This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 100107121, filed on Mar. 3, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a Point-Of-Sale (POS) system, more particularly to a POS system bracket.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional Point-Of-Sale (POS) system, as disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. M276273, has a computer main module that includes a computer housing, and a plurality of electronic components disposed in the computer housing, and a display connected pivotally to the computer housing.
However, because the overall structure of the POS system is bulky, it is difficult to transport the POS system. Further, the possibility of expanding either the computer main module or the display is difficult. Moreover, the display is usually connected pivotally to the computer housing a complicated hinge structure, so that the cost incurred is high.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a Point-Of-Sale (POS) system bracket that can be easily disassembled to facilitate transport thereof, that can permit expansion of the POS system, and that uses a low cost structure to achieve adjustment of a display to different inclination angles.
A Point-Of-Sale (POS) system bracket for installation of a computer main module and two displays according to one aspect of this invention comprises a bracket housing, two mounts, and a plurality of locking elements. The bracket housing includes a bracket body and a bottom support. The bracket body is formed with an accommodation space for receiving the computer main module, and includes two opposite sidewalls having inner surfaces facing the accommodation space, outer surfaces each having a substantially convex shape, and a plurality of positioning holes formed at different heights in the sidewalls. The bottom support is connected to the bracket body to support the bracket body on a surface. The mounts are provided for respectively mounting the displays on the sidewalls. Each mount has an outer side adapted to be fixed to one of the displays, and an inner side to be attached to the outer surface of one of the sidewalls. The locking elements extend respectively through a selected group of the positioning holes from the inner surfaces of the sidewalls to fasten the mounts to the respective sidewalls. The locking elements can be changed in position from one group of the positioning holes to the other group of the positioning holes, so that the mounts can be positioned at different heights on the respective sidewalls, and the displays can be disposed at different inclination angles.
Through the structural design of the two sidewalls of the bracket body, and in cooperation with the mounts and the locking elements, as compared to the conventional POS system, the present invention has a simple structure to achieve adjustment of the inclination angles of the displays. Further, because disassembly is easy, transport of the POS system is convenient.
Preferably, the bracket housing further includes a transformer-receiving portion disposed below the bracket body, and a transformer received in the transformer-receiving portion.
Preferably, the bracket housing further includes a wire-handling structure disposed below the bracket body for winding of a wire.
Preferably, the wire-handling structure includes a plurality of wire-handling plates. Each wire-handling plate has a first side plate connected to and extending downward from the bracket body, and a second side plate connected to and extending transversely of the first side plate. The first side plates of the wire-handling plates are spaced apart from each other. The second side plates of the wire-handling plates extend in directions away from each other. The first side plates are adapted to be wound by the wire. The second side plates are adapted to be disposed below the wound wire.
Preferably, the bracket housing further includes two lug plates extending respectively and transversely from the first side plates toward each other and opposite to the second side plates. The first side plates and the lug plates cooperatively define the transformer-receiving portion. The transformer is supported by the lug plates.
Preferably, the bottom support includes two spaced-apart support plates connected to and extending downward from the bracket body. The wire-handling structure and the transformer-receiving portion are disposed between the support plates.
Preferably, the bracket housing further includes a flat holding plate connected to the first side plates and disposed in the accommodation space. The flat holding plate is adapted to hold and support the computer main module.
Preferably, the inner side of each mount has a concave shape that complements the outer surface of the respective sidewall.
Preferably, each mount is hollow, and includes an outer wall, two opposite first lateral walls and two opposite second lateral walls connected to the outer wall, and two spaced-apart inner walls extending respectively from the second lateral walls toward each other. The outer wall defines the outer side of a respective mount. Each first lateral wall has a concave bottom edge complementing the outer surface of the corresponding sidewall. The inner walls are substantially flush with the bottom edges of the first lateral walls, and define the inner side of the corresponding mount.
Preferably, the bracket body has a tubular wall that extends around a horizontal axis, and the sidewalls are two portions of the tubular wall on two opposite sides of the horizontal axis.
Preferably, the bracket body further includes a top wall connected to the sidewalls. The top wall is provided with a slot for extension of a wire therethrough.
Preferably, the bracket body has two axially opposite open ends communicating with the accommodation space. The POS system bracket further comprises two end caps connected removably to and covering the open ends of the bracket body, respectively.
Preferably, each end cap is formed with a plurality of heat-dissipating holes.
