JP2009236967A - Keyboard device for electronic musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument including a key guide, capable of precisely adjusting key arrangement intervals. <P>SOLUTION: In the keyboard device for the electronic musical instrument, the key guide 40 for guiding the key 10 in a vertical direction includes a support body 41 fixed to a key frame 20, which extends to a hollow section 14 of the key, and a contact body 42 supported by the support body, which guides vertical motion by contacting with an inner face of a sidewall 13 of the key. The contact body 42 is supported so that a position may be adjusted in a key width direction with reference to the support body 41. The key guide 40 includes a lock function for supporting the position adjustable contact body in a position after adjustment, and the lock function provided in each of the support body 41 and the position adjustable contact body 42, includes a plurality of stages of engagement sections which engage to each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a key of an electronic musical instrument keyboard device usually has a hollow portion surrounded by an upper wall 11, a front wall 12, and a side wall 13, and a front portion is guided by a key guide 2. Rotating in the vertical direction around the rear part. The key guide 2 extends from the key frame into the hollow portion of the key and is arranged so as to contact the inner surface of the side wall of the key. To do.

  By the way, the key is often resin-molded, and the shape may be slightly different even with the same key due to a manufacturing error during molding. In particular, the white key 10W of the keyboard instrument has a different planar shape depending on the positional relationship with the black key 10B, as shown in FIG. That is, as shown by the pitch names shown in the lower part of FIG. 2, the D, G, and A keys have a substantially symmetrical shape, and the E and B keys have a left-right asymmetric shape in which a recess for black key arrangement is formed on the left side. The C and F keys are asymmetrical, with a black key recess on the right side. When these keys are injection-molded with resin, the molded product is distorted due to the difference in shrinkage at each part while it is cooled and solidified. As a result, when the white keys 10W are arranged in the order of pitch names, the arrangement intervals of the keys become non-uniform. FIG. 3 is a plan view in which a part of the white key 10W and the black key 10B is taken out, and the arrangement interval d1 and d2 of the white key 10W is not uniform, and there is a large or small difference in the gap between the white keys. Show. Since the conventional key guide is fixed to the key frame, such an uneven arrangement interval cannot be adjusted.

  Various means have been proposed to deal with this. In the key guide described in Patent Document 1, a protruding portion from the front end of a key frame (keyboard chassis) is bent upward corresponding to each key to form an insertion portion, and a guide material is inserted into this to constitute a key guide The black key is provided with one key guide, and the white key is provided with two key guides. Adjustment of the arrangement interval of the keys is performed by changing the inclination by deforming the two insertion portions.

  The key guide of Patent Document 2 forms a groove extending in the vertical direction at the rear end of the key, and a guide pin loosely fitted in the groove is inserted into the key frame (keyboard chassis) from the rear to the front of the key, By changing the direction of the guide pin, the position of the key in the left-right direction is adjusted.

The key guide described in Patent Document 3 is such that a guide piece standing from a key frame is covered with a cap having a receiving hole for the guide piece, and the inner surface of the side wall of the key is guided by this cap. By preparing a cap with eccentric holes and selecting a cap that matches the distortion of the key, or by forming a gap between the receiving hole and the guide piece so that it can be adjusted in the horizontal direction, the key arrangement interval Is to adjust.
JP-A-8-179758 No. 7-43757 Japanese Patent No. 3702874

  However, the key guide of Patent Document 1 adjusts the inclination by plastically deforming the insertion portion formed by bending the protruding piece of the sheet metal upward, and the plastic deformation is performed at the base of the insertion portion. Since it is the upper end of the guide material that is inserted into the insertion portion, the deformed portion and the guide portion are separated from each other, and accurate position adjustment is difficult. Although the key guide of Patent Document 2 also has a different direction, the guide position at the tip of the pin is changed by deformation at the base of the guide pin, so that the deformed portion and the guide portion are separated, and accurate adjustment is difficult. Among the key guides of Patent Document 3, those that perform adjustment at the hole position of the cap with respect to the guide piece have to prepare many kinds of caps having different hole positions, and it has been difficult to make fine adjustments. Among the key guides of Patent Document 3, the one that forms a gap between the receiving hole of the cap and the guide piece and adjusts the position in the left-right direction has an inner wall of the receiving hole whose size is limited, and a smaller diameter. Since it is necessary to provide protrusions for locking and a plurality of grooves on the guide piece, the position is not sufficiently maintained only by the engagement between the minute protrusions and the grooves, and the adjustment may not be maintained.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument having a key guide that can solve such problems and can finely adjust the arrangement interval of keys.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a key, a key frame that is installed on the instrument body and supports the key, and a key guide that guides the key in the vertical direction, and the key extends in the longitudinal direction of the key. A support body having a hollow portion sandwiched between two side walls and rotatably installed in the key frame, wherein the key guide is fixed to the key frame and extends into the hollow portion of the key. And a contact body that is supported by the support body and that contacts the inner surface of the side wall of the key and guides the vertical movement of the key, and the contact body adjusts the position in contact with the inner surface of the side wall of the key in the key width direction. The key guide includes a lock mechanism for holding the positionable contact body in an adjusted position, the lock mechanism comprising the support body and the position adjustable contact. Engaging portions provided on each of the bodies to engage with each other; An electronic musical instrument keyboard device is provided, wherein at least one of the engaging portions includes a plurality of engaging portions that can be engaged with the other engaging portion at selective locations. Is.

