Adjustable support for CRT keyboard

In combination, a primary support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, said primary support defining a front edge adjacent said primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an upwardly facing auxiliary work surface for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting said auxiliary support relative to said primary support in the vicinity of said front edge, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• first means positioned under and mounted on said primary support for pivotal movement relative thereto about a first substantially vertical hinge axis;
• second means mounted on the underside of said auxiliary support for pivotal movement relative thereto about a second substantially vertical hinge axis;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting vertical displacement of the auxiliary support relative to the primary support while maintaining said auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof remains substantially horizontal, said link means comprising a vertical parallelogram linkage with elongated upper and lower links having their rearward ends pivotally interconnected to said first means and their forward ends pivotally interconnected to said second means;
• spring means associated with said link means for exerting a biasing force tending to swing said link means upwardly to effect raising of said auxiliary support;
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• holding means including a manually movable actuator for preventing vertical pivotal displacement of said parallelogram linkage.

A support mechanism for movably supporting an auxiliary shelflike support on and relative to a primary support, the primary and auxiliary supports both defining thereon upwardly facing work surfaces, the support mechanism comprising:

• elongated guide rail means adapted to be fixedly secured to the underside of said primary support, said guide rail means defining an elongated linear guideway which extends in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to a front edge of said work support;
• carriage means movably supported on said guide rail means for linear reciprocating movement along said direction between an outer position wherein the carriage means is disposed under the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge thereof and an inner position wherein the carriage means is disposed under the primary support but is spaced rearwardly a substantial distance from the front edge thereof;
• first means mounted on said carriage means for pivoting movement relative thereto about a first substantially vertical hinge axis;
• second means adapted to be mounted to and project downwardly from the underside of said auxiliary support for permitting pivoting movement of said auxiliary support relative to said second means about a second substantially vertical hinge axis which is spaced transversely a substantial distance from said first vertical hinge axis;
• elongated link means extending between and being vertically pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting the auxiliary support as mounted on said second means to be vertically raised and lowered relative to the primary support while maintaining the upper surface of the auxiliary support substantially horizontal, said elongated link means comprising an elongated parallelogram linkage having elongated and parallel upper and lower links having their rearward ends horizontally pivotally connected to said first means and their forward ends horizontally pivotally connected to said second means;
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• spring means coacting with said elongated link means for normally urging same to vertically swing upwardly about the rearward ends of said links.

In combination, a primary support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, the primary support having a front edge adjacent the primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing auxiliary work surface adapted for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, the auxiliary shelflike support having front and rear edges and spaced side edges so that the auxiliary support is of substantial sideward extent, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting the auxiliary support relative to the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge of said primary support, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• carriage means positioned under and movably mounted on the underside of said primary support for linear horizontal translation of said carriage means relative to said primary support along a direction which extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the front edge of said primary support;
• first means positioned under said primary support and mounted on said carriage means for pivotal movement relative to said carriage means about a first substantially vertical hinge axis;
• second means mounted on the underside of said auxiliary support for pivotal movement relative thereto about a second substantially vertical hinge axis which is spaced a substantial distance from said first vertical hinge axis;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting vertical displacement of the auxiliary support relative to the primary support while maintaining said auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof maintains its predetermined upwardly-facing orientation relative to the auxiliary support and is not changed due to the vertical swinging of the link means;
• said link means comprising a pair of elongated and substantially parallel upper links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship, said pair of upper links having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a first substantially horizontal pivot axis, and having their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a second substantially horizontal pivot axis;
• said link means including a pair of elongated and substantially parallel lower links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship and having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a third substantially horizontal pivot axis, and having their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a fourth substantially horizontal pivot axis;
• each of said upper links being respectively positioned closely adjacent one of said lower links, and the sideward spacing between said pairs of upper and lower links being a small fraction of the overall sideward extent of said auxiliary support;
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• means for locking said link means to prevent vertical swinging thereof, said locking means including a manually-accessible locking member.

