Abstract:
A wrist rest having height adjustability. The height adjustable wrist rest is a simple two-piece construction. The wrist rest includes a planar member having a first portion defining a first cavity having a first depth and a second portion defining a second cavity having a second depth greater than the first depth; and a support member adapted to be inserted into and removed from the cavities.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/338,304 (Attorney Docket No. 14572P-062000US) filed Dec. 7, 2001, which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. 
     
    
     
       STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    NOT APPLICABLE  
         REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK  
         [0003]    NOT APPLICABLE  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0005]    The present invention relates generally to wristrests used with input/output (I/O) devices for personal computers, and more specifically to a wristrest having a simple height adjustable feature.  
           [0006]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0007]    Wrist rests are a common product used in cooperation with an I/O system (e.g., a keyboard or pointing device such as a mouse or trackball) of a personal computer. The wristrest is designed to support a wrist of a user during operation of the computer.  
           [0008]    The prior art includes wristrest products that support the wrist at a single height above a work surface upon which the specific I/O system is being operated. Not all users or computing environments are the same, and the single height could be inappropriate in some applications. Other wrist rest products offer height adjustability, but the solutions are often expensive in terms of final cost and resources in the design and manufacture, and may be very complicated to operate.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention provides a very simple and cost effective wrist rest having height adjustability. In a preferred embodiment, the height adjustable wrist rest is a simple two-piece construction. A height adjustable support apparatus, including: a planar member having a first portion defining a first cavity having a first depth and a second portion defining a second cavity having a second depth greater than the first depth; and a support member adapted to be inserted into and removed from the cavities.  
           [0010]    Preferably, the support member is constructed of appropriate wrist supporting/cushioning materials, such as gel, foam, padding, neoprene, for example, as necessary or desirable for the particular application. The planar member is preferably a rigid construction having two sides, each side defining a cavity of a different depth and sized to receive the support member. The planar member is transformable (e.g. flipping it over) to alternately allow each side to be upwardly disposed. Placement of the support member in one cavity will provide a specific height of atop of the support member above the working surface that is different when the support member is placed within the other cavity. Hence the height of the top of the support member is adjustable.  
           [0011]    These and other novel aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the drawings and the remaining portions of the specification.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment for a height adjustable wristrest; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternate preferred embodiment for a height adjustable wristrest. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment for a height adjustable wristrest  100 . Wristrest  100  includes a planar member  105  and a support member  110 . Member  105  includes a first portion defining a first cavity  115  having a depth D1 and a second portion defining a second cavity  120  having a depth D2, with D1 greater than D2. Member  105  is made of rigid material that inherently includes a high coefficient of friction with respect to standard underlying supports or is coated with such a material.  
         [0015]    Cavity  115  and cavity  120  are sized to receive support member  110 , with a thickness of support member  110  exceeding D2 in a preferred embodiment such that a top surface of support member is available for support, whichever cavity contains support member  110 .  
         [0016]    Planar member includes an axis  125 , about which member  105  rotates to present one of cavity  115  and  120  facing upwards. Support member  110  is inserted into the upward facing cavity. As disclosed, cavity  115  and cavity  120  are provided on opposite sides of member  105 . In some embodiments, it may be desirable to dispose cavity  115  and cavity  120  on the same side of member  110 , but laterally displaced from each other. In other applications, cavity  115  and cavity  120  may be overlapping such that a first orientation of member  110  relative to the cavities causes member  110  to interact with one cavity creating a first height and a second orientation of member  110  relative to the cavities causes member  110  to interact with the other cavity creating a second height different from the first.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment for a height adjustable wristrest  200 . Wristrest  200  includes a planar member  205  and a support member  210 . Member  205  includes a first portion defining a first cavity  215  having a first wristrest depth Dw1 and a second portion defining a second cavity  220  having a second wristrest depth Dw2, with Dw2 greater than Dw1. Member  205  also includes a third portion defining a third cavity  225  having a pad depth Dp1 and a fourth portion defining a fourth cavity  230  having a pad depth Dp2 that is equal to Dp1. Wristrest  200  is designed for a mouse pad/track ball pad application, for example, in which third pad cavity  225  and fourth pad cavity  230  could define a constant height region for mouse operations (for example) and the front portion with first cavity  215  and second cavity  220  define a variable height portion for supporting a users wrist at different heights during those mouse operations. Member  205  is made of rigid material that inherently includes a high coefficient of friction with respect to standard underlying supports or is coated with such a material.  
         [0018]    Cavity  215  and cavity  225  are sized to receive front and rear portions of support member  210  respectively in a first mode while cavity  220  and cavity  230  are sized to receive front and rear portions of support member  210  respectively in a second mode, with a thickness of support member  210  exceeding Dw2 and Dp1 in the preferred embodiment such that a top surface of support member  210  is available for support, whichever cavities contain support member  210 . Front portion of support  210  is height adjustable while rear portion of support  210  is maintained at a constant height. Support member  210  should either be sufficiently flexible to conform concurrently to two cavities at one time or constructed in some hinged configuration to define two parts, each of which may conform to the corresponding cavity.  
         [0019]    Planar member  205  includes an axis  235 , about which member  205  rotates to present a first set of cavities (cavity  215  and  225 ) or a second set of cavities ( 220  and  230 ) facing upwards. Support member  210  is inserted into the upward facing cavity set. As disclosed, the first cavity set and the second cavity set are provided on opposite sides of member  205 . In some embodiments, it may be desirable to dispose the first cavity set and the second cavity set on the same side of member  205 , but laterally displaced from each other. In other applications, various cavities and cavity sets may be overlapping such that a first orientation of member  210  relative to the cavities causes member  210  to interact with one combination of cavities creating a first height for parts of support member  210  and a second orientation of member  210  relative the cavities causes member  210  to interact with another combination of cavities creating a second height for those parts of support member  210  with the second height different from the first.  
         [0020]    The above-described arrangements of apparatus and methods are merely illustrative of applications of the principles of this invention and many other embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.