Telephonic communications – Terminal – Housing or housing component
Patent
1998-12-10
2000-04-25
Chiang, Jack
Telephonic communications
Terminal
Housing or housing component
H04M 100
Patent
active
06055312&
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a telephone handset, transformable into a telephone headset that does not require the telephone handset to be held in the hand and provides a high level of listening and transmission convenience.
Present-day telephone handsets are designed to be held in the hand during the telephone conversation. This poses a problem when the user needs to use his two hands during the conversation, for example to look for a file, to write, to use the keyboard of a computer or a typewriter as well as on many other occasions.
In order to have free hands, most often the user jams the handset between his shoulder and his ear and tries to hold it there with difficulties that are well known.
On the other hand, use of a traditional handset in the usual way does not allow filtering out of ambient noise. In the event of nearby nuisance noise, the user is sometimes obliged to put his hand over his free ear in order to hear his caller better. On the other hand, when the telephone handset has a loudspeaker and the handset is used in "free hands" mode (in an office for example) the transmission seems far away and the sound is difficult to hear for the caller.
These problems have been partially resolved by the use of telephone headsets. For a long time, there have been headsets of this type, essentially for professional use. They include two receivers connected to one another by a metal or plastic strip in order to hold the headset on the head with a flexible microphone, which is positioned at the height of the lips. It is an essential requirement that the headset is correctly fitted on the head, with adjustment of the receivers even for a very short conversation. Finally, being connected to a switchboard by a wire, they do not allow any movement beyond a limited range.
However cordless telephone headsets do exist that include, in addition to the microphone and the receivers, a transmission unit generally attached to the user's belt. The transmission unit is an encumbrance and furthermore this type of apparatus assumes that on receiving a call signal, one proceeds with the preliminary fitting of the headset, then its adjustment and this just for a conversation of a few seconds.
These devices which are not very compact do not therefore provide two solutions in a single unit and do not provide the alternative, compact handset which is capable of being developed into a receiver deployed as a headset.
The two types of equipment are quite distinct:
Hence telephone equipment has been envisaged having the shape of a traditional telephone handset, but fitted with telescopic strips that allow a second receiver to be deployed and thereby transform the handset into a telephone headset. Documents EP-A-0 343 875, EP-A-0 401 007 and FR-A-2 669 799 describe different telephone handsets that can be transformed into a telephone headset according to this technique. Unfortunately, this type of apparatus has a certain number of disadvantages making it unusable in its "telephone headset" version. In effect, when deployed by sliding the telescopic strips, the strips can catch on the hair of the user. Furthermore, the shape of the strips forming an arc of a circle, imposed by making them capable of being put back into the handset does not correspond to the shape of the head which is oval and not round. The spring effect of the receivers is not then provided, these are not properly positioned over the ears and the headset is then in an unstable equilibrium. On the other hand, the microphone being in the axis of the strips, it rests against the neck of the user which is uncomfortable and does not allow good transmission quality. Document EP-A-0 343 875 resolves this difficulty by allowing the microphone to have a limited angle of rotation, after a sliding movement. However, this is not a very easy operation. Manipulation is delicate, when it is necessary to deploy the ear-phones and above all, when the strips must be returned into the handset by sliding one against the other. In addition, this type of apparatus does not respond to the
Bazire Bruno
Pralus Charles
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