I want to get a pointer reference to UIKeyboard *keyboard to the keyboard on screen so that I can add a transparent subview to it, covering it completely, to achieve the effect of disabling the UIKeyboard without hiding it.

In doing this, can I assume that there's only one UIKeyboard on the screen at a time? I.e., is it a singleton? Where's the method [UIKeyboard sharedInstance]. Brownie points if you implement that method via a category. Or, even more brownie points if you convince me why it's a bad idea to assume only one keyboard and give me a better solution.