Holder and credit-card unlatching mechanism for a hand-held telephone

摘要

In conjunction with a hand-held, credit-card telephone for use aboard, for example, commerical aircraft, a telephone holder and credit-card unlatching mechanism ("CCUM"). The holder includes a holder channel of generally longitudinal, stepwise construction. The holder also includes a face plate with a vertical slot for the insertion of a credit card. A butt plate, secured to one end of the holder channel, and the CCUM, which is secured to the other end of the holder channel, together form, with the holder channel, a telephone-receiving cavity in which the telephone is secured when not in use. The CCUM itself includes a latch plate attached to the holder channel and exhibits a longitudinal slot in alignment with the vertical slot in the face plate. A latching mechanism is secured to the holder channel and operates to selectively, in response to the insertion of a credit card, latch or unlatch the telephone from the telephone-receiving cavity. A credit-card guide is attached to the latch plate and disposed between the latch plate and a latch-release plate of the latching mechanism for guiding the travel of a credit card that has been inserted into the slot.