Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2~8;~
SUPPORTS FOR ARMS W~EN TYPING AT KEYBOARD
This invention relate~ to elasticized bands susPendin~ from
the shoulders to support the forearms and wrists.
It is common for the user of a desktop computer keybo~rd to
work at said keyboard for extended periods. ~at.igue and mu~cular pain
often result from the fact ~hat the weight of the arm is n~t
supported between the shoulder and hand. In addition it may be only
intermittently, or partially, supported at the hand extremity.
Alternately a chair with arms m~Y be used ~nd the user'~ forearm
rested thereon, and ~ecau~e of the continuous wrist ~nd ~inger motion
chafing results on the inside of the forearm. Again altern~tely, the
wrist may be rested on the desk edge for support, and skin dama~ing
chafing may result on the inside of the wrist. The aforementioned
problems are experienced by both the amateur and professional keyboard
user. In the case of the amateur the chair, desk and keyboard
arrangement might be quite variable and improper. In the case of the
professional the furniture arrangement may be improved but not
perfectly for the individual user, and in addition the period of use
will be longer. The resulting wear and tear on muscles, nerves and
tendons can impair the functioning sf the h~nds, wrists, ~rms and
shoulders. The risk of repetitive strain injury is generally greater
with a common keyboard than a typewriter, partlY because computer
users tend to type for longer uni~terrupted period~ and at greater
speed. With the continuous adverse action of the aforementioned part~
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of the body, often repetitive str~in in~ury occurs to the extent that
this phenomenon is acknowled~ed as an occupational hazard.
The subject invention eliminates the aforementioned problems
by providin~ support for the forearms and wri.st.s by m~an~ which
transfer their weight directly to the shoulders. Said means of support
would be adiustable bands made in whole or in part of ela.sticized
material that would allow freedom of movement while carryin~ the
wei~ht of the forearm~ thus eliminatin~ muscular ~train. Said bands
would suspend from the front of the shoulders and would act as a slin~
around the forearms. Said bands would be attached by being permanently
or detachably fastened to a cushioned, rigid or flexible body harness
that would extend over the shoulders. The elasticized bands would
extend from the front of the shoulder on each ~ide and would go down
around the outside of the forearm and back up on the inside of the
forearm. The extreme end of the elasticized band would be attached to
a buGkle which would slide and lock on the band below the point of
attachment to the body harness thus formin~ a type of adiusta~le sling
for each arm. Said slin~ would ~e stiffened and cushioned at the lo~er
curved end where it comes in cont~ct with the forearm by an
unelasticized material which would be wider than the ela~ticized band
to give a firm but not rieid support to the forearm~ This firm support
would form a type of stirrup for the forearm to rest in ~ith no
discomfort. Alternately, said stirrup could be of unelasticized semi-
rigid material, suspended from the end of the elasticized band instead
of having the elasticized band continued under the forearm~
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The body harness to which the elasticize~ bands ~re
connected at the front of the shoulders could be a one piece rigid
yoke with a front horizontal element extending across the upper chest
and having the ends turning upward to pass oYer each shoulder and
S extend do~n the back. Said yoke would be of material pliable enough to
bend to ad~ust to the shape of the shoulder~ of the user. Said yoke
would be padded on the ma~or inferior surface so a.s to cu.shion all
parts that come in contact with the body. Said yoke includin~ the
paddinOE on the major inferior surface would be covered with fabric or
plastic type material. The curved ends that pass over the shoulders
~ould extend down the back a .qufficient distance to ~pply to the
shoulderblades the pressure resulting from the forward and downward
pull on the body harne~s. Alternately, said yoke could be made in two
piece-Y with the two ends of the divided horizontal element o~erlappin~
on the upper chest. This overlap would proYide for a width ad~ustment
by the use of a bolt in a slot or other graduating ad~ustment
fastener. Again alternately, the ela.sticized bands ~hich support the
forearms could be attached at the front of the shoulders to a non-
rigid body harness that would pass over the shoulders and extend down
the back. Such a body harness would be of unela~ticized material which
would rest on the shoulders ~nd be padded on the m~jor inferior
surface to cushion the portion of the harness bearing on the
shoulders. The left and right parts of .said harness ~ould cross or
come close to~ether near the centre of the back and then form a loop
at their lower end to accomodate a belt~ Said loop would be widened
above the waistline where the belt passes through to accept the strain
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of the upward pull of the rear parts of the flexible harness. The
belt, integral with the harness, could be of elasticized or
unelasticlzed material. Again alternately, the elasticized bands which
support the forearms could be attached to discrete le~t and ri~ht
shoulder Pieces at the front of the shoulders by means of a hook or
other fastener to permit the elasticized bands to be detached from the
body harness, and to permit their length adjustment~ In an alternate
arran~ement of the non-rigid or ~lexible harness, the lower ends of
the rear elements could be fastened, either together or separately, to
a J shaped clip for attachment under an ordinary waist belt. Again
alternately, the non-rigid harness could simply pass over the
shoulders and around the neck.
