Abstract:
A hardened Operator Interface Terminal (OIT) in an environmentally harsh area interfaces with computer components such as a control computer and a computer monitor in a controlled environment that is separated from the harsh environment by a wall or door. A sealed front panel mounts on the front side of the wall or door, and is exposed to the harsh environment while the computer components mount on shelves that are located on the back side of the wall or door. One of the shelves holds the monitor and is adjustable to align the monitor with a touch screen panel that is sealed in a window in the front panel. The shelves provide easy access to the computer components for service. A pivoting keyboard tray on the front panel holds a keyboard and mouse, and is fully sealed. The OIT is easily disassembled and packaged into a compact size for shipping.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to computer interface equipment and, more particularly, to an Operator Interface Terminal (OIT) for use in a harsh industrial environment.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    The prior art includes numerous references describing stand-alone consoles suitable for use in harsh factory environments. Examples of these references include U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,439 to Licht, U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,018 to Cullinan, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,582 to Coonan. Each of these references describes a sealed console that houses computer components and protects the computer components from a harsh external environment such as a process factory floor.  
           [0005]    However, each of the prior art consoles, suffers from several disadvantages. For example, each of the consoles occupies valuable space on the factory floor. On some crowded factory floors, this is a severe disadvantage. In addition, if the factory environment is one of high temperature or other conditions that are hazardous to computer equipment, the interior of the stand-alone consoles must be conditioned to protect the computer components. Finally, the consoles require that there be adequate space surrounding the consoles for an access door on the consoles to be opened in order to remove or service the computer components housed within the consoles. Once again, this can be a severe disadvantage on crowded factory floors.  
           [0006]    In order to overcome the disadvantage of existing solutions, it would be advantageous to have an Operator Interface Terminal (OIT) that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. The present invention provides such an OIT.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The invention is a hardened Operator Interface Terminal (OIT) providing a Man-Machine Interface (MMI) for computer components such as a control computer. The OIT may be used on a process factory floor or other environmentally harsh area that would be hazardous to computer equipment, monitors, and input equipment such as a keyboard or mouse. The OIT mounts on the front side of a vertical room-partition such as a wall or door in such a way that a sealed front panel is exposed to the harsh factory environment while the computer components mount on shelves that are located on the back side of the wall or door. Thus, the OIT does not require any square footage on the crowded and valuable factory floor. Additionally, the computer components, which may be any off-the-shelf components, may be located, for example, in an air-conditioned office or storeroom that is separated from the factory floor by the door or wall. The shelves provide easy access to the computer components for service or replacement. Finally, the entire OIT is easily disassembled and packaged into a compact size for shipping.  
           [0008]    Thus, in one aspect, the present invention is a space-saving OIT for providing a man-machine interface between an operator working in a harsh environment and a control computer in a conditioned environment without utilizing floor space for the OIT in the harsh environment. The OIT includes a front panel having a perimeter edge, and means for mounting the front panel on a front side of a vertical room-partition and sealing the front panel around the perimeter edge. The vertical room-partition has a front side in the harsh environment, a back side in the controlled environment, and an aperture therein that is covered by the front panel. At least one interface device is attached to the front panel, and is accessible by the operator for providing inputs to the control computer. The OIT also includes means for connecting the interface device to the control computer through the aperture in the vertical room-partition. The front panel may have a sealed window, and the OIT may further include an adjustable shelf mounted on a back side of the vertical room-partition in the controlled environment for mounting a computer monitor in a position where the monitor is visible to the operator through the window. The monitor may be used in conjunction with a touch screen panel that is mounted in the sealed window. The OIT may also include a keyboard support and storage tray pivotally mounted to the front panel for holding a keyboard. The tray may be pivoted downward to an approximately horizontal position when the keyboard is in use by the operator, and pivoted upward to an approximately vertical position when the keyboard is not in use. The tray is sealed in both positions to prevent elements from the harsh environment from entering the controlled environment behind the OIT.