Maxim Ergonomic Keyboard Owners Manual

Observe sensible guidelines when using any keyboard to help minimize the possibility of injury.Follow established guidelines for computer and workstation setup. See Appendix, "Ergonomic Guidelines for Computer Workstations."Maintain a proper keying posture and use a light touch to press the keys. Exercise good judgment in placing reasonable limits on your keyboarding time every day.Ensure that you take reasonable rest breaks from keyboarding during the course of the day.At the first sign of stress-related injury from keyboard use (aching, numbness, or tingling of arms, wrists, or hands), consult your health care professional.

Products design is bases on research, proven features, and user evaluations. However, because of the complex set of factors believed to contribute to computer-related injuries, the company can make no warranty that its products will prevent or cure any physical ailment.Your risk of injury may be affected by workstation and chair design, posture, time worked without breaks, type of work, activities outside of the workplace,and individual physiology.

Registering online or mail in registration form that came with your products.

This keyboard is PC compatible. Turn off your computer before connecting the keyboard. See "Connecting the Keyboard to Your Computer" for more informationon compatibility.

Turn off your computer. Plug the keyboard and 10-key together with the short cable, then plug the long keyboard cable into the 10-key's "PC" port. Finally, reconnectthe main cable to your computer's PS/2/USB keyboard port

You can use your adjustable keyboard just as it comes out the box, but you are missing out on the most important features! It is easy to customize for optimal comfort, but the chapter on "Customizing Your Keyboard" will make it a lot easier.

Most people like supporting the weight of their arms and shoulders on the built in palm supports. Be sure to stabilize the palm supports after each adjustment to the keyboard. Also, please use the self-adhesive pads provided. If you decide you don't want palm supports, see "Customizing Your Keyboard" for instructions on removing them.

The adjustable ergonomic keyboard sets a new standard in workstation ergonomics. Extensive ergonomic studies have resulted in an adjustable keyboard design which can be optimized by the user for his or her individual requirements and preferences.

The ergonomic keyboard can be individually adjusted to conform to the natural positions of your arms and hands. Ergonomic features include:

Padded, removable palm supportsAdjustable keyboard front-to-back slopeAdjustable hand/arm positioning (front opening angle)Adjustable lateral slope to relax forearm musclesEmbedded numeric keypad (10-key)Optional separate 10-key which can be positioned on either side of the keyboard or used alone

The Maxim adjustable ergonomic keyboard has a layout very similar to that of a traditional keyboard or a full size notebook computer. This provides virtually instantadaptation for new or occasional users. The few differences (discussed below) reduce the width of the keyboard and thus improve the positioning of the mouse forright-handed users compared to a traditional keyboard.

On a traditional keyboard, the navigation/editing keys form a two inch wide group of key pairs comprising the arrow keys plus Insert/delete, Home/End, and Pageup/ Pagedown. Because this group of keys is located between the alpha keys and the numeric keypad, it contributes to the significant width of the traditional keyboard which is responsible for the awkward mouse position right handed users experience.

The Maxim keyboard modifies this group of keys to reduce the keyboard width but maintains the traditional arrangement of the arrow keys and the grouping of functional pairs for the other navigation/editing keys.

The single biggest factor responsible for the narrow width of the Maxim keyboard is the use of an embedded numeric keypad like that used on most notebook computers.For occasional keypad use, numeric keypad actions are accessible by holding the left side "Fn" key while typing numeric keypad actions on the right side.

For intensive numeric data entry, most users will want to purchase the optional separate numeric keypad (see drawing below), which can be moved out of the waywhen using the mouse.

Special keys on the left side of your keyboard are provided for Windows operating systems. See your Windows documentation for their usage.

Before you start, turn off your PC and read these instructions completely before attempting to connect your new keyboard. A drawing of the keyboard and optionalnumeric keypad showing the key layout and cable connections is provided below.

The Maxim is intended for computers designed to accept PC-compatible (PS/2, alsoknown as "enhanced" or "101-105 style") keyboards.

If the keyboard is brought into the installation site from a cold environment, condensation may form. Before operating the keyboard, wait until it is absolutely dry and has reached approximately the same temperature as the installation site. During installation and before operating the keyboard, observe the information on environmental conditions in the section entitled "Product Specifications".

