GB2201861A

GB2201861A - Telephone

Info

Publication number: GB2201861A
Application number: GB08704778A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gordon Willis
Original assignee: STC PLC
Current assignee: STC PLC
Priority date: 1987-02-28
Filing date: 1987-02-28
Publication date: 1988-09-07
Also published as: GB8704778D0

Abstract

A one-piece telephone has two body portions (1, 2) one of which carries the ear-piece 3 and the push-button set 4, while the other carries the mouth-piece 5, and possibly also a switch-hook operating plunger 6. The two body portions are coupled by a bellows- type portion 7, with levers inside which spring urge the instrument to an "off-hook" state in which the body portions are at an obtuse angle. in the "on-hook" state the two portions are aligned. <IMAGE>

Description

TELEPHONE The present invention relates to telephone instruments.

One of the contemporary trends in the design of telephone subscribers' apparatus is towards one-piece instruments, and it is an object of the invention to provide such an instrument which is elegant in appearance and convenient to use.

According to the invention, there is provided a one-piece telephone subscribers' instrument, which includes two body portions, a first of which includes the ear-piece and a second of which includes the mouth-piece, and a bellows-type portion which interconnects the first and the second portions, and in which the instrument can assume a flat 'in-line' condition or a condition in which the relative alignments of the two body portions differ.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a telephone instrument embodying the invention when in the in-line condition.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the instrument of Fig.

1, also in the in-line condition.

Fig. 3 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, of the instrument in the angled condition.

Fig. 4 is an end-on view of the mouth-piece end of the instrument.

Fig. 5 is an end-on view of the ear-piece end of the instrument when in-line.

The instrument has a generally rectangular body, Figs. 1 and 2, made in two portions 1 and 2, of which portion 1 carries the ear-piece as indicated at 3 and a push-button set 4. The other portion 2 carries the mouth-piece, as indicated at 5, and a "switch-hook" operating plunger as indicated at 6. The two portions 1 and 2, which consist in the main of a suitable plastics material, are connected together by a bellows-type portion 7.

The bellows 7 may, in the interests of beauty, be in a colour which contrasts with that of the rest of the instrument. Thus in one example, the ear-piece and mouth-piece circular regions and the push-button set are blue, the two body portions are white, and the bellows is black.

The mechanical linkage between the two portions (not shown) is, in the telephone instrument shown, of the lever-type spring-urged to the off-hook position shown in Fig. 3, from which it can be seen that in this condition the two transducers are conveniently placed for use by the subscriber. We have not shown the lever arrangement as it can follow established principles in mechanical engineering. Further, other -forms of linkage can be used.

To place the instrument in the "on-hook" condition it is placed on a flat surface face-down, in which case the weight of the instrument overcomes the spring-urgence mentioned above. In this condition the switch hook plunger 6 is operated since it rests on the flat surface.

The lever arrangement could be of the type which has two stable states, one as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the other as shown in Fig. 3, in which case the user of the instrument has to "switch" it between the two states. In this case the hook-switch function could be performed by the interconnecting arrangement. In fact, the hook-switch function can be performed by the interconnecting arrangement in an instrument such as that shown in the accompanying drawings.

Note that although we have shown the instrument with a telephone line to the public network, such an instrument could be of the cordless type.

The invention is also applicable to wall-mounted instruments, and in one such arrangement the telephone is dropped into a pocket in the wall mounting.

It can also be applied to an instrument which requires to be pushed or bent into the "on-hook" condition. This is by contrast with the arrangement shown with the additional switch-hook plunger, which stays bent when put down and is still on hook. It only collapses to the flat condition when pushed half-way down.

Other alternative arrangements could have the keypad in the mouthpiece section, in which case that section is longer than the arrangement shown. Further, the keypad can be on the back or front of either portion.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A one-piece telephone subscribers' instrument, which includes two body portions, a first of which includes the ear-piece and a secbnd of which includes the mouth-piece, and a bellows-type portion which interconnects the first and the second portions, and in which the instrument can assume a flat 'in-line' condition or a condition in which the relative alignments of the two body portions differ.

2. A telephone instrument as claimed in claim 1, in which a hook-switch operating plunger is fitted to one end of the instrument such that when it is placed face-down the switch-hook contacts are set to the "on-hook" state.

3. A telephone. instrument as claimed in claim 1, in which the hook-switch contact-operating means is included in or operated by the mechanical interconnection inside the bellows-type portion.

4. A telephone instrument as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, in which to set the instrument to its "on-hook" state it is placed face-down on a flat surface, the instrument's weight either wholly or partly causes it to collapse to the in-line state, and in which when the instrument is picked up it snaps under spring-urgence to the condition wherein the body portions are at an obtuse angle.

5. A telephone instrument as claimed in claim 1 or 3, in which the interconnections between the two body portions which are wholly enclosed are bistable, so that the instrument can reside in a condition wherein the two body portions are aligned or a condition wherein the body portions are at an obtuse angle, and in which the instrument is switched between said two states manually.

6. A telephone instrument as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, in which the first body portion carries a push-button set.

7. A telephone instrument as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the instrument is electrically connected by a cable to the telephone network.

8. A telephone instrument as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, and which is of the cordless type.

9. A wall-mounted telephone installation in which the wall mounting includes a pocket for the reception of an instrument as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

10. A one-piece telephone subscriber's instrument, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.