WO1993001675A1

WO1993001675A1 - Movement damping device for a cordless telephone

Info

Publication number: WO1993001675A1
Application number: PCT/SE1992/000396
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ebbe Johansson
Original assignee: Brodit Plast Ab
Priority date: 1991-07-05
Filing date: 1992-06-11
Publication date: 1993-01-21
Also published as: AU2301692A; SE468735B; SE9102129L; SE9102129D0

Abstract

The use of cordless mobile telephones in vehicles has increased considerably and the telephone receiver (1) is therefore a not negligible factor in car accidents since the receiver (1) generally rests in a simple bracket (16, 17, 18) located on the dashboard. In the event of a collision some part of the body may hit the receiver (1) without its movement being dampened. The present invention dampens the movement of the body by placing a movement-absorbing means (15) between the side of the receiver (1) facing inwards and the dashboard.

Description

MOVEMENT DAMPING DEVICE FOR A CORDLESS TELEPHONE

The present application relates to a cordless telephone. Such telephones are ideiy used nowadays and are suitable for boats, vehicles, summer cottages and in many other situations. However, ol^" greatest interest is the use of cordless telephones in vehicles. Particularly in the case of automobiles the receiver of the hand microphone is attached to the dashboard. For this purpose a bracket is used in which the ends are designed for attachment to suitable parts of the dashboard without the latter having to be damaged. These brackets may be of metal or plastic and a cradle for the receiver is then fitted on the outer side. Figure 1 shows pan of a dashboard with a receiver 1 and holding means for the receiver with two support tabs 2 and 3. The bracket in Figure 2, located behind the rear of the receiver, has a mid-section 4 and two legs 5 and 6 extending therefrom. The front edge of the leg 5 is provided with an arrangement 7 enabling the bracket to be secured to the dashboard without causing damage. Similarly the leg 6 is provided with an arrangement 8 for attachment to the dashboard without causing damage. Figure 3 shows a receiver cradle 9 intended for attachment to the outside of the mid-section 4. The cradle 9 is provided with four flanges 10, 11, 12 and 13 located as shown in

Figure 3 and under normal circumstances this arrangement for the receiver functions perfectly. However, should an accident occur there is considerable risk of the body coming into contact with the receiver. The bracket itself will be deformed upon impact but the pan of the body coming into contact with the receiver is not retarded and may therefore suffer considerable injury.

The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the likelihood of serious physical injury when any pan of the body comes into contact with the receiver in the event of a collision. According to the invention possible injury to the part of the body coming into contact with the receiver is reduced by placing a shock-absorbing means between the receiver and a surt^'ace below such as a dashboard. The shock-absorbing means may be in the nature of a body having one or two application surfaces so that a shock-absorbing means can be fitted, for instance, between the receiver cradle and the part of the receiver situated between the microphone and the ear piece. The shock-absorbing means may also be placed behind the mid-section of the bracket. All other solutions for secuπng the shock- absorbing means are also feasible provided an impact on the receiver results in a shock- absorbing effect. The shock-absorbing means may be constructed from products that can be compressed. Also suitable for the shock-absorbing means are metal panicles that can be compressed or other types of panicles permitting compression. Plastic and rubber are also suitable mateπals and it has been found that polythene with closed cells and with cross-links has good shock-absorbing properties. A polythene designated Termoion PT 100 is pamcuiarly suitable.

The shock-absorbing effect is measured as a quantity expressed in m/s" and the shock- absorbing effect should not exceed 780 m/s~ (= 80 g), the standard value in the automobile industry.

The shock-absorbing means can without difficulty be dimensioned by selecting the material used as well as dimensions, for instance, so that a value considerably below

*i 780 m/s~ is obtained.

Further features of the present invention are revealed in the appended claims.

One embodiment of the present invention is described by way of example in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 4 shows a shock-absorbing means and Figure 5 shows a bracket provided with a shock-absorbing means.

Figure 4 shows a shock-absorbing means shaped as a parallei-epipedic body. This body is made of polythene plastic under the designation Termoion PT 100. This plastic is explicitly described in a publication entitled 'Termoion expanded polythene with closed cells", issued by the Finnish company Termonova OY, SF 10210, Inkoo, Finland. The parallei-epipedic body, designated 14, is applied on a Ωat plate 15, intended as an attachment plate. The upper part of the parallei-epipedic body 14 is adhered to the outer surface of a mid-section 16 constituting the yoke part 16 of a bracket with legs 17 and 18. The bracket with shock-absorbing means 15 as shown in Figure 5 is secured to the dashboard of a vehicle in the manner shown in Figure 1, the free ends 7 and 8 of the legs 5 and 6 being clamped to suitable parts of the dashboard, thereby causing no damage thereto. A cradle 9, which may have the appearance of that shown in Figure 3, for a receiver 1 is then applied on the plate 15. The receiver then rests on the four flanges 10 to 13. Should a collision occur and a pan of the body come into contact with the receiver, the inward momentum of the body and the receiver 1 will be dampened ensunng a minimum of damage and injury. The material in the shock-absorbing means 15 is selected so that

*- the value of 780 m/s^*" is not exceeded.

Another possibility is to place the shock-absorbing unit 14 on the under side of the mid- section 16. In this case the shock-absorbing means 15 will be between the dashboard and the receiver 1 in the event of a collision. The same shock-absorbing effect is achieved as in the previous case where the shock-absorbing means 15 was placed on the outside of the mid-section.

In the present case the shock-absorbing means 15 is parallei-epipedic in shape. The means may consist of a shell filled with various types of material allowing compression and the various sizes within the different types of material may be chosen to avoid exceeding a predetermined maximum dampening.

The dampening means 15 may be any shape provided a cradle can be fitted and it can be attached to the bracket.

Claims

C L A I M S

I . A device for brackets consisting of a mid-section in the form of a yoke and of an end section on each side of the mid-section in the form of legs from the yoke section, said mid-section having attachment means for the receiver or handset of a telephone, preferably for a cordless mobile telephone system in which said end sections are designed for attachment on existing surfaces on the inside of the space where the telephone is to be used, preferably without causing damage, such as on the dashboard for a vehicle, characterised in that a shock-absorbing means (15) is arranged on one or other side of the mid-section ( 16).

2. A devices as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the shock- absorbing means (15) consists of compressible metallic bodies or other bodies having the same function.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the shock-absorbing means consists of a plastic which suitably has closed cells and possibly cross-links and may consist of polythene, in which case a suitable polythene is that designated Termoion PT 100.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the shock-absorbing means (15) has at least one surface (14) preferably in the form of a plate to be fitted or installed.

5. A device as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the shock-absorbing means (15) is fitted on the inside of the mid-section (16).

6. A device as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the shock-absorbing means (15) has two opposite, parallel surfaces (14), one being secured to the outer side of the mid-section (16) and the other to a receiver cradle (9).

7. A device as claimed in one or more of me preceding claims, characterised in that the shock-absorbing property of the shock-absorbing means (15) can be given a predetermined value in m/s~ by adjusting the composition of the means (15).

8. A device as claimed in ciaim 7. characterised in that the shock-absorbing means ( 15) has a composition such that the shock-absorbing effect does not exceed 780 m/s² (= 80 g).