Abstract:
A cash register assembly including an electronic device, a peripheral device and a cable connecting the devices, the assembly including a housing defining an internal recess and an opening communicating with the internal recess, an inner wall engaged with the housing and extending along one of the top, bottom and side walls to define therebetween a cable guide channel extending toward the opening and the back wall and being adapted to receive a portion of the cable, a front panel removably secured to the housing in a position overlying the opening to afford selective access to the recess, and at least one aperture located in one of the top, bottom, side and back walls and communicating between the exterior of the housing and the internal recess adjacent the cable guide channel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The invention relates to point of sale cash registers, and more particularly to an electronic point of sale cash register assembly.  
           [0003]    2. Background Information  
           [0004]    Point of sale cash registers have long been used by retail stores to record sales and to calculate and facilitate the various monetary transactions associated with retail item purchases, returns, exchanges, and the like. The point of sale cash register, like many other devices, has benefited greatly from the increased incorporation of microprocessors and computers into the assembly. In this regard, cash registers generally include various electronic peripheral devices such as monitors, keyboards, scanners, printers and the like. It is known to provide such devices as components so that in the event an individual component fails, the failed component may be individually replaced without effecting the other components.  
           [0005]    In addition to the various peripheral items mentioned above, a central processing module is provided to coordinate the various operations and input and output functions of the peripheral devices. This function is typically provided by personal computers (“PCs”). Utilization of PCs provides a flexible and expandable point of sale cash register that may easily be upgraded and improved as PC technology advances.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that a point of sale cash register adapted to be controlled by a PC and including a plurality of independent peripherals that may be easily replaced is desirable. One of the problems associated with known cash registers, however, is that gaining access to the PC or changing connections between the PC and peripheral devices can be difficult. This is particularly the case in circumstances wherein the assembly is located at a point of sale restricting access to the assembly from all sides. In such circumstances, the assembly must be moved to gain access to the PC.  
           [0007]    Another problem with some know register designs is the management of cabling connection the PC to peripheral devices. Depending on the number and nature of the peripheral devices associated with the assembly, the cabling can be extensive.  
           [0008]    To address these concerns with known point of sale cash register systems, the invention provides a cash register assembly that improves service access and maintenance of the assembly and associated PC and peripheral devices. In particular, the invention provides a cash register assembly having a front panel access, which is usually not obstructed in typical point of sale arrangements. Also, the cash register assembly provides a housing that permits the PC removed and/or installed easily without extensive re-cabling of the assembly. The cash register assembly also provides one or more cable management channels that permit the cables to be routed in an organized manner on the interior of the housing.  
           [0009]    In one embodiment, the invention provides a cash register assembly including an electronic device, a peripheral device and a cable connecting the devices. The assembly includes a housing having top, bottom, side and back walls and defining an internal recess and an opening communicating with the internal recess, the opening and the recess being adapted to receive the electronic device. The assembly also includes an inner wall engaged with the housing and extending along one of the top, bottom and side walls to define therebetween a cable guide channel extending toward the opening and the back wall and being adapted to receive a portion of the cable. The assembly also includes a front panel removably secured to the housing in a position overlying the opening to afford selective access to the recess. The assembly also includes at least one aperture located in one of the top, bottom, side and back walls and communicating between the exterior of the housing and the internal recess adjacent the cable guide channel and the back wall, the aperture being adapted to receive the cable.  
           [0010]    In another embodiment, the invention provides a point of sale cash register assembly including a housing including a back wall, a plurality of lateral walls extending from the back wall and defining with the back wall an interior recess. The housing also defines an opening spaced from the back wall and communicating with the interior recess. The housing also includes a front wall removably mounted on one of the plurality of the lateral walls in a position closing the opening and an inner wall extending into the interior recess and along one of the lateral walls, the inner wall and the lateral wall defining therebetween a cable guide channel. The housing also includes an aperture in one of the lateral walls adjacent the back wall and the cable guide channel. The assembly also includes an electronic hardware device received by the housing and located adjacent the inner wall and including a port facing the front wall. The assembly also includes a peripheral device located outside of the housing and at least one cable having an end engaged with the port, a length extending along the cable guide channel and through an aperture and an end connected to the peripheral device.  
