Class 84/20 - Key actuators

Subclass of Class 84 - Music
Definition: The power acts on the keys.
No. of patents: 35
Last issue date: 03/20/2012

Number	Title	Issue Date
8138401	Electronic assistant system for lesson in music and musical instrument equipped with the same While a player is fingering a music tune on a piano, an electronic assistant system monitors the keys to see whether or not the player starts to produce tones through a particular playing technique such as repetition; when the electronic assistant system finds parti...	03/20/2012
7667116	Key actuating system A key actuating system (1) of a keyboard musical instrument is provided which helps quickly push the keys by reducing reaction force with respect to force of pushing the keys during manual operation, and which supports a person having less strength to play th...	02/23/2010
7560627	System and method for driving actuators in a reproducing piano A method and system for controlling actuators in a mechanical reproducing piano or other instrument. In one implementation, a single finite state machine is provided to control all the actuators. The finite state machine may be or include a shift register or a toggl...	07/14/2009
7355109	Separate automatic player driving keys and pedals of keyboard musical instrument A separate automatic player is independent of a piano, and stands in front of the piano for an automatic playing; the separate automatic player includes a key driver unit, a pedal driver unit and a framework on which the key driver unit and pedal driver unit is carr...	04/08/2008
7256359	Key operation detection unit of an electronic keyboard instrument A key operation detection unit of an electronic keyboard instrument that suppresses increase in reaction forces with key depression operation, to improve a key touch feeling. A depression operation of any one of keys of the keyboard instrument is detected by first a...	08/14/2007
7238868	Keyboard musical instrument equipped with automatic player and method for retrofitting keyboard musical instrument An automatic player piano is broken down into an acoustic piano and an automatic playing system, and solenoid-operated key actuators are driven to rotate the black/white keys of the acoustic piano; the space between the keyboard and the array of black/white keys is ...	07/03/2007
7235727	Automatic piano, and method and program for automatically operating a key In order to define movement of a particular key to be automatically operated, first-order trajectory data are generated, on the basis of performance information, which are indicative of variation over time of position, velocity and acceleration components of the par...	06/26/2007
7179974	Method for retrofitting acoustic keyboard musical instrument, method for forming holes and gadget used therein Upon request for retrofitting, workers bring a gadget and a marking tool and other tools to the user's home; the workers attach the marking tool to a keyboard, mark locators on a key bed by using the marking tool, form locating recesses therein, and bore reference s...	02/20/2007
7049576	Keyboard musical instrument having easily installable optical position transducer with coupler for coupling optical modulator to moving object An optical position transducer is provided for each of the black/white keys incorporated in a composite keyboard musical instrument; the optical position transducer includes a photo-coupler radiating a light beam, an optical filter moved across the light beam, a rec...	05/23/2006
7019201	Key actuation systems for keyboard instruments A key actuation system that is designed for use with a keyboard instrument of the type having multiple keys. Each key is pivotally supported and has a front end that is depressed by a player to play a note. The actuation system includes multiple actuators that are o...	03/28/2006
6947030	Actuating device for miniature keyboards The invention concerns a simple and user-friendly actuating device (10) for miniature keyboards or miniature input tablets. The device has of a dome-shaped body (12) which is adapted to the curve of the fingertip and fitted to the fingertip by means of...	09/20/2005
6940005	Keyboard musical instrument for exactly producing tones and hammer sensor varying output signal exactly representing physical quantity of hammer A hammer sensor includes a photo-filter plate movable together with a hammer assembly and having a base plate fixed to the hammer shank and an arc pattern formed on the base plate and different in transparency from the base plate, a photo radiating element radiating...	09/06/2005
6781046	Key actuation systems for keyboard instruments The key actuation system is designed for use with a keyboard instrument of the type having multiple keys. Each of the keys has an upper and lower surface and is pivotally supported above a key bed. A front end of a key may be depressed by a player to play a note. Th...	08/24/2004
6407321	Jig for aligning shutter with photo couplers and key and assembling method using the same A jig is used in an assemblage between key sensors and an acoustic piano, and the jig has a shutter guide assembled with a casing of optical sensor array for aligning slits with target trajectories of shutter plates and pieces of adhesive double coated ta...	06/18/2002
6359207	POSITION TRANSDUCER SYSTEM WITH BUILT-IN CALIBRATOR FOR MOVING OBJECT, METHOD FOR ACCURATELY DETERMINING POSITION OF MOVING OBJECT AND KEYBOARD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT EQUIPPED WITH THE POSITION TRANSDUCER SYSTEM A silent automatic player piano calibrates the black/white keys so as to exactly relate a key position signal to the current key positions on the trajectory of the key by itself before a recording so that the key motions are exactly recognized in a record...	03/19/2002
6153819	Note release control method for solenoid actuated piano actions A method for eliminating or reducing noise created by the action mechanisms of piano keys during its return stroke after striking a string, by regulating the amount of time for the mechanism to return to rest. The method comprises the steps of sequentiall...	11/28/2000
