JP7805256B2 - emergency telephone device - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a telephone device equipped with a handset and a storage case, and relates to technology that is effective for use in emergency telephone devices used in disaster prevention monitoring systems (including fire alarm systems), for example.

In disaster prevention monitoring systems, emergency telephone equipment is installed in monitoring centers, etc., so that in the event of a fire, the first caller near the fire site can use the handset handset to confirm the situation at the scene via telephone. Emergency telephone equipment (base unit) is generally configured so that when the handset handset on the handset side is taken off-hook, the base unit rings, and when the handset handset on the base unit is taken off-hook, the ring is stopped, and a communication line is opened between the handset handset on the base unit and the handset side, allowing communication between the base unit and the handset.

However, if the handset of the emergency telephone device (base unit) is off-hook for some reason, the emergency telephone device standards stipulate that the handset's off-hook state be indicated by a lit lamp. When the handset of the handset is taken off-hook in this state (a call request due to a fire outbreak), both the handset and base unit handsets are off-hook, and the call line becomes open (able to make calls) without the handset's call request due to a fire outbreak ringing on the base unit side. In this case, the call request due to a fire outbreak from the handset does not sound on the base unit side, and the call from the handset (a call request due to a fire outbreak) is not noticed.

The main reason why the handset of an emergency telephone device comes off the hook is that, when the handset is placed vertically, conventional handsets, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, are simply attached so that a recess formed at the boundary between the upper receiver and the central handle catches on a protrusion (step) on the base body (receiver).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-27068

Design Registration No. 1065185

In conventional emergency telephone devices, the handset can easily fall off or move out of the correct on-hook position if some force is applied directly or indirectly to the handset, such as when the shoulder or elbow of a worker (supervisor) or an object accidentally touches the handset. In addition, because the curled cord connecting the handset to the base body is in a dangling position, the handset can also come off if part of the worker's body gets caught on the curled cord.
Furthermore, if the handset is installed in an exposed state, the above-mentioned accident of the handset coming off the hook becomes more likely to occur.

One idea for an emergency telephone device is one in which the handset is stored in a storage case so that it does not protrude from the front panel of the case (Non-Patent Document 1). However, in the case of the fire extinguishing equipment manual control console disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, the curled cord is short, so the space between the underside of the storage case and the bottom of the handset is narrow. As a result, if the curled cord is designed to hang down below the handset, or if the curled cord loosens and stretches over time, or if a long curled cord is used depending on the installation location, the curled cord will not fit completely within the storage case and will protrude forward from the front panel, making it susceptible to contact with parts of the body of a moving person or transported goods.

Furthermore, if the curled cord is forced into a small space, the restoring force of the curled cord will lift the handset, causing it to float up and become detached. While the above-mentioned accidents can be avoided by designing the storage space at the bottom of the case to be sufficiently large, this would result in the emergency telephone device housing becoming larger, which is an issue.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide an emergency telephone device that can prevent the curl cord from protruding forward from the front panel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an emergency telephone device that allows the curl cord to be smoothly pulled out and stored in the storage section, and that can reduce the floating of the handset when the curl cord is stored in the storage section.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an emergency telephone device that can prevent the handset from falling off without increasing the size of the housing of the device more than necessary.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
An emergency telephone device comprising: a handset; a cradle on which at least a portion of the handset is placed in a vertical position; a curled cord connecting the handset and the cradle; and a housing having a front panel and accommodating the handset, the cradle, and the curled cord, wherein the housing is provided with a handset accommodating section recessed toward the back from an opening formed in the front panel so that the handset does not protrude forward beyond the front panel when the handset is placed on the cradle in an on-hook state,
a cord storage section for storing the hanging curl cord is provided below the handset storage section in which the handset and cradle are stored, on the rear side from the front surface of the front panel and below the handset;
a front edge wall portion that covers a front side and a part of a lower side of the cord storage portion is provided at least on a lower edge portion of the opening of the front panel;
A cord guide section is provided on the back of the leading edge wall section within the cord storage section, which is continuous with the upper end of the leading edge wall section and has an inclined surface that slopes downward from the opening side toward the back side of the cord storage section .

