Bracket structure of computer desk

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6398177
  • Patent Number
    6,398,177
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, October 12, 2000
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 4, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A bracket structure of computer desk, including: a bracket body made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing, a central portion of the bracket body being defined as a support section for supporting an article such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc., a front edge of the support section of the bracket body being formed with an elevated section to form a wrist rest section for a user's wrist to bridge over the wrist rest section for operating the keyboard or the mouse, a stop wall upward projecting from the rear edge of the support section for stopping the keyboard, etc. placed on the support section from rearward sliding or dropping, two ends of the bracket body being formed with insertion plates and fixing plates which are respectively bent upward and downward; two side bars respectively locked two sides of the bracket body; and pair of slide rails respectively mounted on outer sides of the side bars for guiding and slidably mounting the bracket body in a computer desk.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to an improved bracket structure of a computer desk in which the bracket body is made of a metal panel by integral punching and pressing. A central portion of the bracket body is defined as a plane support section. A front edge of the support section is formed with an elevated section as a wrist rest section. A stop wall upward projects from the rear edge of the support section.




2. Description of the Prior Art




A conventional computer desk is designed for a user to place thereon personal computer monitor, main frame, keyboard, mouse, etc. A bracket with slide rails is mounted under the face of the computer desk for placing the keyboard thereon.

FIG. 1

shows the bracket which includes a plane board B on which the keyboard is placed. Two sides of the plane board B are equipped with slide rails S for slidably mounting the bracket on lower side of the computer desk. When the keyboard is placed on the plane board B and in use, a user's wrist is directly bridged over the board body B for keying. The wrist is positioned at a height lower than the keyboard so that such attitude fails to meet the human body configuration. As a result, after a long period of operation, the wrist is subject to tiredness and pain. In order to solve this problem, the user must additionally buy an elongated rest bar which is placed on the bracket for the wrist to rest thereon.




The conventional bracket has such a width that only the keyboard can be placed thereon. Therefore, the mouse must be placed on another place. Generally, the mouse is placed on the desk face higher than the keyboard. Under such circumstance, the user must frequently move his/her hand between the higher desk face and the lower keyboard. This leads to much inconvenience in operation.




In order to solve the above problems, the bracket with slide rails mounted on lower side of the computer desk is widened, permitting the mouse to be also placed on the bracket. In addition, the bracket is directly formed with a wrist rest section the wrist to rest thereon. Such widened bracket is made of plastic material by molding or made of metal board equipped with additional reinforcing frame. With respect to the former, the increased width of the bracket will lead to insufficient structural strength of the plastic molded bracket. As a result, it often takes place that the bracket fails to support the depressing force of the user and is downward bent and deformed. With respect to the latter, it is hard to form the wrist rest section on the bracket. In the case that the wrist rest section is formed on the bracket for supporting the wrist, it will be impossible to mount the slide rails S on two sides of the bracket.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved bracket structure of computer desk, in which the bracket body is made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing. The bracket body has sufficient width for placing both keyboard and mouse on the bracket body. A front edge of the bracket body is formed with a wrist rest section for a user's wrist to bridge over the wrist rest section for operating the keyboard or the mouse. Therefore, it is no more necessary to add an independent wrist rest bar on the bracket. A stop wall is formed on the rear edge of the bracket body for preventing the keyboard and the mouse from sliding outward and dropping. The wrist rest section and the stop wall also serve to reinforce the bracket structure.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above bracket structure in which two ends of the bracket body are formed with fixing plates which are respectively bent upward and downward. Therefore, the thickness of the bracket body will not exceed the thickness of the wrist rest section and the slide rails can be locked on two sides of the bracket body without increasing the height of the slide rails.




It is still a further object of the present invention to provide the above bracket structure in which by means of two fixing plates and three insertion plates formed on each of two ends of the bracket body, the bracket body can be firmly connected with the side bars to form a rigid bracket structure.




