Key marking overlay for alphanumeric keypads

A key marking overlay for telephone keypads. The overlay is mountable over the telephone keypad and allows pressing of the keys through the overlay. It provides a mechanism for keeping track of the keys which have been pressed during period of use of the keypad. The overlay may also present graphical indicia assigning arbitrary functions to selected keys of the keypad.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to the field of templates and overlays for keys and 
keypads and, more particularly, to overlays for a touchtone telephone 
keypad. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Keypads have been in use for many years on a wide variety of equipment, 
such as calculators, both mechanical and electrical or electronic, 
touchtone telephones, computer keyboards and many other devices. Commonly 
referred to as "numeric" or "alphanumeric"--the latter because it 
designates the use of keys with both alphabetical and numeric 
functions--an alphanumeric keypad is generally understood to encompass 
other symbols as well, such as the star or asterisk (*) and the pound or 
number sign (#) on a telephone keypad. Overlays for alphanumeric keypads 
have been developed for protection (to protect the keys and the underlying 
circuitry from vandalism, dirt and other environmental damage), for key 
enhancement, such as enlarging the effective touch area for key 
manipulation, and for numerous other purposes. 
The known related art is exemplified by patents U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,221 to 
Zamarra and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,438,300 and 4,555,600, both to Morse, all of 
which are exclusively concerned with protecting telephone keypads from 
dirt, liquid spills or vandalism. Insofar as is known, the existing 
related art provides no means for adapting telephone keypads to new uses. 
While recent technical advances have created new telephone features and a 
host of telephone services, such as the so-called "900"-number services, 
very little development of an innovative nature has occurred in the field 
to which the present invention relates. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is intended to be used with a standard-type touchtone 
telephone, but it can be adapted to accommodate a wide range of telephone 
sets of different shapes and sizes and with differently configured 
alphanumeric keypads. 
In particular arrangements in accordance with the present invention, a 
template or overlay is provided for a standard push button, or touchtone 
telephone keypad. The key marking overlay is adapted for mounting on a 
touchtone telephone in a fashion such that it overlies the whole keypad 
area. Depending on the particular embodiment of the invention and on the 
type of touchtone telephone used, the key marking overlay may be attached 
to the telephone by means of a releasable adhesive, as for example an 
adhesive strip, by mating Velcro strips, or by any other suitable means. 
If used on a substantially stationary desk-top type telephone set, the 
force of gravity may suffice to hold the key marking overlay in place. 
Embodiments of the invention are intended for a particular field of use: 
assisting a user in interacting with a called party by using the telephone 
keypad to make choices of alternatives offered by the called party over 
the telephone voice channel. This may, for example, involve "playing a 
game" with the party on the other end of the phone connection or engaging 
in a contest where prizes might be awarded for a predetermined sequence of 
correct responses. One anticipated application of the invention relates to 
calls to special numbers wherein the phone company assesses a special use 
charge against the calling party and remits part of this to the called 
party. At the present time, this is common for calls to a 900 "area code"; 
i.e., by dialing "900" followed by the number assigned to the particular 
party to be called. (In this sense, "dialing" is intended to encompass 
using a keypad to "dial" or input the number.) Another contemplated use of 
embodiments of the invention is in participating in poll taking by phone, 
in which case the user might be the called party, with the user wishing to 
keep track of indicated answers to questions posed by the poll 
interviewer. 
Concepts and embodiments of the invention are disclosed and explained 
herein in the context, as an example only, of use in the calling of 900 
numbers. It will be understood that this is merely by way of example and 
that the scope of the invention is not so limited. Embodiments of the 
invention can be used in association with telephone instrument keypads in 
connection with the calling of other numbers and in receiving calls. 
The telephone user who desires to play a "900"-number game dials the 
appropriate sequence of digits, which is 1+900+a seven digit phone number. 
The telephone key marking template is mounted over the keypad. After the 
connection to the "900"-number service is made, the game, contest or other 
interaction can begin. The telephone user might be called upon to answer 
questions or make game decisions, for example, by depressing certain keys. 
