WO1998035854A1

WO1998035854A1 - Voice communication device with holder and hand-set

Info

Publication number: WO1998035854A1
Application number: PCT/EP1998/000731
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eckhard Mutterer
Original assignee: Eckhard Mutterer
Priority date: 1997-02-12
Filing date: 1998-02-10
Publication date: 1998-08-20
Also published as: DE29702385U1

Abstract

The invention relates to a voice communication device such as a telephone which has a holder (3) and a hand-set (2), such as a hand-held telephone in particular. The holder (3) has an accommodating part (4) with side guides (8, 8') as well as at least one on-hook element (7) for the hand-held telephone. The accommodating part (4) also has a supporting area (5) which opens at least upwards and forwards and which extends forwards and outwards by means of the guides (8, 8'). The holder (3) has an insert (16) at the top end of which the on-hook element (7) is located, the on-hook element projecting freely over the supporting part (4). When the hand-set (2) is hung up, said insert leads the hand-set into a locking device (9, 10) and can be repositioned from a top end position to a bottom end position against a recoil force, aided by the weight of the hand-set (2).

Description

Intercom with a holder and a handset

The invention relates to a speech device, such as a telephone, with a holder and a handset, such as, in particular, a hand-held telephone, the holder having a receiving part with lateral guide elements and at least one hanging element for the hand-held telephone.

Telephoning when driving a motor vehicle is always associated with dangers, since the traffic and driving and steering require the driver's full attention. If the driver is distracted from steering the vehicle simply by making a phone call, this becomes particularly problematic when the handset is lifted and replaced. For this purpose, manual manipulations are to be carried out, which additionally distract the driver considerably from steering the vehicle and from the traffic situation. In general, therefore, the use of a hands-free device is recommended while driving, since this involves hands remain free. Due to the ambient conditions in the motor vehicle, such as driving noise, acoustics of the driver's compartment, and the physical condition in the GSM network (used by the Dl and D2 networks), it is not always possible to guarantee perfectly safe and satisfactory calls using the hands-free system. For this reason, the use of a handset or a handheld radio (cell phone) cannot be completely avoided. In order to fix such handsets or cell phones in the vehicle, holders of various designs are known. Such holding devices are intended to enable the handset to be removed easily in order to be able to take the device in hand for a conversation. On the other hand, the handset should also be able to be simply reinserted into the holding device and locked there.

From DE-GM 94 09 902 a device for holding a hand-held radio telephone is known, which essentially consists of a first holder for receiving the telephone and a second holder, referred to as a console, for receiving the handset formed by the first holder and the hand-held radio telephone. The console or second holder has a base plate and at its upper end a clamp element with two laterally projecting clamping tabs, each of which is provided with a groove on its inwardly facing sides. At the lower end, the base plate is provided with two hooks that are open at the top. Hooks and clamps are used to hold and guide the handset. For this purpose, the first holder at the upper end can first be seen with holding jaws projecting forward, each of which has a projecting web on its outside. On the underside, the first bracket has hook receiving openings. with which it can be placed on the hooks on the console. To fix the handset formed from the first holder and hand-held radio telephone, the handset is then first placed on the hooks on the console by means of the two hook receiving openings. The handset is then pressed with its rear wall against the console, the projecting webs on the holding jaws then latching into the grooves of the clamping tabs which also serve as guide elements. This then locks the handset to the console. An exact tilting and swiveling movement is therefore necessary for hanging up and fixing the handset. If the handset is to be removed from the console, increased effort is required due to the grooves and webs when pulling out or swiveling the handset out. As a result, the driver's attention when picking up and putting down the handset is very much distracted from the control of the vehicle and from the traffic situation.

The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a speech device of the type mentioned in such a way that at least the procedure for lifting off and in particular hanging up the handset or a similar device is simplified in such a way that the user is distracted as little as possible from the traffic situation.