           [0011]    In another embodiment, the invention provides a point of sale cash register assembly including a housing including a back wall, a plurality of lateral walls extending from the back wall and defining with the back wall an interior recess and an opening spaced from the back wall and communicating with the interior recess. The housing also includes a front wall removably mounted on one of the plurality of the lateral walls in a position closing the opening and a pair of spaced apart inner walls. Each inner wall extends into the interior recess along a respective one of the lateral walls, each inner wall and respective lateral wall defining therebetween a respective cable guide channel. The housing also includes an aperture in one of the lateral walls adjacent the back wall and adjacent one of the cable guide channels. The assembly also includes an electronic hardware device received by the housing and located between the inner walls and including a port facing the front wall. The assembly also includes a peripheral device located outside of the housing and at least one cable having an end engaged with the port, a length extending along the cable guide channel and through an aperture and an end connected to the peripheral device.  
           [0012]    Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description and drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a point of sale cash register assembly embodying the invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with a portion of the assembly cut away.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a second perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 with a front panel partially open.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 with a portion cut away.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a top view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 with a portion cut away.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a third perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 with a portion cut away. 
     
    
       [0020]    Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0021]    The drawings illustrate a point of sale cash register assembly  10  embodying the present invention. Referring first to FIG. 1, the cash register  10  includes a cash drawer  14 , a housing  18 , a keyboard  22 , a printer  26 , and a monitor  30 . Generally, the printer  26  and the monitor  30  are positively secured to the housing  18 , however the printer  26  and monitor  30  may also simply rest upon the housing  18 . The keyboard  22  is generally not positively secured to the housing  18  such that the keyboard  22  may be moved to a convenient location for typing and data entry.  
         [0022]    Referring now to FIGS.  2 - 5 , the housing  18  includes a top wall  34  including a plurality of apertures  38 , and a bottom wall  42  that rests upon the cash drawer  14  and is opposed to the top wall  34 . The housing  18  also includes opposed side walls  46  extending between the top and bottom walls  34 ,  42  and a back wall  50  that extends between the top and bottom walls  34 ,  42  as well as the opposed side walls  46 . The top wall  34 , the bottom wall  42 , the side walls  46 , and the back wall  50  cooperate to define an internal recess within the housing  18  and a front opening that communicates with the internal recess. A front panel  54  is removably securable to one or more of the walls (e.g. the side walls  46  as illustrated) and, when thus secured, extends between the side walls  46  and top and bottom walls  34 ,  42  and overlies the opening. A pair of opposed inner walls  56  (FIG. 3) are inwardly spaced from and substantially parallel to the side walls  34 ,  42 , and extend between the top and bottom walls  34 ,  42 . The inner walls  56  do not fully extend between the front panel  54  and the back wall  50  for reasons that will become apparent below.  
         [0023]    One side wall  46  includes a pair of notches or slots  58  positioned near the front portion of the housing  18 , and the other side wall  46  includes a flap portion  62  that is substantially perpendicular to the remainder of the side wall  46  and is also formed near the front portion of the housing. The flap portion  62  also includes an aperture  66 . The front panel  54  includes a pair of protrusions  70  (FIG. 5) that are received by the notches  58  to secure one side of the panel  54  to the respective side wall  46  (FIG. 4). The other side of the front panel  54  includes a locking assembly  74 . The locking assembly  74  is receivable by the aperture  66  and is operable to lockingly secure the panel  54  to the housing  18 . It should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the panel  54  could also be removably secured to the top and bottom walls  34 ,  42  in a similar manner.  
         [0024]    The housing  18  is configured to receive and house an electronic hardware unit such as a central processing unit (“CPU”)  78  of a personal computer. The CPU  78  includes a plurality of ports  82  along at least one side and contains various microprocessors and other electronic devices that are well known in the computing industry. The CPU  78  preferably includes, among other things, a 370 socket, 700 MHz or greater processor, an INTEL® 815E motherboard chip set having an NLX or equivalent form factor, a 192 KB or greater L2 cache, 256 MB of DIMM memory (preferably upgradable to 512 MB) and a DVI video card with 4 MB or more of memory suitable for operating at 800×600 dpi. It will be readily understood, however that any suitable CPU having operating characteristics suitable for operation with the assembly  10  can be used. The ports 82 provide electrical communication between the electronic devices within the CPU  78  and the external components of the cash register  10 . The ports  82  are of a variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations based upon the particular device they are intended to communicate with.  
