Abstract:
The present invention provides a tilt mechanism for a POS monitor. The tilt mechanism permits the monitor to be selectively tilted at various angles ranging between a stowed or flat position and an entirely upright position.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application relates and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/232,996, filed Sep. 25, 2015, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates generally to point of sale terminals, and more specifically to the tilting mechanisms for the monitors of a point of sale terminal. 
         [0004]    2. Background of Art 
         [0005]    Point of sale terminals are used in a wide variety of retail and hospitality establishments. While traditional POS terminals included a cash register and/or a computer monitor and keyboard used by the worker entering the transaction, in more recent times POS terminals have been equipped with monitors for both the worker and the consumer who can either simply see the entry of the transaction details on a dedicated monitor or may further have the ability to enter part or all of the transaction himself or herself. 
         [0006]    For ergonomic reasons, the monitor(s) in the POS system are often equipped with a mechanism that permits them to tilt. Most often the tilt mechanism consists of a frictional pivot wherein the worker simply applies sufficient force to the monitor to overcome the frictional retention of the monitor&#39;s position. While such frictional tilt mechanism provide a wide range of tilt angles and ease of use, they also tend to wear over time and lose their frictional retention quality, thus becoming less useful and perhaps even requiring replacement of the mechanism or the entire monitor. 
         [0007]    3. Objects and Advantages 
         [0008]    It is therefore a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide a tilt mechanism for a POS monitor that permits selective tilting of the monitor and is durable. 
         [0009]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious and in par appear hereinafter. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides a tilt mechanism for a POS monitor. The tilt mechanism permits the monitor to be selectively tilted at various angles ranging between a stowed or flat position and an entirely upright position. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, the present invention provides a tilt mechanism for a point of sale terminal monitor, comprising (1) a base; (2) a monitor mounting plate pivotally mounted to the base and having a rear surface; (3) a rack positioned on the rear surface (or integrated into the rear surface) and comprising a plurality of detents (grooves, in the preferred embodiment, that extend in spaced parallel relation to one another); (4) a support stand assembly comprising a pin that is selectively movable between engaged and disengaged positions relative to any one of the plurality of detents (e.g., grooves), (5) a stand having an upper portion to which the pin is attached and a lower portion that is pivotally mounted to the base; and (6) a tilt actuating member operatively coupled to the pin and selectively movable from a first position wherein the pin is engaged with any one of the detents to a second position wherein the pin is disengaged from any of the detents, whereby the monitor is selectively tiltable when the actuating member is in its second position. In one aspect of the invention the tilt actuating member comprises a paddle pivotally mounted in spring biased relation to one side of the monitor. A worker can pivotally pull the paddle towards himself or herself causing the pin(s) to become disengaged from any of the detents (e.g., grooves) and permitting the monitor to be pivotally moved to a greater or lesser angle relative to the worker. Once satisfied with the tilt of the monitor the worker can release the paddle causing it, via spring bias, to return to its first position which in turn causes the pin(s) to become engaged with the groove at the corresponding position, thereby stably fixing the position of the monitor. 
