AU3961699A

AU3961699A - A stand

Info

Publication number: AU3961699A
Application number: AU39616/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Keith Hamish Bowen; John Douglas Wilson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-05-01
Filing date: 1999-04-30
Publication date: 1999-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2019-04-30
Also published as: AU750091B2; WO1999057705A1; CA2330652A1; NZ330349A

Description

WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 A STAND The Technical Field 5 The present invention relates to a stand for a data input unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stand for a data input unit incorporating means for displaying graphic material. Background of the Invention 10 Standalone EFTPOS terminals which may also accept credit cards and SMARTCARDs (which we will hereafter call EFTPOS machines) are becoming increasingly prevalent with the increased use of electronic transactions. Manufacturers of EFTPOS and SMARTCARD machines do 15 not generally offer any stand for use with their devices. Those that are available are of minimalistic design. Because of this, a retailer is usually presented with a flat display swipe machine that fits on their counter and does not ergonomically align itself with the vision of an user. In addition, the electrical cables of such devices appear untidy and unattractive on a 20 sales counter. There are a number of advertising units which incorporate light transmitting sheets containing graphic material which are illuminated by fluorescent or other lights. However, these are dedicated advertising units 25 and require specific spaces to be set aside for their use. Disclosure of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide an attractive and 30 ergonomic stand for a data input unit such as an EFTPOS or SMARTCARD handling machine, whilst combining an advertising capability into the stand. Accordingly, there is provided a stand for a data input unit comprising: 35 a body having an elevated support surface suitable for supporting a data input unit at a desired viewing angle, and a display plate for interchangeably mounting graphic material at a desired viewing angle.

WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -2 Preferably the body has a cavity formed therein and illumination means are provided within the cavity to illuminate the graphics incorporated in the display plate. 5 The invention also extends to a stand for a data input unit comprising: a body having means for supporting a data input unit; a display plate for interchangeably mounting graphic material at a desired viewing angle; and 10 means for illuminating the graphic material in use. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to 15 the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1: shows a top side perspective view of a support stand according to a first embodiment; 20 Figure 2: shows a side view of the support stand shown in Figure 1 with illuminating means shown in dashed outline; Figure 3: shows the graphical material viewable at the front of the stand; 25 Figure 4: shows a transparency being inserted between the inner faces of a support plate; Figure 5: shows an alternative support plate construction; 30 Figure 6: shows a stand according to second embodiment; Figure 7: shows the stand of figure 5 with the illumination means shown in dashed outline; 35 Figure 8: shows a top side perspective view of a support stand according to a third embodiment; WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -3 Figure 9: shows a plan view of the support stand of figure 8 with the light cover removed and a data input unit being supported; Figure 10: shows a side view along line A of the support stand of figure 5 9; Figure 11: shows a side view of the data input unit shown in figures 9 and 10; 10 Figure 12: shows a top side perspective view of a support stand according to a fourth embodiment; Figure 13: shows an exploded view of an active luminescent graphics sheet provided with the support stand of figure 12; 15 Figure 14: shows a sales counter with a data input stand; and Figure 15: shows a hand-held bar-code reader. 20 Detailed Description of the Drawingqs Referring firstly to figures 1 to 4 there is shown a stand 1 having a top surface 2 for supporting a data input unit such as an EFTPOS terminal. Projections 3 to 6 extend upwardly from top surface 2 and are positioned 25 to locate a data input unit 7 shown in dashed outline. Front face 2 is inclined at an ergonomic visual angle to a user, preferably between 100 to 600 to the horizontal. Top surface 2, sides 8 and 9 and base 10 define a cavity 11. An 30 illumination means 12 in the form of a fluorescent tube is provided within cavity 11. In this example the ballast for fluorescent light 12 is provided externally and is incorporated into a plug. It is to be appreciated that the ballast could be located internally within cavity 11. It is also to be appreciated that other sources of illumination could be employed. The 35 inner surfaces of top 2, sides 8 and 9 and base 10 facing towards cavity 11 are preferably provided with a reflective surface. This is preferably a WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -4 white reflective surface. This provides a source of illumination for display plate 13 which forms the front face of the stand. Display plate 13 is at least partially transparent and carries graphic 5 material to be illuminated at the front of the stand. Display plate 13 is angled back with respect to the base 10 so that when the base 10 is placed on a horizontal surface (such as a sales counter) the graphics can be easily viewed from above by a customer. An angle of 100 to 450 to vertical is preferred (ie. an internal angle of 450 to 80' between the base 10 10 and display plate 13). Display plate 13 preferably incorporates a diffuser plate to uniformly distribute light. As stands are normally located on a sale counter this provides a mechanism for providing prominent advertising from a device that would otherwise operate only as a stand. 15 Display plate 13 may be of the form shown in figure 4 comprising a folded sheet of transparent plastics material adapted to receive a transparent sheet 15 containing graphics material 14 between the plates 16 and 17 of display plate 13. 20 Display plate 13 preferably locates within grooves formed in sides 8 and 9 to enable display plate 13 to be easily removed by sliding the display plate upwards to facilitate easy changing of advertising material. It will be appreciated that a number of support plate constructions can be 25 employed. For example, one transparent plate could be permanently fixed in place and another plate could be hinged relative thereto to allow transparencies to be replaced simply by rotating one plate relative to the other. Alternatively, support plate 13 may be formed by adhering, welding, riveting etc. two plates along a lower edge. The plates forming 30 support plate 13 may be formed of glass, transparent plastics etc. Figure 5 shows one possible construction in which a transparent plate 18 is secured to a diffuser plate 19 along one edge to allow transparency 15 to be slid therebetween. 35 Top 2, sides 8 and 9 and base 10 may be formed of plastics, metal, wood or other suitable rigid materials. Where top face 2 is formed of plastics or metal the projections 3 to 6 may be produced by forming c-shaped WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -5 apertures in top plate 2 and bending projections 3 to 6 outwardly. Where top plate 2 is formed of plastics heat may be required during the bending process. 