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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cordless telephones have been in existence for some time. Cordless
telephones operate utilizing a portable telephone unit in communication
with a base station through a pair of RF transceivers in the portable unit
and in the base station. When the device is operating, dial tone signals
and voice signals are transmitted from the RF transmitter in the portable
unit to the RF receiver in the base unit, and then over telephone lines in
the ordinary manner. Signals received by the base station over the
telephone lines are transmitted by the RF transmitter in the base unit to
the RF receiver in the portable unit.
Cordless telephones are convenient in that they allow telephone
communication without the burden of a cord. However, cordless telephones,
like conventional corded telephones, currently require one hand to hold
them in an operating position. Therefore, the user is freed from the cord
but still must use one hand which otherwise could be used for operating a
computer, filing, writing, household chores, sports activities or other
activities. Finally, cordless telephones often suffer from poor reception,
interference and poor transmitting quality as a result of poor signal to
noise ratios in the RF transmissions between the portable unit and the
base unit. This poor transmission quality is particularly detrimental when
it is considered that the portable unit is intended for use in areas which
could have high background noise such as, for example, out of doors,
roadside backyards, busy kitchens where a meal is being prepared, laundry
rooms where laundry machines are operating and warehouses and other
industrial areas.
A device is needed that would include the convenient cordless feature of
existing cordless telephones, but would also address the drawbacks of
existing cordless telephones. It would be desirable for such a device to
have good transmission quality, to shield at least some of the background
noise, to be relatively lightweight and streamlined, and to be usable
hands-free. Preferably, such a device would be snug-fitting, comfortable
and light-weight and would not easily slip from the operating position
while the user is moving about.
Other devices in the prior art have attempted to address some but not all
of these problems with limited success. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,745 by
Silver, a "cordless headset telephone" is described in which the portable
unit is contained in an element that attaches to the user's head for
hands-free operation. However, the Silver device includes only a single
earphone to cover one ear while leaving the other ear open and does not
have a means to increase the audio amplification over high background
noise. This permits a high degree of interfering background noise which,
as explained above, makes the device difficult to use out of doors and in
other areas with high background noise. Also, the Silver device is held on
the user's head with only a single headband. It has been found that this
method of attachment may be insufficient to securely hold the complete
portable unit, especially if the user moves about.
Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,030 by Wilson. The
Wilson device contemplates a corded or cordless headset with a dial board
positioned near the microphone for easy viewing by the user. As in the
Silver device, the Wilson device does not disclose the use of two
earphones and a volume control to enhance sound quality and to block
external noise. Another cordless telephone headset using only a single
earphone is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,029 by Kenney.
Other devices exist for communication headsets, but they are not portable
cordless telephones. Examples of such devices are in U.S. Pat. No.
4,782,527 by Williamson et. al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,068 by Wieder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a cordless telephone in which the portable unit is
totally contained in a headset. The headset includes its own push button
key pad and related control buttons, a rechargeable battery and an RF
transceiver. In addition, the preferred embodiment of the portable unit
has two earphones and a volume control for enhanced and realistic binaural
sound and for reducing background noise interference, a microphone
flexibly mounted to the headset, and a supplementary head strap for
helping to secure the unit to the user's head.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 shows an elevation view of the invention of FIG. 1, showing the
outside of the left housing with the dial pad.
FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the functional units of the invention
of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the invention of FIG. 1, engaged with a
base station.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in
FIG. 1. The device 10 generally includes a left side piece 12, a right
side piece 14, a top headband 16 connected to each side piece and a back
headband 18 pivotally connected to each side piece 18 with pivot pins 19.
The top headband 16 and back headband 18 are each adjustable with a
slidable clip 45 and 47, respectively, to accommodate different sized
heads. A flexible microphone arm 60 extends from the left side piece 12 to
a point adjacent to the user's mouth, and terminates in a microphone 62.
An antenna 54 extends from the upper edge of the left side piece 12. An
on-off switch 55 is positioned on the bottom edge of the right side piece
14. A battery compartment door 59 is in the bottom of the left side piece
12.
The right side piece 14 includes a set of control buttons. A FLASH button
101 allows the user to simulate disconnecting the line, so that the user
can dial another number without actually turning off the unit. A REDIAL
button 103 allows the user to dial the last-dialed number, which is
automatically stored in the microprocessor unit 105. A PAGE button 107
allows the user to call the base unit in order to operate the portable
unit and base unit as an intercom. A PAUSE button 109 functions as a
"space" for use in entering codes in which a space is required between
entries, as in the case of entering certain bank access codes. A MEMORY
button 111 in combination with the keypad numbers allows the entry of up
to ten numbers in the microprocessor memory for speed dialing. A
multi-indicator light 113 indicates the operation of any of the buttons
101, 103, 107, 109 and 111. The right side piece 14 also has a
TALK/STANDBY switch 64 and TALK/STANDBY indicator light 65, the functions
of which are described below.
