Computer wrist pad adjustable in height and hardness

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6499703
  • Patent Number
    6,499,703
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, January 24, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 31, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Chan; Korie
    • Brann; Deborah M.
    Agents
    • Browdy and Neimark, P.L.L.C.
Abstract
A computer wrist pad having a bottom seat, an outer layer, two end plates, and at least one air sac. The bottom seat is provided with an open-ended receiving space in which the air sac is disposed. The receiving space is sealed off at both ends thereof by the two end plates. The air sac is inflatable and deflatable for adjusting the hardness and the thickness of the computer wrist pad.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates generally to a computer peripheral equipment, and more particularly to a computer wrist pad which can be adjusted in height and hardness.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The conventional computer wrist pad is made of ethylenevinylacetate (EVA) foam body which is attached to a piece of cloth. There are keyboard wrist pads and mouse wrist pads. The computer wrist pad is intended to soothe the wrist of a computer user. However, the conventional computer wrist pad has a fixed hardness and a fixed thickness, which provide little help in alleviating the pain or discomfort to the wrist of the computer user, in view of the fact that the operating motion of the computer is different from person to person, and that the arm weight differs from person to person.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a computer wrist pad with means to adjust the hardness and the thickness of the computer wrist pad.




The computer wrist pad comprises a bottom seat, a soft outer layer, at least one air sac, and two side plates. The bottom seat is provided with a receiving space, which is sealed off by the two side plates. The air sac is disposed in the receiving space and is provided with an inflation port which is located in one of the side plates. The thickness and the hardness of the computer wrist pad are adjusted by the extent to which the air sac is inflated.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 2

shows a partial exploded view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 3

shows a sectional view taken along the direction indicated by a line


3





3


as shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 4

shows a schematic view of an inflated air sac of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 5

shows a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with the air sac being deflated.





FIG. 6

shows a sectional view of air sac and elastomer of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 7

shows a perspective view of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 8

shows a perspective view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




As shown in

FIGS. 1-3

, a computer wrist pad


10


embodied in the present invention having a bottom seat


12


, an outer layer


14


, two side plates


16


and


17


, and four air sacs


18


in communication with one another.




The bottom seat


12


has a U-shaped cross section and is made of a plastic material by injection molding or a metal material. The bottom seat


12


is provided with an open-ended receiving space


22


.




The outer layer


14


is formed of an elastic cloth


24


and a polyurethane (PU) artificial sponge attached to the underside of the elastic cloth


24


. The outer layer


14


covers the top of the bottom seat


12


.




The two side plates


16


and


17


are disposed at the two ends of the bottom seat


12


for sealing off the receiving space


22


. The first side plate


16


is provided with a receiving port


28


.




The air sacs


18


are made of polyvinylchloride (PCV) or polyurethane (PU) and are disposed in the receiving space


22


. The air sacs


18


are provided at one end with an inflation port


30


in communication with atmosphere air.




The computer wrist pad


10


further comprises a pressure diffusion layer


32


, which is located between the outer layer


14


and the air sacs


18


and is made of ethylenevinylacetate (EVA), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), or polypropylene (PP). The pressure diffusion layer


32


is intended to transmit uniformly the pressure exerted on the top of the outer layer


14


to the air sacs


18


. A skidproof layer


34


is disposed in the underside of the bottom seat


23


and is made of EVA, PE, PP or rubberlike material.




The hardness and the thickness of the computer wrist pad


10


can be adjusted, as shown in

FIG. 4

, by inflating the air sacs


18


to result in an increase in hardness and thickness. Alternately, the air sacs


18


can be appropriately deflated to result in a decrease in hardness and thickness of the pad


10


, as shown in FIG.


5


.




As shown in

FIG. 6

, a computer wrist pad


40


of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is basically similar in construction to the computer wrist pad


10


described above, except that the former comprises air sacs


42


which are provided with an elastomer


44


of EVA, PVC, PE, PP, or rubberlike material. The elastomers


44


serve to support the wrist at the time when the air sacs


42


are not inflated.




As shown in

FIG. 7

, a computer wrist pad


50


of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided with a platelike pad body


52


which has a greater area and is attached to the underside of the bottom seat (not shown in the drawing).




As shown in

FIG. 8

, a computer wrist pad


60


of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention is basically similar in construction to the pad


10


, except that the former comprises a prior art inflation-deflation device


62


, which is in communication with the air sacs and is provided with an inflation ball sac


64


and a deflation valve


66


.



Claims
  • 1. A computer wrist pad comprising:a bottom seat provided with an open-ended receiving space; an outer layer having a softness and covering said bottom seat; two side plates each respectively disposed at two ends of said bottom seat to seal off said receiving space; at least one air sac which is inflatable and deflatable and is disposed in said receiving space from and between each of the two side plates and on a longitudinal center line of the wrist pad, said air sac having an inflation port located in one of said two side plates; a pressure diffusion layer between said outer layer and said air sac, and wherein the air sac when inflated increases a hardness of the pad and a thickness between an underside of the bottom seat and a top side of the outer layer along the longitudinal center line of the wrist pad.
  • 2. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure diffusion layer is made of a foam elastic body.
  • 3. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1 further comprising a skidproof layer which is disposed on the underside of said bottom seat.
  • 4. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 3, wherein said skidproof layer is made of a rubber material.
  • 5. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1 further comprising a pad body which is disposed in the underside of said bottom seat and is greater in area than said bottom seat.
  • 6. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1, wherein said bottom seat is made of a plastic material.
  • 7. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1, wherein said bottom seat is made of a metal material.
  • 8. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1, wherein said outer layer is formed of an elastic cloth and an artificial sponge attached to the underside of said elastic cloth.
  • 9. The computer wrist pad as defined in claim 1, wherein said air sac is provided with a plurality of elastomers contained therein.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
89201371 U Jan 2000 TW
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Number Name Date Kind
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5125606 Cassano et al. Jun 1992 A
5374018 Daneshvar Dec 1994 A
5566913 Prokop Oct 1996 A
5568907 Wolfe et al. Oct 1996 A
5601264 Peart Feb 1997 A
5713544 Wolf et al. Feb 1998 A
5980143 Bayer et al. Nov 1999 A
6133556 Ramsey et al. Oct 2000 A
6195255 Kim Jan 2001 B1
6182316 Thomas et al. Feb 2001 B1
6219867 Yates Apr 2001 B1