Holder and latching mechanism for a hand-held telephone

Abstract

A telephone holder and latching mechanism for use in conjunction with a hand-held, credit-card telephone in, for example, a commercial aircraft is disclosed. An integrally formed face plate, an integrally formed handset holder, and an integrally formed latching mechanism cooperate to firmly secure a hand-held telephone in a cavity of the holder while discouraging unnecessary tampering and permitting easy removal of the telephone when desired. A first end of the telephone includes a collar which fits into a collar opening at one end of the cavity. An opposing end of the cavity has a latching opening that permits a finger from the latching mechanism to extend therethrough. The latching mechanism is spring-loaded so that the finger is urged through the latching opening. A second end of the telephone incorporates a latching protrusion which the finger engages when the telephone is secured in the holder. A slot in the face plate is dimensioned to accommodate a credit card and prevent insertion of larger objects. When the credit card is inserted through the slot, it engages the latching mechanism, causing the latching mechanism to pivot in opposition to the spring to disengage the finger from the handset. Compressive resilient members located in the cavity then push the telephone outward from the cavity. Further action of the finger against a ramped surface of the latching protrusion moves the telephone further outward.