According to the above objects, the bracket structure of computer desk of the present invention includes a bracket body, two side bars and a pair of slide rails. The bracket body is made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing. The bracket body includes: a first side; a second side opposite to the first side; a third side connecting with one end of each of the first and second sides; a fourth side connecting with the other end of each of the first and second sides; a rectangular support section defined by the first, second, third and fourth sides, the support section being a plane section for supporting an article such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; a stop wall upwardly projecting from the first side of the bracket body in a first direction normal to the support section, each of two ends of the stop wall having an outward extending first insertion plate; and a wrist rest section elevated from the second side of the bracket body in the first direction opposite to the stop wall, the wrist rest section serving as a section for a user's wrist to bridge over to operate the keyboard or the mouse, the wrist rest section having a rest portion upward projecting from the support section, a first edge bent and connected between one side of the rest portion and the support section, a second edge bent and connected with another side of the rest portion, two second insertion plates respectively outwardly extending from two ends of the first edge, two third insertion plates respectively outward extending from two ends of the second edge, two first fixing plates respectively bent from the third side and fourth side in the first direction and positioned between the stop wall and the wrist rest section and two second fixing plates respectively bent from two ends of the rest portion in a second direction reverse to the first direction.




The two side bars are locked on two sides of the bracket body. Each side bar has a first insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the first insertion plate to insert therein, a second insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the second insertion plate to insert therein and a third insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the third insertion plate to insert therein. The side bars is locked on the first and second fixing plates of the bracket body.




The pair of slide rails are respectively mounted on outer sides of the side bars for guiding and slidably mounting the bracket body under the computer desk.




The pair of slide rails are respectively mounted on outer sides of the side bars for guiding and slidably mounting the bracket body under the computer desk.




Still alternatively, the bracket structure of computer desk of the present invention includes a bracket body, two side bars and a pair of slide rails. The bracket body is made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing. The bracket body includes: a first side; a second side opposite to the first side; a third side connecting with one end of each of the first and second sides; a fourth side connecting with the other end of each of the first and second sides; a rectangular support section defined by the first, second, third and fourth sides, the support section being a plane section for supporting an article such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; a stop wall upward projecting from the first side of the bracket body in a first direction normal to the support section; a wrist rest section elevated from the second side of the bracket body in the first direction opposite to the stop wall, the wrist rest section serving as a section for a user's wrist to bridge over to operate the keyboard or the mouse, the wrist rest section having a rest portion upwardly projecting from the support section, a first edge bent and connected between one side of the rest portion and the support section and a second edge bent and connected with another side of the rest portion; at least one insertion plate outward extending from each of the third and fourth sides of the bracket body; and at least one fixing plate bent from each of the third and fourth sides in the first direction.




The two side bars are locked on two sides of the bracket body. Each side bar has at least an insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the insertion plate to insert therein. The side bars are locked on the fixing plate of the bracket body.




The pair of slide rails are respectively mounted on outer sides of the side bars for guiding and slidably mounting the bracket body under the computer desk.




The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is perspective view of a typical bracket structure of computer desk of the prior art;





FIG. 2

is perspective exploded view of the bracket structure of computer desk of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a perspective assembled view of the bracket structure of computer desk of the present invention; and





FIG. 4

is a sectional view taken along line


4





4


of FIG.


3


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Please refer to

FIGS. 2

,


3


and


4


. The bracket structure


100


of the computer desk of the present invention includes a bracket body


1


, two side bars


2


fixedly mounted on two sides of the bracket body


1


and a set of slide rails


3


fixedly mounted on outer sides of the side bars


2


, enabling the bracket structure


100


to be slidably installed in a computer desk.




The bracket body


1


is made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing. The bracket body


1


includes a first side


1




a


, a second side


1




b


opposite to the first side


1




a


, a third side


1




c


connecting with one end of each of the first and second sides


1




a


,


1




b


and a fourth side


1




d


connecting with the other end of each of the first and second side


1




a


,


1




b


. The first, second, third and fourth sides define a plane rectangular support section


11


having sufficient width for supporting an article such as a keyboard K, a mouse M, a mouse pad, etc. The front edge of the support section of the bracket body


1


(the second side


1




b


of the bracket body


1


) is formed with an elevated section to form a wrist rest section


12


for a user's wrist to bridge over the wrist rest section


12


for operating the keyboard K or the mouse M. A stop wall


13


upward projects from the rear edge of the support section (the first side


1




a


of the bracket body


1


) in a first direction normal to the support section


11


. The stop wall


13


serves to stop the keyboard K, etc. placed on the support section


11


from rearward sliding or dropping. Each of two ends of the stop wall


13


has an outward extending first insertion plate


16




a.






