U.S. patent application number 13/753939 was filed with the patent office on 2014-01-30 for cloth container and stationary scanner having the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEC INFRONTIA CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Hayato MIKAMI.
Application Number | 20140027514 13/753939 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47692923 |
Filed Date | 2014-01-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140027514 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MIKAMI; Hayato |
January 30, 2014 |
CLOTH CONTAINER AND STATIONARY SCANNER HAVING THE SAME
Abstract
The invention provides an easy-to-clean cloth container and a
stationary scanner having such a cloth container. This cloth
container is to be attached to a support post of a stationary
scanner, and has a first component and a second component. The
first component has a cloth storing space and a first engaging
portion, and the second component has an attachment portion to be
attached to the support post, and a second engaging portion. The
first component is attached to the outside of the support post by
detachably engaging the first engaging portion with the second
engaging portion with the second component.
Inventors: |
MIKAMI; Hayato; (Kanagawa,
JP) |
Assignee: |
NEC INFRONTIA CORPORATION
Kawasaki-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
47692923 |
Appl. No.: |
13/753939 |
Filed: |
January 30, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
235/454 ;
206/524.6; 206/557 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 9/046 20130101;
B65D 79/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
235/454 ;
206/524.6; 206/557 |
International
Class: |
B65D 79/00 20060101
B65D079/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 26, 2012 |
JP |
2012-165406 |
Claims
1. A cloth container attached to a support post of a stationary
scanner which is to be placed on a table, the cloth container
comprising a first component and a second component, wherein: the
first component is to be placed on the table and has a cloth
storing space and a first engaging portion; the second component is
also to be placed on the table and has an attachment portion
attached to the support post and a second engaging portion; and the
first component is attached to the outside of the support post on
the table by detachably engaging the first engaging portion with
the second engaging portion of the second component.
2. The cloth container according to claim 1, wherein the cloth
storing space of the first component is formed into a tray shape so
that a cloth is put thereon.
3. A stationary scanner mounted on a table and comprising a cloth
container according to claim 1, a scanner for reading a commodity
code, and a support post for supporting the scanner on the table,
the cloth container being attached to the support post and placed
on the table.
4. The stationary scanner according to claim 3, wherein the first
component of the cloth container is arranged on the table on the
front side of the stationary scanner where the scanner is attached
to the support post on the table, wherein the support post and the
cloth container are placed on the table.
Description
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese patent application No. 2012-165406, filed on
Jul. 26, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in
its entirety by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a cloth container and a stationary
scanner having the same.
[0003] A point of sales (POS) system is conventionally known in
which one sales clerk registers commodities purchased by a customer
while another clerk performs accounting work. A stationary scanner
used for the registration of commodities is known from Japanese
Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-108868 (Patent Document 1),
for example, which is mounted on sacker table or the like and has a
support post for supporting a display of various types and a
keyboard for inputting commodity information.
[0004] A stationary scanner of this type may be provided with a
space by forming a recess in a lower part of the support post to
extend inward so that this space can be used as a cloth container
in which a cloth to be used by a salesclerk is stored.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The cloth container of the conventional stationary scanner
as described above is formed as a recess extending inward in a
lower part of the support post which is located below an operator's
(clerk's) line of sight. This makes it difficult for a clerk or the
like to clean the cloth container in an appropriate manner.
Additionally, it is also made difficult to visually check the inner
surface of the cloth container, which causes a problem that stain
or dirt adhered on the inner surface of the cloth container is apt
to be overlooked and it is difficult to keep the cloth container
and a cloth stored therein in hygienically clean conditions.
[0006] Therefore, an object of the invention is to solve these
problems of the related art, that is, to provide a cloth container
which is easy to clean and a stationary scanner having such a cloth
container.
[0007] The invention provides a cloth container to achieve the
aforementioned object. The cloth container according to the
invention is a cloth container attached to a support post of a
stationary scanner, and has a first component and a second
component. The first component has a cloth storing space and a
first engaging portion, and the second component has an attachment
portion attached to the support post and a second engaging portion.
The first component is attached to the outside of the support post
by detachably engaging the first engaging portion with the second
engaging portion of the second component.
[0008] The invention also provides a stationary scanner to achieve
the aforementioned object. The stationary scanner according to the
invention has the above-described cloth container, a scanner for
reading a commodity code, and a support post for supporting the
scanner, and the cloth container is attached to the support
post.
