US2277280A - Hand telephone mounting - Google Patents

Description

March 24, 1 942 o. M. VAUGHAN 2,277,280

HAND TELEPHONE MOUNTING I Filed Aug. 51, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BY Erie Ua-u vhan VA'TTORNEYE March 24, 1942. o. MVAUGHAN 2,277,280

HAND TELEPHONE MOUNTING Filed Aug. 31, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1942. o, M, VAQ HAN 2,277,280

'HAND TELEPHONE MOUNTING Filed Aug. 31, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IZN c'NTOR I -Ur e7 Uaughan M'WATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 24, 1942 UNHTED STATES FATE OFFICE HAND TELEPHONE MOUNTING Application August 31, 1940, Serial No. 355,063

6 Claims. (Cl. 179-146) The present invention relates to mountings for telephones and more particularly to desk mountings for hand telephones. A mounting of this type conventionally comprises a supporting base, a pedestal and a cradle structure carried by the pedestal, which structure is provided with a cradle switch and is adapted to support a hand telephone or handset of the well-known Monophone type. Various arrangements have been proposed in the past for adapting a motmting of this type for support upon a vertical surface, but all such arrangements require mechanical or structural alteration of the mounting parts in order to adapt the cradle structure for the support of the hand telephone when the mounting is supported upon both horizontal and vertical surfaces.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a hand telephone mounting of the character described, which is structurally arranged for supportupon a horizontal surface, such, for example, as a desk top, and may be adapted for support upon a vertical surface, such, for example, as a wall, withoutany modification or alteration of the parts of the mounting.

It is another object of the invention toprovidea hand telephone mounting of the character described, which embodies an improved arrangement of simple and rugged construction for adapting the mounting for the support of the hand telephone regardless of whether the mounting is supported upon a horizontal or vertical surface.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved Wall adapter attachment for a hand telephone mounting of the character described, which may be applied to a hand telephone mounting of standard construction without in any way altering the parts of the mountmg.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention there is provided a hand telephone mounting, which includes a cradle structure comprising means defining a cradle for supporting a hand telephone when the mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface, and additional means defining a cradle for supporting the hand telephone when the mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface. or auxiliary cradle means comprises extensions of the two rearwardly disposed cradle tines, these extensions being provided with aligned cradle seat surfaces disposed substantially at right angles to the cradle seat surfaces of the cradle This additional well-known Monophone type.

used for supporting the hand telephone when the mounting is supported upon a horizontal surface. The mounting further comprises switch operating elements in the form of plungers extending within the base and including portions disposed to be controlled in accordance with the removal of the hand telephone from either of the two cradles, and the replacement of the hand telephone upon either of the two cradles.