The wrist rest section


12


is elevated from the second side


1




b


of the support section


11


in the first direction opposite to the stop wall


13


. A user's wrist can be rested on the wrist rest section


12


for operating a keyboard K or a mouse M as shown in FIG.


3


. The wrist rest section


12


has a rest portion


12




a


, a first edge


12




b


, a second edge


12




c


, two second insertion plates


16




b


and two third insertion plates


16




c


. The rest portion


12




a


upward projects from the support section


11


. The first edge


12




b


is bent and connected between one side of the rest portion


12




a


and the support section


11


. The second edge


12




c


is bent and connected with another side of the rest portion


12




a


. The second insertion plates


16




b


respectively outward extend from two ends of the first edge


12




b


. The third insertion plates


16




c


respectively outward extend from two ends of the second edge


12




c.






The third side


1




c


and fourth side


1




d


of the bracket body


1


respectively have two first fixing plates


14




a


and two second fixing plates


14




b


. The two first fixing plates


14




a


are respectively bent from the third side


1




c


and fourth side


1




d


in the first direction. Each first fixing plate


14




a


is positioned between the stop wall


13


and the wrist rest section


12


. The two second fixing plates


14




b


are respectively bent from two ends of the rest portion


12




a


in a second direction reverse to the first direction. Each of the fixing plates


14




a


,


14




b


is formed with at least one through hole


141


. A screw or a rivet


15


is passed through the through hole


141


to fix the fixing plate


14




a


,


14




b


on inner side of the side bar


2


.




Each side bar


2


has a first insertion slit


21




a


, a second insertion slit


21




b


and a third insertion slit


21




c


respectively formed on different portions of the side bar


2


. The first insertion slit


21




a


corresponds to the first insertion plate


16




a


for the first insertion plate


16




a


to insert therein. The second insertion slit


21




b


corresponds to the second insertion plate


16




b


for the second insertion plate


16




b


to insert therein. The third insertion slit


21




c


corresponds to the third insertion plate


16




c


for the third insertion plate


16




c


to insert therein. By means of screws


15


, the side bars


2


are locked on the first and second fixing plates


14




a


,


14




b


of the bracket body


1


. The inner side of each side bar


2


is formed with a first and a second receptacles


22




a


,


22




b


corresponding to the first and second fixing plates


14




a


,


14




b


, in which the first and second fixing plates


14




a


,


14




b


are inlaid. The first and second fixing plates


14




a


,


14




b


are flush with the inner faces of the side bars


2


as shown in FIG.


3


. The slide rails


3


mounted on outer sides of the side bars


2


are conventional slide rails applied to a conventional computer desk bracket.




The bracket body


1


is integrally made of metal panel by punching and pressing so that it is easy and quick to form the bracket body


1


. According to different specifications of the computer desks, the bracket body


1


can be cut into different lengths. The wrist rest section


12


is elevated from the front edge front edge of the support section


11


of the bracket body


1


(the second side


1




b


of the bracket body


1


) and the rear edge of the support section


11


(the first side


1




a


of the bracket body


1


) is upward bent to form the stop wall


13


as an reinforcing section for the bracket body


1


. Accordingly, when bracket body


1


supports the keyboard K, mouse M and the user's hand, the bracket body


1


is prevented from being deformed.




The fixing plates and insertion plates can be formed on any portion of the third side


1




c


and fourth side


1




d


of the bracket body


1


without specific limitation.




According to the above arrangement, the present invention has the following advantages:




1. The bracket body is integrally made of metal panel by punching and pressing. The bracket body can be easily and quickly manufactued to lower the cost.




2. The bracket body can be cut into different lengths as necessary to meet the requirement of different specifications of the computer desks.




3. The front and rear edges of the bracket body


1


are respectively integrally formed with a wrist rest section


12


and a stop wall


13


. Therefore, the user need not additionally buy a wrist rest seat.




4. The bracket


1


is reinforced and prevented from being bent downward and deformed.




