JP2007025588A - Keyboard instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard instrument on which a touch feeling by a hammer structure 3 is obtained and which is reduced in cost by employing a resin-integrated keyboard and durable, and never spoils the touch feeling. <P>SOLUTION: A key unit 1 comprising a white key 11, a thin wall part 12, and a common fixed part 13 is molded out of resin in one body. A key unit 2 comprising a black key 21, a thin wall part 22, and a common fixed part 23 is molded out of resin in one body. The common fixed parts 13 and 23 are fixed to a key fixation base 120 of a key frame 110. The white key 11 has an operation part 14 formed on the reverse surface of a wide part 11a adjacently to the leading end of the black key 21. An operation part 24 is formed below the leading end of the black key 21. The hammer structure 3 is driven by the operation part 14 in response to depression of the key 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a keyboard device provided with a hammer structure so as to be swingable at a lower portion of a key.

  Conventionally, as this type of keyboard device, there is one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-198037 (Patent Document 1) or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-42206 (Patent Document 2). The keyboard device of Patent Document 1 supports the rear ends of the white key and the black key with a frame body, and urges the white key and the black key in a swingable manner by urging them backward with a leaf spring. . Further, a swing lever comprising a lever base and a weight is disposed under the key as a hammer structure, and the swing lever is driven by a drive portion formed on the key. Further, the return force when the key is not pressed is obtained by the force of the leaf spring.

In the keyboard device of Patent Document 2, a key is supported by a keyboard frame at a support portion at the rear end portion thereof, a mass body as a hammer structure is disposed under the key, and the key and the mass body are held by an S-shaped spring. Like that. And it is comprised so that a mass body may be driven with the hanging piece formed in the key. A structure in which a key is swingably held by a V spring is also disclosed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-198037 JP 2003-42206 A

  Like the keyboard devices of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the keyboard device provided with the hammer structure can provide a piano touch feeling by the hammer action, but the structure for supporting the key is complicated, and the number of parts increases. There is a problem of increased costs. In addition, the structure by the V spring of patent document 2 also has a structure which attaches a V spring to a key and a support part, respectively, and there exists a problem in terms of durability in the connection part of a key and a V spring. There is room for improvement in terms of assembly work.

  By the way, in a particularly inexpensive electronic keyboard instrument, there is a keyboard device provided with a keyboard in which each key and a fixed portion are connected by a thin portion and integrally formed with a synthetic resin. However, providing a hammer structure in such a keyboard device has been difficult in terms of durability and touch, and has not been conventionally considered.

  For example, in order to operate the hammer structure, it is necessary to form an action part (corresponding to the drive part of Patent Document 1 and the hanging piece of Patent Document 2) as a key. However, if the action part is too close to the fixed part, the hinge part (thin part) bends first before the action part operates the hammer structure during key depression, and the hammer structure starts moving later. There is a problem in touch feeling because the feeling of operation is fluffy.

  Further, there is a problem in the structure of the white key in the range corresponding to the length of the black key from the fixed part. In the range corresponding to the length of the black key, the white key is adjacent to the black key, so the width of the white key is narrower than the leading end side, and the width of the leading end side and the portion where this width is narrow (hereinafter referred to as “width”). There is a step-shaped corner at the boundary with the "narrow part". For this reason, when the white key action portion is formed in a range corresponding to the length of the black key, the stress caused by the reaction force when the hammer structure operates is concentrated on the corner portion, and in the worst case, the key is broken. There is a problem in terms of durability.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard device that is provided with a hammer structure, reduces cost, has durability, and does not impair touch feeling.

  The keyboard device according to claim 1 includes a key unit in which a key and a fixed portion are connected by a thin portion by integral molding of a synthetic resin, and a hammer structure that operates by an action portion in conjunction with a key pressing operation of the key. The key unit for a black key has a working portion formed on the lower surface of the tip of the black key, and the key unit for the white key has a working portion on the lower surface of at least the wide portion of the white key. It was made to form in the position adjacent to.