5 Referring now to figures 6 and 7 a second embodiment is shown. In this embodiment the stand comprises a base section 20 and an upper section 21. Base section 20 is dimensioned to accommodate the larger section 22 of a data input unit, such as a printer unit of an EFTPOS terminal. Upper section 21 is a similar construction to the stand shown in figures 1 to 4 10 and includes projections 23 to 26 in a top surface 27 thereof to accommodate the small section 31 of a data input unit (shown in dashed outline). In this case the projections 23 and 25 are extensions of the side walls and projections 24 and 26 are folded extensions of top surface 27. Alternatively, projections 23 to 26 may be blocks secured to top surface 15 27. Again, display plate 30 and top surface 27 are disposed at an angle to base section 20 so as to provide an ergonomic viewing angle for a user. Referring now to figure 7 illumination means 28 is shown in dashed outline. Cord 29 passes within the stand through an aperture in panel 32 20 so as to avoid unsightly cables at the sales counter. Display plate 30 is of similar construction to display plate 13 shown in figures 3 and 4 or 5. Elongate apertures 33 are provided for ventilation and to allow cables from the data input unit to pass through the stand in a neat manner. The construction of upper section 21 is otherwise substantially the same as 25 that shown in figures 1 to 4. Referring to figures 8-10, a third embodiment is shown. The stand comprises an integrally formed plastic body having a base 40, rear wall 41 with arms 42-44, front wall 45 which is folded to form a front plate 46 30 and a rear plate 47 with a slot 48 between the plates 46, 47 for receiving a sheet 49 (indicated in dotted lines in figures 8 and 9) which carries graphics on its surface. The rear plate 47 has four arms 49-52 which grip an opaque removable light cover 53 (shown in figure 8 only). Figures 9 and 10 show the stand with the light cover 53 removed. A compact 35 fluorescent lamp 54 with integral electronic ballast is secured to the base 40 and has a power lead 55 which passes through an aperture (not WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -6 shown) in the cover 53. The lamp 54 illuminates the sheet 49 bearing the graphics material. The EFTPOS data input unit 56 shown in figure 11 is supported by the 5 stand as illustrated in figures 9 and 10. The data input unit 56 has a body portion 57 with a keypad 58, and a wider upper portion 59 with a liquid crystal display screen 60. The upper portion 59 is supported by the arms 42, 43, and the data input unit 56 is removed from the stand in use to enable a customer to input data via the keypad 58. 10 Referring now to figure 12, a fourth embodiment is shown. An integrally formed plastics stand 70 has a base 71 and four support arms 72-75 for supporting a data input unit (not shown). A front display plate 76 comprises a plastics sheet folded to form a front plate 77 and a rear plate 15 78 with a slot 79 between the front and rear plates 77,78 for receiving an active luminescent graphics sheet of the form shown in the exploded view of figure 13. Suitable electro-luminescent materials are the Luxied® products manufactured by Amcon® International. The active luminescent display sheet 80 comprises a graphics bearing cover 81 (arranged next to 20 the front plate 77), a transparent conducting film 82, a bus-bar 83, a phosphor layer 84, an insulating layer 85, a protective film 86, a back electrode 87, a moisture proof cover 88 and a rear protective cover 89. The bus-bar 83 and back electrode 87 set up an electric field across the phosphor layer 84 which causes the phosphor layer 84 to luminesce and 25 illuminate the graphics on layer 81. In use the stands of Figures 1-13 are installed on a sales counter as illustrated in Figure 14 with reference to the stand 1 of Figure 1. The base 10 is placed on a horizontal counter 90 and an EFTPOS data input unit 91 30 with keypad 92 is mounted on the stand. The display plate 13 is angled upwards by 100 - 450 so that it can be easily viewed by the customer. To complete a transaction the customer hands over an EFTPOS card which is swiped through a swipe machine (not shown). The customer is then handed the unit 91 and keys in a PIN number. 35 The stands of Figures 1-13 may also be used to mount other types of data input unit such as a card swipe machine or a bar-code reader of the kind WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -7 shown in Figure 15. The bar-code reader 92 is hand-held and has a processor 93, laser emitter 93 and light sensor 94. The reader 92 is scanned over a bar-code 95 on an item 96. 5 Although the above embodiments describe a stand including illumination means it will be appreciated that the display plate may simply contain graphics material, such as a photo etc, that is not illuminated. Although this does not result in such a prominent display it does reduce the cost of the unit. 10 Although the above embodiments describe a stand including an interchangeable sheet of permanent graphic material, it will be appreciated that a sheet of permanent graphic material (eg. a transparency) may be permanently adhered, eg. by adhesive, to the stand. As a further 15 alternative, an electronic display such as an LCD screen may be used. The present invention thus provides a data input unit stand that supports a data terminal at an ergonomic angle whilst incorporating an advertising display area, which may be illuminated. The stand provides protection for 20 the data input unit in comparison to conventional methods in which the unit is placed directly onto a sales counter. Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers or components having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein 25 incorporated as if individually set forth. Although this invention has been described by way of example it is to be appreciated that improvements and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the 30 appended claims.

