Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Having particular housing or support of a transceiver
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-27
2001-07-03
Nguyen, Lee (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Having particular housing or support of a transceiver
C455S090300, C455S347000, C455S575100, C379S433020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256481
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flip type portable telephone, and in particular, to a device for electrically connecting a microphone mounted on a flip cover to an audio circuit in a telephone body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable telephones can be widely divided into a bar type and a flip type. The flip type portable telephone has advantages over the bar type portable telephone including superior voice quality. The superior voice quality is afforded by the closer proximity of the microphone on the flip to the user's mouth. The improvement is more pronounced when the size of the telephone is reduced and the microphone in a bar-type phone moves further from the user's voice. A flip cover further acts to protect the phone buttons and prevents unintentional depression of the buttons.
A flip type portable telephone typically includes a telephone body, a flip cover, and a hinge mechanism for mechanically connecting the flip cover to the telephone body. The flip type portable telephone can be placed in a communication standby mode when the flip cover is closed and in a communication mode when it is opened. A microphone of the portable telephone may be disposed at a bottom of the telephone body or at the flip cover.
Miniaturization of the portable telephone is limited due to the need to maintain a distance between the microphone and the earpiece to approximately an average distance between the ear and mouth of the user. That is, in the portable telephone, the distance between a mouthpiece where the microphone is mounted and an earpiece where a speaker is mounted, should be 14 cm or more. As the phone body reduces in length, the flip can be used to extend the length by mounting a microphone on the flip cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,873, issued to Beutler, et. al., proposes a foldable telephone having a flip element on which a ring element or a microphone is mounted by way of a multipurpose hinge apparatus. The flip cover of the telephone proposed by Beutler, et. al. is fixedly combined with the telephone body so that the flip cover is inseparable from the telephone body. If an excessive force is applied to the flip cover, the flip cover may be broken, rendering the telephone inoperable because the flip-mounted microphone is disconnected from the telephone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A flip-type telephone having a flip cover and a telephone body, comprising a hinge apparatus comprising: means for coupling the flip cover to the telephone body and for facilitating opening and closing of the flip cover relative to the telephone body; a hinge housing; a hinge shaft having a protrusion at an end and a shaft at another end, being assembled into said hinge housing; conductive means disposed in a through hole formed along an axis of said hinge shaft; a cam hinge for engaging with the hinge shaft, and a through hole formed along the axis of the hinge shaft; a hinge cover for covering an end of said hinge housing, said hinge cover having a through hole formed along the axis of the hinge shaft, through which an electric wire passes; and a coil spring interposed between the cam hinge and the hinge cover for biasing the cam hinge; wherein the flip cover includes a connection terminal having first and second end portions, the second end portion having tension means for maintaining electrical conductive contact with the conductive means of the hinge apparatus during the opening and closing of the flip cover; and a microphone mounted on the flip cover, being electrically connected to the connection terminal and an audio circuit in the telephone body.
Preferably, the conductive means comprises a cylinder, a conductive bar assembled into the cylinder, being movable in a lengthwise direction, and an elastic body installed in the cylinder, for biasing the conductive bar, wherein an end of said conductive bar is projected out of the hinge shaft.
Further, the conductive bar preferably comprises a small diameter part with an end being projected out of the cylinder, and a large diameter part installed in the cylinder.
A microphone connecting device for a flip type portable telephone according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a telephone body, a flip cover, and a hinge apparatus for coupling the flip cover to the telephone body, comprising a microphone mounted on the flip cover, first connection terminals attached to respective knuckles of the flip cover, the terminals being electrically connected to the microphone, and second connection terminals disposed at both sides of the telephone body, being connected to an audio circuit in the telephone body, wherein sliding surfaces of the first connection terminals contact with respective contact surfaces of the second connection terminals when the flip cover is opened from the telephone body, wherein the sliding surfaces are disconnected from the contact surfaces when the flip cover is closed to the telephone body, whereby the microphone is electrically connected to the audio circuit through the first connection terminals when the flip cover is opened.
Preferably, each of the first connection terminals comprises a planar surface, a curved surface, a sliding surface, and a hook surface. The knuckle preferably has an opening formed about its circumference, into which the sliding surface of the first connection terminal is inserted for fixing the first connection terminal to the knuckle.
A flip-type telephone according to another aspect of the present invention includes a flip cover coupled to a telephone body, comprising a microphone in a the flip cover, an audio circuit in the telephone body, first mating means in the flip cover for mating with a second mating means in the telephone body wherein the first and second mating means each includes electrically conductive members for forming an electrical connection between said microphone and said audio circuit at least when said flip cover is opened relative to said telephone body, wherein at least one of said electrically conductive members includes elastic characteristics.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5615259 (1997-03-01), Gilbert
patent: 5640690 (1997-06-01), Kudrna
patent: 5692045 (1997-11-01), Takagi et al.
patent: 5697124 (1997-12-01), Jung
patent: 5732331 (1998-03-01), Harms
patent: 5745567 (1998-04-01), Middleton
patent: 5761300 (1998-06-01), Domoleczny
patent: 5915015 (1999-06-01), Thornton
patent: 5960079 (1999-09-01), Prunier et al.
patent: 41 34 650 C1 (1992-10-01), None
Go Sung-Soo
Jeong Byeong-Ro
Ryu Seong-Ho
Yi Young-Jin
Dilworth & Barrese LLP
Nguyen Lee
Nguyen Simon
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
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