becomes large. For instance, the linear distance between the start point PaS and the end point PaE of the slide pin 24 may be adjusted by changing the length of the arms 21 so as to change the initial position of the mass portion 22 (i.e., the position of the mass portion 22 in the non-operating state of the foot board 20) or by changing a locus of the sliding movement of the mass portion 22. Further, the degree of freedom in setting the shape and the mass of the mass portion 22 is higher in the present embodiment than in the conventional structure in which the mass portion is fixed to the foot board. In the present embodiment, the mass and the displacement amount of the mass portion 22 are set so as to ensure inertial mass almost equal to that of a kick pedal of an acoustic drum.
As shown in
When the mass portion 22 comes into abutting or pressing contact with or hits on the front surface of the rubber sheet 36, the cushioning members 33, 35 exhibit a cushioning function, and the piezoelectric sensor 31 detects a voltage change in accordance with an impact change of the hit surface by the hitting and outputs a signal. The output signal of the piezoelectric sensor 31 is sent, as a percussion performance trigger signal, to a signal processing portion (not shown) and is converted into percussion performance data or is converted into a sound in real time.
The rubber sheet 36 has hardness higher than that of the cushioning members 33, 35. The rubber sheet 36 and the cushioning members 33, 35 are designed such that there is generated an adequate rebound force which approximates or is close to that of a kick pedal of an acoustic drum at the moment when the mass portion 22 comes into abutting contact with the rubber sheet 36. From a design viewpoint, the rebound force is adjusted mainly by the hardness of the cushioning members 33, 35. The appropriate adjustment enables so-called double performance in which the stopper portion 30 is hit two times successively, without an unnatural or awkward feeling. After the mass portion 22 has rebounded on the stopper portion 30, the system described above returns to the depression start position by the elasticity of the coil springs 16, 17.
In the present embodiment, the link mechanism is constituted by the foot board 20 and the arms 21, and a displacement locus of the mass portion 22 is regulated in the front-rear direction by the guide grooves 14a. Thus, the guide grooves 14a functions as a regulating portion to regulate the displacement locus of the mass portion. In the forward stroke of depression of the foot board 20, the mass portion 22 slides rearward and comes into contact with the stopper portion 30 from the front, whereby it is possible to mitigate an impact on the floor surface 26. Because the surface of the stopper portion 30 with which the mass portion 22 comes into abutting contact extends in the vertical direction, in particular, the rebound force acts frontward in the horizontal direction, reducing a vibration to be transmitted to the floor surface 26 and an impact sound to be generated. Further, the mass portion 22 is provided at the rear ends 21b of the arms 21 linked to the foot board 20, and the displacement amount of the mass portion 22 is larger than that of the rear end portion 20b of the foot board 20. Accordingly, it is possible to enlarge the inertial force of the mass portion 22 and to enhance the degree of freedom for improving the depression feeling. Therefore, the depression feeling can be easily improved.
Moreover, the system of the link mechanism is maintained in the equilibrium state, and the return behavior to the initial position is given, owing to the first coil spring 16 and the second coil spring 17. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve an operation feeling in an initial period of depression similar to that of the pedal device of the acoustic drum.
In addition, the cushioning members 33, 35 of the stopper portion 30 serve as a counterforce generating portion for generating, with respect to the foot board 20, a counterforce in a reverse direction away from the stopper portion 30 when the mass portion 22 comes into abutting contact with the stopper portion 30. The arrangement achieves a good hitting feeling and facilitates successive hitting. Here, the reverse direction is a direction opposite to the direction of the displacement of the mass portion 22 at a time when the foot board 20 moves from the depression start position to the depression end position. Further, the stopper portion 30 incorporates the counterforce generating portion and the piezoelectric sensor 31 as a hitting detect mechanism, achieving a good hitting feeling and good detection of the hitting with a compact structure.
From the viewpoint of effectively mitigating the impact with respect to the floor surface 26, the mass portion 22 is configured to displace, in the forward stroke of depression, in a direction in which a downward component is not contained. In the illustrated embodiment, the mass portion 22 is configured to displace, in the forward stroke of depression, only in the rearward direction of the pedal device, as shown in
The displacement direction of the mass portion 22 may contain a leftward-rightward component, in addition to the displacement components shown in
The structure in which the stopper portion 30 incorporates the hitting detect mechanism and the counterforce generating portion is not limited to that shown in
For instance, in the stopper portion 30 shown in
In the stopper portion 30 shown in
The counterforce generating portion may be constituted by any elastic member or tension generating member other than those described above, or may be constituted by combination of those members. The kind of the sensor for detecting the hitting is not limited to piezoelectric elements, but any other sensor such as a capacitance sensor or a force sensing resistor sensor may be employed.
The mechanism of regulating the displacement locus of the mass portion 22 is not limited to the illustrated combination of the guide grooves 14a and the slide pin 24 shown in
For instance, as one modified embodiment, side plate portions 50 similar to the side plate portions 14 are disposed at left-side and right-side sections of the bottom plate 11 of the base 10, as shown in
As another modified embodiment, a block 51 is provided on the bottom plate 11 of the base 10 so as to extend upright, and a guide hole 51a having a circular shape in front view is formed in the block 51, as shown in
The layout of the coil springs 16, 17 is not limited to that illustrated in
For instance, as one modified embodiment, a coil spring 43 is disposed between the foot board 20 and the spring retain portion 10a that is located above the foot board 20 while a coil spring 44 is disposed between the foot board 20 and the spring retain portion 10b that is located below the foot board 20, as shown in
In each of the modified embodiments of
As yet another modified embodiment, a coil spring 47 is disposed between the mass portion 22 and the spring retain portion 10a that is located above the mass portion 22, as shown in
In each of the modified embodiments of
In the illustrated embodiment and modified embodiments, for appropriately constituting the system of the link mechanism, the second pivot shaft 23 is located at a position of the foot board 20 near to the rear end portion 20b of the foot board 20 while the mass portion 22 is located at a position of the arms 21 near to the rear ends 21b of the arms 21. Further, the coil springs such as the coil springs 16, 17 need to exhibit the elastic force, and other elastic members such as a rubber may be used.
The piezoelectric sensor 31 needs to detect directly or indirectly the movement or motion of the foot board 20. Accordingly, the position of the piezoelectric sensor 31 is not limited to the position at which the sensor 31 contacts the mass portion 22, but the sensor 31 may be disposed at a position where the movement of the foot board 20 per se is detectable, such as on the bottom plate 11.
It is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied with various other changes and modifications, which may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.
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