Vertical Exercise Keyboard with Striking Pads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interactive fitness systems lack resistance to actuation and are not configured for standard keyboard input, failing to provide an effective way to combine exercise with computer keyboarding.
Innovation Solution
An oversize vertical keyboard with striking pads that integrate electronic switches, allowing users to input commands by punching or kicking, connected via conventional or wireless interfaces to a computer, with adjustable height and flexible configuration for user comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional keyboard is used for computer input, then keyboarding efficiency is maintained, but physical exercise is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard is designed to serve dual functions: standard computer input device and exercise equipment. The striking pads can be activated both by traditional key presses and by physical strikes (punches, kicks), allowing the same device to provide both productivity and physical exercise benefits simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges two previously separate functions (keyboard input and exercise) into a single integrated system. The striking pads combine the functionality of computer keys with exercise targets, creating a unified device that accomplishes both tasks in one interaction
2Ease of operation
If existing fitness systems use camera tracking, then motion tracking is achieved, but resistance to actuation and keyboard input capability are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces optical/camera-based detection systems with direct mechanical contact sensors (switches integrated into striking pads). This provides more reliable detection of intentional strikes and enables precise mapping to keyboard input codes, achieving both ease of operation and keyboard adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The striking pads with integrated switches serve as an intermediary between physical motion and digital input. Rather than directly tracking body motion with cameras, the system uses the pad activation as a mediator to convert physical strikes into standardized keyboard codes, ensuring both ease of use and proper keyboard input functionality
3Area of stationary object
If keyboard size is reduced for desk space, then space efficiency is improved, but striking surface area for exercise is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard transitions from a horizontal desk surface configuration to a vertical wall-mounted or standing configuration. This dimensional change allows the striking pads to be arranged vertically, providing adequate striking surface area for exercise while maintaining a compact footprint that fits in vertical space rather than horizontal desk space
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective keyboarding input while exercising, providing a form of physical activity that combines with computer usage, enhancing user engagement and physical exertion during tasks like word processing or gaming.
Implementation Method 1
Each striking pad has an integrated switch that activates when the pad is struck with sufficient force
Data Source
AI summary
An exercise keyboard including a substantially vertical keyboard array of keypads arranged for typing alphanumeric letters by pushing of keypads of the array so as to type one the letter per the push of one of the keypads. Each keypad is padded so as to accommodate the pushing of the keypads by striking or kicking of the keypads by a user. The array is mounted in, and advantageously to, a supporting frame and sized for the striking or kicking of the key pads by a user while standing. The keyboard is adapted for communication with a computer.