A keyboard screening device

Abstract

The keyboard screening device 99 is used to screen a piano keyboard from a player. It comprises a screen 1 and two supports 2; wherein the supports extend in a plane orthogonal to the plane of the scr

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard screening device, in particular a device for training or learning keyboard skills, more particularly but not exclusively for learning piano keyboard fingering. Background In many societies it remains popular to play musical instruments, and often there are increasing requirements on teachers. Many people continue to enjoy learning keyboard instruments such as the piano, which can be time consuming and difficult to teach. Often there is great pressure on the teacher to achieve results quickly, particularly when there is a charge. A technique some teachers use to teach keyboard geography is to cover the pupils’ hands with a book or even place a cloth over them which is not a practical long term solution and difficult for the teacher to enforce especially when the pupil is practicing on their own. Prior Art US 5 561 480 (CAPES) discloses a keyboard practice glasses for the eyes of a person in learning to sight-read sheet music on a music stand positioned above a keyboard, comprising: a frame portion, and means for securing said frame portion upon the head of said person wherein said frame portion further comprises paired lens portions each lens portion being divided substantially in half by a straight horizontal boundary and having a clear optical region above said boundary and a second optical region below said boundary, said second optical region blocking all lines of sight from the eyes of said person below said boundary, thus preventing the person from seeing his hands on the keyboard while allowing the person to read the sheet. US 4 419 921 (SIMANSKI) discloses a unitary keyboard shield adapted to be attached to a piano of the type having a laterally extending gap, or slot, in a vertical section located at the rear of the keyboard, said shield, when attached to the piano, including a cover portion interrupting a player's line of vision to at least a portion of said keyboard, the improvement wherein said shield includes a rear section engageable within said slot for attaching the shield to the piano, said rear section being substantially planar, thinner than the slot, and inclined upwardly and rearwardly. US 1 906 539 (CHURCH) discloses a vision shield comprising a multi-part main shield member with a chest conforming inner edge hinged for folding, and having buttons for keeping the members in opened position and provided with extension wings movably secured thereto at its inner corners, and suspending straps at a plurality of points on the main member to pass around the neck of the wearer to hold the member in adjusted and balanced position on the chest to shield from the eyes piano keys and the like covered by the shield. Summary of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided a keyboard screening device to screen a piano keyboard from a player, comprising a screen and two supports; wherein the screen extends in a first plane and the supports extend in a second plane orthogonal the first plane, at distal ends of the screen; and wherein the supports have legs that are the width of less than a length of a piano key and adapted to fit into the lateral gap between two piano keys. In this way the device of the present invention is able to be fitted to any keyboard, for example upright, digital or grand piano so as to allow the device to be transported from one keyboard to another and easily installed, for example so as to be conveniently utilised as a teaching aid. In this way the device of the present invention provides a means in particular of developing keyboard geography awareness, an important skill when learning to play the piano. In some embodiments of the device the supports are lower in height at the rear end of the keyboard, distal the player, and higher at the front end of the keyboard, so as to allow for the player’s arms and wrists. In some embodiments of the device the device comprises an arcuate upper face to the supports, such that the screen has a curved side profile. In this way the device better covers the player’s hands, as well as enabling a larger zone beneath the screen for the player to move their hands during play. In some embodiments of the device the screen is extendable, for example covering a minimum range of approximately 2 octaves to a maximum extension of 5 octaves. In this way advantageously it may be envisaged that the device may be usable with a larger number of keyboards, according to key number. In some embodiments of the device the screen is coaxially telescopic, so as to enable easy adjustment, further increasing ease of use and / or transportability. In some embodiments of the device the screen comprises a plurality of parts joined at a joint part wherein the joint part enables relative sliding of one or more parts of the screen. Said joint may be held in place by friction, tolerance, interference fitting or under tension for example. In some embodiments of the device the device is arranged to dismantle from the supports so as to aid in transportability and / or storage and / or allow for replacement of parts according to need. In some embodiments of the device the device is arranged to pack flat for example, wherein the parts may be envisaged to be held in a three dimensional form for usage purposes, but may be formed of a structure of two dimensional parts. In some embodiments of the device the supports comprise temporary connection means for the screen, such as hook and loop portions such as Velcro (RTM), ferromagnetism, press studs. In some embodiments of the device the temporary connection means comprises male and female connecting parts where the parts interfit and are held together under tension for example. In some embodiments of the device the device comprises a flexible inelastic screen and it may be envisaged that in some embodiments of the device the device is substantially formed in plastic, and in other embodiments of the device the device is substantially formed in card. It may be envisaged that temporary or disposable embodiments may be formed, such as with branding, informational or event-based advertising opportunities. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the Figures in which: Brief Description of Figures Figure 1 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; and Figure 4 shows a reverse exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1. Detailed Description of Figures With reference to the figures there is shown an embodiment of a keyboard screening device 99 to screen a piano keyboard from a player, comprising a screen 1 and two supports 2; wherein the screen extends in a first plane and the supports extend in a second plane orthogonal the first plane, at distal ends of the screen; and wherein the supports have legs 23 that are the length of less than a length of a piano key so as to fit a leg into the lateral gap between two piano keys. In particular reference to the pictured embodiment the embodiment comprises a screen formed of two side parts 10,11 and a joint part 12, wherein the parts are arranged to slide in relation to one another. The joint part is rectangular and comprises two folded perimetric lips 32 running down the long sides of the rectangle. The side parts 10,11 slide into these lips from the ends of the joint part 12, and are trapped therein and enabled to slide back and forth longitudinally within and along the lips 32. The side parts are also rectangular and formed in an inelastic flexible plastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The ends of the side parts are connected to the supports 2 which are substantially flat panels of rigid plastic such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The supports comprise a central perforation to reduce material and weight, and have a lateral bottom edge 23, with an orthogonally inwardly extending lip, which provides a spacer to be trapped between the keys in use. In some embodiments the support’s lowest edge may be resiliently deformable or tapered so as to aid in placement between keys. The lateral bottom edge leads into a curved front edge curving rearwards away from the front corner of the lateral bottom edge, providing an arcuate top edge 25 for the support. The arcuate top edge is joined to the lateral bottom edge by a rear strut 21. The rear strut is curved rearwards so as to lean away from the front of the supports, and provide an overhang to the screen in use. The screen side parts are connected to the supports using a clip means, comprising a plurality of rectangular slots 13 spaced along the ends of the side parts, and clips 24 extending from the arcuate top edge 25 of the supports. In this way the clips may be passed through the slots and will hold the side parts in a curved arrangement on the supports. With reference to Figure 2 it may be envisaged that the full extension of the device is 88cm, which may be correlated to a 5 octave span. The side parts 10,11 and the joint part 12 may each be 33cm in width. The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of protection as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A keyboard screening device to screen a piano keyboard from a player, comprising a screen and two supports; wherein the screen extends in a first plane and the supports extend in a second plane orthogonal the first plane, at distal ends of the screen; and wherein the supports have legs that are the width of less than a length of a piano key and adapted to fit into the lateral gap between two piano keys.

