Terminal device having cable routing means

Abstract: An arrangement for routing connection cables (22,24) out of a table top terminal (10), such as a bank data entry machine, includes a coupling member (26) which is located inside a cabinet (14) of the terminal. Mating coupling members (44,46) are coupled to the coupling member (26) by inserting the mating coupling members (44,46) in a vertical direction into the coupling member (26). Cables (22,24) associated with the mating coupling members (44,46) pass through slots (38,40,42) in a perimeter portion (18) of the cabinet (14), and thereafter, a cover (32) which is part of the cabinet (14) is closed to retain the cables (22,24) in the slots (38,40,42) in the side portion of the terminal. The coupling member (26) is mounted above a circuit board (28) within the terminal (10).

Description: This invention relates to terminal devices of the kind including: a cabinet having a first cabinet portion in which is mounted a first coupling member, and a second cabinet portion coupled to said first cabinet portion and adapted to be moved between opened and closed positions relative to said first cabinet portion; and a cable having a second coupling member adapted to couple with said first coupling member. In recent years there has been a trend to make business machines or terminals more attractive in appearance and to design the terminals to occupy a smaller space or to have a "smaller footprint" when compared to terminals of the past. This is especially true for terminals such as encoders or printers, for example, which are placed on a table top or counter. One of the problems with table top terminals is that they tend to get pushed around while in use on the table. Generally, the prior art terminals have connection cables which extend from connectors located at the backs of the terminals. When such a terminal is pushed around, the connectors, which are exposed, tend to get damaged. Additionally, when the cables are accidentally pulled, the connectors tend to be pulled out of the machine, disrupting the operation of the terminal and other terminals attached to it. In some situations, the connectors on a terminal may face a customer standing on one side of a counter while an operator operates the terminal while standing on the other side of the counter. The exposure of the customer to such connectors may present a hazard to the customer. US Patent No. US-A-4 680 425 discloses a cabinet containing a plurality of printed circuit boards having electrical connectors connected to one end. The electrical connectors are connected to respective cables which pass between a pivotably mounted, removable U-shaped bracket and a portion of the cabinet such that a pull on any one of cable causes the U-shaped bracket to pivot towards the cabinet, creating a clamping action of the cable, and acting as a cable strain relief device. The cables egress from the cabinet through a space defined by the bottom of a cabinet door and the top of a bottom rear portion of the cabinet. In order to insert a board and connecting cable into the cabinet, the U-shaped bracket is removed, and then reinserted in position with the cable located under the bracket. This arrangement in inconvienient in operation. The document DE-A-2 934 667 discloses an electrical connection box for telephones, accessory devices, etc, and consists of a universal socket, an intermediate part, which is constructed in accordance with the type of plug to be inserted therein, and a cover. The universal socket and intermediate part have aligned slots for receiving an electrical cable. The document GB-A-2 179 507 discloses a cable gripping device including fist and second parts which can be located within an aperture in the body part of a component such as a fuel injection nozzle. The outer part defines a passage leading to a channel defined between the parts by a groove in the outer part. The inner part has cable gripping elements which are aligned with the groove to grip a cable laid in the groove. It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal device having a simple and effective arrangement for routing connection cables out of the terminal device. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a terminal device having the features set forth in claim 1. It will be appreciated that a terminal device according to the invention has the advantage of a simple and effective slot construction ensuring that a connection cable is properly routed through its retaining slot, to provide a neat visual appearance. One embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a general perspective view of a terminal embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a general perspective view of the terminal shown in Fig. 1 in which a cover of the terminal is shown in an opened position, with cables being mounted in slots located in a perimeter portion of the terminal; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the terminal shown in Fig. 1, with a portion of the cover being removed to show the shapes of the slots in which the cables are mounted. Fig. 1 shows a business machine or terminal 10 in which a preferred embodiment or apparatus 12 (Fig. 2) of this invention may be used. The terminal 10 may be a table top terminal, like a teller operated entry terminal at a bank or an encoder, for example, although the apparatus 12 may be used in other terminals. The terminal 10 includes a cabinet designated generally as 14, with the cabinet 14 (shown closed in Fig. 1) having a base portion 16 including a perimeter portion 18. The cabinet 14 may be made of a conventional plastics material. The terminal 10 shown also has a document track 20 for moving documents (not shown) therethrough as the documents (like bank checks and deposit slips) are processed by the terminal 10. Because this aspect is not important to an understanding of this invention, it need not be discussed in any further detail. Apparatus 12 (Fig. 2) provides the means for routing connection cables, like 22 and 24, out of the terminal 10 to enable the terminal 10 to be coupled to other units or terminals, like a host computer, for example, with these other units not being shown. The apparatus 12 is also referred to as a cable clip. The apparatus 12 (Fig. 2) includes a coupling member 26 which is mounted on a circuit board 28 which, in turn, is mounted substantially parallel to the base portion 16 of the terminal 10. The base portion 16 of the terminal 10 rests on a counter or table top 30 (shown only partially in Figs. 1 and 2). The top 26-1 of the coupling member 26, as viewed in Fig. 2, lies in an imaginary plane which is substantially parallel to the circuit board 28. The apparatus 12 also includes a cover 32 which is pivotally joined to the perimeter portion 18 of the base portion 16 by a conventional hinge 34, which is shown only as a line in Fig. 2, to enable the cover 32 to be pivotally moved between the closed position shown in Fig. 1 and the opened position shown in Fig. 2. Panel 36 represents the front of the cabinet 14, with the cables coming out one of the sides (like side 14-1) of the terminal 10 as shown. The perimeter portion 18 has a plurality of slots 38, 40, and 42 therein, as shown best in Fig. 3, in which the cables, like 22 and 24 are mounted. Each of the slots 38, 40, and 42 has a longitudinal axis (not shown) which is substantially perpendicular to the base portion 16 and the table top 30. Each of these slots, like 42 for example, is dimensioned to provide an entry throat 42-1 which has a width which is less than the diameter of the slot 42 itself. As a cable, like 24, is inserted in the apparatus 12, the diameter of the cable 24 is compressed slightly by the entry throat 42-1 as the cable is pushed into the slot 42. This construction helps to retain the cable 24 in the associated slot 42 prior to moving the cover 32 to the closed position shown in Fig. 1. The cable 24 has a cooperative coupling member 44 on the end thereof to couple the cable 24 with the coupling member 26. Similarly, the cable 22 has a cooperative coupling member 46 on the end thereof to couple the cable 22 with the coupling member 26. The coupling member 26 and the cooperative coupling members 46 and 48 may be conventional male-female coupling members, for example. After the cooperative coupling members 46 and 48 are inserted in the coupling member 26 and the cables 22 and 24 are pushed into the associated slots 40 and 42, as shown in Fig. 2, the cover 32 may be moved to the closed position shown in Fig. 1. The perimeter portion 18 has a recessed lip 18-1 which receives the cover 32 and provides some rigidity for the cover 32. Having described the apparatus 12, it appears appropriate to discuss the advantages of this apparatus. One of the features of this invention relates to the cover 32 as described in the previous paragraph. Notice that the cover 32 cannot be moved to the closed position until the cables 22 and 24 are inserted properly in their associated slots 40 and 42. Because these slots 38, 40, and 42 are molded in the side portion 18, no additional parts are necessary to mount the cables, like 22 and 24, in their associated slots 40 and 42. Another advantage relates to having the coupling member 26 located inside the cabinet 14 as shown in Fig. 2. Notice that the cooperative coupling members, like 44 and 46, are pushed in a vertical direction (as viewed in Fig. 2) into the coupling member 26. This means that less board space is taken up on the circuit board 28 compared to prior art couplers which are end mounted. Having the connectors 44 and 46 mounted for vertical insertion makes it easier to do "trace routing" on the circuit board 28 when more than one communications coupler, like cooperative coupling member 44, is needed. The trace routes are considerably shortened compared to those necessary in rear mounted couplers. With the couplers, like 26, mounted inside the cabinet 14, the terminal 10 presents a neat appearance as shown in Fig. 1. This is especially important for table top terminals where appearance and a small footprint are important. If the cables 22 and 24 are accidentally pulled while the cover 32 is closed, these cables would tend to raise the cover 32, thereby absorbing some of the energy of the pull to perhaps prevent the cooperative coupling members 44 and 46 from being disconnected. Also, with these coupling members 44 and 46 and 26 located on the inside of the cabinet 14, there is less of a chance for an electrostatic discharge to damage the circuit board 28.

