Device for safe use of a portable cellular telephone while driving

A cordless apparatus for permitting the hands-free use of a cellular telephone while driving a vehicle. The device comprises a main body including a speaker, a microphone, a supporting member and a securing means for securing the telephone to the main body. The main body comprises a head and a base, wherein the telephone cradle is substantially centrally located within the main body, between the head and the base. The telephone cradle has a top receiving end and a bottom receiving end, comprising a charging unit located substantially adjacent to the bottom receiving end of the telephone cradle. The speaker is positioned on the head of the main body substantially adjacent to the top end of the telephone cradle, and the microphone is located on the base of the main body, substantially adjacent to the receiving end of the telephone cradle. The supporting member comprises a first end affixed to the main body and a second end comprising a cigarette lighter adapter. The adapter is for plugging into a cigarette lighter of the vehicle for a connection of a power supply to the main body. The securing means for securing the telephone to the telephone cradle includes a set of opposite extruding arms positioned on the main body substantially adjacent to the top receiving end of the telephone cradle and a seat for receiving the telephone positioned on the main body substantially adjacent to the receiving end of the telephone cradle. In an alternative embodiment, the speaker is positioned on the back of the main body and in all embodiments, an extension member may be included.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to the cellular telephone industry, and 
this invention relates in particular to a device for permitting the 
hands-free use of a cellular telephone while driving a vehicle. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Conventional cellular telephones have become extremely popular and 
indispensable communication tools for people who are constantly "on the 
go". While technology exists to permanently mount cellular telephones in 
vehicles, permitting users to utilize such devices while driving, most 
cellular telephone users use them, or at least need access to them, in 
locations other than their vehicles. Thus, the cellular telephone of 
choice to most users is a "portable" cellular telephone. Portable cellular 
telephones are primarily battery-operated, although technology exists to 
operate the telephone and/or charge the telephone's battery by connecting 
the telephone and battery to a power supply, such as a vehicle's cigarette 
lighter. 
In the setting of a vehicle, however, portable cellular telephones are 
cumbersome, and potentially dangerous, to use. If the telephone is picked 
up only one hand. Often, in an effort to remain "hands-free", drivers 
support the telephone between the shoulder and the neck, which positioning 
tends to increase the possibility of accidents, as the driver's top 
priority should be operating the vehicle, and the effort to use the 
cellular telephone in a "hands-free" manner may pose additional dangers to 
the driver. In fact, certain jurisdictions throughout the world have 
proposed and/or enacted legislation prohibiting the use of cellular 
telephones in vehicles, to the extent that such use affects the driver's 
operation of the vehicle. 
One possible manner in which to avoid the dangers of operating a vehicle 
while using a cellular telephone is to utilize a device which converts the 
telephone for use in a hands-free, or loudspeaker, environment. When such 
an accessory is installed in a vehicle and a portable cellular telephone 
is mounted thereto, it is possible to use a portable cellular telephone in 
a truly hands-free environment, as the portable telephone's microphone and 
speaker are linked to the same elements within the hands-free accessory. 
Previous efforts to provide a hands-free apparatus for use of a cellular 
telephone while driving a vehicle are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,530 
to Chen ('530 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,213 to Huang ('213 patent); 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,222 to Guenther ('222 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,205 
to Ching ('205 patent); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,088 to Stamegna ('088 
patent), each of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
The '530 patent describes a rack securing a cellular telephone to a window 
of an automobile which is adjustable to fit to the mouth of a driver so as 
to permit a driver of a vehicle to operate a cellular telephone in a 
hands-free manner. The securing rack includes a mounting base having a 
vertical portion and a horizontal portion, a clamping board which is 
adjustably associated with the mounting base and engaged with a speaker 
and a battery box, and a securing piece removably fixed to a telephone 
retaining seat having a voice pick-up. A cellular telephone is held by a 
spring biased clamping member of the retaining seat with the voice pick-up 
which is electrically connected to the speaker. 
The '213 patent describes an apparatus comprising a wireless microphone 
transmitter, to be disposed in a passenger room of a vehicle, a main 
terminal with a terminal housing comprising a loudspeaker and one end 
adapted to be inserted into a cigarette lighter socket, and a telephone 
connector adapted to be electrically connected to a mobile telephone unit 
via an electrical cable. adapted to be electrically connected to a mobile 
telephone unit via an electrical cable. 
The '222 patent describes a headset for use with a cellular telephone. The 
headset comprises an acoustical earpiece assembly, a device for mounting 
the ear piece assembly on the head, in a position adjacent an ear of a 
person wearing the headset, and a flexible acoustical receiving tube 
having an upper end connected to the earpiece and a lower end attached to 
an acoustical receiving cup. The headset also includes a device for 
releasably attaching the acoustical receiving cup to a telephone in a 
position where the mouth of the cup is disposed closely adjacent the 
telephone speaker for receiving sound emitting from the speaker. 