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    The invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction with the accompanying specification, in which:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the Operator Interface Terminal (OIT)of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the OIT of the present invention when mounted on an exemplary wall segment, and with a computer and monitor installed;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view showing a partial cross-section of the OIT of FIG. 1 mounted on an exemplary wall segment;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the OIT of FIG. 1 with the keyboard tray pivoted to the down position;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the OIT of FIG. 4 with a keyboard, mouse, and gasket installed in the keyboard tray;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the OIT taken along line  6 - 6  of FIG. 1 illustrating the structure for mounting the protective frame over the touch screen in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a left side, partial cross-sectional view of the bottom portion of the keyboard tray illustrating the tray partially pivoted to the down position; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 is a left side, partial cross-sectional view of the bottom portion of the keyboard tray illustrating the tray pivoted to the up position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the OIT  10  of the present invention. A front panel  11  includes a fold-down tray  12  that holds a keyboard  13  and a mouse  14  (see FIG. 5). A window  15  above the tray is for viewing a monitor  16  (see FIG. 2). The bottom edge of the window may be cut sloping slightly downward and forward (for example, a 10-degree slope) so that any water that gets on the edge will run off. A raised ridge  17  surrounds the window on the back side of the front panel. The front panel is shown mounted on a section of a wall or door  18 . The front panel may be constructed of a suitable hard material that is resistant to the harsh environment where the OIT is installed. For example, the preferred embodiment is constructed of stainless steel which is preferred for a process factory floor due to its corrosion resistance properties.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the OIT  10  of the present invention when mounted on the exemplary wall segment  18 , and with a computer  19  and monitor  16  installed. The front panel  11  includes a plurality of bolts  21  around its perimeter. The bolts extend through a gasket  26 , the wall  18 , and through a flange  22  of two flanged side panels  23  and  24 . The bolts are secured with nuts  25  to hold the OIT securely on the wall. Thus, the door or wall is sandwiched between the side flanges and the front panel. The bolts can be of varying lengths, depending on the thickness of the door or wall. The gasket  26  covers the perimeter of the back side of the front panel, and creates a seal between the front panel and the wall.  
         [0020]    An aperture  27  is cut in the wall  18  behind the window  15  in the front panel. The raised ridge  17  surrounding the window on the back side of the front panel fits into the aperture  27 . Surrounding the raised ridge is a second gasket  28  which is used to provide a seal on the front side of a flat panel touch screen  29  which is mounted in the window. The touch screen may be a resistive touch screen which is covered on the front side by a plastic resistive X-Y coordinate layer. The resistive screen is preferred because the protective plastic layer prevents the glass from being directly exposed to the factory environment. If the touch screen is impacted hard enough to break the glass, the outer resistive layer prevents glass fragments from contaminating the factory. This is important in industries such as the food industry. A third gasket  31  is mounted on the back side of the touch screen. The gaskets are preferably constructed of ⅛-inch gasket material since it is desirable to minimize the distance from the touch screen  29  to the monitor  16  in order to reduce parallax error when viewing the monitor from an angle.  
         [0021]    A protective frame  32  fits over the touch screen and gaskets, and over the raised ridge  17 . The frame may preferably be constructed from aluminum because of its light weight and durability. The frame is secured with four bolts that extend from the back of the front panel  11  at the corners of the window  15 . The frame is sized with very close tolerances to exactly fit over the raised ridge. This makes the touch screen self-centering in the window. The frame includes a notch  32   a  in one side to allow for passage of a ribbon cable  29   a  that extends from the touch screen and connects to an interface device (not shown) that is mounted under the window  15 . The touch screen may be connected to the control computer, for example, by a Microtouch controller. The Microtouch controller is preferred because it utilizes a 5-point calibration scheme for greater accuracy in aligning the X and Y axes of the screen.  
         [0022]    The two flanged side panels  23  and  24  support a top shelf  33  and a bottom shelf  34 . The top shelf  33  supports the monitor  16 , and the bottom shelf holds the computer  19 . The top shelf may be vertically adjusted using adjustment slots  35  to position monitors of different sizes directly behind the aperture  27  in the wall which is aligned with the window  15  in the front panel  11  of the OIT. The adjustability of the monitor shelf enables the use of any off-the-shelf monitor. It is preferable to use an LCD monitor, or a CRT monitor with a flat screen and a flat bezel such as those available from ViewSonic, in combination with the touch screen  29 . The preferred embodiment may use either a 15-inch LCD or a 17-inch CRT monitor.  
         [0023]    The bottom shelf  34  holds the computer  19 . In the preferred embodiment, a computer with a miniature casing approximately 3 inches×10 inches×11 inches is utilized. If the computer is mounted sideways, access to the front and back of the computer is provided through openings  36  in the side panels. In an alternative embodiment, the control computer is remotely located from the OIT, and the OIT includes a wireless RF transmitter or other transmission device to carry signals from the OIT to the remotely located computer.  