According to the invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by a speech device with a holder and a handset of the type mentioned at the outset in that the receiving part has an at least upward and forwardly open receiving space, which is at least forward in the upper end region by means of the guide elements and expanded outside and that the bracket with a

Insert body is provided, at the upper end of which is arranged the hanging element freely projecting the hooking element and which, when the handset is hooked in, feeding it to a locking device, can be displaced from an upper end position into a lower end position against a restoring force under the influence of the weight of the handset. Because of the design according to the invention, the handset only has to be hung or hung on the hanging element, the rest of the process of fixing to the holder takes place automatically. Due to the funnel-shaped widening of the receiving part in the upper area of the receiving space, the handset can automatically slide into the receiving space in the correct position solely because of its weight. The movements of the insert body triggered by the weight of the handset then reliably guide the handset in the receiving space in the direction of a locking part. The hanging up of the handset can therefore be carried out essentially "blindly" since the

Users of the handset only have to find the hanging element on the holder. This can also be done in the dark, for example using buttons. If the handset is hooked on or suspended from the hanging element, the rest is done automatically, so that there is no need for the handset to be precisely positioned with respect to the receiving space. Alignment is simply carried out by the guide elements along which the handset slides due to its weight. Aligning the handset with the hooks and the clamps of a holder as in the prior art is now completely eliminated. To remove the handset only has to be pressed in the direction of the bottom part and with one slight jerk upwards. Here too, the additional movements previously required are no longer necessary.

In order to make it as easy as possible to hang up or hang up the handset on the hanging element, this is preferably spatula-shaped. Because of the rounding in the upper region of the hanging element, the handset can then easily be placed on the hanging element in the correct position from different directions. A cantilevered, at least downwardly open, cavity-forming extension is preferably provided on the rear of the handset. This preferably has an essentially shell-shaped receiving opening, which makes it much easier to hang up the handset. This shell-shaped extension can be formed in one piece with the rear wall of the handset or with the battery compartment cover. However, it is also possible to use the approach separately, for example

Part to be fixed by gluing on the handset, or the approach is part of an additional, non-positively lockable holder on the handset.

In a preferred embodiment it is provided that the insert body can be fixed in its two end positions by means of locking elements. This ensures, on the one hand, that the insert body is not already displaced downwards during hanging, on the other hand, an automatic release of the handset in the

Locked position prevented due to a detachable insert body in the lower end position. The latching elements are each provided at the free end of resiliently designed tabs of the insert body and each in one Can be snapped into the upper and lower end positions in the guide and latching opening formed in the bottom part which closes the receiving space towards the rear. Because the latching elements now snap into openings in the bottom part of the receiving space, they can be released by pressure applied from front to back in order to release the insert body for displacement between its two end positions. The tab which has the latching elements for the lower end position is preferably made stronger or harder than that which carries the latching elements for the upper end position. In this way, the release in the upper end position can then take place solely on the basis of the weight of the handset coming to rest on the bottom part of the receiving space, while the

Locking elements in the lower end position remain unaffected in their locking position by the weight of the handset, but can be released in addition to the weight of the handset when the pressure is exerted by applying slight pressure.

In a preferred embodiment it is provided that the guide and locking openings are each substantially T-shaped, having a longitudinal and a transverse opening, and the locking elements are obtained at the end of the tabs by bending and a projecting in the middle of their free end Have nose, the width of which corresponds substantially to the width of the longitudinal openings. In this way, the locking elements can be locked on the one hand within the locking openings and on the other hand can be guided within the longitudinal openings after release. The direction of movement of the insert body and the handset when there is movement between the upper and lower end positions in the receiving space is then corresponding exactly specified. For this purpose, the guide and latching openings for the upper and lower end positions are preferably designed to run in opposite directions in the base part. Accordingly, the lugs of all locking elements are located during the displacement of the insert body between the upper and lower end positions and vice versa within the guide openings. Since these guide openings then open into the transverse openings, the locking into the upper and lower end positions is then reliably ensured in each case.

In order to generate the restoring force necessary to return the insert body to the upper end and rest position, at least one spring returning the insert body to the upper end position after releasing the latching element is provided. In this way, the insert body is simply moved back into its initial position in the unloaded state and locked in the upper end position by the upper latching element.

A corresponding guide is preferably provided for the movement of the insert body within the holder.

So that the handset in the lower end position of the insert body cannot "slip" out of the receiving space to the front, the locking device is formed by an edge attachment provided at the lower end of the receiving space, which can be inserted into a locking opening formed at the lower end of the handset. The edge extension is preferably designed in the form of a hook bent forwards, upwards and inwards, which extends from below into the locking opening, a horizontal reaching behind the locking web that can be inserted.

