Cradle for telephone
DCFirst Claim
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1. A cradle for various sizes of telephone means, said cradle comprising:
- a base;
first and second walls attached to said base;
at least one of said walls slidably attached to said base, said sliding wall disposed opposite the other wall and disposed to slide toward and away from said other wall;
means for holding said sliding wall at several, successive positions against various sizes of said telephone means;
spring means disposed to urge said sliding wall away from said other wall; and
means for releasing said means for holding, thereby allowing said spring means to move said sliding wall away from said other wall;
wherein said means for holding said sliding wall, comprises ratchet means, having several teeth for holding said sliding wall at said several, successive positions.
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Abstract
A telephone cradle has ratcheting, sliding walls which engage a telephone and hold it securely. A ratchet release button, operable by the same hand that grasps the telephone, releases the sliding walls when it is desired to lift and use the telephone. The walls are spring-loaded to open and are driven to move equally in opposite directions. A friction plate dampens the motion of the sliding walls. Resilient pads disposed on the sliding walls securely hold the telephone. The cradle may be flexibly mounted to a vehicle.
259 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A cradle for various sizes of telephone means, said cradle comprising:
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a base; first and second walls attached to said base; at least one of said walls slidably attached to said base, said sliding wall disposed opposite the other wall and disposed to slide toward and away from said other wall; means for holding said sliding wall at several, successive positions against various sizes of said telephone means; spring means disposed to urge said sliding wall away from said other wall; and means for releasing said means for holding, thereby allowing said spring means to move said sliding wall away from said other wall; wherein said means for holding said sliding wall, comprises ratchet means, having several teeth for holding said sliding wall at said several, successive positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 6)
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4. A cradle for various sizes of telephone means, said cradle comprising:
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a base; first and second walls attached to said base; at least one of said walls slidably attached to said base, said sliding wall disposed opposite the other wall and disposed to slide toward and away from said other wall; means for holding said sliding wall at several, successive positions against various sizes of said telephone means; spring means disposed to urge said sliding wall away from said other wall; and means for releasing said means for holding, thereby allowing said spring means to move said sliding wall away from said other wall;
wherein both said walls are slidably disposed with respect to said base and said means for holding comprises ratchet means having several teeth, said ratchet means adapted to hold both of said walls in said several, successive positions against said telephone means when said telephone means is disposed in said cradle; and
said means for releasing releases both said walls from against said telephone means. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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7. A cradle for telephone means, said cradle comprising:
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a base; first and second walls attached to said base; at least one of said walls slidably attached to said base, said sliding wall disposed opposite the other wall and disposed to slide toward and away from said other wall; means for holding said sliding wall against said telephone means when said telephone means is disposed in said cradle; means for releasing said sliding wall from against said telephone means; wherein said means for holding said sliding wall against said telephone means, comprises ratchet means for holding said sliding wall at successive positions with respect to said other wall; wherein said ratchet means comprises a rotating ratchet gear and wherein said cradle includes damping means disposed to damp the motion of each said slidably attached wall, when said wall is released.
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8. A cradle for telephone means, said cradle comprising:
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a base; first and second walls attached to said base; at least one of said walls slidably attached to said base, said sliding wall disposed opposite the other wall and disposed to slide toward and away from said other wall; means for holding said sliding wall against said telephone means when said telephone means is disposed in said cradle; means for releasing said sliding wall from against said telephone means; wherein said means for holding said sliding wall against said telephone means, comprises ratchet means for holding said sliding wall at successive positions with respect to said other wall; wherein said ratchet means comprises a rotating gear and a pawl engaging said rotating gear; wherein said means for releasing comprises means for disengaging said pawl from said rotating gear; wherein said cradle further includes a coordinating gear disposed on a hub with said rotating gear; and wherein said cradle further includes two linear gears, each said linear gear fixedly attached to a respective one of said sliding walls, said linear gears engaging said coordinating gear.
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9. A cradle for telephone means, said cradle comprising:
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a base; first and second walls slidably attached to said base;
said walls disposed opposite each other and disposed to slide toward and away from each other;means for holding said sliding walls against said telephone means when said telephone means is disposed in said cradle; means for releasing both said sliding walls from against said telephone means; and wherein said means for holding comprises ratchet means holding both said walls in successive positions toward each other; and wherein said means for releasing comprises means for releasing said ratchet means; and wherein said ratchet means comprises a ratchet assembly which comprises a ratchet gear and a pawl engaging said ratchet gear; and wherein said cradle includes a coordinating gear; and wherein said ratchet gear is connected to said coordinating gear, and wherein said cradle includes two linear gears, one of said linear gears fixedly disposed with respect to one of said walls and the other of said linear gears fixedly disposed with respect to the other of said walls, said linear gears being disposed on opposite sides of said coordinating gear, and wherein said coordinating gear engages said linear gears, whereby said walls move equally and in opposite directions with respect to said base. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A cradle for telephone means, said cradle comprising:
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a base; first and second walls slidably disposed with respect to said base, said walls being oppositely disposed with respect to each other and disposed to slide toward and away from each other; means for holding said sliding walls against said telephone means when said telephone means is disposed in said cradle; means for releasing said means for holding; means for coordinating the movement of said walls so as to cause them to move equally and in opposite directions with respect to said base; and wherein said cradle includes a slide plate fixedly disposed with respect to each of said slidable walls, each of said slide plates having a linear gear fixedly disposed with respect thereto; and wherein said means for coordinating movement comprises a coordinating gear disposed between said linear gears. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A cradle for telephone means, said cradle comprising a base, two walls slidably attached to said base and adapted to slide toward and away from each other, means for sliding said walls equally and in opposite directions from each other, means for holding said walls in successive positions, and means for releasing said means for holding, and wherein said cradle further comprises spring means disposed to urge said sliding walls away from each other;
wherein said cradle includes two slide plates and each of said walls is connected to a respective slide plate, and wherein said cradle includes friction means for damping the motion of said walls, said friction means comprising rotating means caused to rotate against at least one of said slide plates upon the motion of said walls, and wherein a viscous material is disposed between said rotating means and said sliding plate. - View Dependent Claims (20)
Specification