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Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
The object of the invention is a particular accessory and an arrangement
for a mobile phone (5) and its hands-free function, for instance
in a car. Thanks to the accessory, such as a cradle (16), the characteristics
of the mobile phone (5) are changed, preferably for the hands-free
function, due a strip (17) which covers at least one of the at least
two sound openings (7A, 7B) of the pressure gradient microphone
(7) of the mobile phone. The sound opening can be covered also by
a special flange of an accessory connector, or by a separate bridge
mounted in the cradle. The covering can also be sealed with a rubber
seal, for instance.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An accessory for a mobile phone, which mobile phone has a pressure
gradient microphone and a cover with at least two openings in the
cover for passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient microphone,
wherein said accessory comprises a projection for covering at least
one of the at least two openings in the cover of the mobile phone
when said accessory is attached to the mobile phone.
2. An accessory of a mobile phone according to claim 1, further
comprising a phone cradle arranged to be fastened in a car.
3. An accessory of a mobile phone according to claim 1, further
comprising a phone cradle arranged to be placed on a table-top.
4. An accessory of a mobile phone according to claim 1, further
comprising a connector for connecting at least one external signal
line to the mobile phone, said projection being a projection of
said connector for covering at least one of the at least two openings
in the cover of the mobile phone when said connector is attached
to the mobile phone.
5. The accessory of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least
two openings in the cover of the mobile phone remains uncovered
when the accessory is attached to the mobile phone.
6. The accessory of claim 1 wherein when the accessory is attached
to the mobile phone a noise suppression feature of the pressure
gradient microphone is disabled and wherein sound from a side of
the mobile phone and a distance from the mobile phone is detected
by the microphone.
7. An accessory for a mobile phone, which mobile phone has a pressure
gradient microphone and a cover with at least two openings in the
cover for passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient microphone,
wherein said accessory comprises a projection for covering at least
one of the at least two openings in the cover of the mobile phone
when said accessory is attached to the mobile phone, and wherein
said projection comprises a strip which substantially covers at
least a first opening of said at least two openings in the cover
of the mobile phone when the accessory is attached to the mobile
phone, which first opening is further away from the user than a
second opening of said at least two openings in a typical use position
associated with the accessory.
8. An accessory of a mobile phone according to claim 7, wherein
said strip comprises an integral extension of a wider strip.
9. An accessory for a mobile phone, which mobile phone has a pressure
gradient microphone and a cover with at least two openings in the
cover for passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient microphone,
wherein said accessory comprises a projection for covering at least
one of the at least two openings in the cover of the mobile phone
when said accessory is attached to the mobile phone, and wherein
said projection is formed on a connector for connecting at least
one external signal line to the mobile phone, and said projection
covers at least one of the at least two openings in the cover of
the mobile phone when said connector is attached to the mobile phone.
10. The accessory of claim 9 wherein at least one of the at least
two openings in the cover of the mobile phone remains uncovered
when the accessory is attached to the mobile phone.
11. An accessory for a mobile phone having a cover and a pressure
gradient microphone with at least two openings in the cover for
passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient microphone, said
accessory comprising: a connector for connecting at least one external
signal line to said mobile phone; and a flange on said connector
covering at least one of the at least two openings in the cover
of the mobile phone when said connector is attached to the mobile
phone.
12. An arrangement for handsfree operation of a mobile phone, which
arrangement includes at least a mobile phone having a pressure gradient
microphone and a cover with at least two openings in the cover for
passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient microphone, and
an accessory for the mobile phone comprising a projection for covering
at least one of the at least two openings in the cover of the mobile
phone when the mobile phone is attached to the accessory.
13. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the accessory
further comprises a phone cradle.
14. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the accessory
further comprises a connector for connecting at least one external
signal line to the mobile phone, said projection being a projection
of said connector for covering at least one of the at least two
openings in the cover of the mobile phone when said connector is
attached to the mobile phone.
15. The arrangement of claim 12 wherein at least one of the at
least two openings in the cover of the mobile phone remains uncovered
when the mobile phone is attached to the accessory.
16. The arrangement of claim 12 wherein when the accessory is attached
to the mobile phone a noise suppression feature of the pressure
gradient microphone is disabled and wherein sound from a side of
the mobile phone and a distance from the mobile phone is detected
by the microphone.
17. An arrangement for handsfree operation of a mobile phone, which
arrangement includes at least a mobile phone, having a pressure
gradient microphone, a cover for the mobile phone with at least
two openings for passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient
microphone, and an accessory for the mobile phone comprising a connector
for connecting at least one external signal line to the mobile phone,
and a flange on said connector for covering at least one of the
at least two openings in the cover of the mobile phone when the
accessory is attached to the mobile phone.
18. A part of a cradle for a mobile phone, which mobile phone has
a pressure gradient microphone and a cover with at least two openings
in the cover for passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient
microphone, wherein said part comprises a bridge or a projection
which is arranged to cover at least one opening of the at least
two openings of the cover of the mobile phone when the mobile phone
is placed in the cradle.
19. The part of claim 18 wherein at least one of the at least two
openings in the cover of the mobile phone remains uncovered when
the mobile phone is placed in the cradle.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
The object of the invention is a new advantageous mobile phone accessory
for the hands-free function, with the aid of which the characteristics
of a mobile phone with a connected accessory are changed into an
operating mode associated with the accessory, such as hands-free
operation in a car; and an arrangement formed by a cradle and the
mobile phone; and further an accessory connector.
From the patent publication WO 95/12961 there is known a system
consisting of a number of low directivity microphones and a high
directivity microphone based mostly on the pressured difference
and realised with a processor. In addition to the low directivity
of the separate microphones the system is based on the sound delay
from a first microphone to the next one, and on the processing of
data which is obtained from different microphones, whereby the processing
is based on the delay of the sound.
From the patent publication WO 98/17046 there is known a mobile
phone microphone arrangement, due to which the microphone provides
an electrical signal corresponding to the user's voice, in spite
of the background noise. The arrangement is based on the use of
a pressure difference microphone, so that both the user's voice
and the background noise is directed from the front of the device
via a voice opening to the first side of the microphone, and only
background noise from the side of the device noise is directed via
a noise opening to the other side of the microphone. The major part
of the background noise is attenuated by being compensated from
the opposite sides of the membrane of the pressure difference microphone.
The user's voice acts on the membrane mainly via the voice opening,
so that the microphone output provides a signal corresponding almost
only to the user's voice.
FIG. 1A shows the schematic structure of a known microphone operating
by the pressure difference (pressure gradient microphone), and there
is shown the microphone frame 1, on the left the first sound opening
1A, on the right a second sound opening 1B, and a membrane 2. The
sound via both openings 1A, 1B acts on the membrane 2 so that the
membrane provides a signal according to the momentary pressure difference
of the sound. FIG. 1B shows the schematic structure of a known pressure
microphone, and there is shown the microphone frame 3, a single
sound opening 3A and a membrane 4. All sounds coming through the
sound opening 3A act on the membrane 4. The membrane 4 located centrally
in the microphone 3 generates a signal which corresponds only to
the pressure supplied through the opening 3A.
There is also a known mobile phone which contains both a pressure
microphone and a pressure gradient microphone in order to attenuate
interference caused by the wind.
There is also a known mobile phone 5 according to FIG. 2, which
shows a loudspeaker 6, the voice and noise openings 7a, 7B of a
pressure gradient microphone, an end plate 8, a keypad 9 defined
by the broken lines, and a display 10. In this mobile phone 5 the
openings 7A, 7B of the pressure gradient microphone are close to
each other restricted by the small end plate 8 at the lower end
of the device 5. When the user talks and keeps the device 5 at the
side of his head the voice acts causing a pressure difference between
the microphone openings 7A, 7B. Thus the microphone generates a
signal corresponding to the voice, but the noise directed simultaneously
to both openings does not cause any signal. Further a noise from
a direction opposite to that of the voice can be attenuated in a
known way by data processing.
A problem in known arrangements is the use of a telephone provided
with a noise suppression arrangement in such situations where the
telephone is not held at the side of the head. Then the noise suppression
attenuates also the voice. Such situations are for instance the
hands-free function when the device is in a cradle, such as in a
car cradle or in table-top cradle.
The object of the invention is to present a solution for a mobile
phone containing a noise suppression arrangement, by which the mobile
phone advantageously can be used both close to the head and also
in a cradle or connected to an accessory, without attenuating the
voice and particularly the low frequencies of the voice.
The invention relates to a mobile phone accessory, particularly
for such a mobile phone hands-free application which consists of
noise suppression based on a pressure gradient microphone having
at least two sound openings, whereby the characteristics of the
mobile phone are changed with the aid of the accessory. According
to the invention the accessory comprises a projection for covering
at least one of the at least two openings in the cover of the mobile
phone when attached to the mobile phone.
The invention relates also to an arrangement for the hands-free
function of a mobile phone, which arrangement includes a mobile
phone having a noise suppression based on a pressure gradient microphone
with at least two sound openings, and an accessory due to which
the characteristics of a mobile phone attached to the accessory
are changed. According to the invention the accessory comprises
a projection for covering at least one of the at least two openings
in the cover of the mobile phone when the mobile phone is attached
to the accessory.
The invention relates also to a cradle part, thanks to which the
characteristics of a mobile phone, which is mounted in the cradle
and which contains noise suppression based on a pressure gradient
microphone with at least two sound openings, are changed for the
hands-free function. According to an advantageous embodiment of
the invention the cradle part comprises a bridge or a projection
which can be mounted so that it covers at least one of the at least
two sound openings when the mobile phone is placed in the cradle,
in order to obtain the characteristics of a pressure microphone
with a pressure gradient microphone.
The invention relates also to an arrangement for the hands-free
function of a mobile phone, whereby the arrangement includes a mobile
phone having noise suppression based on a pressure gradient microphone
with at least two sound openings, and a connector, thanks to which
the characteristics of the mobile phone are changed. According to
an advantageous embodiment of the invention the connector connected
to the mobile phone comprises a flange for covering at least one
of the at least two sound openings of the mobile phone in order
to obtain the characteristics of a pressure microphone.
The invention saves the costs of a particular electronic implementation.
The strip covering one of the pressure gradient microphone's two
sound openings will not essentially increase the manufacturing costs
and is thus advantageous.
The invention also saves the possessor of the mobile phone from
the purchase of a separate table-top cradle when for instance a
connector of a battery charger is available to him, whereby the
connector includes a flange according to an advantageous embodiment
of the invention. The mounting of the connector provides automatically
microphone characteristics according to the hands-free function.
The pressure gradient microphone used for noise suppression performs
substantially better than a pressure microphone regarding sounds
generated in close range, when the case is examined in the light
of the interference ratio. However, a pressure gradient microphone
has a poor sensitivity to low frequency sounds at longer distances,
whereby the interference ratio also deteriorates. An advantage of
the invention is that the characteristics of a pressure gradient
microphone change so that they are like those of a common pressure
microphone, whereby the microphone's sensitivity increases, particularly
at low sounds. No second microphone nor a headset is required thanks
to the invention. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are
presented in the dependent claims.
The invention is described in detail below with reference to the
enclosed drawing, in which
FIG. 1 shows the structures of known microphones;
FIG. 2 shows a mobile phone;
FIG. 3 shows a known mobile phone cradle and a mobile phone;
FIG. 4 shows the lower end of a known mobile phone;
FIG. 5 shows a cradle according to the invention for supporting
a mobile phone;
FIG. 6 shows an enlargement of the cradle in FIG. 5 in a top elevation;
FIG. 7 shows a connector according to the invention at the lower
end of a mobile phone;
FIG. 8 shows an application of a cradle according to the invention;
FIG. 9 shows modifications of the arrangement according to the
invention; and
FIG. 10 shows a sealing in an arrangement according to the invention.
The FIGS. 1 and 2 were dealt with above in the prior art section.
FIG. 3 shows a known cradle 11, such as a car cradle for a mobile
phone 5. The cradle 11 is shown in projections from three directions:
from the front, from the sides and from above. The cradle turned
to the right is drawn in a section along the broken line A--A. In
the cradle 11 there is shown a mobile phone 5 defined by the broken
lines and the sound openings 7A, 7B for the mobile phone's pressure
gradient microphone. The cradle 11 further shows the release buttons
12A, 12B with which the retainers 13A, 13B are released from the
sides of the mobile station 5. There are further shown the retainers
14A, 14B and the strip 15 at the bottom of the cradle 11 which hold
the mobile station's 5 lower part. Most preferably the upper retainers
13A, 13B can be pushed in or pulled in order to put the mobile phone
5 in the cradle and to remove it. The arrangement is illustrated
from the front, from the sides, and from above.
FIG. 4 shows in more detail the end plate 8 located in the lower
part of the mobile station 5. In this case the end plate 8 includes
the sound openings 7A, 7B, a charging connector 8A, and other connectors
8B, such as a data interface.
FIG. 4 shows in an enlargement the lower end of the mobile phone
5 in FIG. 2, whereby the sound openings 7A, 7B for the pressure
gradient microphone are seen in the end plate 8 of the cover of
the mobile phone, as well as the locations 8A, 8B for the connection
of external devices, such as a charging device and a data transmission
device.
FIG. 5 shows a cradle 16 for a mobile phone 5 according to an advantageous
embodiment of the invention. In the cradle 16 there is seen a mobile
phone 5 defined by the broken lines, and the sound openings 7A,
7B for the pressure gradient microphone of the mobile phone. The
cradle 16 comprises release buttons 12A, 12B; retainers 13A, 13B,
14A, 14B, and a strip 17 in a larger strip 18, which covers the
second sound opening 7B of the mobile phone 5. The upper retainers
13A, 13B are most preferably such that they are pressed in when
the mobile phone 5 is placed in the cradle, and in order to remove
the mobile phone they can be pulled in. The arrangement is illustrated
from the front, from the sides, and from above. The cradle turned
to the right is drawn in a section along the broken line A--A. The
cross-section shows how the strip 17 covers the area of the sound
opening in the lower end of the mobile phone 5.
