Interactive terminal

Abstract

Interactive terminal (1) suitable for placement against a transparent wall (20) and comprising a housing (2) having a base (3) and side walls (4) delimiting a cavity (5) having an access opening (6) provided in a front face (7) of the housing (2), this cavity (5) being housed from the base (3) towards the front face (7) through which the housing (2) is intended to be applied against the transparent wall (20) to equip at least one processing unit (8), a display screen (9), and a capacitive touch panel (10) separated from said screen (9) by an air gap (19) and through which said screen (9) is visible, this cavity (5) further containing at least one forced air circulation element (11), the access opening (6) of the cavity (5) being delimited by edges, at least some of which are provided with a sealing gasket (14).The sealing gasket (14) equipping the upper horizontal edge (12A) of said access opening (6), in the upright state of the housing (2), has, over at least part of its length, a convex / concave portion (15) with convexity facing outwards from the housing (2) and with concavity facing inwards from the housing (2).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an interactive terminal capable of being placed against a flat, so-called vertical, face of a transparent wall, such as the inner face of the glass of a display window.

[0002] It relates in particular to an interactive terminal capable of being placed against a so-called vertical flat face of a transparent wall, said terminal comprising a housing having a bottom and side walls delimiting an open cavity having an access opening provided in a so-called front face of the housing opposite the bottom of the housing, this cavity housing, from the bottom in the direction of the front face by which the housing is intended to be applied against the transparent wall to be equipped, at least one processing unit, a display screen, and a capacitive touch screen separated from said screen by an air gap and through which said screen is visible, this cavity further containing at least one forced air circulation member,the access opening of the cavity being delimited by edges respectively forming the vertical edges and the upper and lower horizontal edges of said opening in the erected state of the housing in which the front face of said housing forming the application face of the housing extends in a vertical plane, at least some of these edges being provided with a seal.,

[0003] Such an interactive terminal is known as illustrated by patent EP 1 336 948 or patent FR 3 008 203. This interactive terminal is characterized by its easy maintenance. Manufacturers of such interactive terminals that can be integrated into street furniture or a building are looking for solutions to increase the lifespan of such interactive terminals.

[0004] FR-2.916.076 describes a display system comprising: an image presentation device adapted to present an image, a poster comprising a viewing window corresponding to the image of the image presentation device, an enclosure comprising a display face presenting the poster and the image of the image presentation device, an air conditioning device adapted to condition the air surrounding the image presentation device.

[0005] CN 108665819 describes a waterproof liquid crystal display system in the form of a cabinet. The cabinet includes a front door plate equipped with a touch screen and a rear door plate. A heat dissipation fan is integrated into said cabinet.

[0006] An aim of the invention is to propose an interactive terminal of the aforementioned type, the design of which makes it possible to increase the lifespan of such a terminal.

[0007] To this end, the invention relates to an interactive terminal capable of being placed against a so-called vertical flat face of a transparent wall, such as the inner face of the glass of a display window, said terminal comprising a housing having a bottom and side walls delimiting an open cavity having an access opening provided in a so-called front face of the housing opposite the bottom of the housing, this cavity housing, from the bottom in the direction of the front face by which the housing is intended to be applied against the transparent wall to be equipped, at least one processing unit, a display screen, and a capacitive touch screen separated at least partially from said screen by an air gap and through which said screen is visible, this cavity further containing at least one forced air circulation member,the access opening of the cavity being delimited by edges respectively forming the vertical edges and the upper and lower horizontal edges of said opening in the erected state of the housing in which the front face of said housing forming the application face of the housing extends in a vertical plane, at least some of these edges being provided with a seal, characterized in that the seal equipping the upper horizontal edge of said access opening, in the erected state of the housing, has, over at least part of its length, a convex / concave portion with convexity facing towards the outside of the housing and with concavity facing towards the inside of the housing. The conformation of the seal with a convex / concave portion with convexity facing towards the outside of the housing makes it possible to limit the risk of water infiltration inside the housing in the erected state of the housing which corresponds to its configuration of use.,

[0008] According to one embodiment of the invention, the convex / concave portion delimits, on the concave side, a hollow providing a receiving space inside which a camera is arranged at least partially. This configuration makes it possible to optimize the positioning of the camera in terms of space requirement. This positioning of the camera also offers the possibility of reducing any malfunction of the camera resulting from disturbances due to ventilation by convection of the air.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the invention, the lower horizontal edge of the access opening, opposite the upper horizontal edge of said opening in the upright state of the housing, is free of seal over at least part of its length. This design helps ventilate the housing by providing an air inlet. This air inlet makes it possible to renew the air in the air gap separating the screen from the capacitive touch panel and thus avoid any heating of said panel and / or the screen.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the invention, each seal fitted to a vertical edge of said access opening in the upright state of the housing is, at its lower end, curved towards the seal of the opposite vertical edge. This arrangement helps guide the air in particular between the side walls of the housing and the capacitive touch screen.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, the or at least one of the forced air circulation members is a fan whose air outlet is formed by one or more holes provided in the bottom of the housing. The presence of these holes allows air to be evacuated towards the outside of the housing. These holes are positioned opposite the opening provided by the interruption of the seal so that air convection takes place over the entire housing.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the invention, the capacitive touch screen comprises a touch-sensitive active surface and the seal is arranged in a coplanar plane with said touch-sensitive active surface. This configuration makes it possible to exert simultaneous pressure on the capacitive touch screen and on the seal in the applied state of the interactive terminal on the glass of the display case to be equipped to ensure at the same time uniform contact with the touch screen and sealing of the seal. Brief description of the drawings

[0013] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which: [ Fig. 1 ] represents a side view of an interactive terminal according to the invention in the state not pressed against a window, [ Fig. 2 ] represents a side view of an interactive terminal according to the invention in the state pressed against a window, [ Fig. 3 ] represents a perspective view, taken from the front side of the housing, of an interactive terminal in accordance with the invention, [ Fig. 4 ] represents a perspective view, taken from the back of the housing, of an interactive terminal according to the invention.

[0014] As mentioned above, the interactive terminal 1, object of the invention, is intended to be positioned behind a transparent wall 20, such as a window pane, a window of street furniture or other, to be controlled through said transparent wall, the user being placed on one side of said transparent wall and the interactive terminal 1 on the other side of said transparent wall 20. This arrangement makes it possible to protect the interactive terminal.

[0015] The terminal is controlled by touching said transparent wall 20 for the user, this pressure being able to be perceived by said interactive terminal 1 in a manner known per se.

[0016] This interactive terminal 1, which can be positioned on one side of the transparent wall 20, comprises a housing 2 of generally parallelepiped shape as illustrated in figures 3 And 4This housing 2 comprises a bottom 3 and peripheral side walls 4 surrounding said bottom 3. These peripheral side walls 4 delimit with the bottom 3 an open cavity 5 having an access opening 6 arranged in a so-called front face 7 of the housing opposite the bottom 3 of the housing 2.

[0017] This access opening 6 makes it possible to introduce, inside the cavity 5, the sensitive components of said interactive terminal. In particular, the cavity 5 of the housing 2 houses, from the bottom 3 towards the front face 7 by which the housing 2 is intended to be applied against the transparent wall 20 to be equipped, at least one processing unit 8, a display screen 9 and a capacitive touch screen 10 separated from said screen 9 by an air gap 19 capable of being ventilated and through which said screen 9 is visible. The processing unit 8 can be formed by a processor, in particular a microprocessor. In the example shown, the processing unit 8 is a computer.

[0018] At least the capacitive touch screen 10 is equipped with elastic means for returning said capacitive touch screen towards the front opening of the housing.

[0019] These elastic return means can be formed by rubber blocks housed inside the housing and interposed between the capacitive touch screen 10 and the rest of the housing to exert a return force on the capacitive touch screen 10 towards the outside of the housing.

[0020] Thus, the capacitive touch screen 10 is movable in the direction of moving towards or away from the bottom of the housing 2 under the effect of pressure exerted on said screen. This capacitive touch screen 10 is generally, for its movement, guided in movement inside the housing by means of guide paths, such as rails arranged inside the housing.

