Piano-style keyboard attachment for computer keyboard

• US 5,971,635 A
• Filed: 05/11/1998
• Issued: 10/26/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Music Salih
• Original Assignee: Music Salih
• Inventors: Wise, Herbert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Burr, Edgar
• Assistant Examiner(s): EVANISKO, LESLIE J
• Application Number:
  US09/075,988
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 84/425, 84/743, 84/744, 84/745, 84/423 R, 84/423 B, 84/718, 84/719, 84/720, 400/713, 400/714, 400/472, 400/473, 400/82
• US Class Current: 400/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/231 Alphanumeric, used for musical purposes or with additional musical features, e.g. typewriter or pc-type keyboard reconfigured such that letters or symbols are assigned to musical notes

Abstract

The present invention is a piano-style attachment apparatus for a computer keyboard comprising a base, a plurality of piano-styled keys hinged to said base, and anchors for anchoring the apparatus over the computer keyboard. Each piano-styled key has a protrusion extending downwardly for striking a corresponding computer key. The anchors comprise walls which extend deep in between computer keys in order to secure the apparatus to the computer keyboard.

Claims

1. A piano style attachment apparatus for a computer keyboard, said apparatus comprising:

a base, said base having a top and a bottom and right, center, and left base walls, each of said base walls extending downwardly from the bottom of the base;

a plurality of piano style keys hinged to said base, each said key having a top and a bottom protrusion extending downwardly from said bottom; and

a first anchor extending downwardly from the bottom of said base, said first anchor comprising a first and a second anchor wall, each having a common end and a distal end, said first and second anchor walls being perpendicularly disposed with respect to each other and each extending below said base walls;

wherein said first and second anchor walls define a rectangular space such that when the piano-style attachment apparatus is placed on the computer keyboard, at least one key of the computer keyboard is received by said rectangular space, thereby securing the piano-style attachment apparatus on the computer keyboard.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said distal end of said first anchor wall is connected to said left base wall and said distal end of said second anchor wall is connected to said center base wall.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each anchor wall comprises an upper portion and a smaller lower portion wherein each upper portion is connected to the bottom of said base.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said upper portions extend downwardly from the bottom of the base substantially the same distance as do the base walls to which they are connected.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the upper portion of the first anchor wall is connected to said left base wall and the upper portion of the said second anchor wall is connected to said center base wall.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plurality of piano-styled keys comprises diatonic piano-styled keys and chromatic piano-styled keys.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the apparatus is configured such that it fits over a standard QWERTY alpha-numeric key arrangement of a conventional computer keyboard.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the piano-styled keys of the apparatus are configured such that, when the apparatus is fit over a standard QWERTY alpha-numeric key arrangement of a conventional computer keyboard, the protrusion of each piano-styled key presses a corresponding key of the computer keyboard.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein keys of the computer keyboard and piano-styled keys correspond as reflected in the following table:

space="preserve" listing-type="tabular">______________________________________ Computer Key Key Note ______________________________________ A C S D D E F F G G H A J B K C L D ;

E '"'"' F ENTER G W C#/Db E D#/Eb T F#/Gb Y G#/Ab U A#/Bb O C#/Db P D#/Eb ] F#/Gb ______________________________________