CA2186264A1 - Low-feedback compact wireless telephone - Google Patents
Low-feedback compact wireless telephoneInfo
- Publication number
- CA2186264A1 CA2186264A1 CA002186264A CA2186264A CA2186264A1 CA 2186264 A1 CA2186264 A1 CA 2186264A1 CA 002186264 A CA002186264 A CA 002186264A CA 2186264 A CA2186264 A CA 2186264A CA 2186264 A1 CA2186264 A1 CA 2186264A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- telephone
- speaker
- battery
- base station
- microphone
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M9/00—Arrangements for interconnection not involving centralised switching
- H04M9/08—Two-way loud-speaking telephone systems with means for conditioning the signal, e.g. for suppressing echoes for one or both directions of traffic
-
- 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
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
- H04M1/20—Arrangements for preventing acoustic feed-back
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/58—Anti-side-tone circuits
- H04M1/585—Anti-side-tone circuits implemented without inductive element
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/72—Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
- H04M1/725—Cordless telephones
Abstract
The present invention is directed to appara-tus and methods for reducing sidetone feedback in a portable wireless telephone system by positioning the speaker (106) and the microphone (108) to re-duce acoustic feedback and by controlling the am-plifier gain in the transmitter section of the wireless telephone to reduce amplification sidetone which has been acoustically coupled from the speaker (106) to the microphone (108). The wireless telephone (100) may be configured as a watch with a wrist strap (132) for retaining it to the user, as a piece of jew-elry such as a brooch or pendant, as a voice capa-ble pager/intercom, or as an identification badge for an employee. In one embodiment, the base station includes circuitry for further reducing sidetone feed-back. In additional embodiments, the wireless tele-phone may include a quick-release outboard battery (130), a retractable earpiece (120), and an ergonomic keypad (102).
Description
~0 9!;~3~;622 r~.m~ c J66 2 6~
1I~W~ A(~ VIPACI WIR~IF.
of 5Ihe present invention relates to ~'1~111111~111;~ ,.1;.. 1,~ systerns and in particular to a compact ;,lqllr.". .,~;.." of a wireless telephone. Ihe present invention is also directed to a quick-release outboard battery, a retractable earpiece, and an ergonomic keypad which can be used with such a wireless telephone.
Bxl~und of ~e ~v~ndon As mobile r"""""";. ~;-", has become illl.,lC~7ill~l.y critical to the conduct of business, a need has arisen for srnaller and more compact telephones. Until now the size and shape of the telephone has been driven in large part by the size of the circuitry needed and by the need to maintain a 15 certain separation between the telephone ~ and the earpiece. Recent dcv~ lv~llcllb in integrated circuit technology have driven down the size of the telephone circuitry. According to Olsen, U.S. Patent No. 4,847,818 issued July 11, 1989 to Olsen and Blonder, U.S. Patent No. 5,239,521 issued August 24, 1993, however, even if the telephone unit can be sufficiently integrated to 20 fit within a compact body, the telephone llf~ lvl~llull. and the telephone speaker must still be spaced a certam minimal &stance apart in order to prevent feedback from the speaker through the llfi~lu~)llullc.
Feedback is inherent to telephone design. In the typical telephone, some feedback of the llfil lv~ ull~ output back through the speaker 2~ (in the form of a sidetone) is necessary to serve as an rndication to the user of how loudly he or she should spea~ However, this feedback can cause problems if it, in t~n, is coupled back from the speaker through the fl~ lvlJllulle. The resulting feedback loop can lead to oscillations he~rd as anaudible hum or howl. Spatial separation reduces the amount of signal coupled 30 from the speaker to the ll.i~lulullull~ and therefore prevenbs oscillation.
In compact telephones, such as a wrist-mounted telephone, the spatial separation constraint forces the III~IIIIJ~1LLIICI to go through elabor~te contortions to place the llfi~lu~Jllulle and/or speaker as satellites attached to the telephone unit b~dy. In Olsen, the speaker is placed at the clasp of the watch WO 95135622 2 1 8 6 2 6 ~ PCTIUS9~107662 ~
while the .. i-,lu,ul.u.-~ is either located at the opposite clasp or built into the body of the telephone unit. In Blonder, a special pivotmg member is used to separate the ~ ul~llul~e from the speaker. Finally, in Yoshitake, U.S. Patent No. 5,008,864 issued April 16, 1991, a speaking tube is used to provide ~i cuLiul~liLy to the telephone l~ luJJllu -~.
However, none of the above solutions is very practical. Olsen and Yoshitake both require that the user remove the watch before placing or receiving a telephone call. Blonder requires the addition of a separate layer attached to the wrist strap that can pivot around the watch band. Such an 10 approach drives up ",~""r~- 1,,.;,,~ costs and reduces reliability ~ he feedback problem has also been addressed m the context of speaker phones. Speaker phones will howl if feedback of the sidetone from the speaker through the IlJi-~lU,UI~Ull~, reaches too high a level. This problemcan be controlled by tuming the speaker off during times when the user is 15 speaking and by reducing the gain of the Illi.,lUI)llUll~ amplifier during periods when the speaker is on. Another approæh controls oscillation by reducmg gain in the speaker amplifier during periods when the user is speaking and then reducing gain in the Illi-~lUIJllUllc amplifier during periods when the user is quiet. Smoe both approæhes rely on the æcurate detection of whether the 20 user is speaking, they can cause audible ~ ."~;"~ ;~ in both the reoeived and transmitted voice IIA~ at the start and end of user speech.
In addition to the feedbæk problem, porLable radio telephones to date, especially those designed to be worn on the wrist, suffer from a number of ti~fi~ i~ The power souroes for porLable radio telephones tend 25 to be short-lived and difficult to replæoe. Typically, the entire telephone unit must be plæed on a rechargmg stand, rendering it unavailable to the user.
Alternatively, the radio telephone must be shut-off to replæoe the battery.
Also, when a user cannot use the speaker phone because of the need for privæy, a separate eatpieoe must be located and carefully attæhed to 30 the phone unit. Separate earpieces are diffiwlt to engage with the phone and easy to misplæoe.
~ 21 ~6264 Additionally, key pads on poriable radio telephones, similar to other l ";";A~ rJl electronic devices such as calculator watches, typically are too small to be operated by hand. ~he user typically must utilize a pen or other pointed object to activate a particular key.
S It is cleat that there is a need in the att for a compact wLteless telephone which will minimize feedback while providing an acceptable voice signal. In addition, there is a need in the art for a compact wireless telephonewhich includes an ergonomic keypad, a retractable earpiece attached to the wireless telephone and a power supply which is e~sy to replace yet long-10 lasting.
Sunm~ Qf ~e ~ven~on ~ he present mvention is directed to a low-feedback portable wireless telephone having a wireless transceiver connected to a llfi~lu~)llull~
and a speaker. The wireless telephone may either be configuted as a watch 15 with a wrist strap for retaining it to the uset, as a piece of jewelry such as a brooch or pendant, as a voice capable ~a~ LC;I~,UIIL or as an i(l. . ,1 i ~i. Al il ~1 l badge for an employee.
In the ~, .1l ~l;., ,~ .1l where the radio telephone is used as an i ri~ Al ;1111 badge, each unit preferably is given a unique code which 20 identifies the user. The tadio telephone operates as a (,,."~1"l"~l~, sending an jflrl1l; ri~'A~ l signal at some lulr l. t~ mterval or responding to a signal fram a base station By arranging several base stations around a facility, the ptesent irl~lt~ tion b~ UILd~ radio telepholle can aperate as a personnel locator and c~-""".,.,;- A
The telephone includes a base station interface for 11 Al 1~1 . I il l~
i"r.",l,A,i.", between the telephone unit and a base station cQrmected to the local loop of a public trlrl`l ll l l~ l ll ll l;l ~; ir)nc network. A ditectional speaket for radiating speaket sound in ~IC lullfil~ly a fLrst direction is provided A
speaket circuit cannected to the base station mterface and the directional 30 speaker is ptavided for driving the speaket with a signal received from the base station interface. A ditectional llf~,lu~Lull~, is positioned to be most sensitive to sound coming from a second ditection at ~I~u~l~l~ 90 .
WO 9!i/35622 PCT/US95/07662 2 ~ ~6264 degrees offset from the frst direction. A Illi-,lU~ Ul~e circuit connected to the directional l~ lu~ u~c and the base station interface is provided for driving the base station interface with a signal WIIC ~I~Ulldlll~ to sound received by the directional ..,.~urullu -c. The ~ ic~u~l~ulle circuit rncludes an amplif er havmg S an arnplif er gain controlled to constrain the amount of speaker sûund fed back tû the base station.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a base station is described which wûrks in ;u..j.u.cliù.- with the above telephone to provide a cordless or cellular telephone system.
Accordmg to yet another aspect of the present invention, a telephone system is described in which feedback is controlled in both tne base station and the telephone unit. The telephone includes a base station interface for ~ f~ le - r ~ between the telephone unit and a base station connected to the local loop of a public ~ , ." ", ., ... ~ network. A
15 directional speaker is provided for radiating speaker sound in l,.c;lu.. ~,Iy a frst direction A speaker circuit connected to the base station interface and the directional speaker is provided for driving the speaker with a signal received from the base station interface. A directional l~ u~l~u~ is positioned to be most sensitive to sound coming from a second direction at 20 ~ Iu~illla~ly 90 degrees ûffset from the first direction. A ..,i~.u~Jl.u..~. circuit is connected to the directional l~ i~, urul~u~, and the base station interface for driving the base st~tion irlterface with a signal w..~l,u...l~,~ to sound received by the directional l~f~ u~l~u~æ~ The bæe station includes a telephone unit mterface and a telephone Ime interface which includes means for 25 reducing sidetone.
According to yet another æpect of the present invention, a quick-releæe outboard battery is described for use with a compact wireless telephone. A battery clæp is attached to the compact wireless telephone. The battery clasp hæ a battery attachment member and electrical contacts 30 connected to the telephone. A battery housing containing at least one batteryis provided with a receiving member. The receiving member is arranged to ~vo ssl3s622 2 1 ~ 6 2 6 4 l'ClJl~S95)D7662 engage with the attaching mernber on the batter~ clasp so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.In an ell~l,o~l;",~ in which the compact wireless telephone is designed to be mounted on the wrist, the battery clasp may be located on the S wrist straps or attached directly to the radio telephone.
The attaching member on the battery clasp is designed to allow quick release of the battery housing so that a l~lac~ battery can be easily attached to the compact wireless telephone. In the preferred , 1l1 ' t the attaching mernber is a T-shaped battery receiving structure.
10 The receiving member is a T-shaped receiving slot on the battery assernbly.
In an altemate el l ~ the attaching member has inwardly-biased opposing hook members, which create a WIII~ iVll force on the battery housing to ret~in the battery housing to the battery clasp.
In the preferred ell,l~l:.". .,~ the base station can be signalled 15 to suspend a call for a ~lv~ d period of time while a user changes the battery.
The present invention is also directed to a retractable e~rpiece assembly for a compact wireless telephone in which an earpiece wntaining a transducer is attached to the radio telephone by an electrical cord. A rotatable20 cord spool is attached to the radio telephone for storing the cord when it is rn a retracted ~nfi~n~ti-m. A retraction m~h~nicm is provided for ly rewinding the wrd onto the spool after the wrd has been rrlanually withdrawn. In vne rl.~ ll; "~ the rotatable wrd spool is retained in a housing attached to the radio telephone or to wrist straps for the wrist 25 phone I 1 ' It will be understood that the wmpact wirele~s telephone may be used in c~mhin~ n with the quick release outboard battery and/or the retractable earpiece assembly discussed above.
The wmpact wrreless telephone preferably includes an 30 ~;ullvllfi~lly designed keypad in which the keys are canted so that they may be operated by the user's frnger rather than a pointed object.
