WO2001078357A1 - Hands-free attachment - Google Patents
Hands-free attachment Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2001078357A1 WO2001078357A1 PCT/EP2001/003897 EP0103897W WO0178357A1 WO 2001078357 A1 WO2001078357 A1 WO 2001078357A1 EP 0103897 W EP0103897 W EP 0103897W WO 0178357 A1 WO0178357 A1 WO 0178357A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- hands
- free attachment
- attachment according
- receiver
- transducer
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/60—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers
- H04M1/6033—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets
- H04M1/6041—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
- H04M1/6058—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04B—TRANSMISSION
- H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
- H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
- H04B1/3827—Portable transceivers
- H04B1/385—Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
Definitions
- This invention relates to a hands-free attachment for telecommunication devices such as a mobile telephone.
- Cellular telephones like radio telephones and two-way radio devices typically consist of a hand-held unit which is held to the user's head in use.
- Each unit typically comprises a microwave transmitter connected to an antenna mounted on the end of the unit, and is thus held in close proximity to the user's head.
- the energy in the microwaves radiated from the antenna is very small, there are fears that prolonged use carries a risk of harm to the user's brain, for example inducing brain tumours.
- radio telephones typically consist of an ear-piece containing a small transducer, and a microphone which can be clipped to the user's clothing near to the mouth.
- the ear- piece and the microphone are connected by wires to the body of the telephone, which can then be operated away from the user's head.
- a hands-free attachment for a radio telephone comprising a transducer connectable to the receiver to generate sound waves representing sound signals received by the receiver, and electrically non- conductive means for conveying the sound waves from the transducer to an ear-piece locatable in or adjacent to the user's ear
- the receiver is preferably a telephone, particularly a mobile telephone.
- the transducer is preferably connectable electrically to the telephone although it may be connectable optically to, for example, receive signals from the receiver by infra red transmission.
- the transducer may be part of the receiver, within the receiver-housing or attached to the receiver or alternatively it may be separate with a remote connection.
- the electrically non-conductive means preferably comprises a tube, for example of a flexible plastics material.
- the tube is suitably sufficiently flexible to permit it to pass from, say, a pocket in which the telephone is located to the person's ear, while being sufficiently ⁇ gid-walled to prevent collapse of the tube as it curves.
- the tube should be manufactured of a suitable material and have an appropriate internal surface texture to minimise acoustic loss as the soundwaves are conveyed from the transducer to the earpiece. Examples of suitable materials include thermoplastics such as polyolefines and polyamides, ceramics, fabrics or rubbers such as si cone rubber. Thermoplastics are preferred as they are easy to process by, for example, extrusion and are durable.
- the transducer may be contained in a unit attachable directly to the telephone body so as to form an extension thereof, or it may be connected to the telephone by a plug and cable, permitting it to be located conveniently away from the telephone and thus avoid any risk of audio feedback to the telephone (although means could be incorporated to switch off the telephone's integral microphone when the unit is attached).
- 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 level of sound at the ear-piece to be adjusted to suit individual users.
- the transducer unit may be housed in a plastics casing, for example, and may be provided with a clip to permit its temporary attachment to the user's clothing, for example at a short distance from the microphone, perhaps of the order of 100 to 500 mm particularly 100 to 200 mm
- the ear-piece may be a separate device attachable to the sound conveyor or it may be part of the sound-conveying device
- the ear-piece may be adapted to be usable with hearing aids, for example by means of an adapter to permit direct connection of a sound conveying tube to the aid. In this way the attachment of the invention may be used by those with impaired hearing which may bring an added benefit of providing improved audibility compared with the use of a traditional mobile telephone.
- the system of the present invention further includes a microphone attachment to enable the user to speak at a distance from the receiver which in this instance will also be a transmitter
- the microphone may be connected to the telephone by wires in conventional manner, since the wires do not pass close to the brain in the same way that the ear-piece wires in a conventional hands-free attachment will.
- the microphone may be located at a position remote from the user's head and provided with sound conveying device such as a tube extending to a position adjacent to the user's mouth, the requirement for such a tube are similar to those set out above, for conveying sound to the ear-piece.
- the microphone may then be connected to the telephone by wires or by optical means. It will typically be desirable to keep the microphone separate from the transducer to avoid the risk of audio feedback from the latter to the former.
- the attachment of the invention provides a simple and convenient way of keeping the source of microwave radiation well away from the user's head whilst providing all the functionality of the currently-available wired attachments.