  In the present specification and claims, the one closer to the performer in the electronic musical instrument and its keyboard device is referred to as the front, and the farther away is referred to as the rear.

  (1) In the electronic keyboard instrument according to the first aspect of the present invention, a key guide that guides the key in the vertical direction is fixed to the key frame and extends into the hollow portion of the key, and is supported by the support. A contact body that contacts the inner surface of the side wall of the key and guides the vertical movement of the key. The contact body is supported by the support body so that the position thereof can be adjusted in the key width direction. Therefore, by adjusting the position of the contact body in the key width direction, the key can be made to follow the position of the contact body, and the arrangement interval of the keys can be adjusted. Since this adjustment is performed by changing the position of the contact portion with the key itself, the adjustment can be performed easily and accurately. In order to adjust the position of the contact body in the key width direction with respect to the support body, the contact body is moved linearly, the contact body is rotated to move the outermost position in the key width direction, etc. Movement based on various operations can be employed.

  (2) In the electronic keyboard instrument of the above (1), the key guide may include a lock mechanism for holding the contact body in a position after adjustment. Thus, by providing the lock mechanism and maintaining the adjusted position, the equalized arrangement interval can be stably maintained even when an external force is applied in a normal use state.

  (3) In the electronic keyboard instrument of the above (1) or (2), the contact body may be capable of multistage position adjustment in the moving direction with respect to the support body. As described above, by enabling multi-stage position adjustment, normalization can be achieved by specifying an adjustment state with a common stage display for different keyboard devices.

  (4) The electronic keyboard instrument according to any one of (1) to (3) above may be provided with a marking indicating a mutual positional relationship on at least one of the support and the contact body. Thereby, since an adjustment state is clearly visually observed, adjustment can be performed easily and accurately.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar parts in the drawings may be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof may be omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a longitudinal side view showing a part of a keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing a part thereof in cross section. In these drawings, a main part for explaining the structure of the key guide is extracted and shown. Note that FIG. 5 shows only one of the white key and the black key shown in FIG.

  The keyboard device according to this embodiment includes a key 10, a key frame 20 that is installed in the instrument body and supports the key 10, a rotation fulcrum 30 that rotatably supports the rear end of the key, and a key in the vertical direction. And a key guide 40 for guiding the above. The keys include a white key 10W and a black key 10B, all of which have a hollow portion surrounded by an upper wall, a front wall, and a side wall.

  The key 10 is further provided with a protrusion 17 extending downward slightly toward the rear, and a switch 23 is attached to the key frame 20 below. Further, the key 10 is provided with a hook portion 18 extending downward from the front portion of the side wall 13, and the key frame 20 has an opening through which the hook portion is passed. The key frame 20 is provided with a buffer member 21 at a position where the claw portion 180 at the tip of the hook contacts, and a buffer member 22 at a position where the key contacts when the key is lowered.

  Hereinafter, the key guide of the white key 10W will be described, and the key guide of the black key 10B has the same structure as that of the white key, and thus description of common matters will be omitted.

