Keyboard attachment for disabled persons

• US 20060169127A1
• Filed: 12/12/2005
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Craig Saunders
• Original Assignee: Craig Saunders
• Inventors: Saunders, Craig
• Granted Patent: US 7,674,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/744
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/221 Keyboards, i.e. configuration of several keys or key-like input devices relative to one another details of individual keys or key-like devices G10H2220/265; continuous keyboards or keyboards implementing specific musical scales, e.g. quartertone G10H2210/395; switch matrix keyboards, e.g. on guitar necks G10H2220/295

Abstract

A key extender includes an elongated member, e.g., a deformable metal rod, having a first end portion secured to a contact member, e.g., a circular disc having a contact area greater than the available touch plate surface area of the key. An opposite second end portion of the elongated member is secured to a first part of a fastening arrangement, with the other part of the fastening arrangement on a key of a keyboard. Mounting an extender on each of the keys of a keyboard and shaping the metal rod to position the discs adjacent to and spaced from one another allows a disabled person to depress the closely adjacent keys of the keyboard, e.g. and not limited to, the keys of a piano or keys of a typewriter.

Claims

1. An extender for a key of a keyboard, comprising:

an elongated member having a first end portion secured to a contact member, and an opposite second end portion having one part of a fastening arrangement and the key having another part of the fastening arrangement, wherein with the second end portion fastened to the key, displacing the contact member in a predetermined direction displaces the key in the predetermined direction, and

wherein the key has a touch plate area and the contact member has a contact area greater than the touch plate area of the key.

2. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard is selected from at least one of the following:

a musical instrument keyboard, a computer keyboard, a calculator keyboard, a typewriter keyboard, a machine console keyboard, and a telephone keyboard.

3. The extender according to claim 2, wherein the keyboard is a piano keyboard.

4. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the first end portion of the elongated member has a loop shape and the contact member is a bendable sheet, the sheet overlaying a surface of the loop, with ends of the sheet engaging the loop to secure the sheet to the first end portion of the elongated member.

5. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the first end portion of the elongated member has one or more circular bends, with the circular bends secured to the contact member by a fastener selected from one of the following:

adhesives, flowed molten metal or metal alloy.

6. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the first end portion of the elongated member has one or more circular bends, with the circular bends secured to the contact member by a two-part fastener, and wherein one part of the fastener is secured to the first end portion of the elongated member and the other part of the fastener is secured to the contact member.

7. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the elongated member is an elongated rod having a yield strength in the range of 10,000 to 50,000 pounds per square inch.

8. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the second end portion of the elongated member has a series of circular bends and the first part of the fastener is one part of a Velcro®

fastener secured to the series of circular bends.

9. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the second end portion of the elongated member has a serpentine shape and the first part of the fastener is one part of a Velcro®

fastener secured to the serpentine-shaped second end portion of the elongated member.

10. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the contact member has a shape selected from the group of a circular shape, an elliptical shape, a rectangular shape having rounded comers, a rectangular shape having square comers, a square shape having rounded comers, a square shape having square comers, a teardrop shape, and combinations thereof.

11. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the elongated member is a manually-deformable, elongated metal rod.

12. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the contact member and the one part of the fastening member are detachably secured to their respective end portion of the elongated member.

13. The extender according to claim 12, wherein the one part is one part of a Velcro®

fastener.

14. The extender according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard is a piano keyboard and the key is one of a plurality of piano keys, and at least one of the piano keys has the elongated member secured thereto defined as the attached piano key, and wherein displacing the contact member in a downward direction displaces the attached piano key in the downward direction.

15. A method of depressing keys of a keyboard, comprising the steps of:

providing at least two key extenders, each having an elongated member and a contact member positioned at one end of the elongated member;

shaping at least one of the elongated members such that upon attachment of the elongated member to a key, the contact members are adjacent to and spaced from one another;

attaching the elongated members to selected ones of the keys; and

depressing the contact members to depress corresponding keys.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the spaced distance between adjacent contact members is greater than the spaced distance between adjacent keys attached to the elongated members having the adjacent contact members.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the at least two key extenders include a first plurality of key extenders and a second plurality of key extenders, and wherein the contact member of the first plurality of key extenders has a peripheral shape different from the peripheral shape of the contact members of the second plurality of contact members.