Instrumented computer keyboard for prevention of injury

摘要

A system to monitor the force with which a user strikes keys on a computer keyboard and to alert a user if the force used is greater than a threshold. The system includes a keyboard having a casing and a programmable computer processor coupled to the keyboard. The programmable computer processor includes a sound card having a microphone input port. A vibration sensor (transducer) is mounted on the casing of the keyboard to sense vibrations when the user strikes the keys of the keyboard. The sensor is coupled to the sound card of the programmable computer processor via the microphone input port. The sensor generates electrical signals as input to the sound card. An alarm is output in real-time to the user of the keyboard when the sensor's signals are greater than the threshold.