Portable telephone with flip stand or hinged doors and having speaker therein

A portable telephone includes a telephone body having a lower recess at the rear side thereof; a flip stand pivotally mounted by a pivot pin to the telephone body for pivotal movement between a first position within the lower recess and a second position out of the lower recess, the flip stand serving to support the telephone body in a slightly inclined vertical orientation on a surface in the second position; an inverted V-shaped acoustic baffle defined between the telephone body, the flip stand and the surface on which the telephone is supported when the flip stand is in the second position; and a speaker mounted to the flip stand and oriented to transmit acoustic energy into the acoustic baffle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to portable telephones, and more 
particularly, is directed to a portable telephone with a flip stand having 
a speaker therein. 
It is known to provide speakerphones in telephones in order to enable 
hands-free operation by a user. However, a portable telephone such as a 
micro-portable cellular phone contains space only for a small speaker. As 
a result, such speakerphones are not very effective when used as a 
personal speakerphone. Further, placement of the portable phone on a flat 
surface usually incurs a loss of acoustic power and loss of visibility of 
the LCD display of the phone. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable 
telephone with a flip stand having a speaker therein that overcomes the 
problems with the aforementioned prior art. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable 
telephone with a flip stand having a speaker therein in which an acoustic 
envelope is produced. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a portable 
telephone with a flip stand which triggers a switch inside the phone to 
activate the speakerphone operation when the flip stand is in the open 
position. 
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a portable telephone 
includes a telephone body having a lower recess at one side thereof; a 
flip stand mounted to the telephone body for movement between a first 
position within the lower recess and a second position out of the lower 
recess, the flip stand serving to support the telephone body in an upright 
orientation on a surface in the second position; an acoustic baffle 
defined between the telephone body, the flip stand and the surface on 
which the telephone is supported when the flip stand is in the second 
position, the acoustic baffle being open at at least one end thereof; and 
a speaker oriented to transmit acoustic energy into the acoustic baffle 
and mounted to one of the telephone body and the flip stand. 
Preferably, the flip stand is pivotally mounted to the telephone body. In 
this regard, a pivot pin pivotally mounts an upper end of the flip stand 
to the telephone body. In such case, the acoustic baffle has an inverted 
V-shaped configuration. 
The portable telephone further includes a keypad by which telephone numbers 
can be dialed; a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying information; 
a microphone into which a user speaks; and a receiver by which the user 
can listen when the receiver is placed adjacent an ear of the user. 
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a portable 
telephone includes a telephone body having a lower recess at one side 
thereof; a flip stand mounted to the telephone body for movement between a 
first position within the lower recess and a second position out of the 
lower recess, the flip stand serving to support the telephone body in an 
upright orientation on a surface in the second position; an acoustic 
baffle defined between the telephone body, the flip stand and the 
supporting surface when the flip stand is in the second position, the 
acoustic baffle being open at at least one end thereof; and a speaker 
mounted to the flip stand and oriented to transmit acoustic energy into 
the acoustic baffle. 
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a 
portable telephone includes a telephone body having a lower recess at one 
side thereof; a flip stand mounted to the telephone body for movement 
between a first position within the lower recess and a second position out 
of the lower recess, the flip stand serving to support the telephone body 
in an upright orientation on a surface in the second position; an acoustic 
baffle defined between the telephone body, the flip stand and the 
supporting surface when the flip stand is in the second position, the 
acoustic baffle being open at at least one end thereof; and a speaker 
mounted to the telephone body and oriented to transmit acoustic energy 
into the acoustic baffle. 
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a portable 
telephone includes a telephone body having a lower recess at one side 
thereof; two doors mounted to the telephone body for movement between a 
first position in covering relation to the lower recess and a second 
position exposing the lower recess, the doors serving to support the 
telephone body in a horizontal orientation on a surface in the second 
position; an acoustic baffle defined between the telephone body, the doors 
and the surface on which the telephone is supported when the doors are in 
the second position, the acoustic baffle being open at at least one end 
thereof; and a speaker oriented to transmit acoustic energy into the 
acoustic baffle and mounted to the telephone body. 
Preferably, the doors are hingedly mounted to the telephone body. 
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will 
become readily apparent from the following detailed description thereof 
which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the drawings in detail, a portable telephone 10 according to 
the present invention includes a main telephone body 12 of a generally 
rectangular configuration. Telephone 10 includes conventional telephone 
items, such as a keypad 14 by which telephone numbers can be dialed, a 
liquid crystal display (LCD) 16 for displaying information such as the 
number dialed and the like, a microphone 18 at the lower end of telephone 
body 12 and into which the user speaks, and a receiver 20 at the upper end 
of telephone body 12 by which the user can listen when receiver 20 is 
placed adjacent the ear of the user. All of the above elements 14-20 are 
accessible or viewable from the front face of telephone body 12. A printed 
wiring board (PWB) 22 is mounted within telephone body 12 and is 
electrically connected to keypad 14, LCD 16, microphone 18 and receiver 20 
by wiring (not shown), for controlling the operations of keypad 14, LCD 
16, microphone 18 and receiver 20, as is conventional. Further, an 
extensible antenna 24 extends from the upper surface of telephone body 12 
and is connected for transmitting a signal to receiver 20, as is 
conventional. 