  According to the keyboard device of the first aspect, the influence of the reaction force from the hammer structure on the thin wall portion is reduced by the amount the white key action portion is separated from the thin wall portion supporting the key. Is not impaired. Further, since the white key action part is in the wide part, the corner of the boundary between the wide part and the narrow part is closer to the fixed part than the action part. Therefore, the force of the finger when the key is pressed is directly transmitted to the action part in the wide part, and the force applied to the corner part is centered on the pulling force of the white key in the depth direction, and it is difficult to concentrate the stress on the corner part. Sex is obtained.

  As a preferred example of claim 1, the key unit for the black key has the action part formed on the lower surface of the front end of the black key, and the key unit for the white key has the action part black on the lower surface of at least the wide part of the white key. It is formed at a position adjacent to the tip of the key. Thereby, the action part of a black key and the action part of a white key can be made into substantially equal distance from a fixing | fixed part, and an action part can be arrange | positioned as much as possible at the front end side of a key. Therefore, the hammer structure for the black key and the white key can be made substantially the same structure.

  A keyboard device according to a second aspect is the keyboard device according to the first aspect, wherein the key unit is integrally formed by a plurality of keys and a common fixing portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the keyboard device according to the first or second aspect, the urging force is applied to the operating portion of the key in a direction opposite to the key pressing force by its own weight.

  4. The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein the action portion is a columnar member or a piece member extending under the key. Thereby, in addition to the effect of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3, an action part can be shape | molded easily.

  As a preferred example, the respective operation portions of the key unit for the white key and the key unit for the black key are formed so that the white key and the black key are combined at equal intervals in the key arrangement direction. The keyboard device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the keyboard device is provided. Accordingly, in addition to the effect of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the intervals in the key arrangement direction of the hammer structure are equal intervals, and the design is facilitated.

  According to the keyboard device of the first aspect, the structure of the key unit integrally formed with the synthetic resin can simplify the key support structure, reduce the cost, obtain a touch feeling by the hammer structure, and further improve durability. Excellent in touch and touch feeling is not impaired.

  According to the keyboard device of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the cost can be reduced by integrally forming a plurality of keys.

  According to the keyboard device of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, in addition to the elastic force of the thin portion of the key unit, the key can be restored by the weight of the hammer structure. This is not necessary and the cost can be further reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side sectional view of a main part of a keyboard device according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view and a side sectional view of a key unit for white keys in the keyboard device, and FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view of a key unit for white keys. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an electronic musical instrument provided with the keyboard device. 1 to 5, the left side of the drawings is the player side, and the direction perpendicular to the drawings of FIGS. 1 and 4 is the key arrangement direction. Hereinafter, in this electronic musical instrument and keyboard apparatus, the performer side during performance is referred to as “front” and the opposite side as “rear”. In the following description and drawings, the reference numerals used to distinguish pitches (pitch names) will be described by adding a hyphen and a capital letter corresponding to the pitch name after the number. Further, “white key” and “black key” are also simply referred to as “keys”.

  In this electronic musical instrument, a lower case 10D and an upper case 10U constitute a main body case, and a key frame 110 of the keyboard device 100 is fixed to the lower case 10D by screws N1, N2, and N3. Note that there are a plurality of fixed portions by screws N1, N2, and N3 in the key arrangement direction. The keyboard device 100 supports the keys 11 and 21 by a key frame 110 as described later, and the upper case 10U is formed so as to cover the rear portions of the keys 11 and 21 of the keyboard device 100. Further, the main circuit board 20 is attached to the further rear inside of the upper case 10U by a boss 10a or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the key unit 1 for the white key includes the keys 11, 11,... And the thin portions 12, 12,. , And a common fixing portion 13 for connecting the rear end portions of the thin portions 12, 12,... In the key arrangement direction for each key unit, and the keys 11, the thin portion 12, and the common fixing portion 13 are connected to each other. It is integrally molded with a white synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 3 (A), the first key unit 1 integrates four white keys 11 (C key, E key, G key, and B key), and the second key unit 1 as shown in FIG. 3 (B). The key unit 1 is formed by integrating three white keys 11 (D key, F key, and A key).

