Support for computer keyboard on top of display screen device

A support system for supporting a keyboard on top of a display screen device comprises a rigid sheet material which has been bent to form two holding surfaces for the keyboard. The surfaces are separated by an angle. A retaining lip for each holding surface which prevents a keyboard from slipping off the holding surface is also provided. Various accessories may be provided, which are easily attached to the support system. The support system is especially well suited for supporting a keyboard on top of non-planar, non-horizontal and offset surfaces.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to computer keyboard supports, and more 
particularly to a support which can be mounted to a computer monitor. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is frequently desirable to remove a computer keyboard from a work space 
in such a way that the work space can be used for other materials. It is 
also desirable to retain access to the keyboard in its removed location. 
A number of devices have been proposed for this purpose. These devices 
include sliding drawers, where the keyboard is slid under a shelf 
typically under the central processing unit. These drawers have suffered 
from shortcomings which include a lack of access in its retracted 
location, large desk space requirements, and obstructions encountered 
during drawer operation. Other devices use pivot arms, parallelogram type 
linkages, and/or complicated arrangements for supporting a work station 
platform. These devices suffer from interference with the operator or 
other items in the work space, difficult installation, lack of access to 
the keyboard in its retracted location, and expensive cost and 
maintenance. 
All these prior art devices suffer from one or more drawbacks. The devices 
are overly complicated, expensive, require large desk space, prevent 
access to the keyboard in its removed position, are difficult to install, 
or interfere with the operator or other items in the work space. 
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new 
and improved support device for computer keyboards which overcomes the 
above-mentioned problems. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved 
computer keyboard support which is simple to operate, accessible, uses 
little desk space, is easy to install, has adequate strength, does not 
interfere with the operator or other items in the work space, and is 
economical in construction and maintenance. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The foregoing objects are achieved according to the present invention 
through the provision of a support which is to be mounted on a display 
screen device in such a way that a keyboard may be held securely enough 
for safe operation and storage on top of the display screen device. More 
specifically, the support is attached to the display screen device by 
adhesive strips of hook and loop material at the front bottom and back 
bottom of the support, with the mates of the adhesive strips of hook and 
loop material at the front top and middle top, respectively, of the 
display screen device. The support has an angle to the holding surface so 
that the keyboard can be viewed while on the support. At the front of the 
support, there is a lip which prevents the moment of the keyboard down the 
incline of the holding surface. There is also a lip of the back of the 
support so that the support can be turned around to provide a holding 
surface with a different angle. 
Alternatively, the support may be mounted using straps, cords, glue, or 
tape. Also, a further embodiment allows for a variable holding surface 
angle in relation to the display screen device. Additionally, a further 
embodiment provides for an extension of the support material at the front 
of the display screen device so that the display screen is shielded from 
ambient light. Another embodiment allows for the adjustment of the screen 
shielding angle in relation to the display screen device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
According to the present invention, a support for supporting a keyboard on 
top of a display device is provided which is simple, inexpensive, and easy 
to manufacture. The support can be manufactured from a substantially 
rectangular single sheet of bendable rigid sheet material by making three 
bends in the sheet. Attachment means to secure the support to the top of a 
display device can be provided at the front, back, or both the front and 
the back of the support. Any conventional attachment means may be employed 
for securing the support to the display device. Mating attachment means 
can be provided on both the support and the display device, such as hook 
and loop fasteners, buttons, etc. 
The support comprises two primary holding surfaces, either of which may be 
used to support a keyboard. The holding surfaces are of differing lengths, 
so that differing holding angles are provided. The two primary holding 
surfaces may be connected by a hinge means so that an infinite number of 
holding angles for the keyboard may be attainable. 
Each primary holding surface is of a width which preferably exceeds the 
width of the keyboard to be held. The holding surfaces are preferably as 
long or longer than the distance from the front of the keyboard to the 
back of the keyboard (keyboard length) so that a solid holding surface is 
provided. 
A retaining lip is provided at the bottom of each holding surface to assure 
a stable support on which a keyboard can securely rest. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support is of a simple construction and can 
be manufactured from a single sheet of bendable rigid sheet material. 
Three bends are made in the sheet to form the support. The entire device 
can be as simple as the best sheet and two adhesive strips, one having 
hook-material and one having loop-material. 
A primary retaining lip bend 1 is made in the sheet close to an end of the 
sheet, so that a primary retaining lip 101 is formed for a keyboard 6. The 
retaining lip preferably has a length of 1/2 to about 2 inches to provide 
a secure contact area of the keyboard within the lip while allowing easy 
access to the keyboard. On the outside of the angle formed by the primary 
retaining lip bend 1, attachment means are provided. If hook and loop 
fasteners 4 are used, an adhesive strip of one of the materials is 
provided on the support, while an adhesive strip of the other material is 
provided on the top front of the display device to which the support is to 
be attached. 
A second bend 2 in the sheet is made a distance back from the primary 
retaining lip bend 1, which distance is greater than the width of the 
keyboard 6. After bend 2, the support slants back toward the rearward top 
of the display device 5. Bend 2 forms two primary holding surfaces, 20 and 
21, for a keyboard. The lengths of the primary holding surfaces 20 and 21 
are different from each other, so that by reversing the support, a 
different supporting angle for the keyboard can be attained. 