In order to make it easier to find the holder and to hang up the handset, the hanging element can be provided with a fluorescent layer at its upper end. Correspondingly active light sources (light bulbs, light-emitting diodes or the like) can then be provided on the rear of the handset in order to illuminate the layer while the handset is being hung up or hung up.

Overall, a speech device with a handset and holder for the latter is created, by means of which the movements to be carried out by the user are reduced to a minimum, so that this is distracted as little as possible both with regard to the manual handling of the handset and with regard to its attention.

Further advantages and features of the invention emerge from the claims and from the following description in which an exemplary embodiment is explained in detail with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a holder of a speech device according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section along the line I-I in Fig. 1;

3 shows a rear view of a handset of the speech device according to the invention; Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section along the line

II-II in Fig. 3;

5 shows a plan view of an insert body;

Fig. 6 is a detailed view of a tab of the

Insert body and an associated guide and locking opening on

Bottom part of the bracket; and

Fig. 7, the bracket and the handset before hanging the handset on the hanging element of the bracket.

As can be seen from FIG. 7, the speech device 1 according to the invention has a handset 2 and a holder 3 for the handset 2. The handset 2 can already be the handset itself, for example a cellphone or the like. , or an additional holder with a cell phone or the like contained therein. The holder 3 for the handset 2 is generally mounted in the interior of a motor vehicle in the area of the center console, essentially vertically or at an angle to the horizontal.

As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 1 and 2, the holder 3 has a receiving part 4 on its front side. The receiving part 4 is formed on the one hand by an upwardly and forwardly open receiving space 5, which is formed laterally by guide strips 6, 6 ', and on the other hand by a hanging element 7 freely projecting above the receiving space 5 on the upper side thereof trough formed by the receiving space 5 essentially has the contour of the handset 2 to be accommodated therein. The guide strips 6, 6 'simultaneously form the side walls of this trough. In the upper area of the receiving space or the trough 5, guide lugs 8, 8 'are formed on the guide strips 6, 6', which extend forward and are angled outwards, so as to widen the receiving space 5 in this upper area in a funnel shape. At the upper end, as already mentioned, the receiving element 7, which has a spatula-shaped design, projects freely. At the lower end, opposite the spatula-shaped suspension element 7, the receiving space 5 is provided with an edge projection 9 which, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 2, is first bent forward, then upwards and finally inwards in the form of a hook. The hook end 10 projecting inwards in the direction of a bottom part closing the receiving space 5 serves, as explained later, for locking the handset 2.

Between the guide lugs 8, 8 'and the edge approach 9, three guide and locking openings 12a, 12b, 12c T-shaped training are provided in the bottom part 11. These guide and latching openings 12a-c each have longitudinal openings 13a-c running parallel to one another and transverse openings 14a-c. In the illustrated embodiment, two guide and latch openings 12a and 12b are arranged side by side above the third guide and latch opening 12c, the two upper ones

Guide and latching openings 12a, 12b are formed in the bottom part in a direction opposite to the lower guide and latching opening 12c. The guiding and latching opening 12c is located in the transverse direction of the receiving space 5 seen, approximately in the middle between the two upper guide and locking openings. The transverse openings 14a-14c serve as latching openings, the longitudinal openings 13a-13c as guide openings.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, a vertically displaceable insert body or slide 16 is arranged in the interior of a cavity 15 on the back of the base part 11. At the upper end of the flat insert body or slider 16, the hooking element 7 is obtained by bending forward, which is aligned vertically or vertically parallel to the insert body 16.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the insert body or slide 16 has three tabs 17a-c running parallel to one another at its end facing away from the hanging element 7. Springs 18, 18 'are provided above and to the side of the tabs 17a-17c, which are fixed on the one hand at one end to the tab 16 and on the other hand at their other ends on the housing of the holder 3. As a result, the tab 16 is resiliently mounted on the holder 3. So that the slider 16 protruding from the housing of the holder 3, at least with its hanging element 7 through an opening, cannot be tilted within the holder 3, a guide 20 for the slider is provided through the base part 11 and a wall 19 running parallel thereto in the interior of the holder 3 16 trained. The wall 19 ends, as the comparison of Fig. 1 and 2 shows, above the Queröf openings 14a, 14b of the guide and locking openings 12a, 12b.

