Portable handset with integrated speaker

• US 7,565,178 B1
• Filed: 08/16/2005
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Wireless Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Brownlie, James D., Williams, Gregory L., Sitachitt, Sidney, Shifron, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Lana N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsieh; Ping Y
• Application Number:
  US11/205,432
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 455/575.8, 455/90.3, 455/569.1, 455/575.1, 381/353, 381/334, 381/339, 381/386, 381/345, 381/361, 379/430, 379/433.1, 379/433.02
• US Class Current: 455/569.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities

Abstract

A portable wireless handset with enhanced acoustic functions is disclosed having a chamber gasket that has an opening sized to receive a speaker. When inserted into the opening, the speaker seals to the chamber gasket. The chamber gasket also seals to a support surface, so that a sealed acoustic chamber is created. The keypad has an opening in the user interface area for receiving a speaker, and a navigation input key may be positioned over the speaker. In this way, the speaker shares an area with the navigation key, and projects sounds through vents in the navigation key. With the speaker sealed to the keypad, and the keypad sealed to a printed circuit board, a sealed acoustic chamber is formed. Acoustic energy emitted from the back of the speaker is received into the sealed chamber, thereby improving the sound quality for sound projected from the front of the speaker.

Claims

1. A portable handset, comprising:

a housing having a top end, a bottom end, and a front face;

a display on the front face disposed between the top end and the bottom end;

a first earpiece speaker located on the front face between the top end of the housing and the display;

a single printed circuit board that extends the length of the portable handset from the top end to the bottom end, wherein the single printed circuit board includes a plurality of pressure sensitive areas associated with a numeric keypad;

a numeric keypad chamber gasket having a plurality of input keys and a plurality of connector posts, wherein the numeric keypad chamber gasket is disposed between the display and the bottom end, the numeric keypad chamber gasket configured to interface with the single printed circuit board and the connector posts configured to interface with the pressure sensitive areas on the single printed circuit board;

a sealed acoustic chamber that is enclosed by the numeric keypad chamber gasket, the sealed acoustic chamber comprising,

the numeric keypad chamber gasket having an opening and a sealing lip, wherein the buttons and posts cooperate with a depressed button push on the pressure sensitive area on the printed circuit board,

a navigation-speaker button received by the opening located on the front face of the housing and disposed between the bottom end of the housing and the display, the navigation-speaker button including,

at least one directional key configured to provide upward positioning, downward positioning, leftward positioning, and rightward positioning, and

a second audible speaker disposed behind the directional key, and

a sealing interface associated with the numeric keypad chamber gasket constructed to receive the sealing lip, the sealing interface arranged on the printed circuit board.

2. The speaker chamber according to claim 1, wherein the chamber gasket is constructed as a unitary membrane.

3. The speaker chamber according to claim 1, wherein the chamber gasket is constructed from a plurality of gasket pieces.

4. The speaker chamber according to claim 1, wherein the navigation-speaker button is mounted on a front side of the housing.

5. The speaker chamber according to claim 4, further including a speaker grill positioned in front of the navigation-speaker button.

6. The speaker chamber according to claim 5, wherein the speaker grill is operatively coupled to the directional key corresponding to the navigation-speaker button.

7. The speaker chamber according to claim 1, wherein the support surface is a printed circuit board.

8. A portable handset, comprising:

a housing having a top end, a bottom end, and a front face;

a radio, antenna, display, and input buttons in the housing;

a display on the front face disposed between the top end and the bottom end;

a first earpiece speaker located on the front face between the top end of the housing and the display;

a single printed circuit board that extends the length of the portable handset from the top end to the bottom end, wherein the single printed circuit board includes a plurality of pressure sensitive areas associated with a numeric keypad;

a numeric keypad chamber gasket having a plurality of input keys and a plurality of connector posts, wherein the numeric keypad chamber gasket is disposed between the display and the bottom end, the numeric keypad chamber gasket configured to interface with the single printed circuit board and the connector posts configured to interface with the pressure sensitive areas on the single printed circuit board;

a sealed acoustic chamber that is enclosed by the numeric keypad chamber gasket, the sealed acoustic chamber comprising,

the numeric keypad chamber gasket having an opening and a sealing lip, wherein the buttons and posts cooperate with a depressed button push on the pressure sensitive area on the printed circuit board,

a navigation-speaker button received by the opening located on the front face of the housing and disposed between the bottom end of the housing and the display, the navigation-speaker button including,

at least one directional key configured to provide upward positioning, downward positioning, leftward positioning, and rightward positioning, and

a second audible speaker disposed behind the directional key having a front side and a back side,

a sealing interface associated with the numeric keypad chamber gasket constructed to receive the sealing lip, the sealing interface arranged on the printed circuit board;

wherein the sealed acoustic chamber formed by the numeric keypad chamber gasket, printed circuit board, and navigation-speaker button is configured to receive acoustic energy from the back side of the second speaker to enhance the quality of sound emitted from the front side of the second speaker.

9. The portable handset according to claim 8, wherein the navigation-speaker button is mounted on a front side of the housing.

10. The portable handset according to claim 9, further including a speaker grill positioned in front of the navigation-speaker button.

11. The portable handset according to claim 10, wherein the speaker grill is operatively coupled to the directional key corresponding to the navigation-speaker button.

12. The portable handset according to claim 8, wherein the radio is a portable telephone radio.

13. The portable handset according to claim 8, wherein the radio is compliant with CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, GPRS, CDMA2000, PHI or UMTS.

14. The portable handset according to claim 8, wherein the radio is a walkie-talkie radio.

15. The speaker chamber according to claim 8, wherein the support surface is a printed circuit board.

16. A portable wireless handset, comprising:

a housing having a top end, a bottom end, a front face, and a center front face;

a radio and antenna in the housing;

a display disposed between the top end and the center front face;

a first earpiece speaker located on the front face between the top end of the housing and the display;

a single printed circuit board that extends the length of the portable handset from the top end to the bottom end, wherein the single printed circuit board includes a plurality of pressure sensitive areas associated with a numeric keypad;

a numeric keypad chamber gasket having a plurality of input keys and a plurality of connector posts, wherein the numeric keypad chamber gasket is disposed between the display and the bottom end, the numeric keypad chamber gasket configured to interface with the single printed circuit board and the connector posts configured to interface with the pressure sensitive areas on the single printed circuit board;

a sealed acoustic chamber that is enclosed by the numeric keypad chamber gasket, the sealed acoustic chamber comprising,

the numeric keypad chamber gasket having an opening and a sealing lip, wherein the buttons and posts cooperate with a depressed button push on the pressure sensitive area on the printed circuit board,

a navigation-speaker button received by the opening located at the center front face of the housing, the navigation-speaker button including at least one directional key configured to provide upward positioning, downward positioning, leftward positioning, and rightward positioning, and

a second audible front-firing speaker disposed at the center front face behind the directional key having a front side and a back side, wherein the second audible front-firing speaker is configured to be audible in an immediate area,

a sealing interface associated with the numeric keypad chamber gasket constructed to receive the sealing lip, the sealing interface arranged on the printed circuit board; and

wherein the sealed acoustic chamber formed by the numeric keypad chamber gasket, printed circuit board, and navigation-speaker button is configured to receive acoustic energy from the back side of the second speaker to enhance the quality of sound emitted from the front side of the second speaker.

17. The portable wireless handset according to claim 16, wherein the sealed chamber includes a volume under the display.

18. The portable wireless handset according to claim 16, wherein the sealed chamber includes a volume between a surface of the housing and the printed circuit board.