Electric Box for Connection Between a Handset and a Telephone Base

The present invention relates to an electric box for connection between a handset and a telephone base, and more specifically to such an electric box which has a reversible cable that permits the user to use the handset at a distance far away from the telephone base.

A regular telephone set is generally comprised of a telephone base, a handset, and a handset cord connected between the telephone base and the handset. Because of the limitation of the handset cord, the user cannot move far away from the telephone base when holding the handset. Furthermore, because the handset cord is exposed to the outside, it tends to be tangled.

The present invention has been accomplished to provide an electric box for connection between a handset and a telephone base which eliminates the aforesaid problems. It is one object of the present invention to provide an electric box for connection between a handset and a telephone base which has a reversible cable that permits the user to use the handset at a distance far away from the telephone base. It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric box for connection between a handset and a telephone base which automatically takes up the cable when the handset is hung on the telephone base.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an electric box according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is side plain and top plain views of the metal ring holder according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top plain view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is sectional assembly of the electric box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top assembly view of the electric box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective elevational view of the electric box shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an alternate form of the present invention.

Referring to Figures from 1 to 6, an electric box in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing, which is comprised of a bottom shell 1 and a cover shell 5 fastened together. The bottom shell 1 and the cover shell 5 have a respective side notch 14;54. When the bottom shell 1 and the cover shell 5 are fastened together, the side notches 14;54 are matched together, forming a cable hole A. The bottom shell 1 comprises a hollow upright shaft 11 raised from the inside at the center, a split upright stub tube 12 raised from the inside and spaced around the upright shaft 11 and having a split 13. A spiral spring 8 is mounted around the arched flanges 12, having a hooked inner end 81 fastened to the split 13 of the split upright stub tube 12 and a hooked outer end 82 fastened to a peripheral notch 25 of a rotary member 2. The rotary member 2 comprises a circular bottom chamber 26 which receives the spiral spring 8 a circular top chamber 27, a partition wall 21 which separates the bottom chamber 26 from the top chamber 27, a slot 24 at the periphery through which a flat cable 7 is inserted, an axle hole 20 at the center of the partition wall 21 which receives the upright shaft 11 of the bottom shell 1, a plurality of upright guide rods 23 raised from the partition wall 21 in the top chamber 27 for guiding the wires of the flat cable 7, and a plurality of pin holes 22 spaced around the axle hole 20. A metal ring holder 3 is mounted around the upright shaft 11 of the bottom shell 1 within the top chamber 27 of the rotary member 2, comprising a plurality of circular grooves 32 concentrically disposed at one side, a plurality of slots 33 corresponding to the circular grooves 32, plurality of through holes 31 at the periphery, and a plurality of bottom pins 34 adapted for fastening to the pin holes 22 of the rotary member 2 (see FIG. 2). The flat cable 7 is wound round the rotary member 2, having one end extended out of the cable hole A (see FIG. 3) and terminating in a module plug 71 for connection to a module jack of a handset (not shown), and an opposite end inserted into the slot 24 of the rotary member 2. A plurality of metal rings 4 of different diameters are respectively mounted in the circular grooves 32 of the rotary member 3, having a respective pointed tip 41 raised from the periphery and respectively inserted into the slots 33 and forced into contact with a respective conductor of the wires of the flat cable 7. The cover shell 5 comprises a sliding groove 51, a rack 52 disposed within the sliding groove 51 at one side, and a plurality of through holes 53 in the sliding groove 51. A plurality of metal springs 42 are respectively mounted in the through holes 53 of the cover shell 5 and disposed in contact with the metal rings 4. A plurality of terminals 43 are respectively mounted in the through holes 53 and supported on the metal springs 42. A sliding block 6 is mounted on the cover shell 5 and moved in the sliding groove 51, having a module plug 61 at its front side and a springy pawl 62 at one side. When the sliding block 6 is inserted into the sliding groove 51, the springy pawl 62 is forced into engagement with the rack 52, and the contacts (not shown) of the module plug 61 are respectively moved into contact with the terminals 43, and therefore the module plugs 61;71 are electrically connected (see FIG. 5). Further, a spring 9 is mounted in the upright shaft 11 and partially projects into the axle hole 20 of the rotary member 2 to impart an upward pressure to the metal ring holder 3, and therefore the terminals 43 can be firmly retained in contact with the contacts of the module plug 61. Further, a pressure plate 63 is coupled to the sliding block 6 and stopped at the slip of the module plug 61 for installation control. When in use, the module plugs 61;71 are respectively connected to the telephone base and the handset. When the user holds the handset in hand and moves to a distance from the telephone base, the flat cable 7 is pulled out of the housing 1;5, therefore the user is allowed to carry the handset away from the telephone base to a certain distance. When the handset put back to the telephone base, the spiral spring 8 immediately returns to its former shape, causing the flat cable 7 to be taken up and received in the housing 1;5.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate form of the present invention, in which the cover shell 5 comprises a T-block 65 raised from its outside wall and defining with its outside wall two coupling grooves 56, and a plurality of through holes 53 through the T-block 65; the terminals 43 are respectively supported on the metal springs 42 and project into the through holes 53; a coupling block 64 is mounted with a module plug (not shown), having a coupling groove 65 adapted to match with the coupling grooves 56 of the cover shell 5 for permitting the coupling block 64 to be secured to the T-block 55. When the coupling block 64 is coupled to the T-block 55, the contacts of the module plug of the sliding block 64 are forced into contact with the terminals 43 respectively. When the coupling block 64 and the T-block 55 are coupled together, they are fixedly fastened together by a high-frequency heat sealing apparatus or a thermal welding apparatus.

It is to be understood that the drawings are designed for purposes of illustration only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits and scope of the invention disclosed.