Automatic player musical instrument, automatic playing system incorporated therein and overheat protector for automatic playing system

Abstract

An automatic player piano is equipped with solenoid-operated actuators for moving keys in automatic performance without fingering of a human player, and an overheat protector is provided for the solenoid-operated actuators so as to prevent the solenoid-operated actuators from overheat; the overheat protector includes not only a temperature sensor and a rescuer but also an information processor, and a computer program runs on the information processor so as to realize a temperature rise estimator for estimating a solenoid temperature on the basis of the amount of current flowing through the solenoid and an environmental temperature determined through the temperature sensor estimator and an overheat detector so as to find an overheated solenoid, thereby making the rescuer interrupt the current for preventing the solenoid-operated actuator from the overheat.

1 . An automatic player musical instrument for producing tones without fingering of a human player, comprising:
 plural manipulators selectively moved for specifying an attribute of tones;   a mechanical tone generator connected to said plural manipulators, and producing said tones having the specified attribute; and   an automatic playing system including
 plural solenoid-operated actuators having a critical temperature at which said plural solenoid-operated actuators are damaged, provided in association with said plural manipulators, respectively, and selectively energized with a driving signal so as selectively to give rise to the movements of said plural manipulators without said fingering of said human player, 
 an automatic player responsive to pieces of music data expressing a performance so as to produce said driving signal on the basis of said pieces of music data and selectively supplying said driving signal to said plural solenoid-operated actuators and 
 an overheat protector having 
 a temperature sensor provided in the vicinity of said plural solenoid-operated actuators and producing a temperature detecting signal representative of an environmental temperature around said plural solenoid-operated actuators, 
   a rescuer provided for said plural solenoid-operated actuators so as to make said plural solenoid-operated actuators recovered from overheat state and
 an information processor connected to said temperature sensor and said automatic player, a computer program running on said information processor so as to realize 
 a temperature rise estimator estimating a temperature rise of said plural solenoid-operated actuators on the basis of the amount of current of said driving signal, 
 a solenoid temperature estimator estimating a solenoid temperature of said plural solenoid-operated actuators on the basis of said temperature rise and said environmental temperature and 
 an overheat detector comparing said solenoid temperature with said critical temperature to see whether or not said plural solenoid-operated actuators are in said overheat state for informing said rescuer of the solenoid-operated actuators in said overheat state. 
   
     
     
         2 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 1 , in which said automatic player includes another information processor on which another computer program runs so as to determine the amount of current of said driving signal on the basis of said pieces of music data. 
     
     
         3 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 2 , in which a core electronic circuit is shared between said information processor and said another information processor. 
     
     
         4 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 1 , in which said rescuer has a solenoid driver shared with said automatic player for regulating the amount of current of said driving signal to an appropriate value, and said solenoid driver reduces said amount of current to zero on the condition that said overheat detector finds the solenoid-operated actuator in said overheat state. 
     
     
         5 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 1 , in which said temperature rise estimator, said solenoid-temperature estimator and said overheat detector are periodically activated so as to search said solenoid temperature for the solenoid-operated actuator in said overheat state. 
     
     
         6 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 5 , in which said temperature rise estimator determines said temperature rise during a time period from a previous activation and each activation through a multiplication between the second power of said amount of current and a constant expressing a relation between the amount of current and an increment of temperature. 
     
     
         7 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 6 , in which said solenoid temperature estimator determines said solenoid temperature through a multiplication between the sum of said temperature rise and the solenoid temperature at said previous activation and a constant expressing a rate of reduction of temperature. 
     
     
         8 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 1 , in which said plural manipulators and said mechanical tone generator form parts of an acoustic piano. 
     
     
         9 . The automatic player musical instrument as set forth in  claim 8 , in which said acoustic piano includes keys serving as said plural manipulators and action units, hammers, strings and dampers forming in combination said mechanical tone generator. 
     
