Let's say John is a business owner who runs a small optical care center in a family-friendly setting, such as a shopping mall. Customers' children sometimes run through his facility at will. His office contains an eyewear retail center where he recently installed a digital signage system to better explain his services. It was a large investment, and he is worried that when children visit the office they will tamper with the screens which are easily within their reach. He does not want to deal with such a problem. What can he do to protect his messaging display while maintaining a professional look? John should take a look at which digital signage enclosures are available for his needs.
这次，我们从一个叫约翰（John）的人说起，John是一个企业主，在家人的帮助下经营一家小型光学保健中心，类似于一个商场。有时，客户带来的孩子们穿梭在他的设备之间玩耍。他的保健中心包含一个眼镜零售中心，最近，他在这里安装了一个数码导视系统，以便提高用户的消费体验。这是一笔不小的投资，但他担心孩子们会胡乱摆弄数码导视牌的屏幕。他要如何保护他的信息显示屏呢？John或许应该把注意力集中在数码导视牌的防护设施上。
Protecting Displays
保护显示器
The Display Shield at the Playwright Tavern and Grill. (Image courtesy of Protective Enclosures Company)
Playwright Tavern和Grill的显示保护装置
“We find that individuals and businesses need help protecting their displays,” says Justin King, CEO of Protective Enclosures Company, explaining that his company's line of enclosures have provided solutions in restaurants, hotels and other interior applications. This protective benefit is important to someone like John, but digital enclosures provide aesthetic benefits as well.
Justin King是一家防护栏公司的CEO，他表示：“我们无论发现个人用户还是企业用户都需要保护他们的显示器。”他解释道，他们公司的防护栏已经为很多餐馆、酒店以及其他的室内应用提供了很多解决方案。这种保护措施对于像John这样的人很有必要，而且数码显示器的防护更美观。
“Custom enclosures make the digital sign solution look complete and finished,” says Marc Pokorny, project coordinator/design for Boyd Enclosures. “All cabling, monitor ports, rough cuts on the wall and other elements are concealed and hidden. Not only is this more secure in a public setting but it looks like a complete solution.”
Boyd防护公司的项目主管 Marc Pokorny说：“订制的防护栏可以让数码标牌解决方案更完整更漂亮。所有的电线和显示器的附件都被隐藏在地下或者是墙壁里，在公共场合这不仅更安全而且看起来更完美。”
Also to be considered is the ability to properly protect digital screens by venting out particles and debris along with providing upgrades in touchscreen functionality. A total signage theme can make enclosures a vital piece in a digital signage solution. Our friend John was able to achieve his goal of providing more security to his digital signage investment but also realize some additional benefits from employing an enclosure, all at an affordable price.
而且它还可以更好地保护数字屏幕，它可以通过更换部分系统更新触摸屏的功能。一个完整的标识牌解决方案中必然包括防护设施。John可以通过稍微再增加一些成本投入到数码导视牌的安全设施上就可以解决他的顾虑了，但额外的防护设施是需要一定的成本的。
The Materials
防护材料
Digital displays with attractive enclosures are often found in highly-trafficked areas such as hotel lobbies. (Image courtesy of Boyd Signs)
带有防护设施的数字显示屏一般在人流较大的区域，如酒店的大厅等。
There are obviously other concerns for digital signage displays. What about outdoor displays that are exposed to severe weather? Or public signage that could easily be vandalized? Different applications require different solutions.
显然，数码标牌系统中还有其他需要考虑的问题。比如说，户外数码导视牌在风雨交加的恶劣天气中应该采取哪些保护措施呢？或者很容易被破坏的公共标识牌呢？不同的应用需要不同的解决方案。
“The installation environment will dictate the type or style of enclosure necessary,” says Jennifer Bissell, director of sales and marketing at ITSEnclosures. “We generally recommend the use of aluminum enclosures due to the light weight material.” There are a few different options when considering enclosures. Aluminum, as Bissell suggests, is popular because of its weight and durability. Pokorny summarizes the full benefits of aluminum enclosures by saying, “With the majority of our enclosures being fabricated our of sheet aluminum we keep
our solutions light weight, rust free, ‘green’ with aluminum having a high recycled content up to 75 percent and having a tight fit and finish per solution/electronics.”
