FR2739240A1 - RADIOTELEPHONIC COMBINATION HAVING REMOVABLE LOCKING FRONT PLATE FOR REALIZING A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT TELEPHONE ASPECTS - Google Patents

Abstract

A radiotelephone handset (100) is adapted to cover a plurality of characteristic telephone aspects. The radiotelephone handset (100) has a faceplate (104) having an exterior surface (166) having a characteristic user interface appearance and an interior surface (168). The faceplate (104) has a locking key (208) extending from the inner surface (168). The radiotelephone handset (100) further includes a housing (102) adapted to receive the faceplate (104) such as a faceplate of the plurality of faceplates to provide the characteristic user interface appearance. The housing (102) has a front face (130) having an opening (157) adapted to receive the locking key (208). The housing further includes a lock holding member (224) adapted to engage the lock key (208) to release.

Description

Priority: SN 08/533 977 of 26.09.1995 MOTOROLA, Inc. Title Combined

  radiotelephone having a front plate of

  removable lock for coating a plurality of different phone aspects.

  Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to portable radio telephones, and more particularly to a portable radiotelephone handset having a removable locking front plate for coating

  a plurality of different phone aspects.

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Mobile phones are generally well known in the art. Mobile phones include radiotelephones, such as cellular radios, cordless radios and personal communicators. Mobile phones traditionally communicate with a remote base station to provide wireless communication to a user. Mobile phones have become a common wireless communication medium in the cellular and cordless radio market and are rapidly finding applications in other types of communication systems such as mobile phones.

  personal communication systems (PCS).

  Because of this generalization, differentiating the appearance of individual mobile phones has become an important element for customers, manufacturers and distributors of mobile phones. Customers want a unique look that satisfies their personal tastes and preferences. Manufacturers want a unique look to offer a variety of phone features to their customers and to offer a unique look for the manufacturer's product itself. Distributors and retailers want a unique look to 1) differentiate and differentiate their products on the market and promote their brand. The wishes of manufacturers, sellers and users to have a single-aspect phone are finally communicated to the manufacturer so that the particular phone to

  unique aspect can be developed.

  A mobile phone is traditionally made by assembling radio circuits, including transceiver circuits and user interface circuits, within a housing. The user interface circuits include a display, a keypad, an earpiece, and a microphone. The housing generally includes a back box, having a standard molded shape, which mates with a front housing having a different standard molded shape. The front case is designed to give a particular appearance through its outline, texture and color. In general, the elements of the user interface are mounted inside the front housing and electrically connected to the transceiver circuits mounted at the rear of the housing. The display and the keypad may also each have a particular appearance. A particular front case, a particular display and a particular keypad are chosen by the manufacturer to give the

  portable radiotelephone a particular general appearance.

  The disadvantage of traditionally producing the particular unique aspects of radiotelephones is that the unique appearance of a portable radiotelephone must be known by the manufacturer prior to the manufacture of the portable radiotelephone. At selected locations of a production line, displays, keypad and front box, etc. particular are assembled properly to give the particular appearance of the

cellphone.

  While this manufacturing technique was acceptable in the past when relatively few particular phone aspects were needed, the great growth of the telecommunications industry has created a demand for a very large number of unique mobile phone aspects. . Today, a conventional manufacturer can be asked to offer hundreds of mobile phone models, each with a unique appearance. The management of such a demand has created the need to find a new way to manufacture mobile phones in order to be able to develop a wide variety of unique phone aspects that meet market demand without

overload the workflow.

  In addition, traditionally developed mobile phones do not allow the mobile phone user to change the appearance of the mobile phone once it has been manufactured or purchased. After-sales service companies have tried to meet customer needs for unique looks by providing accessories such as mobile phone cases. However, these cases are impractical, add weight and have a

  limited effect on the appearance of the mobile phone.