WO 95/35622 PCT/[JS95/07662 2 1 ~264 Rn~f [~
Figure 1 is a top-level block diagram of a cordless telephone system according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a front perspective view showing one ~;1l ' ' S of a wrist-mounted wireless telephone havmg a battery assembly and retractable earpiece assembly attached thereto;
Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the wrist-mounted cordless telephone of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side view of one ~mho~' of the wrist-10 mounted cordless telephone of Figure 2;
Figure 5A is a block diagram of a base station;
Figure SB is a more detailed block diagram of sidetone~n~Pll~ti~n crrcuitry used in the base station of Figure 5A according to the present invention;
lS Figures 6A and 6B are a block diagram of the mternal circuitry of the wrist-mounted cordless telephone of Figure 2;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the preferred retractable eaTpiece assembly;
Figure 7A is schematic illustration of the earpiece of Figure 7;
Figure 8 is an exploded view of the preferred compact wireless telephone;
Figure 9 is an exploded view of arl altemate outboard battery assembly;
Figure lO is a perspective view of an altemate battery clasp;
Figure 11 is a perspective view of alternate outboard battery assembly;
Figure 12 is a rear view of the alternate outboard battery assembly of Figure 11;
Figure 13 is a bottom view of the alternate outboard battery assemblyofFigure 11;
~V 2 1 ~626~
Figure 14 is a side vie v of the altemate outboard batter~
assembly attached to the altemate battery clasp;
Figure 15 is a perspective view of an alterrlate outboard batter~
assembly;
S Figure 16 is a rear view of the alternate outboard battery assembly attached to a battery clasp;
Figure 17 is a bottom view of the alternate outboard battery assembly;
Figure 18 is a side vie~v of the altemate outboard batter~
10 æsembly of the present invention;
Figure 19 is a perspective view of the preferred batter~ clasp;
Figure 20 is a rear plan vie~,v of a preferred battery assembly for ~"~" "~ with the battery clasp of Figure 19;
Figure 21 is a perspective view of o:le preferred battery 15 assembly engaged with the preferred batter~v clasp as attached to the base plate of the phone;
Figure 22 is a perspective vievv of the preferred battery clasp attached to the base plate of the phone;
Figure 23 is a ~ iVt~ view of one ~ ln,.l;~ of the 20 preferred battery assembly;
Figure 24 is a bottom view of the battery assembly of Figure 23;
Figure 25 is a ~I~iVt~ view of an alterrlate ~ ' of the preferred battery assembly; and Figure 26 is a bottom view of the battery assembly of Figure 25.
of ' Prefened F ~ ~
In the following detailed description of the preferred ~",l o.l -". .~1 reference is made to the ~ g drawings which form a 30 part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific in which the inventions may be practiced. lhese ~."ll,.~,l;.". .
are described in sufficient detail to erlable those skilled in the art to practice WO 9S/35622 2 ~ 8 6 2 6 4 PCT/US9S/07662 ~
the invention, and it is to be understood tbat other ~lllbo~u~ lb may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present inventions. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present5 inventions is defned by the appended claims.
A top-level block &agram of a wireless telephone system 10 is shown m Figure 1. In the systeln of Figure 1, wireless telephone unit 12 is connected tbrough a base station 14 to the local loop 16 of a public t. ~ network 18. Base station 14 includes an RF interface for 10 ~ with wireless telephone unit 12 and telephone line mterface circuitry which can be corJnected to local loop 16 in order to ,~
over public t~ J 1111111l 1l l;~a ;1111~ network 18 (see Figure 5A). ~he telephone line interface circuitry may be a simple telephone line connection such as is used in the typical cordless telephone.
~ ,ly, in systerns 10 which supp~rt cellular ~11111111~111; ~;(111~ base station 14 includes circuitry which lJl.".",lll~
through a Mobile T~l..""".,..";.,A;l",~ Switching Office (MTSO)(not shown) to public Irlr~ .."."."..;.,.l;"..~ network 18. ~n such systems, each bæe station 14 is assigned to a cell and the MrSO detelmines which cell is to 20 iJIIIIIII~III;. '~ . with telephone unit 12. Base stations for use in cellular or cordless telephone ~ ate well known m the art and will not, therefore, be described m detail.
Wrreless telephone unit 12 is designed to be easily carried by a user. In one ...~ ; ". ..l such as is shown m Figure 2, unit 12 is confgured 25 as a wrist-mounted radio telephone 100 which can be attached to a user with av~rist band 132. In another t~ JiJdUII~ , unit 12 may be worn as a pin or brooch. In another ~Illl~Lllull, unit 12 may be suspended ftom a chain worn around the neck of a uset, attached to clothing in a mannet similat to an employee badge, or placed m a pocket.
Figure 2 is a petspective view of the preferted C;lll~_ ' of wrreless telephone unit 12. In Figute 2, compact witeless telephone 100 has a keypad 102, an LCD 104, and a speaker 106. The LCD 104 preferably , .. . ... .. .......
0 95/35622 PCTIUS9SJ0~662 ~ 2186264 displays the phone number dialed for an outgoing call or the source nurnber for an mcoming call, the date and time, mdicates a low batte~y condition, and whether the mtercom or mute functions are activated (see Figures 6A and 6B).
A Illi~lU~IIUII~ 108 is provided on the front edge of the telephone 100. The 5 ~ lu~llulle 108 preferably is directionally offset from the speaker 106 by 90 degrees.
Program keys 110 are proYided on the side of the telephone 100 for ~UI' ~1 f" 1~.11'11~ the memory of the telephûne (as will be discussed below). Volume keys 107 are provided on the opposite side of the radio 10 telephone 100 for adjusting the volume of the speaker 106 (see Figure 4).
The keypad 102 includes the primary t~velve keys on a standard telephone and three additional keys for a Talk function 112, a Hold function 116, and an Intercom function 114.
As discussed above, prior key pads on portable electronic 15 devices are typically so srnall that the user needs a pointed object such as a pen to activate an individual key. The individual keys on the keypad 102 preferably are canted or tilted so as to present a high point 103 which facilitates operation by a user's fmger.
A retractable earpiece assembly 120 preferably is attached to 20 the front edge of the telephone 100 by a hmge l"~ ", 124. An outboard battery assembly 130 is attached to the rear edge of the telephone 100 by a similar hinge ",. . l,~ ", 126 (see Figure 3). The wrist strap 132 is provided for attaching the compact wireless telephone 100 to the w~ist of a user.
However, it will be understood that the present compact wireless telephone 25 100, battery assembly 130, or earpiece 120 may be configured in any shape that is convenient for the user.
Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the compact wireless telephone 100 showing an alternate outboard battery assembly 130. As will be discussed in detail below, a pair of rear hook rnembers 134 engage with 30 CUII~UIIdlll~ slots (not shown) to releasably retain a batte~y housing 136 to the phone 100.
WO95/3S622 .2 1 8 62 64 P~ J, /662 ~
The feedback loop formed by l "" l~" ,;~ ", of sidetone back from the receiver to the transmitter is a critical problem in the design of a compact telephone or speaker phone. Sidetone is generated by the 2-wire to ~wire hybrid circuit required by the telephone company and, to a lesser 5 extent, by reflections occurring within network 18 itself. In addition, many standard telephone integrated circuits have sidetone generation built in. All sources of sidetone are summed, amplified and routed tb~ough the user's speaker. This output must be loud enough to hear and, ~l ~"~ ly, may be loud enough to be picked up and amplified by the telephone unit transmitter.
As noted above, spatial separation can be helpful in the amount of sidetone fed back through the transmitter. As 1~ get smaller, however, it is more and more diffiCult to achieve mi~min$fill separation in a useful design. Therefore steps must be taken not only to isolate the transmitted and received sounds but also to reduce the 15 ~ q ~l i ril ~l ;l ll l of sidetone reflected through the trarlsmitter of telephone unit 12.
One ~."1~1;"~ which reduces ll""~".;~ " of sidetone back tbrough the transmitter of telephone unit 12 is shown in Figures 2 and 4.
Figure 4 is a side view of a wireless telephone unit 100 which can be used in 20 a cellular or cordless telephone system 10. In the ~ "l ~ l;, ,. .. ,l~ shown in Figures 2 and 4, spatial separation of the received and transmitted sound is enhanced by placing speaker 106 so tbat sound is radiated in a direction "d"
which is a minimum of 90 degrees away from the direction in which llfi~lu~ ull~ 108 is pomted.
In one such an c 1 " t, spatial separation is enhanced by using a directional speaker and a directional ~u~lulJllul~ as speaker 106 and ~fi~u~ u~æ 108. One such directional speaker is a Model No. KR2083 speaker available from Keyrin of Taiwan. One such directional ~lf~,lul~l~u~ is a Model No. WM62-A ~fi~ u~ ul~ available from Matsushita of Tokyo, 30 Japan. Further ao~ustic separation can be achieved by canting speaker 106 such that the direction is greater than 90 degrees. In addition, if speaker 106 o gs/35622 1 ~l~,).. c ~662 ~ 21 86264 and ~ uullull~ 108 are directional enough, angles of less than 90 degrees are possible.
Finally, as can be seen in Figure 2, speaker 106 and i. lUIJllUll~ 108 are placed as far away from each other as possible while stillS remaining in the same package. By placing speaker 106 and Illiuu~ llul-e 108 so that their mounting axes are offset Cl,u~)lU~ y 90 degrees or greater and by placing speaker 106 and ~ upllulle 108 on the diagonal at opposite corners of telephone unit 100, acoustic coupling of speaker 106 to Illi 108 is minimized. The ~ of uLcl,Liu~ iLy with positioning results 10 in an emhu~lim~nt in which speaker 106 can be located 2.5 cm (0.984 inches) from l~ i- ulul-u l~ 108. In the prefe~red ~ ' t, as is shown in Figures 2 and 4, the speaker 106 is located 3.5 cm (1.38 inches) from the ~u~,~u~Jllulle 108.
The placement of speaker 106 and ~ ulul~ 108 in a 15 compact device such as wireless telephone unit 12 can lead to some problems due to magnetic coupling of speaker magnets to oscillator inductors.
1~,,.,,,,...,,;. ~linn~ devices such as telephone unit 12 typically include high Q
tank circuits which are very sensitive to outside ~.~1.l.1~.,.`~ The magnetic field and flux generated by the speaker magnet of spe~ker 106 can cause a 20 ui ,lulkcul~c in the oscillators which can feedback through speaker 106 to forrn another oscillatory loop. In one ~.."1~1..,...,~ oscillator inductors are shielded and placed as far physically from speaker 106 as possible. For example, in the telephone unit 12 ûf Figure 2 shielded oscillator inductors are clustered inthe vicinity of -u-~uullullc 108 to reduce magnetic coupling between the 25 inductors and speaker 106.
The interaction of the oscillator inductors with the speaker magnet can also result in a ~ u~l~ulli- effect seen when the speaker 106 magnetic field is moved suddenly with respect to the oscillator inductors.
Such an effect can be minimized by providing a secure, mP~hsmir~lly stable 30 ~vi ulllllcll~ such that when telephone unit 12 is disturbed, both the speaker magnet and the inductors move together. In one ~ ' t, a soft rubber bonnet or boot is placed around speaker 106 in order to provide additional WO 95/35622 PCI'IUS95/07662 2~ ~6264 mechanical stabili~. In anotber ClllbUdllllClll, an annular ring is placed around speaker 106. In another rl"ln.il. "r.,l a soft rubber cushion is built into the rubber keypad to provide the required mechanical support. It will be understood that a variety of techniques and r~ (.",~ ;r materials are available 5 for achieving m~rh~ni~l stabilit~.
In addition to physical separation of speaker 106 and "ulul~u~æ 108 to reduce feedback of sidetone, steps have been taken to reduce sidetone. For instance, the frequency of oscillation of sidetone feedback tends to be centered about a particular frequency. Iherefore, the 10 effects of sidetone on telephone unit 12 can be minimized by either providinga notch filter at that frequency in the circuit driving speaker 106 or by reducmg feedback of the sidetone at that frequency in the 2-wire to 4wire hybrid circuit. One method of reducing feedback of the sidetone within the 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit is shown m Figures 5A and 5B.
In Figure 5A, base station 14 includes a polarity and UVCI VU~ C protection circuit 80, a loop holding circuit 82, a 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit 84, a wireless telephone mterface 86, a ring detect circuit 88 and a controller 90. Polarity and u . ~,l vul~ c protection circuit 80 is of thetype typically used m electronic telephones. Loop holding circuit æ draws 20 the off-hook current required to tell local loop 16 that base station 14 wishes to be cormected to public ~ """"l.,; ~;""~ netvvork 18. 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit 84 provides the signal separation and rejoining required by the telephone company. ~reless telephone interface 86 ~ with telephone unit 12 through any known means of wireless ~"""".",;- ,.I;nn 25 (radio, infrared, ultræorlic, etc.). Controller 90 controls the interface with local loop 16 and ~`1~1~11111111;. :11;1111 over wireless telephone mterface 86 Ring detect circuit 88 detects the ring sigtlal received from local loop 16 and generates an interrupt to controller 90 regarding the detection of the ring sig~
One clllllollllll. ,i of a 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit 84 is shown in Figure 5B. In circuit 84 of Figure 5B, a ~ rO.".~,l 91 isolates bæe station 14 from local loop 16. Tr~ncf~lrm~ 91 mcludes windmgs 92 and o 9s/3s622 1 ~ 66~
~ 2 1 36264 93. Wnding 92 is eormeetcd to the loeal loop side of hybrid eireuit 84 while winding 93 is eonneeted to the telcphone side of eireuit 84. Wmding 93 has thrc-e tApS 94.1-3. Taps 94.1 and 94.2 are eleetrieally eonneeted to a rceeivc-ramplificr eireuit 95 in a manner known in the art ~vhile tap 93.3 is elcctrieally S eormeeted to transmittcr Amplificr eireuit 97. Audio rceeivc-d at l.Au~ru~
91 from loeal loop 16 is out of phse and is thcreforc- diffcrentially summcd by amplificr 96 of reeeiver amplificr eireuit 95. MeAnwhile, an audio signal obtaincd from transmittcr amplificr eireuit 97 is in phase and thcrefore eaneelled. In one Mnho-ii n~nt ~ lA~ is frequcney dependc-nt. That is, 10 a noteh filter is uscd to attcnuate frequeneies eentcrc-d around those Lc4u~llci~ assoeiatc-d with sidetone o.~illAtinnc In praetiee the frequeney of sidetone oseillation varies aeeording to the eonstruetion of hAnd unit 10 and the plaeement of speAker 106 and IIU-~IU~JIIUII~ 108. Therefore, the eireuit must be tuned to ~l-",~ - t. In one sueh ~.."1~1 ~ , amplificrs 96 And 98 15 are Model No. LM324 operational amplifiers sueh as are available from Motorola. In sueh an ~ ~ ' t, an ~I~/culla~$w~ ehoiee of ;"'l~ .IA.I..
Z1-Z12 is as follows:
Z1 0.1 IlF
Z2 0.1 ,uF in series with 100 kQ
Z4 100 kQ
Z5 100 kQ
Z6 10 kQ
Z7 100 kQ
Z9 Q1 ~IF
Z11 6.8 kQ
Z12 100 kQ
Feedbaek of sidetone ean also be eontrolled by judieious seleetion of tr nsmitter amplifier gains. Transrnitter amplifier gairls may be set so that sidetones reeeived by llu~,lulul~u~ 108 are not amplified above a thrc-shold level. One t.l~ of a low feedb_ek wireless telephone unit 35 12 is shown m Figures 6A and 6B. In telephone unit 12 of Figures 6A and 6B, telephone unit 12 ineludes a eontroller 38, a b se station mterfaee eireuit 40 for 1. Al l!~f_l l ;l l~ ;l ~r( 1~ l ~ lAI ;~ -- I between base station 14 and telcphone unit 12, WO~5/35622 l4 r~ 662 ~
a speaker circuit 42, a directional speaker 44, a Illi~,lV,UI~Ull~ circuit 46 and a directional ~u~lulJl-ull~ 48. Speaker circuit 42 is coMected to base station interface circuit 40 and directional speaker 44 and is used for driving directional speaker 44 with a speaker signal reoeived from base station 14.
5 ~ihu~ ull~ circuit 46 is wnnected to directional l-li~, ulJllulle 48 and base station interfaoe circuit 40 and is used for driving base station interfaoe circuit 40 with a l~u~,~ulJllu~c signal w~ u~ lu~g to sound, including speaker sound, received by directional Illi~,lU~JllUII~ 48.
In the ~ l ' shown in Figures 6A and 6B, speaker 10 circuit 42 includes an AF amplifier 52, a high pass filter 54, an expander 56, dc~ 58, optional rlr~ 59, band pass filter 60, optional mute gate 62 and output amplifier 64. In one such ~llLodul.~,.lL speaker circuit 42 is designed to provide ~,UIU~II~Iy 29.6 dB of gain at I kHz ~~lu~1lulle circuit 46 is designed to have an amplifier gain 15 wntrolled to limit the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
In the ~ ' of Figures 6A and 6B, llfi~lu~llullc circuit 46 includes a preamplifier 66, a bandpass filter 68, optional S~UIILI~ IdIJa~ filter 70, pre-emphasis 72, CUIII~ UI 74, mute gate 76 and sumn~ing amplifier 78. In one such c;lllb~ l~ll,ulirl~l 66 has a gain of 20 dB, 20 s~l~ulll,lc./L~ filter 70 has unity gain, re-emphasis 72 adds 6 dB/octave of reemphasis and sumn]ing amplifier 78 has unity gam. In addition, the transmitter amplifier of base station interface 40 is part of the Motorola MC2833 transmitter mtegrated circuit, which adds 9.5 dB of gain.
In one ~" ~ " "- ~1. antenna 79 of base station interfaoe 40 is a 25 dipole antenna embedded rn the wrist strap of wireless telephone unit 12. In an alternate ~ antenna 79 is a loop antenna embedded in or as an integ[~l part of wver plate 150 of wireless telephone unit 100 (such as is shown in Figure 8).
Figures 7 is a perspective view of the preferred retractable 30 earpieoe assembly 120. Figure 7A is a schematic illustration of the retractable earpieoe assembly 120 having an earpieoe 140 wntaining a tratlsduoer 141 attached to the earpieoe housing 122 by a wrd 144. The wrd 144 preferably ~V095/35622 15 PCTIUS95107662 is braided to provide increase strength and greater reliabilit~. The cord 144 isengaged with a rotatable cord spool 146. A retraction ",.. ~ ll 148, such as a coiled leaf spring, ~lltr,m~tir~lly rewinds the cord 144 onto the spool 146after the cord has been manually withdrawn. A switch 142 is provided to S activate the transducer 141 when the earpiece 140 is withdrawn a "~ PJ1 dist~nce from the earpiece housing 122 and deactivate the transducer 141 when the earpiece 140 is retracted. A hinge ",~ .1,,.,,;~,,, 147 is provided for attaching the wrist strap 132 to the earpiece assembly 120. A
retraction ",~ ",~", known to be suitable for this purpose is disclosed in 10 US. Patent No. 3,984,645 issued to Kresch on October S, 1976, which is hereby ;llr,l.ln.,~ by reference.
Figure 8 is an exploded view of the preferred compact wireless telephone 100. Cover plate 150 has keypad openings 152 for the keypad 102.
A speaker opening 154 is provided in the upper~nost comer of the cover plate 15 150 so as to be as far from the llfi~lu~ opening 158 as possible. A
midplane 156 is provided to support the keypad 102. A cutout 158 is provided in the midplane 156 for the speaker 106. An LCD 104 is interposed between the midplane 156 and the printed circuit board 160 so that the LCD
104 is visible tbrough the openings 162, 164 in the midplane 156 and cover 20 plate 150, I~ iv~,l.y. A back plate 166 is provided with nurnerous removable supports 168 to support the PC board 160 and other ~
The removable supports 168 may be snapped off dunng assembly to m,3ke room for electrical '~ as required Finally, the back plate 166 has portions of a hinge mPrh:migm 124, 126 for attaching the radio telephone 100 25 to a user.
The back plate 166 may also include a non-audible tactile ~" .~ 1l 184 to alert the user tbat a page or call is being received.
Although the ~. ,.., ..~; ,11 " 184 is preferably a micro motor with an eccentric cam, it will be understood that a variety of vibro-tactile Illrl ll, l;~ are 30 suitable for this purpose, such as a piezo electric device, and that the present invention is not limited by the patticular m~rh~ m disclosed.
When assembled, the present compact wireless telephone 100 is only 0.275 inches (7.0 mm) thick. The preferred phone 100 is 1.57 inches (39.9 rnm) in the direction "~' and 2.17 inches (55.1 rnrn) in the direction "L" so that it does not extend out orthogonally from the user's wrist. lhe S preferred wrist mounted compact wireless phone ~ r~ll can therefore easily be worn even by individuals with small wrists.
Figure 19 is a perspective vl-ew of a preferred batte~y clasp 300 having a "hot shoe" battery receiving structure 302. Ihe battery receiving structure 302 iS generally "1~' shaped, with a top portion 304 which is wider 10 than a bottom portion 306. Ihe top portion 304 has a pair of detents 308 on each edge for retaining a battery assembly (see Figure 21) to the clasp 300.
In the preferred ~Illbodl~ , the detents 308 also operate as electrical contact points.
The edges 310 of the top portion 304 form rails for engaging 15 with a cullQl.ull.l;llg "T" shaped opening 312 in a battery æsembly 314 (see Figure 20). The battery æsembly 314 preferably has sprrngloaded electrical contacts 316 for releæably engaging with the detents 308. Ihe spring-loaded contacts 316 allow the battery æsembly 314 to be slid on and off of the battery receiving structure 302. The electrical contacts 316 preferably have a 20 flexing pvrtions (not shown) similar to those disclosed in Figure 9 which extend pæt the hinge 320 to the phone 100 (see also Figures 2 and 3).
However, it will be understood that a variety of techniquQ may be used to electrically cormect the battery assembly 314 with the phone 100, such æ, for example, a shielded wire.
The process of I ~ e a battery, known æ lock-and-load, allows the user to quickly substitute a fresh battery æ needed without e a call m progress. The user pressQ the Hold key 1 16 to signal to the bæe station 14 to suspend the call. The RF interface is terminated and the bæe station 14 holds the call for a ~JI~J~dllllll~i period of time. During 30 this Hold period, the user may change batteriQ. Urlth the battery replaced, the user 1~ I I with the bæe station 14 by again prQsing the Hold key 1 16. The RF link is 1~ I and the call ~o g5/35622 2 1 8 6 2 6 4 PCTIUS9510766~
~ i to the line. The PC board 160 preferably contains a series of capacitors which provide power to the control circuit to maintain the time of day while the user changes the battery assembly 130.
The clasp 300 has a hinge 320 for ~ rl 1 ~ with a 5 .iull~"ullLlg hinge on 124 on the back plate 166 (see Figures 21 and 22).
Additionally, a hinge 322 is provided on the opposite side of the clasp 300 for rl l~r~ with a wrist strap (not shown). Although the clasp 300 is generally configured for use with a wrist mounted phone, it will be understood that the present quick-release clasp 300 may be used with other 10 ~onfi~ ti~n~ of the phone lOO.
Figures 22 illustrates the clasp 300 attached to the back plate 166. Figure 21 illustrates one ~ ' of the battery assembly 314 engaged with the dasp 300 of Figure 22 Figure 23 iS a perspective view of one Llll~ - '' ' of the 15 preferred battery assembly 314 having a prima~ portion 326 and a secondary portion 328. The seconda~y portion 328 iS preferably shaped to follow the contour of a users wrist (see Figure 21). Figure 24 iS a bottom view of the battery assembly 314 showing the "T" shaped opening 312 for rll~, ..,..,~
with the battery receiving structure 302. The opening 312 iS preferably wider 20 at the entrance 324 to facilitate c"~ with the battery receiving structure 312. The battery assembly 314 preferably has three battery ..,1111. .1,~ 330.
Figure 25 is a ~,~livc view of an alternate preferred battery assembly 314' for L.~-'...l.. ~t with the clasp 300. Figure 26 is a bottom view 25 of the battery assembly 314' showing the "T" shaped operung 312 for c~ r",~ 1l with the battery receiving structure 302. The battery assembly 314' iS designed to hold up to four batteries in the WIIIIUd~Ull~llL~ 330'.
Figure 9 is an exploded view of an alternate outboard battery assembly 130. Battery clasp 170 has a hinge 126' fûr cormecting with the 30 hinge 126 on the base plate 166. A second hinge 172 is provided for connecting to the wrist strap 132 (see Figure 2). A pair of electrical contacts 174, 176 are attached to the battery clasp 170 by an electrical contact . .
WO 95/35622 ~ PCI/[JS9~/07662 retaining member 178. ~he elec,trical contacts 174, 176 have a flex portions 180 which connects to a flex circuit (not shown) in the radio telephone 10a.
~he flex portions 180 allows the battery assembly 130 to rotate on the hinge m~hs~nicm 126, 126' while . ' ' ~ a connection with the phone 100.
Figure 9 illustrates an outboard battery assembly 130 with three batteries 182 contained in the housing 136. The batteries 182 preferably are common nickel metal hydride batteries which are low cost and readily available. However, it will be understood that a variety of batteries and battery cnnfieu~ti--n~ are possible and that the present invention is not limited 10 in any way by the specific number or type of batteries 182 contained in the outboard battery assembly 130.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the battery clasp 170 with a battery receiving surface 193. A pair of rear hook members 190 having body portions 192 and rear hook portions 194 are provided proximate the hinge 15 126. Opposing front hook member 196 with a front hook portion 198 is provided proximate the hinge 172.
Figure 11 is a perspective view of the outboard battery assernbly 130 illustrating a front receiving slot 200 in the battery housing 136.
Figure 12 is a rear view of the outboard battery assembly 130 showing rear 20 receiving slots 202 in the housing 136. Figure 13 is a bottom view of the battery housing 136 showing battery ~1,..,l.,..1".~ 204 for retaining the batteries 182. A pair of dividers 206, 208 preferably are provided inside the battery housing 136 to maintain a separation between the batteries 182 and to orient the batteries 182 with respect to the electrical contacts 174, 176.
Figure 14 is a side view of the altemate outboard battery assembly 130 engaged with the battery clasp 170. The front hook portion 198 and rear hook portions 190 preferably are biased inward towards the battery housing 136 so that they engage with the front receiving slot 200 and the rear receiving slots 202 (see Figure 13). The battery cla~p 170 preferably is 30 constructed of a lightweight constructed material such as metal or plastic, which allows the f~ont hook member 196 and rear hook members 190 to create a w~ Q~ive retaining force on the battery housing 136.
0 95/35622 PC'rlUS95107662 ~ 21 8626~
To remove the outboard battery assembly 130 from the battery clæp 170, the user merely slides the battery housing 136 along the battery receivmg surface 193 toward the front hook portion 198 of the front hook member 196. This movement releæes the batte~y housing 136 from the rear S hook portions 190, allowing the outboard battey assembly 130 to be tipped and removed from the battery clæp 170. Tn~t~ tinn of a fresh battery assembly 130 is performed by reversing the above procedure. A call may be retained by the bæe station 14 æ discussed above.
Figure 15 is a perspective view of an alternate outboard battery æsembly 210 in which the battery housmg 212 has a prmary portion 214 and a secondary portion 216. The secondaly portion 216 provides additional space for holding battery elements (not shown). Figure 16 is a rear view of the alternate outboard battery æsembly 210 havmg a pair of rear receiving slots 230 for engaging with the rear hook members æ4 on the battery clæp 220. Figure 17 is a bottom view of the battery housing 212 showing a front hook engaging member 232 for engaging with the front hook 222 (see Figure 18). The front hook engaging means 232 may also operate æ a divider beLween the battery ~ L~"- .~t~ 204' for separating and orienting the batteries (not shown).
Figure 18 is a side view of the alternate outboard batLery æsembly 210 engaged with a battery clæp æo. The battery clæp 220 hæ a front hinge 126" for engaging with the compact wireless telephone 100 and a rear hinge 172 double prime for engaging with a wrist strap (not shown). The secondar~ portion 216 of the battery housing 212 is designed to generally 25 follow the contour of the human wrist along the wrist strap (not shown). The battery clæp 220 hæ a front hook 222 and a pair of rear hooks 224 which are biæed to create a Vlll~Jl~iOll force on the housmg 212 so æ to retain the alternate outboard battery æsembly 210 to the clæp 220. The alternate battery æsembly 210 is installed and removed in a Sirrlilar marlner to the - 30 battery æsembly 130.
It is to be understood tbat the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other ~ ~ ' will be apparent _ . . ~
WO 95/35622 2 1 8 6 2 6 4 PCT/US95107662 ~
to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above ~l~crrir~i~n Although the above inventions have been described in connection with a cordless telephone system, it should be apparent that the concepts extend to any cordless or cellular telephone application requiring a compact, portable telephone or spe~ker phone unit. The scope of the invention should therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of e~uivalents to which such claims are entitled.
1I~W~ A(~ VIPACI WIR~IF.
of 5Ihe present invention relates to ~'1~111111~111;~ ,.1;.. 1,~ systerns and in particular to a compact ;,lqllr.". .,~;.." of a wireless telephone. Ihe present invention is also directed to a quick-release outboard battery, a retractable earpiece, and an ergonomic keypad which can be used with such a wireless telephone.
Bxl~und of ~e ~v~ndon As mobile r"""""";. ~;-", has become illl.,lC~7ill~l.y critical to the conduct of business, a need has arisen for srnaller and more compact telephones. Until now the size and shape of the telephone has been driven in large part by the size of the circuitry needed and by the need to maintain a 15 certain separation between the telephone ~ and the earpiece. Recent dcv~ lv~llcllb in integrated circuit technology have driven down the size of the telephone circuitry. According to Olsen, U.S. Patent No. 4,847,818 issued July 11, 1989 to Olsen and Blonder, U.S. Patent No. 5,239,521 issued August 24, 1993, however, even if the telephone unit can be sufficiently integrated to 20 fit within a compact body, the telephone llf~ lvl~llull. and the telephone speaker must still be spaced a certam minimal &stance apart in order to prevent feedback from the speaker through the llfi~lu~)llullc.
Feedback is inherent to telephone design. In the typical telephone, some feedback of the llfil lv~ ull~ output back through the speaker 2~ (in the form of a sidetone) is necessary to serve as an rndication to the user of how loudly he or she should spea~ However, this feedback can cause problems if it, in t~n, is coupled back from the speaker through the fl~ lvlJllulle. The resulting feedback loop can lead to oscillations he~rd as anaudible hum or howl. Spatial separation reduces the amount of signal coupled 30 from the speaker to the ll.i~lulullull~ and therefore prevenbs oscillation.
In compact telephones, such as a wrist-mounted telephone, the spatial separation constraint forces the III~IIIIJ~1LLIICI to go through elabor~te contortions to place the llfi~lu~Jllulle and/or speaker as satellites attached to the telephone unit b~dy. In Olsen, the speaker is placed at the clasp of the watch WO 95135622 2 1 8 6 2 6 ~ PCTIUS9~107662 ~
while the .. i-,lu,ul.u.-~ is either located at the opposite clasp or built into the body of the telephone unit. In Blonder, a special pivotmg member is used to separate the ~ ul~llul~e from the speaker. Finally, in Yoshitake, U.S. Patent No. 5,008,864 issued April 16, 1991, a speaking tube is used to provide ~i cuLiul~liLy to the telephone l~ luJJllu -~.
However, none of the above solutions is very practical. Olsen and Yoshitake both require that the user remove the watch before placing or receiving a telephone call. Blonder requires the addition of a separate layer attached to the wrist strap that can pivot around the watch band. Such an 10 approach drives up ",~""r~- 1,,.;,,~ costs and reduces reliability ~ he feedback problem has also been addressed m the context of speaker phones. Speaker phones will howl if feedback of the sidetone from the speaker through the IlJi-~lU,UI~Ull~, reaches too high a level. This problemcan be controlled by tuming the speaker off during times when the user is 15 speaking and by reducing the gain of the Illi.,lUI)llUll~ amplifier during periods when the speaker is on. Another approæh controls oscillation by reducmg gain in the speaker amplifier during periods when the user is speaking and then reducing gain in the Illi-~lUIJllUllc amplifier during periods when the user is quiet. Smoe both approæhes rely on the æcurate detection of whether the 20 user is speaking, they can cause audible ~ ."~;"~ ;~ in both the reoeived and transmitted voice IIA~ at the start and end of user speech.
In addition to the feedbæk problem, porLable radio telephones to date, especially those designed to be worn on the wrist, suffer from a number of ti~fi~ i~ The power souroes for porLable radio telephones tend 25 to be short-lived and difficult to replæoe. Typically, the entire telephone unit must be plæed on a rechargmg stand, rendering it unavailable to the user.
Alternatively, the radio telephone must be shut-off to replæoe the battery.
Also, when a user cannot use the speaker phone because of the need for privæy, a separate eatpieoe must be located and carefully attæhed to 30 the phone unit. Separate earpieces are diffiwlt to engage with the phone and easy to misplæoe.
~ 21 ~6264 Additionally, key pads on poriable radio telephones, similar to other l ";";A~ rJl electronic devices such as calculator watches, typically are too small to be operated by hand. ~he user typically must utilize a pen or other pointed object to activate a particular key.
S It is cleat that there is a need in the att for a compact wLteless telephone which will minimize feedback while providing an acceptable voice signal. In addition, there is a need in the art for a compact wireless telephonewhich includes an ergonomic keypad, a retractable earpiece attached to the wireless telephone and a power supply which is e~sy to replace yet long-10 lasting.
Sunm~ Qf ~e ~ven~on ~ he present mvention is directed to a low-feedback portable wireless telephone having a wireless transceiver connected to a llfi~lu~)llull~
and a speaker. The wireless telephone may either be configuted as a watch 15 with a wrist strap for retaining it to the uset, as a piece of jewelry such as a brooch or pendant, as a voice capable ~a~ LC;I~,UIIL or as an i(l. . ,1 i ~i. Al il ~1 l badge for an employee.
In the ~, .1l ~l;., ,~ .1l where the radio telephone is used as an i ri~ Al ;1111 badge, each unit preferably is given a unique code which 20 identifies the user. The tadio telephone operates as a (,,."~1"l"~l~, sending an jflrl1l; ri~'A~ l signal at some lulr l. t~ mterval or responding to a signal fram a base station By arranging several base stations around a facility, the ptesent irl~lt~ tion b~ UILd~ radio telepholle can aperate as a personnel locator and c~-""".,.,;- A
The telephone includes a base station interface for 11 Al 1~1 . I il l~
i"r.",l,A,i.", between the telephone unit and a base station cQrmected to the local loop of a public trlrl`l ll l l~ l ll ll l;l ~; ir)nc network. A ditectional speaket for radiating speaket sound in ~IC lullfil~ly a fLrst direction is provided A
speaket circuit cannected to the base station mterface and the directional 30 speaker is ptavided for driving the speaket with a signal received from the base station interface. A ditectional llf~,lu~Lull~, is positioned to be most sensitive to sound coming from a second ditection at ~I~u~l~l~ 90 .
