Patent ID: 7700860

Claim:
A fallboard structure of a keyboard instrument including an instrument body, a keybed having side portions and provided in the instrument body, and a keyboard section having a rear portion and provided in the instrument body, the fallboard structure comprising: a pair of left and right supporting portions fixed to the keybed of the instrument body and respectively disposed at the side portions of the keybed; a pair of left and tight displacement guides provided in inner sides of respective ones of said supporting portions; a fallboard capable of being selectively operated in either a closed state or an open state, said fallboard coveting the keyboard section in the closed state and permitting the keyboard section to be operated for performance in the open state; a front plate having side portions and having a width thereof at least equal to that of the keyboard section, said front plate having, at upper end portions of side portions thereof, a pair of left and right engage portions engaged with the pair of left and tight displacement guides, and further having, at lower end portions of side portions thereof, at least a first pivot shaft, said front plate supporting said fallboard so as to be pivotable around said pivot shaft in opening and closing directions, and said front plate capable of being operated in a first performance state of posture in which a space upward of the rear portion of the keyboard section against a player is shielded, and in a second performance state of posture in which the space upward of the rear portion of the keyboard section is made open toward the player, wherein when said fallboard is in the open state and each of said engaging portions of said front plate is caused to move along a corresponding one of the displacement guides, said front plate is caused to move in unison with said fallboard and changed from the first performance state of posture to the second performance state of posture, thereby causing the space upward of the rear portion of the keyboard section to be open toward the player; wherein said fallboard and said front plate are in a folded state in which they face each other when said fallboard is in the open state, and when said fallboard is in the open state and said front plate is in the second performance state of posture, said fallboard and said front plate can be accommodated into the instrument body by causing them to slidingly move in a rearward direction.