[0021] The cavity 5 of the housing further comprises, housed at least partially inside said cavity 5, at least one forced air circulation member 11, such as a fan.

[0022] In the example shown in the Figure 4, the interactive terminal 1 comprises three forced air circulation members 11 embedded at least partially in the bottom 3 of the housing 2. These air circulation members 11 are arranged along a line parallel to the upper horizontal edge of the access opening 6 of the cavity and close to this upper horizontal edge. Indeed, the access opening 6 of the cavity is delimited by edges respectively forming the upper horizontal edges 12A and lower 12B and vertical edges 13A and 13B of the access opening 6 in the upright state of the housing 2 in which the front face 7 of the housing, forming the face for applying the housing against the transparent wall 20, extends in a vertical plane.

[0023] In particular, these forced air circulation members 11 are arranged closer to the upper horizontal edge 12A than to the lower horizontal edge 12B of the access opening 6. These forced air circulation members 11 thus allow suction of the air contained inside the cavity 5 and its discharge through the bottom 3 of the housing to the outside of the housing 2.

[0024] The access opening 6 of the cavity 5 is an opening of generally quadrangular shape. The vertical edges of the access opening 6 of the cavity 5, shown at 13A and 13B in the figures, are therefore substantially parallel and at least some of the edges of the access opening 6 are provided with a sealing joint 14.

[0025] In the examples shown, this sealing joint 14 is in the form of an elongated body grooved longitudinally to form a groove allowing the sealing joint 14 to fit the edges of the access opening 6 on which said sealing joint 14 is applied.

[0026] In the examples shown, the sealing gasket 14 delimits an open loop. In particular, this sealing gasket 14 equips the vertical edges 13A and 13B and the upper horizontal edge 12A of the access opening 6.

[0027] It is thus noted that the lower horizontal edge 12B of the access opening 6 in the erected state of the housing 2 is free of a sealing joint 14 over at least part of its length. Similarly, each joint 14 equipping a vertical edge 13A or 13B of said access opening 6, in the erected state of the housing 2, is, at its lower end, curved towards the joint of the opposite vertical edge. This prevents air from escaping from the cavity at this level.

[0028] This configuration of the sealing gasket 14 allows for optimized air circulation in accordance with that shown in Figure 2where the air driven to circulate by the forced air circulation members 11 enters the housing 2 through the lower horizontal edge 12B, in the upright state of the housing 2. A portion of this air flows through the space forming the air gap 19 between the screen 9 and the capacitive touch screen 10 in the direction of the upper horizontal edge 12B of the housing 2 while another portion of the incoming air flow passes behind the screen 9 and circulates between the screen 9 and the bottom 3 of the housing 2 to exit at the level of the forced air circulation members 11 outside the housing 2. For this purpose, the air outlet of the forced air circulation members 11 is formed by one or more holes 18 provided in the bottom of the housing 2. This air circulation makes it possible to prevent the components housed inside the housing 2 from heating up.

[0029] To prevent premature damage to the interior of the housing 2, the sealing gasket 14 equipping the upper horizontal edge 12A of the access opening 6, in the upright state of the housing 2, has over at least part of its length a convex / concave portion 15 with convexity facing towards the outside of the housing and concavity facing towards the inside of the housing.

[0030] The convex part of this convex / concave portion 15 of the sealing joint 14, which fits the upper horizontal edge 12A of the access opening 6 of said cavity 5, forms a bulge. This bulge tends to guide the water which may fall on this upper edge 12A towards the vertical edges of said access opening 6.

[0031] The convex part of the convex / concave portion 15 of the sealing gasket 14 equipping the upper horizontal edge of the access opening 6, in the upright state of the housing, therefore forms a curved part in an arc of a circle developing from one of the vertical edges in the direction of the other vertical edge of said opening with the middle of said arc of a circle forming substantially the middle of the upper horizontal edge 12A of said access opening 6.

[0032] This curved portion in an arc of a circle tends to direct the water falling on the upper horizontal edge 12A of the access opening 6 towards the vertical edges 13A, 13B of said access opening 6. Thus, the risks of water infiltration inside the housing 2 are reduced.