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention:
Fi~ure 1 is an oblique view showing the ela~ticized bands
and stirrups which support the weight of the forearms, adjustable
sliding and locking buckles are used, all attached to a rigid body
harness;
Figure 2 is a front view showin~ the rigid hody harness
bein~ worn;
Figure 3 is a cross section detail view of the rigid body,
or yoke, shoulder piece;
Figure 4 is a front view of a two piece rigid body harness
yoke showing the width adjustment arrangement;
Figure 5 is a pictorial view showing the elasticized bands
attached to a non-rigid body harness assembly with a belt to fit
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around the body;
Figure 6 is a front view showing the non-rigid body harness
assembly with integral belt bein~ worn;
Figure 7 is a cross section view of the non-ri~id body
harne~ construction;
Figure 8 show.s an alternate type of stirrup att~ched to the
elastlcized bands;
Figure 9 is a pictorial view showing a rigid body harness
with hooks at the front of the shoulders to engage the elasticized
bands which support the forearms, and also with a belt to ~it around
the body;
Figure 10 is a front view showing the rigid body harness
with the elasticized bands, and with integral belt, being worn;
Figure 11 is a cross ~ection view of the rigid body harness
construction;
Figure 12 is an alternate arrangement in which the
elasticized band, with slidin~ and locking buckle for adiu.stment, i~
also the ~tirrup element;
Fi~ure 13 is a pictorial view showing the elasticized bands
attached to a non-rigid body harness assembly with a J hook to attach
to a waist belt;
Figure 14 is a front view showing the non-ri~id body harness
being worn;
Figure 15 is a cros~ section view of the non-ri~id body
harness with J hook; and
Figure 16 shows a non-ri~id harness ~as in Fi~ure 13) but
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~ith the shoulder straps connected at the back of the neck.
In Figure 1 the elastiGized bands 1 suspend and thread
through .slots 2 in the stirrups 3 and form loops bein~ returned attaGh
to themselves by means of slidin~ and locking buckle~ 4. The
elasticized bands 1 suspend from the bottom of the right an~le corners
of a one piece rigid body harness yoke 5 which fit~ over the
shoulders. The stirrups 3 would be of firm ~ut non-rigid material ~uch
as Gushioned leather or felt and being wider than the elasticized
bands 1 would elastically ~upport the forearms in a comfortable
po.sition without restricting arm movement,~.
Fiyure 2 is a view of the rigid body harness ~ as it would be
worn showing the elasticized bands 1 extending down from the front of
the shoulders and passing through the slots 2 in the stirrups 3 to
form loops around the forearms which are made adjustable for the
comfort of the u~er by means of the ~liding and locking buckle.s 4
which are ~ewn or fastened by other mean.s to the extreme end of the
bands 1. Said bands would be threaded through the buckle.s below the
position where they are attached to the rigid body harness yoke 5.
Figure 3 shows the details of the rigid body harness yoke 5
in ~ cro~s sec~ion view. The ~tiffening eleme~t 6 is an aluminum fl~t
which would be folded at right angles 7 to form a crossbar for a one
piece rigid frame which Gould be adjusted by bending to fit the
shoulders of ~he user. The elasticized band 1 is glued to the major
inferior surface of the stiffening element where it folds over at
ri~ht angle 7, ~o as to suspend from under the body harness. The ma~or
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inferior .sur~ace o~ the ~tif~enin~ element 6 is covered with a padding
material 8. The stiffening element 6 and the padding material 8 would
have a covering 9 of a fabric or pla.stic type material.
Figure 4 shows a ri~id two piece body harness with slotted
adjustment. The crossover bar 10 would o~erlap the opposin~ bar 11.
The two bars 10 and 11 would be clamped together with a bolt 12 and
nut 13. The bolt 12 would pass through a slot 14 in bar 10 thus
allowing a separation-width ad~ustment of the shoulder bearing parts
5.
In Figure 5 the elasticized bands 1 suspend from the ~ront of
the shoulders and thread through slots 2 in the stirrups 3 to form
loops bein~ returned attach to themselves by means of sliding and
lo~king buckles 4. The elasticized bands 1 would be attached at the
~ront of the shoulders to the extreme ends of shoulder straps 15 of a
non-ri~id body harness that would pass over the shoulders and down the
back. Said straps would extend down the back at an angle so as to ~oin
in the centre of the back piece 16 then widen to form a loop 17 by
~oldin~ the extreme end of the widened material under itself and
sewing or gluing it to form a loop through which a belt 18 would pa~s
to fasten in the front of the body~ Said belt could be of elasticized
or unelasticized material, and would be fastened by means of fa~tening
1~ which would allow length ad~ustment.
