GB2273651A

GB2273651A - Keyboard cleaning.

Info

Publication number: GB2273651A
Application number: GB9226741A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John William Shaw
Original assignee: SYSTEMCARE 2000 Ltd
Current assignee: SYSTEMCARE 2000 Ltd
Priority date: 1992-12-22
Filing date: 1992-12-22
Publication date: 1994-06-29
Anticipated expiration: 2012-12-22
Also published as: GB9226741D0; GB2273651B

Abstract

A method of cleaning and a device for cleaning keyboards of computers, typewriters, control panels and the like comprises a flexible sheet of a plastics film or textile provided with an area of hooked or looped Velcro (Registered Trade Mark) material on at least one face which is used dry and/or in combination with a solvent to clean between, around and on the keep and board. The sheet may be rectangular or L shaped and may have said Velcro material over the whole of one face only.

Description

KEYBOARD CLEANING This invention relates to keyboards as used on typewriters, computers, telephones, control panels, shop tills and the like. Frequent use of keyboards results in an accumulation of dirt on the keys and around them, and conventional cleaning methods are unsatisfactory because they risk damage to sensitive areas of. the apparatus behind these. The object of the invention is to solve this problem.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a method of cleaning a keyboard comprises providing a thin flexible sheet of material bearing an area of a male hooked or looped Velcro (Registered Trade mark) material on at least one face, and using said material to clean the keyboard.

According to another aspect of the invention, a device for cleaning a keyboard comprises an area of flexible sheet material provided with an area of male hooked or looped Velcro (Registered Trade Nark material) on at least part of at least one face of the material.

The material may be PVC or polypropylene sheet, that is to say a thick continuous film, typically, but without limitation, of the order of 3mm thick. Alternatively a textile material may be used, and if so the textile may be a woven synthetic material.

Preferably the sheet is of the order of say 75-100 mm long and about 40-50 mm wide so as to be sufficiently large to be grasped by one corner or end but sufficiently small to have an area projecting from the fingers which area can be manipulated between around and on the keys of the keyboard or key pad.

According to a particular feature of the invention the sheet is non-rectangular. A preferred shape is somewhat L-shaped as produced by taking a rectangle and removing a piece equal to about one quarter of the area from one corner. One of the limbs of the L can be tapered and have a narrower free end than the root which is attached to and integral with the other limb.

It is preferred to provide the Velcro material over the whole of one face only, In use, the sheet can be applied in a dry or in a wet and dry cleaning routine.

For light soiling, as is mainly due to build up of the fats and oils in the human skin which become applied to the keyboard as a result of finger and hand contact and which cause dust and foreign bodies to adhere, the dry Velcro material may be rubbed gently across the pads of the keys, that is the area contacted by the finger, and between the keys so as to clean the sides of them and the face of the keyboard panel between them.

The dirt becomes transferred to and retained by the Velcro material, and when the sheet has accumulated å relatively large amount of such dirt it can be discarded and replaced.

Alternatively, used sheets can be washed in a solvent to flush the dirt from the pad to make it reusable.

With a particularly greasy or otherwise dirty keyboard eg one used in a workshop it may be desirable to apply a solvent to the sheet and possibly to the face which is not coated with Velcro and first use that in a similar fashion to loosen the dirt. Preferably the solvent is applied to the sheet by a spray action so as to provide a relatively thin film of solvent to minimize or avoid any chance of solvent dripping between the keys and entering the circuitry area of the keyboard. As the solvent evaporates the sheet becomes dry for finishing the cleaning process.

It is found experimentally that when the keyboard is installed in a computer room with a controlled atmosphere, the sheet can be used dry and without any solvent and with regular use the keyboard can be kept in as-new condition. With keyboards used in ordinary ambient conditions and particularly if allowed to become very dirty- before being cleaned, it may be necessary to use a solvent first, i.e. the wet and dry process referred to above.

Claims

1. A method of cleaning a keyboard including the steps of providing a flexible sheet of material bearing an area of hooked or looped Velcro (Registered Trade Mark) material on at least part of at least one face, and using said sheet to clean the keyboard.

2. A method as in Claim l wherein the sheet is used dry

3. A method as in Claim 1 further including the step of applying a solvent to the sheet for application to loosen dirt on the keyboard.

4. A method as in Claim 3 wherein the solvent is sprayed onto the sheet to provide a thin film thereof.

5. A method as in Claim 3 or 4 wherein the sheet is first used to apply the solvent, and then, as the solvent evaporates therefrom, the cleaning process is finished using the sheet dry.

6. A method of cleaning a keyboard substantially as hereinbefore described.

7. A device for cleaning a keyboard comprising a piece of flexible sheet material bearing an area of hooked or looped Velcro (Registered Trade Mark) material on at least part of at least one face.

8. A device as in Claim 7 wherein the sheet material is a continuous film of PVC or polypropylene.

9. A device as in Claim 7 wherein the sheet material is a woven synthetic or other textile material.

10. A device as in Claim 7,8 or 9 wherein the sheet is 75-100 mm long and 40-50 mm wide.

11. A device as in any one of Claims 7 to 9 wherein the sheet is generally L-shaped as produced by taking a rectangle and removing a piece equal to about one quarter of the area from one corner.

12. A device as in Claim 11 wherein one limb of the L shape is tapered, having a free end which is narrower than the root attached integrally to the other limb.

13. A device as in any one of Claims 7 to 12 wherein the Velcro (Registered Trade Mark) material is provided over the whole of one face only of the sheet.

14. A device for cleaning a keyboard substantially as hereinbefore described.