Claims: A terminal device, including: a cabinet (14) having a base portion (16) in which is mounted a first coupling member (26), and a cover portion (32) coupled to said base portion (16) and adapted to be moved between opened and closed positions relative to said base portion (16); and a cable (22) having a second coupling member (46) adapted to couple with said first coupling member (26), characterized in that said base portion (16) has an extending perimeter portion (18), and in that said perimeter portion (18) has a slot (40) provided therein, said slot (40) having a longitudinal axis which is perpendicular to the base of said base portion (16) such that when said cover portion (32) is in said closed position, said cable (22) extends from the exterior of said terminal device (10) along the longitudinal axis of said slot (40) and into the interior of said terminal device (10) where it is enclosed by said cover portion (32). A terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that said first coupling member (26) has a mounting plane which is substantially parallel to the base of said base portion (16). A terminal device according to claim 2, characterized in that said cabinet (14) has a circuit board (28) located therein, with said circuit board (28) being positioned substantially parallel to the base of said base portion (16) and having said first coupling member (26) coupled thereto, and in that said first coupling member is covered by said cover portion (32) when said cover portion (32) is moved to said closed position. A terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slot (40) has an entry throat which compresses said cable (22) slightly as said cable is inserted into said slot (40), thereby assisting in retaining said cable (22) in said slot (40). A terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said perimeter portion (18) having said slot (40) therein is located on a side of said cabinet (14). A terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least said perimeter portion (18) is made of plastics material.

Inventors: HAMILTON ALISTAIR ROBERT, KALLIN FREDRIK LARS NIL, LUCKHURST GRAHAM, HAMILTON, ALISTAIR ROBERT, KALLIN, FREDRIK LARS NIL, LUCKHURST, GRAHAM
Applicants: AT & T GLOBAL INF SOLUTION, AT&T GLOBAL INFORMATION SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL INC.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: G06F3, H05K5