Telephone bracket for holding advertising and writing instrument

In a bracket for use in conjunction with a telephone and designed for holding a series of advertising cards and a writing instrument, a base member of the bracket has integrally extending from it a curved portion that likewise connects with a retainer, with these various components useful for clamping onto the underside of the cradle of a telephone receiver; extending upwardly from the base member is a panel that has a pair of arms projecting further upwardly from each of its sides, and an aperture provided through the upper end of each arm is designed for supporting the aforesaid advertising cards, with a slot being located through each arm downwardly thereof, and designed for accommodating the support of a writing instrument, such as a pencil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to a support, but more particularly 
pertains to a bracket useful for mounting to either the telephone, or a 
proximate wall, and functioning to support advertising cards and a writing 
instrument for the convenience of the telephone user. 
Various types of directories have been formulated in the prior art, and 
which clamp in some manner to a telephone for the purpose of displaying 
either personal or emergency numbers at a location most convenient to the 
telephone user. For example, one such attachment, useful for supporting a 
calendar with respect to a telephone, is shown in the United States patent 
to Halperin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,336, while another type of calendar 
attachment that clamps into the cavity formed beneath the receiver cradle 
of a desk or table supported telephone is shown in the United States 
patent to Falk, U.S. Pat. No. 2,795,877. Likewise, a form of telephone 
index that is accompanied with an integral well for supporting index cards 
is also clamped into the cradle cavity of a telephone, and is shown in the 
United States patent to Shore, U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,516. Earlier types of 
telephone indexes or directories, and of the type that are clamp mounted 
to the older style of upright telephone, are shown in the United States 
patent to French, U.S. Pat. No. 974,957, and the United States patent to 
Rand, U.S. Pat. No. 1,466,059. All of these various types of attachments 
for telephones have their own particular utility for easing the use of the 
telephone, but some of these devices are rather complicated in structure 
and formed of many more components than are required in the formation of 
the current invention, but yet with the telephone bracket of the present 
invention being designed for conveniently displaying and disposing all of 
the usual indices, and other instruments normally sought for use by the 
telephone user, particularly during the instance of an emergency. 
It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide a 
convenient and compact single molded bracket that easily clamps onto the 
telephone, or onto the wall just proximate a wall mounted telephone, and 
therein dispose what emergency or other numbers may be required by the 
householder. 
A further object of this invention is to provide a bracket for use in 
conjunction with the telephone and which conveniently supports within its 
same supporting structure any writing instrument as is frequently required 
by a telephone user. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a compact bracket for use in 
conjunction with the telephone and which may be molded as a unified 
structure from the usual injection moldable polymers. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a bracket that is easy to 
fabricate, small and reasonably compact in size, thereby facilitating the 
mass marketing of the same. 
These and other objects will become more apparent to those skilled in the 
art upon reviewing the summary of this invention, and upon undertaking a 
study of its preferred embodiment in view of its drawing. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention comprises a bracket that finds utility when used in 
association with a telephone, either of the type that is provided for 
resting upon a desk or table, or the wall mounted type of phone. The 
bracket has utility in providing for the convenient and readily 
manipulated rotatably supported index cards that may display information, 
as for example in the category of advertisements, or various telephone 
numbers, such as particularly emergency numbers. In addition, the bracket 
is designed for supporting a pencil or other writing instrument at a very 
convenient location readily accessible to the telephone user, and thereby 
eliminating the age old chore of having to disrupt a telephone converation 
while the user seeks out a pencil for jotting down information relevant to 
the phone conversation. 
The bracket includes, structurally, a base member that is formed having an 
integral arcuate portion extending forwardly thereof, and which portion 
generally undertakes the appearance of a figure S, or a serpentine 
configuration, as when viewed laterally, with the upper segment of the 
arcuate portion having a further extension in the form of a retainer that 
extends downwardly at an angle with respect to the previously defined base 
member. Thus, when these components are configured in this manner, and 
being formed of resilient plastic, they conveniently clamp onto that 
surface arranged intermediate the cradle for the telephone receiver and 
the cavity that is formed just therebelow that extends into the rear wall 
of the usual desk model telephone. As an alternative, and as previously 
analyzed, with respect to the use of this bracket in conjunction with the 
wall mounted phone, the base member may include a double faced adhesive 
tape that is pressure sensitive and which can be urged for adhering 
against the wall proximate the telephone for the purpose of supporting the 
bracket at a very contiguous and convenient location. 
