Communication device enclosure

Abstract

An enclosure for communication devices is described comprising a rear housing and a faceplate. Various faceplates may be provided for different communication devices. The rear housing mounts to existing phone backboards. The rear housing may remain mounted and the faceplate exchanged for a different faceplate with a different communication device. The enclosure provides a simple, ubiquitous, an inexpensive enclosure that can support various communication devices that provide a variety of communication services to users such as email, VOIP, video calls, or other advanced telecommunications.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a housing having a front side and a back side, the back side of the housing being adapted to mount to a phone backboard, the front side of the housing having a faceplate mounting point; and   a faceplate defining an enclosure that is adapted to partially enclose and support therein a communication device, the faceplate having a front side and a back side, the back side of the faceplate configured to mount to the faceplate mounting point and the front side of the faceplate configured to positionally support a front face of the communication device.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the communication device is a tablet computer. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the faceplate mounting point is configured to mount the faceplate to the housing in both a landscape orientation and a portrait orientation. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the faceplate mounting point is rotatable between the landscape orientation and the portrait orientations. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the front side of the faceplate includes a display opening sized to substantially a same size of a display area of the tablet computer such that the front side of the faceplate does not occlude the display area. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the tablet computer includes a front-facing camera, and the display opening includes a camera aperture so as to not occlude the field of view of the camera. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the front side of the faceplate includes a display opening sized substantially smaller than a size of a display area of the tablet computer such that the front side of the faceplate occludes a portion the display area. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus if  claim 7 , wherein the tablet computer presents a graphical user interface that is modified to the shape of the display opening. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a handset and hook switch mounted to a side surface of the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the faceplate mounting point includes a passage configured to allow for wires to pass between the faceplate and the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the faceplate contains two or more seats to secure the communication device within the faceplate. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the two or more seats are adjustable to accommodate a range of sizes of the communication device. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a housing having a front side and a back side, the back side of the housing being adapted to mount to a wall or a base and to receive network and power connections, the front side of the housing having a faceplate mounting point; and   a faceplate defining an enclosure that is adapted to partially enclose and support therein a communication device, the faceplate having a front side and a back side, the back side of the faceplate configured to mount to the faceplate mounting point and the front side faceplate configured to positionally support a front face of the communication device.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the network and power connections include power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connections. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising a handset and hook switch mounted to a side surface of the housing. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the housing is configured to house communication interface equipment to interface between the network and power connections and the communication device. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the faceplate mounting point includes a passage configured to allow connection between the communication interface equipment and the communication device. 
     
     
         18 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a housing including a front side and a back side adapted to mount to a wall or a base; and   a faceplate defining an enclosure that is adapted to partially enclose and support therein a communication device, the faceplate including:
 a front side configured to positionally support a front face of the communication device, the front side of the faceplate having a display view area sized to a size of a display area of the communication device; and 
 a back side configured to mount to the front side of the housing. 
   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the front side of the faceplate further includes a camera view area configured to allow a field of view of a camera of the communication device. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the display view area is configured for touch access to a screen of the communication device.