According to the emergency telephone device having the above-described configuration, a cord storage section for storing the curled portion of the curled cord is provided below the handset, and a front edge wall portion is formed at least on the lower edge of the opening in the front panel so as to cover a portion of the front side of the cord storage section. Therefore, the curled cord stored in the cord storage section is prevented from moving forward by the front edge wall portion, thereby preventing the curled cord from protruding forward from the front panel.
Furthermore, with the above configuration, the cord guide portion allows the curled cord to be smoothly pulled out and stored in the cord storage portion.

Preferably, the housing has a horizontal bottom wall,
The opening of the front panel is rectangular, and the front edge wall is formed so that its upper edge is parallel to the bottom wall of the housing.
The above-described configuration simplifies the formation of the housing and front panel, reducing manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the curled portion of the curled cord stored in the cord storage section can be stored horizontally on the bottom wall of the housing, preventing the curled portion from stretching due to its own weight.

Furthermore, preferably, the cord storage section is configured so that, when the handset is placed on the cradle, the curled portion of the curled cord hanging down from the handset and cradle is folded back once in the lateral direction of the housing, and is large enough to accommodate at least that folded portion.

With the above configuration, the curled cord is stored in the cord storage section in an orderly manner, folded back only once horizontally, preventing the stored curled cord from becoming tangled and preventing the curled cord from protruding from the cord storage section due to the force that causes the randomly deformed curled cord to return to its original shape.

Furthermore, preferably, the height of the front edge wall from the bottom surface of the cord storage compartment is set to be at least the same as the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord,
The angle of the inclined surface of the cord guide section is set to be greater than 45 degrees, and the cord storage section is set so that the distance between the rear wall of the housing and the center position in the height direction of the inclined surface of the cord guide section is twice the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord.

The above configuration effectively prevents the curled portion of the curled cord stored in the cord storage section from protruding forward from the front panel. Furthermore, the curled portion of the curled cord stored in the cord storage section becomes less visible from the front of the emergency telephone device.

The emergency telephone device of the present invention can prevent the curled cord from protruding forward from the front panel without making the device's housing larger than necessary. It also allows the curled cord to be smoothly pulled out and stored in the storage compartment. Furthermore, it can reduce the likelihood of the handset floating up when the curled cord is stored in the storage compartment. Another advantage is that it can prevent the handset from falling off without increasing the size of the device's housing.

(A) is a front view showing one embodiment of the emergency telephone device of the present invention, and (B) and (C) are oblique views showing an example of a storage case for a telephone unit arranged within the housing of the emergency telephone device. 1A is a front view showing an example of the configuration of an emergency telephone unit that constitutes an emergency telephone device of an embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional side view taken along line BB in FIG. 1A. 2 is a perspective view showing an on-hook state of a telephone unit constituting an emergency telephone unit of the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an off-hook state of a telephone unit constituting an emergency telephone unit of the embodiment; FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The emergency telephone device of this embodiment is installed in a monitoring center or the like in a corner of a building, and has the function of communicating with handsets installed in various locations within the building.
FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of an emergency telephone device. FIG. 1(A) is a front view of the emergency telephone device installed in a monitoring center or the like, and FIG. 1(B) is a perspective view of a case for housing a telephone unit disposed within the housing of the emergency telephone device. FIG. 1(C) is a perspective view showing another structure of the case for housing the telephone unit. As shown in FIG. 1, the emergency telephone device 10 of this embodiment includes a vertically elongated, box-shaped metal housing 11 having an opening/closing door 11A on the front, and a main part of the emergency telephone device (hereinafter referred to as the emergency telephone unit) 12 fitted into a rectangular opening 11a formed in a portion of the opening/closing door 11A (slightly above the center in the figure).

The emergency telephone unit 12 comprises a metal front panel 21 that is flush with the front panel that forms the opening and closing door 11A, a telephone unit 22 fitted into a vertically elongated rectangular opening 21a formed on the left side of the front panel 21, and an operation display unit 23 fitted into a roughly square opening 21b formed on the right side of the front panel 21. The telephone unit 22 can be used as either the base emergency telephone device or a handset.