The '205 patent describes an extensible windshield portable holder, capable 
of firmly attaching to the front windshield and extending to a desired 
handy position to the driver. The windshield portable holder comprises an 
extensible holder arrangement, which includes a supporter, a sucking 
device for firmly attaching to a predetermined position of a windshield, 
an extending device, and a telephone holder mounted on the supporter and 
adapted to hold a portable telephone thereon. 
The '088 patent describes a vehicular audio/cellular telephone system 
including a vehicular audio system and cellular telephone. In a first 
embodiment of this invention, the vehicular audio system includes an AM/FM 
radio, cassette player, CD player or combinations of these, integrates a 
detachable cellular telephone including a transceiver, rechargeable 
battery, and small non-directional antenna. When integrated into the 
vehicular audio system, the cellular telephone uses the vehicle's power 
and external antenna. 
None of the devices mentioned above describe a cordless apparatus for 
permitting the hands-free use of a cellular telephone while driving a 
vehicle which is compact, easy to use, and removably attachable for use in 
any vehicle. 
Consequently, there is a need in the art for a lightweight, easy to 
install, and cordless apparatus for permitting the hands-free use of a 
cellular telephone while driving a vehicle. 
There is a further need in the art for a cordless apparatus for permitting 
the hands-free use of a cellular telephone while driving a vehicle which 
is removably attachable for use in any vehicle. 
There is a further need in the art for a cordless apparatus for permitting 
the hands-free use of a cellular telephone while simultaneously charging 
the telephone battery, in preparation of using the telephone outside the 
vehicle. 
Finally, there is a need in the art for a unitary lightweight, small and 
cordless apparatus permitting the hands-free use of a cellular telephone 
while driving a vehicle, which cannot be visually observed from outside of 
the vehicle and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention resolves significant problems in the art by providing 
a cordless apparatus for permitting the hands-free use of a cellular 
telephone while driving a vehicle comprising a main body comprising a 
speaker, a telephone cradle comprising a charging unit, and a microphone, 
a supporting member comprising a first end affixed to the main body and a 
second end comprising a cigarette lighter adapter for plugging into a 
cigarette lighter of the vehicle for a connection of a power supply to the 
main body, and a securing means for securing said telephone to said 
telephone cradle. The charging unit comprises a safety mechanism to 
preclude a cellular telephone battery from over charging, thus causing 
damage to the cellular telephone battery or cellular telephone. Once the 
cellular telephone battery is fully charged, the safety mechanism is 
triggered to prevent further charging of the cellular telephone battery. 
The securing means comprises a pair of opposite extruding arms affixed to 
said main body and a seat for receiving the telephone. An extension member 
having one end removably attached to the second end of the supporting 
member and an opposite end comprising a cigarette lighter adapter for 
plugging into a cigarette lighter of the vehicle for a connection of a 
power supply to the main body, may be optionally used for extending the 
supporting member of the apparatus. 
There are various aspects of the present invention which allows the 
cordless apparatus to be used with various types and models of cellular 
telephones, including ERICSSON.RTM., MOTOROLA.RTM. and NOKIA.RTM.. 
An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for permitting the 
hands-free use of a cellular telephone while driving a vehicle which is 
easy to use, lightweight and does not require the use of any cords or 
exterior cables. 
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for permitting 
the hands-free use of a cellular telephone which is compact and removably 
attachable to any vehicle. 
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus permitting the 
hands-free use of a cellular telephone while driving a vehicle which 
includes a holding or securing means for securing the telephone to the 
apparatus, while simultaneously charging the telephone battery. 
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention 
may be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed 
description of the embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of 
illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates one aspect of a cordless 
apparatus for permitting the hands free use of a cellular telephone while 
driving a vehicle, designated generally at 10 which is made in accordance 
with the present invention. The cordless apparatus has a main body 20 
including a speaker 30, a telephone cradle 40 comprising a charging unit 
50 (shown in FIG. 3(a)), and a microphone 60, a supporting member 70 
attached to the main body of the apparatus and a securing means for 
securing the telephone to the telephone cradle 40. The securing means for 
securing the telephone to the telephone cradle comprises a set of opposite 
extruding arms 90 and a seat 92 for receiving the telephone. 
The charging unit 50, comprises a safety mechanism which prohibits a 
cellular telephone battery to over-charge, causing a blow out or other 
damage to a cellular telephone. Once the cellular telephone battery is 
charged, the safety mechanism is activated to prohibit further charging of 
the cellular telephone battery. The charging current is approximately 500 
mAh. The maximum speaker power is approximately 0.5 Watts. The speaker 
impedance is approximately 16 ohms. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3(b), the supporting member 70 comprises a first 
end 72, a pivot hold 74 affixed to the main body 20 and a second end 76, a 
tubular housing part 78 comprising a cigarette lighter adapter 80 for 
plugging into a cigarette lighter of the vehicle for a connection of a 
power supply (P), approximately, 0.1 W of consumption power, to the main 
body 20, namely the speaker 30, charging unit 50 and microphone 60. The 
input voltage is approximately 12-24 Volts DC. The pivot hold 74 of the 
supporting member 70 comprises an adjustable turning knob 82 for adjusting 
the angular position (.o slashed.) of the tubular housing part 78 between 
0 and 180 degrees from the main body 20. 
