Hammer device and keyboard device for electronic keyboard instrument

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9607587-B2
Application number	US-201414527491-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2014
Priority date	Dec 16, 2011
Publication date	Mar 28, 2017
Grant date	Mar 28, 2017

Abstract

A hammer device of an electronic piano with keys which swing in accordance with key depression, includes a hammer support that is made of a synthetic resin and has a fulcrum shaft, and a hammer having a shaft hole part for being fitted on the fulcrum shaft and configured to pivotally move about the fulcrum shaft in a manner interlocked with the swinging key. The fulcrum shaft has an outer peripheral surface formed by a pair of arcuately-curved surface portions opposite to each other and a pair of planar surface portions each extending between the pair of arcuately-curved surface portions and parallel to each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A keyboard device for an electronic keyboard instrument, comprising:
a key that extends in a front-rear direction and is swingable about its center or portion close thereto;
a hammer that is a monolithic and rigid member and pivotally movable about a fixed hammer fulcrum; and
a capstan screw that is provided on one of said key and said hammer and is in contact, in a longitudinal axis, with the other of said key and said hammer,
wherein said hammer is placed directly on a rear end of said key via said capstan screw, and is pushed up by said key in accordance with depression of said key to perform upward pivotal movement and come into abutment with a fixed hammer stopper, and
wherein an angle of the longitudinal axis of said capstan screw, as viewed laterally, with respect to a vertical direction is set to be smaller when said key is in a fully depressed state than when said key is in a key-released state.

2. The keyboard device according to claim 1 , wherein when said key is in the key-released state, said hammer fulcrum and a gravity center of said hammer are positioned at substantially same height.

Assignees

• Kk Kawai Gakki Seisakusho

Inventors

• Suzuki Akihiro
• Ishida Hideyuki

Classifications

• G10C3/18 Primary

  Hammers · CPC title

• G10H1/346 Primary

  Keys with an arrangement for simulating the feeling of a piano key, e.g. using counterweights, springs, cams · CPC title

• G10B3/12

  Keys or keyboards; Manuals · CPC title

• G10H1/34

  Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments · CPC title