A battery pack 25 is also mounted with the upper portion of telephone body 
12 for supplying power to the various electrical components. 
In accordance with the present invention, the lower rear portion of 
telephone body 12 is provided with a rectangular recess 26, and a flip 
stand 28 is pivotally mounted to telephone body 12 by means of a pivot pin 
30 at the upper end of flip stand 28, so as to pivot flip stand 28 between 
a closed position within recess 26 and an open supporting position out of 
recess 26. Flip stand 28 has a generally rectangular configuration with 
dimensions slightly smaller than those of recess 26 so that when flip 
stand 28 is fit within recess 26, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a smooth, 
uniform appearance is imparted to telephone 10. 
When flip stand 28 is pivoted outwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, it serves to 
support telephone body 12 in an upright, slightly inclined, vertical 
state. In this state, an inverted V-shaped acoustic cavity or baffle 32 is 
defined between the lower rear portion of telephone body 12, that is, at 
recess 26, flip stand 28 and the hard surface on which the telephone is 
standing, with acoustic baffle 32 being open at opposite ends thereof. 
Thus, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a 
speakerphone defined by a loudspeaker 34 is provided in flip stand 28 and 
is oriented so as to transmit acoustic energy into acoustic baffle 32. 
Further, with the present invention, the volume of transmitted sound from 
loudspeaker 34 can be adjusted by an UP volume button 36 or a DOWN volume 
button 38 at the side of telephone body 12. 
Referring now to FIGS. 4-6, a portable telephone 110 according to another 
embodiment of the present invention will now be described, in which 
elements common to those of portable telephone 10 of FIGS. 1-3 are 
referenced by the same numerals, but augmented by 100, and a detailed 
description of such common elements is omitted for the sake of brevity. 
Specifically, portable telephone 110 is different from telephone 10 by 
placing loudspeaker 134 in recess 126 so as to face outwardly of the rear 
of telephone body 112. Thus, with flip stand 128 in the open supporting 
position out of recess 126, loudspeaker 134 transmits acoustic energy into 
acoustic baffle 132. 
Further, telephone 110 differs from telephone 10 by placement of battery 
pack 125 within recess 126, behind loudspeaker 134. 
The arrangements of keypad 114, liquid crystal display (LCD) 116, 
microphone 118, receiver 120, printed wiring board 122, extensible antenna 
124, pivot pin 130, UP volume button 136 and DOWN volume button 138 are 
the same as the corresponding elements in the first embodiment of 
telephone 10 of FIGS. 1-3. 
Thus, with both the first and second embodiments of the present invention, 
the loudspeaker is oriented to transmit acoustic energy into the acoustic 
baffle defined between the telephone body, the flip stand and the hard 
supporting surface, and thereby sets up an acoustic envelope that enhances 
the acoustics of the speakerphone. 
It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made to the 
present invention, within the scope of the claims. For example, flip stand 
28, 128 can be mounted for a different type of movement between the open 
and closed positions, such as a sliding arrangement or the like. 
Referring now to FIGS. 7-10, a portable telephone 210 according to still 
another embodiment of the present invention will now be described, in 
which elements common to those of portable telephone 110 of FIGS. 4-6 are 
referenced by the same numerals, but augmented by 100, and a detailed 
description of such common elements is omitted for the sake of brevity. 
Specifically, unlike portable telephone 110 which is mounted vertically, 
portable telephone 210 is mounted horizontally on a surface. Thus, 
rectangular recess 226 is normally covered by two doors 228a and 228b 
which are hinged to the rear surface of telephone body 212 by hinges 229. 
In the closed configuration of FIG. 7, doors 228a and 228b meet along a 
center line of telephone body 212 and close recess 226. 
However, when doors 228a and 228b are hinged outwardly in the direction of 
arrows 231 in FIG. 10, the inner edges 233 of doors 228a and 228b extend 
downwardly to support telephone body 212 on a hard flat surface. Thus, an 
acoustic baffle 232 is defined between telephone body 212, doors 228a and 
228b and the hard flat surface. Thus, with doors 228a and 228b in the open 
supporting configuration of FIGS. 8-10, loudspeaker 234 transmits acoustic 
energy into acoustic baffle 232, and thereby sets up an acoustic envelope 
that enhances the acoustics of the speakerphone. 
The arrangements of keypad 214, liquid crystal display (LCD) 216, 
microphone 218, receiver 220, the printed wiring board, the extensible 
antenna, UP volume button 236 and DOWN volume button 238 are the same as 
the corresponding elements in the second embodiment of telephone 110 of 
FIGS. 4-6. 
It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made to this 
embodiment within the scope of the claims. For example, doors 228a and 
228b can be mounted for a different type of movement between the open and 
closed positions, such as a sliding arrangement or the like. 
Having described specific preferred embodiments of the invention with 
reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be appreciated that the 
present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments and that 
various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one of 
ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of 
the invention as defined by the appended claims.