Supports – Armrest or headrest
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-24
2001-07-24
Braun, Leslie A. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Armrest or headrest
C248S118300, C248S454000, C248S456000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264149
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a holder for keyboards of the type used in computer work, said holder having the form of a separate attachment which is placeable on a base and comprises a carrier, which serves to support the keyboard and which is hingedly connected to a supporting part, which is adapted to abut and rest against the base, the carrier being turnable relative to the supporting part about a horizontal axis to permit adjustment of the keyboard at an angle relative to a horizontal plane, and more specifically the carrier is adjustable between on the one hand a first, horizontal position where the keyboard is located horizontally or essentially horizontally to enable a user to work in a sitting position and, on the other hand, a second, raised position where an upper side of the keyboard is directed away from the user at an angle of at least 30° relative to the horizontal plane, thereby enabling the user to work in a standing position with arms and hands directed downwards.
BACKGROUND ART
Many people sitting by a computer for long working periods suffer from tension and pain in neck and shoulders resulting in chronic strain injuries. Today's word processors do not give the same opportunities of so-called microbreaks as did the typewriters, for instance in the form of shifting sheets of paper or manually correcting the text. Long working periods with precision work using a mouse have also been found to cause strain in neck and shoulders and pain in the arm by which the mouse is operated, a so-called mouse arm.
Various keyboard holders are known, which are arranged to permit adjustment of the keyboard at an angle relative to the horizontal plane. For instance, U.S. Pat No. 5,351,897 discloses a keyboard holder which is adapted to be fixed to a desk top in a recessed position relative thereto and which has a flat panel and a mounting with a movable and a fixed part. The movable part, on which the flat panel is mounted, is pivotable about a horizontal axis which permits adjustment of the panel at a negative angle such that the keyboard upper side with the keys is facing away from or inclined downwards away from the user. The idea is that the keyboard, thanks to the recessed positioning of the holder relative to the desk top, should be located as close to the user's legs or knees as possible, and a slight negative angling of the keyboard results in a neutral position of the hands without any angling of the wrist. A drawback of this keyboard holder is that the operator is obliged to work sitting in a relatively static working position with a great, essentially right angle between the upper parts of the arms and the forearms and with the forearms extended essentially horizontally without any real possibility of changing the position.
Other keyboard holders, such as those according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,242,139 and 5,040,757, have a support for wrist and palm and are arranged to provide a slight angling of the keyboard from the user, but also these keyboard holders do not offer any possibility of changing the working position and relieving arms, shoulders and back.
The company Jargus at Karlsborg, Sweden, has for some time been selling a holder for keyboards in the form of an attachment, the carrier for the keyboard being raisable to a position where an upper side of the keyboard is directed away from the user at an angle of at least 30° relative to the horizontal plane. However, the keyboard carrier of the Jargus holder is hingedly connected to the supporting part via a hinge which is turnable about a horizontal axis located essentially in the centre of the keyboard carrier. This means that the keyboard carrier must be located at a relatively great distance from the base to be able to make such a great angle as 30° or more in its raised state. This is disadvantageous since it means that the holder will have a great thickness or height also in its lowered, horizontal position, which renders a comfortable working position when sitting down difficult or even impossible. If the holder is in fact placed on a level allowing a comfortable working position for the user's forearms, this will imply that the supporting part of the holder is placed on such a low level that this, and especially the base on which it stands, is on a level with the user's knees and thighs, and consequently he cannot place himself sufficiently close to the holder and the keyboard. To be able to reach the keys furthest away on the keyboard, the user must thus stretch himself forwards or alternatively raise the base and the keyboard holder, which will result in a considerably deteriorated working position for arms and shoulders.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at obviating the above-mentioned problems and drawbacks of prior art and providing a keyboard holder which makes it possible for the operator to change working position quickly and easily, and making it possible for the operator to place himself in a working position that relieves back, neck, shoulders and arms. In particular, the invention aims at a keyboard holder whose thickness or height in its lowered state is minimal, but which allows raising of the keyboard carrier to an angle of at least 30° without the rear portion of the carrier abutting against the base, and which thus enables a comfortable working position for the user when sitting down since he may easily insert his knees and legs under the holder and the base and all the same work with essentially horizontally extended forearms. At least these objects are achieved by a keyboard holder as set forth herein.
The invention thus is based on the knowledge that shifting between a sitting and a standing position while at the same time the position of the arms is changed from essentially horizontally extended forearms to downwardly directed forearms, prevents the strain which may result in a work injury. A holder according to the invention achieves this by the keyboard carrier being settable at an angle between a horizontal position, for a sitting working position, and a raised position where the keyboard is angled such that its upper side is directed away from the operator, for a standing working position.
According to the invention, the holder is designed as an attachment for an existing desk and is placed on the desk top or some other part of the desk, e.g. an extendible panel intended for the keyboard.
The holder can advantageously be equipped with a second carrier, which is also settable at an angle and intended to support a trackball, control plate or some other cursor control device supplementing or replacing a conventional mouse. The trackball or control plate does not require any movements of the arm as does the mouse, but small movements of the fingers are enough to operate a cursor on the display. This second carrier, which is not at all to be found on the Jargus holder, is suitably set at a different angle compared with the first carrier, thereby permitting as comfortable a working position as possible for the operator. In an alternative embodiment, the carrier could be separately adjustable independently of the angle of the first carrier.
In a preferred embodiment, the carriers are plates made of some suitable material, preferably wood, plastic or aluminium. Instead of plates, it should however be possible to design the carriers as frames or the like. Preferably the holder should be combined with a vertically adjustable arm carrying the display so as to make it possible to raise the display when working in a standing position. It has been found that the carrier should be adjustable at an angle of at least 30° relative to the horizontal plane to achieve a comfortable working position for the arms when working in a standing position. For tall people, greater angles are as a rule necessary, preferably 40° and most preferred 50° or more. This results in a comfortable and natural position of the arms in a standing working position with a keyboard holder in the form of an attachment placed on, for instance, a desk top or some other type of keyboard
Bohman Information I Hudiksvall AB
Braun Leslie A.
Le Tan
Young & Thompson
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