A BOOTH FOR A TELECOMMUNICATION UNIT
THIS invention relates to a booth for a telecommunication unit. In
particular, it relates to a telephone booth assembly and to a method of attaching
a solar panel to a booth for a telecommunication unit.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a
telephone booth assembly which includes:
a booth for housing a telecommunication unit and a user of the unit; and
a solar panel mounted on the booth, the solar panel being permanently
attached to the upper surface a roof of the booth such that removal of the panel
from the roof will cause damage to, or destruction of, the solar panel.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, the solar panel is
adhesively secured to the upper surface of the roof of the booth by means of a
chemical adhesive provided between the panel and the upper surface of the roof
of the booth.
The solar panel may be received in a complementary depression
formed therefor in the upper surface of the roof. The upper surface of the panel
may be flush with or below the level of the portions of the upper surface of the roof immediately bordering the panel along the periphery of the depression, the
5. assembly including a cover member which is attached to the roof and which, at
least partially, covers the upper surface of the panel and at least partially covers the
upper surface of the roof along the periphery of the depression.
0 Typically, the assembly includes a telecommunication unit. In a
particular embodiment of the invention, the telecommunication unit forms part of
an essentially wireless communication network.
The inclination of the roof relative the horizontal may be adjustable,
5 allowing the inclination of the roof to be selectively varied in order to achieve
maximum exposure of the panel to solar radiation for a geographic latitude at which
the booth is to operate. t
The assembly may include a lighting unit which is electrically
o connected to the solar panel, the lighting unit including a plurality of light-emitting
diodes.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method of attaching a solar panel to a booth for a telecommunication unit, the
5 method including the step of permanently attaching the solar panel to the upper surface of a roof of the booth such that removal of the panel from the roof will
cause damage to, or destruction of, the solar panel.
Preferably, permanently attaching the panel to the upper surface is by
adhesively securing it thereto.
The step of attaching the solar panel to the upper surface of the roof may include snugly receiving the solar panel in a complementary walled depression
defined in the roof such that the periphery of the panel abuts or is closely spaced,
with no more than a working clearance, from peripheral walls of the depression.
The method may include the step of attaching a cover member to the
upper surface of the roof such that it at least partially covers the periphery of the
solar panel and at least partially covers part of the roof bordering said periphery.
The invention will now be further described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a telephone booth assembly in
accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional side view of a roof of the assembly of Figure 1 , taken
at ll-ll in Figure 4;
Figure 3 is an exploded, enlarged scale detail of part of the roof of the
assembly shown in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a plan view of the booth of Figure 1 ; and
Figure 5 is a three-dimensional view of a lighting unit forming part of the assembly of Figure 1 .
In Figure 1 , reference numeral 100 refers generally to a telephone
booth assembly in accordance with the invention. The assembly includes a booth
10 for housing a telecommunication unit and a user thereof (not shown) . In the
present example, the telecommunication unit is a telephone unit (not shown) which
forms part of an essentially wireless communication network such as a cellular-
(GSM or Analogue), satellite- or wireless telephone network (not shown).
The assembly 1 00 further includes a solar panel 40 which is attached to a
housing structure 20 of the booth ,/10. The solar panel 40 includes a plurality of
photo-voltaic cells for converting energy in the form of solar radiation into electrical
energy in a known manner. The housing structure 20 includes an operatively
vertical supporting post 22, and defines an enclosure 24 for accommodating the
user of the booth 10.
As can best be seen from Figures 2 to 4, the structure 20 further
includes a roof 30 defining the upper boundary of the enclosure 24, the roof 30
being orientated at a predetermined angle to the post 22, and hence, in use, being
inclined at a predetermined angle Θ to the horizontal. The panel 40 is located in
a depression 32 formed in the upper surface 31 of the roof 30, the depression 32
being complementary in shape and in dimension to the panel 40, so that the panel
40 fits snugly in the depression 32, the periphery 44 of the panel 40 being closely
spaced from peripheral walls 36 enclosing the depression 32. The panel 40 is
received in the depression 32 such that an upper surface 42 of the panel 40 is
flush with the upper surface 34 of the portions of the roof which immediately
border the depression 32, and therefore in use immediately border the periphery of
ιoo the panel 40, these portions providing a shallow hollow 33 that extends
peripherally around the depression 32.
A chemical adhesive in the form of silicone (not shown) is provided on
the interface of the depression 32 and the panel 40, so that the panel 40 is
105 permanently attached to the roof 30, and any attempted removal of the panel 40
from the depression 32 will cause damage to, or destruction of, the panel 40.
The booth further includes a cover member 50 in the form of a planar
frame which is shaped to fit into the peripheral hollow 33, the cover member 50
no having a central aperture 52 for allowing solar radiation to pass on to the panel 40.
The cover member 50 is attached to the roof 30 by a plurality of screws 60 (shown
in Figure 4) which pass through holes (not shown) in the cover member 50 and are
received in complementary screw-threaded cavities 38 in the roof 30. In this
position, the cover member 50 covers a periphery 44 of the solar panel 40 as well
115 as the upper surface 34 of the peripheral hollow 33.
The solar panel 40 is electrically connected to an energy storage
means in the form of a battery of electrochemical cells (not shown), which is
housed in the post 22. The battery is in turn connected to the telephone unit. The
i2o battery is also electrically connected to a lighting unit 70 (shown in Figure 5) which
forms part of the booth 10. The lighting unit 70 includes a mounting plate 72 for
mounting the unit 70 on the operatively lower side of the roof 30. A purpose-
made, spun aluminium reflector 74 depends from the plate 72 and houses a number
125 of light-emitting diodes (LED's, not shown) for use in lighting the enclosure 24. A
trough reflector 76 which is made from high purity, anodised and brightened
aluminium, is also attached to the plate 72 and houses a number of linearly spaced
LED's (not shown). The trough reflector 76, in use, provides back lighting for a
sign 80 on the booth 10, the sign 80 being visible from an outside of the booth 10.
130
In use, the angle Θ is chosen to provide optimal exposure of the solar
panel 40 to solar radiation, taking into account the geographic latitude at which the
booth 1 0 is to operate. Once erected, the solar panel 40 converts the solar
radiation to which it is exposed into electrical energy, which is stored by the cells
135 of the battery. When the telephone is used, the battery provides the telephone and lighting units with the required amount of electrical power.
Although not shown, the roof 30 may be connected to the structure
20 such that the roof 30 is selectively pivotally displaceable relative to the
HO structure 20, so that angle Θ can be selectively varied, to enable like booths 10 to
be used at locations of varied geographic latitude, angle Θ of the roof 30 of each
booth 10 relative to the horizontal having been adjusted to be at an optimal
inclination for the specific latitude at which that booth 1 0 is located.
145
It is an advantage of the invention as illustrated with reference to the
accompanying drawings that removal of the solar panel 40 without causing
considerable damage thereto is inhibited by the permanent attachment of the panel
40 to the booth 10. A prospective thief not only has to remove the cover member
150 50, but removal of the solar panel 40 is inhibited by the fact that it is adhered to
the roof 30, fitting snugly into the depression 32 and being flush with the upper
surface 34 of the peripheral hollow 33.