The present invention relates generally to support arrangements. More particularly, disclosed herein is an adjustable ergonomic keyboard tray and mousepad support system for providing effective and comfortable support to a computer user's keyboard, mouse, and wrists.
Computer workstations typically include a computer monitor, a keyboard, and a computer mouse. However, many users find that the reaching required to access a keyboard on the desktop over the course of an entire day to be a source of discomfort and, in certain cases, physical injury. Furthermore, keyboards retained on a desktop occupy otherwise usable space thereby reducing the available desktop.
Accordingly, keyboard drawers and other supports are often employed to conserve space and to enable an adjustment of the distance of the keyboard from the user. In such devices, a tray is typically provided for supporting the keyboard. The tray is movable, usually by sliding, from a retracted, storage position to an extended position for use.
Other keyboard supports have been disclosed that provide further ergonomic benefits to the user, including by enabling an adjustment of keyboard height and angle. However, the keyboard supports of the prior art are often difficult to adjust. Furthermore, they are typically limited in the keyboard adjustment options that are necessary to achieve the desired ergonomic benefits. Still further, most keyboard support arrangements provide no means for supporting a separate computer mouse thereby nonetheless requiring the user to reach for the desktop repeatedly and to set aside a workspace on the desktop for the mouse.
The present inventor has further recognized that the keyboard supports of the prior art also fail to provide adequate support to the user's wrists. The failure to provide adequate, ergonomically sound support to user's wrist during the repetitive motions involved in data entry and other continual computer usage can lead to discomfort and a variety of possible injuries.
One common repetitive stress disorder is carpal tunnel syndrome, a disorder that can lead to debilitating pain in the wrists of those who use keyboards and other data entry devices. Carpal tunnel syndrome is believed to develop as the hands and wrists of the user are held in an unnatural position during repetitive tasks performed over a prolonged period of time.
A number of devices have been disclosed by the prior art with the goal of improving wrist support to prevent pain and injury deriving from repetitive computer usage. One common device is a wrist brace that does provide support. However, wrist braces are restrictive and awkward and often leave the user sweating within the cast-like devices. The prior art also has disclosed innumerable types of pads designed to rest on the desk or other support surface to provide an elevated wrist support. Disadvantageously, such pads are often insufficiently flexible and provide a continuous surface of substantially impermeable material. With that, the user is again faced with discomfort and undesirable perspiration.
With an appreciation for the foregoing, the present inventor has appreciated that there is a need in the art for an adjustable support for a computer keyboard that is capable of providing adjustable support to a computer mouse while also providing ergonomically sound, breathable support to the wrists of a user.
Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention are founded on the basic object of providing an adjustable ergonomic support for a keyboard and mouse that also provides ergonomically sound support to a user's wrists.
Another object of embodiments of the invention is to provide wrist support to computer users that is comfortable and breathable.
A further object of the invention in certain embodiments is to provide an adjustable ergonomic support that enables an adjustment of the relative support position of a computer mouse in relation to a computer keyboard.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable ergonomic support that can be readily adjusted from a use position for enabling comfortable computer usage to a storage position for enabling improved workspace availability.
These and further objects and advantages of embodiments of the invention will become obvious not only to one who reviews the present specification and drawings but also to one who has an opportunity to make use of an embodiment of the instant invention for an ergonomic keyboard, mouse, and wrist support arrangement disclosed herein. The accomplishment of each of the foregoing and possibly further objects in a single embodiment of the invention may be possible and indeed preferred. However, it will be appreciated that not all embodiments will seek or need to accomplish each and every potential object and advantage. Nonetheless, all such embodiments should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.
One will appreciate that the foregoing discussion broadly outlines the more important goals and features of the invention to enable a better understanding of the detailed description that follows and to instill a better appreciation of the inventor's contribution to the art. Before any particular embodiment or aspect thereof is explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention.
The invention may be more completely understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
It will be appreciated that the ergonomic keyboard, mouse, and wrist support arrangement disclosed herein is subject to widely varied embodiments. However, to ensure that one skilled in the art will be able to understand and, in appropriate cases, practice the present invention, certain preferred embodiments of the broader invention revealed herein are described below and shown in the accompanying drawing figures. Before any particular embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction, descriptions of geometry, and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention.
Looking more particularly to the drawings, a keyboard, mouse, and wrist support arrangement pursuant to the present invention is indicated generally at 10 in, for example,
The elongate rails 28 and 30 are slidably retained by first and second slide rails 42 and 44 by any appropriate means including, for example, a ball bearing arrangement to ensure smooth sliding characteristics. The first and second slide rails 42 and 44 can be fixed to an external support surface 200, such as to the underside of a desktop or countertop, as is shown in, for example,
A first keyboard support plate 12 is retained relative to the transverse member 40 for slidable and pivotal movement therewith. A second keyboard support plate 14 is slidably engaged with the first keyboard support plate 12 by a sliding engagement between a slot 22 in the second keyboard support plate 14 and a fastener 20 passing through the first keyboard support plate 12 and the slot 20. Together, the first and second keyboard support plates 12 and 14 form an adjustable keyboard platform.
An upstanding clamping member 18 is fixed relative to an inner edge of the second keyboard support plate 14, and a raised keyboard wrist support 16 is retained toward or relative to an outer portion of the first keyboard support plate 12. With this, a keyboard 400 can be securely retained atop the keyboard platform formed by the first and second keyboard support plates 12 and 14 as shown, for example, in
A mouse support plate 24, which in the depicted embodiment is separate from the keyboard support plates 12 or 14, is also retained relative to the transverse member 40. A mouse wrist support 26 is retained relative to an outer portion of the mouse support plate 24. With this, a mouse 408 can be disposed atop the mouse support plate 24 as shown in
As will be described further hereinbelow, the mouse support plate 24 and the mouse wrist support 26 could be moveable in relation to the keyboard support platform. For example, the mouse support plate 24 can be slidably and, potentially, pivotally retained relative to the transverse member 40 whereby the relative location and orientation of the mouse support plate 24, and thus the retained mouse 408, can be adjusted.
Alternatively, as shown most clearly in
One skilled in the art might be able to conceive of a number of mechanisms for accomplishing such movement of the mouse support plate 24 and the mouse wrist support 26. As can be appreciated by combined reference to
The support arrangement 10 can be disposed in an extended disposition for enabling use of the retained keyboard 400 and mouse 408 and can be disposed in a retracted disposition during periods of non-use. As can be best perceived by reference to
Biasing springs 116 can bias the locking levers 54 to a locked position with the locking tip 114 engaged with an aperture 56A or 56B. A variety of locking springs 116 would be possible within the scope of the invention. In the presently contemplated embodiment, the locking springs 116 each comprise a deflectable arm that has a proximal end fixed to the upper surface of the locking lever 54 to the outer side of the pivot axis 112 and a body portion interposed between the lever 54 and a downwardly facing surface of the elongate rail 28 or 30. In this example, as best seen in
Under this arrangement, starting with the support arrangement 10 in a retracted disposition, use of the arrangement 10 can begin with a user's actuating the locking levers 54 by pressing upwardly on the proximal handle portions thereof. With this, the locking tips 114 will be disengaged from the inner locking apertures 56B and the first and second elongate rails 28 and 30 can be slid outwardly along the slide rails 42 and 44 and thus outwardly in relation to the support surface 200. Once the outer locking apertures 56A are reached, the locking tips 114 will automatically engage therewith thereby locking the support arrangement 10 in an extended disposition.
The keyboard support plates 12 and 14 and the mouse support plate 24 can then be selectively pivoted to the ergonomic comfort of the user. For example, as shown in
The keyboard wrist support 16 and the mouse wrist support 26 can be formed as ergonomically configured members with a peripheral ridge or wall and an open inner area. The keyboard wrist support 16 can be an elongate, generally rectangular member with an arcuate upper cross section and a flat lower surface. The mouse wrist support 26 can be crescent shaped. The keyboard wrist support 16 can have a generally rectangular through aperture 15, which in this example traverses from adjacent to the first end to adjacent to the second end of the keyboard wrist support 16. Similarly, the mouse wrist support 26 can have a through aperture 25 that is also crescent shaped. With this, the body portions of the keyboard wrist support 16 and the mouse wrist support 26 and the apertures 15 and 25 can generally mirror each other shape.