ITSEnclosures 公司的销售主管Jennifer Bissell说：“数码标牌的安装环境决定着防护的方法。我们一般会建议使用质量较轻的铝材。”数码标牌的防护一般有很多种选择，而Bissell所建议的铝材是最普遍的选择。Pokorny对于铝材的优势概括总结如下：“我们安装的大部分防护都是选择铝材，它们质量轻，不生锈，回收利用率高达75%，绿色环保，非常适合数码标牌的防护。”
Plastic enclosures are another option for commercial use. Typically they are less expensive but still provide sufficient protection and can fit with the overall signage theme. “We do find cases where aesthetics play an important role; this may involve enclosing the digital sign in something made entirely from plastic, colored to match or accent the area the digital sign is deployed in,” says Eric Farkas, engineering manager, Black Box.
塑料防护是商业应用中的另一个不错的选择。塑料一般不是很贵，而且具有很好的防护效果，能适合各种主题的标牌。Black Box 的技术经理Eric Farkas说：“在我们的项目中，确实有审美起决定作用的案例，主要是用塑料制品将数码标牌封装，着色，并与标牌所在位置完全融合。”
Adding to that, King suggests that some customers may want displays in hard to reach places when installing these enclosures and that “it is imperative that we give our customers an easy-to-assemble solution and a high-performance product. We have a number of our enclosures in the rafters of the Talladega Speedway. Another one of our light-weight plastic enclosures has been installed approximately 50 feet high in a Times Square restaurant called Playwright Tavern and Grill.”
另外，King补充道，有些客户可能想让数码显示牌放在一个不容易接触到的地方，在为这些标牌安装防护设施时，我们必须为客户选择那些材质轻的易于安装的高性能产品。我们有一些客户的电子标牌在加时赛道的梁架上，还有一个轻型塑料防护安装在泰晤士广场上的一家餐馆的50英尺高的标牌上。
“We have a number of our enclosures in the rafters of the Talladega Speedway,” says Justin King, CEO, Protective Enclosures Company. (Image courtesy of Protective Enclosures Company)
Protective Enclosures 公司的CEO Justin King说：“我们有很多防护设施是在加时赛道的梁架上实施的。”
The Environment
安装环境
But really, when small-business owners, or decision makers for larger businesses—such as museums, convention centers, retail outlets and stadiums—want a digital signage enclosure solution, they need to think about what fits in best not only with their needs but with the location’s environment. Is the digital sign indoor or outdoor? Is it part of a larger non-digital display? Will there be interactive functionality? How often will the signage need maintenance? These are just a few questions for customers so consider when adding enclosures.
但事实上，当小企业主或者大企业的决策者，如博物馆、会展中心、零售店和体育馆等在考虑为数码标牌安装防护设施时，他们需要考虑什么最适合他们，不仅满足他们的防护需求而且能适应环境。添加防护设施最需要考虑几个基本问题：室内标牌还是室外？是非数码标牌的部分内容吗？它们具备交互式功能吗？标识牌多久需要维修一次？
“We specialize in outdoor, all-weather environments,” Bissell says. “When deploying digital signage outdoors, specifying the correct environmental enclosure is critical. The correct enclosure will protect the electronics (LCD screen and media player) against high and low temperatures and weather concerns. If the electronics are not kept at the required operating temperatures, the electronics will essentially power down and be rendered useless.”
Bissell说：“我们专注于室外各种天气的防护，在安装户外数码标牌的时候，应该指定适合环境的防护解决方案，这一点很重要。恰当的防护设施可以有效保护标牌中的电子设备（尤其是LCD屏幕和媒体播放器）免受高温和低温的破坏。如果这些电子元件没有在适宜的温度下工作的话，设备会自动休眠或者毁坏。”
On the flip side, indoor solutions, “often require ventilation only,” says Farkas. “Occasionally, environmental circumstances, usually airborne contaminants, will require active cooling and filtration.” With outdoor enclosures, there are heating and cooling aspects that need to be added since the digital screens are sealed in the enclosure for protection.
另一方面，室内的防护解决方案正如Farkas所说“有时只需要合适的通风系统”。他说：“偶尔，周围的环境污染严重，热量和粉尘过多，需要及时的通风和过滤。”而室外防护，由于数码屏幕是完全封装在外壳里的，所以它需要添加加热和制冷防护。
Bissels says that, “as electronics become more robust and can support higher temperatures, we are able to refine our enclosure solutions to utilize fan-cooled systems in 90 percent of the United States.” King also points to ventilation in enclosures as an important element. This is especially true in situations where water or micro-particles are present. “Our Display Shield enclosure product has a proprietary vent that will allow the use of multiple filters for different environments, as well as a feature to cap off the vents completely if needed for a ‘wash down’ in manufacturing facilities.”