A secondary retaining lip bend 3 is formed a distance from bend 2 which is 
also greater than the length of a standard keyboard to be supported. The 
outside of the secondary retaining lip bend 3 forms the attachment surface 
for a rear attachment means 4' if a rear attachment means is used. Mating 
attachment means may be provided on the display device adjacent where the 
rear attachment means 4' rests. The secondary retaining lip bend 3 also 
forms a secondary retaining lip 103 for the keyboard. The secondary 
retaining lip preferably has a length of between 1/2 and 2 inches. 
Two strips of adhesive hook and loop material 4 and 4' may be used to form 
the front and rear attachment means of the support. The display device 5 
has corresponding hook or loop fastening strips which mate with the front 
and rear attachment means. By turning the support around to change the 
angle of the holding surface, the secondary retaining lip bend 3 rests at 
the front top of the display device 5. The attachment means 4' then 
becomes the attachment means for the front top of the display device. 
Also, the primary retaining lip bend 1 then becomes the attachment means 
for the rear top of the display device. 
Due to the two linear attachment surfaces of the support device, the 
support is especially suited for use on display devices and computer 
monitors which have non-planar and offset, non-horizontal surfaces. The 
angles are especially well suited for nesting keyboards in a secure 
fashion in a convenient location, while still permitting access to the 
keyboard. 
In place of attachment means, rubber foot pads which are secured to the 
bottom of the support may also be used. If such pads are used, gravity 
holds the keyboard on the support and the support onto the display device. 
In order to save even more space in a work station for a display device, 
various attachments can be made to the support to accommodate a variety of 
accessories. An example of these accessories is shown in FIGS. 3-12. 
FIG. 3 shows a support similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which has a 
screen shield 8 attached to it by hinge means 7. The hinge means 7 
comprises an R-shaped metal clamp attachment which is best shown in FIG. 
11. While a C-shaped clamp may be employed, the shaped clamp shown 
provides pivoting of an accessory, such as a visor, to an infinite number 
of angles. Herein, this will be referred to as an R-shaped clamp. The 
opening of the R-shaped clamp preferably narrows to a width which is less 
than the thickness of the retaining lip 101 and a curved upper lip of the 
accessory, combined. The screen shield 8 or "visor" can be made of the 
same rigid sheet material as the support. The accessory has a curved upper 
lip which has a smoothly curved C-shape which is gripped by the metal 
clamp 7 and held to the lip 101 of the support. The metal clamp 7 securely 
holds the visor 8 to the support in a fashion which allows the visor to be 
held at an infinite number of angles with respect to the support. The 
visor is the same width as the support, or at least as wide as the display 
screen surface. The visor's length should be sufficient to block ambient 
light from reflecting off of the display screen in a manner which disturbs 
the vision of an operator. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 show another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the 
lip 211 from angle 201 extends beyond the front top surface of the display 
device. Thus, the support itself acts as a visor to block ambient light 
from the display screen. In this embodiment, the portion 220 of the 
primary holding surface 200 which extends beyond the front top of the 
display device is only about half the length of the keyboard (from front 
to back). 
FIGS. 7 and 8 show another accessory which can be attached to the support 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A glare shield 9 may be attached to the support by 
the same R-shaped type metal clamps 7 as are used for attaching a visor 
shield. The glare shield is provided with a curved upper lip in the same 
fashion that the visor shield, so that the metal clamp securely holds the 
glare screen to the support in a position directly in front of the display 
screen. 
FIGS. 9 and 10 show an accessory attachment which attaches to the side of 
the support. A clamp 10 is provided, which holds the accessory mounting 
bracket to the support. An accessory mounting arm 12 is pivotally attached 
to clamp 10 at point 14 shown in FIG. 12. An accessory is secured to the 
opposite end of mounting arm 12. The accessory shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is 
a storage box for various utensils common to a work station. 
Alternatively, a wide variety of other accessories may be attached to the 
support by the same or similar mounting means. These accessories include 
headsets, clipboards, speakers, phones, remote control, Rolodex, dictating 
machines, coffee mugs, power strips, and many others. FIG. 12 is an 
enlarged view of the attachment means for holding such an accessory mount 
to the support. 
FIG. 11 is an enlarged detail showing the metal clip 7 used to hingedly 
attach a visor 8 (or glare screen) to the support. This arrangement allows 
the visor 8 to be held in an infinite number of angles with respect to the 
support. 
The rigid sheet material which may be used for the supports according to 
the present invention include, but are not limited to, sheet metals and 
plastics. In particular, acrylic sheets are easy to bend upon heating and 
form transparent, fashionable and sturdy supports. Thicknesses of the 
sheet material may vary greatly, depending upon its composition, and can 
be as thin as 0.125" for i.e., acrylic. A typical starting sheet is cut 
12" wide and 13.7" long. All bends are made on the 12" side of the cut 
sheet. The angles formed between each primary holding surface and its 
corresponding retaining lip are approximately 90.degree., but may be 
anywhere from 70.degree.-110.degree.. The angle at bend 2 between the two 
holding surfaces may vary greatly, but is preferably between about 
40.degree. and about 60.degree.. 
Although the present invention has been described in connection with 
preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art 
that additions, modifications, substitutions and deletions not 
specifically described may be made without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.