US 5,788,195 · Granted 1998-08-04
The Palm Rest That Promised to Save Your Wrists
This patent describes a cushioned palm rest that slides under your keyboard to prop up your hands at the right angle. The idea is simple: support your palms while you type so your wrists don't hurt after hours of work. It's basically ergonomics meets furniture.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a palm rest with a rectangular hand-support section, a base, and a curved connector between them that lets users adjust the height to match their keyboard and desk setup. What's protected here is the specific combination of these three parts working together, plus the idea that the curved section allows height adjustment so different people can customize their hand position.
Why it matters
In the 1990s, repetitive strain injuries from typing were becoming a real problem for office workers, and ergonomics was gaining attention as a health and workplace issue. This patent captures an early attempt to solve that problem with a simple, adjustable accessory. While it may not have made the inventor wealthy, it represents the kind of incremental design thinking that transformed computer workstations from pain-inducing to tolerable.
Real-world use
Anyone who's sat at a desk typing for eight hours and felt their wrists ache would recognize this: a cushioned pad in front of the keyboard cradling your palms so they don't bend backward unnaturally.
Original USPTO abstract
Disclosed is a palm rest (220) for use with a computer data entry devices such as a computer keyboard (222) that minimizes an alleviated posture- and stress-related disorders associated with use of computer devices. The palm rest includes a hand-support section (226) that is substantially rectangular-shaped to allow the fingers of a user to readily access the computer keyboard, a base (224), and a curvilinear section (226) that couples the hand-support section to the base. The curvilinear section allows a user to adjust the height of the hand-support section according to user preference and the heights of individual data entry devices.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,788,195
- Filing date
- 1995-07-17
- Grant date
- 1998-08-04
- Assignee
- Rice; Gregory H.
- Inventor(s)
- RICE; GREGORY H.
- CPC class
- G06F3/0395
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