  Further, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 (A), the black key unit 2 is also connected to the keys 21, 21,... Have a common fixing portion 23 (see FIG. 1) for connecting the rear end portions of the thin portions 22, 22,... In the key arrangement direction. And the common fixing | fixed part 23 is integrally molded with a black synthetic resin. The key unit 2 is an integrated unit of five black keys 21 (C # key, D # key, F # key, G # key and A # key). Then, the key unit 1, 1 for white keys and the key unit 2 for black keys are combined in accordance with the arrangement of the keys 11, 21, and a keyboard unit composed of one octave key is configured. Furthermore, a keyboard device is constructed by assembling this keyboard unit by the required number of octaves.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the key 11 is composed of a player-side wide portion 11a and a narrow portion 11b formed on the rear end side from the wide portion 11a, and constitutes a keyboard unit. In addition, the black key 21 is disposed between the adjacent narrow portions 11b and 11b. On the back surface of the wide part 11a of the key 11, an action part 14 is formed adjacent to the narrow part 11b and extending under the key. Further, an action portion 24 extending under the key is formed on the back surface of the front end of the black key 21. In addition, although the action parts 14 and 24 are comprised by the single member, you may comprise by a columnar member.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the keyboard device 100, a key fixing base 120 that is long in the key arrangement direction corresponding to all keys is formed at the rear upper end of the key frame 110. The common fixing parts 13 and 13 of the first and second key units 1 and 1 for the white key and the common fixing part 23 of the key unit 2 for the black key are assembled. Accordingly, the keys 11 and 21 are supported so as to be swingable by the elasticity of the thin portions 12 and 22, and the thin portions 12 and 22 serve as hinge portions.

  Below the keys 11 and 21, the hammer structure 3 is supported by a key frame 110. The hammer structure 3 includes a mass rod 31 extending in the front-rear direction and an operating portion 32 that holds an end of the mass rod 31, and is pivotally supported by the key frame 110 with the shaft 32a of the operating portion 32 as a fulcrum. Yes. In addition, a connecting piece 32b is formed at the tip of the operating portion 32 so as to be bifurcated vertically. A connecting plate 14a formed at the lower end of the operating portion 14 of the key 11 is connected to the connecting piece 32b. And the action part 14 pushes down the action | operation part 32 at the time of a key depression, and the hammer structure 3 rotates counterclockwise in the figure centering on the axis | shaft 32a. When the key is released, the key 11 is rotated clockwise by the weight of the mass bar 31, and the key 11 is restored in cooperation with the elastic force of the thin portion 12 of the key 11. The key frame 110 is provided with felt stoppers SD and SU at the lower rear end and the rear upper end, and the rotation range of the hammer structure 3 is restricted by the stoppers SD and SU.

  Below the key 11 of the keyboard device 100, a switch substrate 30 is supported by a key frame 110, and a key switch 4 made of dome-shaped rubber is fixed on the switch substrate 30. The key switch 4 constitutes a key depression switch that is turned on / off by a switch driving unit 15 (see FIG. 3) formed on the lower surface of the key 11. A flat cable 40 that outputs a signal of the key switch 4 and the like is connected to the switch board 30.

  In the key frame 110, a slit 130 is formed between the key fixing base 120 and the switch substrate 30, and a slit 140 is formed at the rear end portion of the key fixing base 120. A rectangular cylindrical holder 150 is attached to the rear end of the slit 140. The width of the slits 130 and 140 and the holder 150 in the key arrangement direction is, for example, about several centimeters. The flat cable 40 passes through the slits 130 and 140 from the bottom of the holder 150 to the inside of the holder 150 and is wired from the upper end of the holder 150 to the main circuit board 20 behind the instrument (see FIG. 3). Has been. Thereby, the wiring for connection between the switch board 30 and the main circuit board 20 is gathered in one place, and the assembling work or the like becomes extremely easy.

