Telephone set having a microphone for receiving or an earpiece for generating an acoustic signal via a keypad
First Claim
1. A telephone set comprising:
- a first housing;
a second housing;
an attachment mechanism coupled to the first housing and the second housing and adapted to permit the first housing to be moveable relative to the second housing between a first position and a second position;
a microphone carried by the first housing and adapted to convert an acoustic input signal into an electric input signal;
an earpiece carried by the second housing and adapted to convert an electric output signal into an acoustic output signal;
a display carried by the second housing; and
a keypad carried by the second housing,wherein the keypad is disposed between the display and the microphone when the first housing is moved relative to the second housing to the second position,wherein the keypad has an inside surface disposed essentially opposite to an outside surface, the inside surface and the outside surface facing towards and away from, respectively, the second housing,wherein at least one of the outside surface of the keypad and the second housing is shaped to form a concave ear cup,wherein the keypad has a plurality of pushbutton keys arranged in a predetermined pattern, an outside edge of each of the plurality of pushbutton keys that is located near an outside edge of the predetermined pattern representing a perimeter of the keypad,wherein the keypad has an aperture extending through the keypad between the inside surface and the outside surface of the keypad, the aperture being disposed within the perimeter of the keypad and the aperture being disposed between the plurality of pushbutton keys, andwherein the earpiece faces the inside surface of the keypad and is disposed essentially opposite to the aperture of the keypad to permit the acoustic output signal generated by the earpiece to be ported through the aperture of the keypad.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A telephone set (10) comprises a first housing (12), a second housing (14), a rotate (54) or a slide (34) mechanism, a microphone (16), an earpiece (18) and a keypad (20). The rotate (54) or the slide (34) mechanism couples the first housing (12) to the second housing (14) and permits the first housing (12) to be moveable relative to the second housing (14) between a first, closed or contracted, position (22) and a second, open or expanded, position (24). The microphone (16) is carried by the first housing (12) and is adapted to convert an acoustic input signal (26) into an electric input signal (28). The earpiece (18) is carried by the second housing (14) and is adapted to convert an electric output signal (30) into an acoustic output signal. The keypad (20) is carried by one of the first housing (12) and the second housing (14) and has an aperture (32) extending therethrough. In a first embodiment, the earpiece (18) is disposed behind the keypad (20) essentially opposite to the aperture (32) of the keypad (20) when the keypad (20) is carried by the second housing (14) to permit the acoustic output signal generated by the earpiece (18) to be ported through the aperture (32) of the keypad (20). In a second embodiment, the microphone (16) is disposed behind the keypad (20) essentially opposite to the aperture (32) of the keypad (20) when the keypad (20) is carried by the first housing (12) to permit the acoustic input signal (26) to be ported through the aperture (32) of the keypad (20) to be received by the microphone (16). The present invention advantageously permits the telephone set (10) to be made shorter by integrating the microphone (16) or the earpiece (18) with the keypad (20).
108 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A telephone set comprising:
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a first housing; a second housing; an attachment mechanism coupled to the first housing and the second housing and adapted to permit the first housing to be moveable relative to the second housing between a first position and a second position; a microphone carried by the first housing and adapted to convert an acoustic input signal into an electric input signal; an earpiece carried by the second housing and adapted to convert an electric output signal into an acoustic output signal; a display carried by the second housing; and a keypad carried by the second housing, wherein the keypad is disposed between the display and the microphone when the first housing is moved relative to the second housing to the second position, wherein the keypad has an inside surface disposed essentially opposite to an outside surface, the inside surface and the outside surface facing towards and away from, respectively, the second housing, wherein at least one of the outside surface of the keypad and the second housing is shaped to form a concave ear cup, wherein the keypad has a plurality of pushbutton keys arranged in a predetermined pattern, an outside edge of each of the plurality of pushbutton keys that is located near an outside edge of the predetermined pattern representing a perimeter of the keypad, wherein the keypad has an aperture extending through the keypad between the inside surface and the outside surface of the keypad, the aperture being disposed within the perimeter of the keypad and the aperture being disposed between the plurality of pushbutton keys, and wherein the earpiece faces the inside surface of the keypad and is disposed essentially opposite to the aperture of the keypad to permit the acoustic output signal generated by the earpiece to be ported through the aperture of the keypad. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A telephone set comprising:
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a first housing forming an elongated rod having a proximal end and a distal end; a second housing; a telescoping mechanism coupled to the elongated rod and the second housing and adapted to permit the elongated rod to slide in and out of the second housing between a contracted position and an expanded position; a microphone carried by the distal end of the elongated rod and adapted to convert an acoustic input signal into an electric input signal; an earpiece carried by the second housing and adapted to convert an electric output signal into an acoustic output signal; a display carried by the second housing; and a keypad carried by the second housing, wherein the keypad is disposed between the display and the microphone when the elongated rod is moved relative to the second housing to the expanded position, wherein the keypad has an inside surface disposed essentially opposite to an outside surface, the inside surface and the outside surface facing towards and away from, respectively, the second housing, wherein at least one of the outside surface of the keypad and the second housing are shaped to form a concave ear cup, wherein the keypad has a plurality of pushbutton keys arranged in a predetermined pattern, an outside edge of each of the plurality of pushbutton keys that is located near an outside edge of the predetermined pattern representing a perimeter of the keypad, wherein the keypad has an aperture extending through the keypad between the inside surface and the outside surface of the keypad, the aperture being disposed within the perimeter of the keypad and the aperture being disposed between the plurality of pushbutton keys, wherein the telephone set is adapted to prevent accidental activation of the plurality of pushbutton keys when the outside surface of the keypad is placed against a person'"'"'s ear or a person'"'"'s head, and wherein the earpiece faces the inside surface of the keypad and is disposed essentially opposite to the aperture of the keypad to permit the acoustic output signal generated by the earpiece to be ported through the aperture of the keypad. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A telephone set comprising:
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a first housing; a second housing; an attachment mechanism coupled to the first housing and the second housing and adapted to permit the first housing to be moveable relative to the second housing between a first position and a second position; a microphone carried by the first housing and adapted to convert an acoustic input signal into an electric input signal; an earpiece carried by the second housing and adapted to convert an electric output signal into an acoustic output signal; a display carried by the first housing; and a keypad carried by the first housing, wherein the display is disposed between the keypad and the earpiece when the first housing is moved relative to the second housing to the second position, wherein the keypad has an inside surface disposed essentially opposite to an outside surface, the inside surface and the outside surface facing towards and away from, respectively, the first housing, wherein the keypad has a plurality of pushbutton keys arranged in a predetermined pattern, an outside edge of each of the plurality of pushbutton keys that is located near an outside edge of the predetermined pattern representing a perimeter of the keypad, wherein the keypad has an aperture extending through the keypad between the inside surface and the outside surface of the keypad, the aperture being disposed within the perimeter of the keypad and the aperture being disposed between the plurality of pushbutton keys, and wherein the microphone faces the inside surface of the keypad and is disposed essentially opposite to the aperture of the keypad to permit the acoustic input signal to be ported through the aperture of the keypad to be received by the microphone. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification