WO1998056153A1

WO1998056153A1 - Telephone protected against vandalism

Info

Publication number: WO1998056153A1
Application number: PCT/DK1998/000233
Authority: WO
Inventors: Raphael Sebby Kamau
Original assignee: Raphael Sebby Kamau
Priority date: 1997-06-04
Filing date: 1998-06-02
Publication date: 1998-12-10
Also published as: AU7640098A

Abstract

A telephone (2) for use against payment in an accessible area, e.g. in the form of a telephone box (1), comprises a telephone apparatus (3) placed in a robust box (4), and has a handset (10) with loudspeaker and microphone, an operation keypad (5) and means (6, 14, 7) for use in connection with payment for use of the telephone. The handset (10) is coupled to the casing or the box (4) via a robust arm (8, 9), e.g. via a tilting mechanism (11), so that the handset is adjustable in height in relation to the user. With this construction it is possible to provide a user-friendly telephone which can be configured in a vandal-proof manner.

Description

TELEPHONE PROTECTED AGAINST VANDALISM

Prior art technique

The invention concerns a telephone of the kind disclosed in the preamble to claim 1, especially a telephone which can be arranged in such a manner that it is vandal-proof, i.e. secured to a substantial degree against vandalism.

The weak point on most of the telephones which stand in public places is the lead or cable which connects the handset to the telephone apparatus . The telephone apparatus arranged for use in public places is usually configured in a solid casing or box, but use is often made of a handset which is connected to the apparatus by means of a lead or cable. It is difficult to design the cable so that it is both convenient to use and so that the handset cannot be removed from the cable by being torn off or by being cut through. Since the handset sits on the end of a lead or cable, it is also often easy to damage the handset by swinging it against a fixed item in the vicinity, e.g. the wall of the telephone box.

In order to avoid this, efforts have been made to configure the parts of the apparatus so that there are no parts coupled via visible or accessible cables. For example, roadside telephones are known where the whole of the communication takes place through a grid in a solid casing.

However, it is difficult to conduct a conversion via such an apparatus without people in the vicinity hearing what is being said and also the sound from the telephone ' s loudspeaker.

Advantages of the invention

By configuring the telephone according to the invention as disclosed and characterized in claim 1, the resulting construction is one which cannot only be configured in a strong, solid and vandal-proof manner, but at the same time can also be used by everyone and essentially in the same way as a normal telephone apparatus. In principle, the lead or the cable between the handset and the apparatus is replaced by an arm or a similar element which is robust, e.g. a strong steel tube through which the leads can be drawn in a manner inaccessible to the user or persons wishing to ruin the apparatus.

At the same time, the possibility is hereby provided of giving the telephone apparatus an attractive appearance, an appearance which does not deviate so much from ordinary telephones that the users have difficulty in using the apparatus .

For reasons of its adjustability, the apparatus will be able to be used by all, i.e. by both adults and children, persons in wheelchairs or other persons wishing to use the telephone, e.g. if this is placed in a telephone box for coin or card operation.

The claims 2-10 disclose advantageous embodiments for the practical configuration of the telephone according to the invention and according to claim 1. The special advantages of these embodiments are explained in the following.

The drawing

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in that

fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a telephone according to the invention, fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a telephone according to the invention,

fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of a telephone according to the invention,

fig. 4 shows the telephone in fig. 3 shown on a larger scale,

fig. 5 shows the telephone in fig. 2 shown on a larger scale, and

fig. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of a telephone according to the invention and where use is made of a swinging-link mechanism.

The drawing shows a telephone box 1 of the open type which is currently used to a wide extent, and in which there is placed a telephone 2 according to the invention. Although the telephone 2 according to the invention is hereafter explained in connection with a telephone box, it will be obvious to those familiar with the art that the telephone according to the invention can be used in any other known installation than the shown telephone box, e.g. telephone boxes of other types installed on a wall in a vestibule, e.g. a hotel lobby, a railway station or the like.

The telephone 2 according to the invention consists of a telephone apparatus 3 and a handset 10 which are coupled together by means of a robust arm 8,9,12 which is explained in more detail later.

The telephone apparatus 3 is placed in a robust box or casing 4, e.g. a steel box, in which all of the electrical equipment is mounted, both for the establishing of the telephone connection and for making payment for the call . On the apparatus 3 there is thus placed a keypad 5 which, however, in a commonly-known manner and as shown in figs. 3 or 4, can also be mounted in the handset itself. The keypad is arranged in a commonly-known manner, but is naturally also of a robust and vandal-proof configuration.

