JP2003228367A - Piano action - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a piano action capable of providing an action component constituting an action with required characteristics, thereby improving the function of the action. SOLUTION: This is an action 1 of a piano which operates in accordance with a key depression of a keyboard 2 and rotates a hammer 3 to perform a string striking, wherein at least one of a plurality of action parts constituting the action 1 is provided. And a plurality of members made of different materials.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an action of a piano which is actuated in response to a key press on a keyboard to rotate a hammer to strike a string.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows an action 51 of a conventional general grand piano in a state where the keyboard 2 is released, and its configuration and operation will be briefly described below. That is, the action 51 includes a rotatable wippen 54 mounted on the rear portion of the keyboard 2, a repetition lever 55 and a jack 56 rotatably attached to the wippen 54, and both 55, 56 in the return direction (the same direction). And a repetition spring 7 that urges it in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. The wippen 54, the repetition lever 55, and the jack 56 are all made of wood or synthetic resin. A keyboard weight (not shown) is attached to the front of the keyboard 2, and the keyboard 2 is balanced by the weight of the keyboard 51 and the weight of the action 51.
The touch weight of is adjusted.

A jack guide hole 55a penetrating in the vertical direction is formed in the front part of the repetition lever 55, and the hammer 3 is placed near the jack guide hole 55a via a shank roller 8. . On the other hand, the jack 56 is formed in an L-shape, and the tip end of the hammer push-up portion extending in the vertical direction is engaged with the jack guide hole 55a of the repetition lever 55 so as to be movable along the jack guide hole 55a. .

When the keyboard 2 is pressed from this key-released state, the wippen 54 is rotated by being pushed up, and the repetition lever 55 and the jack 56 move upward together with the wippen 54. With these movements, the repetition lever 55 first pushes up the hammer 3 through the shank roller 8 while sliding the shank roller 8 to rotate the hammer 3 upward. Then, the repetition lever 55 is engaged with the drop screw 9,
The jack 56 pushes up the hammer 3 via the shank roller 8. After that, when the hammer 3 rotates until just before striking the string S stretched upward, the jack 56
Engages with the regulating button 10 to rotate and come out of the shank roller 8. As a result, the hammer 3 is released from the connection with the action 51 and the keyboard 2, and strikes the string S in a freely rotating state.

After that, when the keyboard 2 is released and returned to a certain extent, the repetition lever 55 starts to operate and is rotated counterclockwise by the spring force of the repetition spring 7, whereby the shank roller 8 is rotated.
Push up while sliding. This allows Jack 5
6 is rotated counterclockwise by the spring force of the repetition spring 7 and returned to the original position, so that the next string striking can be performed even if the keyboard 2 is not completely returned. Since the same string S can be repeatedly struck by the hammer 3, the same keyboard 2 can be continuously struck at high speed, as in the case of performing a trill.

[0006]

As described above, the wippen 54, the repetition lever 55 and the jack 5 are provided.
6 is an action part that transmits the keystroke energy generated when the keyboard 2 is tapped to the strings S and is directly related to the action of the action 51, and therefore is generally made of a lightweight and highly rigid material. It is preferably configured. On the other hand, recent experimental results have revealed that the rigidity and weight of the action component that provides the highest keystroke energy transmission efficiency change depending on the touch strength. That is, it has been found that when the touch strength is weak, the weight is low and the rigidity is low, and when the touch strength is strong, the weight is high and the rigidity is high, the high transmission efficiency is obtained. Therefore, an action component having a small weight and a low rigidity is preferable for a player having a weak touch strength, and an action component having a large weight and a high rigidity is preferable for a player having a strong touch strength. Also, some performers, regardless of touch strength,
Not a few people prefer a heavy touch.

However, among the above-mentioned conventional action parts, those made of wood have the characteristics that wood has a small specific gravity and high rigidity, and the action parts made of synthetic resin are made of synthetic resin. Has a characteristic that it is heavier than wood and has low rigidity, so neither can obtain appropriate weight and rigidity according to touch strength,
Especially when the touch strength is strong, the weight and rigidity tend to be insufficient, so that the transmission efficiency of keystroke energy cannot be sufficiently secured. Further, for the same reason, it is not possible to easily meet the demand of the player regarding the touch feeling.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an action of a piano in which action components constituting an action can have characteristics required for each action. .

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 operates in accordance with a key depression of a keyboard, and a hammer is rotated to strike a string. It is characterized in that at least one of a plurality of action parts constituting the action is composed of a plurality of members made of different materials.

