The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 19, 1983
Filed:
Mar. 11, 1980
Francis S Doyle, Oaklandon, IN (US);
Terry B Prince, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Martin J Stevenson, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
To reduce manufacturing costs of telephone instruments it is desirable to secure components to housing members and secure housing members to one another without the use of fasteners. In the past this has been accomplished by the use of flexible latch elements that are deflected from their normal position in the process of assembly, and then return to their normal position to perform their latch function when assembly is complete. The problem with this arrangement is that impact, such as occurs during shipping or when a telephone instrument is accidentally dropped, has been found to cause the flexible latch elements to deflect and release the housing members and/or components they are intended to secure. The disclosed telephone instrument solves the problem of securing the components in place by having integral flexible latch elements (115) extend alongside of a wall (140) of one housing member (100) and integral blocking elements (245) included in the mating housing member (200). These elements are arranged so that when the two housing members are joined together, the blocking elements extend between the wall and the latch elements and prevent the latch elements from deflecting while the housing members are joined. The disclosed telephone instrument solves the problem of securing the housing members together by interlocking one end and latching the other end of the housing members. The latching is achieved by having inflexible latch elements (135, 235) integral to each housing member move into interlocking engagement by means of flexing the adjacent wall (130) of one housing member (100).