WORK STATION CABINET FOR KEYING

ENTRIES INTO A KEYBOARD

The Technical Field The invention relates to work station cabinets for storing computer keyboards or the like and for use in keying entries into the keyboards.

Background Art

The use of computer keyboards in personal computers, word processors or in association with various machines such as copiers and printers is well known. It is also well known to have associated with the keyboard a cathode ray tube

(CRT) for viewing data input by the operator. As the keyboards are not always needed, it is known to store them within work station cabinets upon which the CRT may rest. As noted in PCT International

Publication Number WO 86/01086, a sliding tray within the cabinet allows the keyboard to be uncovered from the cabinet so that the operator may walk up to the cabinet and key entries into the • keyboard. When the keyboard is not in use, the tray is pushed back into the cabinet and thus does not provide an obstacle to persons walking past the table or machine upon which the work station cabinet is supported. It is also known to provide a raised step adjacent the front of the tray. An operator can support his/her wrists or the heels of his/her hands on this step while operating the keyboard. However, the keyboard trays of this type noted in the prior art either lack a cover door to reduce the dust that otherwise tends to collect upon the keyboard or require a separate structure to function as a door. it is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved work station cabinet for a

computer keyboard that includes a cover door and provides support for an operator's wrists or hands.

Other cabinets known in the prior art such as described in U.S. Patent 4,287,764- do not describe structure suitably located for operating as a wrist support for keying entries into a keyboard. The Invention

The above object is accomplished by providing a work station cabinet for use in keying entries into a keyboard and for storing the keyboard, the work station cabinet comprising: a housing having an opening in a front face thereof; a tray means including a surface for supporting the keyboard; means coupling the tray means and the housing for movemen *t of the tray means through the. fron_t face of the housing to a ^' n extended position wherein ^' the tray means is outside the housing allowing an" operator access to the keyboard for keying entries there into, and to a retracted position wherein the tray means is located within the housing for storage of the keyboard; closing means movably connected to the tray means, the closing means having a surface, the closing means cooperating with the housing to close the opening in the front face of the housing when the tray means is in its retracted position and the closing means is moved to a generally vertical orientation with the surface facing into the housing; and characterized by means for movably connecting the tray means to the closing means and for supporting the closing means so that the said surface thereof is in a generally horizontal orientation while the tray

means is in its extended position, the surface of the closing means being elevated relative to the tray means, without overlying the surface of the tray means, so as to provide support for the hands or wrists of the operator while keying entries into the keyboard. The Drawing Description

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a work station cabinet for storing a keyboard, the cabinet being shown closed;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the work station cabinet showing a tray located therein in an extended position;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the work station cabinet showing details of portions of the tray and a dust cover door; and

Figure is a side elevational view of the work station ^' cabinet with tray extended showing,in phantom a CRT, a top of a copier or printer; a keyboard and a hand of a keyboard operator. Description of Embodiments

With reference to Figures 1—4, a CRT 10 is shown in phantom resting upon a work station cabinet housing 20 which in turn rests upon a machine 12 that receives at least some instructions from inputs provided upon a keyboard 14 (also shown in phantom) located within the cabinet 15. The machine may be an electrophotographic copier or printer and a portion of the top surface thereof is also shown in phantom. Alternatively, this top surface may be a part of a table or desk for supporting a personal computer or word processor. The work station cabinet housing is of sheet metal and comprises rectangular top and bottom walls 22, 24 and rectangular side walls 26, 28. Provision is made in

the opening 29 at the top rear of the cabinet for providing egress of electrical cables (not shown) to connect to the CRT and the machine that is being instructed. The rear of the cabinet housing may be placed flush against a vertical surface (not shown) of the machine to seal off the rear of the housing or a wall may be provided integral with the cabinet to seal the rear face thereof.

Secured to the external bottom wall 24 are four rubber buttons or pads 32 for frictionally holding the drawer housing in place against sliding movement relative to the machine. Ribs (not shown) are secured on the inside face of top wall 22 to provide rigidity for supporting the CRT. The ribs extend between the two side walls 26, 28.

A-tray 40 is slidably supported within the housing 2.0 by conventional means which may take the form of elongated channels (not shown) located on both inside face ^' s of the side walls 26, 28 which cooperate with channels (only one of which 44 is shown) secured to standing side rim walls 46, 48, respectively of the tray. Ball bearings are provided within the slide movement to provide for a smooth sliding between tray and cabinet housing. A suitable sliding mechanism of this type is commercially available and is sold under the trademark Accuride. Accuride is a registered trademark of Standard Precision, Inc. The tray also includes upstanding front and rear rim walls 50, 52 between which the keyboard may be positioned when supported on the tray's horizontal keyboard support surface 41. Tabs 54, 56 extend forwardly from side ^• rim walls 46, 48 and are each provided with an arcuate guide slot, one of which 60 is shown in Figure 3. The slots are each approximately one-quarter segments of a circle.

A dust cover door 62 is pivotally secured to the side rim walls at the tabs by pins or rivets 64, 66. The door may be formed of fiber -board or other suitable materials and includes a front face or wall 71 and a rear face or wall 72. The tabs extend into narrow slots 68, 70 formed in the rear wall 72 of the dust cover door. Pins 74, 76 are also located within the door and extend through respective arcuate guide slots. Pins 74, 76 cooperate with the slots to serve as a stop and support the door so that when the door is in its open position the generally flat rear wall 72 is supported approximately horizontally with the rear wall 72 elevated relative to tray surface 41 and located forwardly of the tray surface so as not to overly the tray surface 41. With a keyboard 14 positioned within the cabinet it has been found that a preferred placement location of the door's rear wall 72 is approximately level with the top surface of the spacer bar function key 80 on the keyboard 14. The keyboard contains a series of alpha-numeric character keys and other keys in various rows or steps placed at different horizontal levels. The spacer bar function key is on most standard keyboards an elongated bar that is located on the lowermost of these steps. The spacer bar function key will be located about 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) from the front rim wall 50 and the top surface of the spacer bar key will be about 1 inch (2.54 cm) from the bottom of the tray. When keying or operating the keyboard to provide instructions to the machine 12, the heels of the hands or wrists 16 of the operator (shown in phantom) are supported by the rear wall of the cover door and provide a comfortable means for operating the keyboard.

When the operator is through keying in instructions to the machine, the door may be pivoted 90° to its closed position and the tray moved rearwardly back into the cabinet housing 20 after first releasing conventional detents (not shown) provided along the channel slides. With the tray located within the cabinet housing, the door 62 covers the front of the housing to minimize dust collection on the keyboard and suitable locking means may be provided for securing the door in the closed position to prevent theft of the keyboard. If desired, means may be provided to prevent tipping over of the cabinet while the tray is extended outwardly due to the downward force upon the door in supporting the operator's hands or wrists. One means may comprise providing a Velcro (trademark) band across the bottom wall of the cabinet at the rear thereto and a complementary securing Velcro band secured to the machine surface to counter the force on the door. Industrial Effect

The work station cabinet described provides both a wrist rest support and a door for sealing the front face of the cabinet. The door structure itself is used to provide both functions thereby saving the expense of materials for separate structures. When the tray is pulled forward for keying entries into the keyboard, the wrist rest is supported above the surface 41 of the tray without overlying the tray surface so that the wrists of the operator are comfortably positioned for keying of entries.