  The key guide 40 includes a rod-like support body 41 fixed to the key frame 20 and extending into the hollow portion of the key, and a contact body 42 supported by the support body. In order to fix the support body 41 to the key frame 20, an appropriate means such as screwing, adhesion, welding or the like can be used, or the key frame and the support body are manufactured as a single body by sheet metal, resin or the like. You can also. The contact body 42 has a shape in which both end portions of the cylinder are hemispherical surfaces. A through-hole extending in the left-right direction (key width direction) is formed in the support body 41, and a contact body 42 is inserted into the through-hole. The length of the contact body 42 is determined to be slightly smaller than the separation distance of the inner surface of the side wall of the white key 10W so as to perform a guiding function in the vicinity of the inner surface of the key side wall. The through hole of the support body 41 and the contact body 42 are tightly fitted to each other, and the contact body 42 can move with respect to the through hole of the support body 41. Retained. The position adjustment of the contact body 42 with respect to the support body 41 can be performed using, for example, a tool having two pliers-type cross levers. The height of the key guide 40 is determined so as not to contact the upper wall 11 of the key 10 when the key is pressed.

  According to the key guide 40, the key arrangement interval can be adjusted as follows. FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the side wall 13 (shown by a one-dot chain line) of adjacent white keys and the key guide portion 40 in contact with the side wall of each white key as viewed from the front. The figure shows the state after adjustment when the spacing between the white keys is too small. In FIG. 7 (a), the contact body 42 is moved to the left from the center position of the support body 41, whereby the side wall 13 is moved to the left. It is moving toward. In FIG.7 (b), the contact body 42 is moved rightward from the center position of the support body 41, and, thereby, the side wall 13 is moving rightward. As a result, the gap between adjacent white keys is enlarged to provide an appropriate arrangement interval. If the key interval is too large, the opposite adjustment will be performed. However, depending on the arrangement state of the keys, it may be necessary to move only the contact body of one adjacent key to adjust the arrangement interval, or the contact bodies of a plurality of adjacent keys may be moved in the same direction. obtain.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a key guide provided with a lock mechanism 60 for holding the contact body in the adjusted position in a longitudinal section, FIG. 9 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 10 is a main part of FIG. It is an enlarged view. The support body 41 of the key guide portion 40 is formed with a vertical hole 411 along the axial direction in addition to a through hole for passing the contact body 42. The vertical hole 411 is opened at the upper end surface of the support body 41, and the slider 61 is inserted therein so as to be movable up and down, and the upper end portion protrudes upward from the vertical hole 411. An opening 611 penetrating in the key width direction is formed at the center of the slider 61, and the contact body 42 is passed therethrough. The vertical dimension of the opening 611 is made larger than the vertical dimension of the contact body 42, and the slider 61 can slide in the vertical direction by the difference. In the vertical hole 411, a compression coil spring 612 is inserted below the slider 61 to press the slider 61 upward.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a large number of concave and convex portions 421 arranged in the key width direction are formed in a wave shape on the lower surface of the contact body 42, and a protrusion 613 protruding from the lower inner surface of the opening 611 is formed on the slider 61. Has been. Due to the force of the spring 612 acting on the slider 61, the protrusion 613 is engaged in a state of being pressed against the uneven portion 421. As described above, the uneven portion 421 of the contact body 42 and the slider 61 that moves in the support body 41 constitute an engaging portion that engages with each other.

  The lock mechanism 60 operates as follows. Normally, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 10, the spring 612 pushes up the slider 61 and the protrusion 613 engages with the uneven portion 421, so that the contact body 42 is prevented from moving in the key width direction. Has been. When adjusting the arrangement interval of the keys, the slider 61 is pushed down from above against the force of the spring 612. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, the slider 61 is lowered and the protrusion 613 is detached from the uneven portion 421. As a result, the contact body 42 can move in the key width direction. Therefore, after the contact body 42 has moved to an appropriate position, the slider 61 can be released. Thus, the slider 61 is pushed up again by the spring 612, and the protrusion 613 engages with the concavo-convex portion 421 to prevent the contact body 42 from moving, so that an appropriate key arrangement interval is maintained.

  Note that it is desirable that the concavo-convex portions 421 arranged in a wavy shape have an inclined shape such as a triangular wave shape, a trapezoidal wave shape, or a sine curve shape, and the protrusion 613 is formed to be tapered. In this way, when the depression of the slider 61 is released, the protrusion 613 automatically enters the concave portion in the concave and convex portion 421 based on the inclination. As a result, multi-stage adjustment positions in the moving direction are easily performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, if the concave and convex portions 421 are formed with a pitch p, the position adjustment is performed in multiple stages with the length p as a unit. As described above, by enabling multi-stage position adjustment, normalization can be achieved by specifying an adjustment state with a common stage display for different keyboard devices.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the key guide portion 40 provided with a marking indicating the adjustment position by the contact body 42. The marking 423 shown in the upper left of the figure is provided on the contact body 42 as a scale aligned in the key width direction so that the protruding amount from the support body 41 can be visually observed. A marking 424 shown in the center of the figure is provided at the center of the contact body 42 as a scale aligned in the key width direction, and a window 412 is formed on the support body 41 so that the marking 424 can be seen. A triangular index 413 is provided at a position facing. Thereby, the amount by which the contact body 42 is separated from the center position can be visually observed. Thus, by providing the marking, the adjustment state can be clearly seen, so that the adjustment can be performed easily and accurately.