5. The wrist rest section and the stop wall also serve as the reinforcing structure for the bracket body.




6. The first fixing plate


14




a


and the second fixing plate


14




b


of two ends of the bracket structure


100


are respectively bent upward and downward. Therefore, the thickness of the bracket body


1


will not exceed the thickness of the wrist rest section


12


. That is, the second fixing plate


14




b


is positioned at the elevated wrist rest section


12


and downward bent, while the first fixing plate


14




a


is positioned at the recessed support section


11


and upward bent. By means of respectively bending the first and second fixing plates upward and downward, the thickness of the bracket body


1


will not exceed the thickness of the wrist rest section


12


. Accordingly, the bracket body


1


can be slidably connected with the slide rails without increasing the height of the slide rails.




7. By means of the first and second fixing plates


14




a


,


14




b


and the first, second and third insertion plates


16




a


,


16




b


,


16




c


of two ends of the bracket body


1


, the bracket body


1


can be firmly connected with the side bars


2


to form a rigid bracket structure.




The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. Bracket structure of computer desk, comprising:(A) a bracket body made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing, the bracket body including: (a) a first side; (b) a second side opposite to the first side; (c) a third side connecting with one end of each of the first and second sides; (d) a fourth side connecting with the other end of each of the first and second sides; (e) a rectangular support section defined by the first, second, third and fourth sides, the support section being a plane section for supporting an article such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; (f) a stop wall upwardly projecting from the first side of the bracket body in a first direction normal to the support section, each of two ends of the stop wall having an outward extending first insertion plate; and (g) a wrist rest section elevated from the second side of the bracket body in the first direction opposite to the stop wall, the wrist rest section serving as a section for a user's wrist to bridge over to operate the keyboard or the mouse, the wrist rest section having a rest portion upwardly projecting from the support section, a first edge bent and connected between one side of the rest portion and the support section, a second edge bent and connected with another side of the rest portion, two second insertion plates respectively outwardly extending from two ends of the first edge, two third insertion plates respectively outwardly extending from two ends of the second edge, two first fixing plates respectively bent from the third side and fourth side in the first direction and positioned between the stop wall and the wrist rest section and two second fixing plates respectively bent from two ends of the rest portion in a second direction reverse to the first direction; (B) two side bars locked on two sides of the bracket body, each side bar having a first insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the first insertion plate to insert therein, a second insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the second insertion plate to insert therein and a third insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the third insertion plate to insert therein, the side bars being locked on the first and second fixing plates of the bracket body; and (C) a pair of slide rails respectively mounted on outer sides of the side bars for guiding and slidably mounting the bracket body under the computer desk.
  • 2. Bracket structure for a computer desk, comprising:(A) a bracket body made of one single metal panel by integral punching and pressing, the bracket body including: (a) a first side; (b) a second side opposite to the first side; (c) a third side connecting with one end of each of the first and second sides; (d) a fourth side connecting with the other end of each of the first and second sides; (e) a rectangular support section defined by the first, second, third and fourth sides, the support section being a plane section for supporting an article such as a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; (f) a stop wall upwardly projecting from the first side of the bracket body in a first direction normal to the support section; (g) a wrist rest section elevated from the second side of the bracket body in the first direction opposite to the stop wall, the wrist rest section serving as a section for a user's wrist to bridge over to operate the keyboard or the mouse, the wrist rest section having a rest portion upwardly projecting from the support section, a first edge bent and connected between one side of the rest portion and the support section and a second edge bent and connected with another side of the rest portion; (h) at least one insertion plate outwardly extending from each of the third and fourth sides of the bracket body; and (i) at least one fixing plate bent from each of the third and fourth sides in the first direction; (B) two side bars locked on two sides of the bracket body, each side bar having at least an insertion slit formed on inner side of the side bar for the insertion plate to insert therein, the side bars being locked on the fixing plate of the bracket body; and (C) a pair of slide rails respectively mounted on outer sides of the side bars for guiding and slidably mounting the bracket body under the computer desk.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number Name Date Kind
4736689 Stanko Apr 1988 A
5205631 Wegman et al. Apr 1993 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
WO 9731558 Sep 1997 WO