[0033] Alternatively, this curved part forming the convex part of the convex / concave portion 15 may have, at the level of the median zone of said upper horizontal edge, an arcuate portion followed by rectilinear portions with a downward slope towards the vertical edges to form a general Omega shape with the branches of the Omega being branches inclined from the arcuate portion of the Omega towards the free ends of the branches of the Omega.

[0034] In addition, and as illustrated in the Figure 3 , the convex / concave portion delimits, on the concave side, a hollow 16 providing a receiving space inside which a camera 17 is arranged at least partially.

[0035] The camera 17 is thus located in a space where disturbances that may result from air circulation inside the housing are reduced and where the risks of water infiltration inside the housing are also reduced. This results in secure protection of said camera.

[0036] Finally, to complete the assembly, the capacitive touch screen 10 comprises an active touch surface 100 and the joint 14 is arranged in a coplanar plane with said active touch surface 100.

[0037] Thus, the pressing of the interactive terminal against the transparent wall 20 makes it possible to crush the sealing gasket 14 in parallel with the positioning of the active touch surface 100 against said transparent wall 20. The elastic mounting using, for example, rubber blocks of the capacitive touch screen, as described above, inside the housing, makes it possible to perfect this surface-mounted positioning and to avoid any damage to said capacitive touch screen 10.

[0038] In practice, the assembly of such an interactive terminal is carried out in a manner similar to the state of the art. It is simply necessary to ensure that the convex / concave portion 15 of the sealing gasket 14 is arranged at the level of the upper horizontal edge 12A of the access opening 6, in the upright state of the housing 2, with the front face 7 of the housing applied to the transparent wall 20 to be equipped.

Claims

1. Interactive terminal (1) configured to be placed against a planar face, which is said to be vertical, of a transparent wall (20), such as the interior face of the glazing of a window, said terminal (1) comprising a housing (2) having a back (3) and sidewalls (4) bounding an open cavity (5) with an access aperture (6) formed in a face, called the front face (7), of the housing (2) opposite the back (3) of the housing (2), this cavity (5) accommodating, from the back (3) in the direction of the front face (7) via which the housing (2) is intended to be applied against the transparent wall (20) to be equipped, at least one processing unit (8), a display screen (9), and a capacitive touch panel (10) separated at least partially from said screen (9) by an air gap (19) and through which said screen (9) is visible, this cavity (5) further containing at least one member (11) for forcing air flow, the access aperture (6) of the cavity (5) being bounded by edges respectively forming vertical edges (13A, 13B) and upper (12A) and lower (12B) horizontal edges of said aperture (6) when the housing (2) is in the installed state, in which state the front face (7) of said housing (2) forming the face of application of the housing (2) lies in a vertical plane, at least some of these edges being equipped with a seal (14), characterized in that the seal (14) with which the upper horizontal edge (12A) of said access aperture (6) is equipped, in the installed state of the housing (2), has, over at least part of its length, a convex / concave segment (15) the convexity of which faces the exterior of the housing (2) and the concavity of which faces the interior of the housing (2).

2. Interactive terminal (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the convex / concave segment (15) bounds, on the concave side, a recess (16) forming a receiving space inside of which a camera (17) is at least partially arranged.

3. Interactive terminal (1) according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the lower horizontal edge (12B) of the access aperture (6), opposite the upper horizontal edge (12A) of said aperture (6) in the installed state of the housing (2), is free of seal (14) over at least part of its length.

4. Interactive terminal (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each seal (14) with which a vertical edge (13A, 13B) of said access aperture (6) is equipped in the installed state of the housing (2) is, at its lower end, curved in the direction of the seal of the opposite vertical edge.

5. Interactive terminal (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the or at least one of the members (11) for forcing air flow is a fan the air outlet of which is formed by one or more holes (18) formed in the back (3) of the housing (2).

6. Interactive terminal (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the capacitive touch panel (10) comprises an active touch surface (100) and in that the seal (14) is arranged in a plane coplanar with said active touch surface (100).

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