JP2003530776A - Hand-free connection mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: A hands-free connection mechanism for a radiotelephone, the converter being connectable to a receiver for generating sound waves representing an audio signal received by the receiver, and the converter Electrically non-conductive means for transmitting sound waves from an earphone to the earphone which can be placed in or adjacent to the user's ear, said system preferably including a remote microphone.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hands-free connection mechanism for a telecommunication device such as a mobile phone.

[0002]

[Prior art]

Mobile phones, such as wireless phones and two-way wireless devices, typically consist of a hand-held unit that is held in the user's head during use. Each unit typically includes a microwave transmitter connected to an antenna mounted at the end of the unit, and held close to the user's head. Although the energy in the microwaves radiated from the antenna is very small, there is a concern that long-term use poses a risk of harm (including brain tumors) to the user's brain.

To address these concerns, so-called "hands-free" connections have been developed for wireless telephones. These typically consist of an ear-piece containing a small transducer, and a microphone that can be clipped to clothing close to the user's mouth. The earphone and the microphone are connected to the body of the phone by wires and thus can be operated away from the user's head.

However, recent research has shown that because of the induction of microwave irradiation into the wire (and the wire leading to the earphone re-irradiates near the head, it still poses some danger to the user's head). It suggests that there is still a risk of user's brain exposure to microwave irradiation if such a connection mechanism is used.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

Therefore, there is a need for a system that significantly reduces or eliminates the irradiation of microwave energy near the user's head.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

According to the invention, a transducer connectable to the receiver for producing sound waves representative of an audio signal received by the receiver and from the transducer in or adjacent to the user's ear. A hands-free connection mechanism for a wireless telephone including electrically non-conductive means for transmitting sound waves to a positionable earphone.

The receiver is preferably a telephone, in particular a mobile telephone. The converter is preferably electrically connectable to the telephone, however it may also be optically connectable to receive signals from the receiver, eg by infrared transmission. The converter may be part of the receiver and may be mounted in or on the receiver housing, or alternatively it may be separated by a remote connection.

The electrically non-conductive means preferably comprises a tube, eg a flexible plastic material. The tube has a wall that is rigid enough to prevent the tube from collapsing when it bends, while allowing it to connect to the human ear, for example from a pocket (where the phone is placed) Adequately flexible to. The tube should be made of a suitable material and have a suitable internal surface configuration to minimize acoustic losses when sound waves are transmitted from the transducer to the earphones. Examples of suitable materials include thermoplastics such as polyolefins and polyamides, ceramics, fabrics or rubbers such as silicone rubber. Thermoplastics are preferred because they are simple and durable to process, for example by extrusion molding.

The converter may be included in a unit directly attachable to the phone to form an extension of the phone body, or it may be connected to the phone by a plug and cable, May be conveniently located away from the phone, thus avoiding any risk of audio reverberation to the phone (however, the means are essential for the phone when the unit is installed). It can be incorporated to switch off the microphone). The transducer unit may, if necessary, incorporate an amplifier to ensure that the volume of sound transmitted along the tube is sufficient to ensure audibility for all users. Volume control means may also be incorporated to allow the sound level at the earphones to be adjusted to suit the individual user.

The transducer unit may be housed in a plastic case, for example with respect to the user's clothing, for example at a short distance from the microphone, perhaps ten.
Clips may be provided to allow temporary attachment in the range 0-500 mm, especially 100-200 mm.

The earphone may be a separate device attachable to the voice transport means, or it may be part of the voice transport device. The earphone may be adapted to be used with a hearing aid, for example with means of an adapter to allow a direct connection of the audio transport tube to the hearing aid. In this way, the connection mechanism of the invention can be used by humans who are deaf,
It may provide the additional benefit of providing improved audibility compared to conventional cell phone use.

In a preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention further comprises a microphone connection mechanism for allowing the user to speak at a distance from the receiver (which in this example is also the transmitter). As is usual in mobile phones and two-way radios. The microphone may be connected to the phone by wire in a conventional manner. This is because the wire does not pass near the brain in the same way as the earphone wire in the conventional hands-free connection mechanism. However,
If desired, the microphone may be located remotely from the user's head and equipped with a voice-transporting device, such as a tube extending to a position adjacent to the user's mouth, the requirement of such a tube being that the earphones provide audio Similar to those listed above for carrying to. Thus, the microphone may be connected to the phone by wire or by optical means. To avoid the risk of audio feedback from the microphone to the transducer, it is typically desirable to keep the microphone away from the transducer.

The attachment mechanism of the present invention provides a simple and convenient way of keeping the origin of microwave irradiation well away from the user's head, while providing all of the functionality of the wire attachment mechanism currently available. provide.