Advantageously, in the accessory, like in a cradle, the projection
for covering at least one opening is a strip which substantially
covers at least a first opening of at least two openings 7A, 7B
of the cover of a mobile phone when the accessory is attached to
the mobile phone. According to an advantageous embodiment of the
invention the first opening is typically further away from the user
than a second opening of the at least two openings in a typical
use position of the mobile phone associated with the accessory.
FIG. 6 shows in an enlargement the cradle 16 of FIG. 5 from above,
where the extension 17 of the strip 18 is seen in a larger size
when it covers the sound opening 7B.
FIG. 7 shows the connector 20 which receives a conductor 19 and
which constitutes the charging connection or data transmission connection
of a mobile phone 5 according to an advantageous embodiment of the
invention. The flange 21 of the connector 20 covers the second sound
opening 7B of the pressure gradient microphone 7. Only the first
sound opening 7A is left uncovered. The connector 20 and the flange
21 are mounted for instance in the interfaces 8A, 8B shown in FIG.
4. Generally, it can be said that according to this embodiment of
the invention there is arranged a connector for connecting at least
one external signal line to a mobile phone. In the connector there
is arranged a projection for covering at least one of the at least
two openings in the cover of the mobile phone when said connector
is attached to the mobile phone. The projection can be a flange
of the connector.
FIG. 8 shows an application of the cradle 22 of a mobile phone
5 according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, where
the cradle 22 is fastened to a base 23 for table-top use. Other
possible applications are for instance an attachment to the dashboard
in a car, or to the map table in a boat.
FIG. 9 shows modifications of the arrangement for hands-free operation
according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention. The FIG.
9A shows a prior art cradle 11 for a mobile phone, whereby the cradle
has a lower strip 15 and a bridge 24 added to it for the inventive
functionality in order to cover the sound opening 7B. The bridge
24 is most advantageously attachable afterwards to known cradles
11. The FIG. 9B shows a cradle 25 according to an advantageous embodiment
of the invention having a continuous lower strip 26 with the width
of the whole mounting opening and which covers half of the lower
end of the opening. FIG. 9C shows a cradle 27 according to an advantageous
embodiment of the invention which has a fixed bridge 29a containing
lower strip 28. Of course also other modifications may be designed.
One modification can be such that there is arranged a part of a
cradle for a mobile phone, which mobile phone has a pressure gradient
microphone and at least two openings in the cover of the mobile
phone for passing acoustic waves to the pressure gradient microphone.
The part is a bridge or a projection which is arranged to cover
at least one opening of the, at least two openings of the cover
of a mobile phone the mobile phone is placed in the cradle. Also
other kind of modifications are possible.
FIG. 10 shows a sealing in an arrangement according to an advantageous
embodiment of the invention so that it shows a mobile phone 30,
the sound openings 30A, 30B and a sealing 31, which here has a circular
cross-section, and a strip 32.
The sealing is sufficiently long in order to cover the whole opening.
Let us examine as an example how a mobile phone provided with noise
suppression based on a pressure gradient microphone is used without
a separate microphone in a car. The mobile phone is in a cradle,
and somebody in the back seat or next to the driver wants to speak
in the phone. In a common cradle the noise suppression attenuates
at least a voice coming from one side of the device, but a cradle
according to the invention covers one of the sound openings of the
pressure gradient microphone so that the noise suppression does
not work. Then it is possible to speak into the microphone, both
from the side of the device and from a distance, so that the voice
is heard by the microphone when the hands-free function is in use.
When the mobile phone is seized and returned to the normal operating
mode the noise suppression operates again and only the actual user
can speak so that he is heard by the microphone.
The cradles can be separately designed for different telephones,
or they can be designed as universal cradles, so that the design
observes the different locations of the sound openings. A sound
opening can be tightly closed with a rubber pad, for instance.
The mobile phone's hands-free operating mode according to the invention
can be obtained also in other embodiments than those presented above.
Another advantageous embodiment is a carrying case for the mobile
phone which can be fastened to the user's clothes, most advantageously
to the belt. Then the mobile phone can be used with the hands-free
function when the user is moving and the mobile phone located in
the carrying case, which has a projection which according to the
invention covers one of the microphone openings.
The invention is not limited to relate only to the above presented
embodiment examples, but many modifications are possible within
the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims.
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