- the means for attaching the hands-free attachments of the present invention to receiver/transmitters preferably use standard connectors so that the attachments are interchangeable enabling the hands-free attachment of the present invention to be interchangeably used on different receiver/transmitter devices
- the hands-free attachment may be supplied separately as an independent unit or alternatively it may be supplied as a component in for example a mobile telephone kit
- the hands-free attachment may also be configured in a way that enables its battery to be charged at the same time as, for example, the battery of a mobile telephone is being charged
- the transducer unit may be provided with a warning device to indicate when its battery is low
- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a cellular telephone with an attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention
- the attachment comprises a plug 1 which connects with a conventional attachment socket in the base of a cellular telephone 2 and which is connected via a short cable 3 to a connector unit 4
- the connector unit 4 contains a transducer 5 which converts the electrical signals from the telephone, amplified in an amplifier 6, into audio frequency vibrations which are transmitted to an ear-piece 7, which fits into the user's outer ear in conventional manner, through a flexible plastics tube 8
- the amplifier is supplied with power from a battery 9 contained within the unit.
- power to drive the amplifier is supplied from the telephone via the cable 3
- a separate microphone 10 is connected through a wire 1 1 to the unit 4 and in turn by the cable 3 to the telephone 2
- the microphone may be provided with a clip to permit it to be attached to the wearer's clothing at a convenient position adjacent to the user's mouth, in conventional manner,
- the tube 8 and the wire 1 1 are both shown broken for convenience of illustration, it will be understood that in practice they are both continuous
- the cable 3 may be extended to permit the unit 4 to be located remotely from the telephone 2, for example in a different pocket to that in which the telephone is located, or clipped to an item of the user's clothing
- the tube 8 may be permanently attached to the unit 4, or may be detachable from it, for example to permit its replacement if damaged
- the ear-piece 7 may be detachably connected to the tube 8, for example by a simple push-on connection, so that it may be readily replaced, for example to permit different users to share a telephone, or to share the attachment, hygienically.
- the unit 4 may be provided with a slideable or rotateable rheostat control.
- a power switch may be provided on the unit.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
- Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
- Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2001262175A AU2001262175A1 (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2001-04-03 | Hands-free attachment |
EP01936194A EP1273158A1 (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2001-04-03 | Hands-free attachment |
CA002404165A CA2404165A1 (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2001-04-03 | Hands-free attachment |
JP2001575688A JP2003530776A (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2001-04-03 | Hand-free connection mechanism |
US10/240,693 US20040011588A1 (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2001-04-03 | Hands-free attachment |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB0008444A GB0008444D0 (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2000-04-06 | Hands-free attachment |
GB0008444.2 | 2000-04-06 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2001078357A1 true WO2001078357A1 (en) | 2001-10-18 |
Family
ID=9889323
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2001/003897 WO2001078357A1 (en) | 2000-04-06 | 2001-04-03 | Hands-free attachment |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1273158A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2003530776A (en) |
CN (1) | CN1422487A (en) |
AU (1) | AU2001262175A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2404165A1 (en) |
GB (2) | GB0008444D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2001078357A1 (en) |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1143628A2 (en) * | 2000-04-06 | 2001-10-10 | Silver Helm (Israel) Ltd. | Radiation-free cellular telephone system |
GB2365654A (en) * | 2000-04-11 | 2002-02-20 | Benjamin Edginton | R.F. isolator for mobile telephones uses an acoustic tube |
GB2367203A (en) * | 2000-05-10 | 2002-03-27 | Jk Microtechnology Ltd | Audio headset with acoustic pipe link |