  A known mobile phone configuration attempts to provide an easily interchangeable faceplate. This configuration allows the user to change the appearance of his mobile phone after its manufacture or acquisition. The mobile phone has a detachable removable front plate and a housing. The adaptable interlocking front face has a flange and tabs that fit into slots in the housing. The manufacturer or user may change the appearance of his mobile phone by disengaging the adaptable faceplate by nesting the case and replacing it with another interlocking faceplate of a size appropriate for

can fit in the case.

  The success of this type of mobile phones having an interlocking faceplate has been limited by the unsafe nature of the attachment of the

  front plate adaptable by engagement with the housing.

  The interlocking faceplate can be discarded when the mobile phone is subjected to

  vibrations, for example when it is dropped.

  Furthermore, the attempts to make the fixing of the adaptable end face more firmly by interlocking by reinforcing the connection with the adaptable end face by interlocking go against the initial goal, namely a frontal face easily

O interchangeable.

  Other known methods for attaching a faceplate to a mobile phone housing include the use of one or more screws as well as more durable methods such as the use of adhesive. None of these known methods has allowed the user to easily and successfully change the appearance of the mobile phone after its manufacture or

its acquisition.

  Therefore, there is a need for a mobile phone designed to cover a plurality of particular telephone aspects that overcomes the inconvenience of

  traditionally developed mobile phones.

Brief description of the drawings

  The features of the present invention, which are considered novel, are described

  in detail in the appended claims.

  The invention, as well as other objects and advantages thereof, can be better understood by reference

  the following description taken in conjunction with the

  attached drawings, in which like reference numerals identify identical elements, and in which: Figure 1 is a first elevational view of a radiotelephone handset according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a first exploded view of the

  radiotelephone handset of Figure 1.

  FIG. 3 is a second exploded view of

  radiotelephone handset of Figure 1.

  Figure 4 is a first detailed view of part of the radiotelephone handset of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a second detailed view of part of the radiotelephone handset of Figure 1; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 'of Fig. 4; and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view

  taken along line 7-7 'of Figure 5.

  Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

  Figure 1 shows a front elevational view of a radiotelephone handset 100 according to the present invention. The radiotelephone handset 100 generally includes a housing 102, a faceplate 104, and a keypad 106 having a plurality of keys 108. In the embodiment of the present invention, the radiotelephone handset 100 is a cellular radiotelephone handset operating in

  [<a cellular network serving large areas.

  Alternatively, the radiotelephone handset may be a cordless telephone handset, a personal communicator or any other two-way communication device. The radiotelephone handset 100 is portable in that the user holds it by hand and in that it can be used almost everywhere in its corresponding communication system. The handset 100 comprises an antenna base 103 designed to receive an antenna 2) allowing the establishment of a radiocommunication

in the cellular network.

  The radiotelephone handset 100 has a user interface 110 allowing the user to

  operate the radiotelephone handset 100.

  The user interface 110 of the radiotelephone handset 100 generally includes an earphone interface 112, a display interface 114, a keypad interface 116 having the keypad 106, a microphone interface 118 and a warning interface 120. The user interface 110 operates in a conventional manner so that the user has access to wireless communications. According to the present invention, the radiotelephone handset 100 is designed to cover a plurality of particular telephone aspects. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, this is done by the faceplate 104 having a different user interface appearance. The different user interface appearance is evidenced by the characteristic, or unique appearance, that the faceplate gives to the earphone interface 112, the display interface 114, the keypad interface. 116 and the microphone interface 118. In the preferred embodiment, a characteristic appearance is obtained by choosing the outline, shape, size, texture, material and color of the faceplate. Other means of distinguishing the faceplate appearance can easily be considered by those skilled in industrial design, mechanical engineering or materials engineering. Since the user of the radiotelephone handset 100 generally judges the appearance of the handset 100 on the basis of the user interface 110, the modification or replacement of the faceplate 104 represents a suitable means for substantially changing the appearance of the radiotelephone handset. 100

  with minimal cost and effort.