  In addition, the holder 150 has a shape that rises from the stopper SU toward the upper case 10 </ b> U, and the flat cable 40 extends horizontally from the upper end of the holder 150. Therefore, a space can be secured on the rear side of the stopper SU. That is, the flat cable 40 can prevent interference with the hammer structure 3. Thereby, the volume of the edge part of the mass bar 31 of the hammer structure 3 can be enlarged, and the mass feeling of the hammer structure 3 can be obtained easily. If the space is small, it is necessary to increase the overall height of the keyboard device to obtain a mass feeling, but this is not the case in the above embodiment.

  As described above, the key units 1 and 2 are integrally formed of synthetic resin, the common fixing portions 13 and 23 and the keys 11 and 21 are connected by the thin-walled portions 12 and 22, and the keys 11 and 21 are The thin fixed portions 12 and 22 are made swingable with respect to the common fixed portions 13 and 23 due to the elasticity. The hammer structure 3 is swingably provided below the keys 11 and 21 and swings in conjunction with the key pressing operation of the keys 11 and 21. The key unit 2 for black key has an action part 24 formed on the lower surface of the tip of the key 21, and the key unit 1 for white key has the action part 14 at the lower surface of at least the wide part 11 a of the key 11 and the tip of the black key 21. It is formed at a position adjacent to the part.

  Therefore, the action part 24 of the black key 21 and the action part 14 of the white key 11 can be made substantially equidistant from the common fixing parts 13 and 23, and the action parts 14 and 24 are arranged as close to the tip side of the keys 11 and 21 as possible. it can. Therefore, the hammer structure 3 for the black key and the white key can be made substantially the same structure, and the hammer to the thin portions 12 and 22 is as much as the action portions 14 and 24 are separated from the thin portions 12 and 22. Since the influence of the reaction force from the structure 3 is reduced, the touch feeling is not impaired. Moreover, since the action part 14 of the white key 11 is in the wide part 11a, the corner of the boundary between the wide part 11a and the narrow part 11b is closer to the common fixed part 13 than the action part 14. Therefore, the force of the finger when the key is pressed is directly transmitted to the action portion 14 in the wide portion 11a, and the force applied to the corner is centered on the pulling force in the depth direction of the white key 11, and stress is not easily concentrated on the corner. Durability is obtained.

  In addition, the key unit 1 is formed by integrally forming a plurality of keys 11, 11,... With a common fixing portion 13 in common, and the key unit 2 fixes a plurality of keys 21, 21,. The part 23 is formed in common and integrally. Therefore, the cost can be reduced by forming a plurality of keys integrally.

  The hammer structure 3 applies an urging force in the direction opposite to the key pressing force to the action portions 14 and 24 of the keys 11 and 21 due to the weight of the mass bar 31, so that the thin portions 12 and The keys 11 and 21 can be restored by the weight of the hammer structure 3 in addition to the elastic force of 22. Therefore, no return spring or the like is required.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (A), the operating portions 14, 24, 14, 24,... Formed on the back surfaces of the white key 11 and the black key 21 have substantially equal intervals in the key arrangement direction. . For the adjacent B and C keys, and adjacent E and F keys, the distance between the operating parts 14-B and 14-C and 14-E and 14-F is slightly wider than the other parts. ing. This is because in this embodiment, in the C key and the E key, the action portion 14-C is formed at a position slightly shifted toward the center of the key in the wide portion 11a of the key 11. Similarly, in the B key and the F key, 14-B may be slightly shifted toward the center of the key in the wide portion 11a, or in both the B key and the C key, and in both the E key and the F key, respectively. The acting portions 14-B and 14-C, and 14-E and 14-F may be slightly shifted toward the center of the key in the wide portion 11.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the key frame 110 and the hammer structure 3 with the key unit removed. Each of the hammer structures 3, 3,... Is arranged at approximately equal intervals, but corresponds to the hammer structures 3-B and 3-C corresponding to the adjacent B key and C key, and the adjacent E key and F key. The hammer structures 3-E and 3-F are slightly wider than the other portions. Between the hammer structures 3-B and 3-C, 3-E and 3-F, vertical ribs 160 extending in the front-rear direction of the keyboard device are formed.