Means for attaching the hands-free connection mechanism of the present invention to a receiver / transmitter comprises:
A receiver / receiver having a compatible connection mechanism and a different hands-free connection mechanism of the present invention.
Standard connectors are preferably used to allow them to be used interchangeably in transmitter devices. In this way, the hands-free connection mechanism may be supplied separately as a separate unit, or alternatively it may be supplied, for example, as a component of a mobile phone kit. The hands-free connection mechanism may also be configured in such a way as to allow the battery of the mobile phone to be charged at the same time as it is being charged. Similarly, the converter unit may provide an alert system to indicate when its battery is low.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Said connection mechanism comprises a plug 1 which connects to a conventional connection mechanism socket at the base of the mobile phone 2 and which is connected to a connector unit 4 via a short cable 3. The connector unit 4 comprises a transducer 5 for converting the electrical signal amplified by the amplifier 6 from the telephone into an audible frequency vibration, which audible frequency vibration is passed through a flexible plastic tube 8 in a conventional manner. It is transmitted to the earphone 7 adapted to the outer ear of the user. The amplifier is powered by a battery 9 contained within the unit. In an alternative arrangement, the power to drive the amplifier is supplied from the phone via cable 3. The separate microphone 10 is connected to the unit 4 via the wire 11 and then to the telephone 2 by the cable 3. The microphone may be equipped with a clip to allow it to be attached to the wearer's clothing at a convenient location adjacent the user's mouth in a conventional manner.

The tube 8 and the wire 11 are both shown interrupted for convenience of illustration; it will be understood that they are both actually continuous.

The cable 3 allows the unit 4 to be located remotely from the phone 2 (eg clipped to a pocket different from the pocket in which the phone is located or to an item of clothing of the user). May be extended for

The tube 8 may be permanently attached to the unit 4 or may be removable therefrom, for example to allow its replacement in case of breakage. Similarly, the earphone 7 may be removably connected to the tube 8, for example by a simple push-fit connection, so that it allows different users to cleanly share the phone or share the connection mechanism, for example. May be easily replaced to

To allow adjustment of the output from the amplifier, the unit 4 may be equipped with a slidable or rotatable adjustable resistor control. A power switch may be provided on the unit to conserve battery power when the device is not in use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a mobile phone having a connection mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. plug 2. mobile phone 3. cable 4. Connector unit 5. converter 6. Amplifier 7. earphone 8. Plastic tube 9. battery 10. microphone 11. wire

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OA (BF , BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, G M, KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ , UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, B Z, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE , DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, I S, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK , LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, P T, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL , TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW F-term (reference) 5K023 AA07 BB23 EE11 JJ02 QQ00                 5K027 AA11 HH03 MM00                 5K067 AA34 BB04 DD51 EE37 EE38                       FF38

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A hands-free connection mechanism for a wireless telephone, a transducer connectable to the receiver for producing sound waves representative of an audio signal received by the receiver, and the transformation. An electrically non-conductive means for transmitting sound waves from the container to an earphone that can be placed in or adjacent to a user's ear. 2. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is a mobile phone. 3. The converter according to claim 1, wherein the converter is electrically connectable to the receiver.
The hands-free connection mechanism according to any one of 1. 4. The converter according to claim 1, wherein the converter is optically connectable to the receiver.
The hands-free connection mechanism according to any one of 1. 5. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the converter is in the receiver housing. 6. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the converter is separate from the receiver housing and uses a remote connection. 7. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the electrically non-conductive means for transmitting the sound waves is a tube. 8. The hand of claim 7, wherein the tube is sufficiently stiff to prevent it from collapsing as it bends, while being flexible enough to pass from the pocket to the user's ear. Free connection mechanism. 9. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the tube is made of a thermoplastic material. 10. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the converter is included in a unit directly attachable to the telephone body to form an extension thereof. 11. The converter is connected to the receiver by a plug and cable to allow it to be conveniently located away from the phone, thus avoiding any risk of audio feedback to the phone. The hands-free connection mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 12. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the converter unit incorporates an amplifier. 13. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a volume control means. 14. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the earphone is a separate device attachable to a voice transport machine. 15. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the earphone is adaptable for use with a hearing aid. 16. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitter and a microphone connection mechanism. 17. The hands-free connection mechanism of claim 16, wherein the transmitter is contained within the receiver housing. 18. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the microphone connection mechanism is connected to the receiver / transmitter by a wire. 19. The microphone is adapted to be located away from the user's head and is provided with a voice transmission device for transmitting voice from the user to the microphone. The hands-free connection mechanism according to any one of 16 to 18. 20. The hands-free connection mechanism according to claim 19, wherein the voice transmission device is a tube. 21. The hands-free connection mechanism of claim 20, wherein the tube is a thermoplastic. 22. A cell phone according to claim 1, wherein the battery of the hands-free connection mechanism is configured to be charged at the same time as the battery of the cell phone is charged. Hands-free connection mechanism described.