         [0025]    Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the inner walls  56  cooperate with respective side walls  46  to define a pair of cable-guiding channels  86  that each extend along the side portions of the housing  18  between one of the inner walls  56  and a respective adjacent side wall  46 . The inner walls  56  are generally spaced from each other an appropriate distance such that the CPU  78  is closely received therebetween. Alternative embodiments of the invention may include a single inner wall  56  that provides a single cable-guiding channel  86 . In this respect, the CPU  78  would be closely received between the single inner wall  56  and one of the side walls  46 , and the cable-guiding channel  86  would be defined by the single inner wall  56  and the other side wall  46 . Regardless of the inner wall  56  configuration, the CPU  78  is inserted into the housing such that the ports  82  face toward the front panel  54 . Cables  90  including plugs  94  adapted for insertion into various individual ports  82  are coupled to the ports  82  such that the cables  90  extend toward the front panel  54 . The cables  90  are routed through one or more of the cable-guiding channels  86  toward the back wall  50  and are then extended through an appropriate aperture  38  in the top wall  34 . The cables  90  are coupled to their respective components, thereby providing electronic communication between the components and the CPU  78 . The CPU  78  also communicates with the cash drawer  14  to control the opening of the cash drawer  14 . While substantially all of the cables  90  are illustrated as being routed along only one of the cable-guiding channels  86 , it should be readily apparent that both channels  86  may be used as required.  
         [0026]    As illustrated, the apertures  38  are positioned in the top wall  34  such that substantially no cables extend between the two inner walls  56 . For example the apertures  38  that are provided for the monitor  30  and the printer  26  are positioned substantially adjacent to the back wall  50 . As mentioned above, the inner walls  56  preferably do not extend all the way to the back wall  50  such that the cables  90  may be routed through the cable guiding channels  86  and then along the back wall  50 , where they are subsequently extended through the apertures  38  and connected with the monitor and the printer. If the inner walls  56  do extend all the way to the back wall  50 , holes or knock-outs should be provided in the inner walls  56  to allow the cables  90  to pass therethrough. In the same respect, the aperture  38  that is provided for the keyboard  22  preferably communicates directly with the cable guiding channel  86 , such positioning of the apertures  38  with respect to the inner walls  56  provides a simple, well organized routing of the various cables  90 .  
         [0027]    In addition to the cable guiding channels  86 , cutouts  98  may be provided in any of the walls such that additional components may be coupled to the CPU  78  for electronic communication therewith. The illustrated cutouts  98  are generally U-shaped, and are provided along a forward edge of each side wall  46 . The cutouts  98  open toward the front of the housing  18  such that when the front panel  54  is secured to the housing  18 , the cables  90  extending through the cutouts  98  are captured between the cutouts  98  and the front panel  54 . The cutouts  98  are generally provided to allow hand-held components, such as the hand-held scanner  102  illustrated in FIG. 2, to be interconnected with the CPU  78 . In addition to the cutouts  98 , air vents  106  may be provided in any of the housing walls, such as the back wall  50  as illustrated. The air vents  106  afford additional air circulation through the housing  18  to cool the CPU  78 .  
         [0028]    The cash register  10  is advantageously configured to be easily serviceable. The positioning of the CPU  78  within the housing  18  and the routing of the cables  90  through the cable guiding channels  86  afford quick and easy access to the various ports  82  and plugs  94  of the CPU  78  and cables  90 . In one aspect, if an individual component of the cash register  10  fails, the front panel  54  is removed and the faulty component is disconnected from the CPU  82 . A new component may then be installed and either connected to the previously installed cable  90  or replaced by a new cable  90  that is routed along one of the cable-guiding channels  86  and out an appropriate aperture  38  or cutout  98  of the housing  18 . Thus, there is generally no need to remove the entire CPU  78  at any time during servicing or replacement of an individual cash register component. In another aspect, the replacement of the entire CPU  78  is also facilitated. In this respect, the plugs  94  are disconnected from the ports  82  and the CPU  78  is removed from between the inner walls  56 . A replacement CPU  78  is then inserted into the housing  18  and the plugs  94  are reconnected to the ports  82  of the replacement CPU  78 . Thus the routing of the cables  90  through the housing  18 , and the connections of the cables  90  to the components are not disturbed during replacement of the CPU  78 .  
         [0029]    Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.