Preferably, the positioning holes in each sidewall are configured as spaced-apart through holes that are aligned along a direction from a high level to a low level.
Preferably, the positioning holes are configured as elongate holes that are elongated along a direction from a high level to a low level.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a Point-Of-Sale (POS) system that comprises the aforesaid POS system bracket, a computer main module, and a display.
According to another aspect of this invention, a Point-Of-Sale (POS) system comprises a computer main module, two displays, and a POS system bracket. The POS system bracket has a bracket housing, two mounts, and a plurality of locking elements. The bracket housing includes a bracket body and a bottom support. The bracket body is formed with an accommodation space to receive the computer main module, and includes two opposite sidewalls having inner surfaces facing the accommodation space, outer surfaces each having a substantially convex shape, and a plurality of positioning holes formed at different heights in the sidewalls. The bottom support is connected to the bracket body to support the bracket body on a surface. The mounts are provided to respectively mount the displays on the sidewalls. Each mount has an outer side to be fixed to one of the displays, and an inner side to be attached to the outer surface of one of the sidewalls. The locking elements extend respectively through a selected group of the positioning holes from the inner surfaces of the sidewalls to fasten the mounts to the respective sidewalls. The locking elements can be changed in position from one group of the positioning holes to the other group of the positioning holes, so that the mounts can be positioned at different heights on the respective sidewalls, and the displays can be disposed at different inclination angles.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
The above-mentioned and other technical contents, features, and effects of this invention will be clearly presented from the following detailed description of one embodiment in coordination with the reference drawings.
Referring to
The POS system bracket 101 includes a bracket housing 3, two mounts 4, and a plurality of locking elements 5. Each of the bracket housing 3 and the mounts 4 can be formed from a metal plate. The bracket housing 3 includes a bracket body 31, and a bottom support 32 connected to the bracket body 31 to support the same on a surface 102, such as a desktop. The bracket body 31 is formed with an accommodation space 311 to receive the computer main module 11, and includes two opposite sidewalls 33 having inner surfaces 331 facing the accommodation space 311, outer surfaces 332 each having a substantially convex shape, and a plurality of positioning holes 333 extending respectively through the inner and outer surfaces 331, 332 and formed at different heights in the sidewalls 33.
The mounts 4 are provided to respectively mount the displays 12 on the sidewalls 33, respectively. Each of the mounts 4 has an outer side 41 to be fixed to one of the displays 12, and an inner side 42 to be attached to the outer surface 332 of the respective sidewall 33.
The locking elements 5 extend respectively through a selected group of the positioning holes 333 from the inner surfaces 331 of the sidewalls 33 so as to fasten the mounts 4 to the respective sidewalls 33. That is, the locking elements 5 extend from an inner side to an outer side of the accommodation space 311 through the corresponding sidewalls 33 to engage the corresponding mounts 4. The locking elements 5 can be changed in position from one group of the positioning holes 333 to the other group of the positioning holes 333, so that the mounts 4 can be positioned at different heights on the respective sidewalls. As a result, the displays 12 can be disposed at different inclination angles. In this embodiment, each locking element 5 is configured as a thumb screw, which is easy for a user to extend his/her hand into the accommodation space 311 for manual operation. Alternatively, each locking element 5 may be configured as an ordinary screw, a hexagon socket head cap screw, a countersunk head screw, etc.
From the aforesaid description, through cooperation of the mounts 4, the positioning holes 333, and the locking elements 5, the displays 12 can be mounted fixedly to the bracket body 31 at different inclination angles. Compared with the conventional hinge structure connecting method, the present invention has a simple connecting structure, and thus has a low cost. Further, the bracket body 31 that accommodates the computer main module 11 and the mounts 4 that respectively accommodate the displays 12 are easily assembled or disassembled through the locking elements 5. Hence, during transport, the system 100 can be disassembled to a minimum volume. Further, because the computer main module 11 and the displays 12 can be removed easily, the expandability of the system 100 is high.
With reference to
Preferably, the bracket housing 3 further includes a wire-handling structure 35 disposed below the bracket body 31 for winding of a wire 14 which is connected electrically to the computer main module 11. The wire-handling structure 35 provides a good wire-handling mechanism.