WO 9!i/35622 PCT/US95/07662 2 ~ ~6264 degrees offset from the frst direction. A Illi-,lU~ Ul~e circuit connected to the directional l~ lu~ u~c and the base station interface is provided for driving the base station interface with a signal WIIC ~I~Ulldlll~ to sound received by the directional ..,.~urullu -c. The ~ ic~u~l~ulle circuit rncludes an amplif er havmg S an arnplif er gain controlled to constrain the amount of speaker sûund fed back tû the base station.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a base station is described which wûrks in ;u..j.u.cliù.- with the above telephone to provide a cordless or cellular telephone system.
Accordmg to yet another aspect of the present invention, a telephone system is described in which feedback is controlled in both tne base station and the telephone unit. The telephone includes a base station interface for ~ f~ le - r ~ between the telephone unit and a base station connected to the local loop of a public ~ , ." ", ., ... ~ network. A
15 directional speaker is provided for radiating speaker sound in l,.c;lu.. ~,Iy a frst direction A speaker circuit connected to the base station interface and the directional speaker is provided for driving the speaker with a signal received from the base station interface. A directional l~ u~l~u~ is positioned to be most sensitive to sound coming from a second direction at 20 ~ Iu~illla~ly 90 degrees ûffset from the first direction. A ..,i~.u~Jl.u..~. circuit is connected to the directional l~ i~, urul~u~, and the base station interface for driving the base st~tion irlterface with a signal w..~l,u...l~,~ to sound received by the directional l~f~ u~l~u~æ~ The bæe station includes a telephone unit mterface and a telephone Ime interface which includes means for 25 reducing sidetone.
According to yet another æpect of the present invention, a quick-releæe outboard battery is described for use with a compact wireless telephone. A battery clæp is attached to the compact wireless telephone. The battery clasp hæ a battery attachment member and electrical contacts 30 connected to the telephone. A battery housing containing at least one batteryis provided with a receiving member. The receiving member is arranged to ~vo ssl3s622 2 1 ~ 6 2 6 4 l'ClJl~S95)D7662 engage with the attaching mernber on the batter~ clasp so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.In an ell~l,o~l;",~ in which the compact wireless telephone is designed to be mounted on the wrist, the battery clasp may be located on the S wrist straps or attached directly to the radio telephone.
The attaching member on the battery clasp is designed to allow quick release of the battery housing so that a l~lac~ battery can be easily attached to the compact wireless telephone. In the preferred , 1l1 ' t the attaching mernber is a T-shaped battery receiving structure.
10 The receiving member is a T-shaped receiving slot on the battery assernbly.
In an altemate el l ~ the attaching member has inwardly-biased opposing hook members, which create a WIII~ iVll force on the battery housing to ret~in the battery housing to the battery clasp.
In the preferred ell,l~l:.". .,~ the base station can be signalled 15 to suspend a call for a ~lv~ d period of time while a user changes the battery.
The present invention is also directed to a retractable e~rpiece assembly for a compact wireless telephone in which an earpiece wntaining a transducer is attached to the radio telephone by an electrical cord. A rotatable20 cord spool is attached to the radio telephone for storing the cord when it is rn a retracted ~nfi~n~ti-m. A retraction m~h~nicm is provided for ly rewinding the wrd onto the spool after the wrd has been rrlanually withdrawn. In vne rl.~ ll; "~ the rotatable wrd spool is retained in a housing attached to the radio telephone or to wrist straps for the wrist 25 phone I 1 ' It will be understood that the wmpact wirele~s telephone may be used in c~mhin~ n with the quick release outboard battery and/or the retractable earpiece assembly discussed above.
The wmpact wrreless telephone preferably includes an 30 ~;ullvllfi~lly designed keypad in which the keys are canted so that they may be operated by the user's frnger rather than a pointed object.
WO 95/35622 PCT/[JS95/07662 2 1 ~264 Rn~f [~
Figure 1 is a top-level block diagram of a cordless telephone system according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a front perspective view showing one ~;1l ' ' S of a wrist-mounted wireless telephone havmg a battery assembly and retractable earpiece assembly attached thereto;
Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the wrist-mounted cordless telephone of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side view of one ~mho~' of the wrist-10 mounted cordless telephone of Figure 2;
Figure 5A is a block diagram of a base station;
Figure SB is a more detailed block diagram of sidetone~n~Pll~ti~n crrcuitry used in the base station of Figure 5A according to the present invention;
lS Figures 6A and 6B are a block diagram of the mternal circuitry of the wrist-mounted cordless telephone of Figure 2;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the preferred retractable eaTpiece assembly;
Figure 7A is schematic illustration of the earpiece of Figure 7;
Figure 8 is an exploded view of the preferred compact wireless telephone;
Figure 9 is an exploded view of arl altemate outboard battery assembly;
Figure lO is a perspective view of an altemate battery clasp;
Figure 11 is a perspective view of alternate outboard battery assembly;
Figure 12 is a rear view of the alternate outboard battery assembly of Figure 11;
Figure 13 is a bottom view of the alternate outboard battery assemblyofFigure 11;
~V 2 1 ~626~
Figure 14 is a side vie v of the altemate outboard batter~
assembly attached to the altemate battery clasp;
Figure 15 is a perspective view of an alterrlate outboard batter~
assembly;
S Figure 16 is a rear view of the alternate outboard battery assembly attached to a battery clasp;
Figure 17 is a bottom view of the alternate outboard battery assembly;
Figure 18 is a side vie~v of the altemate outboard batter~
10 æsembly of the present invention;
Figure 19 is a perspective view of the preferred batter~ clasp;
Figure 20 is a rear plan vie~,v of a preferred battery assembly for ~"~" "~ with the battery clasp of Figure 19;
Figure 21 is a perspective view of o:le preferred battery 15 assembly engaged with the preferred batter~v clasp as attached to the base plate of the phone;
Figure 22 is a perspective vievv of the preferred battery clasp attached to the base plate of the phone;
Figure 23 is a ~ iVt~ view of one ~ ln,.l;~ of the 20 preferred battery assembly;
Figure 24 is a bottom view of the battery assembly of Figure 23;
Figure 25 is a ~I~iVt~ view of an alterrlate ~ ' of the preferred battery assembly; and Figure 26 is a bottom view of the battery assembly of Figure 25.
of ' Prefened F ~ ~
In the following detailed description of the preferred ~",l o.l -". .~1 reference is made to the ~ g drawings which form a 30 part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific in which the inventions may be practiced. lhese ~."ll,.~,l;.". .
are described in sufficient detail to erlable those skilled in the art to practice WO 9S/35622 2 ~ 8 6 2 6 4 PCT/US9S/07662 ~
the invention, and it is to be understood tbat other ~lllbo~u~ lb may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present inventions. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present5 inventions is defned by the appended claims.
A top-level block &agram of a wireless telephone system 10 is shown m Figure 1. In the systeln of Figure 1, wireless telephone unit 12 is connected tbrough a base station 14 to the local loop 16 of a public t. ~ network 18. Base station 14 includes an RF interface for 10 ~ with wireless telephone unit 12 and telephone line mterface circuitry which can be corJnected to local loop 16 in order to ,~
over public t~ J 1111111l 1l l;~a ;1111~ network 18 (see Figure 5A). ~he telephone line interface circuitry may be a simple telephone line connection such as is used in the typical cordless telephone.
~ ,ly, in systerns 10 which supp~rt cellular ~11111111~111; ~;(111~ base station 14 includes circuitry which lJl.".",lll~
through a Mobile T~l..""".,..";.,A;l",~ Switching Office (MTSO)(not shown) to public Irlr~ .."."."..;.,.l;"..~ network 18. ~n such systems, each bæe station 14 is assigned to a cell and the MrSO detelmines which cell is to 20 iJIIIIIII~III;. '~ . with telephone unit 12. Base stations for use in cellular or cordless telephone ~ ate well known m the art and will not, therefore, be described m detail.
Wrreless telephone unit 12 is designed to be easily carried by a user. In one ...~ ; ". ..l such as is shown m Figure 2, unit 12 is confgured 25 as a wrist-mounted radio telephone 100 which can be attached to a user with av~rist band 132. In another t~ JiJdUII~ , unit 12 may be worn as a pin or brooch. In another ~Illl~Lllull, unit 12 may be suspended ftom a chain worn around the neck of a uset, attached to clothing in a mannet similat to an employee badge, or placed m a pocket.
Figure 2 is a petspective view of the preferted C;lll~_ ' of wrreless telephone unit 12. In Figute 2, compact witeless telephone 100 has a keypad 102, an LCD 104, and a speaker 106. The LCD 104 preferably , .. . ... .. .......
0 95/35622 PCTIUS9SJ0~662 ~ 2186264 displays the phone number dialed for an outgoing call or the source nurnber for an mcoming call, the date and time, mdicates a low batte~y condition, and whether the mtercom or mute functions are activated (see Figures 6A and 6B).
A Illi~lU~IIUII~ 108 is provided on the front edge of the telephone 100. The 5 ~ lu~llulle 108 preferably is directionally offset from the speaker 106 by 90 degrees.
Program keys 110 are proYided on the side of the telephone 100 for ~UI' ~1 f" 1~.11'11~ the memory of the telephûne (as will be discussed below). Volume keys 107 are provided on the opposite side of the radio 10 telephone 100 for adjusting the volume of the speaker 106 (see Figure 4).
The keypad 102 includes the primary t~velve keys on a standard telephone and three additional keys for a Talk function 112, a Hold function 116, and an Intercom function 114.
As discussed above, prior key pads on portable electronic 15 devices are typically so srnall that the user needs a pointed object such as a pen to activate an individual key. The individual keys on the keypad 102 preferably are canted or tilted so as to present a high point 103 which facilitates operation by a user's fmger.
A retractable earpiece assembly 120 preferably is attached to 20 the front edge of the telephone 100 by a hmge l"~ ", 124. An outboard battery assembly 130 is attached to the rear edge of the telephone 100 by a similar hinge ",. . l,~ ", 126 (see Figure 3). The wrist strap 132 is provided for attaching the compact wireless telephone 100 to the w~ist of a user.
However, it will be understood that the present compact wireless telephone 25 100, battery assembly 130, or earpiece 120 may be configured in any shape that is convenient for the user.
Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the compact wireless telephone 100 showing an alternate outboard battery assembly 130. As will be discussed in detail below, a pair of rear hook rnembers 134 engage with 30 CUII~UIIdlll~ slots (not shown) to releasably retain a batte~y housing 136 to the phone 100.
WO95/3S622 .2 1 8 62 64 P~ J, /662 ~
The feedback loop formed by l "" l~" ,;~ ", of sidetone back from the receiver to the transmitter is a critical problem in the design of a compact telephone or speaker phone. Sidetone is generated by the 2-wire to ~wire hybrid circuit required by the telephone company and, to a lesser 5 extent, by reflections occurring within network 18 itself. In addition, many standard telephone integrated circuits have sidetone generation built in. All sources of sidetone are summed, amplified and routed tb~ough the user's speaker. This output must be loud enough to hear and, ~l ~"~ ly, may be loud enough to be picked up and amplified by the telephone unit transmitter.
As noted above, spatial separation can be helpful in the amount of sidetone fed back through the transmitter. As 1~ get smaller, however, it is more and more diffiCult to achieve mi~min$fill separation in a useful design. Therefore steps must be taken not only to isolate the transmitted and received sounds but also to reduce the 15 ~ q ~l i ril ~l ;l ll l of sidetone reflected through the trarlsmitter of telephone unit 12.
One ~."1~1;"~ which reduces ll""~".;~ " of sidetone back tbrough the transmitter of telephone unit 12 is shown in Figures 2 and 4.