Concurrently, he manipulates the overlay to develop an indication of the 
keys which have been pressed. As an example, the telephone user may be 
told, by a recorded message or by an operator who is conducting the 
"900"-number game with the telephone user, which keys to press dependent 
upon what the telephone user's answers to these questions are. Also the 
telephone user might be instructed that the keys have new meanings or 
functions. For example, the telephone user might be told that the "7" key 
means "up", or the "0" key means "fire the torpedo", or the "9" key means 
"open the door", or the "2" key means "no", etc. Alternatively, the 
overlay itself may define certain arbitrary functions related to the 
pressing of selected keys. For example, text or graphic indicia on the 
overlay may assign the function "up" to key No. 7. This is separate and 
apart from the capability of the overlay to provide a record of which keys 
have been pressed during use of the overlay. 
Certain "900"-number applications may require the telephone user to keep 
track of which keys he has depressed during a certain series of steps. 
This tracking or "recording" can be accomplished by utilization of the 
various indicating means employed in the different embodiments of the 
present invention. 
In one embodiment of the invention such tracking or "recording" can be 
accomplished if the telephone user presses a key which is covered by a key 
marking overlay, consisting of an elastomeric sheet with individual 
pockets and convex elevations on the upper side of these pockets. When the 
key is pressed the convex elevation is pressed downward, it changes its 
form and becomes a concave depression. 
By utilizing the described tracking features, the telephone user is able to 
keep track of which one or more keys have been depressed during use of the 
keypad. After the game or other utilization is ended, the key marking 
overlay can be removed, if desired. Dependent on the particular embodiment 
used, the overlay may be restored to its original form, for example by 
applying pressure to the concave depressions from the underside of the 
overlay body. Other embodiments, for example a cardboard overlay with 
perforated flaps that may be pressed downward or lifted upward to 
"record", may be for one-time-use only and can be disposed of after use, 
to be replaced with a fresh overlay, if desired. Yet another embodiment 
comprises an overlay with "slides" in their respective key positions which 
can be moved to indicate a key press. 
It is anticipated that the key marking overlay is mounted on a touch tone 
telephone at the time or after the telephone user who desires to call a 
"900"-number game has dialed the full number sequence to get the desired 
connection. The invention comprises embodiments where the pressing of any 
key is automatically "recorded", in which case the telephone user would 
dial first and then mount the key marking overlay on the telephone set. If 
the telephone user proceeds in this fashion none of the keystrokes used to 
get the desired connection are "recorded" and the telephone user can begin 
the "900"-game with a "fresh" key marking overlay. Other embodiments of 
the invention allow the key marking overlay to be mounted on a telephone 
set before the telephone user places the call. These embodiments do not 
automatically "record" the keystrokes, but require a volitional step by 
the telephone user to "record" or display the occurrence of a keystroke if 
that is desired. Such a volitional step might be the lifting of a flap or 
the change of position of an indicator piece. The invention comprises 
embodiments which are designed and intended for multiple uses, and other 
embodiments which are disposable and intended to be discarded after use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning now to the drawing, FIGS. 1-4 show various details of a first 
embodiment 10 of the invention. In this embodiment an overlay 11 is formed 
of an elastomeric sheet 12 which carries a grid of twelve protuberances 14 
extending upwardly above a base plane 17. Each protuberance 14 carries a 
circular convex elevation 16 in its substantially horizontal top portion 
15. The overlay 11 is designed to be mounted on a touchtone telephone in a 
fashion that it covers the keypad. A skirt portion 21, having a border 13 
extends from the overlay beyond the keypad. The underside of the skirt 
portion 18 is provided with means 19 for attachment of the overlay to the 
telephone set. These means could be one or more strips of releasable 
adhesive or, in the alternative, the underside of the skirt portion 18 
could be equipped with one or more Velcro strips that mate with 
corresponding Velcro strips attached to the face of the telephone set for 
securing the overlay 11 in position on the telephone set. If the overlay 
11 is used on a standard desk-top telephone set the force of gravity may 
suffice to keep the overlay in place. For such applications an otherwise 
identical overlay without adhesive or Velcro could be used. 
The keys 20a, 20b and 20c of a conventional keypad are mounted in known 
fashion in a telephone housing 22 and protrude from the housing through 
apertures in the housing as shown in FIG. 3. The keys are in known fashion 
mechanically and electrically connected to the underlying components of 
the telephone set, as illustrated schematically by the springs 24 and the 
circuit board 26. The overlay 11 is attached to the housing 22 by means of 
the adhesive or Velcro strips 19. FIG. 3 shows three keys 20a, 20b, 20c, 
and three corresponding protuberances 14a, 14b and 14c of the overlay 11. 
