Patents Assigned to Renselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Patent number: 5183955
    Abstract: A piano key cover is formed of synthetic material pigmented to resemble natural ivory and having a top playing surface with a random orientation of peak-to-valley texture and a multiplicity of fine pores replicating natural ivory. The key cover is formed by providing a mold, engraving a surface of the mold with a randomly-oriented pattern of peak-to-valley texture replicating natural ivory, placing in the mold a composition of suitable synthetic material pigmented to resemble natural ivory and filler, the filler having the characteristic of being removable from a molded article by further treatment, forming the piano key cover within the mold, and treating the piano key cover to remove the filler thereby causing the surface of the paino key cover to define a plurality of fine pores replicating the surface of natural ivory. A piano including the key cover of the invention, and formed by the above method, is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1993
    Assignees: Renselaer Polytechnic Institute, Steinway Musical Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Salvadore J. Calabrese, Henry A. Scarton, S. Frank Murray, Christopher M. Ettles, Warren C. Kennedy, Saim Dinc, Bessem Jlidi, William Strong