2. A keyboard screening device according to claim 1 comprising an arcuate upper face to the supports.

3. A keyboard screening device according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the supports are lower in height at the rear end of the keyboard, distal the player, and higher at the front end of the keyboard.

4. A keyboard screening device according to any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the screen is extendable.

5. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim wherein the screen is coaxially telescopic.

6. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim wherein the screen comprises a plurality of parts joined at a joint part wherein the joint part enables relative sliding of one or more parts of the screen.

7. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim arranged to dismantle from the supports.

8. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim arranged to pack flat.

9. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim comprising a flexible inelastic screen.

10. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim wherein the supports comprise temporary connection means for the screen.

711. A keyboard screening device according to claim 10 wherein the temporary connection means comprises hook and loop portions such as Velcro (RTM).

12. A keyboard screening device according to claim 10 wherein the temporaryconnection means comprises ferromagnetism.

13. A keyboard screening device according to claim 10 wherein the temporary connection means comprises press studs.

14. A keyboard screening device according to claim 10 wherein the temporary connection means comprises male and female connecting parts.

15. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim substantially formed in plastic.

16. A keyboard screening device according to any of preceding claims 1 to 14 substantially formed in card.

17. A keyboard screening device according to any preceding claim wherein the supports provide an overhang at a front edge proximal the player.

18. A keyboard screening device according to any of the preceding claims arranged to cover a minimum of 2 octaves.

19. A keyboard screening device according to any of the preceding claims arranged to cover 5 octaves.Application No: GB2309149.9Examiner:Katie HarbachClaims searched: 1-19Date of search: 13 November 2024Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17Documents considered to be relevant:Category Relevant to claims Identity of document and passage or figure of particular relevance X 1,4-10, 15, 16, 18 &19 US3719118A (COLBURN) See figure 1 and related description. A - CN213150065 U (LIU) See whole document. A - CN218159361 U (HEBEI VOCATIONAL COLLEGE OF ART) See whole document. A - US2021 / 000204 B2 (LUONGO) See whole document. A - US4679482 A (SIMANSKI) See whole document. A - CN202887511 U (YU) See whole document. A - CN215815154U (UNIV CHANGSHA NORMAL) See whole document. A - CN206711595U (UNIV HUAIHUA) See whole document.Categories:X Document indicating lack of novelty or inventive step A Document indicating technological background and / or state of the art. Y Document indicating lack of inventive step if P Document published on or after the declared priority date but combined with one or more other documents of same category. before the filing date of this invention. & Member of the same patent family E Patent document published on or after, but with priority date earlier than, the filing date of this application.Field of Search:Search of GB, EP, WO &US patent documents classified in the following areas of the UKCX :Worldwide search of patent documents classified in the following areas of the IPC____________G09B; G10G_______________________________________________The following online and other databases have been used in the preparation of this search reportSEARCH-PATENT, INTERNETInternational Classification:Subclass Subgroup Valid From G10G 0007 / 00 01 / 01 / 2006

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