As shown in
The supports 16 and 26 can be formed from resiliently compressible material which, in certain embodiments, can comprise a shape memory material or self-skinned polyurethane foam of a very low durometer for optimizing user comfort. The supports 16 and 26 can be gel-like in performance or formed with a gel interior. The mouse and keyboard wrist supports 26 and 16 can have different durometers to accommodate their different uses. As shown in
As
As
As shown in the embodiment of the support arrangement 10 of
As shown in
As shown in
In an even further embodiment shown in
An alternative support arrangement 10 is shown in
A first keyboard support plate 12 is retained relative to the transverse member 40 for movement therewith. A second keyboard support plate 14 is slidably engaged with the first keyboard support plate 12 by a sliding engagement between a slot 22 in the second keyboard support plate 14 and a fastener 20 passing through the first keyboard support plate 12 and the slot 20. Together, the first and second keyboard support plates 12 and 14 form a keyboard platform. An upstanding clamping member 18 is fixed relative to an inner edge of the second keyboard support plate 14, and a raised keyboard wrist support 16 is retained toward or relative to an outer portion of the first keyboard support plate 12. With this, a keyboard (not shown) can be placed atop the keyboard platform formed by the first and second keyboard support plates 12 and 14 and then effectively clamped in place by a sliding of the second keyboard support plate 14 toward the first keyboard support plate 12 such that the keyboard is frictionally retained by the inboard surface of the clamping member 18 and the inboard surface of the keyboard wrist support 16. A friction pad 80 can be disposed on the inboard surface of the clamping member 18 as shown in
A mouse support plate 24, which can be separate from or integral with one of the keyboard support plates 12 or 14 is also retained relative to the transverse member 40. A mouse wrist support 26 can be retained relative to an outer portion of the mouse support plate 24. With this, a mouse (not shown) can be disposed atop the mouse support plate 24 and the wrist and hand of the user (not shown) can enjoy support from the mouse wrist support 26.
The support arrangement 10 can be disposed in an extended disposition for enabling use of the retained keyboard and mouse and can be disposed in a retracted disposition during periods of non-use. The support arrangement 10 can be selectively locked in its extended disposition by an engagement of a latch 50 pivotally retained relative to the elongate rails 28 and 30 with one or more apertures 56 disposed along the first and second slide rails 42 and 44. The operation of the latch 50 can be controlled by a control wire 52 in combination with a control lever 54. Under this arrangement, a user can slide the support arrangement 10 to a desired extended position to cause the tip of the latch or latches 50 to engage the aperture or apertures 56. When the support arrangement 10 is to be retracted, the control lever 54 can be actuated, such as by squeezing, to cause the latches 50 to disengage from the apertures 56 to enable free sliding of the elongate rails 28 and 30.
In any case, the support arrangement 10 can be provided as original equipment for installation relative to new or pre-existing support surfaces 200. Alternatively, embodiments of the support arrangement 10 can be crafted for being applied to sliding arrangements provided for prior art structures.
With certain details of the present invention disclosed, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that changes and additions could be made thereto without deviating from the spirit or scope of the invention. This is particularly true when one bears in mind that the presently preferred embodiments merely exemplify the broader invention revealed herein. Accordingly, it will be clear that those with certain major features of the invention in mind could craft embodiments that incorporate those major features while not incorporating all of the features included in the preferred embodiments.
Therefore, the following claims are intended to define the scope of protection to be afforded to the inventor. Those claims shall be deemed to include equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. It must be further noted that a plurality of the following claims may express certain elements as means for performing a specific function, at times without the recital of structure or material. As the law demands, these claims shall be construed to cover not only the corresponding structure and material expressly described in this specification but also all equivalents thereof that might be now known or hereafter discovered.
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