Abstract:
A musical instrument includes a soundboard, a bridge in contact with the soundboard, vibratable strings in contact with the bridge, a movable member disposed adjacent to the vibratable strings, a driving mechanism engaged with the movable member and configured to cause the movable member to move relative to the vibratable strings, and actuators. Each actuator is configured to displace, when actuated, an associated vibratable string such that the string is caused to come into contact with the movable member at a point of contact. Displacement of the string corresponds to movement within a first plane that is orthogonal to a second plane, the second plane being tangential to the movable member at the point of contact.
Abstract:
A lid opening/closing mechanism for a keyboard musical instrument, including: a main body including a casing and a keyboard; a lid attached to the casing so as to be movable between a closed position for covering the keyboard and an open position for uncovering the keyboard; and a connecting mechanism for connecting a side wall portion in the casing and an end portion of the lid and opposed to the side wall portion, wherein the connecting mechanism is configured such that, during a movement of the lid from the closed position to the open position, a rear end portion of the lid slidingly moves only in a direction from a rear end portion of the main body toward a front end portion thereof or moves in the direction from the rear end portion of the main body toward the front end portion thereof and in an upward direction.
Abstract:
In a predetermined sound generation mode, a drive signal having a frequency characteristic corresponding to an operated key is supplied to an excitation unit provided on a soundboard. In response to a mechanical vibration generated by the excitation unit, the soundboard is vibrated so as to generate an acoustic vibration sound corresponding to the operated key. The excitation unit is supported by a supporting unit such that less or no load of the excitation unit except a vibration member vibrated in response to the drive signal is applied to the soundboard. Thus, only a load of the vibration member which is a very light portion of the excitation unit is applied to the soundboard, thereby vibration characteristics of the soundboard being hardly affected. When a sound damping mode is selected, a stopper is permitted to prevent a hammer from striking a sounding body.
Abstract:
In a predetermined sound generation mode, a drive signal having a frequency characteristic corresponding to an operated key is supplied to an excitation unit provided on a soundboard. In response to a mechanical vibration generated by the excitation unit, the soundboard is vibrated so as to generate an acoustic vibration sound corresponding to the operated key. The excitation unit is supported by a supporting unit such that less or no load of the excitation unit except a vibration member vibrated in response to the drive signal is applied to the soundboard. Thus, only a load of the vibration member which is a very light portion of the excitation unit is applied to the soundboard, thereby vibration characteristics of the soundboard being hardly affected. When a sound damping mode is selected, a stopper is permitted to prevent a hammer from striking a sounding body.
Abstract:
A key structure includes a top plate which is formed by laminating a half-transparent resin surface layer member on a resin bottom side member using two-color injection molding, and the top plate is secured on a wooden key base. A plurality of concave grooves and protrusions, and a plurality of protrusion and troughs are respectively formed together in straight lines in the long direction of the key structure on a rear face of the surface layer member and a top face of the rear side member. Outside light is reflected from the top ends of the protrusion and the troughs, whereby a faint and natural vertically-striped pattern, which corresponds to a concave-convex part formed by the concave grooves and the protrusions, is perceived as resembling an edge grain of ivory.
Abstract:
A hybrid keyboard musical instrument includes two electric tone generators, music strings selectively struck with hammers driven for rotation by action mechanisms and a silent system for changing a hammer stopper between a free position and a blocking position, and a controlling system supplies instructions for changing the hammer stopper to the silent system and parameters for electronic tones to the tone generators, wherein a user registers pieces of status information in a hard disk unit, and selectively calls the pieces of status information from the hard disk unit during a performance by manipulating buttons so that the user quickly changes the status of the hybrid keyboard musical instrument.
Abstract:
A portable keyboard-type musical instrument includes detachable end support frames which can be attached to the musical instrument in either an extended supporting position or a retracted storage position, a support for the keyboard of the instrument being rigidly supported by members which are in turn rigidly attached to the frame of the musical instrument.
Abstract:
Keyboard instrument, in particular a piano or similar instrument that has keys and that can be used in conjunction with aids to learning in the form of templates, characterized in that, of the white keys (long keys 2) that form the C-major scale, the width (b) of the keys that produce the notes B, C, E, and R is 1/4 less than the width (B) of the remaining keys, which produce the notes D, G, and A, so that the ratio of the width of the equally wide keys for B, C, E, and F to the width of the equally wide keys for D, G, and A is 3:4. Templates that are separated into a number of adjacent divisions (5) that are equally wide, each division (5) being 1/2 the width (b) of one D, G, or A key, so that three adjacent divisions (5) will be as wide as two B, C, E, or F keys and two divisions (5) will be as wide as one D, G, or A key can be placed over the keyboard to represent all possible scales, thirds, triads, and tetrads with their inversions, major and minor intervals, cadenzas, transpositions, etc.