         [0012]    In an aspect of the invention, the tilt actuating member is movably attached to the rear surface of the monitor by hinge plates that include fasteners passing therethrough to connect to the monitor and each of which includes a spring compressed between the fastener head and the actuating member. The tilt mechanism is further connected to a pull bar that in turn is attached to/engaged with the pin(s) (and a leaf spring provides further spring bias to the tilt mechanism). When the worker pulls the actuating member toward himself or herself the springs on the hinge plates become compressed, the pull bar is pushed away from the back of the monitor, thereby causing the pin to disengage from the detent (e.g., groove) on the back of the monitor. When releasing the actuating member the spring force automatically pulls the actuating member back to its neutral position, causing the pull bar to move towards the monitor and the pin(s) back into engagement with a detent (e.g., groove). A longitudinally sliding lock is provided on top of the monitor and is movable between two positions that prevent or permit, respectively, the actuating member from being moved. Thus, to prevent inadvertent movement of the actuating member, the lock can be slid into its locking position which physically intersects with and blocks the pull bar from being moved, thus preventing the actuating member from being moved by the worker. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a partial perspective view of the tilt mechanism in its locked and engaged position; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of the tilt mechanism in its unlocked and disengaged position; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B)  are side elevation views illustrating the tilt mechanism in its locked and unlocked positions, respectively; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of the tilt mechanism in its locked and engaged position; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B)  are top plan views of the monitor and its lock in its unlocked and locked positions, respectively; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a frontal perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention with the monitor assembly in its deployed position; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a frontal perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention with the monitor assembly in its stowed/shipped position. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in  FIG. 1  a tilt mechanism/assembly for point of sale (POS) terminal monitor, designated generally by reference numeral  10 , essentially comprising a base  12 , a monitor mounting plate  14  pivotally attached to base  12 , a rack assembly  16  mounted to the rear surface of monitor mounting plate  14  (or integrated into the structure of monitor mounting plate  14 ), and a support stand assembly  18  pivotally connected to base  12  and in releasable engagement with rack  16 . Support stand assembly  18  permits monitor  14  to be stably fixed in a user selectable angular position relative to a worker operating POS terminal tilt assembly  10 , and further permits monitor  14  to be laid essentially flat in overlying relation to base  12  for shipping purposes, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0023]    In its preferred embodiment, rack assembly  16  comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart rails  20 ,  22  attached to the rear surface of monitor  14  and each of which includes a plurality of grooves  24 . Grooves  24  each extend in spaced parallel relation to the others along horizontally extending axes (each of which is transverse to the parallel, longitudinal axes of rails  20 ,  22 ). It should be understood that other forms of detent could be used in place of grooves (e.g., circular indentations, magnets, etc . . . ) 
         [0024]    Support stand assembly  18  comprises a pin  26  that is selectively movable between engaged and disengaged positions relative to any one of the plurality of grooves  24 , as will be explained further hereinafter, and a stand  28  having an upper portion  30  to which pin  26  is attached and a lower portion  32  that is pivotally mounted to the base  12 . 
         [0025]    Tilt mechanisms  10  further comprises a tilt actuating member  34  in the form of a paddle operatively coupled to pin  26  and selectively movable from a first position wherein pin  26  is engaged with any one of grooves  24  to a second position wherein pin  26  is disengaged from any of grooves  24 , whereby the monitor  14  is selectively tiltable when the actuating member  34  is in its second position. More specifically, tilt actuating mechanism  34  is movably attached to the rear surface of the monitor  14  by hinge plates  36  that include fasteners  38  passing therethrough to connect to the monitor  14  and each of which includes a spring  40  compressed between the fastener head and the tilt actuating member  34 . Tilt mechanism  34  is also attached to a pull bar  41  that in turn is attached to the pin  26 . When the worker pulls the actuating member  36  toward him or herself the springs  40  become compressed and the pull bar  41  is moved away from the rear surface of the monitor  14  causing the pin  26  to disengage from the groove  24 . When releasing the actuating member  34  the bias force of the springs  40  automatically pulls the pull bar  41  back causing the pin  26  to engage with a correspondingly located groove  24 . 
         [0026]    Tilt mechanism  10  further comprises a lock  42  that is slidably mounted atop monitor  14 . Lock  42  is selectively movable between its unlocked ( FIG. 6(A) ) and locked ( FIG. 6(B) ) positions. When in the locked position, lock  42  interferes with pull bar  41 , physically preventing tilt actuating mechanism  34  from moving, thus preventing inadvertent disengagement of pin  26  from grooves  24 . When it is desired to tilt monitor  14 , the lock  42  may be slid along its longitudinal axis to its unlocked position freeing pull bar  41  and permitting tilt actuating mechanism  34  to be moved and the monitor  14  selectively adjusted. 
         [0027]    With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , monitor  14  is pivotally movable from a completely stowed position ( FIG. 8 ), wherein it lies flat in overlying relation to base  12  and which is useful when shipping tilt mechanism  10 , to an upright position that is at a desired angle relative to a worker operating POS terminal monitor mounting plate (and hence the terminal monitor)  14 .