Wrist rest assembly

• US 20040035986A1
• Filed: 08/25/2003
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1994
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Kirchhoff, Kenneth J., Wolf, Robert J., Darvell, Wayne K., Barnidge, Thomas J.
• Granted Patent: US 6,843,454 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 248/118.1
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2021/0378 filled with liquid or gel
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2021/0392 height adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 21/0371 Platforms for supporting wrists
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2200/009 Keyboards associated with mousepads
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2200/0093 Wrist pad cover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0395 Mouse pads
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2217/034 Support for hands or arms
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 248/918 Ancillary device support associated with a video display screen

Abstract

A wrist rest assembly for use along the front edge of a device to be operated by a person'"'"'s hands or fingers, such as in front of a computer keyboard, including an elongate base on which is supported an elongate pad comprising a layer of gel within the covering. The pad has sufficient thickness between its top and bottom surfaces and width between its edges to afford supporting a users wrists on said top surface with a portion of the layer of gel beneath and conforming to the supported wrists and to afford significant motion of the top surface of the pad with the supported wrists relative to the bottom surface in a plane generally parallel to the upper surface of the base. The base has a top portion supporting the pad, a bottom portion adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface; and structure that allows the top portion to be supported on the bottom portion with the top surface of the pad at a predetermined one of several different distances above that horizontal surface.

Claims

1. A wrist rest assembly for use along the front edge of a device to be operated by a person'"'"'s hands or fingers, such as in front of a computer keyboard, computer mouse or other input device, said wrist rest assembly comprising:

a base having an upper surface and an opposite bottom supported surface adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface along the front edge of the device; and

a pad comprising a layer of gel, said pad having opposite top and bottom surfaces, opposite longitudinally extending edges, and opposite longitudinally spaced ends, the bottom surface of said elongate pad being supported on the upper surface of said base, said pad having a sufficient thickness between said top and bottom surfaces and width between said edges to afford supporting a users wrists on said top surface with a portion of the layer of gel beneath and conforming to the supported wrists and to afford significant motion of the top surface of the pad with the supported wrists relative to the bottom surface in a horizontal plane.

2. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein said pad comprises an elongate tubular layer of flexible polymeric material around the gel, said tubular layer being sealed at said ends of said pad to retain the gel within the tubular inner layer and to provide a flexible barrier to the escape of liquids from within the gel.

3. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein said assembly further includes an outer layer over the top surface of the pad of soft conformable material adapted for comfortable contact with a users wrists.

4. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein said pad comprises an elongate tubular layer of flexible polymeric material around the gel, said tubular layer being sealed at said ends of said pad to retain the gel within the tubular inner layer and to provide a flexible barrier to the escape of liquids from within the gel;

and said assembly further includes an outer layer over the top surface of the pad of soft conformable material adapted for comfortable contact with a users wrists.

5. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 4 wherein

said base includes an elongate support plate including a generally planar top portion having opposite sides, opposite ends, a generally player top surface and an opposite bottom surface, and side portions along the opposite sides of said top Portion and extending away from the bottom surface of said top portion to form with said top portion an elongate recess;

said bottom surface of said pad is supported along the top surface of said support plate;

said outer layer is in the form of a sleeve having opposite end portions extending around said elongate support plate and the said pad; and

said base further includes an elongate retaining member comprising a tensioning portion within and extending along said elongate recess with a portion of said outer layer between said tensioning portion and said support plate to tension said outer layer across said top surface of said pad, means for retaining said tensioning portion within said elongate recess, and means for retaining the end portions of said sleeve around the ends of said pad.

6. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 5 wherein said retaining member has opposite ends at the ends of said elongate pad and openings into said ends, the end portions of said sleeve are positioned in said openings, and said assembly includes end caps attached at the opposite ends of said retaining member and including projections projecting into said openings in said retaining member to provide said means for retaining the end portions of said sleeve around the ends of the pad.

7. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein

said base comprises a top portion having said upper surface supporting the bottom surface of said elongate pad;

a bottom portion having said bottom surface adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface; and

means for supporting said top portion on said bottom portion with the top surface of said elongate pad at a predetermined one of several different distances above said bottom surface.

8. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 7 wherein said top portion of said base comprises longitudinally extending rails projecting outwardly in opposite directions generally parallel to said upper surface, and said bottom portion includes generally parallel spaced vertically upwardly projecting support portions having opposed surfaces defining sets of grooves vertically spaced along said support portions, each of said sets of grooves being adapted to receive said rails to support said top portion with the top surface of said elongate pad at a different distance above said bottom surface.

9. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 8 wherein said top portion and said bottom portion are both of about the same length, and said assembly further includes means for releasably retaining said top portion in engagement with said bottom portions with the corresponding ends of said top and bottom portions generally in alignment.

10. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 9 wherein said means for releasably retaining said top portion in engagement with said bottom portions with the corresponding ends of said top and bottom portions generally in alignment comprises removable end covers each adapted for engagement with an end of the top portion and extending across the adjacent end of the bottom portion so that the end of the top portion with which the end cover is engaged can not move further into the bottom portion.

11. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein said gel is a stable elastomeric block polymer gel.

12. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein said pad is in the range of about ⅛

inch to 5 inches thick between said top and bottom surfaces and said top surface is in the range of about ½

inch to 10 inches wide between said edges.

13. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein the motion of said top surface of said pad with a supported wrist relative to said bottom surface in a plane generally parallel to the supported surface of the base allows that wrist to move in any direction in a generally circular area having a diameter of at least one half inch.

14. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 wherein the motion of said top surface of said pad with a supported wrist relative to said bottom surface in a plane generally parallel to the supported surface of the base allows that wrist to move in any direction in a generally circular area having a diameter of about one inch.

15. A wrist rest assembly according to claim 1 further including a base plate attached along and having a portion projecting from the supported surface of said base, said projecting portion of said base plate being adapted to support the device.

16. A method for supporting the wrists of a person operating a device such as a computer keyboard, computer mouse or other input device, said method comprising:

providing a pad comprising a layer of gel, said pad having opposite top and bottom surfaces, and opposite longitudinally extending edges,

supporting the pad along the front edge of the device; and

supporting the users wrists along the top surface of pad;

the pad having a sufficient thickness between the top and bottom surfaces and width between the edges to have a portion of the layer of gel beneath and conforming to the supported wrists and to afford significant motion of the top surface of the pad with the supported wrists relative to the bottom surface in a horizontal plane.