The open-front storage case 24 shown in Figure 1 (B) functions as a housing for the telephone unit 22, and flanges 24b with screw holes 24a are formed on the front edges of both left and right side walls. Screws fixed to the back side of the front panel 21 are inserted into the screw holes 24a of these flanges 24b from the front, and the case is fixed to the back side of the front panel 21 with nuts from the rear.
The height of the storage case 24 is slightly greater than the height of the opening 21a on the left side of the front panel 21, and a front edge wall 24c several centimeters high is provided at the lower front end of the storage case 24. This makes the height of the opening 21a on the left side of the front panel 21 and the height of the front opening of the storage case 24 the same.
The storage case 24 shown in FIG. 1C is provided with a trapezoidal guide member 28 at the lower front end of the storage case 24, the guide member 28 having a slope that slopes downward at approximately 45 degrees toward the rear wall. The sloped portion can be formed, for example, by bending a metal plate on the bottom surface. Furthermore, any method for forming the sloped portion may be used. The function of the guide member 28 will be described later.

2 shows details of the emergency telephone unit 12. Of these, (A) is a front view of the emergency telephone unit 12, and (B) is a cross-sectional side view taken along line BB in (A).
As shown in Figure 2 (B), the emergency telephone unit 12 comprises a cradle 25 consisting of a base portion 25B fixed to the rear wall of the storage case 24 with screws and a support portion 25A formed integrally with the front surface of the base portion 25B, a handset 26 joined to and placed on the front surface of the cradle 25, and a curled cord 27 having connectors at the ends connected to the cradle 25 and the handset 26, respectively.

The depth (L1) of the storage case 24 is set to be several millimeters larger than the height from the rear wall of the storage case 24 to the front of the handset 26 when the handset 26 is placed on-hook on the front of the cradle 25. Specifically, the depth L1 of the storage case 24 is 80 mm, while the height of the front of the handset 26 is 73 mm. As a result, the front of the handset 26 is positioned further back than the front panel 21, and does not protrude from the front of the housing 11.

Furthermore, in the emergency telephone unit 12 of this embodiment, instead of the front edge wall 24c provided at the lower front end of the storage case 24 in Figure 1 (B), a trapezoidal guide member 28 having an inclined surface that slopes downward at approximately 45 degrees toward the rear wall of the storage case 24 when viewed from the side, as shown in Figure 1 (C), is provided on the inside of the storage case 24.
The height of the guide member 28, i.e., the height of the leading edge wall 24c, is set slightly larger (approximately 18 mm, for example) than the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord 27 (e.g., 15 mm), preventing the curled cord 27 from protruding toward the front of the front panel 21. Furthermore, the front-to-rear width L3 of the top surface of the guide member 28 is set slightly smaller than the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord 27, allowing for smooth storage and removal of the curled cord. By providing this front-to-rear width L3, a sharp convex portion is eliminated from the area (the upper edge of the leading edge wall 24c) that is likely to come into contact with the curled cord when inserting or removing it, preventing the curled portion of the curled cord from getting caught when passing through. The desirable angle of the inclined surface of the guide member 28 rising from the bottom surface of the storage compartment is between 45 degrees and 60 degrees. If the rising angle from the bottom surface of the storage compartment is less than 45 degrees, the curled cord will not be able to be stored smoothly under its own weight, while if the rising angle from the bottom surface of the storage compartment is more than 60 degrees, there will be significant resistance when removing the curled cord.

The connector at one end of curled cord 27 is located at approximately the mid-height position of cradle 25, and storage case 24 is set so that the distance from the connector at one end to the bottom wall is approximately the same as the vertical length (approximately 20 cm) of handset 26. In this embodiment, the length of curled cord 27 when the curled portions are contracted so that the curls touch each other is slightly less than twice the vertical length of handset 26, but it may be more than twice that length.
Furthermore, the upper wall of the storage case 24 is set to be higher than the upper end of the handset side of the handset 26 placed on the cradle 25 by approximately the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord 27, and the distance L2 from the intermediate height position of the guide member 28 inside the storage case 24 to the rear wall of the storage case 24 is set to be approximately twice (e.g., 30 mm) the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord 27 (e.g., 15 mm).