5994632	Automatic player piano with magnetic velocity sensor shielded from solenoid-operated key actuators A automatic player piano has an acoustic piano with black/white keys selectively fingered by a player, solenoid-operated key actuators selectively energized with driving signals for moving the black/white keys without the fingering, magnetic velocity sens...	11/30/1999
5892164	Carbon steel powders and method of manufacturing powder metal components therefrom Fine powders of iron with less than 5% by weight graphite, copper, and an organic binder can be formed into shapes having a green density of up to about 7.4 g/cc and sintered in a hydrogen containing atmosphere to yield parts having minimum variations in ...	04/06/1999
5824938	Velocity sensing trigger interface for musical instrument An electronic instrument which generates sound using a sound generator upon receipt of a trigger signal. Each pad actuator for generating a trigger signal includes first and second actuators for respectively triggering first and second switches which, upo...	10/20/1998
5773738	Piano toy having automatic playing keys A piano set having automatic playing keys comprises a bracket having a plurality of fixing columns and mounting sockets. A gear set, linkage set of a gear set driven by a motor and connecting shaft of the keyboard are rotationally mounted thereon. The bra...	06/30/1998
5756910	Method and apparatus for actuating solenoids in a player piano A method and apparatus for actuating solenoids in an electronic player piano where a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) velocity value is translated to a solenoid driving signal, a counter is activated by the solenoid driving signal, and a soleno...	05/26/1998
5739450	Keyboard musical instrument equipped with dummy key/hammer event supplementing system An automatic player piano records an original key motion reciprocated between a rest position and an end position as a series of a key-on event, a hammer event and a key-off event by using key/hammer sensors, and supplements the key/hammer event for an un...	04/14/1998
5629490	Piano In a piano which is enabled to provide performance using electronic sound source as well as normal piano play, the proposed piano is such a piano where there is no difference of balance between the normal piano play and the play using electronic sound sou...	05/13/1997
5565635	Automatic playing apparatus with pedal actuators supported by bracket independent of case of acoustic piano An automatic playing apparatus is provided for an acoustic piano for reproducing a music without fingering of a player on a keyboard, and has a pedal actuator unit directly supported by a floor so that a reaction of the pedal is never exerted to the piano...	10/15/1996
5527987	Keyboard musical instrument with solenoid-operated actuators arranged in interdigitated manner A plurality of solenoid-operated actuator units are incorporated in an automatic player piano for selectively driving keys in a playback mode, and share two elongated yoke members interdigitated with one another so as to house the solenoid-operated actuat...	06/18/1996
5506369	Electromagnetic actuator used for keyboard musical instrument An electromagnetic actuator unit is provided over a keyboard of a piano, and each of the electromagnetic actuators of the electromagnetic actuator unit has a solenoid coil wound on a bobbin and a plunger for pushing down one of the keys, wherein the gravi...	04/09/1996
5252772	Piano teaching computer system A computer system connected through appropriate analog and digital circuitry controls or monitors a piano. Solenoids connected to each piano key and to each note-sounding hammer permit a computer program to control the keys and/or the sounding of a note, ...	10/12/1993
5107739	Key actuating device of an automatic playing keyboard instrument A key actuating device of an automatic playing keyboard instrument has a plurality of key actuator units each of which is provided for each of keys arranged above a key bed of a keyboard instrument, preferably between a balance rail and a front rail, and ...	04/28/1992
4873905	Automatic player piano An automatic player piano comprises (a) a keyboard provided with a plurality of keys each having a front end portion, an intermediate portion and a rear end portion, the front end portion being pressed by a player for requesting a sound, (b) a key support...	10/17/1989
4843936	Automatic music player system For easy adjustment of a key driver assembly, there is disclosed an automatic music player system having at least a recording mode and a reproducing mode and comprising (a) a piano having a keyboard provided with a plurality of keys, a sound generator mec...	07/04/1989
4741237	Actuator for automatic performance piano An actuator for an automatic performance piano, includes electromagnetic plunger units provided in correspondence to and adjacent to a plurality of keys of the piano, each of the electromagnetic plunger units having an excitation coil and a plunger, and a...	05/03/1988
4513652	Solenoid actuator for use in automatic performance piano In a solenoid actuator for use in an automatic performance keyboard instrument of the type comprising a key bed and a plurality of keys mounted on the key bed through seesaw mechanisms, electromagnetic actuators respectively corresponding to the keys and ...	04/30/1985
4338847	Electromagnetic devices for actuating piano keys Electromagnetic devices for actuating piano keys are responsive to music in an encoded format, for example as might be contained on a magnetic tape or phonograph record, to selectively actuate the keys with controlled forces and for selected durations. A ...	07/13/1982
4121491	Solenoid mounting plate for musical keyboard There is disclosed an improved mounting plate or rack for mounting a large number of solenoids in a keyboard-actuated musical instrument. The mounting rack is an extruded plate having locking slots formed in the surface thereof and a pair of cooperating a...	10/24/1978
4031796	Solenoid mounting assembly for musical keyboard This is disclosed a mounting assembly for mounting a large number of solenoids in a keyboard actuated musical instrument. An extruded mounting plate or rack has locking slots formed in a surface thereof and cooperating grooves formed in a protrusion or ri...	06/28/1977

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Class 84/20 - Key actuators