  As described above, there is no black key 21 between the B key and the C key and between the E key and the F key, and further, as described above, the operation units 14-B, 14-C, 14-E, 14-F. Since there is a certain degree of freedom in the positions of the working parts 14-B, 14-C and the hammer structures 3-B, 3-C, the working parts 14-E, 14-F and the hammer structures 3-E, 3- The ribs 160 can be arranged so as to widen the interval at F. The rib 160 makes the key frame 110 strong. However, if the rib 160 is arranged between the B key and the C key and between the E key and the F key in this way, the number of ribs is not too large and light. Can be achieved.

  The hammer structure 3 is slightly different in shape between the white key and the black key because the hammer action is slightly changed between the white key and the black key. However, the hammer structures 3-B, 3-C and the hammer structures 3-E, 3-F on both sides of the rib 160 have the same structure. Therefore, since these hammer structures operate in the same way on both sides of the rib 160, avoid interference between the rib 160 and the hammer structures 3-B and 3-C and the hammer structures 3-E and 3-F. Easy to design.

  Further, a screw hole 170 through which a screw N3 for fixing the rear end portion of the key frame 110 is formed is formed inside the stopper SD (player side). Therefore, the width of the key frame 110 in the front-rear direction can be made smaller than when such screw holes are formed outside the stopper SD. Further, since the screw hole 170 is formed between the hammer structures 3 and 3, a screwdriver or the like may interfere with the hammer structure 3 even when the key frame 110 is screwed to the lower case 10D from above. No assembly work is facilitated. As described above, when the screw is attached from above, the keyboard device 100 can be attached without being turned over, so that the operation becomes easy. After the screw hole 170 is screwed from above, the positioning of the screw holes corresponding to the screws N1 and N2, for example, is completed, so that the keyboard device 100 is turned over and the screws N1 and N2 are used. Even if screwed from below, workability is not impaired.

It is principal part side sectional drawing of the keyboard apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is the top view and side sectional view of the key unit for white keys in the keyboard device. It is an exploded plan view of the key unit for the same white key. It is side sectional drawing of the electronic musical instrument provided with the keyboard apparatus of embodiment. It is a top view of the key frame and hammer structure in the keyboard apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Key unit for white keys, 2 ... Key unit for black keys, 3 ... Hammer structure, 11 ... White key, 11a ... Wide part, 11b ... Narrow part, 21 ... Black key, 12, 22 ... Thin wall Part, 13, 23 ... common fixing part, 14, 24 ... action part

Claims (3)

A fixed unit and a key are integrally molded with a synthetic resin, and the thin part is connected to the key. The key unit is made swingable with respect to the fixed part by the elasticity of the thin part, and the key is rocked to the lower part of the key. A keyboard device comprising a hammer structure that is movably provided and swings in conjunction with a key pressing operation of the key,
While having the key unit for the black key and the key unit for the white key, an action part for operating the hammer structure is formed under the key of each key unit,
The key unit for the black key has the operating portion formed on the lower surface of the black key, and the key unit for the white key has the operating portion formed on the lower surface of at least the wide portion of the white key. apparatus.   The keyboard device according to claim 1, wherein the key unit has the fixed portion in common for a plurality of keys, and the plurality of keys and the fixed portion are integrally formed.   3. The hammer structure according to claim 1, wherein the hammer structure swings so as to apply an urging force in a direction opposite to a key pressing force to the action portion of the key by the weight of the hammer structure. The keyboard device described.

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