Patent ID: 8146736

Claim:
A key organizing device, comprising: a housing comprising a cavity, two housing ends spaced apart in a longitudinal direction, an end opening at one of the housing ends, a back wall at the other housing end, and a slider opening extending in the longitudinal direction; a slider comprising a finger pad, a key mount, a tensioning member interposed therebetween, and a guide projection; and a key comprising a key blade and a key head, wherein: the key mount comprises spaced-apart first and second key mounting plates, the first key mounting plate comprising a mounting post projecting toward the second key mounting plate; and the key head comprises a key-head edge, a key-head ramp positioned between the key-head edge and the key blade, and a key-head aperture spaced apart from the key-head edge; and further wherein: the key is attached to the slider by positioning the mounting post through the key-head aperture; the key mount is positioned inside the cavity and connected to the finger pad through the slider opening; the slider opening defines a path for the slider and is configured to allow the guide projection to enter a notch at a key-retracted end position and to enter another notch at a key-extended end position, each notch being configured for reversibly locking the slider in the end position thereof; the finger pad is configured for pushing the guide projection out of the notches upon depression of the finger pad toward the housing to release the slider from the end positions; the slider is configured for attachment and detachment of the key from the device through one of the housing ends; and the key and the key mount are mutually configured based on standardization of the key head to a specified width and the key-head edge to a specified thickness, independent of the thickness of the key blade.