Interchangeable telephone handset cord plug and cord reel

Claim 1

A telephone set adapted to interchangeably receive a station cord reel plug or a station cord plug with equivalent weighting effect, comprising a telephone base comprising an upper and a lower shell, said lower shell comprising a bottom surface, end portions, and an interior volume; a single substantially closed exterior cavity extending inwardly of, and accessible from, said base bottom surface, said cavity defined by a floor and interior walls separating same from the base interior volume; said cavity being located at one end of said base and having a width only slightly less than the adjacent base bottom surface; said floor tapering upwardly and terminating in an entrance through a one of said end portions, said interior walls tapering inwardly toward said entrance; an electrical connector element having substantially the same shape as said cavity and disposed therein in a clearance fit, said element being of a height which, when fully installed in said cavity, brings the bottom surface of said element into substantially coplanar relation with said base bottom surface, and means for releasably confining said element within said cavity.