The novel features believed to be characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will best be understood by reference to the specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand telephone mounting to which the invention may be applied; Fig. 2 is a side sectional View of the mounting shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the hand telephone mounting shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the invention embodied therein; Fig. 4 is an end view, partially in section, of the mounting shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of dial supporting bracket member illustrated in Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown a desk mounting or support II] for a hand telephone or handset II of the The hand telephone II is preferably of the improved form disclosed and claimed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,205,906, granted June 25, 1940, Herbert F. Obergfell. Briefly described, the mounting I0 comprises a supporting base I2, a pedestal I3 and a cradle II-l, which includes two spaced apart and upwardly extending cradle members I5 and IS. The pedestal I3 is provided with front and rear upwardly and inwardly extending walls I! and I8, converging slightly forwardly of the cradle I4, a top wall I9 extending between the front and rear walls I1 and I8, and upwardly extending side walls formed by the cradle members I5 and I6. The top and rear walls I9 and I8, respectively, of the pedestal I3, and the cradle members I5 and I6 are so constructed and arranged that a continuously substantially channel shaped recess is provided in the top and rear of the pedestal I3. Aligned cradle seats 2| and 22 are provided in the cradle members I5 and I6, respectively, the cradle seat 2| provided in the cradle member I5 being disposed between spaced apart and upwardly extending front and rear tines 23 and 24, respectively; and the cradle seat 22 being disposed between spaced apart and upwardly extending front and rear tines 25 and 26, respectively. The cradle seats 2| and 22 provided in the cradle members l5 and I6 have recesses formed therein, into which two metal inserts 21 and 28 are securely positioned by means of assembly screws 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d. These metal inserts are provided with openings therethrough, through which the two cradle switch operating plungers 29 and 30, respectively, extend. It will be understood that these plungers are the switch operating elements for the diagrammatically illustrated cradle switch 9 mounted within the base l2. This cradle switch may be of any desired commercial construction, although, preferably, is of the form disclosed in copending application Serial No. 220,735, Herbert F. Obergfell, filed July 22, 1938. The mounting I0 may also be provided with a calling device in the form of a dial controlled impulse transmitter 3|, which, in the normal arrangement of the mounting, extends through an opening 3|a provided in the front wall I! of the pedestal and is secured to a bracket 3|b extending between two mounting projections 32 and 33 of the mounting structure, in the manner disclosed in the above-mentioned copending application. When this mounting arrangement is used, the top of the body portion of the calling device 3| is substantially flush with the top surface of the front wall whereby the dial of the device is disposed at the proper angle for easy manipulation thereof when the mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface.

The operating elements of the instrument, aside from the handset and the above-mentioned calling device, are disposed within the base and pedestal portion of the mounting. Preferably, these elements, which include a ringer 55, an induction coil 56, the cradle switch mechanism 9 and one or more condensers, are mounted and arranged in the manner disclosed in the abovementioned Obergfell application. As thus arranged, certain of the elements, principally the ringer 55, are supported upon a base plate 34 which is secured to the base portion of the mounting by means of assembly screws 35 and 36.

In the normal use of the instrument, the mounting is supported upon a horizontal surface, such, for example, as the top of a desk or table. With the mounting in this position, the cradle switch plungers 29 and 30 extend upwardly and are controlled in accordance with the removal of the handset H from the cradle seats 2| and 22, and the replacement of the handset upon these cradle seats in a manner well understood in the art. More specifically, the plungers 29 and 30 are spring biased to assume the normal or closed-circuit positions illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings when the handle of the handset is removed from the cradle, and are moved downwardly to their offnormal or open-circuit operating positions by the weight of the handset when the handset is replaced upon the cradle seats.

In order to adapt the mounting, as described above, for use when supported upon a substantially vertical surface, such, for example, as a wall, it is necessary to make provisions for supporting the handset in operative relationship with the cradle switch plungers 29 and 3|! when the handset is not in use. To this end, and in accordance with the present invention, an auxiliary cradle structure is provided, which comprises two detachable extensions 31 and 38, which are respectively mounted above the rearwardly disposed cradle structure tines 24 and 25. These extensions are preferably formed of metal by die-casting or the like, and respectively comprise supporting portions and retaining tines arranged to define a cradle seat surface therebetween. Thus, the extension 31 is provided with a retaining prong 37a and a supporting portion 31b having formed therebetween a cradle seat surface 3'|c. This cradle seat surface is aligned with the corresponding surface of the extension 38 so that the cradle thus formed is substantially perpendicular to the cradle seat extending between the tines of the cradle structure It. Further, the retaining prong 31a and the corresponding prong of the extension 38 are provided with inner side walls so sloped as to force the handset handle against the plungers 29 and 30, thereby to depress these plungers when the hand telephone is supported on the cradle provided by the extensions 31 and 38.

