# US 8,541,672 B2 · Pedal apparatus of electronic musical instrument

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- Number: US 8,541,672 B2
- Document ID: US8541672B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/035,458
- Filed: 2011-02-25
- Published: 2011-06-16
- Granted: 2013-09-24
- Earliest claimed: 2008-03-24
- Assignees: Yamaha Corporation
- Applicants: Toshiyuki Iwamoto; Mitsuru Kitajima; Shigeru Muramatsu; Koichi Saigo
- Inventors: Toshiyuki Iwamoto; Mitsuru Kitajima; Shigeru Muramatsu; Koichi Saigo
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8541672B2

## CPC

- G10H 1/348: {Switches actuated by parts of the body other than fingers}
- G10H 1/346: {Keys with an arrangement for simulating the feeling of a piano key, e.g. using counterweights, springs, cams}
- G10H: ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE

## Abstract

A lever is supported by a lever supporting portion. The lever is urged by a first spring and a second spring. The urging force of the first spring varies over the entire operational range of the lever. The second spring and a third spring are provided serially through a movable supporting member. The displacement of the movable supporting member is restricted by a fixed supporting member. If the urging force of the second spring exceeds the urging force of the third spring, the restriction on the displacement of the movable supporting member is removed. Therefore, the present configuration provides a player with feeling similar to that the player perceives when he manipulates a damper pedal of an acoustic piano.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A pedal apparatus of an electronic musical instrument, the pedal apparatus comprising:
a fixed support member;
a lever supported by the fixed supporting member and pivotable by a player's depression of the lever from an initial state to a final state, via a second predetermined amount of depression and a first predetermined amount of depression;
a first spring that exerts a spring force on the lever at all times in a direction resisting the depression of the lever;
a second spring member having a spring force exertable on the lever; and
a movable member that abuts the second spring and is displaced in response to pivoting of the lever between the first predetermined amount of depression and the final state, while the movable member is not displaced in response to the pivoting of the lever between the initial state and the first predetermined amount of depression,
wherein when an amount of depression of the lever increases from the initial state to the first predetermined amount of depression, a rate of change in reaction force with respect to the depression is lower between the initial state and the second predetermined amount of depression than between the second predetermined amount of depression and the first predetermined amount of depression, due to collaboration of the second spring and the movable member, and
wherein when the amount of depression of the lever increases from the second predetermined amount of depression to the final state, the rate of change in reaction force with respect to the depression is higher between the second predetermined amount of depression and the first predetermined amount of depression than between the first predetermined amount of depression and the final state, due to collaboration of the second spring and the movable member, and
wherein, from the first predetermined amount of depression to the final state, the reaction force is acted by the first spring but not by the second spring due to the collaborative displacement of the movable member.