In Figure 6 the non-rigid body harness 15 is ~hown a~ it
would be worn. It shows the elasticized bands 1 a~ they pass through
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the slots 2 ln the stirrups 3 forming loops for the forearms and which
are adjustable for the Gomfort of the user by means of the sliding and
lc,cking buckles 4 which are sewn or fas~ened by other means to the
extreme ends of the bands 1. Said bands would be threaded throu~h
buckles 4 below the position where they are attached to the shoulder
straps 15 of the non-rigid body harness. The belt 18 which ~ould pass
through the loop 17 would come around the hody to fasten in a
comfortable Position in front by means of fastening 1~
Fi~ure 7 shows the component.s of the non-rigid body harness
in a cross section view. The elastlcized band 1 would be glued or
fa~tened by some other means to extend from the end of the shoulder
strap 15. Said shoulder strap would be of leather, fabric or other
non-rigid material and would be covered on the major inferior surface
over the ~houlder with a padding material 20. The shoulder strap 15
and the padding material 20 would be encased in a fabric or
plasticized covering 21 over the shoulder area~ The shoulder straps 15
extend down the back and come together at the back piece 16~ then
widen to form a loop 17 to accommodate a belt.
- Fi~ure ~ ~how~ an alternate type of stirrup 22 which would
attach to the elasticized band 1 by means of an open rectangular ring
23 where the loop of the band 1 would be made throu~h the rectangular
rin~ 23 to fasten to itself by means of a sliding and locking buckle
4.
Figure 9 shows a rigid body harness 24 which would have
~orward open J hooks 25 at its extreme ends at the ~ront of the
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shoulders ~rom which the elasticized band~ 1 would su.spend. Said body
harness could be made of tubular or flat metal, plastic or other
sultable material which could be ~ent to ad~ust to fit the user~ The
ri~id frame of the body harness would extend down the back and would
narrow and be bent at two approximate right angles to a narrow width.
This extreme lower, and rear, end of the ri~id frame would be encased
in a leather or fabric material that would form a loop 2~ to
accommodate a belt tas in Figure 5} to go around the body.
Figure 10 shows the rigid body harnes~ 24 with belt a~ it
would be worn. The elasticized bands 1 would be anchored to the J
hooks 25 at the front of the shoulders by means of a triangular or
rotated D shaped rin~ 27 whlch would be affixed to the extreme end of
the elasticized bands 1. The belt 18 would pas~ through the loop Z6 to
fasten in front ~as in Fi~re 6).
Fi~ure 11 shows the component~ of the ri~id body harne.ss 24
in a cross section view. The rigid frame 24 of tubular or fl~t
material would have a forward open J hook 25 at the front of the
shoulder. The major inferior surface of the ri~id body harness where
it comes in contact with the body over the shoulder would be covered
with a paddin~ material 28. The body h~rness 24 and the padded
material Z8 would be ~o~ered with a fabric or plasticized material 29.
The ri~id body harness would extend down the back and the rear
elements would terminate in a loop 26 (as in Figure 7~.
Figure 12 shows an alternate type of ela~ticized band
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construction where said band 30 ~ould have one end sewn or fastened by
other means to a slidin~ and locking buckle 4 and threading through
the slots 2 in the stirrup 3 to form the loop to support the forearm
and then extend up around the triangular or rotated D ~haped ring 27
to thread through the buckle 4, In this construction the surplus end
of the elasticized band 30 would extend beyond the sliding and locking
buckle 4.
Fi~ure 1.3 shows a non-riEid bodY harness ~as in Fi~ure 5~
where the shoulder straps of unelasticized material 31 would extend
down the back havin~ the lower end~ of the rear elements fa~tened,
either to~ether or ~eparately, to a J shaped clip 32 for attachment
under an ordinary waist belt.
Figure 14 sho~s the non-riOEid body harness 31 being worn (as
in Fi~ure 6).
Figure 15 shows the components of the non-rigid body harness
in a cross section view (as in Fi~ure 7~ but showing the unelasticized
shoulder straps 31 without paddin~ and the J shaped clip 32 to attach
to a belt.
Figure 16 is an altern~te non-rigid body harness ~as in
Figure 13) where the shoulder straps of unelasticized material .31
would be attached to~ or be part of, a shoulder piece 33 which would
horizontally join ~aid ~traps to~ether ~t the ba~k of the neck.
As depicted the proposed invention will effecti~ely and
comfortably support the arm wei~ht by elastically suspendin~ the
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forearm.s while not re~tricting freedom of movement. Full versatillty
of the arm supports for use in a variety of configuration~ ~nd by
u~er~ of varyin~ build i~ provided.
The invention ha~ now been de.~cribed and any person havlng
read lt will rapidly know how to modify it to obtain variations that
are included in the ~cope of thi~ inven~ion.