5 shows, the tabs 17a, 17b are each arranged to the side of the tab 17c and are shorter and narrower than this. The tabs 17a and 17b

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tion opening 13c protrudes into this. Now the

Bracket 2 hung by means of the extension 24 on the hanging element 7 of the slider 16, so that the handset 2, which is initially only loosely and in a fairly arbitrary position, is placed on the hanging element 7

Let go of his weight into the receiving space 5 by means of the guide lugs 8, 8 '. As soon as the holder 2 comes to rest with its rear wall 23 on the bottom part 11 of the receiving space 5, the latching elements 21a and 21b of the resilient tabs 17a and 17b are pushed back in the direction of the cavity 15, only the guide lug 22a, 22b in the associated guide and Rest opening remains. The slide 16 released in this way can now be moved against the restoring force of the springs 18, 18 'in the direction of its lower end position with the handset 2. The slider 16 is guided by means of the guide 20 and the guide openings 13a-c during the vertical displacement, and the handset 2 slides down together with the slider 16 under the influence of the weight of the handset 2 in the receiving space 5.

Arrived in its lower end position, the slide 16 is now stopped by means of the guide lug 22c on its central tab 17c, which is also designed to be resilient. At the same time, the latching element 21c is pressed forward through the latching opening 14c in the direction of the rear wall 23 of the handset 2 in order to lock the slide 16. This pushing through occurs automatically due to the resilient effect of the tab

17c. Shortly before the slide 16 and thus also the handset 2 have reached the lower end position, the handset 2 is placed on the hook 9 at the lower end of the holder 3 by means of its lower insertion opening 29.

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Claims

claims

1. Intercom device, such as a telephone, with a holder and a handset, in particular a hand-held telephone, the holder having a receiving part with lateral guide elements and at least one hanging element for the hand-held telephone, characterized in that the receiving part (4) has an at least upward and has an open receiving space (5) at the front, which widens forwards and outwards by means of the guide elements (8, 8 ') and that the holder (3) is provided with an insert body (16), at the upper end of which the receiving part (4th ) freely projecting hooking element (7) is arranged and, when the handset (2) is hooked in, feeding it to a locking device (9, 10), counter to a restoring force under the influence of the weight of the handset (2) from an upper end position to a lower end position is relocatable.

2. Speech device according to claim 1, characterized in that the hanging element (7) is substantially spade-shaped.

3. Speech device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by a protruding on the back of the handset, at least open down, a cavity (25) forming approach

(24).

Speaking device according to claim 3, characterized in that the extension (24) has a substantially shell-shaped receiving opening (26).

5. Speech device according to one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the insert body (16) can be fixed in its two end positions by means of latching elements (21a-c).

6. Speaking device according to claim 5, characterized in that the latching elements (21a-c) are each provided at the free end of resiliently formed tabs (17a-c) of the insert body (16) and each in a in the receiving space (5) closed to the rear ß bottom part (11) formed guide and locking opening (12a-c) can be snapped forward in the upper and lower end position.

7. Speaking device according to claim 6, characterized in that the tab (17c) having the latching elements (21c) for the lower end position is formed stronger or harder than that having the latching elements (21a, 21b) for the upper end position ( 17a, 17b).

8. Speech device according to one of claims 5-7, characterized in that the guide and latching openings (12a-c) each substantially T-shaped, a longitudinal or a transverse opening (13a-c, 14a-c) having, are formed and that the locking elements (21a-c) are obtained at the end of the tabs (17a-c) by bending and have a projecting nose (22a-c) in the center of their free end, the width of which is essentially the width of the Corresponds to longitudinal openings (13a-c).

9. Speech device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the guide and locking openings (12a-c) for the upper and lower end position are opposite to each other in the bottom part (11).

10. Speaking device according to one of claims 1-9, characterized by at least one spring (18, 18 ') returning the insert body (16) after releasing the latching element (21c) in the lower end position into the upper end position.

11. Speech device according to one of claims 1-10, characterized by a within the holder (3) provided guide (20) for the insert body (16).

12. Speech device according to one of claims 1-11, characterized in that the locking device (9, 10) is formed by an edge projection (9) provided at the lower end of the receiving space (5), which can be inserted into a locking opening (27) formed at the lower end of the handset (2).

13. Intercom device according to claim 12, characterized in that the edge extension (9) is designed in the form of a hook bent forwards, upwards and inwards, engaging from below into the locking opening (27), engaging behind a horizontally extending locking web (28) is.