Abstract:
A speaker phone module is disclosed. The module includes a housing defining a cradle for removably receiving a cellular telephone battery charger. The housing further encloses speaker phone circuitry for interconnecting a cellular telephone within the battery charger to a microphone and speaker within the housing. A connector within the cradle provides means for electrically connecting the speaker phone circuitry to the battery charger.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to speaker phones, and more particularly, to a speaker phone module which is connectible to a cellular telephone or battery charger. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Due to their relatively small size, in order for users to use a cellular telephone for conference calls involving a large number of people, speaker phone accessories have been developed into which a cellular telephone is plugged in order to provide speaker phone capabilities. Existing speaker phone units involve speaker phone circuitry that is built into a cellular battery recharging unit. The recharging units are generally desktop chargers (meaning they charge a battery on the phone only) or multi-chargers (meaning that additionally they can charge a spare battery of the phone). This design greatly limits a consumer&#39;s choice with respect to speaker phone electronics. 
     With this configuration a purchaser must decide to purchase either a charger only or a charger/speaker phone combination unit. A choice between one or the other is not available. If a purchaser were to buy a charger and later decide they wanted a speaker phone, they would be required to essentially re-buy the charger in order to obtain speaker phone functionality. There does not presently exist in the art a modular add-on accessory enabling a user to add speaker phone capabilities to an existing battery charger unit or to utilize a speaker phone without a battery charger. A device of this type would greatly benefit the consumer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other problems with a modular speaker phone apparatus. The apparatus consists of a housing that defines a cradle for removably receiving a battery charger. The housing encloses speaker phone circuitry enabling interconnection between a microphone and a speaker connected within the housing to a cellular telephone resting within the battery charger. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the cradle may be configured to receive either a battery charger or a cellular telephone. A connector is integrally positioned within the cradle to electrically connect the speaker phone module to the battery charger or cellular telephone resting within the cradle of the housing. In the case of a battery charger, the connection acts as a power connector between the cellular telephone module and the battery charger. When a cellular telephone rests within the cradle, the connection acts as a data transfer port between the cellular telephone and the speaker phone module. An external connector provides connection to either an external power or a data source, or other peripheral accessory. The alternative embodiment further includes a housing which may be located in a first or second position. When placed in the first position the housing provides a first surface for supporting a battery charger connected to the connector within the cradle. When placed in the second position, the housing provides a narrower second surface for supporting the base of a cellular telephone and interconnecting the connector with the cellular telephone. In both configurations, a microphone is facing upward or forward to ease reception of audio signals. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the front side of an embodiment the speaker phone module; 
     FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the rear side of an embodiment the speaker phone module; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the battery charging unit mated with an embodiment the speaker phone module; 
     FIG. 3 is a view of an alternative embodiment of the speaker phone module; 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of a speaker module capable of receiving within its cradle either a battery charger unit or a cellular telephone. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, and more particular to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there are illustrated perspective front and rear views of the speaker phone module 10 of the present invention. The speaker phone module 10 includes an exterior housing 15 that encloses internal speaker phone circuitry 20 (shown generally in phantom). The housing 15 may consist of preformed plastic or any other material capable of supporting a cellular telephone or battery charger and protecting the speaker phone circuitry 20. The housing 15 is generally l-shaped and defines a cradle 25 configured to removably receive a battery charger 30 as shown generally in FIG. 2. The cradle 25 as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B comprises a flat surface for receiving the battery charger 30. However, it should be realized that any configuration enabling a battery charger 30 to be associated with a speaker phone module 10 would be acceptable for the cradle 25. 
     Integrally located within the cradle 25 is a connector 35 for providing an electrical connection between the battery charger 30 and the speaker phone circuitry 20. The connector 35 is positioned to mechanically mate with a charger 30, such as a multicharger. A multicharger may charge a phone and a battery at the same time. In a preferred environment, the connector 35 is a male 12 pin connector which engages the power jack on a multicharger 30. An additional connector 40 enables the speaker phone module 10 to be interconnected with power, data or other peripheral accessories external to the module 10. In the preferred embodiment, the connector 40 comprises a 12 pin female connector. 
     The speaker phone module 10 further includes a microphone 45 for receiving and forwarding speech from a user to a cellular telephone placed within the charger 30 or directly plugged into the speaker phone module 10. A speaker 50 provides audio broadcast of audio signals received over a cellular telephone placed within the battery charger 30 or directly connected to the speaker phone module 10. The speaker 50 and microphone 45 are appropriately spaced to prevent unwanted feedback and work in conjunction with the speaker phone circuitry 20. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein the speaker phone module housing 15 encloses the speaker phone circuitry 20 and includes a speaker 50 and microphone 45 associated therewith. This embodiment however includes no cradle for receiving a battery charger 30. Instead, a connector 60 for interconnecting the speaker phone module 10 with a battery charger or cellular telephone is connected to the housing 15 and speaker phone circuitry 20 via a cable 65. This provides a more flexible design and enables the speaker phone module 10 to function with any battery charger or cellular telephone having a connector capable of mating with the connector 60. Additionally, an AC/DC adapter 71 or data or other peripheral accessory may be plugged into the module 10 via an extension cord 76. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B there is illustrated a speaker phone module 10 having a cradle 25 capable of receiving both a battery charger 30 and a cellular telephone 71. In a first configuration as shown in FIG. 4A, the speaker phone module 10 is placed on a back surface 74 such that the battery charger 30 is supported by wide surface 76. The battery charger 30 is interconnected with the speaker phone 10 via a connector 35 (FIG. 1A) as described previously with respect to FIG. 1A. The connector 35 is strategically placed on surface 85 to enable it to engage a corresponding connector on the back of a battery charger 30 in the first configuration or to engage a corresponding connector on the base of a cellular telephone 70 in a second configuration. 
     FIG. 4B illustrates a second configuration wherein the speaker phone module 10 may be placed on a narrow surface 85 such that the cellular telephone 71 rests upon the ledge 80 and against surface 76 in an upright position to be easily seen. The connector 35 engages a corresponding connector within the cellular telephone. In order for the speaker phone module 10 to be able to support both a cellular telephone and a battery charger, the cradle 25 must be configured in such a manner that the bodies of both the battery charger 30 and cellular telephone 71 will fit within the cradle. A microphone 45 is located such that the receiver is always upwardly or forwardly presented. 
     The previous description is of a preferred embodiment for implementing the invention, and the scope of the invention should not necessarily be limited by this description. The scope of the present invention is instead defined by the following claims.