Holder Suitable for Preventing Inadvertent Detachment of a Telephone or Its Operating Handpiece Held by the Holder

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a holder for a telephone or its operating handpiece, said holder comprising a base plate and side plates extending from the edges of the base plate so that the telephone or its operating handpiece can be placed between said side plates, and the opposing sides of the side plates are provided with elongated ridges that are compatible with grooves designed to the sides of the telephone or its operating handpiece.

2. Discussion of Related Art

The task of holding a telephone or its handpiece in a holder is assured against inadvertent detachment of the inserted piece by means of different conventional designs, additional members, or complicated latching mechanisms. The disadvantages of prior art designs are: They contain many discrete members, their assembly is complicated, and moreover, they also often even make the telephone difficult to use.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above described disadvantages. A holder according to the invention is characterized in that the base plate of the holder has springs which push the telephone or its operating handpiece outwardly so that the holder ridges align themselves with latching recesses designed to the handpiece grooves.

An embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the springs are comprised of leaf springs extending outwardly from the base plate, said leaf springs being an integral construction with the holder.

When the holder for a telephone or its operating handpiece is in the above described manner comprised of a single integral piece, no assembly work is needed. By implementing the holder as a single extrusion-molded piece, even lower production costs will be achieved. The latching mechanism can be fitted to a very small space, and the detachment from and reattachment of the telephone or operating handpiece to the holder can be effected with a single grasp.

In the following the invention is described by way of an exemplifying embodiment with reference to the attached drawings in which

FIG. 1 shows the insertion of a telephone or its operating handpiece to the holder,

FIG. 2 shows the telephone or its operating handpiece latched to the holder, and

FIG. 3 shows the holder in a front view.

A holder for a telephone or its operating handpiece 1 is comprised of a base plate 2 and side plates 3 extending upwardly from the edges of the base plate so that the telephone or its operating handpiece 1 can be inserted between said side plates. The opposing sides of the side plates 3 are provided with elongated ridges 4 that are compatible with grooves 5 provided at the sides of the telephone or its operating handpiece 1. The base late 2 of the holder has springs 6 which push the telephone or its operating handpiece 1 outwardly so that the ridges 4 align themselves with latching recesses 7 provided at the grooves 5. The springs 6 are comprised of leaf springs extending outwardly from the base plate, said leaf springs being an integral construction with the holder.

As it is evident from the diagram, the springs 6 are located at the lower part of the holder. Correspondingly, the latching recesses 7 in the grooves 5 of the telephone or its operating handpiece 1 are also located at the lower part of the telephone or its operating handpiece. The lengths of the latching recesses 7 are essentially equal to the lengths of the ridges 4. When the telephone or its operating handpiece is inserted in the holder as illustrated in FIG. 1, the rear wall of the telephone or its operating handpiece slides along the base plate under the guidance of the ridges 4. When the telephone or its operating handpiece reaches the bottom position above the bottom plate 8 which extends from the lower edge of the base 2 between the side plates 3, the springs 6 push the lower part of the telephone outwardly so that the ridges become seated in the latching recesses 7. For the detachment of the telephone or its operating handpiece 1, pushing at the lower part of the telephone or its operating handpiece detaches the device from the latching recesses, whereby the springs 6 give simultaneously so as to allow the telephone or its operating handpiece to be lifted upward and off the holder.

The invention is not limited by the above-described exemplifying embodiment, but instead, can also be implemented so that the grooves are designed in the holder, while the ridges are correspondingly placed with the telephone or its operating handpiece. The spring force can also be effected by means of discrete spring elements. Further, the latching function can alternatively be designed at the upper end of the telephone or its operating handpiece. The function of the alternative embodiments are, however, identical.