[0009] The cloth container according to the invention employs a
configuration in which the first component having the cloth storing
space is attached to the outside of the support post, whereby even
with the first component attached to the support post, the cloth
storing space can be easily cleaned in an appropriate manner and
stain or dirt on the inner surface of the cloth storing space can
be easily found and cleaned up. Thus, the cloth storing space and
the cloth can be kept hygienically clean.
[0010] Further, according to the invention, the first component
having the cloth storing space is detachably attached to the second
component attached to the support post, whereby the detachment of
the first component from the second component is made easy, and
thus the cloth storing space can be kept hygienically clean by
washing the detached first component with water or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a stationary scanner
according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first component
forming a cloth container;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a side view of the first component;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second component
forming the cloth container; and
[0015] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the stationary scanner
with the first component removed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0016] An exemplary embodiment of a stationary scanner according to
the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0017] A stationary scanner 10 according to this embodiment is
configured to be usable for registration of commodities in a point
of sales (POS) system in which one salesclerk registers commodities
purchased by a customer while another salesclerk performs
accounting work.
[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the stationary scanner 10 has a scanner
60 such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor for reading a
commodity code attached to each commodity, a keyboard 70 for
receiving various types of input, a salesclerk display 71 with a
touch panel, a customer display 72, and a support post 50
supporting these components. Reference numeral 73 in FIGS. 1 and 5
denotes a sacker table on which the stationary scanner 10 is
mounted.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the stationary scanner 10 further has,
in a lower part of the support post 50, a cloth container 20 for
storing a cloth (e.g. table cleaning cloth) to be used by a clerk
or the like for various purposes.
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the cloth container 20 is
composed of a first component 30 made of a resin and arranged on
the front side of the support post 50 so as to project outward from
the support post 50, and a second component 40 made of a resin and
arranged on the back side of the support post 50. The first
component 30 and the second component 40 are arranged to surround
the support post 50.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the first component 30 has, on the upper
face thereof, a tray-shaped cloth storing space 31 for storing a
cloth. As shown in FIG. 3, the first component 30 further has, on
the lower face thereof, a pair of convex first engaging portions 32
to be detachably engaged with second engaging portions 42 of the
second component 40.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the first component 30 is arranged on
the front side of the support post 50 where the scanner 60 is
attached, that is, on the working space side where the salesclerk
operates the stationary scanner 10. This arrangement allows the
salesclerk to take out the cloth from the cloth storing space 31,
to clean the cloth storing space 31, and to remove or attach the
first component 30, from the side of the working space for the
salesclerk.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the second component 40 has an
attachment portion 41 for attaching the second component 40 to the
support post 50 by engaging the same with the support post 50, and
a pair of concave second engaging portion 42 to be detachably
engaged with the first engaging portions 32 of the first component
30.
[0024] In order to attach the first component 30 to the second
component 40, as shown in FIG. 5, the first component 30 is brought
from the above toward the second component 40 that is preliminarily
attached to the supporting post 50, while aligning the concave
second engaging portions 42 with the convex first engaging portions
32, and the first component 30 is fitted in the second component 40
fitted therein.
[0025] In order to detach the first component 30 from the second
component 40, only the first component 30 is lifted up while
pressing down the second component 40 with the operator's hand or
the like so that the engagement between the concave second engaging
portion 42 and the convex first engaging portion 32 is released,
and the first component 30 is detached from the second component
40. The attachment and detachment can be done without using any
fixing screws or tools.
[0026] The embodiment described above employs a configuration in
which the first component 30 having the cloth storing space 31 is
attached to a space defined in front and outside of the support
post 50, whereby the cloth storing space 31 can be cleaned
appropriately and easily even with the first component 30 attached
to the support post 50. In addition, since stain or dirt on the
inner surface of the cloth storing space 31 can be easily found,
the cloth storing space 31 and the cloth can be kept hygienically
clean.
[0027] Further, the first component 30 having the cloth storing
space 31 is detachably attached to the second component 40 attached
to the support post 50, which makes it possible to detach the first
component 30 from the second component 40 so that the cloth storing
space 31 can be easily kept hygienically clean by washing the
detached first component 30 with water or the like.
[0028] Although the foregoing description of the embodiment has
been made on the assumption that the first engaging portions 32
formed in the first component 30 are of a convex shape and the
second engaging portions 42 formed in the second component 40 are
of a concave shape, the specific shapes of the first engaging
portions 32 and second engaging portions 42 are not limited
particularly and the first and second engaging portions may assume
any shapes as long as the first component 30 can be engaged with
and attached to the second component 40 without the need of fixing
screws or tools. For example, the first engaging portion 32 may be
formed into a concave shape and the second engaging portion 42 may
be formed into a convex shape.
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