These protuberances have convex elevations 16a and 16c in their respective 
top portions. FIG. 3 shows the overlay 11 after the telephone user has 
pressed the middle key 20b. Pressing the middle key 20b changed the convex 
elevation of protuberance 14b to a concave depression 16b. This concave 
depression 16b is readily distinguishable from the convex elevations of 
the other protuberances and thus serves to indicate that the middle key 
20b, located within protuberance 14b, has been pressed. 
If the overlay 11 is subsequently removed from the telephone set and if 
pressure (schematically illustrated by arrow A in FIG. 4) is applied to 
the concave depression 16b from the underside, the concave depression 16b 
changes its form back to a convex elevation. This allows the telephone 
user to restore the overlay 11 to its original form after use and to reuse 
it for interacting with called "900"-numbers. 
FIG. 5 shows a first alternative embodiment 30 of the invention. The 
overlay 31 is formed by an elastomeric sheet 32 which carries a grid of 
twelve upwardly extending protuberances 34, each carrying a slidable cover 
piece 36. The indicator covers 36 are also made of flexible elastomeric 
material which allows the telephone user to activate the telephone keys 
through the overlay by depressing the slidable covers 36 and the 
protuberances 34 together. The overlay 31 is designed to be mounted on a 
telephone set in the manner described above and may be equipped with an 
adhesive, Velcro strips or other suitable means to keep it in place once 
mounted on the telephone set. 
FIG. 6 shows details of one element 33 of the overlay 31. The sliding cover 
36 is mounted on a protuberance 34 which has a closed top portion 35. The 
cover 36 is laterally slidable on the protuberance from its shown home 
position to the left side as illustrated by the arrow in FIG. 6. FIG. 7, 
an enlarged sectional view of element 33 taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 6, 
shows further details of this arrangement. The protuberance 34 has a 
substantially flat closed top portion 35 which extends laterally side ways 
beyond the sidewalls to form a pair of rails or guides 40 on which the 
indicator piece is slidably mounted for lateral movement to allow the user 
to "mark" the pressing of a particular key by laterally sliding the 
indicator piece to the left. 
FIGS. 8 and 9 show one element 39 of the overlay 31 which is a variation of 
the element 33 depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the 
element 39 of the overlay 31. The sliding cover 36 is mounted on the 
protuberance 34 in substantially the same fashion as described with 
respect to the arrangement of FIGS. 6 and 7. The top portion 41 of the 
protuberance 34 is, however, not closed, but equipped with an opening 42 
that is covered by the sliding cover 36 when the cover is in its home 
position, as shown in FIG. 8. This arrangement is further illustrated in 
detail in FIG. 9, which is a sectional view of element 39 taken along line 
9--9 in FIG. 8. As long as the sliding cover 36 is in its home position, 
at the right side of the protuberance 34 (in FIG. 8), the elements 33 and 
39 look alike, because the opening 42 is concealed by the cover. When the 
telephone user desires to "record" or mark the pressing of a particular 
key, he may slide the cover 36 sideways to the left. This exposes the 
opening 42 in the top portion 41 of the protuberance 34 as shown in FIG. 
10, a top plan view of such an arrangement. The underlying key (not shown 
here) becomes visible through the opening 42. Thus the exposure of the key 
and the changed position of the cover 32 together serve to indicate a 
particular key has been pressed. 
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a second alternative embodiment 50 of the invention. 
In this embodiment the overlay 51 is formed by an elastomeric sheet 52 
which carries a grid of twelve upwardly extending protuberances 54. The 
basic structure of this grid of protuberances 54 resembles substantially 
the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, except that the top portion 53 of the 
protuberances 54 of the overlay 51 depicted in FIG. 11 is substantially 
flat and does not carry convex elevations. The top portions of the 
protuberances 54 are equipped with semicircular incisions 55 which define 
movable flaps 56. These flaps 56 can be moved upwards by the telephone 
user to indicate that a particular key has been pressed. FIG. 12 further 
illustrates this arrangement and shows a portion of the overlay, mounted 
to cover a key 20, with the flap 56 being moved upward and forming an 
angle .alpha. with the plane of the overlay. The upward movement of the 
flap 56 can be effectuated by the telephone user either with a pointed 
object such as the tip of a pencil or a ball point pen or by lifting the 
flap up with a finger nail or by any other suitable means. Since the flap 
56 and the overlay 51 are of flexible elastomeric material, resilient 
forces will cause the flap 56 to move downwards again, thus decreasing the 
angle .alpha.. The actual size of the angle .alpha. is, however, not 
critical to the proper functions of the overlay as long as .alpha. is 
greater than approximately 10.degree. and the lifting of the flap 56 is 
visually ascertainable by the telephone user. 