Figure 4 is a side view of a wireless telephone unit 100 which can be used in 20 a cellular or cordless telephone system 10. In the ~ "l ~ l;, ,. .. ,l~ shown in Figures 2 and 4, spatial separation of the received and transmitted sound is enhanced by placing speaker 106 so tbat sound is radiated in a direction "d"
which is a minimum of 90 degrees away from the direction in which llfi~lu~ ull~ 108 is pomted.
In one such an c 1 " t, spatial separation is enhanced by using a directional speaker and a directional ~u~lulJllul~ as speaker 106 and ~fi~u~ u~æ 108. One such directional speaker is a Model No. KR2083 speaker available from Keyrin of Taiwan. One such directional ~lf~,lul~l~u~ is a Model No. WM62-A ~fi~ u~ ul~ available from Matsushita of Tokyo, 30 Japan. Further ao~ustic separation can be achieved by canting speaker 106 such that the direction is greater than 90 degrees. In addition, if speaker 106 o gs/35622 1 ~l~,).. c ~662 ~ 21 86264 and ~ uullull~ 108 are directional enough, angles of less than 90 degrees are possible.
Finally, as can be seen in Figure 2, speaker 106 and i. lUIJllUll~ 108 are placed as far away from each other as possible while stillS remaining in the same package. By placing speaker 106 and Illiuu~ llul-e 108 so that their mounting axes are offset Cl,u~)lU~ y 90 degrees or greater and by placing speaker 106 and ~ upllulle 108 on the diagonal at opposite corners of telephone unit 100, acoustic coupling of speaker 106 to Illi 108 is minimized. The ~ of uLcl,Liu~ iLy with positioning results 10 in an emhu~lim~nt in which speaker 106 can be located 2.5 cm (0.984 inches) from l~ i- ulul-u l~ 108. In the prefe~red ~ ' t, as is shown in Figures 2 and 4, the speaker 106 is located 3.5 cm (1.38 inches) from the ~u~,~u~Jllulle 108.
The placement of speaker 106 and ~ ulul~ 108 in a 15 compact device such as wireless telephone unit 12 can lead to some problems due to magnetic coupling of speaker magnets to oscillator inductors.
1~,,.,,,,...,,;. ~linn~ devices such as telephone unit 12 typically include high Q
tank circuits which are very sensitive to outside ~.~1.l.1~.,.`~ The magnetic field and flux generated by the speaker magnet of spe~ker 106 can cause a 20 ui ,lulkcul~c in the oscillators which can feedback through speaker 106 to forrn another oscillatory loop. In one ~.."1~1..,...,~ oscillator inductors are shielded and placed as far physically from speaker 106 as possible. For example, in the telephone unit 12 ûf Figure 2 shielded oscillator inductors are clustered inthe vicinity of -u-~uullullc 108 to reduce magnetic coupling between the 25 inductors and speaker 106.
The interaction of the oscillator inductors with the speaker magnet can also result in a ~ u~l~ulli- effect seen when the speaker 106 magnetic field is moved suddenly with respect to the oscillator inductors.
Such an effect can be minimized by providing a secure, mP~hsmir~lly stable 30 ~vi ulllllcll~ such that when telephone unit 12 is disturbed, both the speaker magnet and the inductors move together. In one ~ ' t, a soft rubber bonnet or boot is placed around speaker 106 in order to provide additional WO 95/35622 PCI'IUS95/07662 2~ ~6264 mechanical stabili~. In anotber ClllbUdllllClll, an annular ring is placed around speaker 106. In another rl"ln.il. "r.,l a soft rubber cushion is built into the rubber keypad to provide the required mechanical support. It will be understood that a variety of techniques and r~ (.",~ ;r materials are available 5 for achieving m~rh~ni~l stabilit~.
In addition to physical separation of speaker 106 and "ulul~u~æ 108 to reduce feedback of sidetone, steps have been taken to reduce sidetone. For instance, the frequency of oscillation of sidetone feedback tends to be centered about a particular frequency. Iherefore, the 10 effects of sidetone on telephone unit 12 can be minimized by either providinga notch filter at that frequency in the circuit driving speaker 106 or by reducmg feedback of the sidetone at that frequency in the 2-wire to 4wire hybrid circuit. One method of reducing feedback of the sidetone within the 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit is shown m Figures 5A and 5B.
In Figure 5A, base station 14 includes a polarity and UVCI VU~ C protection circuit 80, a loop holding circuit 82, a 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit 84, a wireless telephone mterface 86, a ring detect circuit 88 and a controller 90. Polarity and u . ~,l vul~ c protection circuit 80 is of thetype typically used m electronic telephones. Loop holding circuit æ draws 20 the off-hook current required to tell local loop 16 that base station 14 wishes to be cormected to public ~ """"l.,; ~;""~ netvvork 18. 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit 84 provides the signal separation and rejoining required by the telephone company. ~reless telephone interface 86 ~ with telephone unit 12 through any known means of wireless ~"""".",;- ,.I;nn 25 (radio, infrared, ultræorlic, etc.). Controller 90 controls the interface with local loop 16 and ~`1~1~11111111;. :11;1111 over wireless telephone mterface 86 Ring detect circuit 88 detects the ring sigtlal received from local loop 16 and generates an interrupt to controller 90 regarding the detection of the ring sig~
One clllllollllll. ,i of a 2-wire to 4-wire hybrid circuit 84 is shown in Figure 5B. In circuit 84 of Figure 5B, a ~ rO.".~,l 91 isolates bæe station 14 from local loop 16. Tr~ncf~lrm~ 91 mcludes windmgs 92 and o 9s/3s622 1 ~ 66~
~ 2 1 36264 93. Wnding 92 is eormeetcd to the loeal loop side of hybrid eireuit 84 while winding 93 is eonneeted to the telcphone side of eireuit 84. Wmding 93 has thrc-e tApS 94.1-3. Taps 94.1 and 94.2 are eleetrieally eonneeted to a rceeivc-ramplificr eireuit 95 in a manner known in the art ~vhile tap 93.3 is elcctrieally S eormeeted to transmittcr Amplificr eireuit 97. Audio rceeivc-d at l.Au~ru~
91 from loeal loop 16 is out of phse and is thcreforc- diffcrentially summcd by amplificr 96 of reeeiver amplificr eireuit 95. MeAnwhile, an audio signal obtaincd from transmittcr amplificr eireuit 97 is in phase and thcrefore eaneelled. In one Mnho-ii n~nt ~ lA~ is frequcney dependc-nt. That is, 10 a noteh filter is uscd to attcnuate frequeneies eentcrc-d around those Lc4u~llci~ assoeiatc-d with sidetone o.~illAtinnc In praetiee the frequeney of sidetone oseillation varies aeeording to the eonstruetion of hAnd unit 10 and the plaeement of speAker 106 and IIU-~IU~JIIUII~ 108. Therefore, the eireuit must be tuned to ~l-",~ - t. In one sueh ~.."1~1 ~ , amplificrs 96 And 98 15 are Model No. LM324 operational amplifiers sueh as are available from Motorola. In sueh an ~ ~ ' t, an ~I~/culla~$w~ ehoiee of ;"'l~ .IA.I..
Z1-Z12 is as follows:
Z1 0.1 IlF
Z2 0.1 ,uF in series with 100 kQ
Z4 100 kQ
Z5 100 kQ
Z6 10 kQ
Z7 100 kQ
Z9 Q1 ~IF
Z11 6.8 kQ
Z12 100 kQ
Feedbaek of sidetone ean also be eontrolled by judieious seleetion of tr nsmitter amplifier gains. Transrnitter amplifier gairls may be set so that sidetones reeeived by llu~,lulul~u~ 108 are not amplified above a thrc-shold level. One t.l~ of a low feedb_ek wireless telephone unit 35 12 is shown m Figures 6A and 6B. In telephone unit 12 of Figures 6A and 6B, telephone unit 12 ineludes a eontroller 38, a b se station mterfaee eireuit 40 for 1. Al l!~f_l l ;l l~ ;l ~r( 1~ l ~ lAI ;~ -- I between base station 14 and telcphone unit 12, WO~5/35622 l4 r~ 662 ~
a speaker circuit 42, a directional speaker 44, a Illi~,lV,UI~Ull~ circuit 46 and a directional ~u~lulJl-ull~ 48. Speaker circuit 42 is coMected to base station interface circuit 40 and directional speaker 44 and is used for driving directional speaker 44 with a speaker signal reoeived from base station 14.
5 ~ihu~ ull~ circuit 46 is wnnected to directional l-li~, ulJllulle 48 and base station interfaoe circuit 40 and is used for driving base station interfaoe circuit 40 with a l~u~,~ulJllu~c signal w~ u~ lu~g to sound, including speaker sound, received by directional Illi~,lU~JllUII~ 48.
In the ~ l ' shown in Figures 6A and 6B, speaker 10 circuit 42 includes an AF amplifier 52, a high pass filter 54, an expander 56, dc~ 58, optional rlr~ 59, band pass filter 60, optional mute gate 62 and output amplifier 64. In one such ~llLodul.~,.lL speaker circuit 42 is designed to provide ~,UIU~II~Iy 29.6 dB of gain at I kHz ~~lu~1lulle circuit 46 is designed to have an amplifier gain 15 wntrolled to limit the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
In the ~ ' of Figures 6A and 6B, llfi~lu~llullc circuit 46 includes a preamplifier 66, a bandpass filter 68, optional S~UIILI~ IdIJa~ filter 70, pre-emphasis 72, CUIII~ UI 74, mute gate 76 and sumn~ing amplifier 78. In one such c;lllb~ l~ll,ulirl~l 66 has a gain of 20 dB, 20 s~l~ulll,lc./L~ filter 70 has unity gain, re-emphasis 72 adds 6 dB/octave of reemphasis and sumn]ing amplifier 78 has unity gam. In addition, the transmitter amplifier of base station interface 40 is part of the Motorola MC2833 transmitter mtegrated circuit, which adds 9.5 dB of gain.
In one ~" ~ " "- ~1. antenna 79 of base station interfaoe 40 is a 25 dipole antenna embedded rn the wrist strap of wireless telephone unit 12. In an alternate ~ antenna 79 is a loop antenna embedded in or as an integ[~l part of wver plate 150 of wireless telephone unit 100 (such as is shown in Figure 8).
Figures 7 is a perspective view of the preferred retractable 30 earpieoe assembly 120. Figure 7A is a schematic illustration of the retractable earpieoe assembly 120 having an earpieoe 140 wntaining a tratlsduoer 141 attached to the earpieoe housing 122 by a wrd 144. The wrd 144 preferably ~V095/35622 15 PCTIUS95107662 is braided to provide increase strength and greater reliabilit~. The cord 144 isengaged with a rotatable cord spool 146. A retraction ",.. ~ ll 148, such as a coiled leaf spring, ~lltr,m~tir~lly rewinds the cord 144 onto the spool 146after the cord has been manually withdrawn. A switch 142 is provided to S activate the transducer 141 when the earpiece 140 is withdrawn a "~ PJ1 dist~nce from the earpiece housing 122 and deactivate the transducer 141 when the earpiece 140 is retracted. A hinge ",~ .1,,.,,;~,,, 147 is provided for attaching the wrist strap 132 to the earpiece assembly 120. A
retraction ",~ ",~", known to be suitable for this purpose is disclosed in 10 US. Patent No. 3,984,645 issued to Kresch on October S, 1976, which is hereby ;llr,l.ln.,~ by reference.
Figure 8 is an exploded view of the preferred compact wireless telephone 100. Cover plate 150 has keypad openings 152 for the keypad 102.
A speaker opening 154 is provided in the upper~nost comer of the cover plate 15 150 so as to be as far from the llfi~lu~ opening 158 as possible. A
midplane 156 is provided to support the keypad 102. A cutout 158 is provided in the midplane 156 for the speaker 106. An LCD 104 is interposed between the midplane 156 and the printed circuit board 160 so that the LCD
104 is visible tbrough the openings 162, 164 in the midplane 156 and cover 20 plate 150, I~ iv~,l.y. A back plate 166 is provided with nurnerous removable supports 168 to support the PC board 160 and other ~
The removable supports 168 may be snapped off dunng assembly to m,3ke room for electrical '~ as required Finally, the back plate 166 has portions of a hinge mPrh:migm 124, 126 for attaching the radio telephone 100 25 to a user.
