Patent Abstract:
A peripheral device support assembly. The peripheral device support assembly includes two detachable armrest and support tray adapted to be attached to each arm of an office chair. The detachable armrest and support tray includes a mount for securing the armrest support unit to a chair arm and a first portion hingedly attached to the mount for allowing the first portion to swivel in relation to the mount. The detachable armrest and support tray also includes a second portion pivotally connected to the second portion such that the first portion folds back over a second portion for storage. A tray spans the distance between the second portion of each detachable armrest and support tray to provide additional workspace.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to ergonomic peripheral device support assemblies, and more specifically to an ergonomic keyboard and mouse pad supporting tray and arm rest for use with conventional open arm office chairs. 
     The typical computer mouse rests on a desk adjacent a computer monitor. The keyboard may also lie next to the monitor or alternatively may be housed in front of the keyboard. Often this arrangement causes a user to hold his wrist in an angled position that has been shown to cause carpal tunnel and other health ailments in users who sit at their computer for hours at a time. 
     To alleviate this problem, many users place the keyboard in a pull out tray that is positioned near their lap. However, the mouse is often still at another location. As such, the user must still position his wrist at an awkward angle when using the mouse. In addition, the mouse is not convenient to the keyboard in this position. 
     Thus there remains a need in the art for an improved keyboard support tray and arm rests for conventional open arm office chairs. There also remains a need for a detachable armrest and support tray that provides hinged armrests that can fold and swivel to positions out of the way of the user, can be retrofitted onto existing chairs, is easy to install, and provides arm rest and work surfaces for the use of both a keyboard or laptop computer, mouse, or other peripheral devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses one or more of those needs in the art by providing a detachable armrest and support tray for supporting a peripheral device including a first portion having a mount adapted to be mounted onto an armrest in a defined configuration for securing the first portion to the armrest; and a second portion pivotally attached to the first portion such that the second portion may pivot from a first position over the first portion for storage to a second position in which the first and second portions are generally aligned with the armrest when the mount is mounted in the defined configuration. 
     The mount may be selected from the group consisting of clamps, hook and loop fasteners, and combinations thereof. The second portion preferably has a surface that is sized and configured to accommodate a mouse pad. The first portion may be attached to the mount by a tether. The detachable armrest and support tray may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of plastics, wood, metals, and combinations thereof. 
     Typically, there are two detachable armrests. 
     A preferred embodiment includes a tray sized to span a distance between two detachable armrest and support trays mounted in the defined configuration on armrests of a chair for providing additional work area. Preferably, the tray is sized and configured to hold a computer keyboard. It can also be sized and configured to hold a laptop computer. Preferably, the tray has a textured surface to inhibit sliding of items placed on the tray. If the tray has a proximal end and a distal end, the tray may slope downward from the distal end to the proximal end. 
     The first portion may have padding positioned to provide comfort to a user. The second portion may be attached to the first portion by a hinge. 
     These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a peripheral device support assembly of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the tray constructed according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a left oriented detachable armrest and support trays of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a right oriented detachable armrest and support tray of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom perspective view of the detachable armrest and support tray of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the detachable armrest and support tray of  FIG. 1  in a storage position; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a detachable armrest and support tray; and 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of a peripheral device support assembly  10 . The peripheral device support assembly  10  is preferably made of ABS plastic. However, other materials including other plastics, metal, wood, and combinations thereof may be used. 
     The peripheral device support assembly  10  includes two detachable armrest and support trays  11 . The detachable armrest and support tray  11  includes a first portion  12  and a second portion  14  that is pivotally connected to the first portion  12  by a hinge  26 . As seen in  FIG. 1 , the second portion has a butt-like protrusion  30 . The protrusion  30  abuts a forward edge  32  of the first portion when the second portion is extended for use. This abutment limits the travel of the second portion so that the second portion stops generally parallel and coplanar with the first portion. As seen in  FIG. 6 , the second portion  14  may fold over the first portion  12  for storage. 
     In other embodiments, the second portion  14  may be connected to the first portion  12  by other connectors such as clamps, glue, welding, and any other connector. Alternatively, the first portion  12  and the second portion  14  may be molded as one piece. 
     As seen in  FIG. 1 , the first portion  12  is covered with foam rubber padding  13  for the comfort of a user. Other types of padding may also be used. The second portion  14  may include a surface  16  that is sized and configured to accommodate a computer mouse or other peripheral device. The surface  16  may be covered with a material to form a computer mouse pad on the surface  16 . Alternatively, the surface  16  may also be used for writing and other such activities. 
