US 5,653,499 · Granted 1997-08-05

The 1997 Chair Bracket That Turned Office Chairs Into Desks

Imagine bolting keyboard and mouse platforms directly onto your office chair so you can work from anywhere in the room without moving to a desk. This patent covers a bracket system that clamps to a chair's base and lets you adjust the platforms up, down, left, right, and forward and backward to find your perfect working position.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a bracket assembly that attaches to an office chair's pedestal and supports detachable platforms for a keyboard and mouse. What's protected here is the specific mechanical system for mounting these platforms so they can be adjusted along all three axes (up/down, left/right, forward/backward), and the ability to install the platforms on either the left or right side of the chair. The design also allows the platforms to be repurposed—the keyboard surface can become a writing desk, and the mouse platform can function as an armrest.

Why it matters

This patent addresses a real workplace problem: the gap between ergonomic needs and office space constraints. By making the chair itself a work platform rather than just a seat, the invention offered flexibility to workers in cramped offices or those who needed to move around while keeping their computer accessible. The adjustability across all three axes was novel enough to warrant patent protection, distinguishing it from simpler fixed-mount designs that competitors might have tried.

Real-world use

When a customer service rep or trader needs to work at multiple stations without leaving their chair, or a student wants to study in a dorm room without a dedicated desk, they could position this bracket system to create a mobile workstation.

Original USPTO abstract

A system of brackets that attach to a typical office chair which support platforms for a keyboard and mouse. The bracket system attaches to the pedestal of a chair and allows for adjustment of the position of the keyboard and mouse platform along all three axis's. The bracket system allows the keyboard and mouse platforms to be mounted from either the left or right side of the chair. The bracket system is designed to support a keyboard and mouse, but the keyboard platform could also be used as a writing surface, or the mouse platform could serve as an arm rest.

Patent details

Publication number: US 5,653,499
Filing date: 1994-11-30
Grant date: 1997-08-05
Assignee: Goodall; Kirk Bryant
Inventor(s): GOODALL; KIRK BRYANT
CPC class: A47B83/02

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