The opposite edge of the base member has integrally connected thereto a 
panel that extends upwardly at an angle with respect to the base, and 
which panel includes a pair of arms, one of each arm extending upwardly 
from the side edges of the said panel. Proximate the upper end of each arm 
there is located an aperture, with the aperture through each arm being 
aligned horizontally, and being designed for removably accommodating 
therein, in rotatable fashion, a series of information cards that may have 
imprinted thereon either the aforesaid type of advertising, or the 
telephone numbers as designated by the phone customer. Provided downwardly 
from the aforesaid arm apertures is a slot formed through each of the said 
arms, with these slots being aligned horizontally and being of a size to 
accommodate the insertion of a writing instrument, such as a pencil, 
therethrough, providing for its snug retention, as when not in use. These 
slots may be either formed as wholly closed apertures, or they may open 
towards the front or panel side of the bracket so as to facilitate a 
quicker removal or insertion of the pencil from the same.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
In referring to the drawing, and in particular FIG. 1, there is disclosed 
the telephone bracket 1 of this invention, comprising a base member 2 that 
is integrally formed having a curved portion 3 at its frontal end, and 
which curved portion is rather serpentine in appearance, as when viewed 
from the side, having an extension projecting from its forward end to form 
a retainer 4. The spacing, as at 5, formed intermediate the curved portion 
3 and the retainer 4 is designed for clamping onto the telephone, as 
previously analyzed, and particularly one of the desk or table top models. 
Integrally formed extending upwardly from the back end of the base member 2 
is a panel 6, and this panel is provided having some heighth so as to 
reinforce the bracket at this location. Connecting with each side of the 
panel 6 are the arms 7 and 8, said arms being spaced apart for a distance 
to provide for accommodating therebetween information cards, as disclosed 
in hidden line at 9, and of the type that may be used for displaying 
advertisements, or even telephone numbers, as previously summarized. An 
aperture, as at 10, is provided through the upper end of each of the arms 
7 and 8, and these apertures are designed for accommodating the mounting 
extensions of the aforesaid cards 9. These cards, as supported in this 
fashion, are rotatable with respect to the bracket, and can be easily 
manipulated by the telephone user when he desires immediate information, 
particularly with respect to a number he desires to call. Provided 
downwardly through each of the arms 7 and 8 are the slots 11, with the 
slots in the preferred embodiment comprising apertures that are 
horizontally aligned and having sufficient dimensions so that a pencil or 
other writing instrument may be slid through the same for retention. And, 
the writing instrument may be easily slid laterally of the bracket to be 
freed when its use is required. As an alternative, the slots 11a may be 
opened to the front and slightly upwardly with respect to the arms and the 
panel 6 of the bracket, so that the writing instrument may be cradled 
within these opened slots to facilitate its support or removal as 
required. 
As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, connecting to the underside of the base 
member 2 is an adhesive connecting means 12, which may comprise a double 
faced pressure sensitive tape that can be conveniently secured to the 
underside of the base member, as shown, and then have its opposite and 
exposed adhesive surface readily adhered by means of the application of 
pressure on the bracket against the wall preferably within close proximity 
of the wall mounted style of telephone. This provides an alternate method 
for securement of this bracket either contiguously upon or adjacent to the 
various styles of the telephone. 
This bracket preferably is formed of a unitary structure, and such is more 
easily acquired by the injection molding process for forming a polymer or 
plastic component. And, it may be desirable to provide a clear or 
transparent type of plastic bracket, or even one that is colored to match 
the color of the telephone housing, and as such an acrylic polymer may be 
used in the formation of the first type of enumerated bracket. 
Variations or modifications to the bracket of this invention may occur to 
those skilled in the art upon reviewing the subject matter of this 
invention. Such variations, if within the spirit and scope of this 
invention, and encompassed by the claims appended hereto, are intended to 
be protected by any United States patent issuing upon this invention. The 
description of the preferred embodiment herein is set forth for 
illustrative purposes only.