Patent ID: 7750221

Claim:
A keyboard-type tone plate percussion instrument, comprising: a plurality of keys that constitute a keyboard; a plurality of tone plates each sounding a musical tone of a specific tone pitch when struck, the plurality of tone plates constituting all of the tone plates in the percussion instrument; a plurality of percussion units arranged to respectively correspond to the plurality of keys and the plurality of tone plates, each percussion unit striking a corresponding one of the plurality of tone plates when driven by a depressing operation of a corresponding one of the plurality of keys, the plurality of percussion units constituting all of the percussion units in the percussion instrument; and a resonance box having a plurality of resonance chambers corresponding to respective ones of the plurality of tone plates, each of the resonance chambers having an opening side thereof facing and opening toward a corresponding one of the plurality of tone plates, first and second common walls in said resonance box extending substantially along the direction in which the plurality of tone plates are arranged, and a plurality of chamber-defining members that are formed between the first and second common walls and define the plurality of resonance chambers, wherein, among the plurality of resonance chambers, a plurality of predetermined resonance chambers corresponding to at least part of a range of the percussion instrument are defined to correspond, respectively, to associated ones of the plurality of tone plates, each of the plurality of predetermined resonance chambers overlaps at least one of other predetermined resonance chambers as seen from front thereof, wherein a maximum width of each of the plurality of predetermined resonance chambers as viewed in the direction in which the plurality of tone plates are arranged is as large as at least twice a width of the corresponding tone plate, wherein the plurality of tone plates are constructed into a single-stage structure where they are arranged in an order of tone pitch in a direction in which the plurality of keys are arranged so that tone plates neighboring in specific tone pitch are arranged adjacent to each other, and wherein the plurality of percussion units are constructed into a single-stage structure where they are arranged in the direction in which the plurality of keys are arranged so as to correspond to array of the plurality of tone plates.