In order to adapt the extensions 31 and 38 for attachment to the mounting l0 without in any way altering the parts of this mounting, each of the extensions is provided with a recessed portion adapted to receive one of the tines of the cradle structure l4. Thus, the extension 3'! is provided with a cutout portion 3101, which is shaped to receive the rearwardly disposed tine 24 of the cradle structure l4. The supporting portion 31b of the extension 31 is provided with an opening therethrough for slidably receiving the plunger 29. This supporting portion of the extension 31 is so shaped and dimensioned that it seats within the recessed portion of the cradle seat 2| More specifically, the portion 31b of the extension 3! is provided with a recess 316 along the outer edge thereof, which is of such depth that the main body of the supporting portion 31b may be substituted directly for the metal insert 21 normally provided in the cradle seat 2| to receive the assembly screws 20a and 20b. Further, the portion 31b of the extension 31 is drilled and tapped at appropriate points so that the assembly screws 20a. and 2012 may be threaded into the tapped drill holes to provide a rigid assembly. It will be understood that the supporting portion of the other extension 38 is similarly constructed so that it may be substituted directly for the metal insert 28 normally provided in the cradle seat 2|. For the purpose of lightening the structure of the two extensions 31 and 38, each thereof is provided with an opening in the hidden or underside thereof, these openings being indicated at 31 and 38/, respectively.

In order more conveniently to position the calling device 3| for use when the mounting I0 is supported upon a vertical surface an auxiliary bracket structure is provided. This structure comprises a bracket member 4|] formed of metal or a molded phenolic condensation product, such, for example, as Bakelite, which is best illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. This member is provided with a cup-shaped recess 40a within which the body portion of the calling device 3| is disposed. The bottom wall of the recess 40a is provided with an opening therein through which the bottom portions of the mechanism of the calling device 3| may extend. The calling device 3| is secured within the cup-shaped recess 40a by means of assembly screws 4|. The skirt of the bracket member 40 is cut awayat 40b around a portion of its outer surface and the upper portion of the skirt is flared slightly in order to provide a tilted seating surface which rests against the outer surface of the mounting wall I1. Further, the side surface of the recess 40b, in cooperation with the mounting projection 400 of the member 40 and the edge of the opening Sla, serves fixedly to position the member 40 within the opening 3la. In order to retain the bracket member 40 in its assembled position, two bracket pieces 42 and 43, respectively carried by the mounting projections 32 and 33, are provided. More specifically, the bracket piece 43 is mounted upon the projection 33 by means of an assembly screw 44 and is secured to the bracket member 40 by means of an assembly screw 44a. The bracket piece 42 is threaded upon the end of the stud screw 35a and is provided with a reversely bent portion having an opening therethrough for receiving an assembly screw 45 which is threaded into the projection 400 of the bracket member 40. With this arrangement, the front or upper end of the calling device Si is elevated slightly to facilitate operation of the device and to render more easily readable the digit values inscribed upon the body portion of the device adjacent the finger receiving holes of the dial. It will be understood that in adapting the mounting for usewhen supported upon a substantially vertical surface, the dial is mounted in a position which is substantially 180 degrees displaced from the position occupied thereby when the mounting is to be supported upon a horizontal surface, thus positioning the finger stop of the calling device at the lower edge of the dial rather than at the upper edge of the dial.

After the mounting has been modified through the provision of the extensions 31 and 38, and the addition of the bracket member 40 for supporting the calling device 31, the mounting may be supported upon a vertical surface, such, for example, as the wall 41, through the provision of a plurality of wall brackets, two of which are indicated at 48 and 49. These substantially Z-shaped brackets are each provided with a flat portion which may be inserted between the base l2 of the mounting and the base plate 34 to be clamped between these two elements when the assembly screws 35 and 36 are screwed into place. Preferably, each bracket piece is provided with an opening through which one of the base plate assembly screws extends. These bracket pieces may be rigidly secured to the wall 4'! by means of screws 50 and El. It will be understood that after the mounting H1 is adapted for use on a vertical supporting surface in the manner explained above, the cradle switch plungers 29 and 30 are operated between their two operating positions in response to the removal of the handset from the cradle formed by the cradle seat 310 and the corresponding cradle seat of the extension 38 and the replacement of the handset upon this cradle. In this regard it is pointed out that the supporting portion 31b of the extension 37 and the corresponding supporting portion of the extension 38 are of such thickness as to prevent the handset handle from becoming lodged or wedged underneath the forwardlydisposed cradle tines 23 and 25.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is contemplated to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

l. A mounting for a hand telephone, comprising a base, a cradle structure integral with said base and comprising means defining a cradle adapted for use in supporting a hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface, an auxiliary cradle structure defining a cradle for supporting said hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface, means for detachably mounting said auxiliary cradle structure upon said first-named cradle structure, and a switch operating element disposed to be controlled in accordance with the removal of said hand telephone from either of said cradles and the replacement of said hand telephone upon either of said cradles.

2. A mounting for a hand telephone, comprising a base, a cradle structure integral with said base and comprising tines defining a first cradle seat adapted for use in supporting a hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface, two of said tines being provided with extended portions defining a second cradle seat substantially perpendicular to said first cradle seat and operative to support said hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface, and a switch operating element disposed to be controlled in accordance with the removal of said hand telephone from either of said cradle seats and the replacement of said hand telephone upon either of said cradle seats.

3. A mounting for a hand telephone comprising a base, a cradle structure integral with said base and comprising tines defining a cradle adapted for use in supporting a hand telephone when said mounting is suppotred upon a substantially horizontal surface, an auxiliary cradle structure mounted upon said first-named cradle structure and comprising a pair of members each provided with a tine the inner surface of which terminates in a cradle seat surface, said members being so arranged that the cradle seat surfaces thereof are substantially in the plane of the inner sides of two aligned ones of said firstnamed tines, thereby providing a cradle for supporting said hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface, and a switch operating element disposed to be controlled in accordance with the removal of said hand telephone from either of said cradles and the replacement of said hand telephone upon either of said cradles.

4. A mounting for a hand telephone, comprising a base, a cradle structure integral with said base and comprising tines defining a cradle adapted for use in supporting a hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface, a pair of members each provided with a tine having an inner surface terminating in a cradle seat surface, each of said members being provided with a recess for receiving one of said first-named tines, means for securing said members to said cradle structure with the recesses thereof receiving two aligned tines of said structure, thereby to provide a cradle comprising the tines of said members for supporting said hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface, and a switch operating element disposed to be controlled in accordance with the removal of said hand telephone from either of said cradles and the replacement of said hand telephone upon either of said cradles.

5. A mounting for a hand telephone, comprising a base, a cradle structure comprising tines defining a cradle adapted for use in supporting a hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface, a pair of members each provided with a tine having an inner surface terminating in a cradle seat surface and a supporting potrion shaped and dimensioned to seat upon one of the cradle seats of said cradle structure, means for mounting said members upon said cradle structure with the supporting portions thereof seated upon opposite ones of the cradle seats of said cradle structure, thereby to provide a cradle for supporting said hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface, and a switch operating element disposed to be controlled in accordance with the removal of said hand telephone from either of said cradles and the replacement of said hand telephone upon either of said cradles.

6. A mounting for a hand telephone, comprising a base, a cradle structure carried by said base and comprising tines arranged in pairs to define aligned cradle seats adapted for use in supporting a hand telephone when said mounting is supported upon a substantially horizontal surface, switch operating plungers extending through said cradle seats to be controlled in accordance with the removal of said hand telephone from said cradle seats and the replacement of said hand telephone upon said cradle seats, a pair of members each provided with a supporting portion and a retaining tine defining a cradle seat therebetween, the supporting portion of each of said members being shaped and dimensioned to seat upon one of said first-named cradle seats and being provided with an opening therein through which one of said plungers may extend, and means for supporting said members upon said cradle structure with the supporting portions thereof seated upon opposite ones of said cradle seats and said plungers extending through the openings provided therein, thereby to provide a cradle for supporting said hand telephone in operative relationship with said plungers when said mounting is supported upon a substantially vertical surface.

ORLEY M. VAUGHAN.

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