  The housing 102 has a body aspect. In the embodiment of the present invention, the body aspect is a traditionally molded case having a standard appearance. The standard appearance of the housing 102 can not be easily changed, except by modifying its surface appearance characteristics such as texture, color and the like. This is because the mechanical design of the radiotelephone handset 100 has been carefully carried out in order to optimize the radiotelephone handset 100 in terms of space, weight, design, etc. including ergonomic factors such as the size and position of the elements of the user interface 110 and the shape and contour of the handset 100. Modifying the appearance of the housing 102 to any significant degree would require a significant effort from the designers

  and manufacturers of the radiotelephone handset 100.

  The housing 102 is adapted to receive the end face 104 such as one of a plurality of end faces to provide the characteristic appearance of the radiotelephone handset user interface, which gives the phone a characteristic appearance. The advantage is that the handset 100 can change appearance easily by attaching different end faces such as the faceplate 104. Therefore, any faceplate of the plurality of end faces such as the faceplate 104 can be received. easily by the housing 102 to give the handset 100 a characteristic appearance. Other advantages and features of the present invention will be described in more detail

  below with reference to Figures 2 to 7.

  Figure 2 is a first exploded view of the radiotelephone handset 100 of Figure 1. The radiotelephone handset 100 of Figure 2 generally illustrates the housing 102, a keypad 106, and a faceplate 104. In a typical embodiment, the housing 102 contains control circuits (not shown) providing operational capabilities of a mobile phone such as a radiotelephone. The housing 102 has a plurality of 124 holes for receiving the keypad, display 126 and a hole for receiving the earphone 128. The plurality 124 of holes for receiving the keypad is part of the keypad interface. 116 and allows the establishment of an electrical and mechanical contact between the individual keys 108 of the keypad 106 and the control circuits contained in the housing 102. 126 has a particular appearance and is part of the display interface 114 and allows the display of and protects a display (not shown) controlled by the control circuits contained in the housing 102. In the preferred embodiment, the display screen 126 is attached to the housing 102. In other modes In one embodiment, the display screen 126 is removable and may be replaced by another display screen having a different particular appearance. The hole intended to receive the earphone 128 is part of the earphone interface 112 and allows an acoustic coupling between the user's ear and a speaker contained in the

housing 102.

  The housing 102 has a front face 130 and a rear face 132. The front face 130 preferably has a recessed portion 134 defined by a perimeter 136. The front face 130 further comprises one or more notches 138. Preferably, the notch or the notches 138 includes a notch 140, a notch 142, a notch 144, a notch 146, a notch 148, and a notch 150. Also preferably, the notch or notches 138 include (s) other notches not visible in Figure 2 which are placed symmetrically with respect to the notches 140,

  142, 144 and 146 on the front face 130 of the housing 102.

  The housing 102 has a first end 152 and a second end 154. At the first end 152, the housing 102 preferably has a notch 156. According to the present invention, the housing 102

  has an opening 157 at the first end 152.

  As will be described in conjunction with FIG. 3, the opening 157 is adapted to receive a locking key located on the faceplate

  104 to attach the front plate 104 to the housing 102.

  The keypad 106 has a plurality of

  keys 108 having a characteristic key appearance.

  In the preferred embodiment, the keypad 1 <106 is attached to the housing 102 as part of the manufacturing process. However, in other embodiments, the keypad can be removed from the housing, allowing replacement by another keypad having a touch appearance.

different characteristic.

  The front plate 104 preferably has a plurality of holes 158 for receiving the keys, an opening for receiving the screen 160 and a recess for receiving the earpiece 162. The plurality of holes 158 for receiving the keys allows a touch access to the keys 108 of the numeric keypad 106

  for the user of the radiotelephone handset 100.

  Each of the holes for receiving the keys of the plurality of holes 158 for receiving the keys is made to be able to receive one of the keys 108 of the keypad 106. Similarly, the opening for receiving the screen 160 is done so as to

  receiving the display screen 126 attached to the housing 102.

