Keyboard having key spacing

• US 7,790,972 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2005
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Allan Michael Stewart
• Original Assignee: Allan Michael Stewart
• Inventors: Stewart, Allan Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels; Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): UHLIR, CHRISTOPHER J
• Application Number:
  US10/593,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20070214937A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,994 Days
• Field of Search: 844/23.R, 847/44
• US Class Current: 84/423.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18

Abstract

A keyboard unit (10) comprising a plurality of keys (12) surrounding a centre (14) and operable singly and chordally by a single finger (or thumb). Preferred arrangements consist of three, four or seven surrounding keys (12), particularly for playing musical notes of an octave. A keyboard (16) may comprise a plurality of spaced apart units (10) in groups (18) operable by respective fingers. The different units (10) may operate different instrumental sounds. Variations include shift functions, operation of lights, e.g. in mixed sequence with notes, operation of alphanumeric characters, e.g. to produce up to a 10-character word or grouping simultaneously. The keyboard (16) may be on the back of a guitar neck (30) or arranged to correspond to the keys on a piano. Logical circuitry and mosaic and adapted QWERTY keyboards are described, also a piano keyboard with phantom black notes.

Claims

1. A keyboard unit comprising:

a plurality of keys surrounding a center region and operable singly and chordally by a single finger said keys arranged in an array extending in two mutually transverse directions and adapted to be operable by a single finger with a playing area of maximum diameter 1.5 cm so that the single finger can operate a plurality of at least three of said keys together.

3. The keyboard unit as claimed in claim 1, in which each said maximum diameter is 1 cm.

5. A unit as claimed in claim 1, in which the keys are connected and configured to selectively operate by a single touch the twelve semitone notes of an octave of a musical scale.

6. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of keys comprise a center key.

7. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said keys are arranged for chordal operation of a surrounding key, or an adjacent chordal pair of surrounding keys, together with a center key to operate a note a semitone higher than without the center key.

8. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said keys are arranged for chordal operation of a surrounding key, or an adjacent chordal pair of surrounding keys, together with center key to operate a note a semitone lower than without the center key.

9. A keyboard as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of spaced apart key units.

10. A keyboard as claimed in claim 9, comprising a plurality of said key units arranged to be operable by one and the same finger.

11. A keyboard as claimed in claim 10, comprising a plurality of said key units arranged to be operable by respective fingers.

12. A keyboard as claimed in claim 11, wherein said key units of each finger are arranged in a column and wherein said columns are approximately parallel to facilitate simultaneous playing operation of some or all of the groups by a single hand.

13. The keyboard as in claim 9, wherein said keyboard is in the form of a musical instrument.

14. The keyboard as in claim 9, wherein said keys are spaced along a back of the guitar neck for operation by the thumb of a hand that does the guitar fingering.

15. A keyboard comprising keyboard units as claimed in claim 1, wherein said keys are connected and configured to selectively operate alphanumeric characters.

16. A keyboard as claimed in claim 15, wherein said keys are connected and configured to be operable simultaneously by respective fingers to operate a selected ordered set of alphanumeric characters.

17. The keyboard unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said keys are connected and configured to selectively operate lights.

18. A keyboard comprising keyboard units as in claim 1, wherein said keys are formed as a mosaic keyboard.

19. A keyboard comprising keyboard units as in claim 1, wherein said keys are arranged around a center region so that they are operable by a single finger.

2. A keyboard unit comprising a group of keys arranged about a center in an array extending in two mutually transverse directions and adapted to be operable by a single finger with a playing area of maximum diameter 1.5 cm so that the single finger can reach and operate a plurality of at least three of said keys singly or in combinations of two or more thereof without moving the finger more than a maximum distance of 0.5 cm.

4. The keyboard unit as claimed in claim 2, in which said maximum distance is 0.3 cm.