         [0024]    Optionally, the OIT may include monitor retaining brackets  37  that mount on the bolts  21  behind the flanged side panels  23  and  24 . Retaining straps  38  such as nylon straps pass through the retaining brackets and pass around the back side of the monitor  16 . The straps can be tightened to hold the monitor securely against the back side of the protective frame  32 . An optional padding (not shown) may be mounted on the front bezel of the monitor to cushion the monitor. The padding should be as thin as possible to minimize the distance between the monitor and the touch screen  29 , thereby minimizing parallax error when the monitor is viewed at an angle. By strapping the monitor tightly against the padding, the distance between the touch screen and the monitor is reduced to ¼ to ⅜ inch, thus reducing the parallax effects. This also prevents dust from getting on the monitor screen and on the back of the touch screen. In addition, since the monitor and other computer components may be in a lighted room, pressing the bezel of the monitor against the padding shields the monitor screen from light that might otherwise get in around the bezel and decrease the quality of the displayed image.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view showing a partial cross-section of the OIT  10  mounted on the exemplary wall segment  18 . In this view, two of the four mounting bolts  39  can be seen that are used to mount the protective frame  32  over the back of the touch screen  29  and gaskets  28  and  31 . Additionally, the keyboard tray  12  is shown pivoted to a partially open position, exposing a protective channeling structure  41  that functions to channel away any water or other liquid that may be sprayed against the front panel  11 . A hinge  42  such as a piano hinge is utilized for pivoting the tray between the up and down position. A locking mechanism  43  is utilized with a locking tab  43   a  to lock the tray in the up position.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the OIT of FIG. 1 with the keyboard tray  12  pivoted to the down (open) position. In this view, weep holes  44  are visible in the back wall of the tray. When the tray is in the up position, the back wall is the bottom wall, and the weep holes allow liquid to pass through the holes if any liquid is channeled down the sides of the channeling structure  41 . The weep holes may be configured as overlapping slits to prevent any runoff into the tray when the tray is lowered. Two other apertures  45  and  46  are shown in the front panel  11  within the area covered by the keyboard tray. As discussed below in connection with FIG. 5, these apertures allow for control cables to pass through the front panel to the computer  19 . Four small screw holes are also shown around the apertures  45  and  46 , and are used to mount watertight connectors  48  and  49  (FIG. 5) on the back side of the front panel. Two attachment strips  50  are utilized to attach the keyboard  13  to the base of the keyboard tray. The strips may be adhesive strips or a hook-and-pile material such as Velcro.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the OIT of FIG. 4 with the keyboard  13 , mouse  14 , and a gasket  47  installed in the keyboard tray  12 . An aerated rubber gasket  47  covers the base of the tray and seals the tray by contacting a raised ridge  41   a  on the front of channeling structure  41  when the tray is in the up position. The gasket doubles as a mouse pad in the down position. The gasket may be cut away under the keyboard so that the keyboard can be mounted to the base of the tray using the attachment strips  50  which may be adhesive strips or a hook-and-pile material such as Velcro. Two watertight connectors  48  and  49  are placed in the apertures  45  and  46 , and are utilized to connect the keyboard and mouse control cables  51  and  52 , respectively, to the computer  19 . In this way, the interior of the OIT remains sealed, and internal electronics of the OIT are not exposed to the elements when the fold-down tray is in the down position. The mouse  14  may be stored in a mounting bracket  53  when the keyboard tray is pivoted to the up position. Inputs may be made to the computer simultaneously with the touch screen  29 , the keyboard  13 , and the mouse  14 . Each input device also provides redundancy if one of the other input devices should fail.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 6 is a left side, partial cross-sectional view of a portion of the OIT taken along line  6 - 6  of FIG. 1 illustrating the structure for mounting the protective frame  32  over the touch screen  29  in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The frame  32  fits snugly over the raised ridge  17 , thereby causing the touch screen  29  to self-center within the window  15 . As the nut  55  is tightened on the bolt  39 , the gaskets  28  and  31  are compressed, creating a tight seal on each side of the touch screen. This also minimizes the distance between the touch screen and the monitor  16  which is mounted adjacent to the back side of the frame. As noted above, this helps to minimize parallax error when viewing the monitor from an angle.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 7 is a left side, partial cross-sectional view of the bottom portion of the keyboard tray  12  illustrating the tray partially pivoted to the down position. This view illustrates the positioning of the gasket/mouse pad  47  in the base of the tray.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 8 is a left side, partial cross-sectional view of the bottom portion of the keyboard tray  12  illustrating the tray pivoted to the up position. This view illustrates how the gasket/mouse pad  47  in the base of the tray contacts the front surface of the channeling structure  41  when the keyboard tray is closed.  
         [0031]    It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the apparatus shown and described has been characterized as being preferred, it will be readily apparent that various changes and modifications could be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.