In combination, a primary work support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, the primary support having a front edge adjacent the primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing auxiliary work surface adapted for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, the auxiliary shelflike support having front and rear edges and spaced side edges so that the auxiliary support is of substantial sideward extent, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting the auxiliary support relative to the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge of the primary support, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• carriage means positioned under and movably mounted on the underside of said primary support for linear horizontal translation of said carriage means relative to said primary support along a direction which extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the front edge of said primary support, said carriage means permits horizontal linear translation of said auxiliary support relative to said primary support between (1) an inner storage position wherein the auxiliary support is disposed substantially directly under said primary support, (2) an outer use position wherein said auxiliary support is positioned entirely forwardly of the primary support so that the rear edge of the auxiliary support is spaced forwardly a substantial distance from the front edge of the primary support, and (3) an intermediate use position wherein the auxiliary support is still positioned in its entirety forwardly of said primary support but is disposed with its rear edge horizontally closely adjacent the front edge of the primary support;
• first means positioned under said primary support and mounted on said carriage means;
• second means mounted on said auxiliary support and positioned below the underside thereof;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting vertical displacement of the auxiliary support relative to the primary support while maintaining said auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof maintains its predetermined upwardly facing orientation relative to the primary support and is not changed due to the vertical swinging of the link means, said link means permitting said auxiliary support to be swingably vertically moved between a raised use position wherein the auxiliary support is approximately horizontally aligned with the primary support and a lowered storage position wherein the auxiliary support is vertically spaced downwardly a substantial distance below the primary support to permit the auxiliary support and a keyboard unit thereon to be positioned substantially entirely below the primary support, said link means also permitting the auxiliary support to be vertically moved into a partially lowered use position wherein the auxiliary support is vertically spaced downwardly only a small distance below said primary support such that the keyboard unit is approximately horizontally aligned with the front edge of said primary support but said auxiliary support is spaced upwardly from said lowered storage position;
• said link means comprising a vertical parallelogram linkage including a pair of elongated and substantially parallel upper links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship, said pair of upper links having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a first substantially horizontal pivot axis and their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a second substantially horizontal pivot axis, the sideward spacing between said pair of upper links being a small fraction of the overall sideward extent of said auxiliary support, and an elongated lower link positioned sidewardly between said upper links and having its rearward end pivotally joined to said first means about a third substantially horizontal pivot axis and its outer end pivotally joined to said second means about a fourth substantially horizontal pivot axis;
• stop means coacting between said link means and said primary support and effective when the auxiliary support is in said partially lowered and raised use positions for preventing inward movement of the auxiliary support from said intermediate use position toward said inner storage position so as to prevent the keyboard unit from being struck by the primary support, said stop means including a stop which is fixedly positioned adjacent the underside of said primary support and is spaced rearwardly from the front edge thereof, said stop means being ineffective when the auxiliary support is in said lowered storage position for permitting the auxiliary support to be slidably displaced into said inner storage position;
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• means for locking said link means at either of said end positions or at any intermediate position therebetween to prevent vertical swinging thereof, said locking means including a readily-accessible, manually-engageable locking member for controlling the locking and unlocking of said link means.

In combination, a primary support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, the primary support having a front edge adjacent the primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing auxiliary work surface adapted for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, the auxiliary shelflike support having front and rear edges and spaced side edges so that the auxiliary support is of substantial sideward extent, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting the auxiliary support relative to the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge of the primary support, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• carriage means positioned under and movably mounted on the underside of said primary support for linear horizontal translation of said carriage means relative to said primary support along a direction which extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the front edge of said primary support;
• first means positioned under said primary support and mounted on said carriage means;
• second means mounted on said auxiliary support and positioned below the underside thereof;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting vertical displacement of the auxiliary support between raised and lowered end positions relative to the primary support while maintaining said auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof maintains its predetermined upwardly facing orientation relative to the auxiliary support and is not changed due to the vertical swinging of the link means;
• said link means comprising a vertical parallelogram linkage including a pair of elongated and substantially parallel upper links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship, said pair of upper links having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a first substantially horizontal pivot axis and their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a second substantially horizontal pivot axis, the sideward spacing between said pair of upper links being a small fraction of the overall sideward extent of said auxiliary support, an elongated lower link positioned sidewardly between said upper links and having its rearward end pivotally joined to said first means about a third substantially horizontal pivot axis and its outer end pivotally joined to said second means about a fourth substantially horizontal pivot axis, and an elongated top wall extending sidewardly between and fixedly joined to the upper edges of said upper links for defining a channel-shaped member which opens downwardly and has said lower link positioned substantially therein;
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• means for locking said link means at either of said end positions or at any intermediate position therebetween to prevent vertical swinging thereof, said locking means including a readily-accessible, manually-engageable locking member for controlling the locking and unlocking of said link means.

In combination, a primary support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, the primary support having a front edge adjacent the primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing auxiliary work surface adapted for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, the auxiliary shelflike support having front and rear edges and spaced side edges so that the auxiliary support is of substantial sideward extent, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting the auxiliary support relative to the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge of the primary support, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• carriage means positioned under and movably mounted on the underside of said primary support for linear horizontal translation of said carriage means relative to said primary support along a direction which extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the front edge of said primary support;
• first means positioned under said primary support and mounted on said carriage means;
• second means mounted on said auxiliary support and positioned below the underside thereof;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting vertical displacement of the auxiliary support between raised and lowered end positions relative to the primary support while maintaining said auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof maintains its predetermined upwardly facing orientation relative to the auxiliary support and is not changed due to the vertical swinging of the link means;
• said link means comprising a vertical parallelogram linkage including a pair of elongated and substantially parallel upper links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship, said pair of upper links having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a first substantially horizontal pivot axis and their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a second substantially horizontal pivot axis, the sideward spacing between said pair of upper links being a small fraction of the overall sideward extent of said auxiliary support, and an elongated lower link positioned sidewardly between said upper links and having its rearward end pivotally joined to said first means about a third substantially horizontal pivot axis and its outer end pivotally joined to said second means about a fourth substantially horizontal pivot axis;
• said first means being mounted on said carriage means for pivotal movement relative thereto about substantially vertical hinge axis means for enabling the link means and the auxiliary support mounted thereon to be horizontally angularly displaced relative to the primary support;
• and
• means for locking said link means at either of said end positions or at any intermediate position therebetween to prevent vertical swinging thereof, said locking means including a readily-accessible, manually-engageable locking member for controlling the locking and unlocking of said link means.

