GB2276418A - Apparatus for installation of a machine behind a wall opening - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for the installation of a machine behind a wall opening is disclosed having a screen frame (22), with a tube (24) formed thereon, and a mounting frame (26). The tube (24) is formed from side walls (30) and plate (36) and defines an aperture (46). After installation of the machine behind the wall opening, the screen frame (22) is mounted on the periphery of the external side of the wall opening and the mounting frame (26) abuts the periphery of the internal side of the wall opening. The machine (10) is screwed to mounting frame (26) by means of passage holes (68) and an interface panel (16) of machine (10) is positioned in the aperture (46). The apparatus may particularly be applied to the mounting of an automatic teller machine or ticket machine etc. <IMAGE>

Description

APPARATUS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF A MACHINE BEHIND A WALL-OPENING The invention relates to apparatus for the installation of a machine behind a wall opening. In particular it relates to apparatus for the installation behind a wall opening of machines having an interface panel for enabling a person to interact with the machine.

Such machines are known in many fields of application: in financial institutions, for example, they are used for the computer-assisted handling of banking transactions and for the provision of information; in public passenger services they serve to dispense tickets and to provide timetable information.

Such service machines are designed either to be installed behind a wall-opening or to be deployed with all sides exposed in a room with accessibility from all sides. These two types of machine are constructed in accordance with different design principles, so that, at best, their functional equipment is all they have in common.

This invention proposes an apparatus which permits installation of such machines for deployment behind a wall-opening.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for the installation behind a wall-opening of a machine having an interface panel, the apparatus comprising: a screen frame which is capable of being mounted onto the periphery of the external side of the wall-opening, with a tube defining a passage to extend into the wall-opening, the passage having an aperture therein for reception of the interface panel of the machine.

In this way the interface panel is located in a recess which conceals from the user the fact that he cannot approach the machine directly but that the latter is separated from him by the thickness of the wall. It is furthermore an advantage that the tube denies third parties a view of the control panel, in other words, that it enables a considerable degree of discretion to be afforded.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises a mounting frame, dimensioned to encompass the tube with a small clearance, and which includes a supporting frame which, in use, abuts the internal periphery of the wall opening, said mounting frame being fastenable to the tube and also to the machine.

Advantageously the mounting frame has side walls which extend rearwards of the supporting frame, and which are provided with passage apertures for fastening-screws arranged at varying distances from the supporting frame whereby with the aid of said fastening-screws the mounting frame is capable of being screwed to the tube.

Rows of holes which are offset with respect to one another in the horizontal direction permit the use of the screen-frame/mounting-frame combination for a multitude of customary wall thicknesses. The apertures are preferably elongated holes which overlap one another with regard to their distance from the supporting frame so as to compensate for tolerances in wall thickness.

The passage aperture in the tube may, if necessary, be bordered towards the bottom by a threshold plate which may be made of metal, the width of which substantially corresponds to the wall thickness, and which rests on the threshold of the breach in the wall. Laterally the threshold plate is bent upward in such a way that the edges encompass the side walls of the tube. The provision of this threshold plate enables the breach in the wall to be covered adequately.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be brought into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective exploded representation of a first embodiment of an installation apparatus of the present invention and associated machine; and Figure 2 is a perspective representation of a machine deployed behind a wall-opening with a second embodiment of the installation apparatus of the invention.

In the following description the machine to be installed in the wall opening is assumed to be a selfservice cash-dispensing appliance. However the invention may be applied to any suitable machine which is to be installed behind a wall opening.

In Fig. 1 a self-service appliance is designated generally as 10. It consists of an upright casing 12 with a central region 14 of particularly stable shape.

In the upper region of the operating side the self-service appliance 10 exhibits an interface or control panel 16 with a desk 18 inclined obliquely rearward and a feed slot 20 arranged below it, for savings books, for example. The equipment 18 of the desk illustrated, with keyboard, printer, voucher output, credit-card reader and the like, is not an essential part of the invention and may vary, depending on the particular application of the self-service appliance.

The installation apparatus consists of a screen frame 22 with a tube 24 placed thereon, a mounting frame 26 and a threshold plate 28. The threshold plate is only used with relatively large wall thicknesses, as will be described below.

The screen frame is mounted on the periphery of the external side of the wall opening, that is to say the side of the wall opening approached by a user of the machine.

The tube 24 has side walls 30 which are roughly triangular, whereby the lower vertices of the triangles are truncated and so form horizontal lower edges 31.

The side walls 30 are formed on the vertical side-pieces 32 of the screen frame 22. In this connection the area which extends between the upper cross-member 34 of the screen frame 22 and the upper triangular sides of the side walls 30 which point upward is sealed by a plate 36. The lower peripheral region 38 thereof is bent downward in such a way that it is parallel to the side-pieces 32. In the assembled state of the entire arrangement the lower edge 40 of the plate 36 is supported on the upper side 42 of the self-service appliance. The area which is bordered by the lower triangular sides of the side walls 30, the lower edge 40 and the lower cross-member 44 of the screen frame 22 is open and forms a passage aperture 46 for the interface panel 16. The passage aperture 46 is roughly the same width as the self-service appliance 10.

