Ergonomic keyboard apparatus and method of using same

• US 5,503,484 A
• Filed: 10/03/1994
• Issued: 04/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Typeright Keyboard Corporation
• Original Assignee: Typeright Keyboard Corporation
• Inventors: Louis, William M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, Christopher A.
• Application Number:
  US08/317,554
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 400/472, 400/485, 400/486, 400/487, 400/488, 400/989, 400/715, 248/118, 248/118.1, 248/118.3, 235/145 R, 235/145 A, 235/146, 345/168, 345/172, 341/22
• US Class Current: 400/489
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 5/10 Arrangements of keyboards , e.g. key button disposition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/807 characterised by the spatial arrangement of the contact sites, e.g. superimposed sites
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2217/028 on planes with different or alterable inclination, e.g. convex plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2217/034 Support for hands or arms
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2225/022 other then row-column disposition

Abstract

A keyboard arrangement with a pair of angularly disposed, spaced apart groups of character keys dedicated for operating use respectively by the left hand and the right hand of a user. A space bar key is operable by either thumb of the user and bridges between the two groups of character keys. The rows of keys in each group are staggered, and each key bears character indicia disposed at an angle to the transverse direction of its group of keys.

Claims

1. A keyboard apparatus, comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of alpha-numeric key means mounted on the housing arranged in a plurality of V-shaped rows;

said plurality of alpha-numeric key means being arranged in a QWERTY configuration to facilitate conventional QWERTY keystroke techniques;

said plurality of alpha-numeric key means being further arranged in a pair of character key groups aligned relative to one another in a generally V-shaped configuration relative to a centrally disposed axis to be aligned generally with the user;

said plurality of alpha-numeric key means including a right group of QWERTY key means arranged in rows and staggered columns to facilitate their actuation in a rapid and accurate manner utilizing known and substantially conventional right hand digit QWERTY keystrokes, said right group having a left end group of keys arranged in a column with QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters Y, H and N, respectively, to help facilitate a user in using his or her right hand digits to reach to the last mentioned QWERTY characters in a conventional QWERTY right hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

said plurality of alpha-numeric key means further including a left group of QWERTY key means arranged in rows and staggered columns to facilitate their actuation in rapid and accurate manner utilizing known and substantially conventional left hand digit QWERTY keystrokes, said left group having a right end group of keys arranged in a column with QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters T, G and B, respectively, to help facilitate a user in using his or her left hand digits to reach the last mentioned QWERTY characters in a conventional QWERTY left hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

means defining a space between said right hand group of QWERTY key means and said left hand group of QWERTY key means, said space being sufficiently large to substantially prevent interference between right hand and left hand digits keystrokes and sufficiently widely spaced apart to position the hands of the user in co-extending alignment with their respective wrists for enabling the fingers of the user to rest comfortably on their normal QWERTY starting position keys for touch typing purposes;

a left group of function keys arranged in a row adjacent to the left group of QWERTY key means to facilitate control key actuation by left hand digits;

a right group of function keys arranged in a row adjacent to the right group of QWERTY key means to facilitate actuation by right hand digits;

common space bar means extending between said right and left groups of function keys to help form a row extending generally in a V-shape adjacent to the right and left QWERTY key means with said space bar means having its end portions disposed opposite at least one right and left QWERTY key means for facilitating the actuation of said common space bar means by the right and left thumbs of a user;

said right group of function keys disposed adjacent to a terminal end of said common space bar key means to facilitate the entry of at least one ASCII code indicative of control information using right hand touch typing keystroke techniques;

said left group of function keys disposed in a single row and adjacent to another terminal end of said common space bar key means to facilitate the entry of at least another ASCII code;

said column of the right end group of keys being staggered rightwardly to further help facilitate using the conventional QWERTY left hand digit touch typing keystroke technique wherein the QWERTY key means bearing the letter B is staggered substantially rightwardly of the QWERTY key means bearing the letter G and wherein the QWERTY key means bearing the letter G is staggered substantially rightwardly of the QWERTY key means bearing the letter T;

said left group of QWERTY key means having a top row of alpha keys bearing QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters Q, W, E, R, T, respectively, an intermediate row of alpha keys bearing QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters A, S, D, F, G, respectively, and a bottom row of alpha keys bearing QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters Z, X, C, V, B, respectively, to help facilitate the identification of the QWERTY characters, Q, W, E, R, T, A, S, D, F, G, Z, X, C, V and B, for entry by the conventional QWERTY left hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

said alpha keys in the bottom row bearing the letters Z, X, C, V and B, respectively, being staggered substantially rightwardly of said alpha keys in the intermediate row bearing the letters A, S, D, F and G, respectively, to further help facilitate entry of QWERTY characters by the conventional QWERTY left hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

said alpha keys in the intermediate row bearing the letters A, S, D, F, G, respectively, being staggered substantially rightwardly of said alpha keys in the top row bearing the letters Q, W, E, R and T, respectively, to further help facilitate the entry of QWERTY characters by the conventional QWERTY left hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

numeric keypad means on the housing spaced apart rightwardly from said plurality of alpha-numeric key means and said right group of function key means to facilitate the entry of ASCII codes indicative of numeric information, said numeric key pad means having a central axis oriented generally parallel to the central axis of the V-shaped character key groups to align said numeric key pad means relative to the user; and

said left end group of keys and said right end group of keys being spaced apart from one another, and being configured relative to one another so said column bearing the letters Y, H and N is substantially parallel with said column bearing the letters T, G, B to further facilitate actuation of the keys in the left group column and the keys in the right group column utilizing known and substantially conventional left hand digit and right hand digit QWERTY keystrokes respectively.

2. A keyboard construction according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least another group of computer control key means on the housing spaced apart from said plurality of alpha-numeric key means arranged in columns and rows to further facilitate the entry of computer control information.

3. A keyboard construction according to claim 1, wherein said housing includes a front portion and a rear portion, said rear portion having a top back edge and said front portion having a front edge in a substantially lower horizontal plane then said top back edge of said rear portion to enable a user to have easy access to said plurality of alpha-numeric key means.

4. A keyboard construction according to claim 3, further comprising:

wrist leveling means disposed forwardly of said plurality of alpha-numeric key means for defining a resting surface to support from below the hands and wrists of a user and for raising said front portion to help a user maintain his or her wrists in a substantially straight position relative to the hands of the user.

5. A keyboard construction, comprising:

a housing having a front portion and a rear portion;

a plurality of alpha-numeric key means mounted on the housing arranged in a plurality of V-shaped rows, the plurality of alpha-numeric key means being arranged in a QWERTY configuration to facilitate conventional QWERTY keystroke techniques;

said plurality of alpha-numeric key means including a right group of QWERTY key means arranged in rows and staggered columns, said right group having a left end group of keys arranged in a column with QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters Y, H and N, respectively, to help facilitate a user in using his or her right hand digits to reach to the last mentioned QWERTY characters in a conventional QWERTY right hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

said plurality of alpha-numeric key means further including a left group of QWERTY key means arranged in rows and staggered columns, said left group having a right end group of keys arranged in a column with QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters T, G and B, respectively, to help facilitate a user in using his or her left hand digits to reach the last mentioned QWERTY characters in a conventional QWERTY left hand digit touch typing keystroke technique;

means defining a space between said right group of QWERTY key means and said left group of QWERTY key means, said space being sufficiently large to substantially prevent interference between right hand and left hand digits keystrokes and sufficiently widely spaced apart to position the hands of the user in co-extending alignment with their respective wrists for enabling the fingers of the user to rest comfortably on their normal QWERTY starting position keys for touch typing purposes;

wrist support means disposed at about the front portion of said housing for defining a resting surface to support from below the hands and wrists of a user; and

wrist leveling means disposed beneath said support means for positioning said housing front portion in a raised position to help a user maintain his or her wrists in a substantially straight position relative to the hands of the user.

6. A keyboard construction according to claim 5, further comprising:

said right group of QWERTY key means and said left group of QWERTY key means having a right base perimeter and a left base perimeter respectively;

at least one group of function key means on the housing adjacent to said plurality of alpha-numeric key means to help facilitate the entry of computer control information using touch typing keystroke techniques;

said at least one group of function key means including a right group of function keys arranged in a row at about said right base perimeter of the right group of QWERTY key means having QWERTY character indicia configured in the letters N and M, respectively, to facilitate actuation by right hand digits; and

said at least one group of function key means further including a left group of function keys arranged in a row at about said left base perimeter of the left group of QWERTY key means having QWERTY character indicia configured in at least the letters Z, X and C, respectively, to facilitate actuation by left hand digits.

7. A keyboard construction according to claim 6, further comprising:

at least another group of function key means on the housing spaced apart from said plurality of alpha-numeric key means arranged in columns and rows to further facilitate the entry of computer control information.

8. A keyboard construction according to claim 5, further comprising:

common key means having a right side portion disposed adjacent to said right group of function keys and a left side portion disposed adjacent to said left group of function keys to facilitate the actuation of said common key means by the right and left thumbs of a user;

wherein the configuration of the left group of QWERTY key means, the left group of function keys, the right group of QWERTY key means, and the right group of function keys relative to one another enable known and conventional touch typing keystroke techniques to be utilized for entry of both QWERTY alpha-numeric information and computer control information without causing substantial physiological stress to the fingers, wrists and forearms of the user.

9. A keyboard apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said at least one group of function key means includes ASCII code key means for the entry of ASCII codes, said ASCII codes including dedicated function codes.

10. A keyboard apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said ASCII code key means includes cursor control key means for controlling the movement of a computer generated cursor.

11. A keyboard apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said at least another group of function key means includes other ASCII code key means for the entry of other ASCII codes, said other ASCII codes including other dedicated function codes.