In combination, a primary support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, the primary support having a front edge adjacent the primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing auxiliary work surface adapted for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, the auxiliary shelflike support having front and rear edges and spaced side edges so that the auxiliary support is of substantial sideward extent, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting the auxiliary support relative to the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge of the primary support, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• carriage means positioned under and movably mounted on the underside of said primary support for linear horizontal translation of said carriage means relative to said primary support along a direction which extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the front edge of said primary support;
• first means positioned under said primary support and mounted on said carriage means;
• second means mounted on said auxiliary support and positioned below the underside thereof, said second means being mounted on and projecting downwardly from the underside of said auxiliary support for pivotal movement relative thereto about a substantially vertical hinge axis for permitting horizontal angular displacement of said auxiliary support relative to said primary support;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting vertical displacement of the auxiliary suport between raised and lowered end positions relative to the primary support while maintaining said auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof maintains its predetermined upwardly facing orientation relative to the auxiliary support and is not changed due to the vertical swinging of the link means;
• said link means comprising a vertical parallelogram linkage including a pair of elongated and substantially parallel upper links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship, said pair of upper links having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a first substantially horizontal pivot axis and their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a second substantially horizontal pivot axis, the sideward spacing between said pair of upper links being a small fraction of the overall sideward extent of said auxiliary support, and an elongated lower link positioned sidewardly between said upper links and having its rearward end pivotally joined to said first means about a third substantially horizontal pivot axis and its outer end pivotally joined to said second means about a fourth substantially horizontal pivot axis;
• and
• means for locking said link means at either of said end positions or at any intermediate position therebetween to prevent vertical swinging thereof, said locking means including a readily-accessible, manually-engageable locking member for controlling the locking and unlocking of said link means.

In combination, a primary support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing primary work surface, the primary support having a front edge adjacent the primary work surface, an auxiliary shelflike support defining thereon an enlarged upwardly facing auxiliary work surface adapted for supporting a keyboard unit thereon, the auxiliary shelflike support having front and rear edges and spaced side edges so that the auxiliary support is of substantial sideward extent, and mounting means connecting said primary and auxiliary work supports together for movably supporting the auxiliary support relative to the primary support in the vicinity of the front edge of the primary support, the improvement wherein said mounting means comprises:

• carriage means positioned under and movably mounted on the underside of said primary support for linear horizontal translation of said carriage means relative to said primary support along a direction which extends substantially perpendicularly with respect to the front edge of said primary support;
• first means positioned under said primary support and mounted on said carriage means;
• second means mounted on said auxiliary support and positioned under the underside thereof;
• vertically swingable, elongated link means having the opposite ends thereof pivotally connected to said first and second means for permitting swinging vertical displacement of the auxiliary support between raised and lowered end positions relative to the primary support while maintaining the auxiliary support oriented so that the upper surface thereof maintains its predetermined upwardly facing orientation relative to the primary support and is not changed due to the vertical swinging of the link means;
• said link means comprising a vertical parallelogram linkage including a first pair of elongated and substantially parallel links disposed in adjacent but sidewardly spaced relationship, said first pair of links having their rear ends pivotally joined to said first means about a first substantially horizontal pivot axis and their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a second substantially horizontal pivot axis, the sideward spacing between said first pair of links being a small fraction of the overall sideward extent of said auxiliary support, and a second pair of elongated and substantially parallel links disposed substantially between the links of said first pair and having their rearward ends pivotally joined to said first means about a third substantially horizontal pivot axis and their outer ends pivotally joined to said second means about a fourth substantially horizontal pivot axis, the pivot axes associated with said first and second pairs of links being respectively vertically spaced from one another to define said vertical parallelogram, and elongated top wall extending sidewardly between the upper edges of the links of the first pair for defining a channel-like configuration which opens downwardly and has the links of said second pair positioned substantially therein;
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• spring means coacting with said link means for normally urging same to swing upwardly about said first and third pivot axes from said lowered end position into said raised end position, said spring means being elongated generally in the lengthwise direction of said link means and disposed substantially within said channel-like configuration below said top wall.