WO2002035809A2 (en) * | 2000-10-24 | 2002-05-02 | Ron Armon | Method and device for reducing radiation of a mobile telephone |
WO2002052891A2 (en) * | 2000-12-27 | 2002-07-04 | Sitec Italia S.R.L. | Handsfree earphone device for cellular phones |
WO2009141578A1 (en) * | 2008-05-20 | 2009-11-26 | Marcus Lewis | Wireless personal audio equipment |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2362535B (en) * | 2000-04-25 | 2004-10-06 | Safetalk Ltd | Sound-transmitting apparatus |
US9106995B2 (en) * | 2012-09-11 | 2015-08-11 | Apple Inc. | Repositionable control system and method for using the same |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4090042A (en) * | 1975-03-24 | 1978-05-16 | Kayce, Inc. | Acoustical communications headset |
US5528689A (en) * | 1994-11-07 | 1996-06-18 | Chan; Alex Y. | Telephone headset adaptor including a hearing sound tube, a speaking sound tube, a headset, a telephone ear cup and a telephone mouth cup |
US5613222A (en) * | 1994-06-06 | 1997-03-18 | The Creative Solutions Company | Cellular telephone headset for hand-free communication |
WO1998044760A2 (en) * | 1997-04-03 | 1998-10-08 | Resound Corporation | Wired open ear canal earpiece |
Family Cites Families (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6445799B1 (en) * | 1997-04-03 | 2002-09-03 | Gn Resound North America Corporation | Noise cancellation earpiece |
US6021207A (en) * | 1997-04-03 | 2000-02-01 | Resound Corporation | Wireless open ear canal earpiece |
GB9727357D0 (en) * | 1997-12-24 | 1998-02-25 | Watson Michael B | Transducer assembly |
GB2361138B (en) * | 2000-04-04 | 2004-06-16 | Hassan Paddy Abdel Salam | Mobile phone improvements |
IL135501A0 (en) * | 2000-04-06 | 2001-05-20 | Ingbir Ronen | A device to transfer sound between a phone hand-set and user to reduce exposure to radiation |
-
2000
- 2000-04-06 GB GB0008444A patent/GB0008444D0/en not_active Ceased
-
2001
- 2001-04-03 CA CA002404165A patent/CA2404165A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2001-04-03 JP JP2001575688A patent/JP2003530776A/en active Pending
- 2001-04-03 WO PCT/EP2001/003897 patent/WO2001078357A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2001-04-03 CN CN 01807556 patent/CN1422487A/en active Pending
- 2001-04-03 EP EP01936194A patent/EP1273158A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2001-04-03 AU AU2001262175A patent/AU2001262175A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2001-04-03 GB GB0108244A patent/GB2366681B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4090042A (en) * | 1975-03-24 | 1978-05-16 | Kayce, Inc. | Acoustical communications headset |
US5613222A (en) * | 1994-06-06 | 1997-03-18 | The Creative Solutions Company | Cellular telephone headset for hand-free communication |
US5528689A (en) * | 1994-11-07 | 1996-06-18 | Chan; Alex Y. | Telephone headset adaptor including a hearing sound tube, a speaking sound tube, a headset, a telephone ear cup and a telephone mouth cup |
WO1998044760A2 (en) * | 1997-04-03 | 1998-10-08 | Resound Corporation | Wired open ear canal earpiece |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1143628A2 (en) * | 2000-04-06 | 2001-10-10 | Silver Helm (Israel) Ltd. | Radiation-free cellular telephone system |
EP1143628A3 (en) * | 2000-04-06 | 2003-12-10 | Silver Helm (Israel) Ltd. | Radiation-free cellular telephone system |
GB2365654A (en) * | 2000-04-11 | 2002-02-20 | Benjamin Edginton | R.F. isolator for mobile telephones uses an acoustic tube |
GB2367203A (en) * | 2000-05-10 | 2002-03-27 | Jk Microtechnology Ltd | Audio headset with acoustic pipe link |
WO2002035809A2 (en) * | 2000-10-24 | 2002-05-02 | Ron Armon | Method and device for reducing radiation of a mobile telephone |
WO2002035809A3 (en) * | 2000-10-24 | 2002-08-15 | Ron Armon | Method and device for reducing radiation of a mobile telephone |
WO2002052891A2 (en) * | 2000-12-27 | 2002-07-04 | Sitec Italia S.R.L. | Handsfree earphone device for cellular phones |
WO2002052891A3 (en) * | 2000-12-27 | 2003-04-10 | Sitec Italia S R L | Handsfree earphone device for cellular phones |
WO2009141578A1 (en) * | 2008-05-20 | 2009-11-26 | Marcus Lewis | Wireless personal audio equipment |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB0008444D0 (en) | 2000-05-24 |
GB2366681A (en) | 2002-03-13 |
GB2366681B (en) | 2002-09-11 |
JP2003530776A (en) | 2003-10-14 |
EP1273158A1 (en) | 2003-01-08 |
GB2366681A8 (en) | 2002-03-25 |
GB0108244D0 (en) | 2001-05-23 |
CA2404165A1 (en) | 2001-10-18 |
CN1422487A (en) | 2003-06-04 |
AU2001262175A1 (en) | 2001-10-23 |
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