More concretely, the bracket body 31 further includes a bottom wall 36 interconnecting bottom ends of the sidewalls 33, and the wire-handling structure 35 includes two wire-handling plates 351 each having a substantially L-shaped configuration. Each of the wire-handling plates 351 has a first side plate 352 connected to and extending downward from the bottom wall 36, and a second side plate 353 connected to a bottom end of the first side plate 352 and extending transversely of the first sideplate 352. The first side plates 352 of the wire-handling plates 35 are spaced apart from each other. The second side plates 353 of the wire-handling plates 35 extend in directions away from each other. The first side plates 352 are adapted to be wound by the wire 14. The second side plates 353 are adapted to be disposed below the wound wire 14. Each wire-handling plate 351 may further include a third side plate 354 extending upward from an outer end of the respective second side plate 353 and spaced apart from the respective first side plate 352.
The bracket housing 3 further includes two lug plates 37 extending respectively and transversely from the bottom ends of the first side plates 352 toward each other and opposite to the second side plates 353. The lug plates 37 are spaced apart from and are disposed below the bottom wall 36. The lug plates 37, the first side plates 352, and the bottom wall 36 cooperatively define the transformer-receiving portion 34. When the transformer 14 is disposed in the transformer-receiving portion 34, the transformer 14 is supported by the lug plates 37.
It is worth mentioning that, in this embodiment, the transformer-receiving portion 34 is defined by a portion (i.e., the first side plates 352) of the wire-handling structure 35. Alternatively, the transformer-receiving portion 34 may be an independently formed structure.
In this embodiment, the bottom support 32 includes two spaced-apart support plates 321 connected to and extending downward from the bottom wall 36, and two extension bottom plates 322 extending horizontally from bottom ends of the respective support plates 321 toward each other. Preferably, the support plates 321 gradually extend downwardly and curvedly from the bottom wall 36. The wire-handling structure 35 and the transformer-receiving portion 34 are disposed between the support plates 321. Through the provision of the extension bottom plates 322, the bracket body 31 can be supported more stably on the surface 102.
Preferably, the bracket housing 3 further includes a flat holding plate 38 connected to top ends of the first side plates 352 and disposed in the accommodation space 311 above the bottom wall 36 to hold and support the computer main module 11. The flat holding plate 38 is formed with a plurality of lock holes 381 for extension of screws in a bottom-to-top direction so as to secure the computer main module 11 on the flat holding plate 38.
With reference to
In this embodiment, each mount 4 is made by stamping and bending a metal plate to form a hollow casing that includes an outer wall 411, two opposite first lateral walls 43 and two opposite second lateral walls 44 connected respectively to four ends of the outer wall 411, and two spaced-apart inner walls 421 extending respectively from bottom ends of the second lateral walls 44 toward each other. The outer wall 411 is formed with a plurality of lock holes 412 conforming to the VESA (Video Electronics Standard Association) specification. The outer wall 411 and the lock holes 412 cooperatively define an outer side 41 of the respective mount 4. Each first lateral wall 43 has a concave bottom edge 431 complementing the outer surface 332 of the respective sidewall 33. The inner walls 421 are substantially flush with the concave bottom edges 431 of the first lateral walls 43. The inner walls 421 are provided with a plurality of lock holes 422 for aligning engagement with the corresponding positioning holes 333. The inner walls 421 and the lock holes 422 cooperatively define the inner side 42 of the corresponding mount 4.
With reference to
In this embodiment, as shown in
With reference to
In an alternative embodiment, as shown in
It is worth mentioning that the bracket body 31 is not limited to have a tubular wall, as long as the sidewalls 33 thereof have different slopes at different heights (for example, an arcuate surface or a polygonal surface), so that when the locking elements 5 fasten the mounts 4 and the displays 12 to the selected group of the positioning holes, the displays 12 may be disposed at different inclination angles. The beneficial advantage of having the tubular wall is that when the computer main module 11 is disposed in the accommodation space 311, there are lots of free space between the computer main module 11 and the sidewalls 33 for accommodating related accessories and wires.
In summary, through the structural design of the sidewalls 33 of the bracket body 31 and in cooperation with the mounts 4 and the locking elements 5, the displays 12 can be adjusted to different inclination angles using a simple structure. Further, the system 100 can be easily disassembled to facilitate its transport. Moreover, since the computer main module 11 and the displays 12 can be easily disassembled and assembled, the entire POS system 100 has a better expandability as compared to the conventional POS system. Therefore, the objects of this invention can be achieved.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100107121 A | Mar 2011 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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6554238 | Hibberd | Apr 2003 | B1 |
8066241 | Yu et al. | Nov 2011 | B2 |
20070170336 | Li | Jul 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120224317 A1 | Sep 2012 | US |