FIGS. 13 and 14 show a third alternative embodiment 60 of the invention. In 
this embodiment 60 the overlay 61 is formed by an elastomeric sheet 62 
which carries a grid of twelve upwardly extending protuberances 64. The 
protuberances 64 have flat closed top proportions 65 without incisions or 
convex elevations. The mere pressing of a key therefore gives no visible 
indication that such pressing has actually taken place as is the case with 
the convex elevations which change to concave depressions as described 
above. In the embodiment 60 the overlay 61 therefore has an attached skirt 
portion 66 that carries a plurality of storage protuberances 68 which in 
their size and shape are substantially identical to the protuberances 64. 
On these storage protuberances 68 are mounted a plurality of movable 
separate indicator pieces 70. FIG. 13 shows a skirt portion 66 with eight 
such storage protuberances 68 and two separate indicator pieces 70 mounted 
thereon. It is to be understood, however, that both the number of storage 
protuberances 68 as well as the number of indicator pieces 70, that are to 
be used with this embodiment 60 of the invention, may vary depending on 
the particular application, for example the particular "900"-number game 
or games that the overlay is intended to be used with. 
Once the telephone user has pressed a key and desires to "record" or mark 
the pressing of that particular key, he can remove an indicator piece 70 
from the skirt portion 66 and mount it on the protuberance 64 that 
corresponds to the desired key. FIG. 14 shows an arrangement of three keys 
20a, 20b and 20c of a standard touchtone telephone keypad that are covered 
in the aforedescribed fashion by an overlay 61. On the protuberance 64b of 
the overlay 61 is mounted an indicator piece 70, which would indicate that 
the key 20b has been pressed. 
The indicator pieces 70 are preferably made of an elastomeric or otherwise 
suitably flexible material that facilitates their handling and mounting on 
the protuberances. It is contemplated that the indicator pieces 70 be made 
of colored material. Bright colors that contrast well with the elastomeric 
sheet are preferred because they enhance the indicating function of the 
pieces 70. 
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a fourth alternative embodiment 80 of the invention. 
The overlay 81 is made of stiff paper or cardboard 82. The four 
substantially vertical sidewalls 83 of the overlay 81 are glued or 
otherwise suitably joined together at their respective ends 88 to form a 
box-like container, shown here with the opening facing down. Sidewalls 83 
have extensions 84 extending from the sidewalls 83 laterally at an angle 
of about 90.degree.. These extensions 84 carry a releasable adhesive 89 at 
their underside 90 to secure the overlay 81 in position once mounted on 
the housing 22 of the telephone set. 
The numbers and symbols that correspond to the keys of a telephone keypad 
are printed on the overlay 81. The top proportion 85 of the overlay 81 is 
substantially flat and comprises twelve perforations 86, corresponding to 
the twelve keys of a standard telephone keypad. These perforations, which 
in the illustrated embodiment 80 describe the sector of a circle, but 
which could also have a different shape, define flaps 87. When the 
telephone user presses a particular key, the pressure applied breaks the 
perforation 86 and the flap 87 is pressed downwards. A downwardly pressed 
flap 87b is shown in FIG. 16. Due to deformation of the fibers of the 
paper or cardboard overlay 81, the flap 87b will stay down. The downwardly 
pressed flap 87b is an indication that the key covered by and 
corresponding to flap 87b has been pressed. 
The overlay 81 may be attached to the housing 22 of a touchtone telephone 
by way of a releasable adhesive 19, or it may be held in place on the 
telephone set by the force of gravity. It is expected that, rather than 
using downwardly pressed flaps 87 to indicate that a particular key has 
been pressed, a telephone user may prefer to pull the flaps 87 upwards 
with the tip of a pencil, a finger nail or otherwise suitable means, and 
use the upwardly pulled flaps to mark the pressing of a key in a manner 
substantially identical as described with respect to the arrangement shown 
in FIGS. 11-12. 
Although there have been described hereinabove various specific 
arrangements of a key marking overlay for telephone keypads in accordance 
with the invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the 
invention may be used to advantage, it will be appreciated that the 
invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, any and all modifications, 
variations or equivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in 
the art should be considered to be within the scope of the invention as 
defined in the annexed claims.