The back plate 166 may also include a non-audible tactile ~" .~ 1l 184 to alert the user tbat a page or call is being received.
Although the ~. ,.., ..~; ,11 " 184 is preferably a micro motor with an eccentric cam, it will be understood that a variety of vibro-tactile Illrl ll, l;~ are 30 suitable for this purpose, such as a piezo electric device, and that the present invention is not limited by the patticular m~rh~ m disclosed.
When assembled, the present compact wireless telephone 100 is only 0.275 inches (7.0 mm) thick. The preferred phone 100 is 1.57 inches (39.9 rnm) in the direction "~' and 2.17 inches (55.1 rnrn) in the direction "L" so that it does not extend out orthogonally from the user's wrist. lhe S preferred wrist mounted compact wireless phone ~ r~ll can therefore easily be worn even by individuals with small wrists.
Figure 19 is a perspective vl-ew of a preferred batte~y clasp 300 having a "hot shoe" battery receiving structure 302. Ihe battery receiving structure 302 iS generally "1~' shaped, with a top portion 304 which is wider 10 than a bottom portion 306. Ihe top portion 304 has a pair of detents 308 on each edge for retaining a battery assembly (see Figure 21) to the clasp 300.
In the preferred ~Illbodl~ , the detents 308 also operate as electrical contact points.
The edges 310 of the top portion 304 form rails for engaging 15 with a cullQl.ull.l;llg "T" shaped opening 312 in a battery æsembly 314 (see Figure 20). The battery æsembly 314 preferably has sprrngloaded electrical contacts 316 for releæably engaging with the detents 308. Ihe spring-loaded contacts 316 allow the battery æsembly 314 to be slid on and off of the battery receiving structure 302. The electrical contacts 316 preferably have a 20 flexing pvrtions (not shown) similar to those disclosed in Figure 9 which extend pæt the hinge 320 to the phone 100 (see also Figures 2 and 3).
However, it will be understood that a variety of techniquQ may be used to electrically cormect the battery assembly 314 with the phone 100, such æ, for example, a shielded wire.
The process of I ~ e a battery, known æ lock-and-load, allows the user to quickly substitute a fresh battery æ needed without e a call m progress. The user pressQ the Hold key 1 16 to signal to the bæe station 14 to suspend the call. The RF interface is terminated and the bæe station 14 holds the call for a ~JI~J~dllllll~i period of time. During 30 this Hold period, the user may change batteriQ. Urlth the battery replaced, the user 1~ I I with the bæe station 14 by again prQsing the Hold key 1 16. The RF link is 1~ I and the call ~o g5/35622 2 1 8 6 2 6 4 PCTIUS9510766~
~ i to the line. The PC board 160 preferably contains a series of capacitors which provide power to the control circuit to maintain the time of day while the user changes the battery assembly 130.
The clasp 300 has a hinge 320 for ~ rl 1 ~ with a 5 .iull~"ullLlg hinge on 124 on the back plate 166 (see Figures 21 and 22).
Additionally, a hinge 322 is provided on the opposite side of the clasp 300 for rl l~r~ with a wrist strap (not shown). Although the clasp 300 is generally configured for use with a wrist mounted phone, it will be understood that the present quick-release clasp 300 may be used with other 10 ~onfi~ ti~n~ of the phone lOO.
Figures 22 illustrates the clasp 300 attached to the back plate 166. Figure 21 illustrates one ~ ' of the battery assembly 314 engaged with the dasp 300 of Figure 22 Figure 23 iS a perspective view of one Llll~ - '' ' of the 15 preferred battery assembly 314 having a prima~ portion 326 and a secondary portion 328. The seconda~y portion 328 iS preferably shaped to follow the contour of a users wrist (see Figure 21). Figure 24 iS a bottom view of the battery assembly 314 showing the "T" shaped opening 312 for rll~, ..,..,~
with the battery receiving structure 302. The opening 312 iS preferably wider 20 at the entrance 324 to facilitate c"~ with the battery receiving structure 312. The battery assembly 314 preferably has three battery ..,1111. .1,~ 330.
Figure 25 is a ~,~livc view of an alternate preferred battery assembly 314' for L.~-'...l.. ~t with the clasp 300. Figure 26 is a bottom view 25 of the battery assembly 314' showing the "T" shaped operung 312 for c~ r",~ 1l with the battery receiving structure 302. The battery assembly 314' iS designed to hold up to four batteries in the WIIIIUd~Ull~llL~ 330'.
Figure 9 is an exploded view of an alternate outboard battery assembly 130. Battery clasp 170 has a hinge 126' fûr cormecting with the 30 hinge 126 on the base plate 166. A second hinge 172 is provided for connecting to the wrist strap 132 (see Figure 2). A pair of electrical contacts 174, 176 are attached to the battery clasp 170 by an electrical contact . .
WO 95/35622 ~ PCI/[JS9~/07662 retaining member 178. ~he elec,trical contacts 174, 176 have a flex portions 180 which connects to a flex circuit (not shown) in the radio telephone 10a.
~he flex portions 180 allows the battery assembly 130 to rotate on the hinge m~hs~nicm 126, 126' while . ' ' ~ a connection with the phone 100.
Figure 9 illustrates an outboard battery assembly 130 with three batteries 182 contained in the housing 136. The batteries 182 preferably are common nickel metal hydride batteries which are low cost and readily available. However, it will be understood that a variety of batteries and battery cnnfieu~ti--n~ are possible and that the present invention is not limited 10 in any way by the specific number or type of batteries 182 contained in the outboard battery assembly 130.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the battery clasp 170 with a battery receiving surface 193. A pair of rear hook members 190 having body portions 192 and rear hook portions 194 are provided proximate the hinge 15 126. Opposing front hook member 196 with a front hook portion 198 is provided proximate the hinge 172.
Figure 11 is a perspective view of the outboard battery assernbly 130 illustrating a front receiving slot 200 in the battery housing 136.
Figure 12 is a rear view of the outboard battery assembly 130 showing rear 20 receiving slots 202 in the housing 136. Figure 13 is a bottom view of the battery housing 136 showing battery ~1,..,l.,..1".~ 204 for retaining the batteries 182. A pair of dividers 206, 208 preferably are provided inside the battery housing 136 to maintain a separation between the batteries 182 and to orient the batteries 182 with respect to the electrical contacts 174, 176.
Figure 14 is a side view of the altemate outboard battery assembly 130 engaged with the battery clasp 170. The front hook portion 198 and rear hook portions 190 preferably are biased inward towards the battery housing 136 so that they engage with the front receiving slot 200 and the rear receiving slots 202 (see Figure 13). The battery cla~p 170 preferably is 30 constructed of a lightweight constructed material such as metal or plastic, which allows the f~ont hook member 196 and rear hook members 190 to create a w~ Q~ive retaining force on the battery housing 136.
0 95/35622 PC'rlUS95107662 ~ 21 8626~
To remove the outboard battery assembly 130 from the battery clæp 170, the user merely slides the battery housing 136 along the battery receivmg surface 193 toward the front hook portion 198 of the front hook member 196. This movement releæes the batte~y housing 136 from the rear S hook portions 190, allowing the outboard battey assembly 130 to be tipped and removed from the battery clæp 170. Tn~t~ tinn of a fresh battery assembly 130 is performed by reversing the above procedure. A call may be retained by the bæe station 14 æ discussed above.
Figure 15 is a perspective view of an alternate outboard battery æsembly 210 in which the battery housmg 212 has a prmary portion 214 and a secondary portion 216. The secondaly portion 216 provides additional space for holding battery elements (not shown). Figure 16 is a rear view of the alternate outboard battery æsembly 210 havmg a pair of rear receiving slots 230 for engaging with the rear hook members æ4 on the battery clæp 220. Figure 17 is a bottom view of the battery housing 212 showing a front hook engaging member 232 for engaging with the front hook 222 (see Figure 18). The front hook engaging means 232 may also operate æ a divider beLween the battery ~ L~"- .~t~ 204' for separating and orienting the batteries (not shown).
Figure 18 is a side view of the alternate outboard batLery æsembly 210 engaged with a battery clæp æo. The battery clæp 220 hæ a front hinge 126" for engaging with the compact wireless telephone 100 and a rear hinge 172 double prime for engaging with a wrist strap (not shown). The secondar~ portion 216 of the battery housing 212 is designed to generally 25 follow the contour of the human wrist along the wrist strap (not shown). The battery clæp 220 hæ a front hook 222 and a pair of rear hooks 224 which are biæed to create a Vlll~Jl~iOll force on the housmg 212 so æ to retain the alternate outboard battery æsembly 210 to the clæp 220. The alternate battery æsembly 210 is installed and removed in a Sirrlilar marlner to the - 30 battery æsembly 130.
It is to be understood tbat the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other ~ ~ ' will be apparent _ . . ~
WO 95/35622 2 1 8 6 2 6 4 PCT/US95107662 ~
to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above ~l~crrir~i~n Although the above inventions have been described in connection with a cordless telephone system, it should be apparent that the concepts extend to any cordless or cellular telephone application requiring a compact, portable telephone or spe~ker phone unit. The scope of the invention should therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of e~uivalents to which such claims are entitled.
Claims (34)
1. A telephone system for use in communicating over a public telecommunications network, the system comprising:
a base station; and a telephone unit, wherein the telephone unit comprises:
base station interface means for transferring information between the base station and the telephone unit;
a directional speaker which radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit, connected to the base station interface means and the directional speaker, for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station;
a directional microphone, wherein the directional microphone has a direction of greatest sensitivity and wherein the directional microphone is positioned in relation to said directional speaker such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone; and a microphone circuit, connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface means, for driving the base station interface means with a microphone signal corresponding to sound, including speaker sound, received by the directional microphone, wherein the microphone circuit has a reduced gain which limits the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
a base station; and a telephone unit, wherein the telephone unit comprises:
base station interface means for transferring information between the base station and the telephone unit;
a directional speaker which radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit, connected to the base station interface means and the directional speaker, for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station;
a directional microphone, wherein the directional microphone has a direction of greatest sensitivity and wherein the directional microphone is positioned in relation to said directional speaker such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone; and a microphone circuit, connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface means, for driving the base station interface means with a microphone signal corresponding to sound, including speaker sound, received by the directional microphone, wherein the microphone circuit has a reduced gain which limits the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
2. The telephone system according to claim 1 wherein the base station comprises a telephone line interface including means for reducing sidetone.
3. A telephone system for use in communicating over a public telecommunications network, the system comprising:
a base station, wherein the base station comprises:
a telephone unit interface; and a telephone line interface including means for reducing sidetone; and a telephone unit, wherein the telephone unit comprises:
base station interface means for transferring information between the base station and the telephone unit, a directional speaker which radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit, connected to the base station interface means and the directional speaker, for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station, a directional microphone, wherein the directional microphone has a direction of greatest sensitivity and wherein the directional microphone is positioned in relation to said directional speaker such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone; and a microphone circuit, connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface means, for driving the base station interface means with a microphone signal corresponding to sound, including speaker sound, received by the directional microphone.
a base station, wherein the base station comprises:
a telephone unit interface; and a telephone line interface including means for reducing sidetone; and a telephone unit, wherein the telephone unit comprises:
base station interface means for transferring information between the base station and the telephone unit, a directional speaker which radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit, connected to the base station interface means and the directional speaker, for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station, a directional microphone, wherein the directional microphone has a direction of greatest sensitivity and wherein the directional microphone is positioned in relation to said directional speaker such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone; and a microphone circuit, connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface means, for driving the base station interface means with a microphone signal corresponding to sound, including speaker sound, received by the directional microphone.