Bissels说：“尽管现在的电子元件在不断提高适应能力，但是我们还是要继续改善我们的解决方案。在美国，大约有90%的数码标牌是用风扇散热的。”King还说，通风是一个很重要的部分。这对于那些在有水或者是尘埃的地方工作的标牌来说至关重要。他说：“我们的显示器外壳有一个通风口适应多种过滤器，这个通风口有一个盖子可以完全封住通风口，设备需要清洗时只需要打开盖子就可以了，非常方便。”
Any environment that would be at risk of rain or other water—a golf course for example—would want to think about being able to include a venting system in their enclosures so they don’t have to worry about the digital screens being damaged by water intrusion. Another consideration is what types of other displays are being used along with the digital signage and enclosure display. According to Farkas, the enclosure is just as vital as the digital display. “It is often important for amusement parks and sporting venues to display their branding on the actual enclosure,” says Farkas. “Visibility, or more specifically not impacting visibility to the event or attraction, is also extremely important to many of these deployments.”
任何环境都有可能受到雨水或者其他潮湿的侵蚀，例如高尔夫球场上的数码标牌都需要安装通风或者渗透系统，所以不需担心数码显示屏幕被雨水侵害。还有一个需要考虑的问题就是适合数字标识和防护设施的显示器都有哪些类型，正如Farkas所说，防护和数字显示屏一样重要。Farkas说：“大型游乐场和运动场会在防护外壳上宣传他们的品牌，事实上，更确切地说这样做的宣传效果并不是很明显，可见信息部署同样也很重要。”
Enclosures can be found at small businesses or large campuses. (Image courtesy of Black Box)
数字导视显示器在小企业或者大规模的校园里都有。
With some digital signage deployments, screen interactivity is a big attraction. Customers question whether enclosures will still enable the interactive experience. The answer is yes. “Our demonstration was wildly popular at the recent IAPPA trade show we attended, as we showed how we can incorporate touch screen functionality into our enclosure by simply adding a device and plugging into the display,” King says. The application also directs whether an enclosure needs interactive properties.
在大多数的数字标识中，屏幕互动是一个很有吸引力的方式。很多客户可能会对此产生疑问，防护外壳也会增加标识的交互式体验吗？答案是“是的。”King说：“我们在近期举办过的国际游乐协会展览会上证明了这一点，我们展示了如何将触摸屏功能合并到我们的防护外罩上，我们只是在显示屏上增加一个小设备。”这项技术直接决定了防护外壳上是否具有交互式功能。
“Functional kiosks are typically designed to purpose,” Farkas says. “The biggest impact here is generally from interactivity in a way that provides the captive audience a choice in content. The kiosk needs to accommodate this but doesn’t really have impact here.” And, of course, end users will always want to know how much time and effort they need to put into the solution.
Farkas说：“公用电话亭都是定向设计的，它最大的弊端就是限制了交互式信息内容的设定。但这一点是可以调整的。”当然，终端用户都想知道在这种解决方案中他们需要花费多长时间和努力。
The Changes
进步和改善
Touchscreens are functional through enclosures. (Image courtesy of Protective Enclosures Company)
触摸屏也是通过防护屏起作用的。
As time has progressed, technology has changed. Customers have had to consider if these solutions are worth implementing or if they are not. Manufacturers are also adjusting to those changes. “Our process and solutions are constantly evolving. When we got started in this industry about eight years ago we couldn’t spell enclosure,” Pokorny says. “We quickly evaluated our partner’s needs and started to flesh out a variety of solutions for specific screen sizes and applications.”
随着时间的发展，技术在不断进步。客户们都开始思考这些防护措施是否值得实施，制造商们也在根据技术和市场的变化调整自己的产品和策略。Pokorny说：“我们也在进步，我们的解决方案也在不断改进。我们在这个行业做了八年之久了，我们能迅速定位客户的需求，然后为特定大小和用途的显示屏策划几套具体详细的解决方案。”
Changes to the size of screens have had an impact on the enclosures. “Eight years ago screens were commonly about five inches in depth,” Pokorny continues. “Now many of the models are one to one-and-a-half-inches in depth. That alone is the biggest evolution that affects our solution.” At Protective Enclosures Company, an 80-inch screen enclosure has been developed to fit the larger scale projects.
显示屏幕尺寸的改变对防护罩的影响是最大的。Pokorny继续说道：“八年前，屏幕一般都只有5英寸厚，而现在很多屏幕模型的厚度只有1~1.5英寸厚。这是对我们影响最大的变化。”在那些防护安装设施公司里，一个80英寸的数字屏幕防护现在也适用大规模过程的防护。
“We now offer our enclosures for screens up to an industry first 80 inches in size, with larger sizes available by custom order,” King says. “And our brand new ‘hybrid’ TV Shield Pro line is a great solution because it is made of powder coated aluminum with a powder coated steel back plate, which makes it light-weight, but still extremely strong and durable in almost any environment.”