In this piano action, at least one of the action parts constituting the action is made up of a plurality of members made of different materials. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an action component having the characteristics of the material forming each member. as a result,
By appropriately selecting and combining the materials of the respective members, it is possible to provide the action component with characteristics that cannot be realized by the members made of a single material.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the action of the piano according to the first aspect, at least one of rigidity and specific gravity of the plurality of members is different from each other.

According to this structure, since the action part is formed by combining a plurality of members having different rigidity and / or specific gravity, unlike the case where the action part is formed of a member made of a single material, By appropriately selecting the material of the plurality of members so as to have appropriate weight and rigidity according to the touch strength of the performer,
It is possible to obtain high keystroke energy transmission efficiency that matches the touch strength of the player. For example, a material having high rigidity generally has a large specific gravity. Therefore, when the touch strength is strong, a high keystroke energy transfer efficiency can be secured by increasing the ratio of the material having high rigidity and high specific gravity. . Moreover, by changing the specific gravity, it is possible to easily obtain the touch weight according to the player's preference.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the action of the piano according to the second aspect, at least one action component is a wippen that is rotated upward by being pushed up by a depressed key and / or a wippen. It is a jack that pushes up the hammer and rotates it upward with the rotation.

According to this structure, the wippen and / or the jack is composed of a plurality of members each having different rigidity and / or specific gravity. Since the wippen and jack are the main action parts and are directly related to the transmission of keystroke energy, by configuring at least one of them as described above, the appropriate rigidity and weight according to the player's touch strength can be obtained. Therefore, the above-described operation according to claim 2 can be obtained better and effectively.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the action of the piano according to the first aspect, the hammer has a shank roller on the lower surface, and at least one action component is inserted through the shank roller when the key of the keyboard is pressed. It is a repetition lever for rotating a hammer upward, and a plurality of members are composed of a main body portion and a sliding contact portion which is arranged in a portion where the shank roller is in sliding contact and has a friction coefficient smaller than that of the main body portion. Is characterized by.

According to this structure, since the sliding contact portion of the repetition lever with the shank roller is formed of a member having a small friction coefficient, when the repetition lever pushes up the hammer as the key of the keyboard is pressed, and when the keyboard is pressed. When returning and rotating after releasing the key, the shank roller can be slid smoothly on the repetition lever with little friction. Therefore, a series of actions can be smoothly performed.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an action 1 of a grand piano according to an embodiment of the present invention. This action 1 has the same basic configuration as the previously described conventional action 51, and the configurations of the wippen 4, the repetition lever 5, and the jack 6 are different, and therefore the same reference numerals are used for the components of the same configuration. Shall be explained.

This action 1 includes brackets 2 provided on the left and right ends of a reed (not shown) on which the keyboard 2 is placed.
1 (only one is shown in FIG. 1). Wippen rail 22 is provided between the left and right brackets 21, 21.
Further, a hammer shank rail 23 is provided, and the rear end of the wippen 4 is rotatably attached to each wippen flange 24 screwed to the wippen rail 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, each wippen 4 is composed of a central core material 4a and a pair of outer layer materials 4b and 4b laminated on both sides of the core material 4a. It is formed in the shape of. This core material 4a is
While the outer layer material 4b is made of a material having a high rigidity, such as aluminum, the outer layer material 4b is made of a material having a lower rigidity than that of the core material 4a, such as ABS. Wippen 4 is
It extends in the front-rear direction and rests on the capstan button 25 provided on the rear portion of the upper surface of the corresponding keyboard 2 via the heel portion 4c.

As shown in FIG. 3, the repetition lever 5 is rotatably connected to the wippen 4 at its central portion and is provided on the main body portion 5a extending in the front-rear direction and the main body portion 5a.
It is composed of a pair of left and right sliding contact portions 5b, 5b with which the shank roller 8 of the hammer 3 slides.

