Voting booth

• US 5,072,999 A
• Filed: 10/27/1989
• Issued: 12/17/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronic Voting Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Electronic Voting Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Gray, Gary, Trotta, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/427,612
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 52/36, 52/239, 52/249, 52/250, 312/3, 312/4, 312/5, 312/233, 312/244, 312/250, 312/258, 312/265.1, 312/265.4, 312/266, 312/309, 312/322, 235/51
• US Class Current: 312/249.8
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2200/0068 Cabinet enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/02 Ballot boxes

Abstract

A movable heavy duty voting booth with a structural frame and lightweight panels to accommodate electronic voting mechanisms.

Claims

1. A voting booth comprising:

a. a heavy duty structural frame;

b. lightweight panels secured to the heavy duty frame;

c. electronic voting equipment;

d. means to mount the electronic voting equipment on the frame;

e. means to move the voting booth from a storage area to a voting poll area; and

f. means for converting the voting booth from a compact storage mode to a functional voting mode

wherein the means for converting the voting booth from a compact storage mode to a functional voting mode is comprised of vertical rails on the two front edges of the voting booth;

front doors hingedly and slidable mounted on the rails;

means at the top of each rail to releasably hold the doors in an elevated position;

a curtain hingedly mounted on the inside of each door for rotation into position to form a screen between the doors when the doors are in an open elevated position;

a top and a ballot display hingedly mounted to the top.

6. A voting booth as in claim 1 wherein the ballot display is hingedly mounted in proximity to the front of the voting booth top and further comprises a transparent plate secured to the ballot display at three edges and means to enable insertion of a printed ballot behind the transparent plate.

7. A voting booth as in claim 6 wherein the hinge mounting the ballot display is set back from the front of the top a distance to provide a pitch angle of 10°

-15°

to vertical when the ballot display is rotated around the hinge into the operative voting position and further comprising means for retaining the ballot display at an angle of 10°

-15°

to vertical.

8. A voting booth as in claim 7 wherein the means for maintaining the ballot display at an angle of 10°

-15°

to vertical are stops extending from the ballot display in alignment with the vertical rails that mount the front doors.

10. A voting booth as in claim 1 further comprising vertical edge extensions at the two front edges of the voting booth and a vertical recess in each front door located a distance from the respective door hinge to provide snap entry of the vertical edge extensions into the vertical recesses when the doors are fully opened to the operative position.

11. A voting booth as in claim 1 wherein the means to releasably hold the front doors in the elevated position is comprised of a circular recess at the top of each rail mounting a front door;

collars fixed to the respective front doors and slidably mounted on the rails;

a flat surface on each rail and a horizontally extending bar in each collar arranged to bear on the flat surface of the rail during elevation and retraction of a front door and to enter the circular recess at the top of the rail when the door is rotated at the elevation of the operational position.

2. A voting booth as in claim 2 wherein the electronic voting equipment is comprised of a central processing unit;

an electronic voting module and a voting register mechanism and the means to mount the electronic voting equipment which is comprised of a base plate;

elastomeric mounts secured to the base plate on which the central processing unit is mounted;

an intermediately located horizontal structural member extending across the front of the frame;

a horizontally extending intermediate bar located at an elevation below and behind the intermediately located horizontal structural member;

elastomeric mounts on the intermediately located structural member and the bar which support the electronic voting module;

concave recesses formed in each side panel at an intermediate elevation;

handles extending transversely in the concave recesses and an arcuate extension from the voting register mechanism which arcuate extension fits within a concave recess behind the transversely extending handle and bears against the transversely extending handle to mount the voting register mechanism on the exterior of the voting booth.

3. A voting booth as in claim 2 further comprising a front surface behind the front doors;

a recess in the front surface;

a mounting edge in the recess in the front surface;

a menu mount and means to attach the menu mount to the mounting edge.

4. A voting booth as in claim 2 further comprising means for ventilating the electronics in the interior of the voting booth.

5. A voting booth as in claim 4 wherein the means ventilating the electronics is a vented fixed surface comprised of ventilation slots in the top and fans located in the interior of the voting booth.

9. A voting booth as in claim 2 further comprising a surge suppressor mounted in the interior of the voting booth, means for connection of the electronics to the surge supressor;

an electrical cable extending from the surge supressor for connection to an electrical power source and means to nestingly store the electrical cable during non-use.

12. A voting booth as in claim 3 further comprising a window in the front surface in alignment with the electronic voting module.

13. A voting booth comprising:

a. a heavy duty structural frame;

b. lightweight panels secured to the heavy duty frame;

c. electronic voting equipment;

d. means to mount the electronic voting equipment on the frame; and

e. means to move the voting booth from a storage area to a voting poll area

wherein the means to move the voting booth from a storage area to a voting poll area are comprised of a handle on one side of the voting booth, said handle being fixedly mounted in a recessed portion on said side of the voting booth;

a wheel on the front and a wheel on the rear of the voting booth on the respective edges of the side of the voting booth opposite the handle, said wheels fixedly aligned transversely to the front of the voting booth and casters on the bottom of the voting booth opposite the wheels.

14. A voting booth as in claim 13 further comprising means to selectively enable the casters to roll and to lock.

15. A voting booth as in claim 14 further comprising a handle on the side on which the wheels are mounted, said handle at an elevation above the elevational mid-point of said side and wherein the handle on the opposite side is at an elevation above the elevational mid-point of the side on which said handle is mounted.

16. A voting booth comprising:

a. a heavy duty structural frame;

b. lightweight panels secured to the heavy duty frame;

c. electronic voting equipment;

d. means to mount the electronic voting equipment on the frame; and

e. means to move the voting booth from a storage area to a voting poll area

wherein the frame is comprised of four vertically arranged corner channel members;

four horizontally disposed base channel members secured to the four vertical corner channel members; and

intermediate horizontal channel members extending between adjacent vertical corner channel members.