King说：“80英寸大小的屏幕防护，我们在行业里是遥遥领先的。更大程度的防护也可以根据客户需要来订制。我们全新的多功能TV防护是一个更好的解决方案。它由哑光铝和哑光镀层钢板制作而成，这样金属材料会变得轻盈且坚硬，在任何环境下都经久耐用。”
Other changing factors that relate to size and the function of the screen should not be ignored when implementing an enclosure. Take, for example, ADA requirements. “We are always trying to meet ADA compliance with a max four-inch protrusion off the wall,” Pokorny says. “At that time to meet ADA compliance our solutions had to be mounted at 27-inch above the finished floor and looked very chunky with a heavy bottom border. It was not ideal, but at the same time we saw small form factor PCs that were about 10-inch square and two to three inches deep. That was the other major hurdle we had to work with.”
与屏幕尺寸和功能相关的变化中不容忽视的一点就是ADA标识的要求。Pokorny说：“我们总是试图在标识上制造一个4英寸的凸起来满足ADA的兼容性。那时，我们为了满足ADA的兼容性，就将标识突出墙壁27英寸的高度，但是标识后面的底板让整个标识看起来厚重没有美感。这一点都不完美，还好，我们发现PC板更适合这种任务，它大约10平方英寸大，只有3英寸厚。”
It is a common practice now to try and position the screen as close to the enclosure face as possible. According to King, “It is recommended to place the display screen as close to the front of the enclosure as possible to cut back on reflection and any distortion of the images.”
按照一般的安装惯例，人们都把屏幕尽可能接近防护屏。根据King的说法，“我也建议将显示屏尽可能接近防护屏以避免图像失真或者降低清晰度。”
Protective Enclosures Company provides an anti-glare coating for optimal visibility of the screen. This is just one other thing to consider when installing an enclosure. Other enclosure changes through the years have included “some type of locking mechanism, and use shatter-proof or shatter-resistant glass or polymer for the viewable area,” Farkas says.
防护安装公司为我们提供了一个保护膜以求达到最佳的视觉效果。这也是防护屏时必须要考虑到的。这些年来，防护设施上的变化还包括“一些锁定机构”，在屏幕上方使用的是耐震的或者防碎的玻璃或者高分子材料。
Peace of Mind
安全可靠
These improvements in technology have given digital signage owners peace of mind and more security for their systems. Citing one example, King recalls a golf course that required a sign enclosure for its needs. “We worked with a customer that needed a screen on a golf course. The 12th hole had a blind spot leading up to the 13th hole,” he recalls. “So they put in a camera on the 13th hole that fed the video to a screen on the 12th hole for golfers to see.”
这些技术上的进步给数字标牌所有者带来了更多的安全感和内心的宁静。比如说，King所说的高尔夫球场的数字标牌防护。他回忆道：“那时，我们为一个需要高尔夫球场屏幕防护的客户服务。从第12洞看第13洞有一个盲区，所以他们在13洞口安装了一个摄像机，然后在12洞口附近的大屏幕上播放，供高尔夫球手观看。”
The result was the ability to show what activity was going on at the hole ahead of the golfers so that safety and proper rules were being followed. The enclosures not only provided protection but also fit in with the overall theme of the course. “They protected the screen with one of our The TV Shields and built a small ‘hut’ with a roof around it to match the surrounding buildings and architecture. Now it is protected from the weather and any golf-related damage,” says King.
这样以来，高尔夫球手在洞口就可以看到另一个洞的情况，即安全又方便，防护壳在这里不仅提供保护还符合整个过程的主题。King说：“他们用我们的TV防护盾保护屏幕，还为它创建一个带有屋顶的‘小屋’与周围的建筑相连。现在他可以保护所有的无论是天气还是高尔夫球带来的伤害。”
What about our friend John? Well, he is content with his new enclosure. He knows that he has the right security now and may even install another system in the waiting room of his office. For others with larger areas and more concerns about how to protect their digital signage systems, they should feel secure in knowing that there are many solutions on the market that will likely fit their needs.
而我们的朋友John也对他数字标牌的防护设施很满意。他知道他现在拥有安全的导视标牌，而且他还打算在休息室也安装一套带有防护屏的数字导视牌。对于那些拥有大区域的数字导视显示牌的企业主，当他们知道市场上有很多解决方案能满足他们对安全性的需求，他们内心也会多一丝安全和宁静。
