Tablet based kiosk
A tablet based kiosk to securely support a tablet such as a personal computer to receive, transmit and display information or data comprising a tablet mount including a frame having a back frame member and a front frame member coupled together to retain or house the tablet therein and a card swipe scanner housing to operatively retain a card scanner or swipe to scan information from a card to transmit information from the tablet and card scanner such as payments to a remote site, and supported above the floor or other surface by a stand including a substantially vertical column coupled to the frame by an upper coupling assembly including a power supply housing and coupled to a base by a lower coupling assembly, and a lock mechanism to selectively lock the tablet and tablet mount to the stand.
1. A tablet based kiosk to securely support a tablet to receive, transmit and display information or data comprising a tablet mount including a frame to retain or house the tablet therein and a card swipe housing to operatively retain a card swipe device to scan information from a card to transmit information from the tablet and card scanner to a remote site, said frame comprises a front frame member and a back frame member secured together to retain the tablet therein, said front frame member comprises a peripheral frame cooperatively forming an access opening permit the user to interact with the tablet, a peripheral recessed retainer shelf is formed on the inner face or surface of said peripheral frame of said front frame member to engage the front periphery of the tablet to retain the tablet in said frame and said back frame member comprises a recessed or counter-sunk back plate to engage and support the back of the tablet, a plurality of ventilation ports or vents are formed through said recessed or counter-sunk back plate, said tablet and card swipe device are supported above the floor or other surface by a stand coupled to said frame by an upper coupling assembly including a base plate and coupled to a base by a lower coupling assembly, a lock mechanism to selectively lock said tablet mount to said stand comprising a first locking assembly to secure said frame to said upper coupling assembly and a second locking assembly to prevent rotation of said frame relative to said stand, said first locking assembly comprises a plurality of upper locking lugs or elements disposed in spaced relationship relative to the outer surface of said back frame member and a plurality of lower locking lugs or elements extending outwardly from the upper portion of a ring formed on said upper coupling assembly in spaced relationship relative to said face or front surface of said base plate to engage said plurality of the upper locking lugs or elements to secure said frame to said first upper coupling member and said second locking assembly comprises a lock recess formed in the inner surface of said back frame member to receive a lock pin mounted to said first upper coupling member when said lock pin is moved from an unlocked or retracted position to a locked or extended position by a securing key.
2. The tablet based kiosk of claim 1 wherein said upper coupling assembly includes a first upper coupling member and a second upper coupling member.
3. The tablet based kiosk of claim 2 wherein each lower locking lug or element includes a lug stop extending inwardly to engage the corresponding upper locking lug or element to limit rotation of said frame relative to said first upper coupling member during assembly to align corresponding upper locking lugs or elements and corresponding lower locking lugs or elements and said front frame member and said back frame member relative to each other.
4. The tablet based kiosk of claim 3 wherein said second upper coupling member comprises a housing including a diagonally inclined upper end portion corresponding to a diagonally inclined upper end portion of said stand such that said diagonally inclined upper end portion of said housing is disposed within the upper portion of said stand.
5. The tablet based kiosk of claim 4 wherein said lower coupling assembly comprises a first lower coupling member and a second lower coupling member.
6. The tablet based kiosk of claim 5 wherein said first lower coupling member comprises a block sized and shaped to snugly fit inside the lower end portion of said stand.
7. The tablet based kiosk of claim 6 wherein said second lower coupling member comprises a disk shaped to fit snugly within a recess formed in said base such that the bottom surface of said block of the first lower coupling member engages and rests upon the upper surface of said base.
8. The tablet based kiosk of claim 2 further including at least two spring-loaded or biased convex support elements disposed within a corresponding recess formed on the face or surface of said first upper coupling member to engage and partially support said back frame member on said first upper coupling member.
9. The tablet based kiosk of claim 2 wherein an upper power supply cavity and lower AC cable channel are formed in said second upper coupling member to receive an AC adapter and an AC power supply cable respectively.
10. The tablet based kiosk of claim 1 wherein said card swipe comprises an upper card swipe element formed on the front frame member and a lower card swipe element formed on the back frame member.
11. The tablet based kiosk of claim 10 wherein an upper card swipe recess and a lower card swipe recess are formed in said swipe in said upper card swipe element and the lower card swipe element respectively to cooperatively form the cavity to house a card swipe device.
12. The tablet based kiosk of claim 11 wherein a channel is formed in the inner surface of said back frame member to receive a cable to couple the card swipe to the power source.