As a result, a space large enough to accommodate curled cord 27 folded twice and laid horizontally is formed between the inclined surface of guide member 28 and the rear wall and bottom wall of storage case 24. The width (the length in the left-right direction when viewed from the front) of storage case 24 is set so that when curled cord 27 is stored in the storage space with the curled portion laid horizontally and folded once, the outside of the folded portion is in contact with or does not come into contact with the inner surface of the side wall of storage case 24.
Since the curled portion of curl cord 27 will loosen slightly over time and become longer than its original length, it may be configured to be slightly larger than the above dimensions to allow for ample storage of the curled portion of curl cord 27. This allows the restoring force of the curled portion of curl cord 27 to act to push up handset 26, preventing it from coming off cradle 25.

By setting the dimensions of the storage case 24 and the guide member 28 as described above, when the curled portion of the curled cord 27 is stored in the storage space behind the guide member 28 with the curled portion lying horizontally and folded back once, as shown in Figure 3, the curled cord 27 in the storage space is almost invisible from the front. As a result, the curled cord 27 hanging down from the handset 26 does not extend beyond the front panel 21 of the emergency telephone unit 12, preventing the handset 26 from coming off the cradle 25 due to contact with a moving person's body or an object being transported. It is also possible to prevent the curled portion from stretching due to its own weight.

Furthermore, a guide member 28 is provided inside the front edge wall 24c at the lower front end of the storage case 24, and a downwardly inclined surface is formed on the rear side of the guide member 28, so that when the handset 26 is removed from the cradle 25 and put off-hook, the curled portion of the curl cord 27 is guided along the inclined surface and smoothly pulled out, as shown in Figure 4. Also, when the handset 26 is placed on the cradle 25 and put on-hook, the curled portion of the curl cord 27 is guided along the inclined surface and can be stored by its own weight in the storage space behind the guide member 28.
In order to make the above-mentioned movement of the curl cord 27 smoother, instead of providing an angle at the boundary between the upper surface and the inclined surface of the guide member 28, an upwardly convex curved portion may be formed.

In addition, in the emergency telephone unit 12 of this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, a mountain-shaped protrusion 29 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall of the upper recess 25c of the support portion 25A of the cradle 25, and although not shown, an engaging recess that can engage with the protrusion 29 is formed on the underside of the earpiece 26A of the handset 26. This prevents the handset 26 from coming loose from the cradle 25 and falling or shifting due to vibrations, etc., in a vertical telephone unit.

On the other hand, the operation display unit 23 located next to the telephone unit 22, as shown in Figure 2, includes a speaker 31 that emits an alarm sound when a fire alert is issued, an information display unit 32 consisting of an LCD (liquid crystal display) for displaying various information related to the fire alert, and an input operation unit 33 with various function buttons such as a push button for stopping the sound of the fire alert, an information button for displaying details of the fire or abnormality on the information display unit 32, and a test switch button for conducting tests. The information display unit 32 may also be a touch panel LCD.

As described above, in the emergency telephone device of this embodiment, by adopting the above-mentioned structure, the handset itself and the curled cord do not protrude from the front side (outside) of the faceplate (front panel), and when the handset 26 is attached to the telephone body (cradle 25), the handset 26 and the curled cord 27 fit within the space inside the handset storage case 24.
This prevents the handset 26 from falling off or becoming displaced when a part of the body of a worker or the like passing by the emergency telephone device collides with or comes into contact with the handset itself or the curled cord. This prevents an abnormal situation from occurring when an emergency telephone device (base unit) is called with the handset of the handset off-hook, in which the base unit is off-hook and the call from the handset goes unnoticed.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in order to further enhance the effect of preventing the handset 26 from falling off, as disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 1, a leaf spring or the like may be provided that abuts against the head of the handset 26 and presses it in the direction toward the handset holding protrusion 29 when the handset 26 is placed (set) on the support portion 25A of the cradle 25.
Furthermore, this type of structure can be widely used as a mechanism to prevent the handset from falling off when the vertically-mounted telephone body is installed in a recess (inside the handset storage box) and the handset is installed so that it does not protrude forward from the surface of the front panel.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a front edge wall 24c is provided at the lower front end of the storage case 24, but the bottom wall of the storage case 24 may be formed to be lower than the lower edge of the opening 21a in the front panel 21, so that the lower edge of the opening 21a in the front panel 21 forms a front edge wall that covers part of the lower opening of the cord storage section.

