Typewriting machines – Means auxiliary to typewriting function – Means for collapsing typewriter or support for record-medium...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-19
2001-09-18
Yan, Ren (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Means auxiliary to typewriting function
Means for collapsing typewriter or support for record-medium...
C400S718000, C400S691000, C400S472000, C248S240000, C248S175000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290411
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the arrangement and construction of a keyboard for a computer, including a personal computer, and of a stand gear for attaching to the keyboard. The stand gear is intended to realize the reduction in keyboard space on the desk by standing the keyboard by a simple operation, thereby providing more efficient use of the desktop space occupied by the personal computer and its peripherals, including the keyboard.
RELATED ART
The keyboard is generally used as one of the input terminals of a computer. The personal computer (PC) is a type of computer which utilizes a keyboard, and “PC” will be used hereinafter to designate computer. As a result of the remarkable spread of the PC in the market in recent years, an individual's desk in an office or home now accommodates a PC and its various peripherals. The PC is situated on the desk where it may be readily reached from an operator's seat and may be operated most efficiently. However, the location of the keyboard of the PC so that it can be readily and efficiently utilized also creates problems on an everyday basis.
One problem is the situation wherein the PC and its peripherals on the desk become an obstacle to doing work, other than PC operation, at the same desk. This problem is a natural consequence of the fact that the keyboard and display monitor of the PC peripherals are indispensable to operation of the PC and thus should be located at least within the operator's reach for their operational requirements. The keyboard most often becomes an obstacle to doing other work because the keyboard is placed just in front of the operator's seat.
Many compact and space-saving PC products have been developed as of late. However, most of these products reduce the space requirements for only the PC itself or display monitor. Thus, the keyboard space problem has not necessarily been resolved by these products.
A second problem is that the keyboard may become an obstacle to doing work on the PC when using an input terminal other than the keyboard, such as a mouse, light pen, voice recognition input device or controller for a game machine, because the keyboard occupies the desktop space in front of the display monitor at all times.
Further problems occur that require additional desk-top space, when the operator needs to transcribe a display output to paper, to operate the keyboard to input information directly from reference materials, such as data materials or operation manuals, used for input operation or to check the display output over the reference materials used. In each of these situations, an open space available beside the keyboard is usually used. However, when the open space beside the keyboard is used for working as described above, the operator must look back and forth between the display monitor and the transcribed matter/reference material such that the operator's work will not be efficient and will often cause eye fatigue. All the problems described above may be resolved by utilizing the keyboard space whenever necessary.
In order to use the desktop space efficiently, it is a usual practice that things necessary to work are taken out or drawn toward the operator on the desktop in preparation for working and are subsequently put aside when the work is complete. In the meantime, the keyboard which is one of the tools having movable size and weight is actually seldom cleared away, regardless of the problems it creates as described hereinbefore. The reason the keyboard is not put aside is not because it is unnecessary to do so, but because a prior keyboard is not equipped with a clearing-away capability that enables it to be cleared away by a simple operation when necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The input operation of the keyboard is performed by tapping arrays of keys of many letters and symbols. Thus, each key face is restricted within a given size range from the standpoint of input operational requirements, and therefore, the minimum requisite size of the keyboard has to be maintained. For these reasons, it is not easy to attain space savings or realize a compact structure for the keyboard while keeping the efficiency of its input operation.
The present invention enables the efficient use of desktop space and the efficient input operation by realizing the space saving for the keyboard by a simple and economical means that does not involve reducing the size of the keyboard. In other words, the keyboard occupies the keyboard space on the desktop when it is being used in an input operation and thereby maintains the efficiency of its input operation, and the keyboard is placed in a standing position when additional space on the desktop is required.
In addition to the above, the present invention facilitates entry of data from reference materials during the input operation, as well as proofreading the input result with the reference material after the input operation, by positioning the reference material in the best position from which to read them while utilizing “dead” desktop space efficiently.
A stand gear of the present invention is arranged and structured so as to be easily attachable to a stand-alone type keyboard and allows a user at any time to reduce the space occupied by the keyboard by utilizing the standing capability imparted to the keyboard by the stand gear. In particular, the stand gear allows a user to make available an open space on the desktop where the keyboard was sitting originally, which is the most efficient place on the desk to do work, by performing the operation of standing or returning the keyboard to the desktop as necessary. Thus, when the keyboard is not used in an input operation or the space occupied by the keyboard is required for another use, the keyboard can be set aside in its standing position. As a result, the present invention provides a means to enable more efficient use of the desktop space and realizes the efficient input operation of the PC on a desktop of limited space.
In addition to the efficient use of the desktop space, the present invention provides reduced eye fatigue and efficient reading when the stand gear is combined with a stand mechanism for holding reference materials.
The construction and function of the stand gear will be described hereinafter. Three components of the present invention include, a stand base and a support arm which constitute the stand gear and a keyboard. The three components are linearly arranged and coupled, so as to be pivotally connected with each other. In such construction, the two endmost components, which are pivotally connected at their respective ends to the other component between them, contact each other so as to form a triangular structure having sides constituted by the respective components, including a base constituted by the stand base.
A stopping means is provided on the stand base which is one of the two components in contact with each other. Then the other contacting component, constituted by either the keyboard or the stand arm, is stopped by the stopping means wherein the two components in a stopped relationship are connected, thereby causing a closed triangle of force to be formed by the three components. Thus, if the stand base is disposed on a desk, the keyboard as one of the three components is held in its standing position on the desk.
For a keyboard which does not have a pivotal connection mechanism as described hereinbefore, holders having the pivotal connection mechanism are fixedly provided on the keyboard and the keyboard is connected pivotally to the stand arm through the holders.
When the components fixedly connected by the stopping means of the stand base are released and folded flat, the stand base and stand arm are housed behind or in the back of the keyboard, and the keyboard is transformed for an inputting operation or the lying state.
Since the stand gear according to the present invention is constructed by the linkage described above, an operator does not have to pick up the whole weight of the keyboard when he stands it up and returns it to
Grohusky Leslie J.
Propri Limited
Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.
Yan Ren
LandOfFree
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