4. The telephone system according to claim 3 wherein the microphone circuit has a reduced gain which limits the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
5. A wireless telephone which can be used in conjunction with a base station to communicate over a public telecommunications network, the telephone comprising;
base station interface means for transferring information between the base station and the telephone unit;
a directional speaker which radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit, connected to the base station interface means and the directional speaker, for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station;
a directional microphone, wherein the directional microphone has a direction of greatest sensitivity and wherein the directional microphone is positioned in relation to said directional speaker such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone; and a microphone circuit, connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface means, for driving the base station interface means with a microphone signal corresponding to sound, including speaker sound, received by the directional microphone, wherein the microphone circuit has a reduced gain which limits the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
base station interface means for transferring information between the base station and the telephone unit;
a directional speaker which radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit, connected to the base station interface means and the directional speaker, for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station;
a directional microphone, wherein the directional microphone has a direction of greatest sensitivity and wherein the directional microphone is positioned in relation to said directional speaker such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone; and a microphone circuit, connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface means, for driving the base station interface means with a microphone signal corresponding to sound, including speaker sound, received by the directional microphone, wherein the microphone circuit has a reduced gain which limits the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
6. A quick-release outboard battery for a compact wireless telephone, the wireless telephone generally contained in a case, the outboard battery comprising:
a battery clasp attached to the wireless telephone having battery an attaching member and electrical contacts connected to the telephone;
at least one battery; and a battery housing containing the at least one battery, the housing having a receiving member arranged to engage with the attaching member so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
a battery clasp attached to the wireless telephone having battery an attaching member and electrical contacts connected to the telephone;
at least one battery; and a battery housing containing the at least one battery, the housing having a receiving member arranged to engage with the attaching member so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the compact wireless telephone includes at least one wrist strap for holding the case on a user's wrist.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the battery clasp is attached to the at least one wrist straps.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the battery clasp is interposed between the case and the at least one wrist strap.
10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the battery clasp has a wrist band attachment location attached to the at least one wrist strap and a telephone attachment location attached to the case.
11. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the case is configured to be worn on a user's wrist.
12. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the attaching member comprises a pair of inwardly biased, opposing hook members.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the receiving member on the battery housing comprises receiving slots arranged to engage with the hook members on the battery clasp.
14. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the attaching member comprises a T-shaped receiving structure.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the receiving member on the battery housing comprises a T-shaped receiving slot arranged to slidably engage with the T-shaped receiving structure.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the T-shaped receiving structure includes electrical contacts for engagement with the at least one battery.
17. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the battery housing contains three batteries.
18. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the wireless telephone includes a retractable earpiece.
19. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the wireless telephone includes a retractable earpiece and the retractable earpiece is attached to the at least one wrist strap.
20. The apparatus of claim 6 further including a retractable earpiece assembly comprising:
an earpiece containing a transducer;
a cord electrically connecting the transducer with the telephone;
a rotatable cord spool attached to the telephone for storing the cord when it is in a retracted configuration; and retraction means attached to the cord spool for automatically rewinding the cord onto the spool after the cord has been manually withdrawn.
an earpiece containing a transducer;
a cord electrically connecting the transducer with the telephone;
a rotatable cord spool attached to the telephone for storing the cord when it is in a retracted configuration; and retraction means attached to the cord spool for automatically rewinding the cord onto the spool after the cord has been manually withdrawn.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the retractable earpiece assembly is contained in a housing attached to case.
22. A compact wireless telephone comprising:
a radio transceiver connected to a microphone and a speaker contained in a case;
a battery clasp attached to a first side of the case, the battery clasp having battery an attaching member and electrical contacts connected to the telephone;
at least one battery; and a battery housing containing the at least one: battery, the housing having a receiving member arranged to engage with the attaching member so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
a radio transceiver connected to a microphone and a speaker contained in a case;
a battery clasp attached to a first side of the case, the battery clasp having battery an attaching member and electrical contacts connected to the telephone;
at least one battery; and a battery housing containing the at least one: battery, the housing having a receiving member arranged to engage with the attaching member so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
23. The apparatus of claim 22 further including a wrist strap connecting the battery clasp with a second side of the case configured to retain the telephone on a user's wrist.
24. The apparatus of claim 22 further including a keypad for programming the wireless telephone, the keypad having canted keys.
25. An outboard battery pod for a wrist mounted telephone, the wrist mounted telephone generally contained in a case having at least one wrist strap for holding the case on a user's wrist, the outboard battery pod comprising:
a battery clasp having battery pod attaching means for retaining a battery pod to the telephone attached to one side of the case and electrical contacts connected to the telephone;
at least one battery; and a battery pod housing containing the at least one battery, the housing having receiving means for engaging with the attaching means so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
a battery clasp having battery pod attaching means for retaining a battery pod to the telephone attached to one side of the case and electrical contacts connected to the telephone;
at least one battery; and a battery pod housing containing the at least one battery, the housing having receiving means for engaging with the attaching means so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
26. A retractable earpiece assembly for a compact wireless telephone, the wireless telephone generally contained in a case, the retractable earpiece comprising:
an earpiece containing a transducer;
a cord electrically connecting the transducer with the telephone, a rotatable cord spool attached to the telephone for storing the cord when it is in a retracted configuration; and retraction means attached to the cord spool for automatically rewinding the cord onto the spool after the cord has been manually withdrawn.
an earpiece containing a transducer;
a cord electrically connecting the transducer with the telephone, a rotatable cord spool attached to the telephone for storing the cord when it is in a retracted configuration; and retraction means attached to the cord spool for automatically rewinding the cord onto the spool after the cord has been manually withdrawn.
27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the retraction means is a coiled leaf spring.
28. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the rotatable cord spool is retained in a housing attached to the case.
29 The apparatus of claim 26 further including at least one wrist strap attached to the case for retaining the wireless phone to a user's wrist
30 A wrist mounted telephone comprising:
a radio transceiver connected to a microphone and a speaker contained in a case;
at least one battery for powering the telephone;
a wrist strap configured to retain the case on a user's wrist;
an earpiece containing a transducer;
a cord electrically connecting the transducer with the telephone;
a rotatable cord spool attached to the case for storing the cord when it is in a retracted configuration; and retraction means attached to the cord spool for automatically rewinding the cord onto the spool after the cord has been manually withdrawn.
a radio transceiver connected to a microphone and a speaker contained in a case;
at least one battery for powering the telephone;
a wrist strap configured to retain the case on a user's wrist;
an earpiece containing a transducer;
a cord electrically connecting the transducer with the telephone;
a rotatable cord spool attached to the case for storing the cord when it is in a retracted configuration; and retraction means attached to the cord spool for automatically rewinding the cord onto the spool after the cord has been manually withdrawn.
31. The apparatus of claim 30 further including:
a battery clasp attached at a first side to the case and at a second side to the wrist strap, the battery clasp having battery attaching members and electrical contacts connected to the telephone; and a battery housing containing the at least one battery, the housing having receiving members arranged to engage with the attaching members so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
a battery clasp attached at a first side to the case and at a second side to the wrist strap, the battery clasp having battery attaching members and electrical contacts connected to the telephone; and a battery housing containing the at least one battery, the housing having receiving members arranged to engage with the attaching members so that the at least one battery electrically engages the electrical contacts for powering the telephone.
32. A wireless telephone for communicating with a base station, the wireless telephone comprising:
a base station interface including a radio transmitter and receiver for transferring information between the base station and the wireless telephone unit;
a directional speaker that radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit connected to the base station interface and the directional speaker for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station;
a directional microphone that has a direction of greatest sensitivity that is positioned such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone, the microphone being located approximately between 2.5 cm and 3.5 cm from the directional speaker; and a microphone circuit connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface for driving the base station interface with a microphone signal corresponding to sound received by the directional microphone, wherein the microphone circuit includes an amplifier having an amplifier gain controlled to constrain the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
a base station interface including a radio transmitter and receiver for transferring information between the base station and the wireless telephone unit;
a directional speaker that radiates speaker sound in predominately a first direction;
a speaker circuit connected to the base station interface and the directional speaker for driving the directional speaker with a speaker signal received from the base station;
a directional microphone that has a direction of greatest sensitivity that is positioned such that the first direction is greater than approximately 90 degrees away from the direction of greatest sensitivity for the directional microphone, the microphone being located approximately between 2.5 cm and 3.5 cm from the directional speaker; and a microphone circuit connected to the directional microphone and the base station interface for driving the base station interface with a microphone signal corresponding to sound received by the directional microphone, wherein the microphone circuit includes an amplifier having an amplifier gain controlled to constrain the amount of speaker sound fed back to the base station.
33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the microphone is located 2.5 cm from the speaker.
34. A method of manufacturing a wireless telephone which can be worn on a wrist, comprising the steps of:
providing a directional speaker connected to a speaker interface circuit and a directional microphone connected to a microphone interface circuit;
providing a wireless interface circuit and a controller connected to the microphone interface circuit, the speaker interface circuit and the wireless interface circuit;
providing an oscillator circuit connected to the wireless interface circuit and the controller, wherein the oscillator circuit comprises an oscillator and an oscillator inductor, positioning the directional speaker such that sound generated by the speaker radiates predominately in a first direction;
fixing the directional microphone such that the directional microphone is no more than 3.5 cm away from the directional speaker and positioned so as to be most sensitive to sound arriving from a second direction greater than approximately 90 degrees offset from the first direction;
shielding the oscillator inductor; and positioning the shielded inductor adjacent to the directional microphone.
providing a directional speaker connected to a speaker interface circuit and a directional microphone connected to a microphone interface circuit;
providing a wireless interface circuit and a controller connected to the microphone interface circuit, the speaker interface circuit and the wireless interface circuit;
providing an oscillator circuit connected to the wireless interface circuit and the controller, wherein the oscillator circuit comprises an oscillator and an oscillator inductor, positioning the directional speaker such that sound generated by the speaker radiates predominately in a first direction;
fixing the directional microphone such that the directional microphone is no more than 3.5 cm away from the directional speaker and positioned so as to be most sensitive to sound arriving from a second direction greater than approximately 90 degrees offset from the first direction;
shielding the oscillator inductor; and positioning the shielded inductor adjacent to the directional microphone.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US08/262,735 US5819183A (en) | 1994-06-20 | 1994-06-20 | Low-feedback compact wireless telephone |
| US08/262,735 | 1994-06-20 | ||
| PCT/US1995/007662 WO1995035622A1 (en) | 1994-06-20 | 1995-06-20 | Low-feedback compact wireless telephone |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2186264A1 true CA2186264A1 (en) | 1995-12-28 |
Family
ID=22998804
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002186264A Abandoned CA2186264A1 (en) | 1994-06-20 | 1995-06-20 | Low-feedback compact wireless telephone |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (3) | US5819183A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2863195A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2186264A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1995035622A1 (en) |
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| US9162369B2 (en) | 2008-10-21 | 2015-10-20 | Andre Verville | Embossed monolayer particleboards and methods of preparation thereof |
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-
1995
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- 1995-06-20 WO PCT/US1995/007662 patent/WO1995035622A1/en active Application Filing
- 1995-06-20 AU AU28631/95A patent/AU2863195A/en not_active Abandoned
-
1998
- 1998-10-05 US US09/166,661 patent/US6091965A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2000
- 2000-06-01 US US09/585,110 patent/US6311071B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| US9162369B2 (en) | 2008-10-21 | 2015-10-20 | Andre Verville | Embossed monolayer particleboards and methods of preparation thereof |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO1995035622A1 (en) | 1995-12-28 |
| US6091965A (en) | 2000-07-18 |
| US6311071B1 (en) | 2001-10-30 |
| AU2863195A (en) | 1996-01-15 |
| US5819183A (en) | 1998-10-06 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued | ||
| FZDE | Discontinued |
Effective date: 20030620 |