As shown in FIG. 4, the present invention includes the optional use of a 
removably attachable extension member 100, which extension member 
comprises two members, a socket member 110 and a cigarette lighter adapter 
member 120 which are attached by a pivot hold 112 which comprises a 
turning knob 114 for adjusting the angular position (.O slashed.) of the 
adapter member 120 between 0 and 180 degrees from the socket member 110. 
The socket member 110 is formed similar to a cigarette lighter socket into 
which, the second end 76 of the supporting member 70 of the main body 20, 
the cigarette lighter adapter 80, is plugged into. Thus, the plugging of 
the second end 76 of the supporting member 70 of the main body 20 into the 
socket member 110 of the extension member 100, forms a longer and 
extending supporting unit, for use in vehicles with protruding dashboards 
or for enabling a user of the apparatus to customize the positioning of 
the apparatus to suit a user's own personal needs. The adapter member 120 
of the extension member 100, is similar to the cigarette lighter adapter 
80 of the supporting member 70, as it is for plugging into a cigarette 
lighter of the vehicle for a connection of a power supply (P) to the main 
body via the supporting member 70. 
As shown in FIGS. 1, and 4, the tubular housing part of the cigarette 
adapter 78 of the supporting member 70 and the adapter member 120 of the 
extension member 100 comprise a set of first and a set second electrical 
contacts 500, 510 and 520, 530, respectively. The first electrical 
contacts serve to connect electrically the components of the main body 20 
to a car battery (B) via the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket, thus 
permitting the supply of the electric power (P) to the different 
components of the main body 20. The electrical contacts include a 
plurality of first electrical contacts formed as a plurality of curved 
strips that are secured to the tubular housing part of the cigarette 
adapter 78 and the adapter member 120 of the extension member, 500, 520 
and a second electrical contact that is disposed axially in the tubular 
housing part of the cigarette lighter adapter 78 and the adapter member 
120 between the plurality of first electrical contacts 500, 520 and that 
extends through a tip of the cigarette adapter of the supporting member 
and adapter member of the extension member, 510, 530, respectively. 
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5-9, the present invention may be used with 
various models of cellular telephones, including ERICSSON.RTM. DF388vi P3 
and AF778 P5 (Shown in FIGS. 7 and 9), NOKIA.RTM. P2 (Shown in FIG. 5) and 
MOTOROLA.RTM. P1, P4 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 8). 
For example, in a first aspect of the present invention, as illustrated in 
FIGS. 1, 2(a)-(b) and 3(a)-(b), the main body 20 comprises a head 200 and 
a base 210. The telephone cradle 40 is substantially centrally located 
within the main body 20, between the head 200 and the base 210 of the main 
body 20. The telephone cradle 40 comprises a top receiving end 230 and a 
bottom receiving end 240. In a first aspect of the present invention, for 
use with, for example a MOTOROLA.RTM. StarTac cellular telephone P1 (shown 
in FIG. 1), the speaker 30 is positioned on the head 200 of the main body 
20 substantially adjacent to the top receiving end 230 of the telephone 
cradle 40. The microphone 60 is located on the base 210 of the main body 
20, substantially adjacent to the bottom receiving end 240 of the 
telephone cradle 40. Additionally, the volume control 94 for the speaker 
30 is substantially centrally positioned on the base 210 of the main body 
20, substantially adjacent to the top receiving end 230 of the telephone 
cradle 40. The securing means for securing the telephone to the telephone 
cradle 40 comprises a pair of opposite arms 260 positioned on the main 
body 20 substantially adjacent to the top receiving end 230 of the 
telephone cradle 40 and a seat 92 for receiving the telephone positioned 
on the main body 20 substantially adjacent to the bottom receiving end 240 
of the telephone cradle 40. 
Alternatively, in a second aspect of the present invention, as shown in 
FIGS. 5, 6(a) and 6(b), designated generally as 12, which may be used, for 
example with a NOKIA.RTM. cellular telephone P2, comprises a main body 20 
with a front 300, comprising a frontthead 310, and a frontbase 320, and a 
back 400, comprising a backhead 410 and a backbase 420. The front 300 and 
back 400 of the main body 20 are attached by a right panel 330 and a left 
panel 340. The telephone cradle 40 is substantially centrally positioned 
between the frontthead 310 and the frontbase 320. The speaker 30 is 
positioned on the back 400 of the main body 20 substantially adjacent to 
the backhead. The microphone 60 is substantially centrally positioned on 
the frontbase 320 of the main body 20. The securing means for securing the 
telephone to the telephone cradle 40 comprises a set of extruding side 
panels formed by the right and left panels 330, 340 respectively, and a 
seat 92 for receiving the telephone. The volume control 94 for the speaker 
30 is positioned on the right side panel 330 of the main body 20. 
Accordingly, it will be understood that the preferred embodiment of the 
present invention has been disclosed by way of example and that other 
modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art 
without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.