Typewriting machines – Key-board or key lever-actuating mechanism – Key-board including keys grouped to facilitate positioning...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-01-03
2002-04-30
Funk, Stephen R. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Key-board or key lever-actuating mechanism
Key-board including keys grouped to facilitate positioning...
C400S715000, C248S118300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06379060
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates in general to a keyboard apparatus and a method of using it. The invention more particularly relates to keyboard apparatus and method for entering information to reduce or to eliminate repetitive motion injuries to the user.
BACKGROUND
Many improvements have been made in devices and machines for data and word processing. For example, many years ago, the manual typewriter was replaced with the electric typewriter, and the electric typewriter has been nearly replaced with more sophisticated, computer equipment. Yet, notwithstanding the enormous strides that have been made in improving such equipment, the keyboard, which is the basic interface between the machine and the user has remained relatively unchanged. The inconsistency between the vastly improved computer equipment, as compared to the keyboard itself, has been the result of keyboard designers ignoring the physiological structure of the typical user.
More particularly, users, independently of the information being entered via the keyboard, all enter information by manipulating the keyboard in substantially a similar manner. However, the configuration of the conventional keyboard is somewhat incompatible with the physiological structure of the hands, fingers and arms of the user.
This incompatibility causes the hand, finger and wrist movements of the user operator to be somewhat strained, slowed, and even sometimes misdirected, resulting in not only unwanted and undesired physical stress on the operator, but also in undesired fatigue with resulting entry errors. The results of such repetitive stress and errors can cause unwanted loss in time for correcting the errors, as well as a loss in productivity through stress related injuries suffered by the keyboard operator. Such injuries may be severe enough to render the individual unemployable.
With respect to stress injuries, repetitive stroking of an incompatible keyboard is well known to stress the wrists, elbows and shoulders of an operator. Such repetitive stress when continued over long periods of time, can lead to repetitive stress injuries, such as carnal tunnel syndrome, which is a painful and oftentimes a crippling ailment affecting the tendons and nerves in the person's wrist area. It should be understood that carnal tunnel syndrome is only one of several musculoskeletal injuries, frequently being identified variously as cumulative trauma disorder, repetitive strain injury, as well as repetitive motion disorder.
Thus, strained repetitive use of one's hands and fingers can result in swelling causing the tendons to press painfully on the nerves in the person's wrist area. Moreover, if the swelling continues over a protracted period of time, permanent damage to the nerves may result, thereby causing the afflicted person to lose or at least to reduce greatly, his or her ability to grip objects or even the use of their hands. Thus, such injuries not only can cause lost productivity, but also can cause an increase in worker compensation insurance rates, since such insurance is maintained by employers.
In the case where cumulative trauma disorder is caused by the use of a keyboard, the injury may be caused by the inwardly flexing of the wrists to enable the fingers to be positioned properly to reach the keys of the keyboard. Such flexion of the wrists can cause the unwanted, painful pressing of the tendons on the nerves. Through long periods of time of keyboard entry in such an awkward and stressful position, the dreadful malady can result.
Because of the debilitating effect of carpal tunnel syndrome and other such repetitive stress injuries, resulting from keyboard entry for extended periods of time, there has been a long felt need for a keyboard arrangement which would reduce, if not substantially eliminate, such serious physical impairments. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved keyboard arrangement for facilitating keyboard entry in a more relaxed, reduced-stress manner. Such an arrangement should substantially reduce, if not completely eliminate, excessive musculoskeletal fatigue and stress. Such an arrangement should eliminate or at least reduce greatly, cumulative trauma disorder, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and the like.
In view of this long felt need, there have been many attempts to improve and correct the deficiencies of well known keyboard arrangements. For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,824,268; 4,669,903; 4,509,873; 4,483,634; 4201,409; 4,081,068; 4,661,005; 4,597,681; 3,929,216; 2,218,519; 1,828,939; 1,687,904; and 1,089,689.
One such attempt at helping to reduce carpal tunnel syndrome is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,005 which shows a pair of keyboards mounted slidably on a stationary bar and separable into two spaced apart areas. Each keyboard is also mounted pivotally to permit a downward pivoting of the keyboards relative to a longitudinal plane.
From the foregoing it appears that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for an operator to pivot each section of the keyboard arrangement downwardly at precisely the same angle; thus, resulting in the wrists of the operator being flexed at different angles. Additionally, separating the keyboards at a sufficient distance to avoid flexure of a user's wrists and hands would substantially disrupt the normal hand to eye coordination facilities of the user which is absolutely necessary for rapid and accurate information entry operations via a keyboard terminal. Moreover, the above-mentioned adjustments would need to be made by each user of the keyboard resulting in reduced productivity as each user would take valuable production time to make his or her own personal adjustments to the keyboard arrangement. Finally, it should also be noted that while the separating and pivoting of the keyboard sections may help relieve a user's discomfort such adjustments may, in fact, be physically improper even though the keyboard placement may feel good to the user. Thus, the separate keyboards are less than satisfactory in substantially reducing cumulative trauma disorder.
Another attempt directed at reducing cumulative trauma disorder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,681 which discloses an adjustable keyboard arrangement divided laterally into two sections. Each individual section is adjustable about each of two mutually angulated axes so as to change the planes of the sections relative to a support base, and to allow each section to be angularly shifted in its own plane. The keys in each section are also mounted for individual adjustment angularly, laterally and in height.
Thus, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,681, the keyboard construction disclosed therein may lend itself to permitting individual adjustment for more comfortable use, by accommodating the arms, hands and fingers of an operator. However, the patented keyboard arrangement is very expensive to manufacture and awkward to use. In this regard, the axes of angular shift, make it difficult for an operator to visualize clearly each individual character key. Thus, while this keyboard arrangement may tend to help reduce physical stress, it would be a difficult and time consuming process to learn to use this type of keyboard arrangement. In this regard, before a skilled operator can attempt to input information at the same speed as a conventional keyboard, the unique and very different shape and configuration of the patented adjustable keyboard require new skills to be learned. In short, while the adjustable patented keyboard may be designed to overcome some physically disabling problems, a skilled use would require an undesirably long period of training, and may never be able to regain former speed and accuracy. Moreover, as this keyboard arrangement requires individual adjustments, all of the problems noted with respect to the other patents mentioned above would also apply to this keyboard arrangement.
Still yet another attempted solution is a shorthand typewriting machine keyboard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,318,519 where the keys
Foley & Lardner
Funk Stephen R.
Kleinke Bernard L.
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