The mounting frame 26 is essentially constituted by a supporting frame 48 which in the assembled state of the entire arrangement encompasses the tube 24 and is supported against the peripheries of the internal side of the wall-opening, that is to say the side of the wall opening on which the machine is located.

Formed on the edges of the side-pieces 50 are side walls 52, whereby said edges face one another and the tube 24 rests on said side walls subject to a small clearance.

In their upper and lower regions the side walls 52 have horizontal elongated holes 54 which are offset in relation to one another. Elongated holes 54 are represented only in the left (in the drawing) side wall 52, and in the other stated locations they are only indicated by their centre lines. In order to connect the screen frame 22 to the mounting frame 26, a screw, which is not shown, is screwed through each of the elongated holes 54 into one of the threaded bushes 56 arranged at corresponding points offset in relation to each other on the side walls 30 of the tube. Which of the threaded bushes 56 can be reached in each case by which of the elongated holes 55 depends on the thickness of the wall 58 (shown in Fig. 2). In each case a threaded-bush/elongated-hole combination for each fastening location is geared to a standardised wall thickness.Tolerance compensation is possible by displacement of the screw within the corresponding elongated hole 54.

The lower cross-member 44 of the screen frame 22 has a rectangular downward-folded edge 60 projecting into the wall-opening, the width of said downward-folded edge being chosen so that it corresponds to the thickness of the thinnest permissible wall of lightweight construction. It therefore covers the threshold of the breach in the wall. For larger wall thicknesses use is made of a threshold plate 28 which has a width corresponding to the wall thickness. As there are very few standardised wall thicknesses only a small number of threshold plates of varying thickness are required. The threshold plate 28 is pushed from below onto the lower edges 31 of the tube 24 before the latter is inserted into the wall-opening. In this connection lateral upward-folded edges 62 on the threshold plate 28 encompass the side walls 30 of the tube, and the front edge of the threshold plate comes to be located beneath the downward-folded edge 60. Elongated holes 64 in the upward-folded edges 62 are thereby aligned with the threaded bushes 56. When the screen frame 22 is screwed together with the mounting frame 26 the threshold plate 28 is gripped at the same time and firmly screwed.

Formed on the side walls 52 fastened to the supporting frame 48 are tabs 66 pointing rearward having passage holes 68 through which the self-service appliance 10 can be firmly screwed together with the installation apparatus. This ensures that the appliance cannot be pushed away behind the wall by force, which might enable a thief to get in through the wall-opening.

The screen frames in Figs. 1 and 2 are of different design. Whereas in Fig. 1 in the lower peripheral region 38 of the plate 36 a voucher-output opening 70 is provided for a voucher printer (not shown), the latter is absent in the peripheral region 38' in Fig. 2. Therein, on the other hand, the upper cross-member 34' is designed to be wider and is provided, in a known manner, with a transparent section 72 capable of being illuminated from behind.

Furthermore, the side walls 30 of the tube 24 in Fig. 1 have horizontal lower edges 31, whereas in Fig. 2 they come to a point, as a result of which the screen frame 22' represents, for walls of lightweight construction only, a variant which is simpler to manufacture. The characteristics described in this paragraph can of course be combined with one another arbitrarily.

Claims (15)

1. Apparatus for the installation behind a wall-opening of a machine having an interface panel, the apparatus comprising: a screen frame which is capable of being mounted onto the periphery of the external side of the wall-opening, with a tube defining a passage to extend into the wall-opening, the passage having an aperture therein for reception of the interface panel of the machine after installation.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, the tube comprising side walls formed on vertical side-pieces of the screen frame, and a plate sealing the area between upper parts of said side walls and the upper cross-member of the screen frame, and the aperture is partly bounded by the side walls and the lower edge of said plate.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the side walls are substantially triangular and the plate seals the area between the upper edges of the triangular side walls and the upper cross member of the screen frame.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 2 or 3, the lower peripheral region of the plate is bent roughly vertically downward.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said lower peripheral region contains an opening for documents.

6. Apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the width of the aperture corresponds to the width of the machine.

7. Apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 6, further comprising a mounting frame, dimensioned to encompass the tube with a small clearance, and which includes a supporting frame which, in use, abuts the internal periphery of the wall opening, the mounting frame being fastenable to the tube and also to the machine.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein the mounting frame has side walls which extend rearwards, and which are provided with passage apertures for fastening-screws arranged at varying distances from the supporting frame whereby with the aid of said fastening-screws the mounting frame is capable of being screwed to the tube.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the passage apertures are elongated holes which overlap one another with regard to their distance from the supporting frame.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9, wherein tabs are moulded onto the side walls of the mounting frame said tabs being capable of being screwed together with the side walls of the machine.

11. Apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 10, further comprising a threshold plate capable of being pushed from below onto the lower edges of the side walls of the tube said threshold plate having upwardly bent sides.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, said upwardly bent sides having apertures formed therein so as to enable the threshold plate to be fastened to the passage defining means.

13. Apparatus according to one of claims 1-12 adapted for the installation of a machine having a backwardly sloping interface panel.

14. Apparatus for installation of a machine substantially as herein described, with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.

15. Apparatus for installation of a machine substantially as herein described, with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.