As shown in FIG. 2, the left side piece 12 includes a key pad 50 with the
digits "0" through "9" plus "*" and "#". Also on the left side piece 12 is
a tone/pulse switch 67 to allow the user to choose tonal or pulse dialing
operation of the telephone. The inner side of the left side piece 12 has a
volume knob 117 to control the volume of the incoming audio signal, as
shown in FIG. 1.
Each of the right side piece 14 and left side piece 12 has an earphone 70
and 72, respectively. The earphones are preferably formed of a resilient
rubber or plastic material to securely contact the user's ear and minimize
the reception of external background noise. Alternatively, the earphones
may be cupped cushions or foam cushions similar to high fidelity earphones
(not shown) in order to reduce background noise still further.
The portable unit 10 is used with a base station 11. As shown in FIG. 4,
the portable unit 10 is conveniently stored in and engaged with the base
station 10 so that battery terminals 121 and 122 contact recharging
terminals 123 and 124 in the base station. This causes the batteries to
recharge automatically whenever the portable unit is engaged with the base
station after use.
A schematic diagram of the functional elements of the portable unit 10 and
base station 11 are shown in FIG. 3. The principal components of the
portable unit 10 are a transmitter 80 and receiver 82 for transmitting and
receiving signals from the base station 11. The portable unit transmitter
80 and receiver 82 are powered by a battery pack 84 and are controlled by
a set of control switches 86 and key pad 88. The multi-indicator light 90
is controlled by the control switches 86. The transmitter 80 and receiver
82 are operatively connected to a microphone 62 and to a pair of earphone
speakers 94 and 96, and to a portable unit transceiver antenna 97. An
amplifier and volume control 99 is in-line with the receiver 82 and
speakers 94 and 96.
The base unit includes a base unit transmitter 102 and base unit receiver
104 and a power plug 106 for connection to ordinary household AC current.
A recharging unit 108 is provided for recharging the battery pack 84 of
the portable unit 10 when not in use. The transmitter and receiver are
operatively connected to the telephone line 110 and to a base unit
transceiver antenna 112. The battery pack 84 may be in duplicate so that
one battery pack can be in use in the portable unit 10 while the other is
recharging in the base unit 11 if desired. The recharging can be
accomplished with a fast charge/trickle charge unit in a manner well known
in the art.
In operation, the device is activated by the TALK/STATION switch 64 in the
portable unit 10. In the STANDBY mode the portable unit is activated and
will receive calls. In the TALK mode the portable unit is fully
functional, and can be used to initiate calls and conduct conversation
with both the base station and remote telephones over telephone lines.
Activation of the unit turns on the transmitters and receivers of the
portable unit 10 and base unit 11. Outgoing calls are initiated by
listening for the dial tone transmitted by the base unit transmitter 102
to the portable unit receiver 82 which is heard in the earphone speakers
94 and 96. Upon confirming the existence of the dialtone, a telephone
number can be dialed with the key pad 88. As each number or symbol is
dialed, it is transmitted from the portable unit transmitter 80 to the
base unit receiver 104 and from there into the telephone line 110. The
ring tone as the call is connected is transmitted back from the base unit
transmitter 102 to the portable unit receiver 82 and to the earphone
speakers 94 and 96, and the subsequent conversation proceeds in the normal
manner by transmission between the portable unit 10 and base unit 11.
The presence of both earphones greatly reduces the audibility of background
noise. Heretofore, most telephone headsets have avoided the use of two
earphones, because the headsets have been intended for use by office
receptionists or others who have a need to hear conversation external to
the telephone. Thus, the use of two earphones is an important departure
and results in a binaural sound that is a dramatic improvement in sound
quality. It has been found, for example, that the use of two earphones
improves audio quality and eliminates the direction of the sound and
creates the impression that the communication is inside the user's head.
In addition, the use of the volume control allows the user to adjust the
volume with regard to various operating environments and background noise
levels which, in combination with the two earphones, greatly improves
performance of the unit.
When the portable unit is not in use, it can be replaced into the base
station in the manner shown in FIG. 4. The left side piece fits into a
pocket in the base station so that the external battery pack contacts 121
and 122 contact the recharging terminals 123 and 124, thereby recharging
the batteries.
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