     
         10 . An automatic playing system for reenacting a performance on a musical instrument having plural manipulators for specifying an attribute of tones, comprising:
 plural solenoid-operated actuators having a critical temperature at which said plural solenoid-operated actuators are damaged, provided in association with said plural manipulators, respectively, and selectively energized with a driving signal so as selectively to give rise to the movements of said plural manipulators without a fingering of a human player;   an automatic player responsive to pieces of music data expressing said performance so as to produce said driving signal on the basis of said pieces of music data and selectively supplying said driving signal to said plural solenoid-operated actuators; and   an overheat protector having
 a temperature sensor provided in the vicinity of said plural solenoid-operated actuators and producing a temperature detecting signal representative of an environmental temperature around said plural solenoid-operated actuators, 
   a rescuer provided for said plural solenoid-operated actuators so as to make said plural solenoid-operated actuators recovered from overheat state, and
 an information processor connected to said temperature sensor and said automatic player, a computer program running on said information processor so as to realize
 a temperature rise estimator estimating a temperature rise of said plural solenoid-operated actuators on the basis of the amount of current of said driving signal, 
 a solenoid temperature estimator estimating a solenoid temperature of said plural solenoid-operated actuators on the basis of said temperature rise and said environmental temperature, and 
 an overheat detector comparing said solenoid temperature with a critical temperature at which said plural solenoid-operated actuators are damaged to see whether or not said plural solenoid-operated actuators are in overheat state for informing said rescuer of the solenoid-operated actuators in said overheat state. 
 
   
     
     
         11 . The automatic playing system as set forth in  claim 10 , in which said automatic player includes another information processor on which another computer program runs so as to determine the amount of current of said driving signal on the basis of said pieces of music data. 
     
     
         12 . The automatic playing system as set forth in  claim 11 , in which a core electronic circuit is shared between said information processor and said another information processor. 
     
     
         13 . The automatic playing system as set forth in  claim 10 , in which said rescuer has a solenoid driver shared with said automatic player for regulating the amount of current of said driving signal to an appropriate value, and said solenoid driver reduces said amount of current to zero on the condition that said overheat detector finds the solenoid-operated actuator in said overheat state. 
     
     
         14 . The automatic playing system as set forth in  claim 10 , in which said temperature rise estimator, said solenoid-temperature estimator and said overheat detector are periodically activated so as to search the solenoid-operated actuator in said overheat state. 
     
     
         15 . The automatic playing system as set forth in  claim 14 , in which said temperature rise estimator determines said temperature rise during a time period from a previous activation and each activation through a multiplication between the second power of said amount of current and a constant expressing a relation between the amount of current and an increment of temperature. 
     
     
         16 . The automatic playing system as set forth in  claim 15 , in which said solenoid temperature estimator determines said solenoid temperature through a multiplication between the sum of said temperature rise and the solenoid temperature at said previous activation and a constant expressing a rate of reduction of temperature. 
     
     
         17 . An overheat protector for preventing plural solenoid-operated actuators from overheat state, comprising:
 a temperature sensor provided in the vicinity of said plural solenoid-operated actuators, and producing a temperature detecting signal representative of an environmental temperature around said plural solenoid-operated actuators;   a rescuer provided for said plural solenoid-operated actuators so as to make said plural solenoid-operated actuators recovered from said overheat state; and
 an information processor connected to said temperature sensor, a computer program running on said information processor so as to realize
 a temperature rise estimator estimating a temperature rise of said plural solenoid-operated actuators on the basis of the amount of current flowing through said plural solenoid-operated actuators, 
 a solenoid temperature estimator estimating a solenoid temperature of said plural solenoid-operated actuators on the basis of said temperature rise and said environmental temperature and 
 an overheat detector comparing said solenoid temperature with said critical temperature to see whether or not said plural solenoid-operated actuators are in said overheat state for informing said rescuer of the solenoid-operated actuator in said overheat state. 
 
   
     
     
         18 . The overheat protector as set forth in  claim 17 , in which said temperature rise estimator, said solenoid-temperature estimator and said overheat detector are periodically activated so as to search the solenoid-operated actuator in said overheat state. 
     
     
         19 . The overheat protector as set forth in  claim 18 , in which said temperature rise estimator determines said temperature rise during a time period from a previous activation and each activation through a multiplication between the second power of said amount of current and a constant expressing a relation between the amount of current and an increment of temperature. 
     
     
         20 . The overheat protector as set forth in  claim 19 , in which said solenoid temperature estimator determines said solenoid temperature through a multiplication between the sum of said temperature rise and the solenoid temperature at said previous activation and a constant expressing a rate of reduction of temperature.