     In an embodiment, two detachable armrest and support trays  11  may be used. A tray  18  may span between each detachable armrest and support tray  11 . The tray  18  has a work surface  25  that is sized and configured to accommodate a laptop computer, keyboard, or other peripheral device. The tray  18  may also provide writing or other workspace. The tray  18  is also sized and configured to span the distance between two detachable armrest and support trays  11 . The tray  18  may rest on the second portion  14  of each detachable armrest and support tray  11  or the tray  18  may be mounted to the second portion  14  using clamps, tape, hoop and loop fasteners, or any other suitable mount. As shown, a ridge on top of the portion  14  at the inside edge extends into a groove on the bottom of the edge of tray  18 , inhibiting left-to-right shifting of the position of tray  18 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 2 , the tray  18  has a proximal end  20  and a distal end  22 . Preferably, the edge of the tray is sloped downward from the distal end  22  to the proximal end  20 . Alternatively, the tray may be flat or may be sloped downward from the proximal end  22  to the distal end  20 . Also, a textured lining  24  may be applied to the work surface  25  to prevent materials from sliding down the slope from the second end  22  to the first end  20 . Preferably, the tray&#39;s work surface  25  is formed with a textured surface. Alternatively the tray  18  may have a smooth surface. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a left-hand oriented detachable armrest and support tray  11 .  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a right-hand oriented detachable armrest and support tray. The second portion  14  of each detachable armrest and support tray  11  is shaped such that the second portion  14  is straight on the interior, so that a user&#39;s path to the seat is unencumbered by the second portion  14 . In other embodiments, the detachable armrest and support tray may not have a specific orientation. 
     The second portion  14  is sized and configured to provide space for a mouse or other peripheral device. However, it is not necessary to make the second portion a specific shape. Any shape such as a circle, rectangle, square, triangle, or other shape is sufficient so long as it provides work space for the user. A mouse pad may be mounted permanently or temporarily to the surface of the second portion  14 . 
       FIG. 5  is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of the detachable armrest and support tray  11 . The detachable armrest and support tray  11  includes a first portion  12  and a second portion  14 . The first portion  12  may be attached to an existing armrest using a mount  28  such as clamps, hook and loop fasteners, and any other mount. As seen in  FIG. 5 , the first portion  12  is held in place by a mount  28 . Preferably, the mount  28  includes two mounting bars  15 . The bars  15  are sized and configured to fit underneath the first portion  12  between the two downward-extending sides of the portion  12 . Screws are inserted through the top  11  into threaded inserts in the mounting bars  15 . This allows adjustment for different thickness in armrests. 
     To install a detachable armrest and support tray  11 , a user places the first portion  12  over an armrest  77 , positions the bars  15  underneath the armrest, aligns the screw holes in the ends of the bar with the screw holes in the side of the first portion  12 , and inserts screws through the holes in the first portion  12  and into the screw holes in the ends of the bar. 
       FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of a detachable armrest and support tray  11  in a folded position. In an embodiment, the detachable armrest and support tray  11  includes a first portion  12  and a second portion  14  that is hingedly connected to the first portion  12  so that the second portion  14  may fold over the first portion  12  for storage. The second portion  14  is connected to the first portion  12  by a hinge  26 . Other connectors or configurations that enable the second portion  14  to fold over the first portion  12  may be used in lieu of a hinge  26 . 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a detachable armrest and support tray  55  including a molded portion  60  that is attached to the mount  28  in such a way as to allow the molded portion  60  to swivel in relation to the affixed portion  29  so that the detachable armrest and support tray  11  may be stored to the side of a chair while the portion  29  remains attached to an existing armrest. The tray  55  may be attached to the mount  28  by a tether  50 . The tether  50  may be a hinge pin, bungee cord, or any other flexible material that allows for two attached items to move in relation to one another. The molded portion  55  may swivel latitudinally and longitudinally in relation to the mount  28  so that the molded portion  60  rests to the side of the mount  28 . 
     In the view of  FIG. 7 , the tether  50  is an L-shaped pivot, allowing pivoting about each leg of the L. One leg is in the rear of the portion  29  and the other is in the outside edge of the portion  60 . To mount the portion  60  on the portion  29  so as to make a useable surface, one rotates the portion  60  from the view of  FIG. 7  forwardly, causing rotation about the leg of the L in the rear of the portion  29 . This continues until the portion  60  is rotated through about 180° from the position shown in  FIG. 7 . Then, the portion  60  is rotated about the leg of the L in the portion  60 , toward the seating surface of the chair, until the lower side flanges of portion  60  are above the spaces on either side of portion  29 . Then the portion  60  is rotated about the leg of the L in the portion  29  downwardly onto the portion  29 , with the sides of portion  60  straddling the portion  29 . 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a detachable armrest and support tray  111 . The detachable armrest and support tray  111  includes a first portion  112  and a second portion  114  that is pivotally attached to the first portion  112  by a hinge  126  so that the second portion  114  may fold over the second portion  112  for storage. The first portion  112  is attached to the mount  128  by a tether  150  so that the mount  128  may swivel in relation to the mount  128  for storage. 
     To store the detachable armrest and support tray  111  a user may fold the second portion  114  over the first portion  112 . Then the user may lift the first portion upward, turn the first portion counterclockwise one quarter turn, and then turn the first portion clockwise a half turn. 
     Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8