  In this way, the aperture for receiving the screen 160 allows easy viewing of the display screen 126. The recess for receiving the earphone 162 has a plurality of holes 164 for receiving the earpiece. The holes for receiving the earphone allow acoustic coupling between the hole for receiving the earphone 128 of the housing 102 and the ear of the user. The recess for receiving the earphone 162 is preferably ergonomic

  to maximize acoustic coupling.

  The faceplate 104 has an outer surface 166, an inner surface 168 and a perimeter 170. The faceplate 104, which extends from the inner surface 168 along the perimeter, has one or more tabs 172 having the tabs 174, 176, 178, 180 and 182. Also preferably, the one or more tabs 172 comprise tabs not visible in Figure 2, placed symmetrically with respect to the tabs 174, 176, 178 on the inner surface 168 of the front plate 104. The faceplate 104 has a first end 184 and a second end 186. A tab 188 extends from the inner surface 168 of the faceplate 104 at the first end 184. The faceplate 104 preferably has a notch

rounded 190.

  The faceplate 104 may be removably attached to the housing 102 by inserting the one or more lugs 172 into corresponding notches in the one or more notches 138 in an interlocking fit connection. Similarly, the tongue 188 of the front plate 104 can be inserted into the notch 156 at the first end of the housing 102. By engagement of the tab or tabs 172 extending from the front plate 104 with the notch 138 or not 102, the front plate 104 is held snug against the front face 130 of the housing 102. The perimeter 170 of the front plate 104 is configured to conform with the perimeter 136 of the recessed portion 134 of the front face 130 of the In this way, the housing 102 receives the faceplate as one of a plurality of faceplates to provide a characteristic user interface appearance for the radiotelephone handset, giving the radiotelephone handset a characteristic telephone appearance. among a plurality of aspects of

phone features.

  Fig. 3 shows a second exploded view of the radiotelephone handset 100 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 further illustrates the housing 102, the front plate 104 and the keypad 106. In Fig. 3, the tab or tabs 172 can be seen. placed along the inner surface 168 of the front plate 104. As shown in Figure 2, the tab or tabs 172 include tabs 174, 176, 178, 180 and 182. In Figure 3, the tab or legs 172 also include

tabs 202, 204 and 206.

  As further illustrated in FIG. 3, the faceplate 104 has a locking key 208 extending from the interior surface 168. In the preferred embodiment, the faceplate 104 has a lug 210 located on the surface. 168 at the first end 184. Preferably, the lug 210 is a molded portion of the faceplate 104. The lug 210 has an opening adapted to receive the lock key 208 and retain the lock key 208 in a fixed manner. by friction, membership or some other means. Alternatively, the locking key 208 may be integrally formed with the faceplate 104, either by injection molding or by any other means.

another suitable method.

  The housing 102 has a receiving part of the battery 212, a channel 214 and a receptacle 216. The radiotelephone handset 100 generally comprises control circuits contained in the housing 102 which are actuated in response to an electric current supplied by a battery. (not shown) The housing 102 is adapted to receive the battery so that it is attached to the rear face 132 at the receiving portion of the battery 212. To attach the battery to the rear face 132, the receiving portion of the battery 212 comprises slides 218 and 220. The housing has contact openings 222 which allow the establishment of an electrical contact between the battery and the control circuits contained in the housing. The receptacle 216 is adapted to receive a plug (not shown) which provides electrical contact with the handset control circuits 100, for example to recharge the battery or to provide power drawn from a battery.

AC adapter.

  The rear face 132 of the housing 102 further includes a channel 214 at the first end 152. A locking holding member 224 is recessed in the channel 214. As will be further described together with Figures 4 to 7, the locking holding member 224 is adapted to engage the locking key 208 so that it can be disengaged to fixedly retain the faceplate

  104 as a unitary assembly with the housing 102.

  FIG. 4 shows a first detailed view of part of the radiotelephone handset 100 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 4, the channel 214 is formed in the rear face 132 of the housing 102. The locking holding member 224 is hollowed out in the channel 214. The locking retention element is preferably made from metal or another

  suitable rigid and solid material.