The main body 5a is made of, for example, an ABS molded product, has a rectangular cross section, and extends obliquely forward and upward in the front-rear direction. A jack guide hole 5c penetrating in the vertical direction is formed at a predetermined position on the front portion of the main body portion 5a so as to extend in the front-rear direction.
A lever skin 29 is attached to the upper surface of the front side of c. In addition, the jack guide hole 5 on the upper surface of the main body 5a
Notches 5d and 5d are formed on both sides of c, and the above-mentioned sliding contact portions 5b and 5b are adhered to these notches 5d and 5d. Each sliding contact portion 5b is made of a material having high lubricity, for example, fluororesin. Further, a lever screw 27 is screwed in a rear end portion of the main body portion 5a so as to be able to advance and retreat in a state of penetrating in a vertical direction, and a lever button 28 is integrally provided at a lower end portion thereof. Further, the repetition lever 5 is biased in the return direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1) by the repetition spring 7 attached to the wippen 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the jack 6 is composed of a central core material 6a and a pair of outer layer materials 6b and 6b laminated on both sides of the core material 6a, as in the wippen 4, and the core material 6a. Is aluminum and the outer layer material 6b is made of ABS, and is formed by insert molding. Further, the jack 6 is formed in an L shape from a hammer push-up portion 6c having a rectangular cross section that extends in the vertical direction and a regulating button contact portion 6d that extends forward from the lower end portion thereof at a substantially right angle. In the section, it is rotatably attached to the front end of the wippen 4. Hammer push-up part 6
The upper end of c engages with the jack guide hole 5c of the repetition lever 5 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and faces the shank roller 8 with a minute gap in the key released state. The jack 6 is biased in the returning direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1) by the repetition spring 7 that biases the repetition lever 5.

The hammer push-up portion 6c of the jack 6
A jack button screw 11 for adjusting the angular position of the jack 6 is screwed in the middle part of the so as to be able to move forward and backward while penetrating in the front-rear direction. A jack button 12 is integrally provided at the tip portion of the jack button screw 11, and the jack button 12 is in contact with a spoon 13 erected on the wippen 4 in the key released state. By turning the jack button screw 11, the angular position of the jack 5 in the key released state is adjusted.

On the other hand, the hammer 3 is composed of a hammer shank 14 extending in the front-rear direction, a hammer head 15 attached to the tip of the hammer shank 14, and the like.
At the base end of No. 4, a hammer shank flange 16 screwed to a hammer shank rail 23 is rotatably attached. A shank roller 8 is attached to a predetermined position on the front surface of the lower surface of the hammer shank 14. The shank roller 8 is formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape from an inner cloth and a skin wound around the inner cloth,
It is in sliding contact with the sliding contact portions 5b, 5b of the repetition lever 5. Further, a drop screw 9 for restricting upward rotation of the repetition lever 5 is screwed on the lower surface of the hammer shank flange 16 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and a predetermined portion is formed with a front end portion of the repetition lever 5 to which a lever skin 29 is attached. They are facing each other at intervals.

On the lower surface of the hammer shank rail 23,
The regulating rail 17 is screwed,
Further, a regulating button 10 for restricting the upward rotation of the jack 6 is screwed on the lower surface of the regulating rail 17 so as to be able to move forward and backward, and to the front end portion of the regulating button contact portion 6d of the jack 6. Opposing with a predetermined interval.

The operation of the action 1 having the above configuration is basically the same as the operation of the action 51 described above. That is, when the keyboard 2 is pressed from the released state of FIG. 1, the repetition lever 5 and the jack 6 move upward together with the wippen 4, and along with this movement, the sliding contact portion 5b of the repetition lever 5 becomes While sliding the shank roller 8, the hammer 3 is pushed up and rotated upward. Then, the repetition lever 5 is engaged with the drop screw 9 so that the jack 6 pushes up the hammer 3. After that, when the hammer 3 rotates until just before striking the string S stretched upward, the jack 6 rotates by engaging with the regulating button 10, and the jack 6 moves from the shank roller 8. Get out. As a result, the hammer 3 is released from the connection between the action 1 and the keyboard 2, and strikes the string S in a freely rotating state.

After that, when the keyboard 2 is released and returned to a certain depth, the repetition spring 7 causes the repetition lever 5 to return and rotate counterclockwise, and the sliding contact portions 5b and 5b of the repetition lever 5 are shrunk. Push this up while sliding the crawler 8. As a result, the jack 6 is rotated counterclockwise by the spring force of the repetition spring 7 and returned to its original position, so that the next string striking is surely performed even if the keyboard 2 is not completely returned. It will be possible to do.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the wippen 4 and the jack 6, which are the main components of the action 1, have the core materials 4a and 6a made of aluminum having high rigidity and large specific gravity, and the rigidity higher than that. And outer layer materials 4b and 6b made of ABS having a low specific gravity. As a result, the rigidity of the wippen 4 and the jack 6, which bears the action 1 and directly relate to the transmission of keystroke energy, can be increased without increasing the weight too much. Therefore, particularly when a player having a strong touch strength plays, it is possible to secure sufficient keystroke energy transmission efficiency without slowing down the movement of the action 1. Further, for the same reason, it is possible to maintain the returnability of the jack 6 after the keyboard 2 is released and the hammerability of the hammer 3 thereby.

Further, since the sliding contact portions 5b, 5b of the repetition lever 5 are made of fluororesin having high lubricity, when the repetition lever 5 pushes up the hammer 3 as the key of the keyboard 2 is pushed, and When the keyboard 2 is returned and rotated after the key is released, the shank roller 8 can be smoothly slid on the repetition lever 5 in a state with less friction. Therefore, the series of actions of the action 1 can be smoothly performed. Further, the production cost of the repetition lever 5 can be increased by partially using the fluororesin, which is generally expensive material, as the sliding contact portion 5b only in the sliding contact range with the shank roller 8 as described above. However, the above-mentioned effects can be obtained.

FIG. 5 shows another example of the wippen. The wippen 30 is composed of a main body 30a integrally formed in a predetermined shape and a weight member 30b attached to the main body 30a. There is. The main body portion 30a is made of a material having a low specific gravity, for example, ABS, and a heel portion 30c at the center lower portion thereof is provided with a mounting hole 30d of a predetermined shape penetrating in the left-right direction over the entire body. The weight member 30b is made of a material having a higher specific gravity than aluminum used as the core member 4a of the wippen 4 shown in FIG.
It is fitted in and attached to the attachment hole 30d of a.

As described above, since the weight material 30b made of iron having a large specific gravity is provided on the wippen 30, the weight of the wippen 30 can be made larger than that of the above-mentioned wippen 4, and the touch strength can be increased. High keystroke energy transfer efficiency can be obtained in the case of very strong conditions. Further, since the weight of the wippen 30 is increased in this way, the weight of the entire action 1 is increased, so that the touch weight can be increased without depending on the keyboard weight, and as a result, a heavy touch feeling can be obtained. Can meet the demands of performers who like.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and can be implemented in various modes.
For example, the described embodiment is
Although the present invention is applied to the wippen 4, the repetition lever 5 and the jack 6, the present invention may be applied to other action parts so as to have characteristics required for the parts. Further, in the embodiment described, the wippen 4 and the jack 6 are composed of a plurality of members having different rigidity and specific gravity, and the repetition lever 5
Is composed of a plurality of members having different lubricity, but the action component may be composed of a plurality of members having different characteristics other than rigidity, specific gravity and lubricity according to the characteristics required of the action parts. Further, regarding the wippen 4 and the jack 6, only one of the rigidity and the specific gravity of the plurality of members may be different. In addition, the materials described in the embodiments are merely examples, and other suitable materials may be used. Further, the embodiment described is an example in which the present invention is applied to an action of a grand piano,
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to the action wippen or jack of an upright piano. In addition, the detailed configuration can be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention.

[0033]

As described above, according to the action of the grand piano of the present invention, there is an effect that the action parts constituting the action can have the required characteristics.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a keyboard device including an action of a grand piano to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a perspective view of the wippen of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the repetition lever of FIG.

4 is a perspective view of the jack of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of the wippen.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a keyboard device including an action of a conventional grand piano.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 action 2 keyboard 3 hammer 4 Wippen 5 repetition lever 5a main body 5b Sliding contact part 6 Jack 8 Shank roller 30 Wippen

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A piano action that operates in response to a key press on a keyboard and causes a hammer to rotate to strike a string, wherein at least one of a plurality of action parts constituting the action is mutually A piano action characterized by being composed of multiple members made of different materials. 2. The action of the piano according to claim 1, wherein at least one of rigidity and specific gravity of the plurality of members is different from each other. 3. The wippen, wherein the at least one action component is rotated upward by being pushed up by the pressed keyboard, and / or the hammer is pushed upward by the rotation of the wippen. The action of the piano according to claim 2, wherein the action is a rotating jack. 4. The hammer has a shank roller on a lower surface, and the at least one action component is a repetition lever for rotating the hammer upward through the shank roller when a key is pressed on the keyboard. The plurality of members are configured to include a main body portion and a sliding contact portion that is disposed in a portion where the shank roller is in sliding contact and that has a friction coefficient smaller than that of the main body portion. The piano action described in 1.