Furthermore, when the handset 26 is off-hook, the front edge wall portion (24c) can be configured to tilt forward with its lower end as a fulcrum, widening the entrance to the cord storage compartment. This eliminates the need for the trapezoidal guide member 28 with an inclined surface on the rear side. In this case, a locking mechanism can be provided to hold the front edge wall portion in a vertical position when the handset 26 is on-hook.

The emergency telephone device of the present invention is not limited to being installed on the front of a vertically long housing as in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, but may also be attached to the front panel of a housing that is shorter in height than the housing of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 or to part of a fire receiver, or may be attached as a handset to the front panel of an equipment housing box or emergency alarm equipment that is equipped with a fire transmitter and a bell and speaker, or may even be installed as a handset on the wall of a building or the like as a standalone emergency telephone unit.
Furthermore, the vertical dimension of the cord storage section in storage case 24 provided below handset 26 set in cradle 25 is set to be equal to or greater than the length of the uncurled straight portion of curled cord 27 at the end connected to handset 26 plus the curl diameter. This ensures that the straight portion and the first curl at the end of the curled cord are within the vertical dimension of the cord storage section when handset 26 is set in cradle 25, preventing the handset from being pushed up by the repulsive force of the curled cord.

10 Emergency telephone device 11 Housing 11A Openable door 12 Emergency telephone unit 21 Front panel 21a, 21b Opening 22 Telephone unit 23 Operation display unit 24 Storage case 24c Front edge wall 25 Receiving base 25A Support portion 25B Base portion 26 Handset 27 Curl cord 28 Guide member 29 Protrusion

Claims (4)

An emergency telephone device comprising: a handset; a cradle on which at least a portion of the handset is placed in a vertical position; a curled cord connecting the handset and the cradle; and a housing having a front panel and accommodating the handset, the cradle, and the curled cord, wherein the housing is provided with a handset accommodating section recessed toward the back from an opening formed in the front panel so that the handset does not protrude forward beyond the front panel when the handset is placed on the cradle in an on-hook state,
a cord storage section for storing the hanging curl cord is provided below the handset storage section in which the handset and cradle are stored, on the rear side from the front surface of the front panel and below the handset;
a front edge wall portion that covers a front side and a part of a lower side of the cord storage portion is provided at least on a lower edge portion of the opening of the front panel;
An emergency telephone device characterized in that a cord guide portion is provided on the back of the front edge wall portion within the cord storage portion, the cord guide portion being continuous with the upper end of the front edge wall portion and having an inclined surface that slopes downward from the opening side toward the back side of the cord storage portion . The housing is formed to have a horizontal bottom wall,
2. The emergency telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the opening of the front panel is rectangular, and the front edge wall portion is formed so that its upper edge is parallel to the bottom wall of the housing. The emergency telephone device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cord storage section is configured so that when the handset is placed on the cradle, the curled cord hanging down from the handset and the cradle is stored in a state where it is folded back once in the horizontal direction of the housing, and is large enough to accommodate at least the folded back portion. a height of the leading edge wall portion from a bottom surface of the cord storage portion is set to be at least equal to a diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord,
The emergency telephone device according to claim 3, characterized in that the angle of the inclined surface of the cord guide portion is set to be greater than 45 degrees, and the cord storage portion is set so that the distance between the rear wall of the housing and the height center position of the inclined surface of the cord guide portion is twice the diameter of the curled portion of the curled cord.