  The latch holding member 224 preferably has a substantially flat arm 226 having a first opening 228 and a second opening 230 and a straight portion 229 having a third opening 231. When the housing 102 receives the faceplate 104, the key locking 208 extends through the opening 157 (not shown) in the front face 130 of the housing 102. The size of the first opening 228 of the locking holding member 224 is designed to receive a portion of the key of the locking 208 when the locking key extends through the opening 157. The second opening 230 is contiguous with the first opening 228 and its size is designed to retain the part of the

lock key 208.

  Figure 5 is a second detailed view of a

  part of the radiotelephone handset of Figure 1.

  According to the present invention, the locking holding member is movable between a release position shown in Fig. 4 and a locking position shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 5, the lock holding member 224 has been moved in relation to the position shown in FIG. 4 to engage and hold the lock key 208 in a fixed position. In the release position, the first opening 228 is aligned with the opening 157 of the housing 102 (FIG. 2). to receive the locking key inserted in the opening 157. In the locking position, the second opening 230 is aligned with the opening 157. The third opening 231 is designed to receive the tip of a pencil, a pen or of another instrument to facilitate the sliding of the locking holding member 224 between the

  lock position and release position.

  As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the channel 214 includes one or more retaining elements, such as the retaining element 232. The retaining element 232 retains the locking retaining element 224 in the channel 214 while allowing the sliding movement between the release position for releasing the locking key 208 (Figure 4) and the locking position for locking the locking key 208 (Figure 5). The locking key 208 and the locking holding member 224 form a locking member 209. Those skilled in the art will understand that the locking member 209 can be made using different elements which are still used to

  secure the front plate 104 to the housing 102.

  Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 'of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7' of Fig. 5. It can be seen in Figures 6 and 7 that the locking key 208 has a head 234 having a seat portion 235 and a flange 236. The flange has a diameter

  flange and the head has a head diameter.

  The diameter of the head is greater than the diameter of the collar so that when the locking holding member 224 is in the locked position (FIGS. 5 and 7), the collar 236 is engaged in the second opening 230 so as to hold the lock key 208 in the element

maintaining the lock 224.

  Preferably, the substantially flat arm 226 of the latch holding member 224 has a curved portion 238. The curved portion 238 is preferably slightly flexible, and this can be achieved if the latch holding member 224 is

  made of a flexible material, such as a thin metal.

  When the latch holding member 224 is moved to the locking position (Fig. 7), the curved portion 238 engages the seat portion 235 of the head 234 of the latch key 208. In this way, the curved portion 238 forms an oblique member for establishing an oblique force between the locking key 208 and the housing 102 when the locking holding member 224 is in the locking position. The oblique force serves to snugly retain the lock key 208 and to prevent the lock holding member 224 from inadvertently sliding from the locked position to the

release position (Figure 6).

  When the latch holding member 224 is in the locked position, the front plate 104 remains attached to the housing 102, even if the handset 100 falls or is subjected to vibration for some other reason. The locking member 209 formed by the locking key 208 and the locking holding member 224 functions to further retain the front plate 104 on the housing 102, adding the mechanical connection provided by one or

  several tabs 172 and one or more notches 138.

  Unlike the locking element of the apparatus provided by the retaining member including tabs and notches, the unlocking member 209 is a locking member configurable in that it can be moved between a locking configuration release and a blocking configuration. In the release configuration, the faceplate 104 can be easily removed and replaced. In the blocking configuration, the front plate 104 is

attached to the housing 102.

  Since the faceplate 104 and the keypad 106 can be attached to the housing 102 at different times throughout the distribution chain, it is conceivable to sell the faceplate 104 alone or in combination with the keypad.

  106 as a user interface kit.

  1) The user could obtain such a kit from a point of sale, a retailer or by correspondence, which allows the user to initially give a characteristic appearance to his device or to change the front plate and choose another

  characteristic aspect later.

