THE OFFICE IS NOT A SPACE TO GO BUT A PLACE TO CONNECT TO
If on one hand, as one can infer from / as specified by Title VII of Italian Legislative Decree 81/08 of the Consolidated Law on safety at work, the use of the video display does not take into account the application to word processing machines without separate screens (art. 172), on the other hand, art. 173 defines a video terminal as “an alphanumeric and graphic screen regardless of the type of display procedure used”.
Furthermore, the obligations of the employer (art. 174) towards the video terminals are the same regardless of the features and the type of instrument, paying particular attention to the ergonomic conditions and environmental hygiene of the workstation to protect the employee from the following problems:
• damages to or worsening of the vision
• postural problems
• physical and mental fatigue
THE TREND OF LAPTOPS GROWS THANKS TO E-LEARNING AND REMOTE WORKING
The acceleration of flexibility and remote working in addition to the increasingly continuous and mandatory use of the laptop by students give life to CUBITUS, a concept that, following the principle of user-centred design, considers the real needs and comfort of the user as the main drivers for the design.
THE PRODUCT ADAPTS TO THE USER
This product offers an improved solution that elevates the qualities of a typical laptop to today’s ergonomic standards without omitting out the aspects of portability at the base of the design of each portable computer.
The peculiarity of CUBITUS is to have a patented hinge system interposed between the base of the laptop, which integrates the digital keyboard, and the screen.
When the laptop is entirely closed, the hinge system remains within the thickness of the monitor, while when it is open, it can unfold up to the maximum height and tilt to adapt to the individual user.
WHAT IF THE COMFORT OF A DESKTOP WERE PORTABLE?
The adjustment is progressive and allows you to position the monitor at intermediate heights through braking and locking systems made inside the hinges.
The digital keyboard also offers countless advantages: it allows the implementation of different languages, the increase of characters for the visually impaired, the repositioning of the touchpad for right and left-handed users.
CUBITUS,
A MAN-SIZE NAME
A MAN-SIZE NAME
The term “Cŭbĭtus” derives from Latin and means elbow, an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the middle finger (1 Hebrew cubit = 44.45cm).
There is also a trace in the Bible according to which Noah’s Ark would have been 300 cubits long.
CUBITUS, therefore, bases its principles on scientific measurement and replicates the flexibility of the human arm in its movement.
HOW ANTHROPOMETRY TEACHES
Anthropometry and ergonomics teach us that each individual has precise anatomical characteristics, with unique compartmental measures, which respond to natural laws and not always to decrees and legal regulations.
Annex XXXIV relating to the minimum requirements on video terminals provides that the screen must be positioned in front of the operator. Thus, even by employng any adjustment devices, the upper edge of the screen is placed a little lower than the horizon, which passes through the operator’s eyes and at a distance of 50/70 cm.
Thanks to these practical considerations, CUBITUS will be able to adapt the height of its screen to each individual, avoiding a hyperflexion of the cervical spine, which can cause in the medium-long term the loss of physiological lordosis by depriving it of 50%
of its resistance, which can be ascertained through the formula R = N2 + 1 *
of its resistance, which can be ascertained through the formula R = N2 + 1 *
* R = resistance of the spine N2 + 1 = number of curves (cervical lordosis, thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis) squared + one
AUTHORS
CUBITUS is a project by:
Raul Guelfi Posturometry - University of Siena / Certified ergonomic S.I.E.
Samuele Montorfano Industrial designer
MAIN Engineering S.r.l.
CONTACTS
Raul Guelfi raulguelfi@yahoo.it - +39 3482617748
Samuele Montorfano www.linkedin.com/in/samuelemontorfano
MAIN Engineering S.r.l. www.mainengineering.it/
www.linkedin.com/company/main-engineering/
