Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Including component designed to receive a disparate article... – With a telephone
Patent
1999-03-05
2000-05-16
Aubrey, Beth A.
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Including component designed to receive a disparate article...
With a telephone
52 40, 527301, 3122653, E04H 114
Patent
active
060619716
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
A. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a public terminal for publicly making available information, telecommunication or other services, with the operating functions required for that purpose being capable of being carried out by means of processing units included in the terminal.
Examples of such terminals are: public-telephone columns, emergency telephones of the [Dutch] AA, and ticket-vending machines for public transport. Such terminals are formed by a plinth having either a substantially tubular support and, above it, an operator console cased in a secure housing, such as in the event of the emergency telephone, or, if the size of the necessary terminal equipment so requires, by a more ample housing of steel plate mounted directly onto the plinth, such as in the event of the Dutch Railway Company's ticket-vending machine.
B. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a combination of the two current main versions of public terminals, with attention being paid, inter alia, to aesthetic design, mechanical strength and stability, weather resistance, maintainability and accessibility of the internal equipment etc. According to the invention, the terminal housing is formed by shaft-shaped segments which, from a base plinth, extend vertically, and are connected to one another by means of likewise vertically extending connecting elements, with the processing units being enclosed, on the rear side and lateral sides, by the shaft-shaped segments. The invention is based on the insight that shaft-shaped segments, such as "walls", for a public terminal offer the options which correspond to the requirements imposed. Thus, each of the segments, independently from one another, may be mounted stably onto a base plinth (concrete plinth or steel base plate), namely by means of tie rods engaging, on the one side, with the base plinth, which extend through at least a number of the shaft-shaped segments, and which on the other side engage with a point of action on the side turned away from the base plinth (therefore with the top side) of said segments. The tie rods must therefore have a considerable length, in the order of magnitude of the height of the shaft-shaped segments, as a result of which, due to the elastic deformation of the tie rods in longitudinal direction ("elongation"), the shaft-shaped segments, even at fluctuating temperatures, always remain well-tightened to the base plinth. The tie rods are preferably at least partially enclosed by tie-rod guides extending within the shaft-shaped segments.
The shaft-shaped segments are preferably provided with connection elements extending in the longitudinal direction of the shaft-shaped segments, which engage with one another along the entire length of the said segments, as a result of which the segments together form a housing of the terminal equipment which is impermeable from the outside. The terminal housing as a whole, is preferably substantially cylindrical, with the shaft-shaped segments having a cross-sectional shape which is equal, or closely related, to the geometrical shape of a circular segment, i.e., aruluar.
Apart from the fact that, using the shaft-shaped segments, there may be obtained a very stable terminal housing which--even at fluctuating temperatures, but also in the event of vibrations due to road or railway traffic--is rigidly connected to the base plinth, the shafts formed by the segments may be used, if so desired, for cooling, whether forced or not, of the incorporated equipment. In addition, the shafts may be filled with thermal-insulation material, e.g., for applications at very low temperatures.
The shaft-shaped segments are preferably manufactured by means of an extrusion process, as a result of which the price is relatively low. In the event of extrusion, there is produced a semifinished product, e.g., of aluminium, having a profile equal to that of the shaft-shaped segments, including tie-rod guides, however having a great length, e.g., of 50 meters. Afterwards, said semifinished-product prof
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Gardien Guido Ignatius Bernardus
Wolters Theodorus Bernardus
Aubrey Beth A.
Glessner Brian E.
Koninklijke KPN N.V.
Michaelson Peter L.
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