  These markings 423 and 424 are desirably provided at the same pitch as the pitch p of the concavo-convex portion 421. By doing so, the movement amount by marking can be read in accordance with the position adjustment performed in multiple stages by the concavo-convex portion 421, so that the adjustment can be performed more easily and accurately.

  Note that either one of the markings 423 and 424 in FIG. 11 may be provided. Further, the arrangement target can be reversed such that the marking 424 and the index 413 to be provided are provided on the support body 41 and the contact body 42, respectively.

  12 to 14 show still another example of the key guide. FIG. 12 is a longitudinal front view of the key and the key guide, FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the key guide, and FIG. The front view which decomposes | disassembles and shows a contact body, FIG.14 (b) is the top view. Hereinafter, the key guide 50 of the white key 10W will be described, and the key guide 50 'of the black key 10B has the same structure as that of the white key, and the description thereof will be omitted. The key guide portion 50 includes a rod-like support 51 fixed to the key frame 20 and extending into the key hollow portion, and a contact body 52 supported by the support. A columnar portion at the upper end of the support 51 serves as a support shaft 511 for mounting the contact body 52. The contact body 52 includes a cylindrical mounting portion 521 whose upper end is closed and an operating portion 522 fixed to the upper end of the mounting portion. The operating portion 522 is formed of a horizontally disposed disc body, and the central axis 522x thereof is parallel to the central axis of the hollow portion 521v in the mounting portion 521 (this is the same as the central axis 511x of the support shaft 511). However, it is in an eccentric position by a distance s (FIG. 14). The circumferential portion of the operating portion 522 has a rounded shape with an edge having an arc shape in cross section. The contact body 52 is placed so that the support shaft 511 at the upper end of the support body is passed through the hollow portion 521v. An annular protrusion 521w is formed on the side wall of the hollow portion 521v, and an annular recess 511w is formed on the side wall of the support shaft 511 at a position corresponding to the protrusion. In a state where the contact body 52 is mounted on the support shaft 511, the annular protrusions 521w and the annular recess 511w are fitted by elastic deformation to prevent the removal, and the mounted state is maintained. Thus, the contact body 52 is supported so as to be rotatable about the axis with respect to the support shaft 511.

  The outer diameter of the operating portion 522 is determined to be slightly smaller than the separation distance of the inner surface of the side wall of the key 10 so as to perform a guide function in the vicinity of the inner surface of the key side wall. Therefore, when the key 10 is mounted on the key frame 20 and the key guide portion 50, the position in the width direction of the key is determined by the operating portion 522, and when the contact body 52 is rotated with respect to the support body 51, the operation is in an eccentric position. As the part 522 moves, the key 10 changes its position in the width direction.

  According to the key guide 50, the arrangement interval of the keys can be adjusted as follows. FIG. 13 shows a state after adjustment when the interval between the white keys is too small. In FIG. 13 (a), the eccentric tip portion is moved to the left by the rotation of the contact body 52, whereby the side wall 13 is moved. Is moving to the left. In FIG. 13 (b), the tip portion eccentric by the rotation of the contact body 52 is moved to the right, whereby the side wall 13 is moved to the right. As a result, the gap between adjacent white keys is enlarged to provide an appropriate arrangement interval. However, depending on the arrangement state of the keys, it may be necessary to move only the contact body of one adjacent key to adjust the arrangement interval, or the contact bodies of a plurality of adjacent keys may be moved in the same direction. obtain.

  FIG. 15 shows a horizontal cross section of the key guide. A plurality of engagement recesses 512 are provided on the side wall of the support 51, and the engagement projections 524 are formed on the inner wall of the hollow portion of the contact body 52 functioning as a movable contact body. , And the engaging convex portion 524 is engaged with any one of the engaging concave portions 512. Thereby, the rotation position of the contact body can be set in a stepwise manner, and normalization can be performed for different keyboard devices by specifying the correction state with a common step display. In addition, due to the uneven engagement, it is possible to increase the resistance against the reaction force that the contact body 52 receives from the key side wall 13 during correction. Note that the engaging recesses and the engaging protrusions may be arranged on the support body 51 and the contact body 52 in the opposite manner to the above.

