NZ245435A - Stand for telephone handset - clips fit into slots on inclined wall of stand - Google Patents

Description

24 5 4 35 . Ih.SfX ,/;/P.fe rv.'l ^ ... ,us>!;,^n D«a; . 2.7 J.UN TO °.0. J-jLrn:.', No: I.3>$! PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 1 & 4: $340.00 CHANGE OF NAME OF APPLICANT Evcpo \ncius-Vr!es PK, UV<^ WE PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A TELEPHONE STAND -PfcASn€S-&-SIGNS-rTY LTD, a company incorporated in the State of Queensland (A.C.N. 010 489 040), of 13 Longland Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland 4006, Australia hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: (Followed by Page 1A) 1 24 54 35 1A THIS INVENTION relates to a telephone stand.

Most telephone handsets presently available do not display the dialling and function keys in a manner easily viewed by the user. In addition, the move 5 towards handsets with greater function has meant that they now tend to occupy a large "footprint" area, which wastes space on a desk.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stand which inclines the handset to an angle 10 where the key functions are more easily read.

It is a preferred object to provide a stand where the keys are more easily operated.

It is a further preferred object to provide a stand which has a smaller "footprint" than the handset. 15 It is a still further preferred object to provide a stand which is readily adapted to a wide range of handsets.

It is a still further preferred object to provide a handset with provisions for a telephone index. 20 Other preferred objects will become apparent from the following description.

In a broad aspect the present invention resides in a telephone stand including; a base including a front wall, rear wall and 25 a pair of side walls; a handset support wall on the base and downwardly inclined from the rear wall to the front wall; a plurality of slots or holes in the support wall; and clip means selectively engageable in different patterns in the slots or holes to engage and locate a respective handset, corresponding to one of the patterns, supported on the support wall. 35 Preferably the base and support wall are formed integrally of plastic e.g. by injection moulding 24 54 35 or vacuum forming techniques.

A removable foot plate may be releasably secured to the base to provide a non-skid contact the desk or furniture on which the stand is placed.

The foot plate may have one or more slots to enable the stand to be suspended from hooks or clips on a wall or other vertical support surface.

A drawer means may be provided within the base to support a telephone index.[ Preferably each chip has a base portion releasably engageable in a slot in the support wall, a vertical leg extending upwardly from the support wall and a lug or tongue, the leg and/or lug/tongue being engageable with the handset to locate the handset on the 15 stand. Different slot/clip combinations are used to locate different handsets (e.g. "Telecom Commander BN Series"; "Telecom Commander S Series", "Phillips", "Ericcson", "Siemens" (all Trade Marks) handsets).

To enable the invention to be fully 20 understood, preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a first embodiment of the stand; FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a second 25 embodiment; and FIGS. 3A to 3G are side views of sample clips used to locate different handsets on the stand.

Referring to FIG. 1, the stand 10 is formed in plastics materials (e.g. polyethylene) and has a front 30 wall 11, rear wall 12 and side walls 13, 14 surmounted by a support wall 15, downwardly inclined from the rear wall to the front wall. An opening 16 is provided on the front wall. A panel 17 may close the opening and be provided with advertising material. 35 A plurality of slots 18 are provided in the 24 54 35 support wall 15 to receive respective clips 19 which engage and locate the handset 10 (see FIG. 2) on the stand. As shown in FIG. 3, the clips 19, 21 to 26 may have a wide range of configurations to suit the 5 particular handsets 10 with which they are to be used.

Referring to FIG. 2, the stand 10 is shown provided with a rubber or plastic foot plate 27, which has an upturned peripheral rim 28 to releasably secure it to the stand. Key-shaped slots 29 in the foot plate 10 27 enable the stand 10 to be suspended from hooks or clips on a wall or other vertical support surface.

A drawer 30, having a front wall 31 received in the opening 16, is provided to support a telephone index 32 which is concealed under the stand 10 when not 15 required.

It will be readily apparent to the skilled addressee that the stand 10 occupies a smaller "footprint" than the telephone handset 20, and places the handset at an angle where the key functions can more 20 easily be read, and the keys more easily be operated.

By the choice of slots 18 and clips 19, 21-26, a wide range of handsets 20 can be supported and located on the stand 10.

Various changes and modifications may be made 25 to the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I 24 5 4 3 5

Claims (4)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS;

1. A telephone stand including; a base including a front wall, rear wall and a pair of side walls; 5 a handset support wall on the base and downwardly inclined from the rear wall to the front wall; a plurality of slots or holes in the support wall; and 10 clip means selectively engageable in different patterns in the slots or holes to engage and locate a respective handset, corresponding to one of the patterns, supported on the support wall.

2. A telephone stand as claimed in Claim 1 and 15 further including: a removable foot plate having an upturned peripheral rim releasably engaged with the front, rear and side walls; and slot means in the foot plate engageable with 20 hooks or clips on a wall or other vertical support surface to enable the stand to be suspended therefrom.

3. A telephone stand as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein: an opening is provided in the front wall; 25 and drawer means, to support a telephone index, received within the opening and movable between a first position below the stand and a second position extending from the stand to enable access to the index. 30

4. A telephone stand substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIG 1 or FIG 2, of the accompanying drawings. EXPO PLASTICS & SIGNS PTY LTD By their Attorneys 1 jl 1 Gill ft ^ JAMES & WELLS