The keyboard comes with a five foot keyboard cable with a PS/2-USB connector. If you require a longer keyboard cable, you may use a commercially-available keyboard extension cable

Take care to lay cables in such a way that theycannot be tripped over or damaged.

Connect the keyboard cable to the PS/2-USBkeyboard port on your PC, then turn on yourcomputer.

Spread apart the left and right sections of the keyboard to exposure the phone-style connector before trying to disconnect the keyboard cable.

If you plan to use the separate numeric keypad, see the section "Numeric Keypad and Windows Keys" for instructions.

You will find it very easy to change from a traditional, flat keyboard to the new adjustable ergonomic keyboard. The traditional keyboard layout has been retained,allowing you to adjust the keyboard little by little to meet your needs.

The various adjustment options for the Kinesis Maxim adjustable ergonomickeyboard allow you to achieve a relaxing and neutral hand position and thus reducestress and increase comfort. Adjustments include:

Adjustable keyboard front-to-back slopeAdjustable hand/arm positioning (front opening angle)Adjustable lateral slopeRemovable palm supports

As with conventional keyboards, the slope can be changed from 6 E to 12 E byelevating the two keyboard feet at the back of the keyboard. For most users, 6 E ispreferable (rear feet left down).

When hands and arms are optimally positioned, the wrists are not bent. To achievethis position, you can adjust the front opening angle in five stages from 0 to 30degrees. Grasp the keyboard from the front and pull the left and right halves apartuntil you have the desired angle. After adjusting the opening angle, stabilize the palmsupports (see new page):

You may adjust the lateral keyboard slope to your preferred position. In order toprevent unnecessary muscle tension in the forearms, Kinesis recommends that youraise the center of the keyboard to form an angle of either 8 o or 14 o . The higher anglewill provide the most relief from forearm muscle tension, but may not be compatiblewith some keyboard drawers.

Two recessed grips are located on the backof the keyboard. Grasp these grips with bothhands and pull up (1) on the center of thekeyboard so that it bends at the centerhinge.

Raise the appropriate support flap (2) in the center of the keyboard. Use the smaller flap for an 8 E lateral slope or the larger flap for 14 E .

Note: Do not attempt to raise both flaps at once, or damage may occur.

Stabilize the palm supports if you have not removed them (see below).

The palm supports are provided for resting your hands when you pause from typing,since it is generally recommended that you do not rest your hands on palm supportswhile actually typing. They can be easily removed if you prefer. However, theirpresence can largely prevent the undesirable practice of "wrist extension" whiletyping, where the hands are bent upward at the wrist. If you choose to use the palmsupports, you should apply the self-adhesive palm pads provided.

To provide a stable base, the palm supports should be adjusted using the rotarycontrol wheels once you have selected the Lateral Slope position.

Turn the rotary adjusting wheel at the inside edge of each support until the thesupport does not rock or wobble during use. Each time you change the keyboardsetting, you must re-stabilize the palm supports (see figure)

First, adjust the lateral slope (refer to "Adjusting the lateral slope" above).Then, turn each of the two adjusting wheels all the way towards "--". If theadhesive pads cover the "-" symbol, see the drawing below.One at a time, turn the two control wheels back towards "+" symbol until eachpalm support is stable.

You may remove the palm supports if you prefer. Before you do so, the keyboardshould be disconnected from your computer and the keyboard sections must bepushed together and lowered to a flat position.

Disconnect the cable from its connector in the back of the keyboard (separate theleft and right modules at the front briefly to expose the release tab on the main cableconnector). Once the main cable is disconnected from the keyboard, tip the keyboardup so it is resting on its back edge.

Underneath the keyboard, where each palm support attaches to the main keyboardbody, you will see a

While pinching together the locking flange and nearby tab, slide the palm supporttowards the outside of the keyboard. If it doesn't slide easily, allow it to sag forwardslightly while sliding.

Damage caused byincorrect or careless removal of palm supports is not covered by the warranty.

The two halves of the keyboard must be pushed together before you attach the palmsupports. Then reinstall the palm supports, one at a time:# First, insert palm support from below into the slots provided in the keyboard.# Then slide the palm support towards the middle of the keyboard until it latches