GB2327256A - A wrist rest for use with a keyboard or a computer mouse - Google Patents

Abstract

A wrist rest for use with a keyboard or a computer mouse comprises a base block 2 of relatively soft foamed plastics or rubber and a top part 4 of relatively hard flexible material with an overhang H of at least 1 mm, preferably 5-12 mm, wherein the top layer carries printing. The overhang preferably should droop either naturally or with the weight of the user's wrist thereon. The base block may have a thickness of 10-25 mm. The rest includes a pealable release layer 18 and a double sided self adhesive layer 16, the top part is secured to the base block by a double sided self adhesive layer and includes a skin 10 for receiving printing, a plasticised layer 12 and a varnish or cover seal film 14. The rest may be arcuate or rectangular and may be approximately 170 mm x 65 mm.

Description

WRIST REST This invention relates to wrist rests.

Mouse users often use a mouse mat to provide a suitable surface for the action of the mouse. However computers users, such as graphic designers or those using the Internet, who are heavy users of the mouse can suffer from fatigue in the wrist and run the risk of repetitive strain injury. A block of foamed plastics or rubber material of suitable thickness would perform satisfactorily as a wrist rest. Indeed, such blocks are available for key boarding. It is desired to produce wrist rests bearing advertising material for promoting other products. In order to do that it must be printed preferably in full colour.

Foams are very poor materials for printing, being not receptive to ink and fine details being difficult. An exception is polyvinyl chloride nitrile (PVC nitrile) but this is too soft.

Against this background, there is provided a wrist rest, comprising a relatively thick base block of relatively soft foamed plastics or rubber and a top layer of printed relatively hard flexible material overhanging the edges of the base block by at least 1 mm.

The material of the top layer may be chosen independent of the properties of the material of the base block. One property which may be considered in choosing the top layer is its ability to receive printing. Another property which may be considered is to be sufficiently soft to be comfortable. The overhang is intended to prevent the edges of the top layer from chaffing the user's wrist. In order to achieve that, the overhang should droop either naturally or with the weight of the user's wrist thereon.

On the other hand, the overhang should not droop too much since that detracts from the appearance of the rest. The performance in this respect may also be considered when choosing a material for the top layer.

The degree of overhang necessary depends on the flexibility of the top layer. It is expected that for most suitable materials the overhang will be 5 to 12 mm.

The block is preferably 10 to 25 mm thick.

The top layer is preferably from 1.5 to 2.5 mm thick., most preferably 2 mm.

The flexible layer may be expanded plastics or rubber having a non expanded top skin for receiving the printing.

Preferred materials for the block are foamed polyvinyl chloride nitrile, ethylene propylene diene monomer, or ethyl vinyl acetate.

A preferred material for the top layer is made from expanded polyvinyl chloride.

In order to allow the user to stick the rest to a mouse mat, the underside of the base block may be covered with a layer of self adhesive and a release layer.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a wrist rest embodying the invention; and Figure 2 is a side view of the wrist rest of Figure 1 in which the vertical scale of some of the layers is exaggerated.

Referring to the drawings, the wrist rest is arcuate in plan being approximately 170 mm long overall (L) and about 65 mm wide (W). These dimensions are intended for use with a mouse. For keyboarding, to accommodate both wrists, either two rests would be used or the rest would need to be longer, e.g. 450 mm to correspond with the length of a PC keyboard. In an alternative example, not shown, the rest may be rectangular in plan.

The wrist rest has a relatively soft foamed plastics base block 2 which is 10 to 25 mm thick. Suitable materials are foamed polyvinyl chloride nitrile (PVC) nitrile, soft ethylene propylene diene monomer, or ethyl vinyl acetate.

(PVC) nitrile is too soft to use on its own. The other materials do not print readily.

In order to provide a printable surface a top layer 4 of flexible material is bonded to the block 2, e.g. with double sided self adhesive tape. In fact the layer 2 is printed before assembly. The top layer comprises expanded polyvinyl chloride which is manufactured by poring a non expanded emulsion of polyvinyl chloride onto a surface having a release coating so as to form a to form a skin 10.

The release coated surface has a mat finish to impart a mat finish on the skin 10. The layer is partially cured in an oven and a layer of polyvinyl chloride emulsion is pored onto the skin 10 and oven-cured to form an expanded highly plasticised layer 12. The amount of plasticiser in the skin 10 should not be so great that the skin is tacky at room temperature, although the underside of the expanded layer 12 may be tacky at room temperature. The total thickness of the layer 10,12 is in the range 1.5 to 2.5 mm, preferably about 2 mm.

Before assembly the skin 10 is printed. Suitable processes are screen printing or transfer printing. In the case of transfer printing the surface may first screen printed with a white continuous layer or a matrix of white dots. The printed surface may be protected by a varnish or by a transparent self adhesive coverseal film 14.

The top layer 4, in general, will be harder than the foam block and, especially if a coverseal film is used, will tend to have a hard edge which will be uncomfortable and may chaff a user's wrist. In order to improve the user's comfort, the top layer overhangs the edge of the base block by a distance H all round. The distance H which is necessary to provide acceptable comfort will depend on the relative stiffness, or softness of the top layer.

Basically, it needs to curl over a little at least in use.

The softer the material the smaller the overhang which is necessary. The less flexible, or harder, the material, the greater the overhang which is necessary. A preferred range for H, using the expanded polyvinyl chloride layer described above, is 5 to 12 mm. As little as 1 mm may be provided if the top layer 4 is sufficiently soft.

In order to allow the user to stick the rest to a mouse mat, a layer of double sided self adhesive tape 16 may be adhered to the bottom surface of the block 2 and covered by a pealable release layer 18.

Claims (8)

1. A wrist rest, comprising a relatively thick base block of compressible foamed plastics or rubber and a top layer of printed flexible material overhanging the edges of the base block by at least 1 mm.

2. A wrist rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein the overhang is 5 to 12mm.

3. A wrist rest as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the block is 10 to 25 mm thick.

4. A wrist rest as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the top layer is from 1.5 to 2.5 mm thick.

5. A wrist rest as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the flexible layer is expanded plastics or rubber having a non expanded top skin.

6. A wrist rest as claimed in claim 5, wherein the block is made from foamed polyvinyl chloride nitrile, ethylene propylene diene monomer, or ethyl vinyl acetate.

7. A wrist rest as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the top layer is made from expanded polyvinyl chloride.

8. A wrist rest as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the underside of the base block is covered with a layer of self adhesive and a release layer.