Claims

1. A stand for a data input unit comprising: a body having an elevated support surface suitable for supporting a data 5 input unit at a desired viewing angle, and a display plate for interchangeably mounting graphic material at a desired viewing angle.

2. A stand as claimed in claim 1 wherein the display plate comprises a first transparent plate and a second plate which accommodate a sheet 10 incorporating graphics therebetween.

3. A stand as claimed in claim 2 wherein the display plate is formed from a single sheet which is folded to form first and second plates. 15

4. A stand as claimed in claim 2 wherein the display plate is formed of two sheets secured together along one edge.

5. A stand as claimed in claim 4 wherein the second plate is a diffuser. 20

6. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein edges of the display plate locate within grooves in the body to retain the plate at a desired viewing angle. 25

7. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the display plate is inclined at an angle of between 100 to 450 to vertical in use.

8. A stand as claimed in any one the preceding claims wherein the 30 support surface has projections extending therefrom to locate and retain the data input unit.

9. A stand as claimed in claim 8 wherein the projections are formed by folding portions of the support surface. 35

10. A stand as claimed in claim 8 wherein the projections are in the form of blocks secured to the support surface. WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -9

11. A stand as claimed in claim 8 wherein the projections are extensions of sides the body. 5

12. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the support surface is inclined at an angle of between 10-600 to horizontal.

13. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body has a cavity formed therein and illumination means are provided 10 within the cavity to illuminate graphics when retained in the display plate.

14. A stand as claimed in claim 13 wherein the illumination means comprises one or more fluorescent tube.

15 15. A stand as claimed in claim 14 wherein a ballast for the fluorescent tube is incorporated within a plug external to the support stand.

16. A stand as claimed in claim 14 wherein the fluorescent tube is an integrally formed unit requiring no external ballast. 20

17. A stand as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15 wherein the cavity has a reflective surface.

18. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the 25 body has cable conduits formed therein to enable cables from the data input unit to be conveyed internally through the support stand.

19. A stand as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the body is formed of plastics, wood, resin, carbon fibre or metal. 30

20. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the display plate is formed of a transparent material.

21. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the 35 support plate is formed of glass or plastics. WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -10

22. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in combination with a data input unit wherein the stand is dimensioned to be of generally the same dimensions as the data input unit when viewed in plan. 5

23. A stand for a data input unit comprising: a body having means for supporting a data input unit; means for displaying graphics at a desired viewing angle; and means for illuminating the graphics in use. 10

24. A stand as claimed in claim 23 wherein the means for displaying graphics comprises a first transparent plate and a second plate which accommodate a sheet incorporating graphics therebetween. 15

25. A stand as claimed in claim 24 wherein the display plate is formed from a single sheet which is folded to form first and second plates.

26. A stand as claimed in claim 24 wherein the display plate is formed of two sheets secured together along one edge. 20

27. A stand as claimed in claim 26 wherein the second plate is a diffuser.

28. A stand as claimed in any one of claims 24 to 27 wherein edges of 25 the display plate locate within grooves in the body to retain the plate at a desired viewing angle.

29. A stand as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 28 wherein the graphics are inclined at an angle of between 100 to 450 to vertical in use. 30

30. A stand as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 29 wherein the body has a cavity formed therein and illumination means are provided within the cavity to illuminate the graphics. 35

31. A stand as claimed in claim 30 wherein the illumination means comprises one or more fluorescent tube. WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -11

32. A stand as claimed in claim 31 wherein a ballast for the fluorescent tube is incorporated within a plug external to the support stand.

33. A stand as claimed in claim 31 wherein the fluorescent tube is an 5 integrally formed unit requiring no external ballast.

34. A stand as claimed in any one of claims 30 to 33 wherein the cavity has a reflective surface. 10

35. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body has cable conduits formed therein to enable cables from the data input unit to be conveyed internally through the support stand.

36. A stand as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the body 15 is formed of plastics, wood, resin, carbon fibre or metal.

37. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the means for displaying graphics comprises a display plate formed of a transparent material. 20

38. A stand as claimed in claim 37 wherein the support plate is formed of glass or plastics.

39. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in 25 combination with a data input unit wherein the stand is dimensioned to be of generally the same dimensions as the data input unit when viewed in plan.

40. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a 30 luminescent sheet for illuminating the graphics, and means for generating an electric field across the luminescent sheet to cause the luminescent sheet to luminesce.

41. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a 35 base for supporting the stand in use on a horizontal surface, wherein the graphics are inclined back with respect to the base such that, in use, the graphics can be viewed from above the horizontal surface. WO 99/57705 PCT/NZ99/00053 -12

42. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the stand is portable. 5

43. A sales counter having a stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims installed on the counter, and a data input unit supported by the stand.

44. A method of displaying graphics at a sales counter, the method O10 comprising installing a stand as claimed in any of claims 1 to 42 on the counter, and mounting graphic material and a data input unit on the stand.