
3
EP 0 585 798 B1
4
not return
slightly
after the
jack
is released from the butt.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore
an important object
of the
present
in-
vention
to
provide an upright piano
which is free from
the double-strike and the loss of
a
sound due
to
cling
to
the
string
and is
easily regulated.
To
accomplish
the
object,
the
present
invention
pro-
poses
to
produce a
gap
between
a leading
end of the
repetition
lever and
a
back check
by a
rotation of the
repetition
lever due
to
an
escape
of
a jack so
that
a
ham-
mer assembly can slightly
rotate
backwardly
after the
striking even
if
a key
is
depressed slowly,
when the
jack
is
escaped
from the butt and before the butt
rotates
backwardly.
In accordance with the
present
invention,
there is
provided an upright piano comprising: a) a keyboard
having
at
least
one key swingable
between
a
rest
posi-
tion without
any
force
applied
to
it
by
the
uses
and
an
end
position, a
capstan
button
projecting
from
a rear
end
portion
of the
at
least
one key; b)
at
least
one string as-
sociated with the
at
least
one key; c)
at
least
one
ham-
mer assembly
for
striking
the
at
least
one string; d) a
key
action mechanism linked with the
at
least
one key
for
driving
the
at
least
one
hammer
assembly,
and hav-
ing d-1) a whippen assembly pivotally supported by a
stationary structure,
and rotated
by
the
capstan
button
between
a
first initial
position corresponding
to
the
rest
position
and
a
first terminal
position corresponding
to
the end
position through a
first intermediate
position,
d-
2) a jack pivotally supported by
the
whippen assembly,
and moved from
a
second initial
position
to
a
restricted
position
without
any
pivotal
motion when the
whippen
assembly
is
swung
from the first initial
position
to
the
first intermediate
position,
the
jack being
rotated around
the
whippen assembly
from the restricted
position
through an
escape
position
to
a
second terminal
position
when the
whippen assembly
is rotated from the first in-
termediate
position
to
the first terminal
position, d-3) a
butt
pivotally supported by
the
stationary structure,
and
connected with the hammer
assembly,
the butt
being ro-
tated
by
the
jack
in
a
forward direction from
a
third initial
position corresponding
to
the second initial
position
to
a
released
position corresponding
to
the
escape
posi-
tion,
the butt
being
kicked
by
the
jack
at
the released
position
for
rushing
the
at
least
one
hammer
assembly
toward the
at
least
one string,
the
at
least
one
hammer
assembly rebounding on
the
at
least
one string so
that
the butt
being
rotated in
a
backward direction
through a
second intermediate
position
to
a
third terminal
position,
d-4) a
back check
projecting
from the
whippen assem-
bly,
and
d-5) a
catcher
backwardly projecting
from the
butt,
and
brought
into
contact
with the back check when
the butt reaches the third terminal
position;
and
e) a
rep-
etition mechanism
having e-1) a repetition
lever
rotata-
bly supported by
the
butt,
and rotated
by a jack
due
to
the
escape
so as
to
produce a
gap
between
a leading
end thereof and the back check when the
jack
reaches
the second terminal
position
and before the
at
least
one
hammer
assembly
rotates
backwardly,
then the
leading
end
being brought
into
contact
with the back check when
5
the butt reaches the second intermediate
position, e-2)
a driving
rod
means projecting
from the
repetition
lever,
brought
into
contact
with the
jack,
and
rotating
the
rep-
etition lever
over
the back check
on
the
way
from the
escape
position
to
the second terminal
position by
the
10
jack
rotation due
to
the
escape,
and
e-3) an
elastic
means urging
the
repetition
lever for
allowing
the
driving
rod
means
to
be
brought
into
contact
with the
jack.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
15
The features and
advantages
of the
upright piano
according
to
the
present
invention will be
more clearly
understood from the
following description
taken in
con-
junction
with the
accompanying drawings
in which:
20
Fig.
1
is
a
side view
showing
essential
parts
of
an
upright piano according
to
the
present
invention
while the
key
is
staying
in
a
rest
position;
Fig.
2 is
a partially
cut-away
side view
showing,
in
25
an enlarged
scale,
a key
action mechanism
accom-
panied
with
a repetition
mechanism shown in
Fig.
1
;
Fig.
3 is
a
side view
showing
the
key
action mech-
anism and the
repetition
mechanism when the
jack
is
escaped
from the
butt;
30
Fig.
4
is
a
side view
showing
the essential
parts
of
the
upright piano
when the
key
action mechanism
enters
a
back-checked
state;
Fig.
5
is
a
side view
showing,
in
an enlarged
scale,
the
key
action mechanism and the
repetition
mech-
35
anism in the back-checked
state;
Fig.
6 is
a
side view
showing
the
key
action mech-
anism and the
repetition
mechanism in the
sus-
pended
state
after the
key
is
softly depressed;
Fig.
7
is
a
side view
showing a repetition
mecha-
40
nism
incorporated
in another
upright piano
accord-
ing
to
the
present
invention;
Fig.
8 is
a
side view
showing a repetition
mecha-
nism
incorporated
in
yet
another
upright piano ac-
cording
to
the
present
invention;
and
45
Fig.
9 is
a
side view
showing a repetition
mecha-
nism
incorporated
in still another
upright piano ac-
cording
to
the
present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
so
EMBODIMENTS
First Embodiment
Referring
first
to
Fig.
1
of the
drawings, an upright
55
piano embodying
the
present
invention
comprises a
keyboard
1
having a plurality
of black and white
keys
1
a,
a
balance rail
1
b mounted
on a key
bed
1
c
and
turn-
ably supporting
the black and white
keys
1
a
with
respect
25
30
35
40
45
50
3
Comentarios a estos manuales