Flat panel telephone station set
First Claim
1. A telephone station set adapted to be operated by a user in at least one predetermined position, said set comprisinga rotatable panel member having first and second oppositely disposed faces and mounted for rotation between a first position wherein the first face is substantially concealed from view from said user position and a second position wherein the first face is in full view from said user position, said panel member having a recess in said first face for receiving a handset,a handset having transmitter and receiver portions shaped to fit in said recess substantially entirely within the thickness of said panel member between said first and second faces, said handset comprisinga bridge portion mechanically connecting said transmitter and receiver portions, andsaid bridge portion includes first and second longitudinal sections, one telescopically engaging the other, and means for resiliently urging said sections apart from a telescopically closed position toward a telescopically extended position,said recess is of a length to accommodate said handset in said closed position,means for retaining said handset in said recess in the absence of a removing force substantially in excess of the weight of said handset, andmeans, mounted on said panel, for performing pushbutton dialing operations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Subscriber-interface elements of a telephone station set are combined in and on a swivel panel. In one embodiment which is useful in automobile radiotelephone applications, the panel is a sun visor and includes arrangements to hold the handset in place even when the panel is upside down and to draw the handset up against the panel if the handset should be dropped during or after a call. Control buttons are arranged on the panel close to the user and, in the automobile embodiment, on a portion of the panel which is closest to the driver'"'"'s line of vision. A cable connecting various station set elements to a control processor and radio extends through a swivel axle for the panel for convenient access to automobile body passageways from the visor to other locations of the automobile.
83 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A telephone station set adapted to be operated by a user in at least one predetermined position, said set comprising
a rotatable panel member having first and second oppositely disposed faces and mounted for rotation between a first position wherein the first face is substantially concealed from view from said user position and a second position wherein the first face is in full view from said user position, said panel member having a recess in said first face for receiving a handset, a handset having transmitter and receiver portions shaped to fit in said recess substantially entirely within the thickness of said panel member between said first and second faces, said handset comprising a bridge portion mechanically connecting said transmitter and receiver portions, and said bridge portion includes first and second longitudinal sections, one telescopically engaging the other, and means for resiliently urging said sections apart from a telescopically closed position toward a telescopically extended position, said recess is of a length to accommodate said handset in said closed position, means for retaining said handset in said recess in the absence of a removing force substantially in excess of the weight of said handset, and means, mounted on said panel, for performing pushbutton dialing operations.
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2. A telephone station set adapted to be operated by a user in at least one predetermined position, said set comprising
an automobile sunshield visor including a rotatable panel member having first and second oppositely disposed faces and mounted for rotation between a first position wherein the first face is substantially concealed from view from said user position and a second position wherein the first face is in full view from said user position, said panel member having a recess in said first face for receiving a handset, said first face is that which faces the automobile roof when the visor is in its raised position, a handset having transmitter and receiver portions shaped to fit in said recess substantially entirely within the thickness of said panel member between said first and second faces, means for retaining said handset in said recess in the absence of a removing force substantially in excess of the weight of said handset, and means, mounted on said panel, for performing pushbutton dialing operations.
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12. A telephone station set adapted to be operated by a user in at least one predetermined position, said set comprising
a rotatable panel member having first and second oppositely disposed faces and mounted for rotation between a first position wherein the first face is substantially concealed from view from said user position and a second position wherein the first face is in full view from said user positon, said panel member having a recess in said first face for receiving a handset, a handset having transmitter and receiver portions shaped to fit in said recess substantially entirely within the thickness of said panel member between said first and second faces, means for retaining said handset in said recess in the absence of a removing force substantially in excess of the weight of said handset, means, mounted on said panel, for performing pushbutton dialing operations, a multiconductor ribbon cable for extending electrical connections from said handset and dialing means, the conductors of said cable being secured adjacent to one another in a side-by-side relationship to form an approximately straight-line cable transverse cross section, an axle secured to said panel member to provide an axis for said rotation, said axle being hollow in at least a portion of the length thereof from an edge of said panel member to an intermediate region of such member to form a cable conduit, and said ribbon cable having the conductors thereof separated from one another and formed into an approximately circular transverse cross-sectional bundle in a portion thereof extending through said conduit to said handset and said dialing means.
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13. A telephone station set adapted to be operated by a user in at least one predetermined position, said set comprising
a rotatable panel member having first and second oppositely disposed faces and mounted for rotation between a first position wherein the first face is substantially concealed from view from said user position and a second position wherein the first face is in full view from said user position, said panel member having a recess in said first face for receiving a handset, a handset having transmitter and receiver portions shaped to fit in said recess substantially entirely within the thickness of said panel between said first and second faces, means for retaining said handset in said recess in the absence of a removing force substantially in excess of the weight of said handset, means, mounted on said panel, for performing pushbutton dialing operations, a radiotelephone transmitter/receiver unit, and means on said panel operable for electrically locking said transceiver unit, said locking means including visual indicating means to indicate whether or not the unit is locked.
Specification