  The support constituting the key guide described above can be made of various materials such as a material such as metal or plastic, and the contact body as a material such as resin, elastomer or rubber.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in order to adjust the position of the contact body in the key width direction, as described above, various operations such as linear movement and rotation of the contact body can be employed. In the case of linear movement, in addition to sliding along a straight line, it is possible to employ movement such as forming a screw on the peripheral surface of the contact body and rotating the contact body in the screw axis direction. In the case of rotation, the contact body only needs to use a part of an eccentric circle (arc-shaped portion) as a contact surface with the support, and the rotation axis extends in the vertical direction as in the above example. In addition to the axis, it may be an axis extending in the horizontal direction.

  As the lock mechanism, it is possible to adopt various forms that can fix the contact body, which is movable for adjusting the arrangement interval, to a predetermined position with respect to the support body. What is held by friction, what is fixed by pushing a wedge between the support and the contact body, and a plurality of holes provided along the moving direction of the contact body and a stop pin that can be inserted into the hole, and The contact body may be provided on one side and the other side, and the position may be fixed by inserting a stop pin. When the lock mechanism is not provided, the contact body may be fixed to the support body by adhesion, welding, or the like after the position adjustment. The marking makes it possible to visually check the amount of movement of the contact body by comparing the position of the support body and the contact body, as well as the movement of the contact body by comparing the position of the contact body with other parts fixed to the key frame. The amount can also be visible. The marking may be a pattern in which printing, engraving, protrusion, groove, hole, window, scale, line width, color, or the like is changed in the moving direction. In order to maintain the position of the contact body after position adjustment, in addition to tight fitting with the through hole of the support body, a threaded through hole is provided on the side wall of the support body, and a set screw is screwed to the tip Various holding means can be used such as contacting the contact body with the contact body.

It is a vertical side view which shows the conventional keyboard apparatus roughly. It is a top view of the arranged keyboard. It is a top view of the part shown in FIG. It is a vertical side view which shows the principal part of the keyboard apparatus for electronic musical instruments which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the part shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the part shown in FIG. 4 in a partial cross section. It is a vertical front view of the key guide for demonstrating adjustment of a key arrangement space | interval. It is a vertical front view which shows the key guide in the keyboard apparatus for electronic musical instruments which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the part shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of the part shown in FIG. It is a vertical front view which shows the key guide in the keyboard apparatus for electronic musical instruments which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical front view which shows the key guide in the keyboard apparatus for electronic musical instruments which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the key guide of FIG. 12 shows the key guide of FIG. 12, (a) is an exploded front view showing the support and the contact body, and (b) is a plan view thereof. FIG. It is a vertical side view which shows the principal part of the keyboard apparatus for electronic musical instruments which concerns on further another embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Key, 11: Upper wall, 12: Front wall, 13: Side wall, 14: Hollow part, 20: Key frame, 30: Rotating fulcrum, 40: Key guide, 41: Support body, 42: Contact body, 60 : Lock mechanism, 423, 424: Marking

Claims (3)

A key, a key frame installed on the instrument body and supporting the key, and a key guide for guiding the key in the vertical direction;
The key has a hollow portion sandwiched between two side walls extending in the longitudinal direction of the key, and is installed on the key frame so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction.
The key guide includes a support that is fixed to the key frame and extends into the hollow portion of the key, and a contact that is supported by the support and contacts the inner surface of the side wall of the key to guide the vertical movement of the key. ,
The contact body is supported by the support body so that the position in contact with the inner surface of the side wall of the key can be adjusted in the key width direction,
The key guide includes a lock mechanism for holding the position-adjustable contact body in an adjusted position;
The lock mechanism includes an engaging portion provided on each of the support body and the position-adjustable contact body and engaged with each other, and at least one of the engaging portions is selected from the other engaging portion. A keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument, comprising a plurality of engaging portions that can be engaged at a specific portion. The contact body is a movable contact body that is rotatably supported by a support shaft in the support body, and a contact surface with a side wall of the key corresponds to a side surface of the rotation body centered on an axis that is eccentric from the support shaft. The portion that contacts the inner surface of the side wall of the key can be adjusted in the key width direction by changing the rotational position around the support shaft. A keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument, characterized in that it is provided as an engaging projection and an engaging recess that can be engaged and disengaged with each other. The keyboard device for an electronic musical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a marking indicating a mutual positional relationship is provided on at least one of the support body and the contact body.

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