  From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention provides a radiotelephone handset designed to cover a plurality of characteristic telephone aspects. The handset has a housing adapted to receive a faceplate such as one of the plurality of faceplates to provide the handset with a characteristic user interface appearance. The faceplate has a latch key extending from an interior surface to be engaged by a latch holding member located on the radiotelephone housing. The locking holding member allows the face plate to be snugly retained against the housing or to be released and interchanged with another faceplate. A kit with the faceplate and a numeric keypad for a radiotelephone can be combined

  separately and sold to give the handset another aspect of user interface.

  Although a particular embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, modifications can be made. For example, the locking member may be developed using different components, or the locking key may extend from the housing to be engaged by the faceplate, rather than extending from the faceplate to engage. by the housing, or the locking key may extend from the perimeter of the housing rather than from an interior surface. In addition, the legs and

  the notches may be replaced by other means to engage the faceplate with the housing or may be completely eliminated. Therefore, the attached claims are intended to cover all these changes and all

  these modifications which respect the true spirit and the true scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

  A radiotelephone handset (100) having a faceplate (104) having a characteristic user interface appearance and a casing (102) having a standard appearance, the housing (102) being adapted to receive the faceplate (104) such that a faceplate of the plurality of faceplates, the radiotelephone handset (100) being characterized by: a configurable locking element (209) for securing it so that it can be   released the front plate (104) to the housing (102).   The radio telephone handset (100) according to claim 1, further characterized in that the configurable locking element (209) is movable between a release configuration for replacing the front plate (104) and a blocking configuration. to fix the plate front (104) to the housing (102).   The radio telephone handset (100) of claim 2, further characterized in that the configurable locking element (209) comprises a locking key (208) extending from the front plate (104) and an element locking retainer (224) disposed within the housing (102), the locking holding member (224) engaging the locking key (208) when the housing (102) receives the faceplate (104).   The radio telephone handset (100) of claim 3, further characterized in that the locking key (208) has a flange (236) and a head (234), the flange (236) having a flange diameter and the flange head (234) having a head diameter, the diameter of the head being greater than the diameter of the flange, the locking holding member (224) comprising a substantially flat arm (226) having a first opening (228) for receiving the head (234) when the locking key (208) is in the release position and a second opening (230) contiguous to the first opening (228) for receiving the flange (236) when the holding member   I0 lock (224) is in the locked position.   The radio telephone handset (100) according to claim 4, wherein the lock holding member (224) further comprises an oblique member (228) for exerting an oblique force between the lock key (208) and the housing (102) when the locking holding member (224) is found in blocking position.   The radio telephone handset of claim 5, further characterized in that the head (234) has a seat portion (235) surrounding the flange (236) and the flat arm (226) comprises a curved portion (238) forming the oblique member, the curved portion (238) surrounding the second opening (230) for engaging the seat portion (235) when the locking holding member (224) is located in blocking position.   The radio telephone handset of claim 2, wherein the front plate (104) comprises one or more tabs (172) and the housing (102) includes one or more slots (138) adapted to receive the one or more tabs (172). in   adaptable connection by interlocking.   A radiotelephone handset user interface kit (100), the radiotelephone handset (100) being adapted to cover a plurality of characteristic telephone aspects, the radiotelephone handset (100) having a housing (102), the housing (102) ) having a locking holding member (224), the user interface kit comprising: a faceplate (104) having a characteristic user interface appearance, adapted to be received by a housing (102), and being a plate front view of the plurality of faceplates, to provide the radiotelephone handset (100) with a characteristic user interface appearance, thereby giving the radiotelephone handset (100) a characteristic telephone appearance, the faceplate having a lock key (208) configured for loosely engaging the locking retention member (224) for securely attaching the faceplate (104) to the housing (10) 2) and; a keypad (106) having a characteristic key appearance and adapted to be placed between the   housing (102) and the front plate (104).