For payment of the telephone call, the apparatus is provided with a slot 6, 14 which can be arranged either to receive coins or for the insertion of a payment card, e.g. a telephone card. When the telephone is coin operated, the apparatus will also comprise an opening 7, as shown in fig. 1, for the refunding of coins in the normal way.

The handset 10, which as mentioned can be configured as shown in fig. 1 or 2, comprises a loudspeaker and a microphone built into a solid housing in a known manner.

The housing 10 is placed on the end of an arm 9 or 12 which is mounted in a strong and pivotable manner on the box 4.

The arm 9 can, for example, be a robust steel tube through which the leads for the handset 10 are drawn. The connection between the handset 10 and the arm 9 can be established by means of a commonly-known tilting mechanism

11 which is similarly enclosed in a robust manner, e.g. in a bellows of metal or plastic. The handset can hereby be tilted as shown in fig. 5, so that it can be better adjusted to suit the user.

The arm 9, 12 can either be mounted directly on top of the box 4, as shown in figs. 2 and 5, or via an element 8 which is telescopically displaceable in the vertical direction as shown in figs. 1, 3 or 4.

With the embodiment shown in figs. 2 and 5, the coupling together of the arm 12 and the box 4 can be effected by means of a robust pivot link, and with the embodiment shown in figs. 1, 3 or 4, the arm 9 and the telescopic element 8 are solidly welded together or assembled by means of robust socket joints.

The embodiment in figs. 1, 3 and 4 thus provides a height adjustment of the handset 10, in that the telescopic element 8 can be displaced in the vertical direction, as shown by the double arrow in the drawing, for adjustment of the handset in a suitable position in relation to the height of the user.

The embodiment in figs. 2 and 5 shows a telephone 2 which is secured on a solid plate 16 or the like, said plate being displaceable in the vertical direction as shown by the double arrow 17 in fig. 5. With the embodiment shown in figs. 2 and 5, the displacement in the vertical direction can be effected, e.g. by means of a built-in electric motor which is controlled via the keys 15 shown in fig. 2, so that the handset 10 is hereby brought into a suitable position in relation to the height of the user.

The telephone according to the invention thus has three possibilities of adjustment, i.e. a height adjustment and a tilting of the handset 10 and a turning of the arm which holds the handset, whereby it is possible to adjust the telephone apparatus individually for the relevant user.

With the embodiments shown in the drawing, use is made of a telescopic element 8 which is pivotably mounted in the box 4 of the apparatus. It will be obvious to those familiar with the art that use can also be made of a swinging-link suspension, a parallelogram mechanism or other known displacement mechanisms whereby an item can be adjusted in height in relation to another. If such a mechanism is disposed on a pivot link or the like, it is possible to achieve the same adjustment possibilities as those explained above. Such a swinging-link mechanism is shown in fig. 6, where use is made of two arms 13 coupled to the handset 10 and to a pivotable holder 18, so that the handset can be adjusted in height as shown by the arrows at the arms 13, and such that the holder 18 is pivotable in relation to the telephone apparatus as shown by the double arrow. It will thus be obvious to those familiar with the art that such mechanisms, of suitable solid construction or suitably enclosed within robust tubes or the like, will also be able to be used in connection with the invention according to the present application.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. Telephone ( 2 ) for use against payment in an accessible area, e.g. in the form of a telephone box (1), and comprising a telephone apparatus ( 3 ) placed in a robust casing or box (4) and with a handset (10) comprising a loudspeaker and a microphone, with an operation keypad (5) and with means (6, 14, 7) for use in connection with payment for use of the telephone, similarly placed in the casing or the box (4), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the handset is coupled to the casing or the box via a robust arm (8, 9, 12, 13) in such a manner that the handset is adjustable in height in relation to the user.

2. Telephone according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the robust arm comprises a telescopic element (8), preferably adjustable in the vertical direction.

3. Telephone according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the telescopic element ( 8 ) has an arm ( 9 ) with a free end on which the handset (10) is secured.

4. Telephone according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that the handset ( 10 ) is secured via a tilting mechanism (11).

5. Telephone according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the robust arm comprises a swinging-link or parallelogram mechanism (13, 18) arranged for height adjustment of the handset (10).

6. Telephone according to claim 3 or 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the arm ( 9 ) can be pivoted around the telescopic element (8).

7. Telephone according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the arm (12) is pivotably coupled directly to the casing or the box ( 4 ) .

8. Telephone according to claim 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the handset is secured to the free end of the arm (12) via a tilting mechanism (11).

9. Telephone according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that the telephone apparatus (3) is mounted on an element (16), e.g. a solid plate, which can be displaced in the vertical direction.

10. Telephone according to claim 9, c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that the displaceable element (16) is motor- driven via operation elements (15), e.g. pushbuttons.